If You Have It, Let Your Light Shine - Purity 1396

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.com or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. And there's the photo, but we're going to stop sharing. There we go. Um, good morning. Um, this is M.t. Clark and the M.t. for Christ 24/7 podcast, and today we've decided to, uh, launch the our podcast is a vlog, and we're going to deal with the technical difficulties as we go on. But good morning. Today's photo of silhouettes of park benches and trees in the foreground of what I suspected is a spectacular Lake Ontario sunset comes to us from an unknown Facebook friend who shared this scene on social media on or around May 30th, 2022. If this memory is yours, let us know and we'll photo credit you on the blog after the fact. Uh, well, it's Tuesday and I have a few announcements today that involve the good works that I do as part of the MT for Christ Community Freedom Ministry, aka the ministry work, uh, I do for the glory of God without compensation, and wanted to encourage those who have the light of the world within them to let it shine by beginning— um, I'm encouraging that by beginning a new chapter for the MT for Christ 247 podcast by producing my Purity series of semi-, semi-daily and encouragements as a vlog with the use of Zoom. Obviously, I'm gonna trip through navigating it a little bit. I even considered calling this chapter in the podcast Off the Deep End with M.t. Clark, but I'm not sure exactly how deep or how different my messages will be from before putting the video camera on. So I apologize in advance for the amateurish quality of our production and hope that the switch will not cause any interruption in what has been my faithfulness in delivering an encouraging word to you and myself every day, or nearly every day. Um, anyway, I wanted to announce, uh, and have already announced in the blog yesterday that the fall season of classes for the Freedom in Christ Ministries, um, for Freedom in Christ Ministries are now open for registration. As a Community Freedom Ministry associate and an online course facilitator for Freedom in Christ Ministries, I am excited over the possibilities, um, of growth that are available to the body of Christ through these courses. And I'm hopeful that the, the class I facilitate will be used by Christian— to teach Christian men about who they are in Christ and how they can experience their freedom in Christ. I've seen what the Lord can do through this material in my own life and in the lives of others and look forward to another Freedom Season kicking off the day, uh, after Labor Day. Um, let's see, uh, I also— the second announcement I wanted to, uh, the, the men's only— well, let's see, after I kicked off my classes after Labor Day, the only, um, the men's only Freedom in Christ course that I will host will be on Tuesday nights from 6:30 to 8:30 PM Eastern Time. And I encourage any men interested to go to the link on today's blog at mtforchrist.com. Um, to register for the class, and you just have to make sure you sign up for the Tuesday night men's only class to be in the group I lead. Uh, the second announcement I wanted to make is that the Celebrate Freedom Christian Recovery/Discipleship support group that I lead at Starpoint Church in Clifton Park, New York is scheduled to resume meetings in just over 2 weeks on Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 8:30 Eastern Time at the church on July 24th. Celebrate Freedom will be beginning again by walking through the Celebrate Recovery curriculum with Lesson 1 on Denial on the 24th. And I hereby invite anyone— the group is co-ed with separate men's and women's discussion groups— in the New York's Capital District region area who are seeking to grow in their Christian faith and want to be set free from their "hurts, habits, and hangups" to register to be part of the group by going to the link on the blog today. Okay, with that out of the way, I wanted to offer a general encouragement to the body of Christ, uh, today based on Matthew 5:14 and 16, where Jesus tells his disciples, you are the light of the world, like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see so that everyone will praise your Heavenly Father. This verse came to me this morning after one of my Christian life coaching clients reached out to me to share some of the difficulties they are having at work with, with what they described as a pretty toxic work environment, as their boss and one of their employees seem to have a strange relationship that are, that they, my client, is drawn into the middle of. Um, things are so bad that they're considering escaping the situation altogether by resigning. Um, while I certainly knew situations where walking away was necessary, I prayed about it and suggested that the Lord could use this situation to provide my client with an opportunity to grow. Through this difficult situation, my client could possibly grow in the areas of patience, presence, peacekeeping, gratitude, responding instead of reacting, uh, forgiveness, endurance, ministering to others' pain, and compassion. I particularly saw this volatile circumstance to be a great opportunity for them to practice benevolent detachment, where they let go and let God, where they stand in the middle of the storm but where they are not pulled into it emotionally. Um, honestly, What does your boss and your employee squabble have to do with you? Well, probably a lot, but you can minister to each of them and try to establish peace or just remain steady as they cycle through their drama. Easier said than done, perhaps, but this is what we do as quote-unquote enlightened Christians. We have the light of the world. We have Jesus as our teacher and his example and his lessons to teach us to love difficult people in difficult situations. To show compassion, to offer forgiveness, and to not let the negative circumstances that surround us steal our peace or joy. The knee-jerk reaction to hearing about problems is to tell people to flee, just get away, quit, you know, leave the problem situation. But Jesus didn't ultimately run away from trouble. He went into difficult situations and he brought wisdom and healing, and in the end, Even when staying meant it would cost him his life, he stayed knowing that the evil that men did to him was going to be used by the Father for good. So let the light of the world within you shine before men. Teach them what you know through your words, actions, and love. Be bold and courageous and know when to fight for righteousness and when to make peace with those who know not what they do. And the Lord has taught me how to be free and how to have peace and joy on a fairly consistent basis because of his presence in my life. So share the message of hope in Christ with others, but make sure you're applying it to your life and your problems first. That's how we shine. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Cruis. This morning's meditation verse comes from the section on false prophets and teachers, um, and we're sharing from Jeremiah 14:11-16 this morning, the ESV version, where the word of the Lord says, the Lord said to me, do not pray for the welfare of this people. Though they fast, they will not hear their— I will not hear their cry. And though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. Then I said, Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets say to them, you shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place. And the Lord said to me, the prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them to speak or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and deceit of their own minds. Therefore, thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although I did not send them, and who say sword and famine shall not come upon this land: By sword and famine these prophets shall be consumed, and the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword, with none to bury them— them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters— for I will pour out their evil upon them. Today's verses fall under the first point of our Counseling Reference Guide's resource section on false prophets and teachers, and that first point is: false prophets promise peace when there is no peace. They tell you that you can live in sin and God will not punish you. Today's verses are the Lord's warning to us about false prophets and teachers who deceive us into believing something that isn't true, or seek to use our faith against us to keep us asleep or passive in the midst of problems. Well, believe you me, I fully understand the volatile situations we face on the earth. I understand that you could accuse me of speaking peace, peace where there is no peace, but I am not pointing to some hopeful divine blessing, deliverance, or healing coming if you were— if you quote unquote believe, brother. I'm telling you to seek the Lord in his truth and ways for life as the pathway to peace. Unlike false prophets, I don't claim to know the outcomes of what will happen in your life. I am cautious to promise that everything is going to be okay when you follow the Lord. I don't guarantee healing or restoration of broken relationships or other things that have been lost. But I am pointing to the peace that comes from knowing that those things ultimately don't matter, and that is, that is experienced with dependence on God's strength, love, and guidance. That's the peace. Um, so we have to be aware of following any man who guarantees peace or prosperity, and instead need to follow Jesus and his example to know true peace that might not look so glamorous or come with the crowd's approval. As always, I invite all to go to mtforchrist.com, where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament by Stephen F. Alford. It's a collection of devotional journals from 1940 and '41, and in his devotionals, Alford shares— or prompts us to read a chapter of Scripture from the New Testament Every Day. And today's chapter is 2 Corinthians 6, and today's verse that he shares from is from verse 13. Uh, he shares a portion of it which says simply, you also be open. And Stephen Alford writes, it is not without significance that such words as these should precede a desert— a dissertation on separation. The apostle evidently looked upon those who frequented the idol houses or temples as narrow, limited tied by such worship as idol worship. And he pleads with them here to be open. The apostle testifies that his heart was open. The meaning of 'you also be open' is stipulated in the following verses. Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. This does not mean to not live among or preach to them. On the contrary, it means have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, Ephesians 5:11. And then he shares some scriptures here. Come out from among them, verse 17. Do not touch what is unclean, verse 17. Cleanse ourselves from all filthiness, 2 Corinthians 7:1. And Alfred ends his devotional sharing by praying, Lord, help me to guard my life and anoint my words and works that unbelievers might respond with open hearts. Amen. Amen. And yeah, anoint my works, uh, my words and my works that unbelievers might respond with open hearts. So when we run into difficult situations, um, we have to represent the kingdom by acting like a Christian and being patient and kind and not getting drawn into the drama between opposing parties, um, and declaring our own self-worth to be affected by all that. Oh, my boss doesn't like me, the employee under me doesn't like me, nobody likes me, I'm worthless. And, uh, that's not true. That's not what God says about it. God says you're accepted, secure, and significant in Christ. I go to the Who I Am in Christ list to get a full rendering of all that Dr. Nian Dershin shares from scripture on that point, um, and apply it to your life. Um, there's no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. Um, yeah, and so that's our instruction, and this is what we've learned. Um, you know, we're no guru, we just basically put the word of God into practice in our life as much as possible through repentance and, you know, meditating on the word and, and showing, you know, experiencing how it, how it helps. Um, I've walked through many dark days in my past, um, but I've walked out of the darkness into the Lord's light. Freedom from addiction, from alcohol, drugs, sex, and we're fighting the battle, the good, the good fight of food addiction. Um, where the latest, the latest wisdom I got is from, uh, I believe it's Dr. Michael Jones, um, who wrote a book on food addiction and, uh, The words that he spoke in an interview that I watched yesterday were, no exceptions. Ooh, that one's rough. Um, you know, just like an alcoholic who understands that they can make no exceptions in giving out into alcohol, food addicts have to, you know, similarly come to the realization that they should make no exceptions with the things that cause them to fall into bondage. Um, you know, the binge eating, um, those foods that, you know, attract you, that you know are no good, and, uh, that, you know, add up, adding pounds to your life and, uh, you know, pain to your stomach. Um, so yeah, that, that was convicted on me yesterday, so I'm sharing it today. Anyway, I got to keep these messages short because I have to. I have a day job. Uh, basically, I'm not a Christian life coach full-time. It's just a part-time thing, and my ministry is all part-time as well. Including the blog and now the vlog. So, uh, let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you so much for all that you do for us. Um, Lord, we pray for, uh, we pray for anyone watching, listening, or reading the blog today, that they'd be blessed, uh, that you come alongside them and their prayer request and their walk of faith. And Lord, while you're at it, we ask for your help too. Um, Lord, we— all we want to do is represent you in your kingdom And we desperately need your help with that. So we're asking you to go before us today, open our eyes to the things you want us to see, and lead us in the way we should go. Because all we want to do is, uh, do your will on earth. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, and we love you. And we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.