Importance of Glancing Back To Move Forward Purity 821

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning! Today's photo of the setting sun sinking into a cloud near the lighthouse on Lake Ontario comes to us from Celestial Blue Photography, as I decided to do a quantum leap backwards in time and discovered this awesome scene in my phone's photo archive that they must have shared on social media back on July 31st, 2021. To the best of my knowledge, I didn't share this site last year and am glad I decided to intentionally look back a year ago to see if there was— were any hidden gems in the photo archive that I didn't share and discovered this one. And I thought this sunset photo was a good one to visually represent the sun setting on my summer vacation as we have made it to the weekend and and I actually have to work today as a pizza delivery guy at the restaurant my wife manages. Excuse me, pizza delivery guy manages a restaurant? Your wife? Yep, uh, these things are all true this weekend, but absolutely none of these little facts were, were true a year ago. And going back a year on my phone, the sheer magnitude of what has transpired over the last year has really come to focus. The bottom line: God is so good. This trip down memory lane started as I decided— it started yesterday, actually, as I decided to mow the lawn at my, my house down by the river and to burn some brush that I had cleared and left from the last time I decided to light up the burning barrel. Whenever I do work on my property and look over the grounds and see the river rolling by just across the highway, I am always reminded of just just how good God was to bring me to the little white house that provided a safe haven for my children and I from my former life and the madness of 2020. So I wasn't surprised when I was overwhelmed by the strange mixture of joy, sadness, triumph, and gratitude that the reflection on my traumatic journey from married man to single dad, in which I lost so much of what I had and who I was But the Lord was with me, and as I marveled and wept over the hard road traveled and the freedom and victories won, I couldn't help but acknowledge my God and say, we did it, Lord, we did it. So that happens. Your survived traumas will spill out from time to time. But honestly, in my case, there is a lot less lamenting about the past as there is glorying in having fought for my new life and being able to share the experience with the Lord as I did what I could, and he was there to keep me company and to work a wonder or two along the way. But guess what? The wonders haven't stopped. This morning's little trip back in my photo archive has shown me that in the last year, Tammy Lynn went from being a student in my discipleship classes to my friend, to my girlfriend, to my fiancée, to my wife. And in that, and in that time, she has moved from one job to another to this latest adventure in restaurant management, and I have decided to support her and to be with her as, as we both work together. Um, beyond that, I saw in my photos, um, one of my photos was of me setting up my laptop at my previous church to do my first Freedom in Christ class last September at my local church. And, and now I facilitate the Freedom in Christ course for Freedom in Christ Ministries nationwide via Zoom. In this same year, the Sankatis and I have taken our Bible study podcast to video that I share on the M.t. Clark 24/7 YouTube channel. These things and others have all happened over the last year, and while I, I think that is all pretty amazing, I can tell you that things like these things have happened, have been happening ever since I made Jesus my Lord and Savior and decided to try to live my life as a disciple of Christ, a follower of Jesus. This is what happens when you surrender to the Lordship of Christ. Things happen, things change, transformation happens. When you walk in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit will guide you and change your life by showing you who you are in Christ and by showing you the meaning and purpose of your life. So I have to ask, where were you a year ago? Why don't you take a look back in your photo archive and see what the Lord has moved you through in the last year to gauge whether you st— you are still at the same place or if you have come to something new? The mere fact that we live should be celebrated. Every year there are more and more people that are taken into eternity. But we remain. So even if we— if you don't— if you haven't had big changes in your life, uh, you can be grateful that the Lord has protected you and guided you to this place today. There is always something to be thankful for, and we are commanded to be thankful when we walk with the Lord. So keep walking and talking with God. He has a meaning and a purpose for your life that he wants you to discover. Uh, and even if we look back and see that we may have lost some things along the way, or we have stepped off the path and been distracted from what we wanted to accomplish and failed to make the progress that we would have liked to make, let me encourage you, the Lord is with us and our journey isn't over yet. So whether the last year was a whirlwind of success or a traumatic walk through loss or something in between, Rejoice, because you and the Lord did it. You either thrived or survived, but either way, you and the Lord did it. So enjoy this last weekend in August to celebrate the summer and all that the Lord has brought you through. A new season is coming, and brothers and sisters, I for one can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for us next. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verse is Romans 1:16, and it says, for I am not ashamed of this good news about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes, the Jew first and also the Gentile. Today's verse reminds us not to be ashamed of the good news about Christ because it because it is the power of God at work in our lives to save all who believe. Today's verse and our resource— today's verse was in our resource under the heading, 'When You Need the Power of God to Make a Lasting Change.' And I couldn't agree more at the implications of sharing Romans 1:16 for the— for those who seek God's power to change, because it details the first step to make a change that will literally last forever. The good news of Jesus Christ has the power of God at work to do what? To save. And the power of the good news of Christ begins and continues in our lives when we believe. It is because of grace and through faith in Jesus Christ, uh, that we are saved from the wrath of God doing wrath of God and are adopted into God's kingdom. And it is through faith that we can see God's power go to work in our lives. When we believe, we will talk to God in prayer to make our requests known and to listen for guidance. We will read his word to know him, to know him and his will for us, and to have our minds renewed. We will work to fix our problems in our lives according to who we are in Christ, and we will seek to help others and to walk into the good works that God has prepared for us. So yes, the power of God at work in our lives begins when we believe and make Christ our Lord and Savior. But the power of God in our lives doesn't stop there. God's grace, his divine favor, is with us from here to eternity, and it will bless us as we faithfully follow the Lord's will for our lives. So don't be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Share it with others, because the power of God will be experienced in your life when you believe and seek his purposes for your life. As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org, 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 Clinton Arnold's Powers of Darkness. And today we conclude chapter 14 with the last section about the influences of the powers in the world, with the section called The Powers Seek to Hinder the Mission of the Church. Jesus famously said that this is my church, and even, you know, hell can't— won't prevail against it. But it doesn't mean the powers of darkness are going to stop, uh, to try to hinder it. Anyway, so if you, if you're interested in, in that topic, um, go to mt4christ.org and you'll find that, um, entry at the bottom of today's blog post. Um, well, yeah, well, today is officially, I guess, the end of my vacation. Uh, the weekend, basically, you know, I wouldn't normally be scheduled to work, um, at my day job So in essence, really, that final week of your vacation, it's sort of over in general. But if you disagree, it's really over for me because I'm actually working a shift at the restaurant to deliver pizzas and food from 2 to 8 today. So, you know, I can really make a great case for saying my vacation's over because I'm actually working today. But like I said, by, by just reflecting on those facts of where I am today, I— and deciding to look back a year, I can see, wow, things change in life. And I don't know, I think that's more true than not. You know, I don't think anyone stays still. Even if you think you do, you need to go back and look. As you know, people go through, through, through troubles and trials, and people die, and a lot can happen in a year. And, uh, you know, things change. Yesterday I was driving up to, uh, up to my wife's place where I am now in our countryside home, um, and I happened to see, uh, on the highway, I looked to my right and there was a bus with a big advertisement on it. And the advertisement was some sort of, uh, thank you, uh, to essential workers or something. Uh, on the picture, uh, of this, uh, this, this ad, this bus-sized ad was, was a picture of the Statue of Liberty face, and the Statue of Liberty was wearing a surgical mask. And I thought to myself when I saw that, I said, this is like a cartoon, this is like Crazy Land, you know. This is— we've, you know, since 2020, the mask is a normal thing. And, you know, to, to imagine seeing that you know, that image in my life prior to 2020 would have been like watching a science fiction show. Um, in fact, I remember, uh, a series called Heroes, and it was all about these people with special abilities or whatever. And one of the timelines in this— and the series was about a disease coming and, and a plague coming or something.. And, uh, you know, when I watched that show years and years before 2020, you know, it was just science fiction. Oh yeah, like, you know, 12 Monkeys or something like that, where a disease comes in and, you know, causes devastation. Now you can have your varying opinions on the devastation caused by COVID-2020, and you can have your conspiracy theories, but, uh, um, The, you know, the fact is things have changed dramatically and forever, um, as now we, um, apparently can test for the common cold, call it COVID, or call it monkeypox, or call it tomato flu, or whatever. And now, you know, it's not just the weather anymore, uh, or the sports that are in the news that, uh, the, the new, the latest disease. Um, the disease of the day is, is always in vogue. Um, apparently I don't watch the news, but even I who don't watch the news get enough, um, just from social media to see that these things are out there and that people are very concerned about them. Um, I, on the other hand, believe that, and I know that the Lord is with me and that He'll guide me and protect me and have me live as long as he wants on this earth. And, uh, if he wants me to get sick and die, I'll get sick and die. If he wants me to get sick and well, I'll get sick and get well. If he doesn't want me to get sick at all, I won't get sick. If he wants me to live a long life, I'll live a long life. If he wants me to die suddenly, I'll die suddenly. Um, but the one thing I know because of that good news of Jesus Christ is that I will never die. Um, I gotta go back to— I love John 11. Uh, Christ says to Martha, I am the resurrection, the life. Those who believe in me will never die. You know, so, uh, we don't have to fear death. And the great thing is, you know, my testimony shows that we have the power to change. We don't have to stay where we were when Christ showed up. Um, he wants us to follow him He gives us the Holy Spirit when we believe in him, and that is to guide our life. Now, we can quench the Spirit by not obeying, not listening, not inquiring, not seeking, um, but I wouldn't recommend it. And, you know, I hate to say it, that our church culture sometimes, sometimes get in the way too. You know, being a Christian is not just about going to church and sitting in a pew or even in a nice auditorium where there's a lively worship band, um, you know, and doing that for an hour, and then, you know, just going back to your normal, quote-unquote, normal life, um, you've had an encounter with the Lord. You know, he called you into eternity, and he wants you to know him, and he wants you to follow him, and he wants you to find your meaning and purpose in this life. And it doesn't have to be complicated, but Wow, if we answer the call to follow him and to seek to know him and know who we are in Christ, amazing things can happen. This has happened ever since I said yes to Jesus in a parking lot in 2010. Little by little, bit by bit, it could have been a much, uh, a much more robust journey, I'm sure, if I had followed more sooner But it is what it is. That's the wonder of the Lord. He'll let you follow him at your pace. He's not going to rip you, you know, he's not going to force you anywhere. So it's an invitation. Do you want to follow the Lord to what he has for your life, or do you want to just do what this world has told you you are and given you to do? Do you want to live for a higher purpose? Do you want to live for God? Um, I would, I would invite you to say yes to that question and to, to do it. And, um, what is he talking about? Well, if you don't know, um, I tried, tried to help by sharing some teachings from 2021, that class that I set up for, um, in the fall of 2021. Um, there's audio recordings of, of all the classes I did from 2021 on my podcast. And, uh, it's not like I have great wisdom, I just shared somebody else's. Um, you know, I shared Dr. Neil Anderson's, um, work on Victory Over the Darkness, The Bondage Breaker, and Freedom in Christ, um, all of which are, you know, based on the word of God. And they show us that there is a spiritual reality out there that we're that we're engaged with. And, um, basically that, um, we've been given the victory and the freedom because of our faith in Christ. But we don't know that, and it's not necessarily taught in all our churches. So I invite you to check those out and to, you know, seek out your freedom in Christ. Your— all your spiritual and personal conflicts, your emotional troubles, um, you know the sense of purpose are all fulfilled in Jesus. So I encourage you to check those out and follow the Lord or seek the Lord. My one bit of advice that will never change: seek the Lord. When you, when you do, you'll find him, and you'll be amazed at where he'll take you. So that's that. He's going to take me to a pizza place today. I don't know how that works exactly, but You know, you go where you go, and we'll see what happens. I don't know if that'll last for a long time or, or not. I don't know. But my wife is there. It's Saturday. She's got to work on Saturday, and I want to be with her or around her or near her. And so I follow where the Lord, you know, the Lord brought this woman in my life. I want to, you know, support her and love her as I'm supposed to as a husband. Um, love, love my wife like Christ loved the church. And I want to help her and be alongside her as she walks through this journey too. It's just as crazy for her as it is for me. Whew! But it's good, without a doubt. And so it's okay to look back at your past, but it's time to leave it where it was and to walk where Christ has you. Yeah, that's about it. Um, I mentioned our Bible study podcast as well, so you can check out that, the Bible Study with the Sincatis, if you want to hear what, what it's like to have people talk about the word of God. Um, and I invite you to check out the word of God and read it daily. This is what disciples do. We do the practices of a disciple— prayer and Bible study and just seeking to do his will. With every area of our lives. So it's a good journey, and I invite you to it. Um, and, uh, yeah, that's all I'll say about that. And let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you for everything you did in the last 365 days and beyond, um, the way you took us from brokenness and darkness to life and, uh, life more abundantly. And how that still plays out in our lives today. There are still areas of struggle and areas of, you know, problems and tribulations in all our lives, but with you, Lord, we can— we can do it. We did it with you, Lord. We can do it. Um, we'll do our part and you do yours, and, uh, we'll see where it takes us, Lord. We just thank you so much for you being with us and showing us the truth and saving us and putting your power in our lives. Lord, we pray for everyone listening today. We thank you so much for their their faithfulness, uh, to, to care, to follow you, um, and to, uh, to be guided by you for their lives. Lord, we just pray for you to come alongside their prayer request and give them spiritual knowledge and insights as they go, um, because that's what you do. You provide for us, Lord, and you work wonders in our lives. Lord, we just thank you so much for all you do. We pray that you go before us today to open our eyes to things we need to see and do, and, uh, help guide us into the things that we can do to best represent you on the earth, as we want more and more people to know just how good you are, Lord, and that Jesus is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is here to guide us. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.