Look on Your Works and Despair but look on God’s Work and Rejoice! Purity 902

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or look at— or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning. Today's photo of the Hudson River being diverted into what becomes Champlain Canal underneath a sunset sky featuring pink clouds reflected in the surface of the waters as the Hudson pours into itself comes to us from yours truly as I captured the scene on Saturday's walk at Hudson Crossing Park in Schuylerville. If you have never been there, this is quite a scene to behold as the workings of man and the creation of God come together to give the Lord glory, as this man-made dividing line that creates a waterfall where naturally there wouldn't be one. Unpictured in this photo, there are also large stone monoliths in the waters of the Hudson towards the right that once were the supports of a trolley bridge that is no longer there. And I am including a couple of photos that attest to their existence on the blog today if you want to see what I'm talking about. Without the bridge, these stone pillars seem to be the remnant of some long-lost pagan society. But instead of pointing to some pagan god, they actually bear witness to the futility utility of the works of man's hands as time has erased what these pillars were placed for. They look like something out of the Lord of the Rings, and they remind me of the Percy Bysshe Shelley poem Ozymandias, which says, I met a traveler from an antique land who said, two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, half-sunk, a shattered visage lies whose frown and wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, tell that its sculptor well those passions red which yet survive stamped on these lifeless things, the hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed. And on the pedestal these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing besides remains round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare. The lone and level sands stretch far away. As mighty as that trolley bridge must have seemed in its heyday, it now itself has faded away, leaving behind the stone pillars that man traveled over. Just like the mighty works of King Ozymandias, the trolley bridge that once crossed cross the Hudson River is gone and testifies to man's inadequacy to create anything that will last forever. Well, it's hump day, and I thought today's photo was a good visual representation of us pouring over the midweek summit of the last day of November of 2022. The month of November couldn't last either, and tomorrow we enter into Christmas month, December, and as we should do And as we, as we do, we should recall the actual King of Kings, Jesus Christ, and not Ozymandias. Sorry, whoever you were. Okay, I did look it up, and apparently Ozymandias was a Greek name for the Pharaoh Ramses II, who ruled Egypt from 1279 to 1213 BC. Although he ruled for 66 years, a long time for sure by human standards, he He is just a footnote in human history, and his power is gone. Other than being remembered by Shelley's poem, the historical record, and statue fragments and relics in museums, Ramesses II and his kingdom didn't last. Remembering something like this, a king who ruled for nearly 70 years and who has been forgotten by most of us, could cause us to despair. I'm not a king. And there are no statues of me, and it is doubtful that any of my writings will be remembered over 3,000 years from now. Time passes so quickly, and where will we be in another 50 years? While I could live to see 100, the insurance actuaries would bet against it. If no one remembers my name or work, what will happen? I don't even know the names of my great-grandparents. Will I just disappear forever as my bones turn to dust and all the things I touch with my hands also fades away? Pretty depressing thoughts, right? So why am I filled with joy? Because I know the Truth, capital T Truth, Jesus Christ. Yeah, the telling of history and what we can figure out with our own observations can lead us to draw some very logical and very dismal projections for the future. The History Channel's show, The Universe, has an episode called "The Death of the Universe," I recall, that spelled out the scientific quote-unquote facts that the stars would someday burn out and the universe will fade to black, leaving everything and everyone dead. But while this is very logical, the thing that people forget is that our existence doesn't make any sense. The universe exploded into being out of nothing and is still expanding. God is still creating, and he sent Jesus Christ to tell us that what seems natural and logical will be interrupted by the one who built this thing in the first place. Revelation speaks of a new heaven and a new earth after Jesus returns and rules the earth for 1,000 years. So hold on to your hats. They say it ain't over until it's over, and apparently life will never end, as God is eternal and is over and above the created universe. And those who enter into his eternal kingdom by putting their faith in Jesus Christ alone will be with him for eternity, not 66 years, forever and ever. I always point to Christ's words in John 11 where he said, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? Well, do you? Because you should. Christ proved he was God after saying this by raising Lazarus from the dead. And if that wasn't enough, shortly thereafter, Christ himself was raised from the dead. Hey God, hey guys, that's God over there. Jesus is the Son of God and God the Son. Believe on Him and live. Dig on His mighty works and tremble. But you don't have to be afraid. He calls us to believe in Him and live. If we are trembling, it should be in response to the incredible joy that comes from knowing that we found the answer to everything. We found eternal life. In Christ. So as we leave what is forecasted to be the November rain behind today, let's rejoice because we know the truth. We know the real King of Kings, and we— and when we know that, we can have peace and joy all the days of our lives here on Earth because we know there is more to this life than meets the eye, and we have been blessed to know it. So keep walking and talking with God. He doesn't go away. And when you— we put our faith in Christ, we don't go away either. So you might as well get to know the one who will never leave us or forsake us, and the one who gave us a hope for all time by learning about him and telling him the things he already knows about you. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verse is Matthew 16:25, and the word says, "If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it." Today's verse reminds us that we cannot hold on to our lives, and it is only in surrendering our lives to God that we will not lose the life we have. Enough said. No matter, no matter what we believe We build in this life. Time and history shows us that the material things we create, all our stuff, will most likely turn to dust. Scripture tells us that our works don't cut it. It is through faith alone, in Christ alone, that we are to be forgiven of our sins and given new eternal lives. So what are you living for? Some fat retirement? To leave some money for your kids who will spend it. While this is a nice thing to do, its impact will be finite. The money will be spent, and no matter how cherished and cared for your family heirlooms are, eventually they will be given to someone who doesn't know you and doesn't care and will sell them or throw them in the trash. Don't put your faith in your stuff. That's hanging on to your life. These things are idols and need to be seen has that. I have a lot of things I like, and I would be sad to part with them, but if God told me to get rid of them, see ya, including my life. Whoa, don't get it twisted, I am not running after martyrdom or anything like that, but if, if we properly understand who we are in Christ and the implications of eternity in God's kingdom we will realize that we don't really own anything. Everything has been given to us through God. So start giving up your life for the Lord's sake, and you won't waste your life in silly pursuits that won't last. You will save your life in the pursuits that give God glory, and not for nothing, could result in sweet eternal rewards. Just saying. But God is His own reward. He is the only thing that matters, and He will spend— and we will spend eternity with Him. So surrender to His will and discover what life is all about, and watch as the fruit of the Spirit grow in 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 Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Discipleship, also known as The Cost of Discipleship. And today we continue in The Messengers, Bonhoeffer's interpretation of Matthew 10, with The Decision, which covers the verses, let's see, Matthew 10:26-39. So if you want to see those verses and see Bonhoeffer's interpretation of them, Go to mtforchrist.org and you'll see those, that resource at the end of today's blog post. As always, we share these resources to encourage people in their walk. We found them valuable in our walk and so we pass them along to you. And we also pass along our discipleship teachings. You know, how do you live this Christian life? How do you become an authentic Christian? Well, unfortunately, it might not be the result of following what you're priest or pastor says at church. It might be a matter of following God and wherever he leads you by knowing the word of God and applying it to your life. How do you do that? Well, um, one of the things that I learned, or some of the things I learned, are contained in the teachings I, I share online and in the podcast. Um, so if you're interested, uh, on the podcast M.t. Clark Christ 24/7. We have teachings on the Victory Over the Darkness, the Bondage Breaker, and Freedom in Christ, which are, you know, gleaned from the Word of God and the work of Dr. Neil Anderson. So if you want, you know, we encourage you to check those out, because when you know who you are in Christ, that's when you discover your freedom in Christ, and life changes dramatically. And while it might not always be good, it's definitely for the best, as our lives are spent— are created by God and are properly to be spent in His service and in His kingdom. And only when we deny that and try to live our own life do we, do we suffer loss. Um, so don't do that. Don't live a selfish life. Live yourself for God, you know, and, uh, in his presence. And you'll find the peace that goes beyond all understanding that the Bible talks about. Speaking of what the Bible talks about, we normally do a Bible study once a week, but our traveling— our, our brother in Christ is actually traveling. Arthur Sintadi is on the road. I believe he's headed home. And, uh, we do do a Bible study called Bible study with us in Khadis, uh, that we release once a week normally. Um, but, uh, so we're, we're prayerful that he'll make it back and author a new Bible study, and we'll have that to, uh, to, to, to do on Sunday morning. Um, but we do have all the previous Bible studies that we have on the podcast. So if you want to hear what a couple of Christians, or a few Christians, have to say about the things of life and the word of God. We do topical Bible studies, and there's a whole archive of them available on the podcast and our YouTube channel called Bible Study with the Cincatis. So if you want to hear people muse on the things of God and the word of God, um, you know, check us out. Um, we just want to encourage you in your faith because we know what this world's like. We know how cold and angry and bitter it can be. And we've discovered the joy and freedom and peace that comes from following the Lord and just living a life of Christian discipleship. Doesn't, you know, do away with all our problems, and, you know, life can be an up-and-down struggle. But, you know, when we're walking and talking with God all the time, our life— we reflect all the time that our life is good. And it's not some Christian cliché, it's an experiential reality. So we invite you into that, that journey by stepping onto the path of Christian discipleship. Now, discipleship isn't bowing down to a fellow man. It's bowing down to your purpose in Christ and following it wherever it leads, following God's will for your life to change and be conformed to his image and discover your work here on earth, whatever that might be. So we encourage you to be bold and courageous and pursue the new life you have in Christ, pursue your freedom in Christ, and pursue your purpose in Christ. And by taking on the hard challenges that, you know, beset you, whether it's sin or, you know, work that needs to be done, or, you know, the care of others, it's best done in the company of the Lord. So we encourage you to go that way. So let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, thank you for the The fact that we'll never die when we know You, that You will welcome us into eternity for Your purposes, and we can't even begin to imagine what that'll be like, but we're assured by You that it'll be good, and we trust You, Lord. So, Lord, as we go through today, we're praying for some situations that don't look so hopeful, that look pretty sad on our side of the fence, but Lord, we know You're there. And we pray for you to, to come in and, and to either change the situations or help us to accept them, whatever they may be. So, uh, we pray for you to come alongside our prayer request. And Lord, we're praying for the people that might be listening or reading this message. We pray for them to be, uh, blessed by you and that you would come alongside them in their walk and in their prayer request as well. Lord, uh, as always, we pray for you to go before us today Open our eyes to the things You need us to see. Help us to see the things You would have us do and help us to do them. Um, Lord, we're not doing this thing by ourselves anymore. We desperately need Your help and assistance and wisdom to guide our path. So we trust that You'll provide it and we're ready to receive it as we walk through this day. Because all we want to do is represent You and Your kingdom and give You glory. Lord, we thank you so much for the gift you've given us. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.