Memorial Day Rejoice with those who Rejoice, Mourn with those who Mourn Purity 1054

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 flowers and a trio of American flags at the base of a tree at, at the Hudson River Park with the river that flows two ways, the mighty Hudson, or as the people who were native to the land called it, Mahicantuck. In the background under a rather gray and somber sky comes to us from Tara Becker, who shared this picture of the tree dedicated to her father, H. Foster Hettichheimer Jr., on social media a few days ago, remembering all who served and sacrificed for our great country this Memorial Day. Tara's father's memorial stone at the base of the tree reveals that one of her dad's encouragements in life was 'One day at a time,' advice those of us in recovery know is true wisdom and words that stuck with Tara as she has decided to honor her father faithfully through the years since his passing. As the stone also declares, that it will be the 10th anniversary of his death this October, proving that love endures beyond this, this, beyond death, beyond death. And although our departed loved ones may be gone, they are not forgotten. Well, it is Saturday, and before my wife and I take our heavy backpacks and slowly walk off the grid into the woods on our way to the Nennerod Cabin somewhere in the wilderness of the Merck Forest and Farmland Center in Rupert, Vermont, uh, for two nights, we will have the privilege of playing a small part in honoring and remembering those who died while serving our country in the armed forces by decorating servicemen's graves at a local cemetery with other volunteers from Operation Adopt a Soldier. In honor of Memorial Day, I'm sharing a link to history.com's article on Memorial Day and an article from Jessica Manfrey's I'm sharing, yeah, from her called Memorial Day: It's Not Just for Service Members Lost in Combat, where she makes the— that makes the appeal for Memorial Day to be a day that we also acknowledge the loss of those who have died while serving in training exercises, accidents, or suicides. There is always some confusion over Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and July 4th as we as each one of these holidays often come with sentiments to remember the dead who served either in combat, um, while on active duty, or, or afterwards in peacetime. Technically, from what I could gather researching this morning, Monday's holiday, Memorial Day, is to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars. Based on that quote from the history.com article, it sounded like Memorial Day is specifically though for for those who died in combat or while serving at any time, as our military is always at war in some sense, as it in the Cold War or the War on Terror, or philosophically as the war to protect our freedom. According to an article from CNN, Veterans Day is the day to honor all who have served in the military. Presumably living or dead, and I would imagine we can include those we honor on Memorial Day to the mix. So they get two days for their one ultimate sacrifice, and rightfully so. Independence Day, July 4th, although commonly associated with the military due to the military guns and cannons and fireworks often fired to celebrate it, is not military affiliated. Independence Day is the day we celebrate our nation's independence and freedom, as July 4th, 1776 was the day the 13 colonies, the United States, declared independence from Great Britain by signing the Declaration of Inter— and a Declaration of Independence. However, when we come to celebrate our nation's independence, it's not surprising when we pass along our thanks to those serving or who have served our country in the military, or when we pause to remember those who have died in combat or later in peacetime who served. Although I present all this, the specific differences here, I do so for the sake of clarity and my only— and my own curiosity and reeducation. I will definitely not be the guy to correct those who either want to give thanks or honor to living, active, retired, or dead servicemen on Memorial Day, these other holidays, and any other day of the— or any other day for that matter. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. So if you want to give thanks to servicemen or anyone else for that matter, don't let proper protocol stop you from doing that. We are to be thankful in all circumstances, and I think it's expected to express our thankfulness, to give credit to those for the things they do, and to give God glory for putting the desire to do good things in the heart the hearts of those who do them. And as for whether Memorial Day should be grave, uh, be a grave or happy affair, we look to Romans 12:15 that tells us to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. As people will be gathering for parades, parties, and memorial services this holiday weekend, let's follow the word of God and be aware of our surroundings and act accordingly to show our love for others. If we encounter people who are mourning a loss, any loss, or grieving the death of a loved one, military service person or otherwise, let's be compassionate and offer our silent presence, our help, our guidance, or our hope as the Lord leads you. There are no pat answers on how to help people in their grief. Every situation is different, but we do well when we show our care and concern for the other person by listening to them and by asking them and the Lord in prayer how to best serve them in their grief. And as for people rejoicing, join in, uh, with the frivolity of the moment by being spontaneous, but be careful not to get too carried away by entering into sin or overindulging in things that will make you cause will cause you to regret it later. Also use the time of happiness with others to give thanks to the LORD and to guide those around you to see just how good God is all the time. The ultimate sacrifice that people have made for our country naturally can lead us to remember the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross to save us all, American or otherwise. So as you are called to mourn or rejoice this weekend, be sure to be discerning and to discern the situation. But if you get the chance and the Lord leads you, tell people of the One who overcame death and the grave and of the great hope of everlasting life that comes to all who put their faith in Jesus Christ. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verses are: Philippians 2:9-11. And the word of God says, therefore God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other, all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Today's verses remind us that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that he has been given the highest place of honor and the name that is above all other names. As much as I love my country and appreciate the sacrifices of those who live and die to uphold its freedom, I know who is supreme. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and that he has been given the highest honor and authority above all others. Worldly empires rise and fall, and I shudder to think what that might mean for America and its future. But whether I live to see a day where the United States of America would pass away or not, I know that being a member of God's kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ trumps all earthly allegiances, as one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. So no matter where you stand politically, let's recognize, uh, that Jesus is above every other name, kingdom, or principality. And let's also always seek to serve his kingdom first. As always, I invite all to go to mtforchrist.org, where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians, um, to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from A.W. Pink's The Sovereignty of— well, no, it's not The Sovereignty of God, it's The Holy Spirit. And today we're sharing from chapter 5, The Covenant Offices of the Holy Spirit, and we're sharing the basic definitions there, uh, that, uh, so it's a short portion of chapter 5, uh, of that book. And if you want to check it out, it's at the end of today's blog post on— at mtforchrist.org. Well, it is, uh, Saturday, and I have to get ready because we're gonna We're gonna give honor to the servicemen in our local cemetery by putting out American flags. Um, honestly, I don't know if they were— you know, when it comes to something like this, you're like, well, are we going to only decorate the ones who died in combat? I don't know. I'm going to ask. Um, I honestly don't know, but I don't think it matters. Um, but I, but I will be asking that question of someone and And whether or not I ever get back to you on that, I guess we'll see when I get out of the woods on Tuesday, as I don't expect to be doing a podcast on Monday for Memorial Day. That's why we offered up today's Memorial Day message, just to encourage you to give honor and respect and to have some fun. This weekend if you can, whatever, you know, where appropriate. Um, yeah, so I am really concerned about getting ready and going, so I, I'm going to cut it, uh, cut it short. I will point in the direction of our YouTube channel and our podcast to check out our discipleship teachings on Victory Over the Darkness, The Bondage Breaker, and Freedom in Christ. If you want to be equipped, and also our weekly Bible study that we won't be doing this weekend with Bible study with the Zinkatis. So that's some, some of the material beyond these daily or almost daily encouragements we give to point you towards a life of surrendered discipleship to, to that King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ. You know, this world You know, Christ— the Bible tells us that Christ will come back to rule and reign on the earth. So whether or not the nations stand the way they currently are is highly debatable, but we know who will be in charge, and that's Jesus Christ. So even though we love our country, we should recognize who's, who's, who's top dog and who gave us the real freedom that we have, the freedom that lasts forever and ever. His kingdom, the freedom over sin and death. That's real freedom that comes only through Jesus Christ. So we lift him high today and always as our Lord and Savior. And so let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, thank you for this long holiday weekend. Lord, we pray for those who, who are remembering those who are lost or grieving a loss today, whether it was a serviceman or not. Lord, when we lose people in our lives, we, we hurt because of the love we have for them. And we know you wept when your friends died, and so you can understand. Um, and I know you, um, you long for everyone to be saved. So we pray for the people who are hurting. We pray for you to come alongside them. We pray for you you come alongside anyone who's listening and reading this message, Lord, that you bless them and their prayer request and help them in their walk. And, uh, Lord, as always, we, we pray for you to go before us today, to keep me and my wife safe as, uh, we, we journey into the wilderness. Um, make our steps sure. Um, protect and guide us and, um, keep us in the bonds of peace as we try to keep you at the focus of our, uh, of our marriage and, uh, of every day of our lives, uh, Lord. So we pray for you to go before us. We pray for you to open our eyes to the things you want us to see, and we pray for you to lead us in the way you would have us go, Lord, because all we want to do is represent your kingdom and, uh, and to make Jesus Christ known throughout the earth. So, Lord, we thank you, we praise you, and we love you. We pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.