Never Too Late How To Endure Life's Storm's - (A Mindful of Christ Special Edition)

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Hello all, this is M.t. Clark. I had a situation that prevented me from sharing my normal Purity blog post and podcast today, but decided to share the latest blog post from mindfulofchrist.net's Lauren Roskillie because we like to provide encouragement for for the path of Christian discipleship 24/7 after all, and I figured I would use a little help from my friends rather than leave a blank space on the blog today. So the following is some solid encouragement from Mindful of Christ that can be seen in its original form at the link I am sharing on the blog. And we're just gonna read it. Basically, Lauren's post today is called "How to Withstand Life's Storms." And it is a study of Matthew 7, uh, verses 24 through 27 on how to withstand white life storms. Get to know, trust, and apply the security and foundation of Jesus Christ. Anyone— and we read from Matthew 7:24 through 27— anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock. Against— but anyone who hears my teaching and doesn't obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash. And that was Matthew 7:24-27. How to withstand life storms. Lauren Ross Killey writes, I expect you are well aware that in this life you will get stuck with problems, difficulties, sickness, stress. In other words, life's storms. Whether you are a Christian or not, you will go through these one time or another. But also, the closer we get to God, the more likely you are to experience life storms or even attacks from the enemy. Satan, which can be known as spiritual warfare, as referred to in Ephesians 6. Either way, the only way for you to endure, survive, and withstand life's storms is by building your house on a solid rock. But what does that— but what does this mean? Your house represents your life, mindset, morals, actions, trust, and most importantly, faith. The solid rock is a metaphor for Jesus Christ. So in short, if you believe in Jesus and fully trust him with your life, then no matter what happens to you or around you, you will be able to stand firm, be strong, and remain faithful. In other words, faith in Jesus will improve and strengthen your resilience to life's storms. Jesus doesn't just leave it at that. In these verses in Matthew, he explains exactly how You are to hear the words of Jesus and act on them. This means to listen to Jesus too. Therefore, read the Gospels. There you will see how Jesus behaves, acts, and what he says and teaches. He is the perfect example for you, literally. Then, when you do this, you will be like a wise man, a farsighted, practical, and sensible man who built his house on the rock. In fact, it even goes on to say that those who hear these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish or stupid man who built his house on the sand. Ouch! Though we can't argue with that. How do you actively live like Christ, like Jesus? It's not just the behaviors and thinking that that we should not, we should not do. For instance, and she shares Colossians 3:5, 8, and 9, which state sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires, and covetousness, which is idolatry, anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk from your mouth, and do not lie. And she also shares Galatians 5:17 through 17:19-21. The desires of the flesh are against the spirit, and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. And Warren continues to write, but also the behavior and way of living that we should do. So those are the things— those lust of the flesh obviously were the things we should not do, or the way we should not think. Um, but you know, just not doing it's not enough. We have to also, as Lauren writes, also, you know, do the behaviors and way of living that we should do, which is number 1, love God first, and she references Deuteronomy 6:5. Love one another, Matthew 22:39. Pray without ceasing, 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Number 4, giving God worship and praise, Deuteronomy 10:20. 5. Share the gospel and your testimony. Mark 16:15. 6. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18. 7. Display the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. That's Galatians 5:22-23, the fruit of the Spirit. And number 8, make the right choices. Let God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit guide you. And she shares Romans 12:2 as the reference for that. In addition to that, it's also about the way we think too. What is your mind full of? Is your focus or of attention on life storms, difficulties, problems, self, other idols, or distractions? Or is it on Jesus, your firm foundation, the only one who is consistent, reliable, and unchanging? Learn to change your focus away from what's preventing your growth and onto Jesus. Notice when you— your thoughts are distracted or bringing you down. Catch them, then actively change your focus and attention onto Jesus. And Lauren shares another blog post there, um, basically about changing your focus, the link of which is on the blog for Psalm 4. And so she concludes by saying, so by focusing on being like and trusting in Jesus Christ, you will establish a firm and solid foundation. And this is exactly how you withstand life's storms. You need additional help with breaking old habits and behaviors? Well, you can share— you can check out Lauren's latest book, Breaking Chains, basically. And I'm sharing that for the, uh, I'm sharing the link for that, um, from Amazon's UK. Um, anyway, that's all Lauren has to write about Withstanding God's Storms. I would like to thank Lauren Ross Killey for her positive message, testimony, and witness for the Kingdom of God. You can check out all she does, she has to offer, by going to mindfulofchrist.net. As for me, I should be back at the normal Purity Series of Christian Encouragements tomorrow morning. Until then, keep walking and talking with God on the path of Christian discipleship.