Power Moves from the Weakest of the Weak Purity 909

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 a pathway leading to the shores of Lake Ontario and to the Webster Pier, just off camera to the right, comes to us from yours truly as I captured this scene at Webster Park while I— woo— while on my meandering journey to Buffalo back on November 10th. Well, it's Thursday again, and as is my habit, I share photos of Pathways on Thursdays. Originally because that was the night I used to teach at Celebrate Freedom and encourage people to come and get set free from whatever hurts, habits, and hangups they had. But although the recovery ministry— that recovery ministry is now disbanded, I still encourage people to get on or to stay on the path of Christian discipleship. Because I have learned that the Lord calls us to allow him into all the areas of our lives and doesn't call us to recover. He calls us to be healed and set free from all the things that would keep us in bondage, especially the lies of the enemy and the world system that propagates them. I encourage people to stay the course on, uh, of Christian discipleship because frankly I need to hear these encouragements myself. While I have been set free from many of the things I used— that used to tie me in knots in the past, to the point where I am utterly amazed at the extent of what the Lord has done in my life, I have come to recognize that I'm still a work in progress and could easily be a Romans 7 Christian and lament, uh, as it says in Romans 7:19, I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. My eating habits and spending habits are still areas of my life in which I could say I want to do what is good, but I don't. Um, at parties or special occasions, I'll release the restraints and sabotage my health goals by overeating or choosing to eat foods that I know are laden with sugar or carbohydrates, the elements, uh, that help our bodies store fat. Last night I went to my church's Christmas holiday party for men, Starpoint Church's Men's Socks Exchange, for the second year in a row. And while I brought an appetizer that consisted of only meat and cheese, pizza and cookies were also— also happened to be on the buffet line. And against my better judgment, I threw caution to the wind and had some of each and even took two slices of pizza home to eat before bed. I apologize. Uh, so back to the drawing board today. The good news is that other than Christmas Eve at my parents' house, uh, I don't have any more holiday parties on the schedule. And with, with the latest failure, I am motivated to correct the course as I realize that in truth I've been a little mindless in my eating as I have been enjoying more enjoying Quest Bars, which are nutritionally okay, but I've been eating them 2 or 3 at a time. And the other night I decided to get in the holiday spirit by eating some Planters Brittle Nut Medley that I had bought for someone as a gift. Dope! So yeah, we have to be careful to stay away— aware of what we are doing because because our flesh will cause us to slip up and excuse these little indulgences up until the point where we will— we are living in denial and sabotaging ourselves. I confess all of this because that's what I do, and with the hope— and with the hopes that I, I will— I will now repent. Uh, I have already brought it to the Lord in prayer and will lean on his strength to try to right the ship. Because man, I can be disciplined at times, but boy, can I be weak at other times. But I am not beating myself up about it. I just plan on doing what is right today and will endeavor to do what is right tomorrow. That's all we can do, one day at a time, one moment at a time. And the best way to stay on course is to keep walking and talking with God as we go. I noticed I didn't really consult with the Lord in all these instances of failure. How about that? In all seriousness, I plan on seriously repenting and, and start journaling my food intake to try to keep, um, self-aware. I planned on doing that, but the app I use in the past to do that changed and made it hard. I know, lame excuse, but I see that— I see the root of my failure: a lack of self-awareness. Anyway, last night, uh, the men's sock exchange was a fun event. Uh, it gives, uh, Christian men, uh, an opportunity to fellowship, to eat, and to have some fun with the white elephant gift exchange game, where the men can choose to keep the gift they receive or steal someone else's gift. So when you get a gift, you don't know if you're going to keep it unless it's a lame gift. In that case, you're pretty guaranteed that it's yours, but you never know. One man's trash is another man's treasure. The order of the game is determined by a random draw of numbers and goes sequentially from 1 to whatever. I think there was 30 people there last night. A few additional rules for the game include that number 1, the first person to select a gift, has the option to steal a gift at the end of the game because they didn't have a choice being first. Also, in our version, it was determined you could only steal one particular gift 3 times. If something was stolen twice, the third thief would get to keep it as that item was considered frozen or gone. Also, the person who was victimized the most, who had been stolen from more times than anyone, uh, would also get a special prize, which turned out to be a gift card to Starbucks. Last year, I went home with a pair of Rudolph socks after having stolen a good pair of work socks from someone else, getting my just desserts right near the end of the game. So I was a little wary of what to expect and was trying to let go of any expectations of getting anything good. Just have fun watching things take place. I was even more wary after I saw my number, 11. I figured there was no way to win with 11 because if I got anything good, there would be almost 20 thieves who would take it away from me. Sometimes these games can be pretty sedate, as you, as you can have a crowd who wants to play fair, but I've noticed that after the first person steals a gift, the stealing increases. The first few guys just picked presents, but number 7 decided to steal a gift, a nice set of hiking socks, uh, from one of the guys that went before him, so the game was afoot. Uh, the next couple of guys just picked gifts, but number 10 decided to steal from number 7. The thief had lost his ill-gotten gains. So it's my turn, and I can see the opportunity before me. I could pick a gift and hope for the best, or I could take control of the situation and be assured of my final outcome right here, right now. So I stand up, walk over to number 10, and say, "I'm not getting zonked again this year," and steal the Eddie Bauer 6-pack of moisture-wicking, odor-control, arch support men's hiking socks myself. Game recognizes game, and all the men give me a hearty round of applause. For real. Uh, this is what we call a power move. It's like a prison inmate going up and hitting the biggest, baddest dude in the yard on his first day in the penitentiary. You establish your reputation for being strong or wise by some act that demonstrates your power. So even though I was feeling pretty weak with number 11, I seized the day. And felt pretty powerful doing it. I may not be able to wear these hiking socks until spring, but when I do, I can remember this moment and laugh and take a little pride in how I beat them at their own game. This is a silly example, of course, and I know that I'm quite weak in many ways, but this little anecdote from last night's party demonstrates a basic, basic principle of life and Christian discipleship. The Lord has put us where we are in life in this time and season. As we go, and as we go, we will be presented with opportunities and choice of what to do. And it's up to us to, one, be aware. If I wasn't paying attention to the rules or what was going on, I could have missed this opportunity to get something good. Two, remember our past and learn from them. The sting of last year's zonk was at the forefront of my mind, and I was trying to avoid a similar outcome. 3. Hope. Although with my disappointing number draw, I was hope— uh, you know, I was disappointed with my number draw, I was hopeful that somehow and in some way I'd get something good. 4. Act. Although the circumstances fell in my favor— we call that being blessed in Christian circles— I still had to be bold and courageous and act. And these are our walking instructions on the path of Christian discipleship. We have to be aware. We have to remember our past and what we've learned from the Word of God in our past and, and, and, and, and learn from it. We have to hope and pray. We have to act. Do something when the time is right. Get her done. So although we can be weak at times, even us weaklings can pull off a power move on occasion. But I have to remind you just how weak we are, and that the best way and the most power we can draw from is found when we follow the Lord. So keep walking and talking with God. He will help you in your weaknesses, and when you walk In his ways you can know his awesome power that launches you in a new life of freedom and victory. Unfortunately, I am weak and short on time, so I will have to share a Bible verse from the NLT Promise Book for Men tomorrow. And, uh, but we are sharing from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship, basically continuing in the body of Christ, and you'll see that at the end of today's blog post. Seriously short on time, so I'm going to say a quick prayer. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, thank you for helping us weaklings and giving us moments where we can feel powerful and wise, mostly when we follow you. Uh, Lord, we pray for you to go before us. We pray for you to bless everyone listening today, and we pray for you to open our eyes to all the things that you want us to see and to lead us in the way we should go. Uh, keep us— help us keep us self-aware and aware of your will in our lives and to seize the day. By doing the things you would have us do. Lord, we thank you so much for all you do, and we love you, and we praise you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.