In this episode of the MT for Christ 24/7 podcast, host M.t. Clark reflects on a recent vacation to Myrtle Beach as a purposeful spiritual retreat. He shares a personal anecdote about escaping a harsh New York winter, noting how changing his latitude helped alleviate seasonal depression and allowed him to experience God‑provided rest. Clark connects this experience to the biblical principle of Sabbath rest, emphasizing that regular, intentional pauses from performance‑driven life are designed for worship and gratitude. He cites John 15:9‑11, interpreting Christ’s command to love and obey as the pathway to full joy, and references a J.E. Adams devotional on Proverbs 8:20, discussing the immutable nature of God’s justice and righteousness. Throughout, Clark contrasts fleeting circumstantial happiness with lasting contentment rooted in gratitude and obedience. He promotes the Celebrate Freedom support group at Starpoint Church, outlines Christian recovery resources—including a playlist of lessons on sponsorship—and invites listeners to engage with his ministry via donations, YouTube series, and prayer. The episode concludes with a heartfelt prayer for listeners’ spiritual growth and protection.
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Welcome to the MT for Christ 24/7 podcast. I am M.t. Clark, and this is today's photo. To see today's photo, go to mtforchrist.com or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter, or watch us on YouTube. Good morning. Today's photo of the sun captured just above the horizon, blazing its brilliant beams over the portion of Myrtle Beach Beneath my hotel accommodation's balcony comes to us from yours truly, as I had the presence of mind to capture this moment outside rather than behind the glass of my bedroom window. Well, it's Tuesday, and after getting to spend some time basking in the sun and walking on the beach with my wife, taking a swim in the indoor pool, resting in the jacuzzi spa, and sunbathing behind glass in the indoor pool area yesterday afternoon, I told my wife that I had— that if I only had one day in Myrtle Beach, yesterday was enough. I came, I saw, I vacationed. So I'm not so— I'm not sure if today and the rest of my days here in Myrtle will match yesterday, but regardless of what conditions we will encounter until we leave Friday morning, I am content with my decision to travel the 13-plus hours south to escape from this past weekend's upstate New York winter storm and the chilly temperatures back home, even if it is only for a few days. Making the decision to change my latitude may have its costs, but getting away from the harsh winter for me is worth it. In my pre-Christian, in my past, my pre-Christ existence, I suffered from depression quite often in the winter months. My low self-esteem, nihilistic worldview, addictive tendencies, and reactivities as circumstances made my life a roller coaster of emotions year round. But when you add what would probably be considered the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder to the mix, the months of January and February were particularly dark where— when it came to my moods. Well, I'm half the mess I used to be, half the mess of a man as I used to be. And manage my emotions through the lens of God's truth with a biblical worldview and with the assurance of my salvation and my identity in Christ, I still recognize the wisdom of changing my circumstances periodically to give myself a break from the stresses of life. We can all do this weekly with a Sabbath rest. That's why God created the Sabbath, to cause men who have the tendency to get caught up in the world's performance-based system to take a break. God tells us to give it a rest, and we should do so, preferably with a heart of worship and thanksgiving every week. God has also given us the ability to move about the earth, and while the Bible doesn't specifically mention vacations, it does encourage rest, going out into all the world to make disciples, or pilgrimage, and times of solitude. In my old liturgical church tradition, there was also the spiritual practice of taking retreats. And I believe that we as disciples of Jesus Christ should make our vacations a time of fun, rest, and reflection, but to do so, of course, in the presence of the Lord. We should not just plan vacations like our secular friends and neighbors who are locked into that fleeting search for circumstantial happiness, but we can and should be intentional about bringing the Lord and our spiritual practices on vacation with us. As I was basking in the glory of the circumstances of the pleasant accommodations in South Carolina yesterday, I was continually bringing my attention to the fact that what I was experiencing was provided for me by God, and I thanked him for it more than once. Walking in the Spirit isn't just for Sundays, and it isn't just for our times when we are at home in our normal routine. Living by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit is the call that has been given to us. We should remember that while we should not— while we should take a break from our normal routines and the stresses of life, we should never take a vacation from being the people God created us to be and reaping the fruits of the Spirit that give us peace and joy. While we can create a little happiness by arranging pleasant circumstances, joy comes from contentment. Which is just wanting what you have wherever you are, rather than looking for the next big thrill or striving for something more. Remember to thank God for what he has provided and rejoice in knowing that he is with you always, no matter where in the world you go. Today's Bible verses come to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Curtis. This morning's meditation verses come from the section on Imitating Jesus. Today's verses are John 15:9-11 from the New American Standard Bible. Uh, the word of the Lord says, just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full. Today's verses fall under the 9th point of our Counseling Reference Guide's resource section on imitating Jesus. And that 9th point is: Christlike obedience is the way to a Christlike enjoyment of divine love and the way to have your joy made complete. Today's Bible verses, uh, are the words of Jesus to his disciples, which encourages and assures us that imitate Imitating Jesus will lead to our joy. Following rules and whipping ourselves into shape to meet a standard of holiness or to avoid disfavor with God is not what we— what should be driving our desire to obey Jesus's commandments. The joy of our salvation should drive us to love the Lord with all our hearts, minds, soul, and strength, and should cause us to trust him and to adopt his ways of living. Our freedom from death is won when we put our faith in Jesus, but our freedom from sin has to be experienced through obedience to the call, the Spirit's call on our lives to manifest in the joy that will make us full. There is nothing like receiving that experiential confirmation that yes, I am actually a Christian, to fill our hearts with joy, to know that Jesus really did save us and that the Holy Spirit really is in us and is us to be holy as God is holy is the epic discovery of the path of Christian discipleship that never ceases to drive us further into God's plan for our lives. But if we wish to discover the fullness of joy that Jesus is talking about and to discover our purpose in Christ, we must follow him obediently and trust that he is leading us to become the people we were created to be. As always, we encourage everyone to go to mtforchrist.com, where we always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist our brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from Day by Day Along the Way by J.E. Adams. It's a 365-day devotional, and we're on day 84, where Adams shares a portion of Proverbs 8:20, which says I walk in the way of righteousness among the paths of justice. And J.E. Adams writes, if you are on the right path, you will meet up with wisdom because that's the path she travels. She calls it the way of righteousness and the paths of justice. Righteousness, which we have encountered before, means being right according to God's standards. Justice means meeting meeding— meting out to others their due. Again, this is justice according to God's standards. Today there's a weakened concept of justice. Instead, people speak of fairness and go on to define it in their own terms. Justice, however, is not so flexible. The standard is external to the one who seeks or renders justice. In this country, it is the law that determines what justice is. Unfortunately, some judges massage legal standards to fit their own views, but God does not allow us to do that. His standard is inflexible and remains the same in place— in all places for all persons. You must always be just in your dealings. Of course, there is also grace and mercy with God. But never at the expense of justice. It is time to remember the paths of justice along which wisdom walks. Otherwise, you will walk and fall with the naive. Amen. And yes, Adams points out a basic fundamental of our faith, that God's word doesn't change, um, and that standard doesn't change with the times, and we're held accountable to that standard. And we have a righteous judge in God who will judge us fairly— not fairly, but according to his standard, right? And, um, that's why we have to come in alignment with what God says, not make up our own rules and decide what we're going to believe or what we're not going to believe. To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is to follow the teachings of Jesus and to agree with what God's word says. And to let that truth enter into our lives to change us. And when we do that, we discover the fruit of the Spirit, one of which is joy. And our joy is made full when we, when we finally realize that we found the answer to life and human flourishing. And the answer is faith in Jesus and eternal life in his kingdom. And that is why we always ask the question, have you fully surrendered to God? And, uh, so we ask, you know, have you believed that Jesus is your Lord and Savior? Are you following him? Do you take him with you on vacation? Um, are you repenting of your sins? Are you experiencing growth? Um, these are the questions that should lead you to follow the Lord all the days of your life. When you do so, you find the fruit of the Spirit, and you also find your purpose. And part of my purpose is to lead the Celebrate Freedom support group at Starpoint Church on Wednesday evenings. This week I'm on the road, so I will not be leading the group this week, but, uh, our leadership team will be there, um, to welcome you if you decide to stop in and join us for our Christian Recovery Discipleship support group, um, Wednesday night, 6:30 PM, Starpoint Church in Clinton Park, New York. You're invited. Um, if you can't possibly get to Clinton Park On a Wednesday night, there's good news. Uh, we're currently doing a series, um, called Christian Recovery, uh, Celebrate Freedom with M.t. Clark. That's the name of the playlist. And, uh, we just released a new episode last night while we were on vacation, um, because we had pre-recorded it. And, uh, so last night I released the lesson from Celebrate Recovery's material on sponsor, and it tells you all about you know, what a sponsor is, what accountability partner is, and how you should choose a sponsor. So if you're in recovery and are thinking about making that next step in your journey, your 12-step journey, um, check out our material. Now we have 8 lessons, I believe, right now, um, for Christian Recovery. We'd appreciate you checking it out and sharing it with those in need. Beyond that, we also offer teachings that we believe will find or increase your faith and your freedom in Christ and your faith in God, um, on our YouTube channel and our— and M.t. Clark's YouTube playlist page. We've done series on The Bondage Breaker, Victory Over the Darkness, Freedom in Christ, and many others over the years, and we invite you to check those out. And if you appreciate them, we'd love to hear about it. You can email us at mtforchrist247@gmail.com. And we'd also appreciate your support and donations. You can donate by going to mtforchrist.com's donation page, and we offer 3 ways: the Cash App, Venmo, and PayPal to support the M.t. for Christ Community Freedom Ministry. And I'm on vacation, so we're going to wrap it up. And we always wrap it up by asking the same question twice in a different way, by asking, are you empty for Christ too? And that's just a matter of asking, are you making yourself available to be filled by the Holy Spirit and guided in his ways? If so, we say great, keep on talking, keep on walking and talking with God. If not, we encourage you to So pray about it. Ask the Lord to reveal himself to you. We know that if you seek the Lord, you'll find him. And we also know that prayer works, and that's why we pray every day, like right now. Lord God, Heavenly Father, we thank you for this morning. We thank you for yesterday, um, this time of rest and relaxation and reflection, Lord, um, with you. We thank you for how you've kept us safe and brought us here, and Thank you for all the blessings you've given us, um, yesterday and all the days before that. And we're, we're thankful for the blessing you're going to bring today. And, uh, Lord, we also, uh, pray for, uh, anyone reading or watching today's message, that you come alongside them and their prayer request, their walk of faith, to help them. And while you're at it, Lord, you can, uh, go before us today, open our eyes to the things you want us to see. And lead us in the way we should go, because all we want to do is represent you in your kingdom, and we definitely need help with that. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
