Simple Beauty and the New Beginning of Spiritual Life - Purity 1209

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 leafless tree on the side of Waite Road, set against the backdrop of a cloudless blue sky, comes to us from yours truly as I took a moment to capture this scene during a late afternoon stroll back on Saturday, November 18th. Well, it's Tuesday, and I love today's photo because of its simple beauty and how it highlights how something so commonplace, like a tree on the side of the road, can be appreciated for what it is. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I think that the amount of beauty we see in the world is in direct proportion to how often we look at things with appreciation and the joy of living. Experiencing beauty is the simple act of observation accompanied with appreciation. And when we look at the world in the context of being fully accepted for who we are by God in Christ, and that all of existence is a gift from our Heavenly Creator Father God, it's difficult to not have an abiding sense of peace and joy. With that worldview, the cares of this world are put in their proper perspective, and even the most negative circumstances can be met with the acceptance of knowing The Sovereign God of all creation is with us and will be with us in and through all the days of our lives on earth and beyond it in God's eternal kingdom. Many loved ones in my life are going through some pretty significant changes lately, and while the circumstances of their lives may never be the same again, I have hope for them because I know that endings are a new beginning to the next chapter of your life. And that if you seek him, you can find God's presence and help in every season. I have encouraged friends always to keep walking and talking with God— well, not always, but, you know, since coming to faith in Jesus Christ— because I know, and I do that because I know, he loves us and will comfort us and guide us in the way we should go. So if this holiday season has brought you to an ending with the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, the breaking of a relationship, or just at the realization that something has to change in your personal life, let me encourage you to seek the Lord and to consider His ways for walking through life. The Bible is filled with God's story and His solution for a new and eternal life. In case you don't know it, the solution is faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and surrendering to His will for your life. That's it, my dear friends. But in order to experience the abundant life that God has made available to us, we have to continuously seek the Lord and follow Him. So turn away from the world and all of its comforts and hurts and seek God's presence and peace instead. Turn from your selfish and sinful ways and get to know the Lord and His ways. Read the Bible, pray, join into a community of Christians who share and show God's love. Appreciate the blessings that you receive every day and share your experience with others. The idea of following a spiritual path through life may seem totally impractical or foreign to all that you know, but when you have come to an ending, it is best to accept it and follow the Lord into the new beginning he has for you. Where he will give you a pathway for living that provides peace, meaning, and purpose. Seek the Lord. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Kruis. This morning's meditation verse comes from the section on the church, or communion of the saints, and today's verse is Acts 20:28. Um, And the word of God says, pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. Today's verse falls under the 12th point of our Counseling Reference Guides resource section on the church, or communion of the saints. That 12th point is elders are God's appointed shepherds placed over the flock of Jesus Christ. And today's verse describes the best practice of the Church of God: to pay careful attention to yourself and to all the members of the body of Christ and to care for one another. And simple— this simple instruction shows us the balance of the spiritual life we are supposed to have, are supposed to live. Um, we are to pay attention to ourselves and to others. In terms of our personal walk of faith, we have to make sure we are right with God by paying attention to our attitudes, emotions, and behaviors, and by conforming them to follow God's way for living. We examine our lives and try to follow God's ways for, for living. That's what we do. But we aren't in this thing by ourselves. We also are to love and care for others by encouraging them to walk with us as we seek to to follow Jesus. We don't just accept people as they are in the body of Christ. We do, but we encourage them to be the people that God created them to be. We can't just accept people the way they are if they're lost in darkness and sin. We're to encourage them to do what's right and follow the Lord to experience his peace., and to truly show our care for the Church of God, whether we are working on ourselves or trying to help others, we offer our help with kindness, patience, gentleness, and love. Always in love. As always, that's it for today. As always, I invite all to go to mtcforchrist.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and brothers and sisters in Christ for their walk. Today we are sharing from God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. As I announced previously, it's not officially Advent season until the 3rd of December, but I wanted to share— I wanted to read through Bonhoeffer's God Is in the Manger personally, and they give you 28 days you know, 4 full weeks of it. And, um, I don't care what the church calendar says, I wanted to start early, uh, and I wanted to experience the Advent devotional, uh, that I have, um, and I had to make it according to my schedule. So we are on a different Advent schedule this year as we are trying to coincide it with our blog, which does 6 days a week, not 7. And, uh, that started a little sooner than, than the current Advent season. So I pray for the Lord to forgive me. But we are reading, um, through this devotional, and today we are on Advent Week 1, which is on waiting. And today is day 5 of our sharing from Bonhoeffer's resource. And Bonhoeffer writes, a soft, mysterious voice In the midst of the deepest guilt and distress of the people, a voice speaks that is soft and mysterious but full of the blessed certainty of salvation through the birth of a divine child . It is still 700 years until the time of fulfillment, but the prophet is so deeply immersed in God's thought and counsel that he speaks of the future as if he saw it already. And he speaks of the salvific hour as if he already stood in adoration before the manger of Jesus: "For a child has been born to us." What will happen one day is already real and certain in God's eyes, and it will be not only for the salvation of future generations, but already for the prophet who sees it coming, and for his generation, indeed for all generations on earth. For a child has been born to— for us. No human spirit can talk like this on its own. How are we, who do not know what will happen next year, supposed to understand that someone can look forward many centuries? And the times then were no more transparent than they are today. Only the Spirit of God, who encompasses the beginning and the end of the world, can in such a way reveal to a chosen person the mystery of the future. So that he must prophesy for strengthening believers and warning unbelievers. This individual voice ultimately enters into the nocturnal adoration of the shepherds and into the full jubilation of the Christ-believing community: For a child has been born for us, a son given to us. A shaking of heads, perhaps even an evil laugh, must go through our old smart, experienced, self-assured world when it hears the call of salvation of believing Christians. For a child has been born for us, a son given to us. And that was all from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. And today's verse, uh, verses that our devotion shares, not surprising, it's Isaiah 9:6-7. And the word of God says, for a child has been born for us, a son given to us. Authority rests upon his shoulders, and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness 'From this time onward and forevermore, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.' End quote. And, uh, that was all of today's sharing from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's God Is in the Manger, uh, for day 5 of the Advent season. And it points to how could, you know, Isaiah know the truth so far in advance, uh, 700 years he wrote those things. He spoke those things because God revealed it to him about the coming of Jesus Christ. And, um, it's amazing, you know, that's part of one of the evidences for our faith, is that the fulfilled prophecies, the Old Testament prophecy, uh, Old Testament prophets said things and they became true through the person of Jesus Christ. And so that's how we know Jesus is the Messiah. That he is the Son of God and God the Son. And that gives us great hope in the Christmas season and for all time. That's it for today's blog/podcast. Lately I've been humbled, so I've been to think of doing less, less of me and just, you know, more of, more, more of God and just following the Lord. So I'm just trying to keep things simple, and I hope I hope you can appreciate that. And there's more people— like I said, I, I've experienced many people, uh, in my, my life right now who are experiencing changes and losses, and, and I have a lot of sympathy, um, and, uh, but great hope, uh, for our future because we know— I know God's with us and he'll lead us in the way we should go if we choose to follow. There's great peace and joy in that. That we can take, you know, really anything the world has to dish out when we're walking in faith. So I encourage you to walk in faith. And if you need more instruction on how to experience your freedom in Christ, we point you to our discipleship teachings that we have on the podcast for Victory Over the Darkness, The Bondage Breaker, and Freedom in Christ. They all come from the Word of God and the teachings of Dr. Neil Anderson of Freedom in Christ Ministries. So if you want to grow in your faith, we point you to the Bible and to these teachings and to the path of Christian discipleship, to follow the Lord with the way you live. So we're going to follow into work today, so— but first we always pray, so let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. We thank you so much for all that you do for us. We thank you for the revelation you give to us and the peace that you, you give us in Christ. We are accepted, we are secure, and we are significant because of Christ alone. And we can rejoice in the simple blessings of this life because of that, knowing that you have a plan for all of us and you're leading us into your eternal kingdom one day at a time. Lord, we pray for anyone who's listening, uh,— or reading today's message. We pray for You to come alongside them and their prayer requests and their walk of faith. We pray for You to bless them and keep them, Lord, and guide them in the way they should go. And Lord, not for nothing, we want You to guide us as well. Please open our eyes to the things You want us to see and the things You would have us to do today. We ask for Your protection and guidance, and we thank You for Your presence. That never leaves us or forsakes us. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.