Such a Time as This Purity 853

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 stream's waterfall, full fall foliage, and a sliver of blue sky comes to our friend who spent the first day of October visiting the Flume Gorge at Franconia Notch State Park in New Hampshire. I said that I might share more of our friend's photo and like this simple waterfall and decide to see where it would lead. Well, it's Tuesday, and today I'm giving thanks of, uh, for how the Lord has led my wife Tammy Lynn into her new career as a special education teacher, and how what may have caused others to turn and run has inspired my wife to press into her new role with care, concern, compassion, and creativity. Her first day was yesterday, and she reported that there was more than one instance of her students having episodes that needed individual instruction and behavioral coaching. Her students are junior high age but have the mental and emotional capacities of first and second graders, and any bump of the— in the road of their regular routine, uh, or a conflict to their expectations can result in emotional outburst and insubordination. In the aftermath of her first day on the job and in light of these episodes of what I would describe as meltdowns, the other staff sheepishly inquired what she thought about her new job choice. They were pleasantly surprised when Tammy Lynn assured them that she was excited about her new position and that she didn't quit easily and had a few ideas of activities she could introduce to the class to keep her students engaged and on task that could possibly help them to reduce their outbursts and help them to learn and grow. Where many people would be looking to cut and run, Tammy Lynn is rushing in to meet needs and to possibly calm the storm. I'm extremely proud of my wife and know that I have been truly blessed to have her, uh, as I stand in awe of her— awe and wonder, uh, when I consider her faith and her servant's heart. Where some may only see a problem to be dealt with and to be hardened to find ways to enact measures of control, Tammy Lynn is coming in to share the love of God as a caregiver and a teacher who will, who will seek to nourish, um, and encourage her pupils in the ways they should go. And I know that Tammy's presence will be a calming influence on her co-workers as well. She will minister to them and lead them to understand the power of love to transform the atmosphere of the places that women of faith walk into. Um, Tammy Lynn's attributes of strength, patience, kindness, intelligence, and creativity are just what her classroom needs. And when I consider her path over the last year, I can see the Lord's hand was bringing her to this place at this time. As if it were meant to be. My wife's path reminds me of Esther's story, where she just happened to be in a position to influence the King of Persia when her people, the Jews, were being faced with persecution and genocide. And encouraging Esther to be bold and to risk her life by speaking out, her Uncle Mordecai wondered in Esther 4:14, "Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Of course, being a woman of faith in God, Esther chose to act, surrendering herself to God's will by saying in Esther 14:16, "So I will go to the king, which is against the law, and if I perish, I perish." Esther stepped out of tradition and what was expected— what was accepted— acceptable to do, um, to do what was right. And because God had brought her to that place at that time. And likewise, my wife has been brought to this place and time and is going into this special needs classroom to represent the Lord and who she is in Christ by showing our students and coworkers what God's love looks like outside the pages of the Bible and the four walls of a church building. Like today's photo, my wife's path over the last year has been tumultuous and led to more than one, uh, more than one fall, uh, but her faith kept her afloat. And now, and now she has risen from the depths, uh, to breathe again, to find her purpose, to love and serve others in a way that only she can, in a place she didn't see coming. For such a time as this. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verses are, uh, Psalm 139:13, 16, and 17, and they say, you made all the delicate inward parts, inner parts of my body, and knit me together in my mother's womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They cannot be numbered. Today's Bible verse, uh, verses encourages us because they testify of how intimately the Lord knows us and how he has laid out our paths before us and how his thoughts for us are precious. Considering my wife's path, I just have to encourage everyone to seek the Lord and to come to understand just how much he loves you. He created you, he has a plan for you, and he encourages you to follow him to discover and experience it. Tammy Lynn's story is a testimony of how we are to remain faithful, to trust and follow the Lord, even though our paths may be uncertain and circumstances can challenge us. If we keep walking in the Spirit, seeking the Lord, his presence, wisdom, and ways for living, um, we start on a path where we invite the Lord into our circumstances and make the decision to see what happens when we, when we trust him. Because we have peace with God through our faith in Jesus Christ, we are already victorious and free. And when we stay grounded in who we are in Christ, we have peace, love, joy, no matter what we face. So when we keep walking and talking with God, we enter into the potential to see the impossible happen in our lives. We can see God's design— divine favor, his grace blesses our lives. So reflect on the awesomeness of God as Creator and Sovereign King. And marvel over the fact that his thoughts are precious and numerous when they consider you. As always, I invite all to go to mtforchrist.org, where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Discipleship, also known as The Cost of Discipleship. And today we continue sharing from chapter 5, uh, on discipleship in the individual. So if you want to see that short excerpt, um, from Bonhoeffer's work, go to mt4christ.org and you'll see, see that at the bottom of today's blog post. And, uh, as always, we consider, uh, life in the Spirit and we encourage people to walk in a life in the Spirit, uh, as today— tonight I'll be leading, uh, our men's discussion group for a Freedom in Christ course that I do for Freedom in Christ Ministries. Online via Zoom. And, um, you know, I'm excited because tonight's lesson's on our daily choice. And, um, I know that, uh, you know, that's, that's, that's where the— our faith really comes into, uh, comes to life, is when we make the daily decision to follow the Lord. That we don't just save our faith as some religious practice that we do once a week in a church building., that we try to follow and, and connect with the Lord daily through prayer, Bible study, and the way we live our lives, and the way we think about things, and, uh, the do— the way we do things in life, uh, the decisions we make. You know, we consider the Lord's ways in all the ways we do, in all the things we do. We're, we're on the path of Christian discipleship, and we're walking in the Spirit. And, you know, if we're doing that, we'll turn from the sins that, you know, that we are, you know, we were entrapped by. Well, and we'll understand the power of the Lord, um, and the things we do and the way we impact ourselves and others. Um, so that's why we, that's why we do these daily encouragements and why we have decided to do ministry, uh, outside of our regular day job. It's because this is the— this is what life's all about, our relationship with the Lord. And people don't know that. People need to know that. And so that's why I do the podcast. That's why I do classes that barely anybody watches. Um, but, but, uh, I trust the Lord to, to direct the people that need to see it to see it. And I encourage you to share it if you're actually listening. Um, to this portion of the podcast. And as always, I encourage people to check out, uh, the teachings that we've done on YouTube and, uh, our podcast for Victory Over the Darkness, The Bondage Breaker, and Freedom in Christ. These, these, these teachings by Dr. Neil Anderson that are based on the word of God can— are transformative in nature. They can really change your life. As you can discover that there's more to your Christian faith than just going to a church service once a week. That the idea of a disciple was to learn what Jesus had to say and apply the wisdom of it to their lives and to, you know, affirm the relationship that we have in Christ by trying to share the love of God and the truth of his word everywhere we go. So, you know, there's your meaning and purpose. This is it, you know. You know, I don't know what job or career you may have, and that's a big part of, you know, how we live and support ourselves. But, uh, God, God saved us for a reason. God showed us the light to show other people the light. So we try to demonstrate that as much as we can in the way we live and the things we do and the things we say. Um, and it's not always easy. We have to figure it out as we go sometimes, and we can, we can make mistakes, and that's okay because God forgives us and he'll guide us in the way we should go if we, if we seek him and follow him. So we encourage people to do that. And, uh, well, I, like I said, I got a day job, so I should probably pray and get ready to go. Um, but yeah, I just want to encourage my wife today with this message. Um, I I love her dearly, and I think she's courageous in ways that I would never be. Um, well, you know, you never know, right? God could change even me. Um, but, uh, I just marvel at her, and I, and I thank God for her, and I pray for the Lord to go before her. But let's, let's pray for everybody, not just my wife. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we just thank you so much. When I sit down to write these messages, I don't know what I'm going to say, and next thing you know, something something decent comes out, um, something encouraging, um, because we reflect on you and what you've done in our lives, and it's just an ongoing testimony of the truth of your goodness and grace. Lord, we just thank you so much for what you've done in our lives. Thank you for showing the revelation of Jesus Christ to us and for, for giving us the, uh, this, the understanding to, to follow you and apply your wisdom to our ways and to persevere in that walk. Because it has led to great things, Lord. Lord, we pray for the people listening today that they would come to understand that, too, and that they would be committed to following you and sharing your love wherever they go. Lord, we pray for your divine favor, your grace to come into their lives, to enter into their circumstances and to come alongside their prayer requests, Lord, for what they are seeking, for what they are wanting. And what they need. Lord, we know you are the sovereign God that controls all things, and anything that happens has been allowed by you for your purposes or to challenge us. And, Lord, so let us not be discouraged. Help us to understand the realities of your goodness and the hardness of life in this world and how they don't contradict contradict one another, and that you're guiding us into better things and, you know, ultimately to, uh, into your kingdom, Lord. So help us to be steadfast and faithful as we decide to follow you, uh, Lord. As we go forward today, we pray for you to go before us. Open our eyes to all the things you want us to see and lead us into the things you would have us do, uh, Lord. Let us be, be aware of what we do and what we say and to consider, uh, you know, what would Christ do, and to help us to choose to do that. Um, Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.