The End of a Season - Purity 926

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 sunset from the shores of Oak Island, North Carolina comes to us from a friend who made a post-Christmas exodus from the chilly weather in upstate New York with his family and shared this view yesterday reiterating his previous message that he is loving beach life. As one of the frozen chosen who has been left behind and is looking forward to high temperatures in the 40s today, I will choose to share in my friend's joy because I know he is a faithful man of God and has earned his moments in the sun. If he should happen to see this, I wish him a belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Well, it's Wednesday again, and just like that, my staycation at my countryside home in Chile, yet beautiful Easton, New York, has quickly reached its summit, as today is— will be my 6th day off, with 6 days off remaining. Even though somewhere today I will pass the midway point of my vacation, I won't count the hours and minutes, but will seek to enjoy them all in the moment. And quite frankly, the prospect of going back to work doesn't really depress me or give me anxiety. I'm content with my life and realize that it is defined by various times and seasons. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 tells us, 'To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted.' A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to break down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh. A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. A time to gain and a time to lose. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to sew. A time to keep silence and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time of war and a time of peace. So right now, while I am on vacation in the company of my wife, it is officially a time to love, a time of peace, a time to embrace, a time to laugh, and perhaps a time to heal. After Christmas, I've been getting my fair share of rest. I spent my days reading, spending time with Tammy Lynn, taking the door for brisk walks down Waite Road, listening to The Insanity of God, and sleeping. Apparently I owe the Sandman quite a debt, and he has been collecting, as I have found that naps happen somewhat frequently here out in the country. But that's a good thing. After another adventurous year of walking in the spirit, I believe this week is a great time to decide what to keep and what to throw away as well. That's the thing about our walk, our faith walk on the path of Christian discipleship. The further we go, the more we leave behind what was once familiar as we progress into the new things that God has for us in our new lives. A couple of times this year, I made decisions with my time and finances that seemed appropriate at the time but have either proven to be a waste of my resources or as a final confirmation that those days are over. Uh, the decisions I made were based on who I was, uh, who I once was, and proved to be foolish because the things I invested in appear to be less and less a part of where I am going. One silly example of this is watching NFL football games. Uh, earlier in the year I purchased a streaming subscription so I could watch the NFL wherever I was, but I failed to remember just how much of the NFL I watched last year. I barely watched any games last year. Since giving up drinking and gambling years ago, and since increasingly growing in my faith, I become less and less interested in who wins the game. While the sports action can be exciting at times, I discovered that I didn't really care anymore. And games take too long. I still take a look at the scores out of curiosity, but this season I've watched even less football this season as I did last year, so the money spent on the subscription service was a waste, I guess. But at the same time, I think it's good that I spent it this last season, I swear, because the flesh, the world, and the devil love to tempt and accuse us with the things we abstain from. Whenever a Christian tells others that they don't do a certain activity, whatever it is, uh, this world of the flesh and the devil likes to accuse our faith and our God of being killjoy, of, uh, or as someone who limits our freedom. When I have admitted that I choose other leisurely pursuits rather than watching football, my NFL-watching friends seem to either seem, uh, seem to either be mildly annoyed or saddened that I no longer am a rabid football fan. I don't even know who is coaching or quarterbacking the teams anymore, have any idea what is happening in the world of football. I believe they suspect that my faith has stolen my freedom. But from my point of view, I remember the emotional ups and downs and hours upon hours spent in front of the television getting excited or upset over a game. And know that I have been set free of that circumstantial reactivity and the need to feed on hours of sports programming. Don't get me wrong, to each their own. There is nothing wrong with the game itself, but there is quite a bit wrong with the things that surround the game, like substance abuse and gambling and the swinging moods of those who are emotionally subject to its outcomes. But if that's not you, enjoy your game. But as for me, while I have— I may have access to some sports programming due to the streaming subscriptions I have, I won't be purchasing sports exclusive content. I just don't watch enough games anymore to justify the expense. So that's one thing we're going to throw away this year. For me, the end of the year has always been a time of repentance and reflection. What to keep, what to throw away, and what to be healed from. Philippians 4:8-9 encourages us: Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me These do, and the God of peace will be with you. I think the key here in Paul's letter to the Philippians is verse 9. While we could make a case for many things of this world to be somewhat true, noble, just, etc., uh, we want to follow what Christ and his apostles did. The peace of God that we want to be with, you know, that we want to be with us, is contingent on learning from what we have received and heard from Jesus in the Word of God and doing it. These things include meditating on the Word of God, praying, giving thanks, rejoicing, and doing the good works that God has prepared for us to walk into. These are the activities of walking in the Spirit, and this is where we grow. Sports trivia and the thrills of victory and the agony of defeat that we vicariously receive from talented athletes can teach us some things, but their value is limited. However, the things of God infuse the fruit of the Spirit into our lives and prepares us for our future in the— in His kingdom. Our peace comes from knowing Him and being in His presence and knowing that we are investing our lives in something that matters, something that will last forever. So as we go over the last hump of 2022, Let's remember the things that gave us peace and joy this year, and reflect on the things that we should just throw away. Every day is a new day, and the days we spend pursuing the Lord and His will for our lives are days well spent. Time in His presence gives us peace right now and prepares us for the days ahead. So, keep walking and talking with God, and walk into the new year with a commitment to learn from the years past and to go further down the path that he has for us. Currently, I'm taking a vacation from sharing from the Bible verse of the day from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men again. Well, frankly, because I think I left that book at River House, but I did grab the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Us, and we'll share the second Bible verse listed right in the introduction to impress upon you the importance of reading God's Word. The verse was Hebrews 4:12, and it says, "For the Word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the things and intents of the heart." Today's verse tells us that the Word of God is living and powerful and cuts us to the bone. That division between the soul and the spirit is supposed to separate us from our soulish darkness and convict us to live in the spirit. When we study the Word, agree with it, and apply it to our lives by the way we live, that we obey it experientially, that is when we understand its power. The power to redirect our lives and to transform us into the people God created us to be. I don't want to sound quasi-mystical here, but the process of reading the Word of God, when done in spirit and in truth with a humble attitude of surrender to its authority, is a conversation with God. He is speaking to us from his Word, and when we listen to it and obey it, it reveals to us what needs to change and —and it demonstrates that God knows our thoughts and the intentions of our hearts. When we read the Word of God, we discover that God is reading us. So, just as we pointed out in the first part of today's message, let us learn from what we have received, God's Word, and let us put it into practice. But, first, let us read it so we can know for ourselves what the Word actually says. I'm including a link to Ligonier Ministries Bible reading plans for 2023 on the blog today as an encouragement to read the Word this year, to have a plan if you need one, to draw close to God through his Word, to experience the power that he wants to unleash in your life. I also recommend getting Logos Bible software for your laptop, PC, tablet, or phone. There are free versions of the software available And that gives you the means to have the word of God with you, no, with you no matter where you go. Of course, there are other Bible apps and actual paper copies of the Bible out there. Uh, I have all the above, so how you get the word doesn't matter as much as your commitment to seek the Lord in his word does. Hey, it's a new year in just a few days, so why not make a commitment to grow in the power that the living word of God can bring to your life. 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 we're continuing in the last chapter of his book called The Image of Christ. Chapter 13 according to the Bonhoeffer's Works Volume 4 of Discipleship. So if you want to check out the section from that chapter today, short section, a few paragraphs of text, go to mt4christ.org and you'll be able to read that at the end of today's blog post. As always, you'll also find at the end of today's blog post a disclaimer that says the opinions and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.t. Clark, only. Do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other offers— authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent. Just so you know, um, but with that said, um, we do include, uh, also links to our podcast and our YouTube channel where you can find discipleship teachings based on Dr. Neil Anderson's work, uh, Victory Over the Darkness, The Bondage Breaker, and Freedom in Christ. Those series of discipleship classes that are recorded back in 2021 are all available for your listening and edification. So if you want to check those out, you know, go to the podcast or the YouTube channel to discover those teachings so you can grow in your freedom in Christ. Or experience your freedom in Christ if you don't know it. If you don't know what I'm talking about, if you don't know what walking in the Spirit means, if you think religion is, you know, religion and not a relationship with the Lord, I encourage you greatly to check those out. We talked about Bible study on this message, and just so you know, we do one of those as well on the podcast. We do a weekly topical Bible study with Arthur and Susanna Sincotti. Been doing that since 2021, and we encourage you to check out any of the many Bible studies that we have. Some are audio and some are actually video on our YouTube channel, as we made the shift for the Bible study, I think, in the beginning of 2022. So, if you don't have a Bible study you can go to, you can always go to ours, and you can go more than once. Um, we include the outlines, all of our Arthur studies on our blog, and the, the audio or the video is available on the podcast and YouTube, um, depending on the medium. So we encourage that life of faith. Why? Because it just happened to transform our lives. The Lord came in and revealed to me that he is real, and then he wants us to follow him. He wants people to know about his Son who forgives our sins through faith alone and gives us new life when we put our faith in him. So that's the message. You gotta put your faith in Christ and follow him. That's the message we'll be sharing until the Lord calls us home, I think. Yeah, we'll be sharing it in one form or another until then. So until then, let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we just thank you so much for another day of life, uh, in the spirit. Lord, just with knowing who we are in Christ and knowing that this world was made for your purposes and that it's going somewhere, and one day Christ will return and re-establish your rule on the earth, and then one day create a new heaven and earth. So there's stuff to look forward to in the days ahead and the year ahead and in your millennial kingdom. So prepare us, Lord, but we'll just take it one step at a time down this path of Christian discipleship that you put us on. Lord, we pray for anyone listening today or reading this word, that they be blessed in their walk, that you would come alongside them in their prayer request and guide them in the way they should go. And as always, Lord, we always pray for you to go before us, um, to set things up, to lead us into the things you want us to do today. Open our eyes to the things you want us to see. Open our hearts to your direction and lead us to represent you the best we can here on earth today and every day. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, and we love you. And we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.