In this devotional, M.T. Clark reflects on a winter photograph of snow‑covered logs as a metaphor for finding peace amid life’s harsh conditions. He warns against bitterness and the destructive habit of comparing oneself to others, illustrating the point with the story of a friend in recovery who relapsed after feeling envious of a Southern acquaintance’s seemingly easier life. Clark also shares his own recent lapse, emphasizing that freedom from sin is a daily, intentional choice rooted in gratitude, humility, and identity in Christ. He grounds his message in Scripture, citing Psalm 19:14 as a prayer for wholesome speech and referencing Stephen F. Alford’s devotional on Matthew 11:29, which calls believers to be “lowly in heart.” The talk expands on the importance of contentment, citing Steve Goss’s teaching that true happiness is contentment, not material circumstance. Clark provides a brief personal health update—his condition does not require surgery, allowing him to return to work—and concludes with a heartfelt prayer for gratitude, peace, and divine guidance for listeners facing trials. Throughout, he urges listeners to choose gratitude over complaint, to resist the devil’s temptations, and to walk in the freedom Christ offers.
Chapters
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 large pile of logs covered in snow in the foreground of a quaint winter forest scene comes to us from yours truly as I chose to look to the right and capture what I saw while out walking down Waite Road during my visit to my countryside home in Easton Yesterday afternoon. Well, it's Thursday, and while I traditionally share pathway photos on Thursdays to visually represent the path of Christian discipleship and to encourage my friends to walk with me as I walk with God, I shared this scene as a reminder of the peace that we should be stopping to enjoy while we make our way through this life. The cold, the silence, and the stillness were there to enjoy. And even though my unleashed canine pal Harley was scampering down the road in front of me, I paused to appreciate the beauty of what I normally would walk on by. I have to admit that my attitude toward the freezing temperatures and snow in winter isn't a positive one, for the most part, but in moments like this one, I can find peace when I stop resisting its presence and just accept what the Lord has done and recognize that even in the cold, I can find peace and joy over the life that he has given me. Yes, dealing with the snow and cold can be a struggle, but it's a struggle we can live with. It's a struggle that we can get past and thrive in. And even if you're not into winter sports, it's something you can appreciate and enjoy. But you have to choose to let go of your bitterness and resistance toward the conditions. Look for the good and thank God that he is there even in the bitter cold. Just because it's bitter doesn't mean we have to be bitter. Well, it's just because it's bitter cold doesn't mean we have to be bitter. The warmth of our breath testifies that we are still alive, and God has given us the wisdom to endure even the harshest of conditions to live. Yesterday I was sad to hear the testimony of a friend in recovery who let the bitterness of comparison drive him to drink. He testified that he recently was visited by an old friend who had relocated to the South and whose living situation was almost the polar opposite of his. His friend was more or less a stay-at-home dad who also worked part-time in a cash industry. His friend's wife was a full-time nurse and provided for her, her family financially. Although he was happy for his friend and his family and enjoyed their time visiting together, After his friend left, he became bitter and discontented with his life because of the sharp contrast between them. By comparison, his friend's life seemed relatively carefree, and he didn't have to deal with the winter in upstate New York. And this made my friend angry. My friend is the sole provider for his family and has previously griped over this, that the situation that he voluntarily entered into. My friend lives in upstate New York, and winter happens here— another voluntary choice. And ironically, before his relocated southern friend's visit, he was happy. But my friend is in recovery, has a tendency to complain and to dwell on the negative, and all the enemy needed was something to point out to convince my friend that what he had previously enjoyed wasn't so good after all. I'll blame some of this on the enemy, but because I know how he loves to condemn us and to tempt us into sin, but my friend's ultimately responsible for his relapse and his ungrateful and bitter attitude toward the life that God has blessed him with. My friend is zero days sober and is hurting, and whether he has victory over his addiction today will be his choice. If he looks to the world with bitterness, he will stay locked in the vicious cycle that promises pleasure but only results in pain. But if he chooses to take the encouragement we gave him last night and reminds himself that he actually has a good life and a family that he is happy with, if he practices gratitude and thanks the Lord for what he has, he could understand that booze doesn't help him. Or make him happy, and he could choose to say no if temptation calls. Unfortunately, his tale of woe wasn't the only one I've heard recently, as other friends have had similar setbacks in their recoveries, myself included. Sunday's sweet binge is only 4 days behind me. But, in order to get past our failures, we have to choose to learn from from our mistakes and see that our— that relapses are never worth it, and that freedom is only one decision and one day away. If we choose today to be free, we can be free. God has given Christians power over sin, but we must choose it, and we can. Moment to moment, we can resist the devil, but if we choose to submit to God and be the person he created to be, pure, holy, and righteous, we won't have to contemplate whether or not to sin. If we choose our identity in Christ, saying no to sin becomes a no-brainer. What, me drink, give into sexual immorality, or binge on food to comfort myself? That's not who I am anymore. I am a Christian, and God set me free and has given me the power to say no to those things and to live a simple, good, pure, and a righteous life. And I choose to do that today and every day until the Lord calls me home, because I don't want anything to come between me and my relationship with God. He loved me enough to die for my sins, so I will love Him enough to believe and follow what He says about me. If you put your faith in Jesus, you have a new life. But in order to enjoy the fruit of the Spirit of love, joy, peace, etc., You have to choose to not look to the world to please you. You have to choose to accept what your life is and see the good in it. And if something isn't right, you have to choose to work to change it. And to do— and to do it all with an attitude of gratitude, because you know that this world is not all there is, and the things that are here today will be gone tomorrow, but the Lord will be with you always. And the God who sends the snow also sends the sunshine and gives you the power, strength, and love to live in peace regardless of the circumstances of your life. So choose to keep on walking and talking with God. His path leads to peace. So thank him for inviting you into a new life and choose to follow him. Him to enjoy it. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Crewe. This morning's meditation verse comes from the section on communication, gossip, and lying. And today's verse is Psalm 19, uh, verse 14. And the word of God says, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Today's verse is the first of two passages of scripture that fall under the first point of our Counseling Reference Guides resource section on communication, gossip, and lying. That first point is: the psalmist has given us a model prayer for good speech. Today's verse is an excellent prayer to pray to keep us from is speaking negatively over our lives. Words matter, and if we are complaining about what we have been given in life and have chosen to gripe rather than give thanks for it, we show the Lord that we are not only ungrateful but are disobedient to His word that tells us to always rejoice and to give thanks in everything. Similarly, if we lie, we show the Lord that we don't respect His command to not bear false witness and that we have chosen to follow the father of lies, Satan, rather than the truth, the way, and the life, Jesus Christ. This verse points out that God— that it is God who redeems us, and we should seek to please him. And God's word demonstrates over and over again that what we say— say— what we say matters, and we should represent him by speaking truth rather than lies and giving thanks and blessings rather than complaints and curses. So exercise your freedom of speech, but watch what you say, and let's reflect God's truth and love with our words rather than bitterness and hate. 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 share from According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament by Stephen F. Alford, a collection of devotional journals from 1940 and '41. And today's devotional entry, you know, prompts you to read Matthew 11, and Alford points out the verse Matthew 11:29, where Jesus said, I am gentle and lowly in heart. And Alford writes, "Notice that it expressly says 'lowly in heart.' God had to say of His people Israel that they honored Him with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him. God only recognizes what comes directly from the heart. Hence we hear Him, who was the perfect man before God, saying, 'I am lowly in heart.'" He was lowly in what He became. For though the Son of God, He humbled Himself. Philippians 2:8. He became poor. 2 Corinthians 8:9. He became man. He was lowly in what He said. I do nothing of myself. John 8:28. I am gentle and lowly. Matthew 11:29. The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. Matthew 8:20. He was lowly in what he did. He sat and ate with sinners, identified himself with all who were poor or diseased, and finally died a shameful death. And Alfred closes his devotion by praying, 'Do that which is necessary, Lord, to keep me lowly in heart.' Yes, um, we are to be humble. We are to follow in Christ's example and be lowly in heart. The Word specifically tells us not to think too highly of ourselves and to, you know, think of— put others before ourselves. Because when we focus on me and my, and, you know, that's when we become bitter. We look at somebody else, what somebody else has, and compare it to ourselves, and we you think, wow, they have it better than me, I hate my life. God doesn't want you to have that attitude. Your life is a blessing. And, you know, that error of comparison, the pain of comparison can be sharp. But, you know, you have to be— you have to thank God for what you do have. You know, happiness is wanting what you already have. According to Steve Goss in the Freedom in Christ course. You know, that's what happiness is— contentment. So, and if you're not content, you can try to change things, but you have to realize that this world is passing away. There's only so much we can do. We should work towards, you know, building a good life, but if we don't have peace with God and, you know, rest in that peace and thank God for the life we have on a continual basis, No amount of material possessions or positive circumstances is going to make us happy. And even if they did, without God ultimately we would, we would suffer death and be consigned to hell. So we want to make sure we're representing the kingdom and representing Jesus and be lowly in heart. Well, today is, uh, Thursday. My medical condition didn't require surgery, so we're off to work again, which is a blessing, um, so we'll take it. Um, it's good to work, you know. Unfortunately, the way of this world, we have to support ourselves, and, uh, I'm not independently wealthy, and I'm blessed with a job that provides for my needs And in order to keep it, I gotta go do it. I only got so much sick time, and, uh, you know, it turns out I'm not as sick as I thought I was, or, you know, basically my condition is manageable. And we'll, uh, we'll take it, and we'll pray for healing to be completed in Jesus' name. And, uh, so because we have to go to work, we should head on out the door soon. Um, and so let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. We thank you for our jobs. We thank you for, you know, the beauty of the snow and the crisp air in the cold wintertime that reminds us that we're still alive and that you blessed us in the sun, you bless us in the rain, you bless us when it's hot, and you bless us when it's cold. And even though the world will change and things will, you know, pass away, you'll always be with us. So thank you, Lord. Lord, we pray for our friends who might be listening or reading today's message, that they come along that you come alongside them and remind them of the goodness of their lives, even if they struggle, even if they're going through problems or trials right now, that you're with them, that you love them, and that you'll always be with them as long as they, they put their trust in Jesus and follow you. Um, Lord, so we just pray for you to help, help and guide our friends who are struggling right now. A lot of difficult situations, uh, out there. And, but, uh, they don't get better by complaining about them. Um, they get better when we, we, we are content and, uh, thank you for what you've given us, Lord. So thank you. And Lord, we just pray for you to go before us today as we return to the workforce, um, which is— Lord, we pray for you to go before us, open our eyes to the things we need to see, uh, let our, our thoughts and mind, um, be content with what you've given us and to remind ourselves we're more than capable of facing the challenges of the day as long as we remember who we are in Christ. And we, you know, do the best we can with our abilities that you've given us and trust you with the rest. Lord, so open our eyes to what you want us to see and move us in the way we should go, because we really need your help every day. To keep our peace and joy. So help us to abide in you, Lord. We thank you, we praise you, we love you. We pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
