The Pathway Past Slander Purity 783

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 road cutting through red rock country underneath a blue sky filled with clouds comes to us from a friend's recent visit to the Capitol Reef National Park in south-central Utah. Well, it's Thursday again, and I share today's photo because Thursdays are the day that I have traditionally done recovery or discipleship ministry. And I share a photo of a pathway of sorts to encourage others to experience or maintain their freedom in Christ by getting on or staying on the pathway of Christian discipleship, which is my way of describing walking in the Spirit or living out our Christian faith. My pathway has had many twists and turns through the years, and this latest chapter has led me to decide to facilitate a study of Freedom in Christ Ministries' The Grace Course on Zoom, and I was blessed that some of my former graduates from the Freedom in Christ courses that I've led accepted the invitation to join me. So for me, today's photo is just another visual representation of the life of Christian discipleship that I have decided to follow. For years, Thursday has been the day where I have shared what I have come to learn with anyone who would listen. But I also decided to share today's photo because of the dry and dusty landscape that this pathway runs through. Because although the Lord is with us when we decide to follow him, as represented visually by this— those magnificent heavens in today's photo, sometimes our path takes us through some dry landscapes of lack or affliction. Now don't get Now don't be overly concerned for me, things are great currently. I have been blessed beyond measure in the last few years as I have overcome many personal struggles to find myself with a new home, a new job function, a new work reporting location, a new commute, a new Christian wife, a new ministry, and a new church. They say when you come to the Lord that he makes all things new, and my experience certainly testifies to the great lengths to which God can make things new. But although I could sit and tell you story after story of the Lord's faithfulness and my deliverance from my past, there are people from the past that may have their own perspective on the way things happened. In my association with Christian divorce support group— with a Christian divorce support group— I can tell you that there are always at least two sides to every story, and we can be challenged in our walk of faith when we hear reports that others are either sharing their perspective that we may consider as revisionist history or are actively slandering us, uh, or are actively slandering us or texting us at strange hours. Anyway, I've heard horrible tales of ex-spouses actively seeking to destroy the name, reputation, and relationships of their former partner. Through twisting the telling of facts or through speaking outright lies. Recently, the most stark example of this was the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation case. Although I don't follow the news, even I was made aware of the case through friends' comments on social media. I didn't follow the case but got the impression that Johnny Depp won, but in my very limited, curious research this morning, I discovered that Amber Heard was also awarded $2 million in damages for, quote, a statement his, uh, Depp's attorney made to the Daily Mail calling her claims a hoax. $2 million says that while Heard was punished for libel, not all of her claims about Depp were a hoax. So even in this case, where it seemed that the truth came out and the innocent were rewarded, it turns out that there were issues with both sides of this equation. Again, I did not follow the case, but this is a— but this is the general impression that was delivered via osmosis, I guess, which highlights another blog post topic for another time. I guess, I guess, of the indirect influence media can have on us through our friends and social media. We don't live in a bubble, and even things we don't watch or listen to can impact us through the reports of others or through social media. But, but anyway, back to the he said, she said controversy of differing perspectives and dealing with revisionist history or slander. So even in the Depp-Hurd case, where it seemed that the truth came out and the innocent were rewarded, it turns out there were issues with both sides of this equation. It's very difficult to discern the truth, uh, because of the different perspectives out there. In this world broken by sin, nobody is innocent unless we are declared so by God through faith in Christ, of course. But even then, we are not necessarily free of the consequences of our past mistakes, and that includes suffering the consequences that come to bear from reports that we would consider revisionist history, or being in relationship with someone in the past who now decides to slander or tell lies about us. I am fortunate that I have not been slandered or lied about from people in my past, but even in my case, I have had— I have at various times been surprised to hear how some people have spoken about their dealings with me in the past, or how some intermediate may be trying to stir up trouble between me and others from my past by presenting me with unsolicited reports or updates about people in my past. Gotta wonder about their motivation. Anyway, whether the reports are true, slanted, or twisted to project us in a negative light, or are completely fictional, the attack or offense we suffer is to our pride. So What do we do when people lie about us or speak ill of us or tell their side of the story, quote unquote, to paint us as a villain? Should we fight or make the truth— uh, fight to make the truth be known? Should we sue for libel? While I will allow that fighting for truth and justice is a noble cause, and we will have to follow the Holy Spirit's guidance with how we deal with various situations in our lives, Christ's example of dealing with slander and false accusation teaches us something else that is totally counterintuitive to every instinct of our pride. Our pride says when we are attacked, we strike back. We don't get mad, we get even. Or as I remember Sean Connery's dialogue from The Untouchables about the Chicago way, we don't stop at being even. We exact more damage upon our enemies than they inflict upon us. Apparently the Old Testament verse about "an eye for an eye" wasn't enough in Chicago. But seeking revenge is the doctrine of the devil, as we are instructed to not seek revenge, as the Lord will repay others for their offenses justly. Again, let the Lord guide you in each of the situations you face in life. Um, but Christ didn't defend himself. He chose to forgive those who sinned against him and trusted God the Father and sought to do his will in all things. Um, while Christ is our perfect example of what we should do, I would like to encourage us all that an imperfect person like you and me can choose to suffer slander and can see that the affliction may be part of their walk of faith. In 2 Samuel 16:5-14, David is going through some really, some really hard times. His son is trying to take the throne of Israel, a total betrayal, when someone from David's past, Shimei, from the former King Saul's family, starts hurling insults and rocks at David and his men as they walk through Bahurim. One of David's men begs to to take the guy's head off. But David chooses to let Shimei's insults and attacks continue, saying in 2 Samuel 16:10-12, "Let him curse, because the Lord has said to him, 'Curse David.' Who then shall say, 'Why have you done so?'" And David said to Abishai and all his servants, "See how my son, who came from my own body, seeks my life." How much more now may this Benjamite— let him alone, let him curse, for so the Lord has ordered him. It may be that the Lord will look on my affliction, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing this day. David knew he was not perfect, and that from his perspective this Benjamite had cause to be angry with him. But beyond this angry person, David knew that God was sovereign and that the insults and injuries that he was suffering from his, from his son and from this angry Benjamite may be a chastisement for the consequences of David's imperfect past. And David knew that the Lord was good. Rather than defend himself, He decided to trust in the Lord and hope that the Lord would look at him accepting his afflictions and cursings on this day and repay him with good another day. Spoiler alert: God did. While I walked through the valley of my former life to where I am now, I suffered what I could consider many unjust, unfair, and hurtful things done and said against me. While I am no Christ or King David, I decided to try to walk in their footsteps and choose to ignore— and chose to ignore the offenses and not defend myself too much anyway, and learn to try to see things from their perspective and choose to forgive, even though at times I was angry and hurt and would have desired revenge in the way I used to be before coming to to faith in Christ. The world looks different from the point of view of the one hurling insults aimed against us. They are hurt and angry too, but usually—not always—they haven't made peace with God through Jesus, and all they know is self and the happiness that the world can give them. Oh, I just lost my place. Oh, we're not perfect people, are we? No, we are not. Um, wow, long pause. Um, even, let's see, they, all they know is self and the happiness that this world and manipulating circumstances can bring them. Even immature Christians can be jerks and, and not live according to God's wisdom at times. That's why we have to be disciples or followers of Jesus rather than just claiming salvation by just believing in him. To know the peace of the Lord and all the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, we have to walk in the Spirit, to live like Jesus. So we do what Christ would do even when it isn't easy, even when it doesn't seem fair, and even when it hurts. The pathway past slander is forgiveness and accepting what the Sovereign God brings into our lives and choosing to trust Him with where we go. Christ asked the Lord to forgive those who crucified Him, crucified Him, because they did not really know what they were doing. And He knew that God the Father would do what was right, even if He had to suffer. So keep walking and talking with God. If your pride is attacked, go to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to seek their wisdom and guidance. We may have to suffer affliction on this pathway as we suffer all the consequences of our imperfect past. But like David, we should trust the Lord, uh, trust that the Lord will see our hurts and that he will repay us with good for the cursing we suffer today. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible, Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verse is Hebrews 13:5. And it says, don't love money, be satisfied with what you have, for God has said, I will never fail you, I will never abandon you. Today's Bible verse instructs us not to love money, but to be content with what we have by being secure in the knowledge that God will never fail us or abandon us. Right now, I have friends and family who are suffering from financial hardships, and money is undoubtedly at the forefront of their minds. While the Lord has blessed them with the ability to work, they are in a season where they are out of work or struggling to regain ground lost because of a period of unemployment. While I am sure they are, are doing all they can on the job front, I was pleased to see that they aren't just trying to pick themselves up by their own bootstraps and have petitioned their friends and family to pray for them, and that although times are tough They are confessing that they know that the LORD will help provide for them. They know, like today's verse says, that God will never fail them and will never abandon them. They are being challenged to be satisfied with what they have, in all things, good times and bad, and to not just love the money that could resolve their immediate needs. They recognize their struggle is real, but are also putting their trust in the very real God. Today's verse is a great instruction and encouragement for us. God will never fail us. God will never abandon us. Do you believe this? If you do, you can be content. You can be satisfied with what you have because you have an unbreakable relationship with the Creator of all things that works all things together for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose. Money can't buy you love, so don't love money. Instead, love the Lord. He is the one who will never fail you or abandon you, and he is the only one who can truly satisfy you. As always, I invite all to go to mteamforchrist.org to— 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 Clinton E. Arnold's Powers of Darkness. And today's section we are sharing is from— it says it's about Christ's victory over the powers. So if you need a good victory story, go to mt4christ.org and you'll be able to see, um, uh, Clint Arnold's description of how Christ has victory over the powers. And as always, we invite you to, you know, purchase that book in its entirety on your own, but if you want to take it bit by bit, we're sharing it because we've discovered that this book, among many other resources, can help us in our Christian walk. And so, you know, we encourage reading, you know, we encourage reading the Word of God, obviously, but also Christian books where people, you know, use the Word of God's wisdom to teach what it says. And how to apply it to our lives. It's my stance and my experience that the things we learn from the Word of God and through Christian counseling can really change our lives. It's really, you know, the cure for all that ails us. It's the application of our faith to our life. The problem with that is we've been, you know, most of us, if you're anything like me, grew up in a liturgical setting where it was just sort of, you know, faith was a category that was only, you know, for Sunday morning and the rest of your life was the quote-unquote real world. Christianity is supposed to be, you know, something that takes us from here to eternity. It's not some little portion of our lives. It's our entire lives and it takes us into eternity. So if we live according to it, we'll experience the blessings of God that are promised in His word. When we, you know, live in sin or live according to, you know, just meeting our selfish desires through money and material or substances, that's when we suffer, you know. When we worry about our own pride more than, you know, what God thinks of us or what other people think of us. You know, that's when we suffer. We have to be, you know, we come under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and we're supposed to follow Him. Just believing wasn't really, isn't really prescribed in the Bible. You know, we're supposed to surrender to the Lord and His will for our lives. When we do, we inherit eternal life and a wonderful life on this earth because we come into a relationship where we can have peace with God regardless of the circumstances we face or regardless of the things that people say about us. That's, that's peace. That's peace. We can't have peace without God, so we encourage you to follow him, and we do that by sharing our teachings on the blog and the podcast and the YouTube channel. We've done classes for Victor Over the Darkness, The Bondage Breaker, and Freedom in Christ, and they're all available on the podcast and our YouTube channel. So if you want to, you know, learn what this is all about, getting your freedom, you know, study those classes. Take some responsibility for your relationship with the Lord and for overcoming, and the Lord will come alongside you, and he will guide you, and he will lead you to a good place. Place. Amen. Anyway, we also obviously we share a Bible study on the podcast and the YouTube channel as well. It's called Bible Study with the Cinkatis. We invite you to check that out too. Well, today I have off from work, my day job, as my employers or the, you know, have decided that working 2 Saturdays in June is July is just fine. So there was a change in my schedule and now I'm enjoying my Saturday on Thursday. Oh, what fun! Anyway, but I also get to enjoy my class tonight with my discipleship students and friends that I've made. So there's a little time off and there's a little work tonight and it's all good because right now I'm at my countryside home because if I have a night off I I want to spend it with my wife, and I benefited greatly from the visit. Just being in her presence and, you know, I love her and I love being with her. It doesn't have to be anything special, just being in her presence. It's a small reflection of the peace we can have with being in God's presence, but God brought her into my life and and I'm very thankful. And so I got no complaints about, you know, having a Thursday off, not really, because the Lord is good in all circumstances. And, you know, he can, he can, you know, he directs us to be satisfied with what we have. And man, am I satisfied, because I know the Lord will never fail us and he'll never abandon us. And, uh, he gives good things to his children when they ask. So I asked and I've received. And so I encourage other people to do the same thing. Follow the Lord, ask and receive the victory, the freedom, and all the things that come with it when you get on the path of Christian discipleship. So let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you for all the blessings of this life. We thank you for the— most importantly, for the knowledge of Jesus Christ and how we could be set free and made new, new creations through faith in him. Lord, we pray for our friends who have to work today. It's a normal work day for most, and we just pray for you to go before them and set up things to give them a good day. We also pray for people who are struggling with health issues and financial issues right now, in my family and my friends, and, you know, basically the people listening. Lord, we pray for you to come alongside our prayer requests for all of them. To help them and guide them in this time, in this season. Um, Lord, you're the healer, you're the redeemer, you're the restorer. And so we just ask for that to be done in our lives today. And Lord, we just pray that you open our eyes, let us see some good today, let us see the beauty of your creation, and let us see the things we need to see for our walk with you. Uh, we pray for you to guide us and into the good works you have for us. And, uh, to protect us along the way. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.