In this devotional video, M.t. Clark shares a personal photo from his Florida honeymoon as a visual metaphor for staying on the Christian discipleship path. He recounts leading a brother through his "Steps to Freedom in Christ," describing the repentance process and the breakthroughs that can result. Clark presents a concise apologetic framework—creation, conscience, and transformed lives—as three evidences for God, illustrated by the Steps experience. He then delves into biblical teaching on discipleship, emphasizing the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5) and the necessity of "crucifying the flesh" to live in the Spirit. A meditation on John 14:27 underscores the gift of peace that overcomes fear. Clark promotes his online resources at mt4christ.org, including a walkthrough of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship focusing on Matthew 5’s teaching on revenge. He also shares personal reflections on physical health as a by‑product of spiritual discipline. The video concludes with a heartfelt prayer for listeners, the participant of the Steps, and broader spiritual growth.
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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 an elevated wooden pathway winding through brush and trees underneath a pleasant cloud-filled blue sky comes to us from yours truly as I captured the scene while on my honeymoon vacation with my beloved wife back in February as we stayed in Tampa, Florida. And ventured out to various parks in the surrounding area to enjoy, to enjoy God's creation and each other's company. I don't remember the name of this park and didn't have enough time to figure it out, but my iPhone recorded that I was in Holiday, Florida, so I guess you could say I was in Holiday while on holiday. Anyway, it is Thursday again. And I share today's photo of another pathway as a visual reminder to encourage all my friends to get on or to stay on the path of Christian discipleship, because I know that taking, uh, taking Christ's path less traveled makes all the difference in our journey to find meaning, peace, and purpose in this life. Last night I had the singular pleasure and honor of leading a brother in Christ up and over the Steps to Freedom in Christ. I have walked this way before, and while no two journeys through the Steps to Freedom in Christ are the same, I know that if I encourage the, the participant to follow the Holy Spirit's guidance, they will emerge from the process with a new sense of freedom and victory, as the Lord will help them to unburden themselves of their spiritual and personal conflicts and to cancel any claims the enemy has to torment them. The steps are a repentance process, and when they are approached and completed in faith, amazing breakthroughs can happen as the person turns from the darkness of their pasts and chooses to walk in the way of the Lord, uh, way that the Lord would lead them. My jailhouse apologetic that I developed from my short stint inside as a part of my former church's jail ministry team presented the captive audience with 3 quick evidences for God 1. Creation. Who made all of this? God did. Genesis 1:1, right? 2. Our consciences. We know right and wrong because God wrote his law on our hearts, says Romans 2:15. Who put this, that sense of right or wrong, or oughtness, as C.S. Lewis said, in us? God did. And number 3, transformed lives. People who come to put their faith in Christ and repent demonstrate the new life that God has given them. They once were lost and now they are found. They once were one way and now they are different in a good way. And there is perhaps no better place to see the truth of my third point than in a walk through the Steps to Freedom in Christ. In the process, the participants testify of the changes God has made in their lives and how he has drawn them out of the darkness of their sins and worldly living and how the Holy Spirit has empowered them to walk away from the habits and sins of the past and start living according to God's ways. Although it was the first time through the Steps to Freedom in Christ for last night's participant, he was no stranger to following, following the Lord's call on his life. My brother in Christ truly has a heart for God and has increasingly surrendered parts of his life to God and has had some amazing victories over alcohol and sexual immorality, as in zero masturbation. No one makes that claim unless it is true, and I believe him because it is so contrary to our society's sexual permissiveness that to admit to sexual purity is almost as taboo as it once was to admit to sexual sins that are now presented as normal and acceptable and shame-free. Last night's freedom appointment was just another step in this man's journey into sanctification and a deeper walk with the Lord. What he and others on the path of Christian— to Christian— of Christian discipleship have done is revolutionary in this worldly day and age. To not just rest on the grace and forgiveness of God and remain stuck in the all-too-familiar sin-confess-sin-confess cycle, but to intentionally and victoriously overcome the sins that so easily beset us through crucifying the flesh through faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. That's what disciples are—overcomers. We walk in the Spirit and we accept God's truth as our standard for living and as our instructions for life. And this is important. A disciple of Jesus does this not out of some sense of meeting a legal or religious requirement, but seeks to take on new challenges and to overcome because of the love they have for God. Disciples repent and start living according to God's word because of the love, joy, and peace they have received from the Lord. And it is through that love that we endeavor to do whatever we can to please the Lord, up to including changing the man in the mirror. I often quote the benefits of walking in the Spirit with a list of the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23. 22 and 23, which says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against their— against such there is no law." But unfortunately, it seems that while the fruit of the Spirit is talked about, no one really gives applicable instructions on how to experience them. Ironically, those instructions are found in the following verses. Uh, Galatians 5:24 and 25 tell us, and those who are in— are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. So crucify the flesh, live and walk in the Spirit, and then you will experience the fruit of the Spirit. So keep seeking the Lord and his will for your lives. Confess and repent of your sins and seek to live your life according to who you are in Christ, and you will not satisfy the lust of the flesh. That may seem like a hard road, but I assure you that other disciples of Christ have walked this way before, and if we just keep walking and talking with God with a heart of repentance, we will find our way to freedom, victory, and the life we always wanted to live. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verse is John 14:27, and it says, I am leaving you with a gift: peace of mind and heart. And peace I give— this— and the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid. Today's Bible verse are the words of Jesus, and they remind us of his precious gift to us. The peace in mind and heart that comes from knowing that we are His and He is always— He is with us always. A peace of mind and heart that is a gift from God that can give us the power over all fear. Perfect love casts out all fear, and the love of Jesus has perfectly saved us. So focus on Jesus and who you are in Christ. Live according to the teacher's lessons. Christ's words and life show us the way, and when we follow him, we discover the peace of mind and heart that God wants us to experience. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. Uh, so let, let not your hearts be troubled, but trust in the one who has overcome the world and given us the power over sin and death. Follow Jesus and live in his peace and love. As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.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, uh, the walkthrough of Bonhoeffer's commentary on Matthew 5, on the extraordinary of Christian life, with the section called Retribution, also known as Revenge in different versions. So if you want to see what he has to say about, you know, you have heard that it is said, you know, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. What I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. If you want to see what Bonhoeffer's commentary is on Matthew 5:38-42. Go to mt4christ.org and you'll see that resource at the— at the end of today's blog post. Well, it is Thursday, and, uh, tonight I'll be doing another walk through Bonhoeffer's work, um, uh, The Cost of Discipleship, um, with these sections actually on, uh, truthfulness and revenge, and I forget the third one, but you'll see it if you tune in to the lesson and PowerPoint presentation that I'm going to make later this evening. I'll be doing that and uploading it. Hopefully by everything be up and running by 8:30 this evening. Why do I do this? Well, just to encourage people, you know, to walk in the Spirit, to follow the Lord and live a discipled life. Why? Because of that third evidence. That I've seen lives transformed. I've seen the man in the mirror change, and you know, not just spiritually, but you know, physically too. Not for nothing, you know, crucifying the flesh might end up with you having less of it at the end of the day, as it has in my case. And I continue to crucify it because I want to be healthy. You know, there's more— I'm carrying a little more weight than I'm than I'm supposed to. So we're going to crucify that flesh, but we do so not out of condemnation, but in a desire to live the best life that I can. Now, this is not best life now. This is just walking in the Spirit. And it just, you know, not for nothing, but Joel Osteen isn't far from the truth. You know, the best life now isn't a life of prosperity and riches. It's a life of peace in the Spirit, and it's not based on circumstantial stuff like money and whatnot. It's based on our harmony with the Lord. And so that's what we seek to encourage other people to experience, and that's what we're seeking for ourselves every day. We do this through, you know, a lifestyle of appreciation and quieting that comes through prayer and Bible study and just a constant conversation with the Lord as I go about my day. This is how we, you know, walk in the Spirit. We literally walk and talk with God, and we listen too. And sometimes the things we hear are not great news, and because it shows us that we should probably change. But the good news is the Lord is with us in that process to help us to become more and more like Jesus. We're to be conformed to the image of Christ. And it's not necessarily work that's done overnight, but it is a work that we should, you know, we should be honored to attempt. And, you know, at the same time, we have peace knowing that we're fully accepted right where we are right now. And, um, but how much more does the Lord have for us? How much more can we know about him and know about ourselves? And how much more peace can we have? You can have— well, let's keep it continuous. I don't know if we can have more peace, but we can have it today, and we can endeavor to have it tomorrow. But we'll take care of today first. So let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we just thank you for, you know, my friend's victory through victorious walk through the Steps of Freedom in Christ last night. Lord, it was amazing to see how you revealed the things to him that he didn't remember and he didn't even know in some instances. Lord, the Holy Spirit led him into all truth, and there was complete resolution through that process. And I know, I pray that you'll be with him and me and everyone who's listening as we, as we walk through today and and, uh, you know, continually in your direction. Um, Lord, we pray for the people listening. Uh, we pray that they, they know and be assured that they're on the right path when they decide to follow you, and that no matter what the world says, um, you know, what they're doing, their heart to follow you is good and pleasing to you, Lord. So we pray for them and their prayer requests, Lord. We pray for you to come alongside the people who need healing, and, you know, to address the concerns and needs in people's lives and lead them in the way they should go, and empower them and encourage them to leave behind the old ways of doing things and adopt your ways for their lives. And Lord, and as always, we pray for you to go before us. We pray for you to set up our days because you're the Sovereign Lord. And, uh, you know, if we have to walk through peace or through tribulation Um, let us not forget that you're right there beside us and that we can have peace regardless of the circumstances. And Lord, so we pray for you to open our eyes to the things you want us to see and lead us into the things you would have us do. Um, speak to us and show us the way to go. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
