In this MT for Christ 247 podcast episode, host M.t. Clark opens with a photo description and a brief personal health update after recovering from pneumonia, expressing gratitude for his health, family, and faith. He reflects on how personal illness can lead to self‑centeredness and shares a recent testimony from Lauren Ross‑Killey of Mindful of Christ Ministries, who, despite a degenerative condition that now requires a wheelchair, finds strength in Deuteronomy 31:8 and encourages others to step out of their comfort zones. Clark expands the discussion by connecting Lauren’s experience to the biblical narrative of Jesus’ own suffering, emphasizing that Christ fully understands human fear and pain. He then presents scriptural meditations: verses from a Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling (Colossians 1:13‑14) on redemption and forgiveness, and a devotional excerpt from Stephen F. Alford’s According to Your Word focusing on Hebrews 6:12 and the danger of spiritual sluggishness. Throughout, Clark urges listeners to be diligent, patient, and active in their faith, offering practical resources such as the Celebrate Freedom support group at Starpoint Church in Clifton Park, NY, and various YouTube podcast playlists for Christian recovery and discipleship. The episode concludes with a heartfelt prayer for healing, especially for Lauren and anyone in need, and a request for God’s guidance for all listeners.
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Welcome to the MT for Christ 247 podcast. I am M.t. Clark, and this is today's photo. Today's— to see today's photo, go to mtforchrist.com or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter, or watch us on YouTube. Good morning. Today's photo of the setting sun sandwiched between the mountains on the horizon and a massive cloud formation over the shores of a tranquil lake come to us from an unknown Facebook friend who shared this scene on social media on Monday, September 9th. This photo was yours? Let us know and we will photo credit you on the blog after the fact. Well, it is Saturday and I'm happy it is the weekend. After recovering from pneumonia and returning from work, uh, to work on Wednesday, I am thankful for the weekend. My job my health, my wife, and the Lord. Too often we take our health for granted, and when our health fails, we may be tempted to believe that God is punishing us or that he is somehow, somehow doesn't understand our problems or care about us. Our failing health can also make us self-centered and cause us to fail to consider that other people are suffering as well. This morning I was checking my emails and saw that I had a Word from Wednesday message from Mindful Mindful of Christ Ministries. And as I'm always looking for an encouraging word from other Christians, I decided to check it out. And the message— I was shocked to learn that Lauren Ross Killey, uh, the woman behind Mindful of Christ, uh, and someone I admire, has been experiencing degenerating health conditions that I was only vaguely aware of. I haven't been following Mindful of Christ regularly, and I, and I recall Lauren testifying to issues with her health, but I didn't realize that things had gotten worse to the point that she was using a wheelchair to get around these days. I felt that awkward mix of shame and guilt that we can sometimes get when we learn of a friend's suffering and realize we haven't kept in touch and perhaps have been a little too busy or self-obsessed to notice. Compassion is feeling sympathy, pity, or concern for the suffering or misfortunes of others. Some describe it as a feeling, feeling the pain of others empathetically. Lauren lives, Lauren lives in England, and we've never met in person, but I felt compassion for her all the same. But as I read her message, I was reminded of why I admire Lauren and her ministry. She wasn't focusing on her suffering or what she was unable to do. Lauren was focusing on what she could do and on how the Lord was with her. So I'm sharing her message on the blog today to remind us all of how God is with us even in our sufferings. Lauren of Mindful in Christ Ministries writes, out of your comfort zone, Deuteronomy 31:8: Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you. He will never— he will neither fail you nor abandon you. And Lauren writes, this verse is very personal to me today, and so I'm going to share a testimonial message for your encouragement. I know it doesn't sound like a big deal to most, but for me it was huge. Today I went into town on my own in the electric chair. First time out further than 15 minutes around the block in over a year. Last time I went to town, I was being pushed in a manual chair by my daughter just before Christmas. So I sent out a prayer request to a few Christian friends who sent me this above verse and other words of encouragement. It went really well. Uh, was so good to be out. Everyone was so lovely and helpful, and the bus drivers did the ramp with no problem. Just navigating the chair into place was a bit of a challenge, but got there in the end. Even treated myself to a cake. My message today is that no matter where you go or what you have to face, especially when it's out of your comfort zone, God is with you. He always has been and always will be. He has gone before you. He is our strength, guide, and protector. Nothing is too big for him. He wants what's best for you, and he won't give you any challenge that he can't handle. As long as you do it or go there with him. He knows our thoughts and fears, and he has a plan for you. He sent Jesus to experience life here on Earth, and so there is nothing that he doesn't know or hasn't experienced. I once thought he hadn't experienced neurocardiogenic syncope. You don't hear of Jesus blacking out everywhere where he went. But he did experience difficult paths. He knew he had to go to the cross to die for us, be beaten and nailed to the cross. So in the Garden of Gethsemane, before that fatal day, he cried out to the Lord asking, "This cup be taken away," which means he didn't want to go through with it. He must have been terrified, sad, and lost, and had many other feelings and emotions. But most of all, he wanted God's will to be done, and he obeyed like a lamb to the slaughter. How amazing and humble is that? My point: he has experienced the thoughts and feelings that we do. He has gone before us, and because of this, we don't have to be afraid or discouraged. He has gone ahead of you, and he will not abandon you to deal with it alone. So turn to him and trust him. You can get out of your comfort zone and he will guide you and give you the strength to do so. Blessings, Lauren Ross Killing. Amen. You know, when we do life with God, we can find, uh, we can find comfort from his presence and from knowing that he understands our sufferings and he will not abandon us ever. In our busy lives, we can easily lose track of what is happening in the lives of our friends near and far. So it is my prayer that this message finds you well, my friends. If that is not the case, I pray that you would let the words of Deuteronomy 31:8 encourage you the way they have encouraged Lauren. Not be afraid or discouraged, and to trust God even when you're out of your comfort zone. Today's Bible verses come from, uh, come from this Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Cruis. This morning's meditation verses come from the section on the forgiveness of sins, and today's verses are Colossians 1:13 and 14. And the word of God tells us He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Today's verses fall under the 25th point of our Counseling Reference Guide's resource section on the forgiveness of sins. And that 25th point is: Believers are rescued from the dominion of darkness. They are brought into Jesus's eternal kingdom and are forgiven of all their sins. Today's verse, uh, Bible verses remind us of the fundamental promises of our faith, that we would not only be forgiven of our sins, but that we, we would also be fully accepted into God's kingdom. This is the amazing grace that we sing about. We have been delivered from the domain of darkness, and we have been transferred to the kingdom of light, not because we deserved it, but because God loves us and sent Jesus to suffer and die for our redemption. Let us never forget how blessed we are to know Jesus and have been freely given so much. As always, we encourage everyone to go to mtforchrist.com, where we always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist our brothers and sisters in Christ with our walk with their walk. Um, today we continue sharing from According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament by Stephen F. Alford. And in Alford's devotional, he prompts us to read a chapter of the New Testament every morning and evening. And today's chapter is Hebrews 6. And from Hebrews 6, he shares a portion of verse 12, which says, do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. And Stephen Alford writes, how comparatively easy it is to become a sluggish Christian. Sluggishness invites the believer to take the course of least resistance, to sit back and be an armchair Christian, to just be content with the fact that the believer in Christ is secure and therefore there is no need for any exertion. But Paul challenges such, and says, imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. As to the promises, eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him. These can all be inherited and experienced in faith, for faith is the substance of things hoped for. And Stephen Alpert ends by praying, Lord, may I demonstrate a faith that is both diligent and patient. Amen. Amen. Yeah, we have to be diligent and patient and, uh, to imitate those whose faith and patience inherit the promises. And the promises, you know, beyond eternal life, is the fruit of the Spirit, and that's peace, joy, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, patience, and self-control. And that's being diligent. We don't just sit back. We, we participate in our faith. We're not spectators. We're active agents for God's kingdom. And we share the word of God, and we encourage one another in our faith, and we try to bring people to Jesus, and we try to help people with their hurts, habits, and hangups. Um, and when we, when we serve like that, we surrender and serve, um, that's when we grow. And so we always ask the question— oh, well, we ask the question, have you fully surrendered to God? And because we've discovered that when you do that Amazing things happen. Things really change. It's— you don't just say, yeah, I'm forgiven of my sins, and you go back to normal. Um, the Holy Spirit comes inside you and guides you into a better life. That's the life of purity and sanctification and life of service. And for me, that led to serving at my local church, Starpoint Church in Clifton Park, where I lead the Celebrate Freedom support group, which meets on Wednesdays. 6:30 PM. If you are interested in walking in the Spirit, Christian recovery, and discipleship, we invite you to come, uh, to our meeting. Uh, it is in person, so you'd have to be in Upstate New York, uh, to join us. However, if, uh, if you're not in Upstate New York, we, we believe that you can find or increase your freedom in Christ by joining one of our podcast classes on YouTube We have several playlists for The Bondage Breaker. Well, one playlist for The Bondage Breaker, one for Victor Over the Darkness, one for Freedom in Christ, and one for the Celebrate Freedom in Discipleship course. We've also done series on the podcast before that we put into playlists. So if you'd like to check those out, you can find them on YouTube, or if you want, you can go to mtforchrist.com and check out our YouTube playlist page. To find all the, all the, the playlists that we've, uh, compiled, uh, over the years. Anyway, um, we— it is the weekend, so I'm very thankful for that and look forward to, um, apple picking today and rest, um, and church tomorrow. So I'm not sure what else is on the agenda, but I'm looking forward to it. So let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you so much for all that you do for us. We thank you for the healing that we have. Lord, we pray for healing to our friends, uh, for Lauren Ross-Killey and anyone else who's out there who needs help, um, physically, spiritually, mentally, or emotionally. Lord, you're the healer, and, um, we petition, uh, for your help, uh, and all the situations that we know or don't know about. That affect the people in our lives. And Lord, we also pray for anyone who's listening or reading today's message, that you come alongside them in prayer, uh, come alongside them and their prayer requests, Lord, to help them and guide them in the way they should go. As always, Lord, we, we just want to represent your kingdom, and we need your help with that as much as possible. So that's what we're asking for today as well. Go before us to show us the things you want us to see and, uh, lead us in the way we should go. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, and we love you. And we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
