Walking into Wide Open Spaces and Why “You Lift All Them Weights!” -Purity 870

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 my faithful companion Harley wearing his foxy sweater and standing in front of a stand of trees displaying autumn colors comes to us from yours truly, as I decided to take our landlord's invitation to go off-road and explore his property. When you show your integrity as a Christian by just doing what is right and meeting your responsibilities, all kinds of doors will open up to you. And when someone tells me that I am welcome to enter into a new experience, uh, that I thought was off-limits, I generally stepped into it with enthusiasm. Uh, to make Harley visible in today's photo, I really had to zoom in, so I am sharing the original also on the blog today to give you all all an idea of just how wide open the space was that we walked into and to see just how big and blue the sky was that was over us in Eastern New York's version of Big Sky Country. If you go to the blog to see it, I just want you to— I just want to point out that the photo that I titled Great Wide Open is just one cross-section of the 360-degree panorama of cleared fields and distant forest that surrounded us as we boldly walked into the unknown expanses beyond the gorge behind our countryside home. Uh, to make Harley— mm, I already said that. Well, it's Monday again, and even though it's back to work and back to reality, I want to encourage everyone who has read thus far to, uh, or listen to this podcast, uh, to accept my invitation to broaden your horizons by stepping out in faith to seek all that the Lord has for you, because a lifestyle of living in the presence of God and walking in the Spirit is not something that most people even consider as possible. And my ongoing testimony is intended to let everyone know just how good God is and how amazing your life can be when you start walking and talking with him. After I spent nearly 40 years in a lifestyle of confusion, sin, and worldliness, I uh, after I experienced the love and forgiveness of God upon my salvation, I was intentional in my new life in Christ, uh, to know God more and seek his— out his will, uh, for my life. And while, uh, the narrow road that Christ has put me on hasn't been free of trials and tribulations, I'm here to tell you that it is through following Christ alone where where the pathway to peace is found, both here on earth and as it is in heaven. As wobbly as my walk was in my Christian infancy, I had a real desire to know that I was following a God who was real, good, and holy. And I went into my journey of faith with the skepticism and caution of someone who wasn't going to accept much of anything unless I could know and experience that it was true. At the same time though, I also understood that this faith walk was uncharted territory. So while I was going to proceed with caution, I realized that I also had to have an open mind and an open heart to consider the Lord's ways because they were foreign to the world's wisdom of the "ends justify the means" and the "take what you want" mentality. So I started praying and reading the Bible on my own, listening to Christian podcasts, going to church, serving there, going to a men's Bible study, and eventually enrolling in Bible college, all in the pursuit of seeking to know God more and to seek out his will for me. And now, 12 years later, after I said the prayer that put my faith in Christ, I can tell you that although I have learned a lot and experienced a lot in my faith walk, I can easily admit that there are still wide open spaces to walk into and that there is simply no end in sight of how much we can know about God, our Christian faith, and about our lives walking with the Lord. Although there are dry and dusty areas that we will experience on this path of faith, I have managed to keep things fresh by continually seeking the next thing that the Lord has for me. But without abandoning the basic disciplines of discipleship. And I think that is a key to progress. We keep doing what we are doing in terms of reading the word of God again— oh yeah, again— and staying connected to the Lord in prayer and just talking to him as we go on, uh, go through our lives on a daily basis. But we also keep our eyes forward and keep our eyes on that horizon to see what the Lord is bringing bringing us to. This morning I was reminded of a quote by the Super Bowl champion coach of the New York Giants, Bill Parcells, who inspired his team on the sidelines of a game once by saying, hey fellas, this is what you work all offseason for. This is why you lift all them weights. This is why you do all that blank. Just like the big tuna, Coach Parcells, I would encourage Christians to do the disciplines that will make your faith strong strong and prepare you for what the Lord wants you to do. For the Christian, lifting weights is reading the Bible, praying, going to church, reading Christian books, praising, worshiping, and listening to Christian music or podcasts. Uh, these disciplines of the Christian make our faith strong by renewing our minds and reshaping our hearts. Just like lifting weights or working out, these disciplines should be done wisely and consistently. Consistently and not in a manner— consistently in a manner that will build your capacity but in a way that will not overwhelm you. That's not— you start with small weights and then when you are stronger you lift heavier weights. When we first come to faith in Christ we can't lift much because we should— but we should lift something. And we should seek to engage our faith muscles regularly and consistently in order to gain wisdom and the capacity to let more of what God has for us into our lives. That can involve an openness to receive what the Lord has for you and a willingness to surrender our old wisdom and ways for his higher wisdom and ways. That involves a humbleness to admit, I don't know that. Or what may be even harder, maybe, or what may be even harder to admit, saying what, yeah, or to speak. You have to have a humbleness to admit that you don't know that, or to say the thing that may be even harder to admit, I was wrong. Yeah, so there. Uh, but don't worry, you didn't know any better, and neither did those who tried to coach you to live in this world independently of God. But now we do know. God has opened our eyes to the truth of Jesus Christ, and while knowing him is enough to save us, we should not be shy to accept the Lord's invitation, uh, to walk into the wide open spaces of his wisdom, love, and light, to discover all the things the Lord has for us that we could never see. And our former darkness. So start or keep lifting them weights and keep walking and talking with God to know him more and to explore all he has for you to see and all he has for you to be that lies somewhere over the next horizon on your journey from here to eternity. As always— well, no, uh, not yet. Um, today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men, the This morning's meditation verse is Psalm 94:14, and it says, the Lord will not reject his people. He will not abandon his special possession. Today's Bible verse speaks one of the most important promises of our faith. The Lord will not reject us and he will not abandon us. The Lord will never leave or forsake us, and this is what can give us a continuing sense of hope. This is one of the greatest things about our faith. We can count on the Lord always. Uh, in this life, people will come and go. Family, friends, loved ones, and neighbors will go in different directions from us. Some will leave us because of our faith in Christ. Ask me how I know. Actually, don't ask me, because there are simply too many people to count. Through my life in general, and through the last years, uh, last 12 years specifically, there are a whole lot of people that I will probably never see in the flesh or even on social media again. But the Lord, he is always available. He is always with us. So rejoice in knowing that he will not reject you or abandon you, and that he considers you to be his special possession. 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, uh, Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Discipleship also known as The Cost of Discipleship, and we include the section or chapter known as Brother, or in some versions is Kindred. And so if you want to see, um, the, the conclusion of that short section of Bonhoeffer's book, go to mtforchrist.org and you'll see that resource at the end of today's blog post. Um, well, it's Monday again, um, so I, I wish you well as we all go into work today. And 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've done for us, for opening our eyes to the truth and inviting us into the wide open spaces of your wisdom, grace, and love. Lord, we pray for the people listening today, uh, that they would take a step of faith and keep on walking and talking with you, Lord. Um, Lord, we pray for you to come alongside them, uh, bless them with your grace and and, uh, and by answering their prayer requests and giving them the wisdom they need to, to make it another day, to go forth in their Christian faith. Um, Lord, as always, we pray for you to go before us, to open our eyes to the things we need to see today and to lead us into the things you would have us do. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we love you. We pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.