You are Not Alone - Remembering the Dead, Caring for the Living Purity 744

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 solitary figure standing next to a lighthouse on the shores of Lake Ontario at dusk comes to us from a friend who took an unexpected turn after a late-day hike at Beachwood State Park yesterday and found themselves visiting nearby Sodus Point. Why they captured the scene. Well, it's Monday again, but unlike most Mondays today, uh, most of us will not be heading into work this morning because today is Memorial Day, where our country will honor those who not only served in the armed forces for our country, but who pay the ultimate sacrifice by dying while serving. Uh, to make clear the purpose of this holiday, uh, it should be stated that in a sense it is not a holiday for the living, it is for the dead. As much as we respect and admire those who act— are actively serving, like my stepdaughter Rachel in the Marine Corps, or those who have served previously and, and who are still alive, like my father Matt, my brother Michael, and my brother-in-law Stephen, or who have gone on to eternity like both of my wife's grandfathers, Memorial Day is a day to honor those who were killed in or as a result of participating in battle. That's pretty specific, so I am sharing the links to the article on history.com on the blog today that makes that distinction and shares some historical facts of why we are— why we have the day off today. So even though we may enjoy the day off by having a barbecue or doing other fun activities, we should— and we should, because I believe the Lord gave us life to enjoy it and live it more abundantly. The reason for today's holiday is a solemn one where, uh, we are to remember, uh, that people have in the service— or, uh, that, that we are to remember that people died in the service of our country and that our freedom in America wasn't a free gift. Our freedom in America was obtained and is maintained because there were those who were willing to fight and die for it. So although we could and should thank those who are actively serving or who once served and are now veterans, or, you know, it's nice to fondly remember those who once served and have died, who survived and since have died. If they understand the meaning of the holiday, they are not expecting your thanks today, although I am sure they would appreciate them. No, today's holiday's specific purpose is to remember the horrors of war and the lives that were lost in them. We are to remember the dead, to try to imagine the whole— the cold, hard reality of what it must have been like to die in a war, and to deeply appreciate the lives that were sacrificed for our nation and the lives we enjoy today because of them. While this day casts our imaginations back to previous wars and conflicts where American lives were lost, it also comes with the hope that such horrors of the past are not repeated. But paradoxically, the holiday is celebrated with the certainty that as long as there is evil in the world, the sacrifices of lives in the support of freedom will continue. So today, my family and I take some will take some time to honor the lives that have been given, but will do, do so as part of an organization that seeks to support the men and women who could possibly be remembered next Memorial Day. My father-in-law Cliff Seguin is retired but dedicates his time serving as the chairman of Operation Adopt a Soldier, which is a nonprofit organization that he founded in 2003. 3 that provides support to U.S. soldiers stationed worldwide by sending care packages through the generous assistance of volunteers from Saratoga, Albany, Queensbury, and Clinton Park, New York areas. I am proud to be marching in the Saratoga Memorial Day Parade today to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice as part of an organization that supports U.S. servicemen and women. Who are actively serving our country. While remembering the dead by placing flags on fallen service members' graves at Saratoga National— National Cemetery yesterday, Operation Adopt a Soldier also serves the living. Operation Adopt a Soldier sends care packages to men and women who are actively serving and also work with returning members and their families during deployments and after the service members return. The very real problem of feelings of isolation while serving and the difficulty in adapting to life after military service is reflected by the fact that military suicide rates are at an all-time high. I'm sharing links on the blog today for the USO that documents how they are trying to help, and from the Veterans Crisis Line that veterans in crisis can use to get support. Because even though today's holiday is meant to remember the dead, we should always be obedient to Christ's call to love our neighbors as ourselves and care for the living. Um, yes, uh, let's say years ago I visited the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco where I visited a memorial near the bridge that honored all four branches of our armed services. A tour guide or something at the memorial explained that for many, the Golden Gate Bridge was the last thing in America that many servicemen saw before being shipped out overseas, and how many of them would never return. At the time, the thought of it gave me chills as I realized how exciting, scary, and lonely you could have felt when being shipped out, never knowing if you would come home again. I share today's lighthouse photo because I want, I want everyone to know whether you are serving, have served, or have never served, that our lives are precious and that there is a God that loves and cares for each and every one of us. And that no matter what situations you may be going through or how you may feel this Memorial Day, you are never alone. No matter where your travels take you, you always have a home in God's kingdom. While we could be distant from friends and families at various times in our lives, God is always with us and available to give us strength, guidance, and love. For anyone serving in the military or who— or anyone who is dealing with their own personal battles in life, God's word tells us in Deuteronomy 31:6, be strong and of good courage. Do not fear nor be afraid, for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. In this passage of scripture, Moses, who could not go with them, was encouraging the nation of Israel that the God who led them through 40 years in the wilderness would continue to be with them as they, as they entered the Promised Land, even though the prospect of going into unknown territory without knowing if they would live or die, uh, was scary. The Lord spoke through Moses to tell the Israelites and us to not be afraid and to always trust God's presence in His people's lives. Our God is faithful and ever-present, and even— and, and when we accept the new life that He has available through faith in Jesus Christ, we become His people. We can realize just how faithful and present he is. So, so if you haven't already, make the ultimate sacrifice by placing your life— by placing your faith in Jesus Christ and making the daily decision to trust and follow the Lord for the rest of your days. Our lives are precious. God doesn't want us to lose them. Through faith in Christ, He made us— made a way to live with Him forever. In Matthew 20— Matthew 16:24-25, Christ said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. And whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." We find life eternal in Christ alone. So on this day that is dedicated to those who have died in battle, let's honor their memory, but let's re— learn the lesson of the brevity of this life and make sure that we are fighting for the new life and ultimate freedom that is found in Christ alone by showing the love of God, by serving the living, and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ while we are here on the earth. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verse is Psalm 58:11, and it says, "Then at last everyone will say, 'There truly is a reward for those who live for God. Surely there is a God who judges justly here on earth.'" Today's Bible verse reminds us that God is a just judge, and those who live for Him are rewarded. As awesome as that Bible verse is, I would remind everyone who seeks the wisdom of the Word of God to always check the context of Scripture before you draw conclusions. Or share it with others. Those so inclined could see the mention of reward in this verse and stand on the word to name and claim their reward and try to, and try to force the Lord's hand to bless them or speak into being the object or circumstances of their desire. To avoid the prosperity gospel/word of heresy word of faith heresy, I just remind— I just like to remind people that God is in charge, and that while he may choose to bless our prayers with fulfillment, we, while made in God's image, are not little gods, and we do not speak things into existence. And we should not take verses and try to twist them to do our own— to do our bidding. Today's verse is a perfect example of the importance of knowing the context of Scripture. Psalm 58 is a short psalm that speaks of man's wickedness and the psalmist's desire for the Lord to avenge them by severely punishing their enemies. These preceding verses give us an idea of the theme. Verse 58:9-10 say, God will sweep them away, both young and old, faster than a pot heats over burning thorns. The God The godly will rejoice when they see injustice avenged. They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked. Rejoice as both the young and old are swept away. Let's wash our feet in the blood of the wicked. Yikes! Uh, so be careful in cherry-picking verses that speak of rewards. We have to know what the word says and use it appropriately, and not think too highly of ourselves to think we can have the Lord do our bidding by saying quote-unquote, the right words. But today's verse and Psalm 58 does give us hope that evil will be punished and the righteous, those who are made righteous because of their faith in Christ, the only way we can be righteous, will be rewarded. This can happen circumstantially through God's providence as he influences world history to move men to stop wicked men and governments on the earth. But it is also promised when Christ returns to rule and reign. When love comes to town, there will be hell to pay. For when the God who judges justly sends Christ back to earth, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. For the wicked, those who reject Jesus, they will confess that he is Lord in defeat and bitterness. As they will be separated from God for all eternity in a place that is described as outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. But those who put their faith in Him, they will declare Jesus Christ as Lord triumphantly and rejoice. When that day comes, the saints will echo the sentiments of today's Bible verse in the New King James Version that says, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous." Surely he is God who judges in the earth. 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 John Piper's Don't Waste Your Life. And today, ironically, uh, the section, uh, that we're sharing says Alive to Christ and Dead to America. And the second section is pity for people and a passion for Christ are one. Now let me explain. Chapter 9 of Piper's books is about missions. So being alive to Christ and dead to America is, I believe, going to show us, you know, it's not king and country, it is the King of Kings, that matters the most. You know, our patriotism is one thing, but then there is service to the kingdom, which is, you know, to serve all our brothers and sisters in the world and try to win people to the kingdom by sharing the gospel and telling people of the salvation that is found in Christ alone. So in the mission field, that's what you do. You help people in general ways of, you know, without, you know, necessarily winning converts, but you also do it in the name of Christ and with the hopes that your works, you know, will be of great benefit for the kingdom and that you'll reflect God's glory by, one, doing good works, and two, by, you know, showing people that there's hope and a new transformed life that's available to everybody who puts their faith in Jesus. And that's what our mission here is on mt4christ.org and the MT for Christ 24/7 podcast and our YouTube channel, um, is to share the hope of Jesus, not just for salvation, because that— I mean, that was good enough, right? Knowing you're not going to go into the outer darkness where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth, that's a great and precious promise I think everyone can really hold on to. But the thing that I've come to discover, and that is highlighted in the Word of God to back us up, is that, you know, you're changed after you become a Christian. You're a new creation. The old has passed away. And, you know, that God's will for our lives is to be sanctified, and that's here and now. And when we walk in the Spirit, we experience the fruit of the Spirit. Which is joy, peace, love, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, patience, and self-control. All good things to experience, and the good thing is we can experience them regardless of the circumstances that we are in, whether we're deployed overseas in military action or we're just living in the world here in the United States in peacetime. You know, we can we still have peace regardless of the things around us when we walk— when we first know who we are in Christ and when we walk in the Spirit. And that's the hope that we try to share. And, you know, that's why really I started the, the blog in the first place, was to share people the victory, you know, that they can have in Christ, the victory and the freedom. And, uh, you know, it has evolved to the point where I share, you know, 6 days a week, um, and share, um, resources from Christian counselors and theologians that, uh, you know, that highlight the truth, um, that, that, uh, the transformed life comes through, through our Christian— Christianity, through our Christian faith. So You know, if you follow him and turn from the ways of the world toward the ways of the Lord, you will discover it for yourself. And so it's not blind faith, you know. We encourage the study of the word. That's why we share a Bible study once a week with Arthur and Susanna Sincotti. We just shared a new study yesterday that we did on love, which is both on the podcast and the YouTube channel. And several others going back to, geez, I don't know how far, 2001, April, I think we started the blog, the first Bible study. This is all to, you know, encourage people. There's great hope in our Christian faith, and, uh, you know, it can help you overcome, and it can just help you live your everyday life afterwards. Um, you know, maintain, you know, winning freedom is great, But it doesn't matter unless you maintain it, and that's the thing that matters. Sometimes you see Christians come in, they're on fire for God, and then they walk away from the faith. What happened? Well, two things: either they were a false convert, never was a Christian, or they just lost their hope. And, you know, they were gonna lead worldly lives and then, you know, end up in the kingdom someday, knowing that they they sort of missed the call that was on their life to share the good news and to experience the peace that they didn't come to know because they didn't follow the Lord. This is a journey that we have to start in love. When we love the Lord, we'll trust him and we'll follow, and then we'll discover, wow, you know, all this stuff really can change your life and you can have peace.— regardless of circumstances, through our faith. Wow, I didn't know that was possible. I thought that was just like a— it's just some pie-in-the-sky thing they say in the Bible or they say in church, but no one really lives that way. Well, the truth is you can live that way, but you got to trust the Lord and follow Him. And actually, that's the invitation, you know, that's available to you. You don't have to do anything. We are free after all. But we encourage you to do what's good, and that could be of great benefit to you. So that's what we do here today. Today we're going to be marching in the parade to support my father-in-law's organization that helps servicemen. And, you know, it's not like— it's a small thing, but, you know, I like to support, you know, well, I never had the opportunity to support my father-in-law if it before this because he wasn't my father-in-law last year. But I'm gonna do that today, and I'm gonna support the, you know, do my little part to represent his organization, to try to help servicemen, and to of course remember those who died. So, you know, I don't know what you're doing today. I wish everyone A wonderful Memorial Day, although it's supposed to be a solemn occasion, so, you know, you gotta keep it in perspective because not everyone died in World War II or Vietnam or whenever. You know, there are people walking around on this earth today that are deeply affected by the loss that came, you know, through someone's sacrifice. Afghanistan, Iraq, Desert Storm, all the current conflicts, people are dying every day. You know, I don't know about every day, I don't have the stats on that, but quite often for our country, in service to our country. And so there are real live living people today that are walking around this Memorial Day with a strong loss that they're feeling because their loved one has been killed, you know, in their lifetime. So it's something to be cognizant about. And so we should show some respect and some presence of mind by not acting a fool too much in our Memorial Day celebrations. Today. So I say that to myself to warn myself as much as to— I just found out a friend on Facebook's father died in Vietnam. I had no idea. You know, it's a Facebook friend, so you don't know necessarily everything of their history. But yeah, sure enough, 1966, my friend's father paid the ultimate price in Vietnam. And so he's an adult, obviously, now. And, um, but I'm sure, you know, that life, that life was lost and, uh, forever changed my friend's course of life. So we have to be cognizant of the losses today, but at the same time, we remember the hope and the life that's found in Christ and share that with people because he can heal the hurt of loss. He can give us new life, and He alone brings the healing. So we always, we always recognize the reality of situations, but we always point to the ultimate reality of Christ to save. So let's do that today, and let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. We love you. We thank you for opening our eyes to the truth of the gospel, um, so we can share on the love that you have for all people by sharing the, the love that's available and the new life that's available through Christ alone. Uh, Lord, we, we pray for everyone listening today. Lord, we pray for you to bless them and their Memorial Day remembrances. Uh, Lord, we pray for a good day, um, just to, to enjoy the day off or to support anyone who's working, because that's, that's a reality too. Um, Lord, just we pray for you to go before us and to, and to bless us with, with spiritual insight to what you want us to see, to see the beauty in the world or see something in your word, to be encouraged by you or inspired by you. And Lord, we pray for blessings, we pray for healing for those friends who need it, and we pray for circumstantial blessings as well, as we know you're sovereign and that sometimes really good things happen when we're on the path of Christian discipleship, Lord. So we're praying for those good things to happen, um, in, uh, in our lives and around our lives, uh, so we can point to you and say, that's my God. Lord, thank you for another day in your kingdom. We, we, we praise your name. We love you. We thank you. And we praise— pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.