Three Things to be Grateful For – 28 Day Joy Challenge
– Day 9 – Purity 1065
Purity 1065 06/10/2023 Purity 1065 Podcast – Take 2
Purity 1065 on YouTube: Coming Soon!
Good morning,
Today’s photo
of the sun seen through some reeds on the African plains somewhere in Zambia
comes to us from Tommy Mollo who shared this scene on social media on June 8th
reporting the “good news” that another missionary team had joined his team’s efforts
to do outreaches in the villages with fantastic results. Tommy reported that “the
presence of evil” left an entire village of hundreds as, the Headmen’s of the
villages came to put their faith in Christ, drug addicts were freed, and a
church was planted! Praise the Lord and
faithful people in the mission field,
like Tommy, who have boldly gone into the far reaches of the earth to share the
gospel of Jesus Christ and to set the captives free!
Well, It’s
Saturday and even though my shift work will send me to work today! I am
praising the Lord for the many things I can be grateful for and for the
miraculous work that He does in people’s lives when they put their faith in
Jesus.
I am a
little delayed in getting this message together this morning because today’s “Joy
practice” called me to be grateful and that in part caused me to recommit
myself to some of my stronghold busters and to clean up “my closet” in a couple
of areas I had neglected. It was nothing
major really, but my “gratitude session” reminded me of who I was – a problem
solver – so I made a point of getting things in order by getting a check in the
mail, cleaning up my PC, and by rewriting my morning stronghold prayers to
include some things that need to be “given notice” as things that either
sabotage my health goals or waste my time and or money. Less is more and while
I didn’t solve everything this morning, I set my intention to make goals to eliminate
some things and organize some other things that I felt convicted to
correct.
It’s amazing
what a little gratitude can do. Gratitude can motivate us to “get things done”
and to show people we love and appreciate them. And of course, the regular
practice of gratitude can “build our joy”.
And that brings us to our current series
where I am walking through the 28 Day Joy Challenge, (https://4habits.org/) because we are encouraging
ourselves and others, you, to “find peace” in our lives by increasing our
capacity for joy and by building our emotional resilience through simple
practices of quieting and appreciation.
The 28 Day
Joy challenge is based on Dr. Marcus Warner & Chris Coursey’s latest book,
The Four Habits of Joy-Filled People, and you can sign up to take it for free,
and purchase a variety of books from Warner and Coursey on topic of Joy, by
going to https://4habits.org/.
So let’s
jump into Day 9, which will direct us to choose 3 things we can be grateful for
right now.
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Day 9 – Gratitude Activation
Welcome to Day 9 of
the 28 Days to Joy Challenge!
Today’s
Encouragement:
According to a
study from Harvard Medical School, “Gratitude helps people feel more positive
emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity,
and build strong relationships.” What great benefits from one simple practice,
and you are starting it now!
Today’s Practice:
Exercise 9
This practice gets
us started intentionally looking for things in our lives to be grateful for.
– How This Exercise
Will Benefit You:
Gratitude activates
the relational parts of our brain so we feel present, creative, and flexible.
– Exercise Steps:
Identify three
things you feel thankful for today, then share your thoughts with a friend or
family member.
Have fun with this
exercise. We pick up tomorrow with more joy practice!
Even though I have to work this morning, when I
focused on my life as it is right now and what I have to look forward to in the
day ahead, it was pretty easy to come up
with three things I am thankful for.
The first thing I am thankful for is my job. While I may have not chosen it for the “love
of the game”, I did choose it for the love of my family. The only reason I ever “went corporate” was
because I wanted to have children and wanted to be able to provide for and
support them. And while the kids are
adults now, and the first marriage failed, the job continues to be the means by
which I can run to the mailbox in the wee hours of the morning to put a check
in the mail and be able to bank roll my needs and wants.
In light of recent news of others suddenly losing
their jobs, or having calamities that interrupted their abilities to work, I
see what a blessing a regular job with good pay and benefits is. And when things fell apart in my life, it was
because of the job and the savings I had put aside, and the Lord guiding me,
and moving things, that I was able to get a new home for me and my kids. So I am thankful for my job, even on a Saturday.
Next, at the end of the day, I will be seeing the
love of my life, my faithful Christian wife, TammyLyn, who fully supports my decision
to follow the Lord progressively, and continuously, so I am thankful for
her. After my divorce, and not for
nothing ladies – the spiritual condition of the women out there who call
themselves “Christians” – I never thought I would get married again. I figured my faith was too extreme for the pseudo
Christians secular women of the world and that I would never find anyone that
would either want to be my wife, or would meet my criteria of being “Christian”. For some, men included and especially, Christianity
is little more than a superstition or a cultural name tag and when it comes to
actually following the Lord – few are “real” Christians. There is a lot of ignorance and compromise even
among those I would consider to be in the body of Christ, but I didn’t go through all I went through to
live my life in Christ to live in ignorance or compromise so as far as I was
concerned I was ready to be a monk. But
the Lord brought me TammyLyn, and while she isn’t perfect her faith is
authentic and her love for me and the Lord is deep. SO I thank God for TammyLyn every single
day.
And so last, and always first in my book, I am thankful
for the Lord who saved a wretch like me.
I was more than a prodigal. I was
a rebel. I rejected God most of my life. But He loved me enough to show me the
truth of who He is – as in HELLO – wow God is Real – as in The Holy Spirit just
manifested in my car- and to forgive me of all my sins and call me to walk with
Him all the days of my life. And God
has been with me all my life, waiting for just the right time to change everything
for good. So thank you Lord, Thank you God, Thank You Jesus, and Thank You Holy
Spirit!
So what three things are you thankful for…. It the
Lord isn’t one of them… I demand a recount and encourage you to seek and follow
Him always.
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For
those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple apologetic will
provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .
Today’s
Bible verses comes to us from my personal Bible Study this morning as the “The
NLT Bible Promise Book for Men” resource is most likely at my countryside home.
This
morning’s meditation verse is:
Malachi
2:5-6 (NLT2)
5 “The purpose of my covenant
with the Levites was to bring life and peace, and that is what I gave them.
This required reverence from them, and they greatly revered me and stood in awe
of my name.
6 They passed on to the
people the truth of the instructions they received from me. They did not lie or
cheat; they walked with me, living good and righteous lives, and they turned
many from lives of sin.
Today’s verses inform us
of the purpose of the Lord’s covenant with the Levites, and all of us – to pass
on the truth and the instructions in God’s word and to walk with the Lord,
living good and righteous lives and turning ourselves and others from a life of
sin.
The grace of God gives us
a new covenant, through faith in Jesus Christ we are forgiven and accepted into
God’s kingdom, but just like the faithful Levites we are to hold our covenant with
God with awe and reverence and respond accordingly by following Him with the
way we live our lives and to encourage others to do the same.
God is holy and He has
called us to be holy. While we will never get it perfect we are to continually
follow after Christ’s example and progress in sanctification as we repent of
our old ways and embrace the good life that God always wants us to live. Living a righteous life has its own benefits
but beyond those we express our love to God by being obedient to His instructions.
So, don’t profane the gift
that you have been given by acting like you don’t know God, instead show your awe
and reverence for the One who saved you by looking more and more like Him with the
way you walk through this world.
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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 The Holy Spirit By A.W. Pink.
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage you all to purchase A.W. Pink’s books for your own
private study and to support his work. This resource is available online
for $0.99 (https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Spirit-Arthur-Pink-Collection-ebook/dp/B008CM5292/ref=sr_1_3?crid=AHKAQOM39CTN&keywords=a.w.+pink+the+holy+spirit&qid=1684376225&sprefix=a.w.+pink+the+holy+spirit+%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-3)
A.W. Pink’s The Holy Spirit
8 – The Advent of the Spirit
Parallels
in the Advents of Christ and of the Spirit
1. God appointed that there should be a
signal coming accorded unto the descent of Each from Heaven to earth for the
performance of the work assigned Them. Just as the Son was present with the
redeemed Israelites long before His incarnation (Acts 7:37, 38; 1 Cor. 10:4),
yet God decreed for Him a visible and more formal advent, which all of His
people knew of—so though the Holy Spirit was given to work regeneration in men
all through the Old Testament era (Neh. 9:20, etc.), and moved the Prophets to
deliver their messages (2 Peter 1:21), nevertheless God ordained that He should
have a coming in state, in a solemn manner, accompanied by visible tokens and
glorious effects.
2. Both the advents
of Christ and of the Spirit were the subjects of Old Testament prediction.
During the past century much has been written upon the Messianic prophecies,
but the promises which God gave concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit
constitute a theme which is generally neglected. The following are among the
principal pledges which God made that the Spirit should be given unto and
poured out upon His saints: Psalm 68:18; Proverbs 1:23; Isaiah 32:15; Ezekiel
36:26, 39:29; Joel 2:28; Haggai 2:9: in them the descent of the Holy Spirit was
as definitely announced as was the incarnation of the Savior in Isaiah 7:14.
3. Just as Christ had
John the Baptist to announce His incarnation and to prepare His way, so the
Holy Spirit had Christ Himself to foretell His coming, and to make ready the
hearts of His own for His advent.
4. Just as it was not
until “the fullness of time had come” that God sent forth His Son (Gal. 4:4),
so it was not until “the day of Pentecost was fully come” that God sent forth
His Spirit (Acts 2:1).
5. As the Son became
incarnate in the holy land, Palestine, so the Spirit descended in Jerusalem.
6. Just as the coming
of the Son of God into this world was auspiciously signalized by mighty wonders
and signs, so the descent of God the Spirit was attended and attested by
stirring displays of Divine power. The advent of Each was marked by
supernatural phenomena: the angel choir (Luke 2:13) found its counterpart in
the “sound from Heaven” (Acts 2:1), and the Shekinah “glory” (Luke 2:9) in the
“tongues of fire” (Acts 2:3).
7. As an
extraordinary star marked the “house” where the Christ-child was (Matthew 2:9),
so a Divine shaking marked the “house” to which the Spirit had come (Acts 2:2).
8. In connection with
the advent of Christ there was both a private and a public aspect to it: in
like manner, too, was it in the giving of the Spirit. The birth of the Savior
was made known unto a few, but when He was to “be made manifest to Israel”
(John 1:31), He was publicly identified, for at His baptism the heavens were
opened, the Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove, and the voice of
the Father audibly owned Him as His Son. Correspondingly, the Spirit was
communicated to the Apostles privately, when the risen Savior “breathed on, and
said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22); and later He came
publicly on the day of Pentecost when all the great throng then in Jerusalem
were made aware of His descent (Acts 2:32–36).
9. The advent of the
Son was in order to His becoming incarnate, when the eternal Word was made
flesh (John 1:14); so, too, the advent of the Spirit was in order to His
becoming incarnate in Christ’s redeemed: as the Savior had declared to them,
the Spirit of truth “shall be in you”
(John 14:17). This is a truly marvelous parallel. As the Son of God became man,
dwelling in a human “temple” (John
2:19), so the Third Person of the Trinity took up His abode in men, to whom it is said, “Know ye not
that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1
Cor. 3:16). As the Lord Jesus said to the Father, “A body hast Thou prepared
Me” (Heb. 10:5), so the Spirit could say to Christ, “A body hast Thou prepared
Me” (see Eph. 2:22).
10. When Christ was
born into this world, we are told that Herod “was troubled and all Jerusalem with him” (Matthew 2:3); in like manner,
when the Holy Spirit was given we read, “And there were dwelling at Jerusalem
Jews, devout men out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad,
the multitude came together, and were troubled
in mind” (Acts 2:5, 6).
11. It had been
predicted that when Christ should appear He would be unrecognized and
unappreciated (Isa. 53), and so it came to pass. In like manner, the Lord Jesus
declared, “The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth
Him not, neither knoweth Him” (John 14:17).
12. As the Messianic
claims of Christ were called into question, so the advent of the Spirit was at
once challenged: “They were all amazed and were
in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?” (Acts 2:12).
13. The analogy is
yet closer: as Christ was termed “a wine bibber” (Matthew 11:19), so of those
filled with the Spirit it was said, “These men are full of new wine” (Acts
2:13)!
14. As the public
advent of Christ was heralded by John the Baptist (John 1:29), so the meaning
of the public descent of the Spirit was interpreted by Peter (Acts 2:15–36).
15. God appointed
unto Christ the executing of a stupendous work, even that of purchasing the
redemption of His people; even so to the Spirit has been assigned the momentous
task of effectually applying to His elect the virtues and benefits of the
atonement.
16. As in the
discharge of His work the Son honored the Father (John 14:10), so in the fulfillment
of His mission the Spirit glorifies the Son (John 16:13, 14).
17. As the Father
paid holy deference unto the Son by bidding the disciples, “hear ye him” (Mark
9:4), in like manner the Son shows respect for His Paraclete by saying, “He
that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches” (Rev. 2:7).
18. As Christ
committed His saints into the safe-keeping of the Holy Spirit (John 16:7;
14:16), so the Spirit will yet deliver up those saints unto Christ, as the word
“receive” in John 14:3 plainly implies. We trust that the reader will find the
same spiritual delight in perusing this chapter as the writer had in preparing
it.[1]
—————————more
tomorrow————————
Join our “Victory over the Darkness”, “The Bondage
Breaker”, “Freedom in Christ” series of Discipleship Classes via the
mt4christ247 podcast!
at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts
(https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mt4christ247s-podcast/id1551615154). The mt4christ247 podcast is also available
on Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartradio, and
Audible.com.
These teachings are also available on the
MT4Christ247 You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MT4Christ247
Email me at mt4christ247@gmail.com to receive the class materials, share your progress, and
to be encouraged.
My wife, TammyLyn, also offers Christian
encouragement via her Ask Seek Knock blog (https://tammylynask.blogspot.com/ ), her
Facebook Group: Ask, Seek, Knock (https://www.facebook.com/groups/529047851449098 ) and her podcast Ask, Seek, and Knock on
Podbean (https://feed.podbean.com/tammalyn78/feed.xml)
For those who require the assistance of a Deeper
Walk International Prayer Minister to experience healing or your freedom in
Christ, I highly recommend Christy Edge’s Life on the Edge Freedom Prayer
Ministry. You can schedule a session by going to : https://cedge216.wixsite.com/life-on-the-edge
“The views, opinions, and commentary of this
publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to
reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries,
or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication,
and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the
author may represent.”
Encouragement
for the Path of Christian Discipleship
[1]
Arthur Walkington Pink, The Holy Spirit
(Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, n.d.).
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