Less of Me, Seek God First – A Mindful of Christ Encouraging Word – Purity 1207

Less of Me, Seek God First – A Mindful of Christ
Encouraging Word  – Purity 1207

Purity 1207 11/25/2023 Purity 1207 Podcast

Purity 1207 on YouTube:

Good morning,

Today’s photo of Monet’s Waterlilies, 1906 projected
on a wall while a pair of art enthusiasts crane their necks to see more
dazzling displays of art put into motion while they rest in lounge chairs comes
to us from yours truly as I captured this scene during my visit to the “Monet
Experience” in downtown Schenectady, on November 18^th.  

Well, it’s Saturday and if your day isn’t already planned
out with holiday decorating, shopping, or some other activities, I can
certainly recommend “The Monet Experience” as a decent way to spend a couple of
hours. That recommendation is for those of my friends who like art of course. People
have different tastes and even though I enjoyed it there is no guarantee that you
will have a similar experience.  

That goes for our life of faith as well.  If I could give you “my experiences of faith”
from the things I have gone through, learned, encountered, and experienced throughout
my life, especially since the days of my salvation in 2010, and my decision to
go into recovery in 2015, you might be getting up early and writing a blog and
producing a podcast to encourage anyone who will listen to “keep on walking and
talking with God”! 

Or you might not!

I often reflect on my relationship with God and
where it has led me through life and in my honest assessment, even though I
have felt compelled to make the decisions I have made as if there were no other
choice, the truth is there were other choices. I could have chosen not to
follow the Lord the way I have. I could have decided to not pursue the ministry
or education opportunities that I have. I could have chosen to be content just
being a “sinner saved by grace” and refused to be obedient to God’s word that
commands sobriety, sexual purity, or to not be gluttonous.  But I’m glad I did, because I decided to
follow the Lord and my life has been transformed, in a good way!

But I do have to be honest and tell you the
transformation didn’t come overnight, and I am still very much a work in
progress, so forgive me if I offend, overwhelm, or annoy you. You could make
the case that the Lord has been working on me all my life, but it wasn’t until
2010, when I put my faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, that I stopped
rebelling and became a “real Christian”, although I was also a real mess.  I had a lot to learn about the Bible and
following Jesus but even though I was a mess the Lord put it on my heart to surrender
to His will, to “empty” myself of all my wrong ideas, bad habits, selfish ways,
and sin and to follow Him.  

If asked, one of the earliest things I would have
told you to do, after I became a “born-again”  Christian, other than immediately saying the “sinner’s
prayer” to make Jesus the Lord of your life (That’s Step 1) was to “Seek the
Lord”.  That’s Step 2 and it really doesn’t
stop.  

Lately, I have been increasingly convicted to follow
John Baptist’s words in

John 3:30 (NKJV) where in speaking
about Jesus, he said:
³⁰  He must increase, but I must
decrease.

I have been convicted that I may have
thought too highly of myself and need to practice humility.  I have been resting over the last several
days overcoming cold symptoms (all better now!) and enjoying the peace at my
countryside home with my wife TammyLyn, and I can’t help but think that this
short illness and “staycation” was brought to me by the Lord to humble me and
to force me to rest.  I appreciate it and
will try to “cool my jets” and humble my heart in an attempt to practice humility
going forward. I haven’t accomplished anything that wasn’t given to me by the Lord,
and I am glad that I have been directed to this place to avoid being
prideful.   

So, this morning I am sharing another
Mindful of Christ (https://mindfulofchrist.net/)
encouragement from this week’s “Word for Wednesday”, from Lauren Roskilly, on
what was one of the most simple and profound instructions from Jesus that inspired
my walk of faith and still inspires it today.  

Matthew 6:33 (NIV2011)
³³  But
seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well.

“Seek
God First

Jesus
Himself is telling the disciples, and you & and I that we are to look for
God’s Kingdom and righteousness; look for His way of doing and being right in
attitude, character and behaviour. Seeking Him is to look to Him and we are to
do so BEFORE we do anything else.

In
our day, before we do anything.

In
our decisions, before we decide anything.

In
our weaknesses or strengths, before we complain or use them.

In
ALL things;

He
needs to be our priority.

He
needs to be our focus.

This
needs to be our main focus in life, to aim for this. Perhaps you need to be
intentional about it.

In
this chapter, Jesus is teaching on money & and possessions. He is saying
that when you do this your other ‘needs’ will be met. He will provide and give
you everything you need (NLT).

The
next verse goes on to say “So, don’t worry about tomorrow…” When
you put God’s kingdom first you’ll find you’ll stop worrying.

HOW
CAN YOU BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT SEEKING GOD BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE?”

-Lauren
Roskilly

Thank you, Lauren, once again! I couldn’t agree more with her
message and encourage all who hear or see this message to “seek the Lord” and
to be intentional about looking to do things Jesus’ way – in attitude,
character, and behavior – and to make following Him your priority and focus for
life. 

——————————————————————————————–

Today’s
Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By
John G. Kruis.

(
While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google
search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s
work. (https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Scripture-Reference-Counseling-Kruis-ebook/dp/B00CIUJZT2?ref_=ast_author_dp )

This
morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Church, Communion of the
Saints.

Psalm 84:1-12 (ESV)
¹  How lovely is your
dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!
²  My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the LORD; my
heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
³  Even the sparrow finds a
home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your
altars, O LORD of hosts, my King
and my God.
⁴  Blessed are those who dwell
in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah
⁵  Blessed are those whose
strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
⁶  As they go through the
Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it
with pools.
⁷  They go from strength to
strength; each one appears before God in Zion.
⁸  O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob!
Selah
⁹  Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!
¹⁰  For a day in your
courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in
the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
¹¹  For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good
thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
¹²  O LORD
of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Today’s
verse falls under the tenth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s
section on Church,
Communion of the Saints.

 10. The psalmist longed to be in the house
of God.

Today’s verses reflect the
deep love and peace that one can know when they are living in harmony with the
Lord and practicing their faith through regular visits to His courts, singing His
praises.  

Knowing that you are a
part of God’s kingdom and fully engaging in your faith should be a joyous
experience.  

“I’m never going to die.

God loves me. 

I have been forgiven. 

God cares for me. 

I have been accepted. 

I am safe. 

I am loved. 

I am special. 

I am God’s adopted child.
He chose me!”

These should be a part of
your joyous reflections as a Christian and they should drive you to long to be
in the house of God, where they can fuel your praise!  

——————————————————————–

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 are sharing from “God
is in the Manger- Reflections on Advent and Christmas” – By Dietrich
Bonhoeffer.   

As
always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all
to purchase Bonhoeffer’s books for your own private study and to support his
work.  This resource is available online for less than $10 at many
sites.

God
is in the Manger – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

ADVENT
WEEK ONE –  WAITING

DAY
THREE

Not
Everyone Can Wait

Not everyone can wait: neither the sated nor the
satisfied nor those without respect can wait. The only ones who can wait are
people who carry restlessness around with them and people who look up with
reverence to the greatest in the world. Thus Advent can be celebrated only by
those whose souls give them no peace, who know that they are poor and
incomplete, and who sense something of the greatness that is supposed to come,
before which they can only bow in humble timidity, waiting until he inclines
himself toward us—the Holy One himself, God in the child in the manger. God is
coming; the Lord Jesus is coming; Christmas is coming. Rejoice, O Christendom!

I think we’re going to have an exceptionally good
Christmas. The very fact that every outward circumstance precludes our making
provision for it will show whether we can be content with what is truly
essential. I used to be very fond of thinking up and buying presents, but now
that we have nothing to give, the gift God gave us in the birth of Christ will
seem all the more glorious; the emptier our hands, the better we understand
what Luther meant by his dying words: “We’re beggars; it’s true.” The poorer our
quarters, the more clearly we perceive that our hearts should be Christ’s home
on earth.

Letter to
fiancée Maria von Wedemeyer,

December 1, 1943

Then he looked up at his disciples and said:

“Blessed
are you who are poor,

for yours is the kingdom of God.

“Blessed
are you who are hungry now,

for you will be filled.

“Blessed
are you who weep now,

for you will laugh.

“Blessed
are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame
you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for
surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to
the prophets.

“But woe to
you who are rich,

for you have received your consolation.

“Woe to you
who are full now,

for you will be hungry.

“Woe to you
who are laughing now,

for you will mourn and weep.

“Woe to you
when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false
prophets.”

Luke 6:20–26^[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 YouTube 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)

“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