It’s Going to Be Okay – 40 Day Journey with Martin
Luther – Day 11 – Purity 1284
Purity 1284 02/26/2024 Purity 1284 Podcast
Purity 1284 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s video of snow flurries falling at night into
the light of headlights as Tasha Layton’s song “Into the Sea” encourages us
that “it’s going to be okay “comes to us from yours truly as I captured this
video on the evening of May 8, 2020, as I stopped to capture the unseasonable phenomenon
of snow in May and the peace of the moment as I returned to the house would no
longer be mine in just over a month’s time.
Well, It’s Monday and I am back at it in terms of my
normal routine of exercise and my spiritual practices of gratitude, prayer,
study, and blogging and I feel like a million bucks – vacations are nice but if
we aren’t careful they tend to corrupt our discipline and cause us to indulge
the flesh when rest turns into the rust of lethargy and treats turn into
treason as we betray ourselves as we deviate away from what is best for what
feels good.
I as at a loss for what photo I should share for
today and so I dialed back the clock to 2020 in my photo archive expecting to
find some long lost unused scene from my comings and goings or a friend’s
borrowed sharing’s on social media only to discovered that I must have cleaned
out 2020’s closet in that regard but I did discover a whole bunch of
inspirational Christian and non-Christian memes – I mean A LOT. And they were good, and it caused me to
rediscover the video I am sharing today and to remember exactly why I might
have needed a bunch of positive messages, and before you say COVID-19 – let me
stop you. The pandemic was only a vague
setting in the backdrop of my journey in 2020 as I was working 16 hour days and
petitioning the Lord in prayer for my deliverance to a new home for my children
and I and pushing for a whole new life of freedom that would be defined by my
faith.
And on that evening in May of 2020 – I took Tasha
Layton’s song and the strange peace of snowfall in May as a message from the
Lord that it was indeed going to be okay as after almost of 2 years of dealing
with the pains of a delayed divorce I was on the cusp of my exodus. I was
almost there, and I had to just keep walking and talking with God until I could
realize it. And it did come, and it was
glorious and my life in Christ continues to be glorious because despite trials,
slip ups, and problems I continued to follow the Lord and to stay in His
presence. And even though this latest dalliance
with the world while on vacation at Disney World was limited, it feels
wonderful to be back to the disciplines of faith, in their entirety, that
minister to my mind, body, soul, and spirit.
I know “it’s going to be okay” is a phrase we
comfort ourselves and others with quite often, but let me assure you – when you
repent – when you turn to the Lord’s ways and seek to live in His presence – it
really is going to be okay because no matter what you face, when you walk with
God, you are blessed. You are safe, and you are meeting your purpose for living
– to be with the One who made you, to do what He created you to do, and to be
the person He created you to be.
So on this eleventh day of Lent, let me encourage
you to repent and to discover how it really is “going to be okay.” Speaking of Lent….
It’s the eleventh day of Lent and so we continue my
personal walkthrough of Gracia Grindal’s 40 Day Journey with Martin Luther
to observe and celebrate the Lenten season.
In this walkthrough of Grindal’s devotional, it is our hope that we will get to know
Martin Luther a little better as we seek to draw closer to the Lord on our
journey to Resurrection Sunday – Easter.
And so we continue.
“Journey
Day 11
YOU
ARE NOT TO COMMIT ADULTERY.
What
is this?
Answer:
we are to fear and love God so that we lead pure and decent lives in Word and
deed, and each of us loves and honors his or her spouse.
Inasmuch
as there is such a shameless mess and cesspool of all sorts of immorality and
indecency among us, this commandment is also directed against every form of
unchastity, no matter what it is called.
Not
only is the outward act forbidden, but also every kind of cause, provocation,
and means, so that your heart, your lips, and your entire body may be chaste and
afford no occasion, aid, or encouragement to unchastity.
Not
only that, but you are to defend, protect, and rescue your neighbors whenever
they are in danger or need, and moreover, even aid and assist them so that they
may retain their honor… In short, all are required both to live chastely
themselves and also to help their neighbors to do the same.
Biblical Wisdom
You
have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you
that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery
with her in his heart. Matthew 5: 27-28
Silence for Meditation.
Questions to Ponder
·
Both Jesus and Luther draw the line on unchastity
much more severely than most people. What wisdom do you find in that?
The wisdom I find in this is the wisdom of God –
Jesus is God after all – remember – and so this should impress upon us the vast
importance of living a sexually pure life as a Christian. I don’t call my blog series Purity for
nothing. Acts 15 among other passages of
scripture impressed upon my heart, soul, and spirit just how important the
righteous use of our bodies is. Sexual
immorality and adultery are spoken against throughout scripture. Jesus reveals
that the sin goes beyond the commission of what we do to our bodies as that
fleshly orientation should be restricted and cast out of our hearts and minds
as well. Luther gets a sense of this
and encourages us to help our neighbors to realize this and to help them live
pure lives too.
·
What are the forms of unchastity that our culture
either tolerates or promotes?
Our culture tolerates and
promotes sexual sins of nearly every variety.
While pedophilia and bestiality are still taboo, thank God, our culture
has abandoned any other standards when it comes to following the Bibles
standards of sexual morality – which calls any sexual activity outside of a
covenant marriage between one man and one woman as sin. Masturbation, fornication, adultery, fetishes,
perversion, and homosexuality are all tolerated if not actively promoted in our
society today.
·
In our highly, if not over-sexualized culture, how
can Christians help each other to keep this commandment?
Christians can help one
another to keep this commandment by teaching the truth of Biblical sexual
ethics, encouraging no sex outside of marriage, having a zero-tolerance policy regarding
masturbation, establishing recovery
ministries for sexual addiction, and encouraging purity in the body of
Christ. Unfortunately, the corruption
of our faith, the depravity of man, and
the inadequacy of men to lead one another into righteousness, in my opinion,
makes this all but impossible and can only be established on earth when Christ
comes to rule and reign. Sexual purity
can come but it comes as an act of surrender to the Lord and must be driven by
a love for Him for it to be anything other than “flesh deep”.
Psalm Fragment
Have
mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your
abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Wash
me thoroughly from my impurity, and cleanse me from my sin. Psalm 51: 1-2.
Journal Reflections
· Write
in your journal concerning your feelings about the sexual attitudes and
pressures of our culture. In what ways does your faith influence your
perspective on sex and sexuality?
As I have been sexually pure since 2018, no
masturbation, and restrict all my sexual activity to be withing the bounds of
my marriage since 2022, I would say that my faith influences my perspective on
sex and sexuality very much so. Because
my previous marriage was destroyed in part by sexual immorality, in 2018 when
faced with the future of the rest of my life, the Lord put it on my heart to
live the rest of my sexual life according to His biblical mandates. As I was on the cusp of being single again, I
was tempted to consider the possibilities of a sexually liberated lifestyle as
I had in my youth, but now that I a Christian and knew firsthand the bondage
that comes from sexual immorality, I repented of my sexual sins and “went in to
recovery” for my sexual addictions, leaning completely on the Lord for sexual
purity. Taking every sexual thought captive
and the introducing of some a simple conditioning practices caused me to change
the way I thought and took away the compulsion to give in to the flesh
sexually. The Lord set me free.
· Do
you know anyone who is struggling with issues of unchastity or adultery? If so,
how might you help them in their struggle? If not, can you imagine what steps
you might take to help someone in such a struggle?
I know of someone – a Christian
– who is in daily bondage to sexual immorality and the extent to their bondage
is so severe that I question whether or not they are a Christian at all. Their compulsion and lack of ability to have
even more than a couple of days of sexual purity cause me to think they don’t really
“know the Lord”, or are demonically oppressed, or have mental health issues that
block their ability for their conscience to be adequately impacted by their sin
or blocks their ability to attach relationally to the Lord – or all of the
above. This person’s apparently hopeless
struggle causes me to believe that they are a false convert – someone who can
verbally repeat the truths of the gospel but has never had a heart touched by
the Lord. In terms of true repentance,
Joel 2:12 (NKJV) says
12 “Now,
therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn
to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
In this person’s continual confession of
failure, I see no weeping or mourning. There seems to be no “heart-felt” repentance here and without it
– I believe that either this person has no true relationship with the Lord – or
the Holy Spirit is not granting them repentance. Our repentance is empowered by the Lord – if we
aren’t seeking Him, and surrendering to Him with heartfelt sorrow and sincerity,
and asking for help and support from others in the body of Christ, I believe that
you won’t receive it and you may have to seek your salvation with real fear and
trembling.
· Reflect
in writing on how your faith and faith community are (or could be) resources
for you and maintaining healthy relationships.
I believe that the faith community can be real
support to the body of Christ to establish and maintain healthy relationships
by preaching sexual sin and by encouraging marriage and supporting healthy Christ-centered
marriages that are free of abuse. Dating
and couples living in sin should be exposed as the sexual immorality that they are,
but it is difficult for a community of faith to make that stand because our
society allows for sexual immorality as normal, and some churches remain silent
on sexual ethics.
Prayers for the Life of Faith
Pray
that someone in a troubled marriage or relationship will find the strength to
do the right thing. Pray that you will be able to help them.
Lord, I pray for those in troubled marriages or
relationships to turn to You and Your ways for healthy relationships and that You
would empower them to change and find the strength to do the right thing
according to our word. I pray that you would use me to help and encourage them to
follow You with their relationships. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Pray for Today
Dear
Lord Jesus, keep me pure and chaste today. May my thoughts, language, and action
be honorable and always wholesome and upright.
Amen
(Gracia M. Grindal. 40-day
Journey With Martin Luther. Kindle Edition.)
(We encourage you to purchase Grindal’s book and
take the 40 Day Journey with Martin Luther for yourself by purchasing Grindal’s
book wherever books are sold. You can find it online at many different sites
and purchase it new, used – paper or electronic for less than $15.00).
——————————————————————————————–
For
those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide,
I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .
Today’s
Bible verses come 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 Conscience.
Proverbs 3:21-26 (NLT2)
21 My child, don’t lose sight
of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them,
22 for they will refresh your
soul. They are like jewels on a necklace.
23 They keep you safe on your
way, and your feet will not stumble.
24 You can go to bed without
fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly.
25 You need not be afraid of
sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked,
26 for the LORD is your security. He will keep your
foot from being caught in a trap.
Today’s
verses fall under the fifth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s
section on Conscience.
5. You can have a clear conscience and rest in the heart.
Today’s
verse encourages us to follow the “common sense” of the Lord’s ways. Following God isn’t an exercise of blind
faith. God doesn’t ask us to do things that we can’t test for their
wisdom. The consequence of living according
to God’s standards of morality is a life infused with the fruit of the Spirit –
where we experience goodness, kindness, fatefulness, patience, gentleness,
self-control, love, joy and peace firsthand.
So
follow the common sense of Christian living and know the rest that the Lord will
give you in your heart.
———————————————————–
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 “According to Your
Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament” By Stephen F. Olford – A
Collection of Devotional Journals: 1940-1941.
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage you all to purchase Olford’s books for your own
private study and to support his work. This resource is available online
for less than $10 at many sites.
EVENING READING: MARK 16
“The Lord working with them.” – Mark
16:20
This is the promise to all true disciples. And what an
honor! The Lord working with me! How absolutely incredible! Yet it is true –
blessed be His Holy Name.
Yes, He has promised to be with me right to the end of the
age. He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). “My
presence will go with you” (Ex. 33:14).
One of the obvious proofs of His presence and working
power is the confirmation of His Word, with signs following. How clearly these
signs shone in the days of the early apostles. Thousands were being added to
the church daily.
Lord, give me a true evidence that
You
are working with or through me, or else,
“do not bring [me] up from here” (Ex. 33:15).[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
[1]
Stephen Olford and Heather Olford, According to Your
Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament, A Collection of Devotional
Journals 1940-1941 (Nashville, TN: B&H Books, 2008).
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