Planting Seeds of Faith – 40 Day Journey with Martin
Luther – Day 25 – Purity 1298
Purity 1298 03/13/2024 Purity 1298 Podcast
Purity 1298 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo which I have taken the liberty to
entitle “Sunshine in the Holler” comes to us, from Fred Dimmick who shared this
scene on social media back on or around May 8, 2021. Lately, I have been setting all the “unknown
FB friend photos” free from my iPhone’s photo archive and while I have no idea
who I might have “borrowed” these photos from for the most part, I’ve saw this
particular holler enough to know that this photo comes from the “Liberty Kentucky”
era of Fred Dimmick’s post-retirement photographic body of work. Fred’s still sharing his views with his
friends today and so am I.
Well, It’s Wednesday and I thought that the peak of
that rustic barn and the hump of a hill that the sun is shining over in Fred’s
photo was enough to adequately visually represent our arrival at another “hump
day” – so happy Wednesday!
Due to a shifted work schedule, I actually have the
day off today but am pleased to announce that I will be doing the Lord’s work
today as I will be leading another inquiring and repentant soul through the
Steps to Freedom in Christ. Although
this particular young man has a passionate faith and zeal for the Lord and may
not have a lot to confess, he is being obedient to the Lord’s call on His life
to resolve any and all personal and spiritual conflicts that he may have by
coming to the Lord through this repentant prayer process.
In all honesty, I am envious of this young man’s
youth and passion for the Lord and can’t help but wonder what my life would
have been like if I had come to faith in Jesus sooner. My life sure would have
been different but that’s not the hand I was dealt, and I have learned not to
regret or dwell on the past because that’s not where we live. We live in the
here and now and we are continually moving into the future and any decisions we
make in life that concern what we will do or how we will relate to and follow
the Lord Our God must start here – today – and continue in the future. To reap the fruit of the Spirit we must plant
our seeds of faith each morning and let the Lord bless them to bear fruit. Sometimes those seeds sprout quite quickly
and other times they lay their roots down beneath the surface until they have
grown and developed to establish something deep and strong in our faith life
that we didn’t even realize was growing – like patience and self-control. Our relationship
with and our maturation process goes from here to eternity so let’s be faithful
to plant some more seeds of faith today, in this season of Lent.
It’s the twenty-fifth 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 25
We
should be encouraged and drawn to pray (the Lord’s Prayer) because… God takes
the initiative and puts into our mouths the very words and approach we are to
use. In this way we see how deeply concerned he is about our needs, and we
should never doubt that such prayer pleases him and will assuredly be heard. So
this prayer is far superior to all others that we might devise ourselves. For
in that case our conscience would always be in doubt, saying, “I have prayed,
but who knows whether it pleases him or whether I have hit upon the right form
and mode?” Thus there is no nobler prayer to be found on earth, for it has the
powerful testimony that God loves to hear it.
Biblical Wisdom
And
will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?
Will he delay long and helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice
to them. Luke 18: 7-8.
Silence for Meditation.
Questions to Ponder
· According
to Luther, why is the Lord’s Prayer superior to all others? Do you agree with
him? Why or why not?
Luther claims that the Lord’s Prayer is superior to
all others because of its authorship – The “form and mode” come from Jesus and
because of this I agree with Luther in proclaiming it to be superior to all
other prayers not only because Jesus said it but I have used the Lord’s Prayer
in various times and seasons in my life and have found its comfort and seen its
power.
· The
Lord’s prayer is very familiar to all Christians. It is said that “familiarity
breeds contempt”. What can individuals (and churches) do to keep the Prayer
alive and fresh with meaning?
The only way to keep the Lord’s Prayer alive and
fresh is to keep our faith alive and fresh by following the Lord and meeting with
Him throughout our day to receive from Him in prayer, Bible study, or
meditation. One way individuals and faith communities can keep the Lord’s
Prayer fresh and alive is to know and reflect on this simple prayer’s rich
depth and meaning and to apply it personally to their lives. Instead of praying the “Our Father”, we could
make it ‘MY Father who art in heaven” to impress upon ourselves the deeply
personal relationship we have with God and to draw us deeper into our
commitment to follow Him.
· How
seriously is prayer taken in your community of faith? Are there other ways
prayer might be emphasized and practiced by your faith community? Who should
you talk to about it?
Prayer is offered at various times during and at the
end of our worship services in my faith community. My church also annually has
organized prayer events with other churches in our region to pray for schools and
the overall body of Christ. In previous
churches I have attended, prayer meetings were regularly held. I suppose my current church could do that; we
do have a prayer team that could lead them. I make sure to have prayer as a regular
part of the recovery growth group that I lead. If the Lord leads me to push for
prayer meetings, I know the pastors to talk to.
Psalm Fragment
I cry
aloud to God, aloud to God, that he may hear me. In the day of my trouble I
seek the Lord; In the night my hand is stretched out without wearying, my soul
refuses to be comforted. Psalm 77:1-2
Journal Reflections
· Meditate
on the Lord’s Prayer, then write a few lines for each petition explaining what
it means to you right now.
Our
Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name;
My God is
my father as I have been adopted through my faith in Jesus Christ – holy is His
name – He is to be feared, love, respected, and revered.
thy
kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.
Jesus promised to come back, and I can’t wait to see
God’s kingdom come through Him now through the church and forever in the future
when Jesus comes to rule and reign.
Give
us this day our daily bread.
Thank you
God for your continual provision and meeting all our needs.
And
forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Yes forgive
us for our failures and for not doing what we should, and we will forgive others
for what they do or don’t do that affects us.
And
lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
Yes Lord give me the strength and wisdom to not
follow temptation and we ask for your protection from the evil forces of
darkness.
For
thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
All glory to you and your kingdom forever Lord –
Amen and Thank You!
· Read
the Luther passage for Journey Day 5 again. Luther advises that in prayer you
should “open and spread your apron wide to receive many things”. What do you
think that means? Have you ever done that? If So what was your experience like?
If not, why not try it?
I think that phrase indicates that we are to come to
prayer full of faith and expectant that God will hear us and bless us through
prayer. I have done that but must confess that I have had mixed results because
of my maturity was lacking and my expectations were not the same as God’s
because my prayers have not always been answered as I had hoped for.
· Write
about your experience with answers to prayer.
God
answered my prayer for a faithful Christian wife – that’s the big one that
stands out now because I can’t and don’t want to imagine what my life would be
like without TammyLyn. The Lord has given me a partner to walk and worship the
Lord through life with. Any fears that I would go back into sexual sin or waver
in my faith are averted because of the support I have received from the Lord in
the of person of TammyLyn Clark. I’m sure I would have been faithful to follow
the Lord but am so glad I don’t have to do it alone.
Prayers for the Life of Faith
Pray
that you will be given the freedom to lament, praise, ask, importune God in
your prayers, bringing everything in your life before him.
Lord, I
thank you for the freedom to approach you honestly – to be free to lament,
praise, ask, or importune (harass persistently) you in prayer, knowing that you
hear me. Help me to be real and constant
with you in prayer from the heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Prayer For Today
Holy
and Righteous God, I come to you today because you have commanded me to. Give
me the grace and courage to bring everything before you so I can open myself to
receiving all that you have to give.
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 verse comes from the section on Contentment, Coveting
& and Priorities.
Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
33 But seek first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Today’s
verse falls under the twelfth point of our counseling reference guide
resource’s section on Contentment, Coveting, and Priorities.
12. Seek first God’s kingdom.
Today’s
verse is probably my number 2 life verse as it was a mantra of sorts in my
early life as a Chrisitan because within it I saw all the truth and purpose I
needed for life. Seek first the kingdom of God. If you follow that little
advice – you will find God and experience His love and righteousness – in the
person of Jesus Christ and in you as you surrender your life to Him and allow
Christ to live through you.
———————————————————–
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: LUKE 14
“Salt is good.” – Luke 14:34
It preserves. This is a well known fact. Spiritualized, it
is also true that the salt of the grace of Christ preserves one’s life from
impurity.
It seasons. Salt is used for seasoning. How true this is
of the spiritual salt of grace. How it seasons life, making it sweet and
acceptable before God and man.
It is potent. Good salt is very potent. It permeates all
with which it comes into contact. Such should be spiritual salt in the
Christian life. It should affect all with whom it comes into contact.
However, it is possible for salt to lose its savor.
Lord, grant that this shall not be my
experience.[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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