Seeking the Lord and Receiving His Help – Purity 1385
Purity 1385 06/26/2024 Purity 1385 Podcast
Purity 1385 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of pleasant blue skies and lush green vegetation surrounding the waters and rock formations of Stuyvesant Falls comes to us from yours truly as I originally captured this tranquil moment back on August 15th, 2020.
Well, It’s Wednesday and an abnormal hump day for me as I have a shifted work tour that requires me to work Saturday and compensates for it by giving me the day off tomorrow – SO happy hump day/Friday before a one-day weekend of Thursday to me! Life can be pretty crazy at times if you think about or have any preconceived concepts of “normal”. Our concepts of “workdays” or “days to worship” are all pretty subjective and are dependent on the circumstances of life or your ideas about what “must be”. While we are free to choose to do whatever we wish, we can’t necessarily impose our “should” on someone else and we would be foolish to think that we are somehow free of the consequences of the choices we do make.
This year I have chosen to answer a perceived call on my life to begin a Christian Life Coaching and Prayer Ministry Practice and while I have made the decisions on how I will “operate” it, it doesn’t mean I will be free from the criticism of others who disagree with my decisions and have suggestions for “a better way to do your ministry”.
This “different path” that I have chosen to tread as a business rather than a 501c3 (tax-exempt) non-profit organization is unfamiliar territory for myself and is easily misunderstood so I will have to roll with the punches as I take flak from those who are looking for help free of charge. To be clear, I am not unwilling to help – the blog, the podcast, the YouTube channel – the ministry work at my local church and online for FICM should demonstrate that, but this venture – my Christian Life Coaching business takes away from what little remaining personal time I do have, and even though it is intended to give personal attention, help, guidance, encouragement, teaching, accountability, and assistance to those who ask – you have to pay me for my time.
Please forgive me if you tuned in yesterday, and already heard me defend myself. Believe me when I say this dialog is tiresome for me too. But I got another scathing email in regards to my requiring fees for my services, which was insulting of course, but it also caused me to think about faith, seeking the Lord, and applying His help to your life and as it turns out my morning devotions lead me to the following from David Jeremiah that I would like to share. The Turning Points devotion for June 26th shared:
Hebrews 11:6 (NIV): And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
And Jeremiah writes:
“Hebrews 11:6 says that Faith is required to please God – faith in His existence and His rewarding of faith. Seeking God diligently is not easy. Solomon compared it to digging for hidden treasure (Proverbs 2:1-5). And Jesus said it begins with our will: “If anyone will do His will, he shall know … whether (My teaching) is from God or whether I speak on my own authority” (John 7:17).
Building faith begins with our desire to know God, which leads to seeking Him and results in trusting Him.
God rewards the faith of those who seek Him; Jesus’ ministry of healing and compassion is evidence of that. Seek Him today knowing your faith pleases Him.”
-David Jeremiah
I shared this passage with a couple of my paying clients and this disgruntled emailer as an encouragement to seek the Lord (themselves – I can encourage but I can’t do it for you – although if you hire me as a coach – I will try to make you accountable to do so) because God’s word is true and this verse highlights a fundamental key to receiving your freedom and healing from the Lord.
The angry emailer who is probably “not going to pay a lot for this muffler” and who definitely refuses to pay an initial consultation fee, questioned my salvation and attempted to shame me for refusing to help some “who can’t pay”. I apologized and attempted to explain my policies previously but in response to this I just sent a link for FREE RESOURCES from FICM that I believe could be of great help to someone who believes they are being tormented by demonic entities.
I’m sharing it today on the blog for all you cheap skates https://www.ficm.org/ministry-materials/free-resources/ – just kidding – this is why my wife, TammyLyn, agrees with me that being a pastor is probably not my calling. I confront people with God’s word and ask them to apply it to their lives, like I did, to be set free. If you don’t do that you will struggle with sin, you will be bitter, you will be depressed, you will be angry, you will be anxious, and yes you could very well provide the “permission” that the demonic forces of darkness could utilize to torment you.
So I gave this demonically oppressed angry emailer the link and a recommendation that they download the free PDF book Restored at that link and challenged them to read it and to pray through the prayers in the book. Stating that:
“A link may not seem like much help but there it is.
The question is: will you receive it and seek the Lord through it?”
This is my point: I don’t set you free. The Lord does. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. I only provide assistance to seek Him and unfortunately my policy for my BUSINESS is to require compensation.
I understand the difficulties of those who suffer from demonic affliction but there are other free deliverance ministries out there. There are local churches. There is Freedom in Christ ministries. There are lots of non-profit 501c3 deliverance ministries out there, I’m not one of those. Google “deliverance ministry near me” and you will find lots of options. However, don’t be surprised if some of them require “donations” for their help.
Also, don’t be surprised if they ask you to have faith, and to play an active role in seeking freedom.
That’s what I do, sure I require a fee for my time, but more importantly I require my clients to be real in their commitment to seek the Lord’s help and if you’re not willing or able to participate in the efforts be set free, you should definitely contact the Roman Catholic Church for an exorcism or another deliverance ministry that claims a special anointing to cast of demons on demand.
I know the difficulties of being set free from sin, negative mind states, and demonic interference and unfortunately I don’t have any quick fixes and the path I would lead you on would require faith, prayer, action, and the willingness to surrender to and to seek the Lord with all your mind, heart, and strength.
If you seek the Lord, He will reward your efforts, but there’s no “half steppin’” in God’s kingdom. If you want His help, healing and freedom, He wants you to surrender to Him and to give your life to Him. And rather than coming up with excuses of why you can’t do that, He wants you to show Him you’re for real by humbling yourself and paying the costs (Sell everything to buy pearl of great price right) to receive the transformed life that He has for you.
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .
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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 Example (Good or Bad).
1 Peter 5:2-4 (NIV2011)
2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve;
3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
Today’s verses fall under the second point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Example (Good or Bad).
2. Pastors and elders are to be good examples for the flock.
Today’s verses encourage pastors and elders to be good examples to their flock.
I’m not a pastor – so I won’t comment too much on this one. I have seen some “lord it over” their congregations and we all know of scandals that involved dishonest gain. So tread lightly and be discerning about where you worship. Make sure your pastors and elders are genuine in the example they set by checking out how they live outside the four walls of the church as well as inside.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com 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: 1 CORINTHIANS 11
“Do this in remembrance of Me.” – 1 Corinthians 11:24
This remembrance feast is the portion and privilege of every company of God’s people, from the two’s and three’s to the large churches of God. It is a unique remembrance feast of a united and individual:
• Appropriation of the Lord (Body & Blood)
• Annunciation of the Lord (In His Death)
• Anticipation of the Lord (In His Coming)
Appropriation of the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. “As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup” (1 Cor. 11:26).
Annunciation of the Death of the Lord Jesus Christ. “You proclaim the Lord’s death” (v. 26).
Anticipation of the Coming Again of the Lord Jesus. “Till He comes” (v. 26).
Enable me, O Lord, Sunday by Sunday to enter more into
the meaning of this wonderful remembrance feast.[1]
—————————more tomorrow————————
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Email me at m.t.clark@mt4christ.com with any questions, or comments, or to inquire about our Christian Life Coaching or Prayer Ministry Services.
“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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