Faith Talks:

For other Patty Clark Ministries email her at: living_ministries@yahoo.com

Patty Clark's "Faith Talks" will not be continued in the 2012 Transmitter, but we encourage you to stay tuned and see what else the Transmitter has to offer!

Worship Him

“After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary, His mother;

And they fell to the ground and worshiped Him."  Matthew 2:11

  They were “magi,” (wise-men), studying medicine and astrology and all of a sudden they “saw” a star. A star! But not just any star. A little bit of light that the Almighty God of the Universe had sent to announce His Son’s birth. And the magi saw it. Yes! Make a special note of that word “saw." It is important. It means “to perceive the meaning or importance of…,” “to understand,” “to be aware of-recognize.” Not only did God send the star, but He allowed the wise-men to see the special star. By His grace and influence upon their hearts, they were able to perceive the importance of the star and recognize, instinctively, that an out-of-the-ordinary-world-shaking event had taken place.

What did the wise-men do after they saw the star? They immediately laid aside their personal pursuits, activities, ambitions and…they followed the star. They went out in search of the long awaited Messiah.

What I find interesting about this is, both, the immediacy of the wise-men’s positive response to this life-altering event and also the motivation behind their seeking. They did not go to Jerusalem just to satisfy some intellectual or idle curiosity. They did not enter the Holy City so they could attend the local synagogue and/or merely get involved in the latest religious trend. They went with one ambition and goal in mind. They sought Jesus. Why? So they could worship Him.

And the scriptures tell us that after traveling a distance and seeking for a time, “… they came into the house and saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.” Matthew 2:11. Their motives were pure. Their response to seeing the Messiah was immediate. They were humbled to be in His glorious presence, prostrated in their spirits by His majesty. They sought! They saw! They worshiped! How simple true religion can be.

May your celebration of Christ’s birth be equally focused and simple. Seek Him as He truly is.  Let your heart be humbled. Fall down…and worship. That is the gift you can give Him.

Blessings,  Patty Clark

Thanksgiving for Life

  Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise.

Give thanks to Him, bless His name. Psalms 100:4 

As I write this article it is 6:00 a.m. and I am propped up in bed sipping my first cup of coffee. My eyes are barely open and it’s still dark outside. This morning, like every morning, I begin my day with prayers of thanksgiving. This particular morning I am moved to thank God for…Life!”  My heart is rather surprised by the simplicity of my prayer. It comes down to something as basic as - God gave me life and I have so much to be thankful for. So…deliberately I lay aside all that complicates my life and overwhelms me and stand in awe of the reality that life, my very existence, is a gift.

I did not make myself, nor was I willed into existence. It was all up to God. The decision was His. To me that speaks loudly of what is going on in the Lord’s heart. He wanted me. Why else would He have gone to the trouble of picking out my strengths, abilities, talents and weaknesses, and then put them all together to form me? I am who I am because of God’s creative genius and deliberate design. Wow, what a gift! Of course what I do with my life is up to me. My success, or failure, will be determined by the choices I make. Life is a mystery, a miracle, and a gift from God. His intention is that we learn to live life with enthusiasm, appreciation and grace.

It is so easy to get hung up on and bogged down by the things that go on in our lives: people, places, things, events, ambitions, personal agendas, schedules, and disappointments have a way of tainting our perspective and robbing us of having a heart that overflows with gratitude and joy. What happens then is we end up missing out on the sheer sacredness of “the gift” we’ve been given. Life!  Part of our spiritual journey has to do with finding our way back and reclaiming what has been lost. We start our journey by spending time deliberately recounting our many blessings and thanking God. Thanking God changes our outlook on life, our attitude, our actions. It changes everything! 

Love in Christ, Patty Clark