In this devotional episode, M.t. Clark addresses the common spiritual lie “I am all alone.” He begins with a personal testimony about how the Star Point Church Divorce Care group helped him heal from divorce and overcome loneliness. Clark explains how the enemy uses first‑person thoughts to isolate believers, illustrating the point with David’s census episode in 1 Chronicles 21. He then refutes the lie by citing Scripture that affirms God’s omnipresence (Joshua 1:9, Psalm 139, Psalm 133) and the promise of joy in God’s presence (Psalm 16:11). Clark offers two practical ways to combat the lie: (1) stay in God’s presence through prayer, Bible study, worship, and good works, and (2) seek fellowship with family, friends, and the body of Christ. He introduces the day’s meditation verse, Psalm 90:12, urging listeners to “number our days” for wisdom. Throughout, he promotes several resources – Frank Turek’s apologetics site, A.W. Pink’s The Sovereignty of God, Dr. Neil Anderson’s teachings, the mtforchrist.org website, the “Victor Over the Darkness” discipleship series, and the M.t. for Christ 247 podcast – and invites listeners to obtain class materials via email. The episode concludes with a heartfelt prayer affirming God’s constant presence and asking for blessings on listeners.
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To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning. Today's photo of a sunrise pathway scene reflected in the waters at the Visher's Ferry Preserve in Rexford comes to us from Nancy Saunders Seaver, who leads the Star Point Church Divorce Care Group at my local church, and yesterday led a group of friends from the group on a 6 AM morning hike to enjoy a gorgeous morning and the fact that there is freedom and healing even after divorce when Christians come together in unity to support and encourage one another. Uh, well, it is Saturday, and even though my shifting schedule has me working today, I pray that all of my friends with the day off and those working take some time today to enjoy them Enjoy yourselves and thank the Lord for all that he has done. If you can do so in the company— and if you can do so, do it in the company of family or friends. As the Swedish proverb says, shared joy is double joy, shared sorrow is half a sorrow. And I can tell you that is the truth. The Starpoint Divorce Care group was instrumental in my healing from my divorce. I shared my sorrow, and I can tell you that there was healing merely in having the opportunity to honestly talk about what I went through with others who had, were, or were preparing to suffer the same loss of divorce. The word indicates that confessing our sins to our brothers brings healing. And I know that I released many burdens through that group. I also experienced joy. The leadership was intentional in organizing social gatherings for the group members, and it was through these simple gatherings with new friends that I was able to get over loneliness and the path— and past the fear of going out in the world again. The enemy would have us isolate ourselves because when we are alone, he can do He can more easily condemn us, make us see the world as hostile to us, and keep us in bondage to addiction, fear, anger, or depression. But when we come together as Christians, we can combat the lies of the enemy with the truth of God's Word and the support of one another. And so, in the spirit of standing on the truth, let's continue with our current series, which is an examination of some of the common lies the enemy tells us to cause us to doubt our faith or to cause, uh, or to choose not to follow the Lord with the way we live our lives. So today's big lie is lie number 6: I am all alone. I purposely put today's big lie in the first person tense because that is often how the enemy delivers the fiery darts into our minds. 1 Chronicles 21:1 tells us, now Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel. Here scripture indicates Satan, apparently underneath God's authority, moved David to take a census of the people of Israel, but he didn't follow the guidelines for doing so that God established with Moses, thus acting in pride and against God's word. Acting in pride and acting against God's word, huh? Sounds like Satan to me, but it probably didn't sound like Satan to David. It probably sounded like a good idea of his own. It is unlikely that Satan announced his maniacal plot that would result in the deaths of 70,000 Israelites to David in the second person. Hey David, you should do a census. Instead, it is more likely that the enemy phrased it in the first person. I should do a census before we fight. The enemy will be intimidated when they find out how large our army is. That's a good idea. Boy, I'm smart. Little did David know that he was going against God's word. He had a heart for God after all. But scripture tells us that Satan knows the word and just how to twist it. So when we consider combating the lies of the enemy, we have to be on the lookout of our own thoughts because they could be first-person fiery darts from demonic entities. That's right, sometimes our thoughts may not be our own. Satan did it to David, and so he will certainly do it to us. That's a big introduction for today's lie, but I wanted to explain those first-person lies because if we aren't taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, even first-person thoughts, we will be susceptible to deception. And just like, like how the enemy likes to take the truth of God's word and twist it, he will also take the facts of a situation and twist them to afflict us. The best lies are partially true, and Satan knows this. So the lie of 'I am all alone' can be based on the facts of the circumstances. 'I am alone. My spouse left me. My family is far from me. I don't have close friends.' The enemy will be quick to point out these facts and, and provide you with commentary to explain them. I'm all alone because nobody loves me. Nobody wants to be with me. But what the enemy doesn't tell you is that there is someone that does love you and is always with you— God. No matter what your circumstances on this earth may be, there is one who will never leave you or forsake you. God reveals the fact of his omnipresence through— throughout scripture. In Joshua 1:9, God says, 'Have I not commanded you, be strong and of good courage? Do not be afraid nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.' Wherever you go, there you are with God. Remember David, uh, the guy who really messed up more than once? Well, he knew this truth about God too. In Psalm 139 1-6, he wrote, O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I'm far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand. This is the wonderful knowledge about God that Satan doesn't want you to know. Read the rest of Psalm 139 and the whole counsel of God, and you will see that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, everywhere present, and He loves us enough to send Jesus to save us. If you put your faith in Christ, the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit Himself lives in you. So in reality, the Christian is never alone. We can't be alone because God is with us wherever we go. But if we forget this, the truth of our relationship with God, the enemy can get us to believe the lies that will fill us with despair, cause us to be fearful or angry, and tempt us to look for satisfaction and love in all the wrong places. So if you are hearing that lie, "I'm all alone," there are two ways you can combat it. One, you remember God's Word and your relationship with God and go into His presence through prayer, Bible study, worship, praise, thanksgiving, or doing good works in His name. The Word says that in the presence of the Lord there is fullness of joy. Psalm 16:11 says, "You will show me the path of life, and your presence is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore." God shows us the path of life. In his presence, there is fullness of joy. So stay in his presence by walking and talking to God as you follow his path through life. And the second way you can combat that lie Uh, that I'm all alone is to seek the company of family, friends, and brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, or go out to new places and make new friends and take your faith with you. Psalm 133:1 says, behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. So spend some time making friends in the body of Christ. We need each other, but no one will, will know your need if you don't seek friendship. I know it is not easy, but the Lord directs us to love one another, and we can't do that by ourselves. So don't believe the lie that I'm all alone. It's not true. God is with you. But if you are lonely, be bold and courageous and seek out good company where you can confess your sorrows to cut them in half and where you can double your joy. Uh, for more evidence on the, the truth of Christianity, uh, than my simple apologetic will provide, I offer apologist Frank, uh, Turek's website, crossexamined.org. Um, yeah, I, I'm just sharing that with this series, so there it is. Um, but today we move along to, uh, today's Bible verse, uh, which comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verse is Psalm 90:12, which says, "So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Today's verse points to the fact of our physical impermanence and encourages us to live from a heart of wisdom to make our days count. All wisdom comes from God, so to gain a heart of wisdom, we need to know what God's book of wisdom, the Bible, says. And to wisely apply its teachings to our lives. Uh, the Bible will show us that our lives are but a vapor, and we only have limited time to enjoy our lives and to contribute to the work of God's kingdom. So don't waste your time in earthly pursuits, but seek God's wisdom and, and to grow your capacity for being in his presence and doing his will. We have to grow into maturity. And it may take some time to gain that heart of wisdom, but if we number our days, we will be able to focus on what's really important, what will last for eternity: our character and the work we do for and with the Lord. As always, I invite all to go to mtforchrist.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 A.W. Pink's The Sovereignty of God, and we are in the conclusion. And today he shares the second final point in his conclusion, um, which is God's Sovereignty and Christian Service. So if you want to see how the two relate— our service and God's sovereignty— go to mtforchrist.org and you'll see that resource at the end of today's blog post. Also, at the end of today's blog post, we'll, uh, you'll see an encouragement to join our Victor Over the Darkness, the Bondage Breaker, and Freedom in Christ series of discipleship classes via the M.t. for Christ 24/7 podcast, or 247 podcast. Um, and, uh, that— those are available on the YouTube channel as well of the same name, M.t. for Christ 247. Um, yeah, those are based on the word of God and, uh, the, the teachings of Dr. Neil Anderson. So, um, it's good teaching. And if you wanted to, we can provide you with the materials that I handed out in class when I taught those classes in 2021 via email at no cost. Um, just reach out to me at mtforchrist247@gmail.com to ask for those materials today. Um, and obviously we, we share scripture because it teaches us wisdom And we encourage people to know scripture because it tells us the truth. Um, and so we encourage Bible study, uh, on a daily basis for everyone. And we, we, we encourage Bible study on our podcast by sharing our topical Bible study that we do once a week with Arthur and Susanna Sincotti. Um, so join us tomorrow, um, as we'll be sitting down to another study. And if you wanted to check out the archives, our studies go all the way back to April, I believe, of 2021. So, um, you know, the whole point of this blog and podcast is to encourage Christians in their faith and to, you know, combat the lies of the enemy and to live free in Christ. And so if you don't know your freedom, we encourage you to check out those teachings because it's all about who you are in Christ, about the spiritual forces of darkness and How to Experience Your Freedom. So we encourage you to check those out. Um, it is Saturday. I do have to work. Time is limited, so let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you so much for all that you've done for us. Thank you for showing us that we're never alone when we're a Christian, that because of our faith in Jesus Christ You put your Holy Spirit in us, uh, to guide us and to, to lead us in the way we should go. And you also gave us a guidebook for life, the Bible, where we can learn more about you, learn about Jesus, and learn how we should live, uh, our lives. Lord, we thank you for your guidance and your love, and we thank you for your abiding presence in our life. Lord, we know you're with us every step of the way. And we thank you, uh, that you're with us. And Lord, we just pray for anyone who's listening or reading this message today, that you would bless them and come alongside them so they would know your presence and, and your, your power in their lives. Um, and Lord, uh, as always, we pray for you to go before us today, open our eyes to the things you want us to see, and lead our path in the way you— we should go. Because, Lord, all we want to do is represent your kingdom here on earth and, uh, you know, share the love that we've received so abundantly. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
