I’m Better Off Alone – Lies of the Enemy #32– Purity 1044

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 my wife approaching the Ridge Cabin at the Merck Forest and Farmland Center grounds in Rupert, Vermont comes to us from yours truly as the, as the wife and I decided to do something this past Saturday and spent a few hours hiking along the Gallop Road until we lost our way. For the life of me, I don't I don't know which way we were supposed to go to stay on track because we were faithfully following the signs leading the way, but at the intersection leading to the Ridge Cabin, things didn't appear as they seemed, as the three-forked path must have had a fourth path, as we came down one, explored the other to the Ridge Cabin, and left via what we thought was the only other way, only to discover a short while later that the path we were on wasn't the one we thought it was. But the sign we followed that pointed us back to the visitor center didn't necessarily lead us astray. It just didn't take us back to the beginning we had planned on. Anyway, well, it's Tuesday and I spontaneously did something a little unexpected this morning. I am looking at the website for the Merck Forest and Farmland Center. Booked a camping trip for Saturday and Sunday. Uh, no, I'm not doing 3 days. I know my limits. Of the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, uh, to stay at the Nemorod Cabin at the Merck Forest and Farmland Center. While it's hardly going to be roughing it, what with Nemorod Cabin's wraparound porch and rocking chairs, but I will be without my beloved electricity and indoor plumbing, and there are grave doubts that I will be able to connect to the internet with my phone. But sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone and get away from it all. Although I imagine I won't have to worry about solitude, uh, as I'm inviting the wife and her kiddos along for the ride if they dare, and I'm sure they will. They are no strangers to camping and may even choose to forsake the comfort of the cabin to sleep in tents or just to lie on the ground for all I know. Anyway, although my Memorial Day weekend won't be spent in solitude, I am hopeful that I will find some peace and rest in spite of the rugged conditions and the boisterous company of people who quote-unquote love camping. Although family vacations can be a mix of fun and frustrations at times, I know that whenever I venture too far into solitude or silence The specter of loneliness will rear its ugly head, causing me to want to reconnect with loved ones, my Heavenly Father, or just, uh, in the company of strangers in public places. And that brings us to our current series, The Lies of the Enemy, which is an examination of some of the common lies sometimes sneakily whispered into our minds as first-person statements that the enemy tells us to cause us to doubt our faith, lose our peace, cause division, or influence us to not follow the Lord with the way we live our lives. So today's big lie is lie number 32. Yeah, I screwed up yesterday, it was like, it's lie 31 yesterday, but today is lie 32: I'm better off alone. And, um, today's lie is whispered into our ears by the demonic forces of darkness, usually when we are at our lowest or most vulnerable state. Uh, it usually comes after loss and can be born from the deep hurt and disappointment that follows the rejection of broken relationships or even, um, the departure of loved ones into eternity. Uh, our pain and depression of the things we lost or at the offense of how we have been mistreated or abused, uh, can give us the desire to become a hermit and distance ourselves from everyone. The enemy offers the solution of unending solitude with the rational rationale that because other people have caused your pain, it only makes sense to protect ourselves from further pain by removing ourselves from the company of others. However, this is usually a setup, as the enemy will then take the peace of solitude and change it into the anxiety of loneliness. But, uh, with the hopelessness that you can't or won't reach out to others to alleviate the problem. It is then that the enemy tries to convince you that you really are alone, that there is no God and no meaning or purpose to this life. And thus Satan and his demonic associates will offer up the final solution of suicide to end all your pain forever. From hurt to solitude to isolation to suicide, the enemy knows if he gets us alone, we are more susceptible to his lies and schemes to destroy us. But God's word tells us that it is not good for man to be alone, and he commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves, indicating that we are to have continuous relational contact with others. The injunctions to not forsake the fellowship of the saints commands us to gather for worship, and the guidelines for love, marriage, and raising children point to the flourishing that comes from God's design for families. Whether you decide to marry or not is up to you, but nowhere in Scripture does God recommend a long-term solitary existence, as Christians are called to go and make disciples in all the world. God knows what we need and gives us his wisdom to lead us into a life that is filled with the fruit of the Spirit. And all of those, those fruits are best cultivated, especially patience, with others in mind. So yes, I acknowledge the difficulties that our human relationships can cause, but the trials are meant to mature us, to be wise and discerning with our hearts, and to Choose the company and fellowship of those who respect and follow the Lord. If someone isn't following the Lord, are you surprised they are selfish or abusive? Those who don't have a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ are worshiping false idols, usually themselves, and will invariably show the foul fruit that comes from following anything other than the God who loved us enough to send his Son to die for us. Uh, so don't believe the lie that you're better off alone. It's a trap from the enemy. Instead, choose to follow the Lord into the company of the saints and those who need the good news and good works that you can give. Uh, and today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verse it. Verses are Colossians 3:12-13, and the word of God says, since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other's faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you So you must forgive others. Today's verses encourage us to be kind, gentle, patient, and merciful with one another, and to make allowances for each other's faults, and to forgive those who offend us as we have been forgiven all things through Christ. I don't set these messages up, but the Lord sure seems to be sovereign at times when our random quote-unquote random Bible verse of the day flows with the first part of the message. So instead of thinking you're better off alone, forgiving the offenses of others and being kind, gentle, humble, patient, and merciful in dealing with others— we are to be those things. Now, if someone is toxic and refuses to follow the Lord in these basic instructions for human interaction You may have to put up boundaries to limit or even end your interactions with them, um, thus releasing them to Satan and possible repentance. You know, um, when following the Lord, we have to be uncompromising in our love for others. But to remain in our company, we need to be clear that the others must also reciprocate the kindness and respect we provide. As always, I invite all to go to m.t. for christ.org as we We always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist our brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from Dr. June Hunt's book on, uh, well, it's called Satan, Demons, and Satanism: A Sinister Reality, and we're drawing to a conclusion of that work. Um, let's see, I don't know if we're all the way to the end, as we are in the fourth section on Steps to Solutions, and we'll be moving along to section G, which is Prevention and Protection. So if you want to read that, see how you can prevent and be protected, um, from the enemy, uh, 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, you'll see an encouragement to, um, follow along with our Victory Over the Darkness: The Bondage Breaker or Freedom in Christ series of discipleship classes that are available through the M.t. for Christ 24/7 podcast. They're also available on our YouTube channel. And if you want to take a deeper dive into those classes, you can contact me at mtforchrist247@gmail.com to receive the class materials that I passed out when I taught those classes back in 2021. And we also encourage Bible study as we read the Bible every day, a little read a little bit of Job and Micah today, um, and we do that on the podcast and the YouTube channel by providing our topical Bible study that we do with Arthur and Susanna Sincotti once a week, although we won't be available on Memorial Day weekend as I'll be in the woods. Um, yikes. But we do have a whole archive of messages, uh, basically where we discuss different topics about the Word of God and draw from Scripture to show us the way which— where we should go. So if you'd like to check those out, they're available under the heading of Bible Study with the Zinkatis. And this last past weekend's study was on hearing from God. So if you want to hear from God, you can check out that study and see if we give you good advice to do so. Usually I say, if you want to hear from God, pray or read his word. And, um, you know, you pray and listen, or you read his word and listen. So God's with us, and he will guide us when we, when we seek his presence and wisdom. Well, it is Tuesday, but for me it's Friday, as I, uh, have the day off from work tomorrow, as I have to work on Saturday. Um, just the way it goes. So, uh, Well, let's get out the door and get her done, I guess. Then I'll— I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my day off. I think lots of preparation for the ministry that I have on Wednesday evening, as we have a recovery growth group that we have to fashion and figure out. As people have expressed, they want to make it more relational, and I completely agree. Sometimes when you're leading a ministry, you really wonder if anyone's getting anything as you present a message. And, um, and so, um, we're making a shift to, you know, basically have the group look at the material and sort of present it themselves is what we're going to shift to, um, as, as it's a growth group, not a recovery ministry. So it's a You know, the distinction's a little different, so we're gonna, you know, go with the suggestions that we've heard as feedback and, uh, try to, try to encourage, uh, the group to, you know, get what they're looking for. And, uh, I don't have to stand up and preach, um, but I got to be faithful to deliver the message at the same time, the message that I was, you know, intended to give. Which is from the Celebrate Recovery material. So we'll figure out a way to do that, uh, to meet both the relational aspects and the teaching aspect of the, uh, the material. Because we can't assume that everyone knows everything we know, especially when it comes to our faith. Um, you know, we might know things intellectually, but experientially it's a different thing. And if you're not living, uh, living out your faith and experiencing the fruit of the Spirit I would suspect the problems you have are based on not intellectual knowledge, but on how to apply God's wisdom to your life, or the inconsistency that you're not doing it. So, you know, I can't— the material itself is valuable. You got to tell people the truth, but they have to receive it, and hopefully in this relational way they'll receive it. And be equipped and, you know, be able to share it with others, because that's a discipleship aspect, is we want, you know, people to learn and apply the teachings and then be able to replicate it and share it with somebody else, because it's good news that the Lord gives us. So we've got to figure that out tomorrow, and until then, we got to work. 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 do for us. Um, Lord, we especially thank you for anyone who's, uh, you know, walking with us, uh, via the podcast or the YouTube channel or the, uh, or just reading the blog. Um, Lord, we thank you, um, for their spirit that would lead them to want to follow you, and we pray for them to receive, uh, what you have for them, Lord, that you you come alongside them in their walk and their prayer requests to help them. Uh, Lord, we also pray for ourselves as we go into another day. Uh, Lord, we need you to guide us and protect us and show us the things you want us to do. We want you to open our eyes to the things you want us to see and lead our steps into the pathway that you've set before us. Because, Lord, all we want to do is represent you in your kingdom on the earth and, and share the good news. And to make disciples where we can, um, and to share your love. Um, so Lord, we need help with that. And so we pray for you to go before us today and every day, uh, to help us, uh, do your purposes for our lives. And Lord, as always, uh, we thank you, we praise you, we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.