I’m Fine – Lies of the Enemy #31– Purity 1043

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 the view of the Skodak Creek and Hudson River over and through the side railing of River House's front deck— or is it a porch?— comes to us from yours truly, as I had the presence of mind to take a look out front when I saw that my daughter's cat was sunning himself in the narrow beam of light that was coming into the otherwise into the darkness of my shaded living room. Marvin seemed to positively rejoice as I opened the front door to let the sunshine in. So spectacular was the sight out front that I decided not only to take a glimpse, I decided to grab a lawn chair and set a spell to truly appreciate the sunshine and the breeze coming off the water. I'm sharing a second photo of that blazing sun and a video of 45 seconds of peace on the blog today. If you want to share in a tiny bit of the experience. Well, it's Monday and the beginning of a new work week, and as— and it is— and it is my prayer that the past Mother's Day— Mother's Day's weekend was a good one. I myself enjoyed a simple diner lunch with my mother, father, and younger brother to celebrate the one who delivered me and tried her best to guide and raise me right. If you look at— if you look at most of my life— let's see, if you look, yeah, at most of my life, we might be tempted to echo Waylon Jennings' sentiments that mama tried, but considering that all 4 of her vastly different and independent sons emerged from sowing their wild oats to become responsible adults, including including me, we can say she succeeded. I can honestly say that while none of our lives are free from challenges, we are all doing relatively well for ourselves. So, you could say, we are all fine. Good job, Mom! However, this idea of "finess" has sparked my imagination and 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, uh, to cause us to doubt our faith, uh, faith, uh, 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 31: I'm fine. Today's lie is inspired by a line from Celebrate Recovery's lesson on denial, which was presented as an example of that condition. Among other examples of denial, such as "He really doesn't drink that much," or "If we don't talk about it, it will go away," was the line "It doesn't really hurt when he does that. I'm fine." While the emphasis of this statement seems to be on someone who is suffering from abuse or from the negative effects of someone else's behavior, and points to a very real need for the speaker to either remove themselves from the situation or to confront the one that doesn't really hurt them, Our focus will be on the two-word verse that covers up the hard truth: "I'm fine." "I'm fine" is the lie that can cover both the victim and the victimizer, both the addict and the one who has to live with their unpredictable habits, and both the mildly upset and absolutely heartbroken. I'm fine covers a multitude of sins and a plethora of emotions that fall short of complete honesty. While there is something commendable about not dwelling on the negative aspects of our lives and manning up or powering through difficulties and declaring ourselves fine until we can become finer or actually good, there are times when repeating the mantra of I'm fine is not fine at all. When pain, conflict, shame, guilt, negative mind states, or vicious cycles persist, there is nothing fine about declaring that I'm fine. My intention is to promote wellness in the harvesting of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, and when these negative circumstances continue and the I'm fine proclamation doesn't change, we have to declare it for what it is. Denial. Whether it's physical, mental, or emotional pain, or the negative consequences of sinful behaviors that you're denying, we are here to encourage you to drop the con and fess up, to admit that you have a problem that needs help and to actually get it. Throughout the long run of my alcoholism, drug use, and sexual immorality, I knew I had a problem, but because I was afraid of admitting it afraid of, of what admitting it would mean, and frankly because I was afraid of, if not just plain unwilling to change, I stayed in the land of "I'm fine." Rather than admit to my problems and seeking help and healing, I decided to do it myself and manage them the best I could. I figured as long as I'm working and getting the bills paid, I was fine. And would live with the pain and negative consequences that my habits would invariably cause. While my habits demanded financial, physical, mental, and emotional cost, I was willing to pay them because changing seemed unthinkable. Unfortunately, I believe that this is where most of polite society lives, in the shadows of "I'm fine," hiding and managing their problems on their own rather than seeking the help and healing that would require that they admit that they aren't as fine as they appear. Last week I started a recovery ministry at my local church, and while I am thrilled to serve the body of Christ in this capacity and was pleased with the turnout of our first meeting, it was a rather small number for such a well-attended church, and it made me wonder how many people in our services are saying "I'm fine" when they are not fine. I perhaps more than, than some can understand the difficulties of seeking help for one's hurts, habits, and hang-ups. Not only is facing your problems a difficult decision to make, I know the stigma that comes from being a recovery Christian and the reality of how one could be treated differently by their family and friends after you step out of the dark. However, I know that it's better in the light than in the darkness, and And it's better to actually be fine by repenting and following the Lord than it is just to say that you are fine while living with the pain and confusion that comes from living a double-minded life. So, I encourage those who are saying, "I'm fine," and who know that is not true, to tell someone the truth and to ask for help, be it medical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. We can't fix a problem by saying it's not there, We can't enjoy a life in the light of God's life if, if we're living in the darkness of a lie. So be bold and courageous. Ask God for strength and guidance and admit to yourself and others that you need help, or seek to encourage others to get the help they need because you know that they are not fine. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verse is Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, um, and the word of God says, two people are better than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help, but someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close Two together can keep each other warm, but how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back to back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. Today's passage of Scripture encourages us not to isolate by proclaiming the benefits of having someone to help lift you up if you should fall, help comfort you in troubling times, or who can help join the fight when a battle comes. God tells us in Genesis that it is not good to be alone, and this wisdom is inherent in the Christian message to love our neighbors as ourselves. We need one another and should seek the community of others to help one another through the trials of this life. 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 in Christ with their walk— brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from Satan, Demons, Satanism and Satanism: A Sinister Reality by June Hunt. And today we're continuing to share from the Steps to Solution section of that work, and it's Section F, which is Renounce Satanic Practices. Practices and Rituals. So if you want a checklist of satanic practices that you might need to, or ungodly ways that you need to renounce, and the prayer to do so, go to mtforchrist.org and you'll find that resource at the end of today's blog post. Well, it is, uh, yeah, uh, it's troubling. Um, just yesterday I was, uh, you know, basically in Hudson. And I ran into some old friends from church, and I was pleased because I got to, got to meet them and greet them. And, but, but I, but, you know, to keep it real, there seemed to be a, you know, a stigma, um, I don't know, some awkwardness in our, in our conversation that made me think that, oh, they're They're thinking of me as the recovery Christian guy, and that might be just in my head or not, but, you know, certain relational aspects between us, you know, sort of indicated that might be the case. And so I get— I can get why it's difficult to ask for help because, you know, people might treat you differently. However, as I stated in today's message, she, you know, Freedom is certainly worth it, and, um, you know, if people are going to judge you, um, for seeking freedom and living in freedom, then that's just the consequence you're going to have to take. But, uh, it's far better than all the negative consequences that come from not getting help, uh, no matter what it is. Um, so we encourage that. We encourage a life of Christian discipleship and, you know, being a problem solver, um, you know, by going to the Lord, seeking his wisdom, and seeking the counsel of godly men and women to help you in your walk of faith from out of the darkness of the pain that you're in to the light of the life that lies beyond it. So, and the pathway is, as I would say, a pathway, uh, that's forged by faith and, uh, that leads to peace. So we encourage people to take that first step to get on the path of Christian discipleship, and we do that here on the blog and podcast by providing our teachings from Victory Over the Darkness, The Bondage Breaker, and Freedom in Christ. They're all available on the podcast and the YouTube channel to, uh, to guide you, to tell you who you are in Christ, tell you about the spiritual forces of darkness, the sins of the flesh, and other things that can trip you up. And, uh, they, they give you a pathway to repent through the Steps to Freedom in Christ. So we recommend those. Obviously, we recommend the wisdom of the Word of God, and that's why we encourage Bible study. And we do that on the, on the podcast by providing our Bible study, a topical Bible study that we do with Arthur and Susanna Sincotti. Yesterday we did a Bible study on hearing from God. And so if you want to check that out, that's the latest episode. And, uh, we also have an archive of other Bible topic discussions that go all the way back to 2021. So as we enter into Monday and have new challenges to face, um, if you're carrying an old challenge into the new week We encourage you to get the help you need, whatever that is, and we encourage prayer. I'm sort of— I don't know, I'm sort of at a loss, uh, at a loss, uh, as I have a new work week to face, and I'm really not sure what I'll face today in terms of my job function, but I know the Lord will be with me and guide me every step of the way, and I'm more than able to, uh, to to take those challenges. So let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you for so much, for the help you've given us. Um, when we decided to put our faith in you, you led us out of the darkness bit by bit. You didn't drag us out, but you invited us into the new life that you have for us. And when we decided to follow, you were faithful to be with us and give us the strength and guidance we needed every step of the way. You've never left us or forsaken us, and, uh, we encourage, we encourage you to help us again as we enter into a new week. And Lord, we, we thank you for, uh, and we pray for anyone who's listening or reading this message, that they'd be encouraged, be encouraged with their faith, and that you would guide them in the way they should go, and you would come alongside their prayer requests. And as always, Lord, we just pray for you to go before us today, open our eyes to the things you want us to see, and lead our paths in the way we should go. Because all we want to do is represent you and your kingdom here on earth. And Lord, we need a lot of help with that. So, you know, be that, be that one who lifts us up, that keeps us warm, and to help, help us to fight in our battles, uh, Lord, because we know you're with us. And, uh, we just want to say thank you. We love you, Lord, and we praise your holy name. And all these things we pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.