It Just Doesn’t Matter – Lies of the Enemy #20– Purity 1032

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 silhouette of a couple, the roofs of some beachside cabanas, and palm trees underneath a Caribbean sunset sky comes to us from my niece Megan, who shared this scene among many other photos from her recent vacation to Aruba, declaring that whoever said that Disney was the happiest place on earth, uh, was wrong. While I can agree that Disney is not it, I've never been to Aruba, but after seeing my niece's photos, uh, I may have to investigate her claims. Well, it's Tuesday, and while I won't be going to Aruba today, and as far as I know my wife doesn't have a passport, so I resisted booking a trip there for my upcoming Memorial Day week vacation, Um, then again, I guess I could go, uh, do a solo trip. Um, nah. Uh, although I am sure the weather and beaches are fabulous in Aruba, I know that they would be better appreciated in the company of my love, Tammy Lynn. So Tammy Lynn, if you're listening, get that passport. You're unwittingly limiting your possibilities for new adventures of joy because you don't have your walking papers. There could be lots of happy places out there for us to see together, but going without a passport sure would limit the ways we could go, and going illegally might put a damper on our peace and joy if we have to keep looking over our shoulders for border patrols or customs police. Anyway, while I won't be going to Aruba anytime soon, I'm blessed with Um, I'm blessed with a 1-day weekend today as my shifted schedule has given me the day off in lieu of having the day off on Saturday. So although working Saturdays is somewhat of a drag, I will focus on the positive and enjoy the day off here at my place down by the river. I'm not completely sure what I will do today, but I will be checking into a webinar for the release of Marcus Warner and Chris Chris Corsi's new book, The Four Habits of Joy-Filled People, to support the author's work and maybe pose a question or two about applying these habits to the recovery ministry that I begin leading next week. In the book, uh, Corsi stated that these habits were effective— these joy habits, mind you— were effective in helping people to build joy and to overcome their Type A traumas. Traumas of neglect, of not receiving the good things like love, support, guidance, and acceptance they needed growing up. Corsi stated that when people were able to grow their capacity for joy and overcome these types of trauma, their recovery was more successful than if they— if the focus was only on trying to process their Type B traumas, the bad things that happen in life. Considering that I want to help people to overcome their hurts, habits, and hang-ups and to grow in their faith, The new book's release may be a real godsend as I seek to not only teach and encourage the people who come to the new recovery growth group, um, I also want to equip them with the tools that will help them to be successful in transitioning to a lifestyle of freedom, victory, and Christian discipleship. Some of the people who come to the recovery ministry may have been there and done that in terms of recovery before But I want to give them something that they may not have been able to find at traditional 12-step meetings. I want to teach them to walk in the Spirit, to encourage them to grow and apply their Christian faith to the way they think and the way they live their lives. I want to introduce them to God, to who they are in Christ, and to invite them to trust and to follow the Lord into the new life that he has for them. And I want to show them that his path— his is a pathway that is paved with hope, peace, and joy. Rather than sending everyone to Aruba or some other happy place, I seek to show them that the joy of the Lord is something they can experience right where they live. But there will be resistance. The world, the flesh, and the devil doesn't want us to change or to experience the joy that comes from living with and for God. Uh, and this 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 to influence us to not follow the Lord with the way we live our lives. Today's big lie is: it just doesn't matter. Uh, not to be confused with Bill Murray's inspirational pep talk in the 1979 summer camp classic movie Meatballs. When the enemy tells us it just doesn't matter, he wants to keep you right where you are— locked in addiction, sin, depression, frustration, fear, or anger. When you hear this lie, it's actually a good sign. It's It means there is hope, but the enemy doesn't want you to see it and seeks to steal it from you by trying to convince you that no matter what you do, what you say, or what— or no matter what happens, it just doesn't matter because of blank. Bill Murray said that, that said that even if his fledgling group of average summer campers should be blessed by God above to achieve victory over the rich kids' camp, it just wouldn't matter because, quote unquote, all the really good girl— good-looking girls would still go out with the guys from the other camp because they have all the money. His impassioned speech actually motivated the group to victory by keeping it real that some things wouldn't change, but they would be victorious all the same, implying that although they wouldn't win everything, if they won, no one and nothing could take their moment of triumph away from them. So the enemy tells the same thing. It just doesn't matter. But instead of focusing on the benefits of a quote-unquote limited victory, Satan and his demons focus on the negative aspects of working for a victory that won't change or restore everything that was lost. The enemy will point out how hard it will be to overcome and then play devil's advocate by allowing you to imagine accomplishing something, but then will gloat over how how even if you win some things, you won't win everything, stating that in effect, your efforts and hard work will be for nothing because it just doesn't matter. But that's a lie. It does matter. Your efforts to live a better life matters. Your efforts to do what's, what's right matters. Your intention to follow the Lord really matters, because if you decide to follow the Lord While you won't necessarily win everything or restore all that is lost, he will be with you to guide you into good things and a better life than what you're living now in some way, even if it's just peace you get from walking with him and knowing that you're doing what's right, uh, what you are doing is right according to your Heavenly Father. Peace regardless of circumstances, peace with God alone is a great victory. But I know from experience of walking with the Lord that peace is just the beginning and something you never lose when you decide to follow the Lord. As he types in a word he didn't type. So don't believe the lie that it's just— it just doesn't matter, because it does matter. The decision to follow, uh, to follow the path less traveled after the Lord is the difference between life and death, between pain and peace, and defeat and victory. So make today count, make today matter by simply turning to the Lord and declaring that you are his and you will follow where he leads. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verse is Micah 6:8, and the word of God says, 'Know, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.' Today's verse is an Old Testament prophet's marching orders from God on how to live our lives. And what did I write? To do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God. Mic drop. This is walking in the Spirit. The Lord has told us what is good, and this is what he requires of us: to humbly walk with him in righteousness and love. This is the path of Christian discipleship and the way we do it. Doing what is right, loving the Lord for the mercy and grace he gives us, and giving it away to others to show we love mercy by practicing it. So put this verse in your heart and keep walking and talking with God. As always, I invite all to go to M.t. for Christ, uh, where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Um, today we continue sharing from June Hunt's 'Satan, Demons, and Satanism: A Sinister Reality.' And today we continue sharing on Section C, which asks the question, 'What is the Church of Satan?' So, uh, and we're also going to share some basic beliefs of Satanism from the Satanic Bible. So if you want to see what they believe, uh, and why we don't follow Satan, uh, go to m.tforchrist.org and you'll see June Hunt's writing on the Church of Satan, you know. So yikes. You'll see that resource at the end of today's blog post. But it shouldn't— you know, that's the wrong thing to follow. Follow the Lord, you don't follow Satan. But we like to keep it real, keep people informed, and that's why we share resources at the end of every blog post. Because no matter what I say, I try to provide some material that will be worthwhile if you get nothing out of what I say and what I share. It's my humility, I guess. And also, we humbly tell you that we also share at the bottom of every blog post links to our podcast and an encouragement to, you know, listen to our discipleship classes that we taught back in 2021 at our local church for Victory Over the Darkness, The Bondage Breaker, and Freedom in Christ, because they teach you who you are in Christ. They teach all about those spiritual forces of darkness, and they teach you how to experience your freedom in Christ. And so we, we recommend those. Um, basically, um, they are on the podcast and the YouTube channel. And if you want the printed materials for the classes that I handed out just email me at mtforchrist247@gmail.com and I will send them to you via email free of charge. They're just Word docs, um, you know, basically they're the class materials, study guides or whatever, depending on the class, um, and handouts that I gave out when I gave the class. So you can take a deeper dive into the class and actually, you know, do the work, not just listen idly. Much as I love a good Christian teaching or video, you get a lot more when you engage the material by asking, you know, asking yourself questions or answering the questions that come along with the class. So engage the material, you know, and because the material brings us to the Lord, you know, that builds our relationship with him. That's the thing we're trying to point— we're not giving marching orders. This is how you step, do the steps. This is, you know, we're trying to introduce you to God so he can tell you which way to go. He's your discipler, the Holy Spirit, um, not me. I'm just pointing to some resources I found very helpful in my walk, and the Lord blessed them to, uh, help me. So that's why we are on the blog. And, you know, speaking of being blessed, extremely blessed today as, uh, a dear friend of the podcast and blog, reached out in the midst of their grief, you know, to say they were looking forward, you know, that they were suffering from a recent loss, loss of her husband. And, you know, in the midst of that, she took time to reach out and say she, you know, is engaging with church, gonna join some small groups to get support you know, in the wake of the loss of her husband, and, you know, she looks forward to reading my blog again, and I couldn't be more humbled. You know, we consider her a dear friend of ours, my wife and I, and we pray for her too, you know, in this troubling time. But, you know, in the midst of that, she encouraged me, and that just shows you, you you know, that even if we're down, we can encourage one another because of our faith in Christ. Otherwise, we would just focus on what we've lost, or, you know, that it just doesn't matter because now, you know, we've lost something, someone dear to us, and life is a bitter shame. Um, but guess what? Life goes on, and life does matter, and God gave it to us. And, and this woman will probably go into these groups and minister to other people, you know, who are hurting because of what she knows about her freedom in Christ and who she is in Christ and how God is good and hasn't left her or forsaken her in this time. And, you know, she encouraged me to continue to, you know, to continue to do this because, you know, I don't know who are, you know, who listens or who reads the blog. If it's more than one, I'll continue doing it. And the numbers are hard to discern, but it looks like there's at least one. So, so, so we'll continue in the podcast and the blog, and we'll continue doing what we do, which is a daily spiritual practice of prayer, Bible study, and, uh, you know, journaling, I guess. Um, So that's what we recommend, um, for you to start your day with gratitude and praying to the Lord, thanking the Lord, reading his word, renewing your mind through it. And as you go about your day, living in the context of who you are in Christ and who God is, knowing what really matters. And that's the path that's paved with peace and hope. You know, he gives you a future and a hope when you walk with him. So we encourage that. And of course, we encourage Bible study, and we do that in the blog by providing a Bible study with Arthur and Suzanne Sincotti each week. We just did a new one from On Right Alignment with God. So if you want to know how to be aligned properly with the Lord, you can check out our Bible study where we talked about that topic on Sunday. So we invite you to check that out on the podcast or YouTube. And we really appreciate people clicking in and checking in to that as well. So my day— I have a day off, but I'll be working. Uh, it's going to be chill, a labor of love really, um, preparing for next week's recovery ministry growth group, uh, if you will, um, where I'm going to speak encouraging words and try to you know, lead people on the path of recovery and victory and freedom in Christ. And Alexa, stop that. That's normally my alarm to leave for work, um, so I guess my work here is done. Um, so let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Uh, Lord, we thank you so much for all that you do for us. Um, Lord, we pray for our friends who are hurting or suffering, uh, from medical issues. Um, You know who we're talking about, and we just pray for anyone, anyone who's listening to this podcast or reading the message, that you would come alongside them and bless them in their walk and come alongside them in their prayer requests. Lord, as always, we pray for you to go before us today. I don't— not sure if I'm leaving the house, but I might. Either way, I want you with me. So we pray for you to go before us, to show us the things you want us to see, and to walk into or experience the things you want us to walk into, um, or— because all we want to do is represent you in your kingdom. As we've received mercy, you've taught us to do what's right, and now we just want to humbly walk with you, Lord. Um, or— so we thank you, we praise you, and we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.