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

 

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

Purity 1032 05/02/2023 Purity 1032 Podcast

Purity 1032 on YouTube: 

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, was wrong.” While I can agree that Disney is not it, I have never been to Aruba but after seeing my nieces’ photos 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 pass port so I resisted booking a trip there for my upcoming Memorial Day Week vacation, then again I guess I could do a solo trip… nah…

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 Lyn. So Tammy Lyn, if you are 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 any time soon, I am blessed with a One 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 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 in to a Webinar for the release of Marcus Warner & Chris Coursey’s new book “The 4 Habits of Joy-filled People” to support the authors’ work and to maybe pose a question or two about applying these habits to the recovery ministry that I begin leading next week.  

In the book Coursey stated that these “habits” were effective in helping people to build joy and to overcome their Type A Traumas - traumas of neglect – not receiving the good things (love, support, guidance, and acceptance) they needed growing up.  Coursey 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 the focus was only on trying to process their Type B Trauma – 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 God send as I seek to not only teach and encourage the people who come to the new recovery growth group, 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 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.   

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 influence us to not follow the Lord with the way we live our lives.  

Today’s big lie is:

Lie #20:  It Just Doesn’t Matter!  

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 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 wat you do, what you say, or no matter what happens – It just doesn’t matter because of _(blank)___.  

Bill Murray 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 – all the really 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 somethings 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 “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 “even if you win somethings, 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 matter! Your efforts to do what’s right matter! 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 your living now, in some way – even if it’s just the peace you get from walking with Him and knowing that you are doing what 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 just the beginning – and something you never lose – when you decide to follow the Lord.  

So don’t believe the lie “that it just doesn’t matter” because it does matter. The decision to follow the path less traveled after 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.

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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple apologetic will provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .

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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.

This morning’s meditation verse is  :

Micah 6:8 (NLT2)
⁸  No, 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: 

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 wall 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.

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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.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 begin sharing from  “Satan, Demons & Satanism: A Sinister Reality” By June Hunt.

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase June Hunt’s books for your own private study and to support her work.  This resource is available online for $7.99 (https://june-hunt.myshopify.com/collections/keys-for-living/products/keys-for-living-on-satan-demons-satanism_ ).

Satan, Demons & Satanism

A Sinister Reality

by June Hunt

C.  What Is the Church of Satan?

Today’s organized worship of Satan is linked to the teachings of Aleister Crowley. Born in England in 1875, Crowley rebelled against his Christian upbringing by rejecting Christ and seeking supernatural guidance through the occult.⁹ He believed Satan to be more powerful than Christ and sowed the seeds of modern satanism in the United States, where religious freedom allowed his evil influence to flourish.

•     A legal and highly organized religion that teaches that indulgence in sin is the path to freedom.

•     Founded in the United States on April 30, 1966, by Anton LaVey (a former carnival member).

•     The rituals mock Christianity.

•     The initiation rituals are sexual.

•     Teachings include the following:

—   No supernatural being exists.

—   Satan is only a symbol of self-indulgence.

—   No personal devil exists.

—   Man is the epitome of existence.

•     Published The Satanic Bible in 1969.

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.”

(1 Timothy 4:1)

Basic Beliefs of Satanism from The Satanic Bible

The Satanic Bible perverts the truth about God and Satan by representing beliefs associated with God in a negative light and Satan in a positive light.

•     Satan represents:	•     God represents:
—   indulgence	—   abstinence
—   vital existence	—   spiritual pipe dreams
—   undefiled wisdom	—   hypocritical self-deceit
—   kindness to those who deserve it	—   love wasted on ingrates
—   vengeance	—   turning the other cheek
—   responsibility to the responsible	—   concern for “psychic vampires”
—   man as just another animal	—   becoming the most vicious animal of all
—   all the so-called sins	—   all leading to physical, mental or emotional gratification

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.”

(Isaiah 5:20–21)^[1]

---------------------------more tomorrow------------------------

Join our “Victory over the Darkness”, “The Bondage Breaker”, "Freedom in Christ" series of Discipleship Classes via the mt4christ247 podcast!

at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts

(https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mt4christ247s-podcast/id1551615154). The mt4christ247 podcast is also available on Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartradio, and Audible.com. 

These teachings are also available on the MT4Christ247 You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MT4Christ247

Email me at mt4christ247@gmail.com to receive the class materials, share your progress, and to be encouraged.

My wife, TammyLyn, also offers Christian encouragement via her Ask Seek Knock blog (https://tammylynask.blogspot.com/ ),  her Facebook Group: Ask, Seek, Knock (https://www.facebook.com/groups/529047851449098 ) and her podcast Ask, Seek, and Knock on Podbean (https://feed.podbean.com/tammalyn78/feed.xml)

“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

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^[1] June Hunt, Biblical Counseling Keys on Satan, Demons & Satanism: A Sinister Reality (Dallas, TX: Hope For The Heart, 2008), 4–5.