How To Stay Sane In An Insane World, Part 2

Greetings! Last week we talked about Christ sending us out as lambs amongst wolves. In it we learned that we must be mindful to remain vigilant, on guard. It is important to keep our eyes open, be aware, and be in tune with what’s going on. Peter said, “Your adversary, the devil, is roaming about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.” Resist him steadfast in the faith! In that same passage Peter said, “Be sober, be vigilant.”

We need to be on guard concerning the things of the world. The world acts like a magnet that seeks to draw us back to a former life, a former mentality. The world would have us to think the way we used to before we had the mind of Christ; it’s one of the ploys of the enemy. We are not called to think with a worldly mentality. We’re not called to live in a worldly type of lifestyle. The blood of Jesus has drawn the line in our lives so that now we have been made separate from the world. This means we need to remain vigilant, my friends, because the world is constantly trying to pull us back, and how does it do it? It will accomplish this by getting us to think the way we used to think.

We’re still trying to figure things out the way that we used to before we ever had Jesus in our lives. The Bible says we have the mind of Christ, but I’m still so often amazed and appalled at myself because I’m thinking that if I had the mind of Christ, there’s no way in heaven or hell that Jesus would be thinking what I’m thinking right now. There just ain’t no way!

The enemy seeks to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). How is it that the enemy is capable of doing that in the life of the believer? One way he does it is by getting us to revert back to our former lifestyle. As you know, the Proverb writer says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” In other words, you become the product of the way you think in your inner man. Now I’m going even beyond the conscious level, into the subconsciousness of man, the spirit man.

We are the fruit of our deepest thoughts. You’re producing the fruit of the way you think. So if you don’t like things in your life, then I would suggest you change the way you think about them. If you will change the way that you think, you’ll change the way you live, and if you change the way you live, then you can have the life that Christ destined for you to have.

I think about men like Peter, so bold and passionate, yet he was also prone to falling back into his old lifestyle and habits. I can show you evidence of it. Not long after Jesus had been raised from the dead, He appeared to Thomas the Doubter and Peter. Peter saw the resurrected Savior, and after having touched Him, talked with Him, and been with Him, he says, “Well, I go a’fishin’. Boys, I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do, so I’m going to revert back to what I know how to do.” James and John said, “Hey, we’re going, too.” You can read it in John 21.

So here we have the original disciples who had walked and talked with Jesus, in fact, they’ve already been commissioned by Him to go into all the world, preach the Gospel, and make disciples of the nations. Shortly thereafter, Peter stands up in a group setting and says, “Well (I prefer the old King James here), I go a’fishin’.” That’s Southern for, “I’m going to go fishing.” The others said, “We might as well go, too!”

What’s happening here? They were reverting back to their old mindset, the previous pattern, the former lifestyle.  That’s not the first and only time we see it in Peter’s life, and yet they had sat with Jesus for three years! Jesus Himself had mentored them and been with them. They’ve already seen the Word, walked with the Word, and been with the Word. Yet as soon as Jesus departs, they revert back to their old lifestyle. What’s happening there? One thing is for sure, they needed the Holy Ghost!

Peter’s life, as did the lives of the others, changed radically when he got filled with the Holy Spirit. However, I would remind you, that even after being filled with the Holy Ghost in Acts 2 (reference Acts 10), Peter is still thinking with the old mindset as evidenced in the vision of the animals and the sheet wherein God was calling him to go to Cornelius’ house. Do you remember that? Peter is still thinking with the old mindset. Come on, somebody! We’re talking about Peter, so that means there’s hope for you and me! Don’t let this discourage you. I’m just telling you that if Peter went through this stuff, think it not strange that you and I encounter some of the very same challenges when we revert back to the old mentality, the old prejudices, and the old thought patterns. Just as Peter encountered it, you can bet that you and I will, too.

We’ll continue with this subject of staying sane in an insane world next week. In the meantime, Vickie and I pray that you have a victorious week ahead and that you live out His purpose with every step that you take!

Grace and peace,

pg

How To Stay Sane In An Insane World

Greetings! Since Vickie and I have lived in the Dominican Republic for an extended time now, we have noticed that we’ve become a bit detached from some of the “going-on’s” in the world. Some people move to areas such as this for that express purpose. I flip on the news——yes, I still enjoy FOX News——and so often I wonder, “Why am I even watching this stuff?” The news has become like a soap opera!

Some of you are probably too young to even know what that is. My Italian grandmother used to watch Ivory Soap soap operas for over thirty years. The thing we know about those dramatic shows is that you could miss watching them for five years, turn the TV on, and you can pick right up where you left off. It’s all the same drama! I have to be honest with you that after living in the DR for a little over a year, that the news now reminds me of a soap opera. It’s the same old stuff.

How many of you know that the world is just filled with insanity? Can somebody agree with me? We read of terrorists, government corruption, and all of this filth going on in the world. My wife and I have two chairs in the living room and sit there like old folks, and sometimes we will just shake our heads. I’ll find myself turning to Vickie and saying, “Honey, the whole world is crazy except me and you, and I’ve got my doubts about you.”

So I felt like the Lord dropped a word in my heart the other day, and it is this. We as Christians are not immune to the insanity of the world unless we set ourselves apart from it. The circle of insanity works like a magnet in our lives, and the world is constantly trying to suck us back into it!

The temptation is always there. I know, because as I watch the news, I begin to have all the same old emotional responses. I realize that I’m still struggling because there are times when I shout at the TV, “You idiots! Look at those idiots! Don’t they know that they’re acting foolish and how insane all of this sounds?” Then I remind myself that insane people do what insane people are supposed to do. Sinners are just sinners, that’s what they do. We ought not get angry with them for being what they are.

We can feel protected from it because we live in a more isolated environment. We, as many others in the Church, think that we’re immune to the insanity per virtue of our lifestyles, but I would submit to you that maybe we’re just subjected to a different form of insanity. If we’re not careful, we can become schizophrenic as Christians.

In the midst of the chaos and clamor, oftentimes I’ll hear the Lord’s Words come back to my remembrance. Jesus said in Luke 10, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” When is the last time you prayed that prayer? He doesn’t say to pray FOR the laborers, He said to pray for the Lord of the Harvest to send them out (not that we shouldn’t pray for them as well).

In verse three Jesus says, “Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves” (Luke 10:3). Then He tells them exactly what to do. Jesus commissioned them to go and do the job by healing the sick, going house-to-house, and sharing the Kingdom. Then He adds to His instructions by stating, “Let them know that if they receive you, that the Kingdom of God has come near to them.”

The point I want to make today is that Jesus has sent you and I as lambs into the midst of wolves. Out in the wild, wolves are blood-crazed animals. They’re flesh eating, carnivorous, and very powerful. Maybe you’ve seen movies that depict them with drool and spit hanging down, growling, and looking as mean and evil as can be. This is the mess into which Jesus has sent you and I!

So how is it that we’re expected to maintain our sanity and not go schizophrenic, when Christ Himself has said that He’s sending us out like lambs in the midst of wolves? I believe the Lord has very brief, specific instructions for us in this regard, and we’ll look at them next week. Until then, be encouraged in the fact that even though you’re surrounded by craziness, Christ has given you the means to live a Spirit-led, power-filled life and to have a positive effect on those around you.

Grace and peace,
pg