Greetings!

Here we are . . . nearing the end of this blog centering on “How To Stay Sane In An Insane World.” If applied, this four-part prescription will help us achieve that goal! Let’s do a brief review of the previous three components that we’ve already covered.

1.     Casting down imaginations (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)
2.     Getting our minds renewed (Romans 12:1)
3.     Speaking the Word of God (Joshua 1:8)

So, we’ve cast down our imaginations, and we’re taking authority over those thoughts that are exalting themselves above the knowledge of God. We’re also getting the Word of God in our hearts and coming out of our mouths.

This is so important! I tell Christians, “You ought to be speaking the Word of God even if you don’t believe it.” I want you to believe it, but everybody has something coming out of his or her mouth; it might as well be the Word. If you speak the Word of God enough times over and over, you’ll actually get to a place where you believe it! So just keep speaking it! When you’re sick, and you don’t believe you’re healed, just keep speaking the Word! If you say it enough times, you’ll start to believe, “By His stripes I’m healed”! Speak the Word! You don’t have to believe it at first. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word! Keep saying it; keep saying it; keep saying it!

Sooner or later, a switch will get flipped that will cause a light to come on, and you’ll say, “Whoa, I really believe that!” Jesus said that when you believe in your heart, confess with your mouth, and do not doubt, “You shall have that which you say”!

Okay, I know you’re waiting for point number four in the prescription, and it is found in Philippians 4:8. Paul says . . .
 

“⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”

 
Here’s the standard of judgment. All you have to do is ask yourself, “Are the thoughts that I am thinking . . . right now . . . true? Are they just? Are they pure? Are they lovely? Are they of a good report? Are they virtuous thoughts? How about right now? Are you thinking good thoughts? Are they praiseworthy?

We need to take time to judge our thoughts. You know, if we would actually do that, we wouldn’t say half the things we say. One of our big problems is that we talk before we think. Stuff just comes out. Do you ever wonder where that stuff comes from? Anybody else ever experience that? You might say, “Well, that’s just the way I am.” Well, yes, that’s why you need to change! I love ya, honey, but that’s exactly what Paul’s talking about and why you need to be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

I’ve shared with you before that this one little instrument right below my nose has caused most of my problems in life, and it’s not a mustache. It’s a big mouth. When I got saved and called to preach, I learned something. God impressed on me that I could either use it for good, or it could be used for evil. I can slice and dice people with my mouth and not even think about it! I used to hear the following when I was young, “You should have been an attorney.” Others said, “You should be a politician.” Then I got saved, and they said, “preacher.”

See, the ability to use words is either an asset or a deficit. It has come with great expense and inflicted tremendous pain and injury. Our mouths are capable of blessing and cursing. They can bring forth life on one hand or death on the other. They can be filled with sweetness or bitterness. A lot of times it doesn’t even take a deliberate act on our part; it’s almost automatic.

Next week will be the last blog in the series, “How To Live Sane In An Insane World.” I pray you have a great week ahead.  Keep the points above in mind by repeating them over and over until they come back to your remembrance effortlessly.

Grace and peace,
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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,
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