Battlefield of the Mind

My Belief

You know what drives me crazy!!!? Stupid, jerk people that make my life harder. You know who I am talking about. I can’t stand the idiot that makes a left hand turn out of the right hand lane right in front of me! I can’t stand the dummy who gets on the moving sidewalk at the airport and stands there for a 1/4 MILE!!! How about a few more… The old lady doing 35mph in the left hand interstate express lane, the jerk at the post office who snaps at me because I don’t understand 20 different forms of mail, my friend with all his “backhanded” “friendly” comments or my coworker that knows how to do my job better than his own!!!!

Each one of these things causes me to have very negative thoughts toward each of these respective people. Some of them I want to give a piece of my mind, SOME I want to give and EVEN BIGGER piece, and some I would just like to ask to step outside for an old fashion lesson in “manners”! In each one of these cases the argument could be made that I am justified in my frustration and that if our PC society was not what it is, then I should have the right to lash out at these types of people. The problem is, that I am a Christian… While my earthly flesh wants to return evil for evil, my heavenly Father wants me to return GOOD for EVIL. This all starts with the battle in my mind. The first place I can show the love of Christ to all is in my mind. I have to win that battle over the evil in my head. I have to offer a smile to the post man, forgive my friend, and show compassion to the slow and weak. This is what Jesus did for me. I am slow and weak and a terrible sinner. He came and took all of the punishment that was JUSTIFIED for me. I can’t fight the “good fight” unless I can win the battle in my mind. I also have to take captive all sinful thoughts of lust and greed. We live in a provocative world that is design to stimulate the male sexuality. Also our culture is driven by career success and money. All of these things infect my mind at different times and I must capture and surround them in my head. Paul describes it best when he says he takes every evil thought captive and Jesus explains to indulge in this thinking is the same sin as the act itself.

Scripture

^{2 Cor 10}

⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

^{Matt 5}

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,^[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²² But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister^[b][c] will be subject to judgment.

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’^{[e] 28} But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Application for Life

Jesus please help me win the war in my head so that I can show the love you have shown me to others. Help me lean on your Holy Spirit to continue to refine and purge my mind of all the garbage that I put in it from this World. You deserved none of the punishment you endured and yet you did it for me. Help me to offer love to those that wrong me, salvation to those that tempt me, and the hope of reward in heaven of which this world cannot compare. Help me to live in the mindset of Christ.

King Maker

My Belief

Donald Trump is always a loud, outspoken, front and center individual, but last night while I was watching the news, something caught my attention. It also made me reflect a little on my own self interested political position. Trump is currently trying to put together his own GOP debate that he would personally moderate. This would put him in a position to have some influence on who may eventually gain the GOP nomination. I also got to thinking about the way most of the GOP candidate have taken time out of their schedules to visit with the Donald. Most of them believe it will put them in a good position with a voting block of America and give them access to additional funds from Trump. This “courting” has become so overtly obvious that the media has begun calling “The Donald” the GOP “King Maker”. It is the idea that by gaining approval from Donald, the potential candidate will be put in a position to be nominated as the Republican Candidate and then be elected to the Presidency. In the past several other prominent political figures have been touted as “King Makers” too. This list includes Sarah Palin, Rudy Giuliani, and Chris Christie.   

While I listened to this back and forth on the news about which GOP candidate will be the nominee and if Donald Trump will be a deciding factor, I remembered a passage of scripture. A passage that says that God is in control of everything. That God understands and orchestrates global politics. As much as I think America is on the wrong course and Barrack Obama is accelerating that downfall, God is still in control. Obama is The President because God has put him there. Whether or not he is re-elected or replaced by another is all according to God’s plan. I have to remember that my own interest for the country to return to a God fearing nation with Biblical conservative ideals, is not necessarily what will happen. The Bible is clear about what the world will look like before the return of Jesus even if it is not the ideal situation I would like. God places who He wants in power and directs the heart of that man according to His will. God sets up and tears down kings, and one day He will set up the most powerful, and most noble King of all.

Scripture

Dan 2:21 ²¹ He changes times and seasons;
   he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
   and knowledge to the discerning.

Romans 13:1 ¹ Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God

Application for Life

I was hard core on the “Cain Train” before he imploded. I am on and off again with the flip-flopping opportunist GOP candidates that come and go. My selfish desire is to find a great candidate that will restore America so I can live in the type of society that I wish. This is not right. I am going to attempt to change my thoughts to the will of God. God will place who he wants in power, and I will try to live a consistent Christian life regardless of that person. My joy is in the fact that I know one day God will put Jesus in charge of everything and he will be the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Donald Trump is NOT really a king maker and neither is anyone else. God is the real King Maker and I am going to try and keep that in mind as this political season shifts into high gear!