Subtitle:
Looney Christians VS Complacent Christians
Sub-Subtitle:
BOTH Live Out of Fear
AUTHOR’S NOTE: As you can see by the date above, this came out 4+ years ago. Fascinating that I see the same “Looniness” and “Complacency.” I made almost NO-CHANGES in this post, from 4 years ago.
A Burden
I am concerned that both the complacent and the looney are being deceived by the evil one, rather than following the Lord. I believe that both are demonstrating their fearfulness, which means they REFUSE to trust God. When we refuse to trust God, we seek God selfishly rather than selflessly, and we, forgive me, but I believe that we are guilty of calling God a liar.
Why does this burden my heart so? Not because I want to see everyone think my way. Rather, because FEAR is not how Christians are to live. (2 Timothy 1:7a)
If you want to continue reading this post, we must look at the second half of the above verse. There Paul tells us what the gift is (or gifts are) that God gave Timothy, and by application, to us too. 2 Timothy 1:7b says, [God gave Timothy] power, love and self-control.
A Battle
Can we at least all admit that there is a gargantuan cosmic battle going on? What I believe we have forgotten though, is that the battle that has ALREADY been won! That’s right! The Lord has ALREADY won this cosmic battle (which is an argument for it not really being gargantuan, but that will have to be another post). If you wonder that the Lord has ALREADY won the battle just look at Ephesians 4:7-8 and Colossians 2:15.
So what is the cosmic battle?
Answer: FEAR!
The “gargantuan” cosmic battle is a battle of deception. The evil one is using fear and we in the church are buying into it, to our destruction (which is his goal, by the way). And this “cosmic-battle” is NOT out yonder, in other people, it’s in us, the Christians. In our minds!
Let me clarify, this post is not for the unsaved. I expect the unsaved to act like the unsaved, to act like the world. I get that.
This post is for the saved. In particular, for two groups of the “saved” that I see all over FB and Twitter. This post is for those who believe,
- That complacency is okay because God put into office your saviour and we can rest, or
- That looney-ism is called for because God allowed into office sataN himself and it’s our duty to rid this country of him.
Both sides of this equation, the looney and the complacent, are showing that sataN has ALREADY won the day in their lives. You see, if we go back to the second half of 2 Timothy 1:7 we see that the God who, don’t forget, spoke the words and the worlds leapt into existence, gave Timothy, and by application us too, power, love and self-control. He gave us:
- Power to not be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord (2 Timothy 1:8), or those who are saved and are looked down upon by the world (John 15:18-25). He gave us,
- Love to demonstrate, especially to the unlovely, and, frankly, to those we DO NOT LIKE (Matthew 5:46). And then He gave us,
- Self-control, that we are to exhibit, when we would rather run off at the mouth (Psalm 39:1, Psalm 141:3, James 3:5-10).
An Honest Self-Evaluation
It is a bit of a surprise to me that I have a burden for these SAVED, both complacent and looney. And yet it shouldn’t because our Ministry Mission is from Psalm 11:3, “Our Mission is to Rebuild the Foundations of Prayer” and that is what motivates me. Christians that are complacent and Christians that are looney demonstrate the shallowness of their prayer-life. Like Gregory Frizzell says, “Our prayer life is a mile wide but an inch deep.”
Here’s where my concern leads me. Paul told us that things are going to get worse (2 Timothy 2:16-17a; 3:13). My concern for you is that your fear has weakened you, so that you are relying on your own heart and mind and ideas. These looney and complacent ideas are in YOUR MIND, and here is where sataN wins the battle over you (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Over all of us actually.
When we speak of Spiritual Warfare, we all look at verses 3 and 4 of 2 Corinthians 10. But we usually stop before verse 5, and this too is deception from the evil one. Verse 5 tells us how to win the battle in your mind? It says that we are to:
- Destroy those arguments: That you keep rolling around in your brain,
- See as deception: Those high-minded things that raise themselves up against the knowledge of God, and
- Take your complacent/looney thoughts captive.
If you do not adhere to 2 Corinthians 10:5, when things get worse, as they surely will (2 Timothy 2:16-17a; 3:13), I am concerned that you will “. . . suddenly be broken beyond healing.” (Proverbs 29:1 ESV)
Lest any of you think I’m judging you, let me speak frankly and freely. I am speaking this way, this strongly, because I know ME, and I have a long accurate memory, of what God has graciously taught me in my life. What helps me I trust will help you, and it is the “S” word, yep, “Submit.”
A Solution
Submit therefore to God, would you my friend?
Finally, lest you think this is about politics, NO! This is about :”living in the flesh.” The current political issues are merely being used by the Lord to show us what our heart really looks like. We are letting what is really in our heart come out of our mouth (Matthew 15:18), and frankly, it’s sickening, both the looney and the complacent!
Will you submit to Him? Will you confess to Him if you’ve been living in the flesh? Will you seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, then watch Him take care of all the details (Matthew 6:33)?
My prayer is that we will and that we Christians will be known for our unity (John 17:21).
For a short 3 minute video helping you not worry, CLICK HERE.
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