I have always had friends that seemed to me to just think wrong...I mean the patterns of their thoughts were almost ,if not outright, delusional.
I have had a couple friends that I am sure were schizophrenic. Always it was marked by how they perceived themselves, others and how others did things. A friend would think because someone acted "weird" it had to have something to do with him. But this did not begin out of the blue. It started years before with a disturbing situation in his life involving his now ex-wife. Every since then how he viewed people, what they said or did, was not the same as how others viewed it. They would point that out and he would argue he was not lying. If the preacher was preaching on "moving on" he would perceive that as the pastor and the church elders conspiring to tell him he should get over his divorce and accept it. It got much worse than that.
But then there were others that I have always noticed that they viewed life differently from most others (in the church too). They viewed themselves differently. They had a perception of how others really felt about them or said about them. They had also a wrong perception of God. It always ultimately lead to failed friendships and relationships. It also made it hard to be a member of any church. Sometimes they felt they were "prophets" and were being persecuted for it....by even their own church.
One time I was driving my car with a friend sitting in the passenger seat. He is black, I'm white. A cop pulled me over and I exclaimed "Why did he pull me over", because I had done nothing wrong. Instantly my friend exclaimed "it's because I'm black" and he was serious. Well as it turned out I had forgotten to put my tags on my plate. The cop let me go of course since I had the tags in my glove compartment.
His perception was wrong. His thinking process or pattern lead to a wrong conclusion in this case. Sure it happens, but it does not happen all the time. But because it does happen and because of how he views himself and the police, there was only one possible reason for me being pulled over.
I write this because the Lord has been dealing with me for a long time about having wrong thoughts. I don't mean "sinful thoughts", but just thinking the wrong thoughts. How many times have you heard some saint say nobody comes up and talks to them? Yet that person never goes up and talks to anyone else. In fact as a result of HOW they perceived other church members, their relation to themselves, they end up appearing quite unfriendly and uninviting.
One time I was out for a prayer walk and while I was praying I started praying for a brother in our church who for the longest time has had a problem getting a job. He is very educated in water technologies but he never succeeds in the job interview area. As I was praying I felt impressed to tell him he needed to reinvent himself completely, everything he thought of himself, all the past failures everything. He needed a paradigm shift in thinking. I felt impressed to ask if this was really the Lord and that when I got him the brother would be on the phone. Sure enough I got home and he was on the phone with my roommate.
I wonder, if we as individuals need to break out of a few paradigms in our thinking. Are we bold enough to do that? It takes some bravery to admit what you have believed is true about you, others, your relationship with God, might no be totally correct.
What about as a church? It took forever for the UPCs Pentecostal Herald to break out of it's antiquated model but it finally did. Doctrine is one thing....traditions of the Apostles another, but are there things that we do as a church movement just plain been done wrong? Is how we think of ourselves as a church...our relationship with God and others outside our church been wrong?
Are we still the church that was booted out of the AOG? Are there wrong thinking patterns that are ingrained in us that might be keeping us from reaching more lost souls? What about miracles? We've all heard miracles happen more on foreign soil...is that really because they have more faith? Or is it because we have allowed things that we have and they don't to affect our thought patterns?
I think we as a church need to totally reinvent ourselves individually and comglomorately. We need to stop putting up walls and fighting with each other and be really introspective. Two things that hinder that as a church that I see are one side refusing to do such an open evaluation and the other side making it very hard for the other to be honest through taunts and pejorative words.
I often wondered why I had so many people in my life that were like that. I think that being able to see what was happening in their lives allowed me to be more introspective and ask the same thing about myself. I have seen a couple people constantly backslide and do drugs again, knowing the drugs led to their downfall, because of how they viewed themselves and others...they had low self esteem and were sure other people did not want them. It was a constant repeatable pattern. And I believe the Lord showed me their problem is they were never fully delivered or healed in the spirit of their minds. For some it might be a constant healing through the process of being changed into the same image from Glory to Glory. Thoughts though are sometimes hard to just erase. How many of you have ever had an argument or something happen with a person and for a long time after that you just replayed the scene and later things you wanted to say over and over in your minds? You ever actually go to bed and can't stop thinking of something like that? Or maybe you guys can't stop thinking of a girl?
Sometimes it's hard to get a control over our thoughts and emotions. Not to long ago our Pastor preached on that subject of the emotions. I really feel this is all working together for me. Some of my inspiration came from that online book someone recommended by A.A. Allen on being used by God in the gifts. The first couple chapters are devoted to perfection and being like Christ. It seems to all tie in. Many of these scriptures have constantly replayed in the last couple months or so. One chapter is Phil where it speaks of having this mind in you, which was also in Christ.
If we are to be truly new creatures....new "man" and the old is passed away, that should also include our minds and not just what we think of but HOW we think...the patterns and conclusions we come to about God, our relationship with God, others and ourselves.
We should be constantly then introspective and not only examining ourselves but asking and allowing God with all openness and honesty, to show us where we are wrong. I think part of man's problems is we are open and honest to a point...but we hide other things we don't want God to touch, let alone admit to ourselves we could be wrong.
I have often wondered if perhaps this is one reason some are not healed? It's not a lack of faith....it should take more faith to be saved than healed since that is far more important and the devil would fight that more than healing.
Well I expect nobody will be reading this long post lol, or just think I am rambling...or maybe that is just my wrong thinking haha
Have we, or are we, really allowing God to "renew our minds"? and to be conformed to the image of His Son?
Rom 8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
Rom 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Pe 1:13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1Pe 1:14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,
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