Our world is doomed. I know that this is not something that you want to accept, and I’m with you on this one. But, it doesn’t change the fact that everyone around us is growing more and more insane by the day. And, we need to accept this fact.
I struggle with this, a lot. And, I know that you do too. You wouldn’t be a child of God, if you weren’t grieved by the wickedness and madness that surrounds you.
So, how do we keep the peace of God, while the world falls apart?
And, we are going to need to, if we truly desire to serve God in the midst of the coming darkness.
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Making Peace with Madness
Making Peace with Madness – The ShockCast
YouTube shortlink: https://youtu.be/NNmFjk1JNbs
MP3 Audio:
http://omegashock.com/shockcast/2018/18-08-04-making-peace-with-madness.mp3
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For someone who spends so much time thinking, I am surprisingly emotional. And, I’m not completely certain where this ’emotionalism’ comes from. I know WHY I get upset. And, I know WHAT makes me upset. I’m just not sure that all the reasons for that are as spiritual as I like to think.
Part of the reason comes from the fact that I accepted Christ at a very young age. I love to joke that…
God saved me from a life of sex and drugs.
(pause)
And then, when I was six, I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
I know, I know. You are wondering how I can know that I really was saved at such a young age. All that I can say now, is that I have distinct memories of that moment and the reasons why I wanted to be baptized. And, they were exactly the kinds of reasons that you want to see in anyone who chooses to follow Jesus.
I would be happy to get into all of that, but I don’t want to get distracted from what I am trying to say here.
What am I trying to say?
I get really upset when the innocent and vulnerable are hurt by the evil and malicious. And, since I was saved at a very young age, it’s hard for me to claim that my reaction to wickedness and depravity is completely righteous. Some of it might just be my fleshly mind, reacting to the outrageous. And, we all need to understand the difference.
It is natural to be outraged by injustice. If you need proof, just look at the antics of the morons on college campuses. The injustice that they are fighting against is a lie, but their response is natural. So, we are all ‘hardwired’ to react with anger at those who mistreat others.
To put it another way, anger at injustice is a part of our DNA. It’s what God put inside of us, when He made us. In fact, it’s a good thing, if used correctly. This verse speaks to that need:
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
– Ephesians 4:26
Paul is telling us that we are SUPPOSED TO GET ANGRY when people do evil. But, we are NOT to allow our righteous anger to overcome our spiritual judgment. We are not allowed to commit sin in response to our wrath.
It is legitimate in the eyes of God to desire the destruction of all that is evil. After all, God feels the same way. And, one day, He will return and destroy the evil that is driving us nuts. What is not legitimate is to take matters into our own hands, and sin against God.
I would dearly love to be given the Baseball Bat of Holiness, and flail away at the evils of this world. There are two verses in the Bible that describe how some of us will do just that:
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
– Jude 14-15
Will I be there with my ‘Baseball Bat of Holiness’?
Is there a perfectly shaped piece of wood in heaven, in a case, with the words, ‘reserved for John Little’ ??
I would love to think so, but that is in God’s hands. And, as much as I would love to dwell on such righteous judgment, I know that there is something far more important:
Love.
As much as I despise wickedness, evil and injustice, I need to remind myself that I am no better than the ones that I am angry at. I’m not any better than the morons that I talk about in the moron section. In fact, we are all vulnerable to becoming both evil and stupid.
If you are old enough, you will know precious brothers and sisters in Christ who took that path and were utterly destroyed. I shudder whenever I think of those that have forsaken Christ. While they live, there is still some hope for them, but not much. But, God is merciful, so I will hold on to hope, as much as I can.
If you think that you cannot fall, think again.
Now, if that’s true for you and me, then it means that the fools that we rage against aren’t really any different than ourselves. In fact, Peter warns us of this, here:
Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
– 2 Peter 3:17
And, if you think that you cannot fall, allow me to point out a couple verses. In fact, I will let YOU do the searching, here:
https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=book+of+life&qs_version=KJV
You really CAN be blotted out of the Book of Life. And yes, the word ‘blot’ in that one verse, means ERASE. You really can be erased from the Book of Life.
Pretty sobering, right?
I don’t want to deal with that issue here, except to point out…
“There but for the grace of God, go I”
– John Bradford
I need to keep telling myself this, or risk going stark, raving mad. In fact, I need to do more than just tell myself this, I need to identify with the very same people that are driving me nuts. I need to see how I really could be that stupid, that sinful, that crazy.
Too often, we think of evil as being supernatural, but it really isn’t. Yes, Satan and his minions are doing their very best to make all of us as evil as he is, but Satan is really only a small part of this. WE are plenty evil all by ourselves – without supernatural help. It really is natural to be evil. And, when the Antichrist arrives, it will be natural for everyone – except the truly saved – to follow him.
I am horrified by this thought, and you should be too. We are all vulnerable to the seduction of evil. All of us. And yes, I’m looking at you. And, if that is so…
Doesn’t that mean that we should have compassion for those who are vile and despicable?
Definitely.
Let me go back to that first verse that I quoted:
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
– Ephesians 4:26
I’ve got the first part down perfectly. I’m furious at evil, and being furious at evil is not a sin. But, that second part… oh dear.
What does it mean to ‘not let the sun go down upon your wrath’?
Well, it’s all wrapped up in one word:
Forgive.
And THAT, my friends, is a truly difficult and painful word. And, it means that no matter how justified we are in being angry, we must still forgive those who are so evil. And, I’m afraid that this means identifying with those who we are so mad at.
Yes, identifying.
Jesus did it. It’s what He did, when He came down to Earth and took upon Himself the likeness of human flesh. He became fully human and identified Himself with us, so that He could save us from our sins.
So, we should do the same, right?
Of course, that doesn’t mean that we should become the sinful people that we are angry with. But, it does mean that we should understand how we could stand in their shoes.
If you don’t do this, one of two things will happen:
You will become useless to God.
– or –
God will drag you through the mud of sin, until you figure this out.
That’s right, God will sometimes send you back into the darkness of sin, until you learn that you are as bad as anyone else. It’s either that, or become a useless tool that God will need to place back on the shelf.
The key to staying sane in the midst of all this madness is forgiveness. And, as the madness increases, you will be challenged to forgive, more and more and more. And, you will wonder if there is any end to what you must forgive. And, forgiveness is so very, very hard. But, the alternative is too awful to even think about.
So, I shall do my very best to leave my ‘Baseball Bat of Holiness’ in heaven, where it belongs. And, I shall keep reminding myself…
…But for the grace of God, there go I.
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Read my book, Ezekiel’s Fire.
It’s free, and it may just save your life.
Here’s the website:
Or, download the PDF:
http://www.omegashock.com/ef/ezekielsfire.pdf
For E-Pub Format:
http://www.omegashock.com/ef/ezekielsfire-epub.epub
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http://www.omegashock.com/ef/ezekielsfire-kindle.azw3
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I truly hope that you’ll be ready for this
A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished. – Proverbs 22:3
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If you find a flaw in my reasoning, have a question, or wish to add your own viewpoint, leave a comment on the website. Your input is truly welcome.
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