Demon Tweets don't touch the Mind of Christ

One or two phrases meant to impact deeply:  that's a tweet.  Just a sentence or two -- in this ADD culture, it's about all we can take in at a time. I mean just pick up a book written before 1970.  Look at the spaces. There aren't any!  It just goes on, page after page, with no let up.  No paragraph headings to help us figure out what's coming next:  we are expected to sit still and absorb a lot of information, and process it. 

Today there are fewer words, more space, shorter sentences:  and the tweet is the essence of all of that.

And one of the most effective tweets we get is what I call "the demon tweet".  It's that little message, short and sour, that doesn't come on your phone or computer:  it comes from deep within.  It tweets that you aren't good enough, you're messing up, you're a lost cause, you'll never get it, it's too late for you, you're too old, you're used up, you've gone too far, no one loves you, everyone hates you, your sins are too messy, your temptations are too strong, you're too fat, your eyes are too close together, your hips are too big, your boobs are too small, you're off key, you're not creative, you can't do math, you can't learn, you can't remember, no one wants to hire you, you'll never have a job you enjoy, your relationships will always fail, you're damaged goods...

Where do these ideas come from?  Why do they keep playing over and over in your mind? 

Yes, it might have been what your mom told you, or your dad told you, or your teachers told you, or your spouse told you. Somewhere along the line, you got this idea...but why did it stick?  Why does it keep coming back?  Didn't anyone ever tell you anything good?  Why don't you remember that? 

How can a twenty-four year old decide that life has already passed her by?  How can a thirty-two year old decide that having an affair is the only way to spice up her life?  How can a forty year old become addicted to cosmetic surgery?

it's the tweets --

There is a weapon against the tweets.  I read this morning that when we first believe in Jesus Christ, we are given The Mind of Christ.  How can these tweets have any impact at all when we have the Mind of Christ? I have a friend who frequently reminds me that we have to put it on every day.  Before we step one foot out of the bed in the morning, we have to be armed -- pull out your weapon, put on your bullet proof vest, cover your head with the impenetrable Word.  The tweets will come -- be ready.

Out of Options -- Coming to The Truth

Heather burst into tears after a good ten minutes of sucking it up.  Slowly, she began to talk about the troubles she was having, the unfair punishment she was enduring, the people she was having to put up with back in her block.

         I mean on the street I would have been drunk.  I would've smoked a blunt.  I would've cut myself by now.  I would have stopped this pain somehow.  But in here.  God!  I'm out of options!

And with those words, she sank into herself.  She just gave up.

I'm out of options!   Could God hear any sweeter words coming from our lips?

That doesn't seem like a good thing to most people, I know.  We are an independent culture -- the strong thrive.  We don't go for help:    We do.  We make.  We survive.

This hurts so much!  she sobbed.

      Of course it does, I told her. You're going through it.  You're finally feeling it.

 Another woman rubbed her shoulder, You'll be a'right, baby -- it's somethin' we all go through when we finally come  to the truth.

The truth.

What is "truth"?  It was a question Pilate posed to Jesus as he was wrestling with the idea of putting an innocent man to death.  Truth is one thing.  "The Truth"  is another.  "The Truth"  is singular and final.  It is the root of existence.  Once you know that, everything else clicks into place.

Jesus said of Himself:  I am The Truth.

Heather just stood there before Him, like we all must do when we run out of options, hands empty -- without a clue how to get out of that knotted predicament where she found herself.

And did she even feel it?

The Transformation has taken place:  The Divine Exchange was made.

His righteousness for her sinful past.

Although it will take a lifetime of committment to take this journey, she was healed in an instant.

Although everything she has learned about life in this world is upside down and counter-productive, she now has within her all the Truth and Knowledge she needs.

Although she went to bed on an old steel bunk tonight, she is a Princess --daughter of the King!

Does she know it?  Will she live it all out? 
I told her I'd be there when she gets out on Tuesday -- and we'll see.  We'll just see.

Another week has passed:  Heather is on the street, with her new Bible and my phone number, but she has never called.  Apparently it's one thing in there and another thing out here.  Sometimes I think some of them would be better off just staying inside, where they can get some protection and food and a good Bible study.  A couple of days ago I read in the paper that a former inmate was found dead.  Twenty four years old.  She had left the jail a month before. 

I am getting a new perspective on ministry:  you just do what you can, while you can, when you can and you leave the rest up to Him.