Sometimes you need a Jedi mind trick

I’m attending a training seminar in Philadelphia this week. So far, it’s great. It’s all about getting organized and learning to make the choices that will help you achieve the most productivity.

The facilitator said something in yesterday’s session that really stood out to me: Ordinary happens. Extraordinary is a choice.

How true is that? I’ve learned it’s very true. The everyday, the normal, the average, the mediocre just happens. It doesn’t require any extra effort. It doesn’t require any sacrifice or commitment. What’s average is going to happen anyway.

But if you want to be extraordinary, if you want to go above and beyond and achieve something great, you have to make a choice. And the first step in making a choice is changing the way you think.

A Jedi costume from the Star Wars exhibit at Exploration Place, Wichita, KS

Today’s verses are 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.

We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

If you’re a science fiction movie fan, you probably know all about Jedi mind tricks. And I admit sometimes I wish I could use a Jedi mind trick on myself. It would make thinking about the right things easier.

You know you have control over what you think, right? Sometimes I wonder if people actually grasp that. They don’t have to think about the first things that pop into their heads. They can choose what they think about.

If it’s not a thought that’s useful or productive or a thought that will lead you down a useful or productive road, you don’t have to think about it. No, you can’t control it popping into your brain, but you can decide whether or not to waste time thinking about it.

Few of us really have time to waste. Let’s just be honest about that. Even people who don’t have a lot going on could be using their time better than on things that don’t matter.

It’s difficult to take thoughts captive, though. They’re slippery things. Often it feels like the moment you have them under control, they wriggle out of your grasp. It’s a never-ending battle, and that’s where friends and accountability partners come in. That’s also where it helps to have a Bible close at hand.

Maybe that sounds clichéd but it’s true. If you’re having trouble keeping your thoughts in line, a good place to start is with daily Bible reading. There’s something about the Bible that helps me calm down and focus on things that matter.

That’s one of the reasons I started this blog. If I can start my morning off thinking about things that really matter, usually I find my day goes better.

What about you? Do you have trouble caking your thoughts captive? Or have you got it down to a science? If your thoughts are running wild and you’ve never even tried to direct them, you might want to give it a try.

Just because your brain wants to think about something doesn’t mean you have to think about it. You have a choice. You don’t have to let your thoughts control you. The most productive and effective people are the other way around.

Remember who your enemy is

This is war. I get caught up in everyday life pretty easily, and I forget that while we are living life daily, we are also waging war daily too. Our lives are a war, and every day is a battle where you either win and take ground or lose and give up ground.

But this is a strange war in that we aren’t fighting people we can see. We aren’t fight anyone around us. We aren’t fighting the people who we think we’re fighting. When it comes to this war, we’re fighting the unseen.

Glen Eyrie Castle – Colorado Springs, CO

Today’s verses are 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.

We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

We have an enemy out there. If you are a Christ follower, you have an enemy who wants nothing more than to see you suffer. Satan won’t stop until he can bring all of us down, wreck our lives, destroy our testimony, and drag us through the dirt until we have convinced ourselves that God doesn’t love us anymore.

He can’t keep us out of heaven. If you believe in Christ, that’s where you’re going no matter how you live. But Satan will do all he can to keep you from reaching other people with the truth.

For the next two weeks, my church will be putting on an outreach drama that God uses to rock our city every year. He’s been rocking our city with it for twelve years so far, and I’m confident that year 13 won’t be any different. Why? Because we have no idea what we’re doing.

Satan throws everything he’s got in our path during this time of year. It’s crazy. Ridiculous even. To the point of being hilarious. Just when you think you’ve hit rock bottom, he throw something else awful at you. And there’s no other explanation for it — for why it had to happen just at this very moment — other than the fact that he’s trying to distract us.

Why? Because there’s something about the truth of Scripture that people can’t ignore. And there’s something about presenting the Gospel clearly that they can’t argue with. And when 500 people praying specifically for one thing — that God would work in hearts — God honors it. And Satan doesn’t want that. So he tries everything he can to get us to trip up. To fight with each other.

It’s an old tactic. Make your opponents lose focus. Force them to fight with each other rather than focusing on the real battle. Satan has been doing this for years. And the irony is that we don’t have to let him win. We don’t have to fight with each other. We just need to remember who our enemy is and why we’re doing what we’re doing. We need to keep our eyes firmly fixed on the goal, and we need to remember that this is a war.

We aren’t fighting this war with our fists or heavy weaponry. We’re fighting with prayer. With faith. With the truth in Scripture. With love that only the Holy Spirit can give us to share with other people.

So whether you’re participating in this gigantic outreach at NewSpring Church in Wichita, KS, or whether you’re going to work or school or a family gathering, don’t forget that you’re fighting a battle today. So in the thick of the fight, keep your eyes on the real enemy and remember that he’s only fighting so viciously because he’s already lost. And as long as we remember what side we’re on, he won’t take anybody else down with him.