Think Again!

46 • Think Again: Transformation That Yields a Return on God’s Investment

The Christian life becomes “my personal relationship with Jesus,” where everything is about “me and God.” The Bible is reduced to “my personal handbook for living” and the local church is there to “meet my needs.” God exists to provide a “wonderful plan for my life.” Gordon Fee said: “Both secular psychology and much Christian teaching focus on the inner self: How am I doing according to some set of criteria for wholeness? Focused on the inner struggle, we can scarcely see Christ or walk confidently in the way of the Spirit. Instead of living out the fruit of the Spirit, in constant thankfulness for what the Spirit is doing in our lives and in the lives of others, our individualistic faith turns sourly narcissistic – aware of our personal failures before God, frustrated at our imperfections, feigning the love, joy, peace, and gentleness we wish were real. Our turmoil crowds out openness to the Spirit himself. In such spiritual malaise God almost always gets the blame.” 21 Scheme #3: Temporary Amnesia Another method Satan uses is “temporary amnesia.” He wants you to forget who you are, even if it is just for a split second. Simba forgot he was the future king. Neo from The Matrix became confused about who he really was. The Prodigal Son lost track of his identity and found himself feeding at a pig trough. Pinocchio got sidetracked from his quest and wandered to Pleasure Island. When you forget who you are, forgetting your mission, you can fall into all manner of foolishness and sin. In a moment, you release every anchor that made you stable, every authority that kept you secure. How many times have you done something and said, “That wasn’t me!” The enemy wants you to forget who you are, even just for a moment.