Do you feel like you’re the only one that has a dysfunction? You aren’t, check out these prominent men.
Peter.
What do you think of when you hear the name Peter?
Some think disciple, others apostle or saint. Some think of the day of Pentecost, Acts chapter 2.
When reading through the Gospels, he doesn’t come across quite so awesome. He is the only person in scripture who Jesus blessed, then turned in the next breath calls him Satan. Why? Because his mouth moved faster than his brain. One minute he is saying, “You are the Christ.” The next moment, he rebukes Jesus. Not his most shining moment. Rebuking the man you just called Christ is probably not the smartest thing you’ve done.
What about when he is so scared he will be discovered as a follower of Jesus, the he begins to curse and deny the fact that he even knew Jesus.
Paul
Self righteous, arrogant, persecutor, proud, angry, murdering, controlling, and just plain mean.
Who am I talking about? Well, we call him, “The Great Apostle Paul.”
Who was he before that?
He was dysfunctional.
He stood by as an accomplice to murder. Cold blooded murder. He dragged men and women out of there homes to be thrown in prison. He was cruel enough that many families relocated to other parts of the country, to escape his cruelty.
He hated Christians and especially hated Jesus. He was doing everything in his power to destroy the message and followers of Jesus Christ.
Rahab, Thomas, Jacob, Peter, and Paul.
So what is the difference? How is it that some where known by their dysfunction, while others went on to be known as great?
I feel like two defining parts of these stories, is firstly, Peter and Paul did not continue in the same mindset. We don’t hear much about Rahab, or Thomas, but Peter and Paul, had renewed minds.
They didn’t continue in the same old pattern of thinking, they had totally renewed minds. Paul talked about the renewed mind in his letter to the Romans. He let us know that we can totally transform our lives by radically changing the way we think. Romans 12:2.
An old adage says, “If you do the same thing you’ve always done, you’ll get the same things you’ve always had.” You have to think differently, everything starts in the mind. Zig Ziglar is known for saying, “Get rid of that stinkin’ thinkin'”
How do you change your thinking? You have to change what is coming into your mind. For me, watching movies or television shows created more lustful desires in me. I got to noticing, there wasn’t a show or a movie that didn’t feed my sexual appetite in some way. Whether it was half-dressed (if that) women, or sexual jokes, or the way they looked and talked to each other. When I put that stuff away and completely took it out of my “diet” and instead filled myself with the Word and with prayer, I stopped having to fight lust.
Secondly, I noticed that in the case of Peter and Paul, they did something. They went on to preach and teach and write. They both ended up letting God do amazing things through them.
Peter went on to preach to thousands of people and them receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, of all races. He wrote 2 books of the Bible and has been the object of many sermons, lessons, books, and studies. He is called one of the greatest preachers, an apostle, a disciple, a man of God, a saint, and many other things.
Paul, the chief Apostle, writer of much of the New Testament, greatest missionary, greatest church planter, and disciple maker.
These 2 men weren’t satisfied with being known by their dysfunctions, and you don’t have to be either. You aren’t the only one who deals with dysfunctions.
Renew your mind.
Do something.
Great things will happen, and your life will mean something.
Make a difference in someones life.
Most importantly, don’t let your dysfunctions define you.
jareddoran 