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Ep. 290 Learning How to Respond to a World You Don’t Like

Ep. 290 Learning How to Respond to a World You Don't Like Anymore

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Shows Main Idea – This moment in American history is one of the best opportunities for Christians to make a difference. In the past we operated in an 18 percent gray world that was neither hot nor cold. Today, it’s darker than at any time in our lives. The darker the night, the brighter the light. This moment is our time, but the disappointment is too deep for too many of our brothers and sisters, and their frustration is too intense.

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Life Over Coffee · Ep. 290 Learning How to Respond to a World You Don’t Like Anymore

Show Notes

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The Dark Night

Acknowledge

  • This country is not the America of the “greatest generation.”
  • We’re regressing to where most of the world has been living for a long time.
  • If you have friends in other countries, talk to them.
    • How do they do it?
    • What works for them?

Grief and Fear

  • Understand what is happening to you or your friends; part of it is grief.
  • Don’t over-correct them.
  • Overlook as much as you can; sit and listen.
  • Care for them like you would a grieving person.
  • Don’t borrow future worry (Matthew 6:34).
  • Learn how to capture your thoughts.
  • Fight to maintain your hope.

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. —Jesus

Grumbling and Anger

  • Do not grumble or complain.
  • Don’t be those people sitting down at the General Store on Monday morning “quarterbacking” how “they” could have done better.
  • Don’t overly-commiserate about “how things used to be.”
  • Don’t take cheap shots at the other side.

To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22-24).

Proactive

  • Practice gratitude, which is the antidote to grief. It’s not artificial, but it is a thankfulness grounded in the gospel.
    • Share with a friend each day something that makes you thankful.
  • Rather than commiserating about how things used to be, choose proactivity. If you spend your energy on what was or how things used to be or how things should be, you will not make a difference with how things are.
  • Who can you influence? Find your spot and get to work. Share a graphic, talk to a soul, participate in your local church, build a ministry, or encourage one individual.
  • Talk openly and honestly with your family.
  • Strategize about where you’re building your ministry, e.g., no sharecropping—as much as possible.
  • Join forces and support organizations and ministries who are like-minded, even if they are not Christian: Ben Shapiro, Dennis Prager, and, of course, Rick Thomas. Help them build (and rebuild) a conservative foundation.

Call to Action

  1. If you’re struggling, will you talk to someone about it? Will you bother them?
  2. Is there something you’re doing that is not helpful? If so, what is your plan to change?
  3. When they tell you how “all things work for good,” be gracious. Some people will not know what to say. Prepare yourself to lead them through your suffering, as Jesus did in Gethsemane with His ineffective friends.
  4. Do you know someone who is struggling? Will you reach out to them today?
  5. What is one proactive thing you can do to raise the light of Jesus in your world?

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