Spiritual ADHD Part 1

Just started a 4 week series called Spiritual ADHD. It is comparing the struggles and experiences of a person who has ADHD with what those struggles may be like for Christians if they happened to have Spiritual ADHD. Make sure to click on the link to read the rest of this post!

ADHD Mind from Shaun Mayfield on Vimeo.

Video Above: Experience the inside process of a mind on ADHD when a simple task like thinking of a persons name that you are related to... you know something really easy. Daily repetitious thoughts are tough enough but when we really got to think this is what happens in our minds.

The four struggles of a person that we will focus on the next few weeks are:

• Spiritually Drifting Off
  
• Spiritually Tuned Out
  
• Spiritually Impulsive
  
• Spiritual Hyperactivity

[Drifting Off]
What happens when we drift off spiritually and lose track of what we believe and drift out of our race that we are running? In Greek, the word for drift as it's found in Hebrews 2:1 talks about a leaking bucket, that we are slowly leaking out what God has put into us.

The next couple of verses talk about the reason we are not to drift is because of what we have 'heard', which is in Hebrews 1. It talks about who Christ is, that he is God in all His majesty, that he is heir to all things, maker of all things, express image of God, he upholds all things, he forgave us of all our sins by dying and after that was seated at the right hand of God. He is higher than all the angels.

Hebrews 2:3 talks about salvation being spoke by those who have believed. If you jump to Hebrews 11 it is the chapter of faith heroes who are those that have spoke in the past, then chapter 12 begins with saying that now all those who have spoken are no longer speaking but are now cheering us on so that we don't DRIFT. That is powerful, they no longer have a voice for speaking of faith but now they are screaming your name out, saying you can make it, keep fighting, keep running, keep up the endurance!

Don't be a drifter, do not leak. God has the task of filling us and we must be careful to allow Him to patch us up as we become leaky vessels. I am cheering you on, all those that have believed that are in heaven are cheering you on as a cloud of witnesses. Run, don't grow weary, don't tire out, don't drift into other lanes. Don't get disqualified.

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Do You Have Justified Grace?

When was the last time you received forgiveness from a person because of something you did that wasn't right? When was the last time you sought God for forgiveness for a mistake? When was the last time someone gave you grace for something that they could of been upset for?

Let me ask you, have you justified that grace? Read on to understand...

Ephesians 2:4-9 gives us a great glimpse into God and how he sees grace. Sometimes the favor of grace is unfair to some, it upsets settled humans notions about merit, about what is deserved. Think about the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15. His brother was so upset because why would his brother misuse his inheritance. Then you have another parable in Matthew 20 of a man who hires three guys, one early in the morning, one in the mid-afternoon and one late in the day, an hour before the bell. He then pays them all the same wages and of course the guys who have been there all day complain. The man applied grace and the others were jealous.

So what does this have to do with a justified grace? I have a sister who has been troubled since she was 13 around the time when she first ran away. She had a tough life that she chose, doing and using drugs, writing fraudulent checks, stealing from family members including myself, irreplaceable items. At the age of 22 my mom bought her a brand new surround sound system for her room. Did she deserve it? NO. Grace was applied. This would have been justified grace had my sister, who did not deserve it, made my mom thankful for giving it to her. Did she? No, she pawned it off for money to use for who knows what.

So how does our grace become justified? When God forgives us we justify it by living from that point on as if the sin never happened in the past, just-if-I'd (justified) never sinned in the first place. Not being held down by regrets but living in the continual state of 'potential'. Unjustified grace is when we receive it and act like we never did. Romans 6:1-2 says, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"

In life application... you talk behind someone's back and ask for forgiveness, then they forgive you, then you go on and talk behind their back again. Be a trophy of Grace, something God can be proud of, one to put in the display case. As Paul said, follow me as I follow Christ. He was the 'worst of sinners' but through his Justified Grace became a trophy of grace.

Do You Have Justified Grace?

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