pg 23-23
Eph 4:17-19 – This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
Joyce talks about here, “unbelievers are so callous and hard they are past feeling. But in the same verse it says they live by their feelings in sensuality and carnality.”
So…why does that statement also sound like so many believers of today?
Have we bought into a lie that Jesus doesn’t require ALL of our hearts and minds and bodies?
Joyce continues to say, “What is the world’s philosophy today? ‘If it feels good, do it!’ You and I are not to live that way.”
So…another thought before continuing on…
Is being emotionless past feeling or our hearts being hardened? It can be, but then I also think that when we are at peace with God, we no longer have to be excitable or have lots of drama to show to the world we love Jesus…..
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Why do we think that anyone that doesn’t show that much emotion must not have a strong enough relationship with God? Of course, not everyone does think that way, but it seems by the show of religion (yes RELIGION), seems to indicate that the more you show off or the louder or more excited you are, the more you must be holy…closer to Jesus than anyone else.
But…is a relationship with Jesus really that way? Are we supposed to show off our works, or…
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Â
let our light (which is Christ in us, the hope of glory), shine to others (not by broadcasting it, but just by BEING a Christian, uplifting the name of Jesus by our good works and conversation and attitudes and obedience to what He says, all by His grace and strength, and all for His glory, NEVER our own!
Questions
Do you still live too much by your emotions?
Does your relationship with God change when you don’t get the answer to prayer the way you expected?
Next Week
Jesus and Emotions – Pg 24-26
There are times that I do live too much by my emotions. I find those times mostly occur when I am concerned or genuinely frightened about my needs or the needs of others. It is at those times that I realize that I am in my “fear” frame of mind and not my “faith” frame of mind. I usually remember to take a breath and say to myself “Be Still and know God”
When grief and sadness overwhelms me and God doesn’t answer my prayers my relationship with Him doesn’t change, it only humbles me. I am not in control. He is.
Ephesians 4:17-19 talks about âGentilesâ those without the benefit of the knowledge of God from the Hebrew scriptures. [Ignorant of the creation story and Godâs intention for humanity. They donât know Godâs promises or the failure of Israel to live by the laws they were commanded to obey.] People without that explanation and education only learn by what they see and experience by the relationships they encounter and witness. People experiencing the hurt from others are at a loss to understand. Read any news story or examine history and the resulting depression is understandable. Hardening your heart is a great survival technique. [Expect nothing and you wonât be disappointed.]
I think the hardened-heart is the result of experiencing moral failure. When you do ârightâ and someone doesnât respond appropriately. When you are being selfless and then taken advantage of. When you see others act in hate, anger, pride, self-righteousness inflicting damage on others, with what appears to be no consequences. When you lash out in anger, but there ARE consequences⌠a deep feeling of guilt or a sense of regret⌠or why do THEY get away with it buy I donât.
With a strong commitment to understanding His Word, I do NOT still live too much by emotions because I now live with Hope and confidence in Jesus and that THIS WORLD is not all there is! I now eagerly follow Jesus into the Kingdom of Heaven. This distinction allows me to better manage my emotional responses that result from any current circumstances. Usually! When I do this, it results in peace and freedom. đ
My relationship with God does change when my prayers are answered in ways I didnât expect. The relationship strengthens! I could never expect an answer to prayer that includes the elements that our Heavenly Father can provide. I love to pray now. And I am excited to see how he will answer⌠I do have to remind myself to be patient, though.
YES…
With a strong commitment to understanding His Word, I do NOT still live too much by emotions because I now live with Hope and confidence in Jesus and that THIS WORLD is not all there is! I now eagerly follow Jesus into the Kingdom of Heaven. This distinction allows me to better manage my emotional responses that result from any current circumstances. Usually! When I do this, it results in peace and freedom. đ
My relationship with God does change when my prayers are answered in ways I didnât expect. The relationship strengthens! I could never expect an answer to prayer that includes the elements that our Heavenly Father can provide. I love to pray now. And I am excited to see how he will answer⌠I do have to remind myself to be patient, though.
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YES…
When grief and sadness overwhelms me and God doesnât answer my prayers my relationship with Him doesnât change, it only humbles me. I am not in control. He is.
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Fabulous…
I also want to address this…
There are times that I do live too much by my emotions. I find those times mostly occur when I am concerned or genuinely frightened about my needs or the needs of others. It is at those times that I realize that I am in my âfearâ frame of mind and not my âfaithâ frame of mind. I usually remember to take a breath and say to myself âBe Still and know Godâ
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Did I tell you that I did make a worry/praise box? I couldn’t remember, but I have to admit, it really works. I begin to worry about something or think about it too much and I put the note in the box and don’t waste my time overthinking things, giving it to God and then seeing at the end of the week how that was answered or do I need to pray again and put it back in the box….
Remind me about this worry/praise box. It was in an email, wasn’t it? I’m considering adding it to the craft projects for this year but want to be able to explain it well. Thank you.
Do I live by my emotions? Good question. I know I wish I had less emotions; dies that count? I suppress my emotions in the interest of society. Is that living by them less? Obviously I don’t really know how to answer this.
My relationship with God is fairly steadfast and not dependent on whether my prayers have been answered or not. I should probably keep a prayer journal to be reminded of when/how He has answered but mostly I just expect Him to answer somehow/sometime and let it go at that.