How do I feel about that?

Are you ruled by your emotions? Many people are! I hope you have matured to the point where you are working to use your feelings to enrich your life while never letting them be ‘in charge.’ I am facing a full day of responsibilities. At this moment, I feel like picking up a good book and staying home all day, but I won’t because I choose not to follow the impulse of my emotions. Some days I feel crazy in love with Bev, some days, not so much! I am equally married to her regardless of the emotion of the moment.

Too often faith is almost totally dependent on feelings. For many Believers a good worship experience means that their emotions were stirred. “God was with us today” means “I shed some tears and my heart was touched.” Please do not misunderstand my intent. It is wonderful to be stirred by the testimony of another, to be moved to tears or laughter by a song or a story, but this is not the heart of worship, nor is such a flimsy foundation sufficient for Christian faith! Eugene Peterson, one of my favorite authors, writes: “My feelings tell me next to nothing about God or my relationship to Him. My security comes from who God is, not from how I feel. Discipleship is a decision to live by what I know about God, not by what I feel about Him or myself or my neighbors.” (A Long Obedience)

Look at this declaration!
"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge." (Psalm 62:5-8, NIV) Rock, fortress, refuge! Those are strong words, expressing faith that is not here today and gone under the stress that comes tomorrow!

I am convinced that those who enjoy the best of Christ are those who choose daily to practice the disciplines that open both their heart and their mind to the Truth of God and the work of the Spirit.
They set God above all other parts of their lives – higher than family, higher than demands at work, higher than their desires, higher than diversions; and yes, higher than their emotions.
They faithfully open the Scripture to learn. They regularly offer prayer and listen in meditation.
They make gathering with other disciples a priority choice.
They serve others.
They give time and resources to the work of God first, not last.

“But, Jerry, that sounds like duty, even legalism.” It could be if the doing of such things was to earn the favor of God or man! But, if this choices and more, are made from a desire to honor God, done simply because they are right to do, then they are an expression of our worship, which pleases Him!

Interestingly, the person who makes the choice to do what God desires of him – regardless of his feelings – almost certainly will develop a deeper, richer intimacy with God over time! He learns what it means to ‘walk with God’ and knows that He is equally present in the dark valley and the mountaintop.

Disciple, exercise the God-given ability to choose! Don’t float with the current. You’ll drift away from God, never to Him. Don’t walk with the crowd. They will never lead you to the King of Glory! Take Joshua’s challenge – “Choose today whom you will serve!”

"Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly.
For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction." (Psalm 1, NLT)

_________________

He’s my Rock, my Sword, my Shield!
He’s my Wheel in the middle of the wheel!
He’s my Lily of the Valley,
He’s my Bright and Morning Star!
Makes no difference what you say,
I’m going on my knees and pray,
I’m gonna wait right here for Jesus ‘till He comes.
- Public domain

The whole Truth, nothing but the Truth

A conversation about the age of the earth became intense and the next query was, “don’t you believe in absolute truth?” Now that is a question that requires careful thought. Yes, I believe in absolute truth. Establishing that Truth is the tricky part. Remember Pilate’s question of Jesus? When the Lord told him that He was sent into the world to “testify to the truth,” the Roman governor cynically asked Him, “What is truth?” (John 18:37)

I grew up in a church that told me the world was a place of right and wrong, black and white, with no grey areas. As I matured I found that there was an additional category – “things we don’t talk about!” Many of the difficult issues got pushed into that category and, if a question was raised, you got a lecture about the importance of ‘just trusting God,’ which I later figured out was code for ‘we don’t know how to answer that and stick with our system of truth!’ I also learned that there were some things that were declared true that were simply preferences of the leaders or traditions of the church. It was all terribly confusing to a teenager trying to hang onto to his faith.

The temptation that came from all that was to discard faith, but God was there. He revealed (an important word in the discussion about Truth) Himself in the created world, through the love of wonderful Spirit-filled people, by the work of the Spirit, and in the Scripture. I learned that honesty in dealing with Truth did not require me to have an answer for all questions; that I could and should say, “I do not know,” and leave it at that. I also learned to live with mystery – with the fact that God and His Truth are just too big to fit entirely inside of my head. Some things He choose to let me comprehend, some He asks me to discover with careful study, and some remain in the ‘to be continued’ category.

God reveals Truth and requires us to discover it! An honest scientist and an honest theologian are in pursuit of the same thing (or One) – the Truth! And, the discovery of the truth – be it about physical laws of the universe or spiritual laws about pleasing God – brings great benefit to those who align themselves with it. As Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32, NIV)

Disciple, are you pursuing the Truth? Be a student of the Scripture and a person who loves God personally and intimately. Watch out for deception that comes from becoming intellectually lazy or spiritually tradition bound! Jesus’ most ardent enemies were men who thought of themselves as being pursuers of truth. But their ability to know the truth was corrupted by insistence on maintaining their accepted traditions, which led to their refusal to live in the Spirit, God’s Living Water. Jesus challenged them - "Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.” (John 7:24, NLT)

Here’s Truth to live by today. Meditate on it and take the deep assurance offered by the Word with you into a world full of uncertainty.

"Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be shaken but endures forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore. …
"Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, to those who are upright in heart." (Psalm 125:1-2, 4, NIV)
__________________

Change my heart, oh God,
Make it ever true.
Change my heart, oh God,
May I be like You.

You are the potter,
I am the clay.
Mold me and make me,
This is what I pray.

Change my Heart, Oh GodEddie Espinosa© 1982 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing (Admin. by Music Services)
CCLI License No. 810055