Emotions - Intellect? Which Does God Like Better?

Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

Mk.12:28-31

Many when they hear these words, hear commandment. DO THIS! It is the Shema after all, the affirmation of God above all things.  Yet, have you ever stopped to consider the depth of what Jesus is saying here, that is THE greatest thing of all the Bible?  LOVE….yes, simple word, yet deep. How much do you love life, eating, breathing? Jesus states that our love for God should be more.  Not just kind of love him, He wants you to love him passionately. ALL of your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. God doesn't want to just be in your head. He wants an integral, deep, emotional relationship with you.

This isn’t difficult to understand, when we comprehend that just because God is a Spirit (Jn.4:24) does not mean that God has no emotions. Read the scripture and you will see it is replete of descriptions of God’s feeling joy, grief, pain, and hatred toward sin and many other things. He gets frustrated with people, feels joy, compassion, pity….and the deepest of all love

Your ability to feel is a gift from God. The ability to love, create, be faithful and loyal, kindness, generosity are all emotions that are attached to the good things in life. While emotions may not always seem like a gift, but even the negative ones have a purpose. In this, as with all things, there are some things that we need to learn to avoid.  Emotionalism is the extreme of saying the only thing that matters in life is how you feel. This view is very egocentric, where everything is based on you. Everything in life is based on your emotions without thought of intent or basis of faith. Yes, God wants us to feel, because He feels. Yet, it is not how we feel that is to control our lives. That is why Jeremiah states,, “I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.” (Jer 10:23).  If left to myself and my emotions – I would self-destruct. Man does not have that capacity within himself.  That is why we need a compass, to point the right direction, give the right wisdom, and share the right advice (Psa.119:105; Jn.17:17; Rom.10:17; 2 Tm.3:16,17).

On the other hand, to go all Mr.Spock from Star Trek and obsess on stoicism is equally bad. To say feelings aren't important at all, and the only thing that matters is your intellect and your will is to ignore the fact that faith while based on verity of testimony of scripture, is an emotional response.  It is the answer of the conscience in response to what God has put before the soul (1 Pet.3:21).  Paul reminds us,  “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Rom 10:10). Did you notice the progression?  When the heart is convinced and believes, the mouth cannot keep from confessing. Why? Because it is the emotional response!  Some Christians have decided that it doesn't really matter how you feel and downplay emotions. That’s not right. God gave you your emotions for a reason, and he wants you to worship him emotionally — with all your heart and all your mind.

All of you…that is what God wants. Including your knowledge and your emotions. He doesn't want one over the other…He wants them BOTH!  Are you giving them to God? 

Jim

Difficult Decisions and God's Will

Decisions are tricky. There are good ones and bad ones and making the wrong decision creates stress, anxieties, feelings of inferiority and other issues in our lives. This is why reliance upon God is something that one must learn. The main problem is that we like to be the captain of our own ships and think we know what is best, when sometimes we don't. 

How can I know that my decisions are right? How can I know that what I am choosing is what God wants?  

1. Make sure that what you are seeking is in alignment with what God has said in His word. (2 Tim.2:15; Heb.5:14)
2.  Seek what God wants, not what YOU want (Mt.6:33)
3. Base your decisions upon spiritual principle and knowledge (Jn.8:32; Jas.3:17)
4. Ask God to guide your wisdom (Jas.1:5)

Psalm 23:3 states, “He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”  To many, this sounds "corny" and yet others will say, ‘But I’ve tried this!’  There are times when we ask God to guide us but then come away more confused. We still couldn’t figure it out, and perhaps have heard the Tempter beckoning to us, ‘Why is knowing God’s will so difficult?’ Is God playing games with me? 

Anyone who takes the time to know God at all, will know that God is not out to confuse, make things difficult for us, or play games with us. 1 Cor.14:33 reminds us that God is not the author of confusion or unruliness, nor does he play games with or tempt anyone (Jas.1:13). This is a lie that the Evil One has spread since creation began.  God wants to guide us and He has given us the truth that we may know it (Jn.5:39; Heb.2:1-4). The problem is we often look for the wrong thing when we’re trying to find God’s will. 

• Some of us look for a feeling to tell us God’s will.  Yet, feelings can deceive. This is why feelings must be coupled with the wisdom of the truth, so that I may know the path I walk (Jas.1:25; Prov.8:20)
• Some of us want a formula to tell us God’s will. We want everything in black and white, we want the easy way and the easy answer. Yet, not everything is learned by formula, some things must be learned by use and experience (Heb.5:12-14)
• Some of us look for a fantastic sign that will show us God’s will. Yet, to constantly look for a sign to prove what God has already said is wrong (Mt.12:39). Satan himself can deceive and does deceive with such things (2 Th.2:9; Gal.1:8).  

God's will is not hard to know. It just involves looking for it (Acts 17:11) and asking God for help (Jas.1:5). Then doing, what I know to be truth (Jas.1;25).  The rest? -- you have to learn by experience and putting to practice the truth (Heb.5:14).

Jim

Handling THE TRUTH!

Handling THE TRUTH!

"Don't believe everything you hear just because someone says it is a message from God;

test it first to see if it really is!"

1 John 4:1 (LB)

When we get an idea in our mind, how do you know if it’s from God? How do you know it’s not your own desire or even a lie from Satan? The answer is given in the scripture itself - "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1Jn 4:1"

So how can I tell if something is from God or not?

• The first test - “Does it agree with the Bible?” God’s truth is consistent. He is not going to tell you one thing in the Bible and then tell you something different somewhere else. This is where we must be careful, because of several things:
• First - 2 Co 11:13,14 "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." We must be aware that even though the scripture is God's word, there are men that will wrest and twist the scripture to their own devices (2 Pet.3:16). Satan himself, quotes scripture in the tempting of people (Mt.4:1-10).
• Second, it is MY responsibility to make sure that what is being said is in agreement with God's word (Acts.17:11). Just because someone quotes the Bible or says that the Bible says or teaches something does not mean that it does. It is up to me to search it out and make sure that it does.
• Second - Pro 12:19 "Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment." Truth stands the test of time. At the time that Jesus spoke it, more than 2000+ years or more had passed from the time of creation to that point. Yet, Jesus points out that what was true in the beginning of creation regarding marriage, was true in His time and continues to be true today (Mt.19:8). TRUTH in God's word DOES NOT CHANGE! Mal 3:6 "For I the LORD do not change.."

If you want to know God’s voice, the only book you need to read is the Bible - PERIOD! You do not need priests, people, magazines, or anything else. All you need is God, His word, yourself and time - to know for certainty what God has said. You need to memorize the scripture, study it, and meditate on it. John 5:39 "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me..."

When you know God’s Word you will not be fooled by lies (Heb.4:12). But you will always get into trouble when you doubt the Bible.Paul reminded the Galatians as well as us, Galatians 1:8 "Even if an angel comes from heaven and preaches any other message, let him be forever cursed" (NLT). So if anyone ever comes up to you and says you need the Bible plus another book to find truth, they are wrong. Rom. 3:4 "No, indeed! God tells the truth, even if everyone else is a liar. The Scriptures say about God, "Your words will be proven true, and in court you will win your case."

Jim

The Woman at Jacob's Well

Before I begin this article, I'm going to assume a couple of things. First, I'm going to assume that you are a believer in the Bible, or at least in God. Second, I'm going to assume that you believe Jesus to be the Messiah. If not, then please feel free to write me and I will be glad to discuss this and your views.

John 4:25

The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh (he that is called Christ): when he is come, he will declare unto us all things.

This comment is made by the Samaritan Woman at Jacob's well to Jesus. It is an interesting one, when you know the background of the Samaritans and of this encounter with Jesus. Especially when you read just a little further that she goes and tells those of her village, and Jesus goes and speaks to them, showing them from THEIR scripture that HE is the Christ/Messiah. I want to delve into this a little further to see what we can learn from this encounter, not necessarily in a theological way, but in a practical way about encountering those who don't necessarily believe the same way that we do..

The whole encounter by Jesus with this woman is intriguing. John goes to great pain to give us the details behind this and the things that can be drawn from it. He is quick to emphasize that

1. She is a woman of Samaria (vs.7) and therefore not Jewish.
2. That the Jews of the day, did not have anything to do with Samaritans (vs.9)
3. That Jesus is alone with her at the well (vs.8) at the time of this discussion. (vs.27)
4. She is "living with" a man, to whom she is not married (vs.17)

All of the items above, were taboo for orthodox Jews of the day. Samaritans, had long been considered "non-Jews" by the time of Jesus. The name "Samaritan" appears only once in the Old Testament, in II Kings 17:29 where it is used for those colonists transplanted by the Assyrians, who persisted in their pagan ways. The majority of the population though, consisted of Israelites from the northern tribes who had not been deported. They were mostly farmers and common folk made up of the “mixed” faith of worshipping God outside of the tenets of the Law and not returning to Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:29). The mixed population of Samaria was not accepted as "Jewish" by those returned from the Babylonian Exile and began to rebuild the Temple, because of their persistent idolatrous practices and primarily because they refused to adhere to the scripture (2 Ki.17:41) that Jerusalem was the place designated by God in the Law to worship (Ezra 4:1-24). The Samaritans maintained their hostile attitudes and actions through the years, and were directed against Nehemiah (Neh 6:1-13). Their opposition proved unsuccessful but the division was now complete. Samaritans were forbidden to offer sacrifices at the Jerusalem Temple or to intermarry with Jews, while the Samaritans built their own temple on Mount Gerazim, near Shechem. Their Bible consisted of the Pentateuch (first 5 books of Moses) alone. The text features minor deviations from the accepted Hebrew text, but the primary deviation is the alternation specifically mentioning Mount Gerazim as the site of the temple ("in mount Ebal" (Deut. 32:4) to "in mount Gerizim") It is this mountain that the woman mentions in John 4.

A couple of striking things come from Jesus' discussion with the woman, that stand to us as lessons of teaching today.

1. Just because "orthodox" religion doesn't consider someone to be teachable or acceptable to be considered worthy of spiritual enlightenment, should not mean that they are right. While the orthodox of the day of Jesus thought these people unacceptable, and teaching them to make one unclean, Jesus shows us that truth is for EVERYONE (see Jn.3:16).
2. Just because someone believes differently than I do, does not mean that they cannot be taught, and that we cannot have civil conversation.
3. Jesus talks with the woman regardless of societal views. Then as now, it is considered a "taboo" thing to speak to a woman alone, without anyone else around as a 'witness." It was considered by the Jews of the day as indecorous to talk with a woman in public, and the rabbins held that to talk with such an inferior creature was beneath the dignity of a doctor of the law. Jesus, talks with her showing us that both of these perceptions are wrong.
4. The woman is "living with" a man that is not her husband. The hint of immorality and stigma of this is very much implied, especially as it related to the way that the Jews of the day viewed this. Once again, Jesus shows us, that teaching the truth to someone and helping them to find God, is more important than social stigma. He was not there to judge her, He was there to help her.
5. John 4:40-42 shows us the value of what the Lord did with this one woman. It is interesting here, that Jesus spends 2 more days there teaching them. It is also interesting that they state, "we have heard Him ourselves and know that this is truly the Christ, the Savior of the world." It did not matter whether they were right or wrong on the point of WHERE God was to be worshiped. Jesus answers this with the woman in (Jn.4:21). What was important was not only truth, but SPIRIT. Both are required. So, there are two maxims here.. a.) When truth is right, the SPIRIT will shine. b.) When the SPIRIT is right, truth will be manifest.

Jesus also takes the time here in this chapter to teach His disciples the value of teaching, and to not let teaching be swayed by prejudice. Opportunities are all around, if one will just open their eyes and hearts to see. We might argue, "but they don't even have the same Bible that we do." The Samaritans didn't either, but Jesus took the opportunity to speak with and teach them.

In "The Fourfold Gospel" by J.W.McGarvey and Phillip Pendleton (http://www.ccel.org/m/mcgarvey/ffg/FFG000A.HTM) it states, "His delight at the woman's conversion, as a part of the work which his Father had given him to do, overcame for a time his desire for food. Food has several characteristics: 1. enjoyment; 2. satisfaction of desire; 3. refreshment and strength. God's work had these characteristics to Jesus, whose life fulfilled the principle that man shall not live by bread alone."

Wouldn't this be a wonderful thing, if we were this way too?

Jim