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How Do "Feelings" Mix With Faith? the High and Holy One The Bible offers some very interesting context for the opening text above. We are told, in Isa 6:1 that at a time when the prophet was mourning the loss of King Uzziah; that he “saw The Lord...” In fact, verse 4 (Isa 6:4) tells us that the very posts of the door in the Temple where Isa “saw The Lord” were shaken. Evidently, Isaiah was also very shaken too. Isa 6:5 informs us that Isa said “...woe is me,” when He saw The Lord. BUT, how can this be? How can anyone feel like that after literally seeing God? As the prophet Isaiah beheld the glory of the Lord, he was amazed, and, overwhelmed with a sense of his own weakness and unworthiness, he cried, "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts. In his role of “prophet,” Isaiah had denounced the sin of others; but now he sees himself as exposed to the very same condemnation he had pronounced upon other people. Isaiah had become somewhat conceited and self-satisfied because of “his” ministry; and he had been satisfied with a cold, lifeless formal ceremony in his worship of God. Isaiah had not known this until the vision was given him of the Lord. How little now appeared his wisdom and talents as he looked upon the sacredness and majesty of the Lord, in His heavenly sanctuary. How unworthy he was! how unfitted for sacred service! His view of himself might also be expressed in the language of the apostle Paul: "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:24, KJV). At his point of greatest despair; relief was sent to Isaiah in his distress: There are times when “life” just gets to us. Our feelings and emotions can be over-powering, and make it seem as though we are completely lost, or “undone” as the prophet said. In one book I have been reading the author stated the following: Have you ever been so tired, so over-whelmed, that even words of encouragement seemed to just sting the same as words of condemnation? I think it would be safe to assume, that it does happen, and more than we might care to think. It is common to be told that our feelings have no place in the Christian life and experience in the life of “modern” believers, enlightened, supposedly so much more than people from the past. But it also seems like most of the Bible characters also struggled with their feelings and emotions too. It seems to me that these thoughts and feelings all give us some very negative feed back and state as “truth” things that are really just in our minds. Whats in God’s mind is different. Is there a difference between Bible principles and feelings? How far can we trust our feelings? It would seem that a “feeling” is something in our mind; and a Bible principle is something in God’s mind. So, based on that initial premise: Yes. There is a difference between the two. But the Bible doesn’t really condemn anyone for their feelings and emotions; rather, it seems to be the opposite of that. It is certainly not wrong to have “feelings” about something; even about “Bible Principles.” But, the Bible principles are there to tell us what to do with those “feelings.” The feelings being our mind, and the Bible being God’s mind. The following poem illustrates this fact very well. I copied this out of the back of an old man’s Bible whom I used to look after during my nursing career. My faith was quite shaken one evening when I had gone into the nursing home for a night shift. I had strong feelings of bitterness over some supposed wrongs, and was despairing of my life ever getting sorted out again. As I stood at the bedside of this dying man, trying to concentrate on the conversation at hand, the very tired-looking old fellow started talking to me in a very animated way about some verse in the Bible. It was amazing the way he lit up and started talking to me about it; and he even made me get his Bible from the bed side table to read the text for him, (and for me too I imagine), and the text was Eph.3:19: When I opened his very old, very worn-looking Bible to look up this verse, my eye also caught the following poem scribbled onto the inside, front cover: “To know the love of Christ,” (Eph.3:19), was the FACT in my case, that brought back my FAITH, and in it’s train came feelings of joy in the Lord once again. In this way; feelings can be followed. Most of the time; I think, that when we refer to feelings versus the Bible, we refer to negative feelings, but even these we need to pay close attention to. They can be indicators of something we need; and there is a place where we can draw a line of sorts when it comes to these negative feelings: Many of the Bible characters were in the habit of expressing very strong feelings – even suicidal ideations. (like Elijah). What could this mean for the Christian today? Well, as I found out that night in the nursing home, from a dying man, (who had more life in him than me), there is hope for everyone. No matter who you are, or what your feelings may be; you can “know the love of Christ:” The vision given to Isaiah represents the condition of God's people in the last days. They are privileged to see by faith the work that is going forward in the heavenly sanctuary. "And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament." As they look by faith into the holy of holies, and see the work of Christ; and Him crucified in the heavenly sanctuary, they perceive that they are a people of unclean lips,--a people whose lips have often spoken vanity, lies, and false-hoods, and whose talents have not been sanctified and employed to the glory of God. Like Isaiah, like Elijah, like me, maybe like you, we may very well despair as we “see The Lord,” and contrast our own weakness and unworthiness with the purity and loveliness of the glorious character of Christ. But if we, like Isaiah, will receive the impression the Lord designs shall be made upon our heart, if we will humble our souls before God, there is hope for us too! The bow of promise is above the throne, and the work done for Isaiah will be performed in us, even today. Especially today. God will respond to the petitions coming from the contrite heart: However courageous and successful we might happen to be; in the performance of a special work that God has given to us, unless we look constantly to God when circumstances arise to test our faith we will lose our courage. Even after God has given us marked tokens of His power, after we have been strengthened to do God's work, we will fail unless we trust in God and allow all those feelings to go to God in prayer. Happy Sabbath To All!

Ever hear the phrase: "Oh, my. We wouldn't want to get "doctrinal" now, would we?"

Beautiful devotional, BM. I just finished a book that taught (among other things), that part of the sanctification process is doing God's will - not our own - regardless of feelings or desires. We are to pick up our cross and follow Jesus; who went against His own feelings and desires about being flogged and crucified. He was obedient unto death on the cross. We may not be literally "crucified', but we must be imagers of our divine Savior; and follow Him wherever He leads - even to things we think are impossible. "With man this is impossible, but all things are possible in Christ." Happy Sabbath to all! ?

HEY ALL ONLY 5 more days until Thanksgiving Day in the United States dgrimm60

Let me ask it another way. Which moves you more, the thunders of Sinai (Exodus 19:16-19) or the still small voice of truth (1 Kings 19:11-12)? Satan is going to bring great thunder and fire from heaven in the sight of men; miracles and wonders (2 Thess 2:8-10; Rev 13:13-14). If that is what moves […] The post Mature Obedience (18:5) appeared first on Jon Paulien's Blog. View the full article

? consider the lilies Mat 6:28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

5 Shocking Facts You Probably Didn't Know About JFK November 22, 1963, was the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, while visiting the state as part of his campaign. Here are five things you probably didn't know about John F. Kennedy... JFK's Back Brace May Have Played A Role In His Death It's possible that his back brace—which JFK wore for his back pain, against the advice of his doctor—might have been the reason he died from his gunshot wounds. The first shot, which went through the back of his shoulder, should have caused him to slump over in the car, and thus avoid other gunfire. But, because of his corset-style back brace, he was "still upright as a target," says Dr. Kenneth Salyer, one of the Dallas physicians who treated JFK on that fateful day. Texas Governor John Connally was also shot in the chest, but because he fell over, he was spared additional damage. If Kennedy had "gone down like John Connally did," Dr. Salyer says, he very well might have lived. His Last Words Were “No, You Certainly Can't” Though it’s been reported that JFK’s final words were, “My God, I’ve been hit,” that information is incorrect. His last words were in regards to how well he had been received in Dallas. Just seconds before he was shot, Nellie Connally—wife of Governor John Connally—remarked that, "You certainly can’t say that the people of Dallas haven’t given you a nice welcome, Mr. President,” to which JFK replied: “No, you certainly can't." JFK Was a James Bond Fanatic JFK didn't have ordinary heroes: he was inspired by none other than the world's greatest spy. After being gifted a copy of Ian Fleming's Casino Royale in 1955, Kennedy became a massive fan of the author and his most famous character, with Fleming's From Russia With Love earning a spot on his list of favorite books. In fact, JFK was such a Bond fanatic that he even hosted a private screening of Dr. No at the White House. Kennedy Installed A Secret Taping System in The White House Richard Nixon was not the first president to record his private White House conversations. In the summer of 1962, Kennedy secretly installed a taping system in the Oval Office and Cabinet Room that transmitted recordings to a reel-to-reel tape recorder in the White House basement. The president likely installed the system to aid him in writing his future memoir, and it captured many historical discussions between Kennedy and his staff, including discussions during the Cuban Missile Crisis. JFK Got Into A Car Accident With Larry King Back in 1958, Larry King crashed his car into JFK's while the politician was visiting Miami. While the damage to the cars wasn't particularly bad, the president-to-be, who was parked at the time, was apparently quite upset at the situation. King remembers Kennedy saying, "Early Sunday morning, no traffic, not a cloud in the sky, I'm parked—how could you run into me?" However, Kennedy's anger was short-lived and King claims that the politician said he'd let the issue slide if King promised him his vote.