Disconnect between heart and mind?

[Gail]

There is a pastor, non-Adventist I believe but a Christian counsellor who is in the States.

He finds that there are many Christians of conservative lean who are what he calls disconnected between their hearts and their faith. They are strong on mind (intellect) but their difficulty lies in their weak emotional areas. He finds that many Adventists fall into this category, but it is not an Adventist problem exclusively by any means.

I wish I had his name still; I will try and find that.

This interests me because the more I read Scripture the more I am convinced that the heart is where God works. It is where Christ dwells in us through faith and through the Holy Spirit. I think this is where Jesus was aiming at with His advice to Nicodemus that he must be born again.

How does one connect to God emotionally?

I think that many Adventists are afraid to be labelled as evangelicals if they dared to incorporate their emotions into their spirituality. But in doing so would we be in danger of going too far the other way? I know that an emotional disconnect is lethal to a marriage and also damaging to the relationship between parent and child.

[Gibs]

Gail,

There certainly is a right balance. This is why Jesus stated the following I believe,

t 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

Mt 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Mt 7:15 ¶ Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Then He gives us His lesson,

Mt 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Mt 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

Mt 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Mt 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Mt 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

And it wouldn't hurt to read further on in that chapter.

When we are fully His and have His Love and our will His Will then that narrow way is not galling or hard to travel.

1Jo 4:4 ¶ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

And it wouldn't hurt to read further on in that chapter.

[skyblue888]

"For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Rom.10:10.

To believe from the heart does not necessarily have anything to do with our emotions. How many times I have read that we are not to depend upon our feelings for they are as shifting as the wind. So to be sure to believe from the heart has nothing to do with emotions per se. To believe from the heart means that we are settled into the truth spiritually and to confess from the mouth is a settling into the truth intellectually so that we cannot be moved!

We cannot be settled into the truth spiritually unless we are first settled into it intellectually.

Do you agree?

sky

[Gail]

Yes, I can agree with that.

I am not talking about depending on the emotions at all. I am talking more about incorporating them into our relationship with God and using the emotions He's given us to His purpose and His glory.

For example, a loveless, compassionless, joyless Christian existance does not give salvation a correct witness to others or an effective one. IMO.

[skyblue888]

Of course, "When the sinner sees his Saviour dying upon the cross under the curse of sin in his stead, beholding His pardoning love, love awakens in his heart. The sinner loves Christ, because Christ first loved him, and love is the fulfilling of the law." 1 S.M.374.

And "If we abide in Christ, if the love of God dwells in us, our feelings, our thoughts, our purposes, our actions, will be in harmony with the will of God as expressed in the precepts of His holy law." Steps to Christ,61.

sky

[Gibs]

Gail I find the joyful Christian experience is when we have allowed Him in as the only Master in us and we begin to walk the victorious life above sining. Then our heart sings His praises all the day long and especially as we have overcome again each time where we had been falling to Satan before.

It is truly a newfound profound joy to be an overcomer we never once was able to.

I just can't help loving Paul's statement here,

Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:

Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

And I would like to add, "The Joy of Life Eternal now can be anyones".

And to top it off John comes forward and states it in a different way,

1Jo 4:4 ¶ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

[Gail]

Thank you, Gibs, for your use of words like, "love" and, "joy". I see those words not as something we conjure up because we should, but they are expressions of thankfulness. Remember the woman in the Bible who loved much because she was forgiven much.