Logic.
We use this word as if it should be the final answer to defy all others.
Often when logic comes to play it's to do away with emotional reasoning. Something being logical meaning no need for emotional reactions that come from a place other than facts and figures. (Though some will agree there are logical times to have many emotions and that's true too.)
Have you ever been told to set your emotions aside and think logically? I have on more than one occasion. So, what did I do? I tried to take my feelings of- anger, sadness- you know, those emotions that are often consider negative and interfering when you mingle them with certain situations.
Logically I shouldn't be upset over spilled milk. Right? You know, don't cry over spilled milk. The reasoning? There's nothing you can do about milk once it's spilled except clean it up and go on. However, if I am upset because I was looking forward to that spilled milk, perhaps it was the last bit of milk left in the house and it was too late or I had no car, or store near enough to walk to get more- I have a right to cry over that spilled milk. Silly, yes? It's just milk, and who really cries when they spill their milk, they can drink something else, or whatever, life happens, and in the grand scheme of things spilled milk is a minor disappointment. Right? Right?
Again, people will tell us there is nothing to be scared about --logically-- in many situations we find very frightful. What scares me to the point of anxiety is just another person's happy day at the office. My picking up a caterpillar and letting it crawl on my hand is the greatest fear of someone else. I could tell them logically they have nothing to fear, but that means so little.
Logic is overrated- I've heard that before and I'm sure you have too, and often that's true. But both logic and emotions have their amazing uses in our lives.
Logic when it comes to studying the Bible needs to be well balanced with emotions as well as anything else.
Sometimes we get so caught up in the emotional wonder of the word of God, that we push aside other parts of the word of God that confuse us. When we find hard to comprehend books of the Bible we decide they are for greater minds than ours, for those called to be Biblical scholars, not us. We shut ourselves off to so much because we refuse to take the studies of others and study things out for ourselves.
We use what we grew up on and decide that's more than enough for us to live by the rest of our lives- not fully comprehending that the Bible is a living, breathing, live giving miracle that has such rich depths, such wondrous insight, such hope, such guidance, knowledge that is right there applicable for us today right up until our Savior, Jesus Christ returns for us and ushers in the promise new existence for those who He knows.
We can stop at the feel good passages. We can live off of the verses everyone recognizes, or we can grow in grace and knowledge of the LORD daily learning. Daily reading, daily searching the scriptures for in them there is eternal life. Our Savior used scripture all the time and He blessed others after He returned to heaven to continue His work of salvation there, to bring so much more to light so that no one would ever be able to say they didn't have an opportunity to know all His truth.
Why do you suppose we are told by Jesus Himself, that there are going to be people who in the day of His return He's going to tell to get away from Him?
Does that sound like the God you serve? The Jesus you love? It is Him, and He is going to say those words to people, and those people will be completely shocked because they truly believe they are His!
Jesus will say- 'I never knew you, depart from me.'
And He will be saying it to the ones who claim to know him! How scary is that?!
They believe they belong to Jesus! Do you believe you belong to Jesus? Do you know you belong to Jesus? Those people Jesus says that too, believe that too! They do! They believe with all their hearts they are His!
We are warned.
Many are going to be deceived, all but the very elect. And when Christ's returns will He find faith on earth? Will He?
Truth and faith. We are accountable for these. Do we believe only the truth that is pleasing to our ears, that fits our lifestyle, that doesn't interfere with things, that causes us no pain, that satisfies us? What if you are called to forsake your family for the truth, would you reason God would NOT ask that of you? That the God you love wouldn't make you make such a hard choice. You're right the god you love wouldn't but the God you need to love would, we are told in His word it's possible.
We've sugarcoated so much it's hard to break through that sugarcoating and to the truth beneath. Your heart may be called to break in a million pieces and all around you- may call you crazy, that you've carried things too far, gone off the deep end and bit into fanaticism. Don't you realize even now in our day and age of the cry to return to Christ, many are giving that cry and heeding it but only so far as it fits their lives, and not the truth, all the truth of the Bible.
Jesus REALLY meant we are to love our enemies, to do good to those who despise us and use us, to turn that other cheek, to seek Him, to search for Him, to take up our cross DAILY not just when someone is looking, not just when we walk into a church. There isn't a stack of crosses being passed out as you enter that revival meeting, but some people only pick up the cross when it's convenient.
I don't have all the answers, but I do know there is so much truth we can know that so many just scoff at over and over again, as if not all truth matters, just the truth they want to believe.
I want Jesus to know me in the day He returns. I want Him to say, Dorene! I'm so glad you're here! I love you so much! You only ever wanted to know me, I am the way, the truth, and the life! I know you, Dorene, I know you came to me always seeking forgiveness when you faltered and always wanting truth, wanting to live your life for me. I've saved you! I've saved you and you knew that I had to save you, that no other could, not even yourself.
Oh glorious day!!!!!!!
Please, Lord we want to be KNOWN by YOU, not just believe we are known when we aren't at all, PLEASE, open our eyes to anything that is false in our way keeping You from knowing us! Help us, save us from ourselves! Help our unbelief! Help us choose YOU always in all things! Help us! Save us! Know us! Please Lord this is our prayer, our desperate prayer! We don't want to be poor, naked, and blind to Your truths for us! Give us all the oil in our lamps now, so we are ready when You return! You are coming soon, all the signs You've given us point to this TRUTH! You told us to WATCH and to PRAY, we are watching and praying! We do not want that very real mark of the beast, we do not want to be caught unaware, we do not want to be among those who don't realize thy way oh God is in the sanctuary! Lord… have mercy upon us as we live in the very end days when wickedness rules under the guise of goodness especially among those who profess to know You. Let us not be deceived! Please, Lord! We believe! Help our unbelief! Now and forever! Let logic and emotion work hand in hand to give us all the truth we need! Amen, amen, amen!!!!!!!
We use this word as if it should be the final answer to defy all others.
Often when logic comes to play it's to do away with emotional reasoning. Something being logical meaning no need for emotional reactions that come from a place other than facts and figures. (Though some will agree there are logical times to have many emotions and that's true too.)
Have you ever been told to set your emotions aside and think logically? I have on more than one occasion. So, what did I do? I tried to take my feelings of- anger, sadness- you know, those emotions that are often consider negative and interfering when you mingle them with certain situations.
Logically I shouldn't be upset over spilled milk. Right? You know, don't cry over spilled milk. The reasoning? There's nothing you can do about milk once it's spilled except clean it up and go on. However, if I am upset because I was looking forward to that spilled milk, perhaps it was the last bit of milk left in the house and it was too late or I had no car, or store near enough to walk to get more- I have a right to cry over that spilled milk. Silly, yes? It's just milk, and who really cries when they spill their milk, they can drink something else, or whatever, life happens, and in the grand scheme of things spilled milk is a minor disappointment. Right? Right?
Again, people will tell us there is nothing to be scared about --logically-- in many situations we find very frightful. What scares me to the point of anxiety is just another person's happy day at the office. My picking up a caterpillar and letting it crawl on my hand is the greatest fear of someone else. I could tell them logically they have nothing to fear, but that means so little.
Logic is overrated- I've heard that before and I'm sure you have too, and often that's true. But both logic and emotions have their amazing uses in our lives.
Logic when it comes to studying the Bible needs to be well balanced with emotions as well as anything else.
Sometimes we get so caught up in the emotional wonder of the word of God, that we push aside other parts of the word of God that confuse us. When we find hard to comprehend books of the Bible we decide they are for greater minds than ours, for those called to be Biblical scholars, not us. We shut ourselves off to so much because we refuse to take the studies of others and study things out for ourselves.
We use what we grew up on and decide that's more than enough for us to live by the rest of our lives- not fully comprehending that the Bible is a living, breathing, live giving miracle that has such rich depths, such wondrous insight, such hope, such guidance, knowledge that is right there applicable for us today right up until our Savior, Jesus Christ returns for us and ushers in the promise new existence for those who He knows.
We can stop at the feel good passages. We can live off of the verses everyone recognizes, or we can grow in grace and knowledge of the LORD daily learning. Daily reading, daily searching the scriptures for in them there is eternal life. Our Savior used scripture all the time and He blessed others after He returned to heaven to continue His work of salvation there, to bring so much more to light so that no one would ever be able to say they didn't have an opportunity to know all His truth.
Why do you suppose we are told by Jesus Himself, that there are going to be people who in the day of His return He's going to tell to get away from Him?
Does that sound like the God you serve? The Jesus you love? It is Him, and He is going to say those words to people, and those people will be completely shocked because they truly believe they are His!
Jesus will say- 'I never knew you, depart from me.'
And He will be saying it to the ones who claim to know him! How scary is that?!
They believe they belong to Jesus! Do you believe you belong to Jesus? Do you know you belong to Jesus? Those people Jesus says that too, believe that too! They do! They believe with all their hearts they are His!
We are warned.
Many are going to be deceived, all but the very elect. And when Christ's returns will He find faith on earth? Will He?
Truth and faith. We are accountable for these. Do we believe only the truth that is pleasing to our ears, that fits our lifestyle, that doesn't interfere with things, that causes us no pain, that satisfies us? What if you are called to forsake your family for the truth, would you reason God would NOT ask that of you? That the God you love wouldn't make you make such a hard choice. You're right the god you love wouldn't but the God you need to love would, we are told in His word it's possible.
We've sugarcoated so much it's hard to break through that sugarcoating and to the truth beneath. Your heart may be called to break in a million pieces and all around you- may call you crazy, that you've carried things too far, gone off the deep end and bit into fanaticism. Don't you realize even now in our day and age of the cry to return to Christ, many are giving that cry and heeding it but only so far as it fits their lives, and not the truth, all the truth of the Bible.
Jesus REALLY meant we are to love our enemies, to do good to those who despise us and use us, to turn that other cheek, to seek Him, to search for Him, to take up our cross DAILY not just when someone is looking, not just when we walk into a church. There isn't a stack of crosses being passed out as you enter that revival meeting, but some people only pick up the cross when it's convenient.
I don't have all the answers, but I do know there is so much truth we can know that so many just scoff at over and over again, as if not all truth matters, just the truth they want to believe.
I want Jesus to know me in the day He returns. I want Him to say, Dorene! I'm so glad you're here! I love you so much! You only ever wanted to know me, I am the way, the truth, and the life! I know you, Dorene, I know you came to me always seeking forgiveness when you faltered and always wanting truth, wanting to live your life for me. I've saved you! I've saved you and you knew that I had to save you, that no other could, not even yourself.
Oh glorious day!!!!!!!
Please, Lord we want to be KNOWN by YOU, not just believe we are known when we aren't at all, PLEASE, open our eyes to anything that is false in our way keeping You from knowing us! Help us, save us from ourselves! Help our unbelief! Help us choose YOU always in all things! Help us! Save us! Know us! Please Lord this is our prayer, our desperate prayer! We don't want to be poor, naked, and blind to Your truths for us! Give us all the oil in our lamps now, so we are ready when You return! You are coming soon, all the signs You've given us point to this TRUTH! You told us to WATCH and to PRAY, we are watching and praying! We do not want that very real mark of the beast, we do not want to be caught unaware, we do not want to be among those who don't realize thy way oh God is in the sanctuary! Lord… have mercy upon us as we live in the very end days when wickedness rules under the guise of goodness especially among those who profess to know You. Let us not be deceived! Please, Lord! We believe! Help our unbelief! Now and forever! Let logic and emotion work hand in hand to give us all the truth we need! Amen, amen, amen!!!!!!!