Feeling Vs. Faith

I mentioned in my last post that as believers, we should not be affected by the way we feel. Sometimes emotions might go haywire because of lack of sleep, lack of sugar, lack of adrenalin, unfairness, anger and so on, but thats ok because we are not dependant on them. We need to recognise that the body feels certain ways because thats the way it was designed to respond. Deal with the problem the best you can and keep on praising God. You may not realise it but sometimes praising God is the best way to deal with the problem!

I believe that was what Paul was trying to say when He was writing the letter to the Roman believers. He repeats quite a few times in these few paragraphs.

Verse 4 "... who walk NOT according to the flesh but according to the spirit.
Verse 6 "To set the mind on the flesh is death..."
Verse 7 "For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; INDEED, IT CANNOT!"
Verse 8 "Those who are in the flesh cannot please God"
Verse 13 "For if you live according to the flesh you will die..."

So simply from these verses stated here, we can draw the conclusion that FLESH = BAD! When we are dependant on our emotions, we also tend to give in to our flesh.
So how? (Pardon my Singaporean)

The typical response that most Christians would be to live right! Don't live according to the flesh! Abstain from evil, resist the devil, love one another, wash your hands, and a 101 other ways to live a victorious Christian life! That sounds good. It really does! But unfortunately, that is not the key. Sorry to burst your bubble. Because it doesn't last.

Daryl, are you refuting basic bible truths? No I'm not.

Paul himself said it! If we are in the flesh, we cannot please God. We cannot or are unable to obey the law! Where else does the bible talk about being unable to please God?
In Hebrews 11:6 "...And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."
Here we can draw another equation! Just like in Maths.
Flesh != Faith (Being in the flesh is NOT being in faith!)

Do you know that it is possible to do good things without being in faith? Another way of putting it is that we do good in the flesh? We do it because it is a requirement. Or we do it so that it adds a point to our resume of good works. Or we are like Job who offered sacrifices daily just in case his children sinned.
Many of us believe that God exists but we don't believe He rewards those who seek Him. Or we believe He is a lousy rewarder! Do we have a lousy god? No way!

Anyway, here lies the secret to a successful life. If we don't want to live according to the flesh and fail everytime we attempt to live right, then the secret is to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:10 says "But if Christ is in you... ... the spirit is life because of righteousness"
Verse 11 "If the Spirit of the him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He... ...will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you."

Lets look at this logically. If flesh is bad, spirit is good! If flesh leads to death, spirit leads to life. So to live according to the spirit means to live in faith. And to live in faith, according to Hebrews 11:6 is to believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. This is faith in action. This means that living according to the spirit is not dependant on how we feel or the circumstances around us.

This is part of drawing near to God. Service to God must always come after we know what it is to draw near to Him. It has to start from the basis of a relationship with Jesus. Some people might misinterpret what I'm going to say here but I'll say it anyway. No believer should be begged to serve. Excellent service is always the result of an attitude of gratitude and a heart of love.

Unfortunately, because of the needs of churches, people are thrust into positions of service before they have had a time to develop such a relationship. But that is another issue for another day.

~~~ Fire ~~~
There's a fire that burns in me
That the world will never change
There's a fire that burns in me
His name is Jesus

Brighter and brighter
Consume my whole life
So I burn
Brighter and brighter for you
Abundant Life Church - Send Me

Apple Of Your Eye

He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous, but with kings on the throne He sets them forever, and they are exalted.
- Job 36:7 -

Life can sometimes be strange. Most of the time, after a busy day in church, I would feel satisfied. I would feel content because I'm serving God. But today i just feel tired. No surprise since I've been up since 7:30AM. Led worship for Sunday School, then led worship for 2nd Service. Played futsal at East Coast after lunch. Usually, I would feel as if I had achieved something. But today, despite some good testimonies, I feel drained. I think its because of futsal with Larry's friends and then walking all the way home from East Coast Park.

I am thankful that God doesn't come and go according to my emotions and how I feel. Because right now, I feel tired and empty. Our relationship with God or with other people should never be based on emotions. I couldn't feel further from God right now. Yet I know for a fact that He loves me despite my lousy mood.

I thank God that He showed me this verse from Job 36:7.
Father God... Thank You that I'm still the apple of your eye. Even when I feel ineffective, I know that I'm set with the King on the throne and I'm exalted together with You. I will not waver, I will not be diverted. I believe that you are proud of me and I choose to praise You. Amen!