I’ve been in a long period of transitioning in my walk of Faith from a very emotional and feelings based relationship with Jesus to something more based in Truth and Peace. As many of you know, a feelings based Faith is a hotbed for recurrent sin and stumbling. One of the most dangerous feelings that can be spawned from this type of Faith is called “desire”. It’s so easy for us to desire what we can’t or don’t have and it’s even easier to desire everything related to the deeds of the flesh. Faith based in these emotional feelings has no firm foundation in Truth, and when we allow ourselves to be seduced into an emotional state, our peace of mind is compromised and it produces worry, anxiety, and guilt. The danger of Faith based in feelings that can lead to carnal desires is illustrated in James 1:14-15 “but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death”.

Now contrast this to the Fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5: 22-23 “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”. The challenge for the feelings based Believer is these traits and attributes can still be viewed as emotions, and taken as such. Reading further in verse 24 and 25; “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit”. Also Romans 8: 5-8 “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires, but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God, it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God”.

So you see the constant cross pull of the Spirit and the flesh in our being. This is why it is so eternally important to keep ourselves in check and in self accountability mode through prayer, fellowship, and Bible study. It requires a strong support group and a close family of other Believers. If you are trying to pilot your own aircraft without a first officer and crew you are more likely to have a serious accident. Been there and done it.

The fruits of the Spirit are not emotions. They are self-sacrificial service traits related to affection, devotion, and respect. They have absolutely nothing to do with feelings. In a future post I will detail and discuss each of the nine fruit traits. These traits are the true marks of God’s saints and are in direct opposition to the deeds of the flesh, feelings, and emotions.

It is extremely easy for a new Christian to start off on the wrong foot, particularly since the moment of salvation can be so overwhelming, both spiritually and emotionally. This is one of the reason all of us as Believers sharpened by Jesus have such an obligation to teach and mentor our Brothers and Sisters. The Parable of The Sower comes to mind. We have to make sure those seeds find fertile soil.

Now on the other hand, there are many life events that become sudden blips on our radar that can send us into an emotional spiral. We are still human. Family deaths, physical illness, financial problems, the list goes on and on. I know I could not function on this Earth if I did not have my Faith. I would probably die. As much as I have my own self-inflicted troubles, and as often as I get out of the sheep pen and into the Holy woodshed, there is no possible way I could ever turn away from my Faith and deny God and Jesus. Not going to happen.

My prayer for everyone who reads this post is somehow a tiny seed of sharing can be planted in your heart and you can share these words with someone in your life to broaden your own personal ministry. I don’t claim to be a Bible scholar or theological genius but I do have God given wisdom, common sense, and street smarts. I’m not doing this for subscribes, likes, and follows. God is in control and He is going to have specific people of his choosing read these words. I’m not going to use my pride and selfish ambition trying to build a personal brand. I do not want the recognition. I only want God to be glorified by hopefully impacting someone’s life.

Have a Blessed weekend everyone..