God Speaks.........

One of the three online devotionals I receive daily. During a trip to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to see a precious friend of mine... 'Nay... (and her so gifted husband) several years ago now... my husband and I saw these bill boards. Simple message, but countless lives they've changed. Each day I can't wait to see what God Speaks has to say to me. Sometimes, I'll forward their devotion for the day onto my husband and/or to one of my step-daughters. And, once and awhile I'll include other loved ones or friends... it just depends on how the message strikes me, and if I feel if I feel compelled to do so. Well, today's is very meaningful to me... particularly, the last line by Martin Luther. No need to say more though, because that line says it all. Yet, I'm copying and pasting the full devotion in its entirety to put it in the devotion's context. I doubt God Speaks will mind... their whole mission is to get the Word out... and I doubt God will mind much either. ;)

from God Speaks dot com

Bible > Feelings

God gave us our feelings and emotions. They're a gift that enables us to experience life in full color. A wedding, a funeral, a ballet recital . . . ...what would these events be like without emotions? Nothing close to what they should be. But as important as our feelings are, they need to be kept in their proper place. They are there to respond to reality, not to determine reality. Oftentimes, our feelings cross this line in our hearts, and we allow the way we happen to feel to shape our perception of truth. For example, if God feels distant, we conclude that He must be distant. God feels distant, so He must be...you get the idea. We cannot live like this! Our sense of reality needs to be defined by something else, by God's Word, which is the truth according to Jesus (John 17:17). We know this, but how often do our emotions pull on us like a leashed puppy does its master? Here's what we need to do when this happens:; Stop immediately and recite what the Word says. For example: God seems distant. But the Bible says that He has promised to never leave me nor forsake me in Hebrews 13:5. I feel abandoned in life. But in John 14:18 Jesus promised that He wouldn't leave me as an orphan. You see how it works. Feelings are wonderful gifts from God, but they pale in comparison to the Bible when it comes to defining reality for our lives. For feelings come and feelings go, and feelings are deceiving; My warrant is the Word of God, Naught else is worth believing. -Martin Luther