Article 1

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen."

1 Peter 5:6-11

Something that I continually relearn is how to deal successfully with my emotions; especially with regards to the baggage of my past. I have learned that it is the only way I can grow and mature in Christ.

"In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold."

Ephesians 4:26-27

My emotions play a major role in the process of renewing of my mind. Essentially, my emotions are a product of my thought life. If I am not thinking right and am not perceiving God and his Word properly, it will show up in how I express my emotions.

My emotions are to my soul what physical feeling is to my body; a sort of built-in alarm.

Sometimes I deny my feelings and attempt to suppress them. For me, that is like a pressure cooker getting ready to explode. This is what happens after I have freely vented my feelings and leveled everyone around me. That’s not cool. So I am learning to acknowledge these feelings before God and a few trusted friends to prevent me from dumping it on others in a destructive way.

Something I need to always remember is that God is never surprised or shocked about anything I feel or do. Admittedly my prayers during those circumstances are not very noble, leading me to even try and blame Him for what’s going on. But they are real and honest.

I am convinced God does not mind standing in the bulls-eye of my anger and blame. I believe He would rather have me yelling at Him than not talking to Him at all; not unless He has changed His mind about hypocrisy. I believe if you are not real with Him, you are not right with Him.

One thing I try to always keep in mind is that God has designed our emotions to play a vital role in our daily lives.

"When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long."

Psalms 32:3