affectual
i'm reading waking the dead again...why? because i need it again. my heart needs some serious attention.
so, i'm reading colossians 3 this morning, and i start underlining all the instances of the word "heart."
so...really...what is our heart? what does it entail? check this out:
-the center/vigor of physical and spiritual life
-the soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, and endeavors
-of the understanding, the faculty and seat of intelligence
-of the will and character
-of the soul so far as it is affected and stirred in a bad way or good, or of the soul as the seat of the sensibilities, affections, emotions, desires, appetites, passions
-of the middle or central or inmost part of anything, even though inanimate
-the bowels, regarded as the seat of the more violent passions, such as anger and love, but by the Hebrews as the seat of the tenderer affections, esp. kindness, benevolence, compassion; hence our heart (tender mercies, affections, etc.)
-etc etc.
get the picture?
it's everything we are. even in colossians 3 when it says, "set your mind on things above"...the word "mind" means to think, the affections, the will....the actions of the will and affections.
so...here's the deal...when your heart is messed up...all of you is messed up. if your heart isn't in order, neither are you. right now, all of me is messed up. it affects everything about me listed above. right now, namely my passions and affections.
so...setting my mind on things above...that means, actively setting my affections on Jesus...not just being disciplined to spend time with Him...but setting my will and affections on Him. why? because He first loved me. as a response.
what's my prayer for today? well, with last weeks prayer in mind:
Lord, may we see You clearly,
and may we actively set our affections on You.
selah
posted by Tara Bussema @ 12:29 PM
4 comments:
so how do you actually do that? I mean, in my life, I feel the gap between WANTING to be in love with Jesus, and actually being there.
how do you set your affections on someone or something when it isn't your general inclination to do so?
oh...i thought you were gonna tell me? :)
i dunno, ma dear. that's why i'm praying for it. it's probably a lot of little things...making space for Him, trying to keep our eyes on Him, etc.
sometimes i say i WANT to be in love with Him...but i'm really just lying to myself...because the choices i make and the way i spend my time prove otherwise.
any ideas?
But, like our other relationships, doesn't it take some work to keep going when we don't feel like setting our affections on God? You do it anyway, or try to do it anyway, because you choose to. Yes, he loved me first, and that's what initially drew me to him and keeps me coming back. But sometimes it's hard to love him, especially when I feel like he's holding out on me. That record label, 5 Minute Walk, had a theory that just dedicating five minutes a day talking to God would cause you to want to spend more and more time with him. Does that really work? Can your affection for God grow if you spend time with him even if you don't feel much love for him at the moment? Would you discipline yourself to sit at his feet if, deep down, it wasn't what your spirit truly wanted, despite what your flesh desires?
i'm not really sure there's an answer to that or if there's anything to that theory, but if there is...i dunno what it is. :) i do know that relationships are messy and can never follow a set of rules. but, yessir...i am in agreement with you. it most definitely takes a ton of work...and i think setting our affections on him is work...freaking hard work. that was sort of my point about actively setting our affections on Him. and it may even take more work than other relationships because we have an enemy trying to destroy it at every turn. i usually feel like all of my times with Jesus are because i am disciplining myself to do so. sad as that is.
"especially when i feel like He's holding out on me"...i have a feeling you and i are going to be talking about that in the near future. :)
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