Pure Emotion

Book excerpt: Do not be shaped by this world; instead be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you; you will know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect. (Romans 12:2) Emotions saturate Scripture. God is an emotional Godnot in the same way we talk about an emotional person. But God is certainly aware of the runaway emotions were referring to when we put a negative spin on emotions. We cant escape Gods presence. That means he sees and hears alongside us, including our (often messy) emotions. And if we let him, God will replace those untruthful messages weve learned about emotions along the journey of life with the truthful messages reflecting his character, will, and commands. God didnt mess up his design of you. He created you in his image. He has a plan for your life. He even knew what mistakes youd make throughout your life, and he still loves you and wants nothing more than to be in an ever-deepening relationship with you. He will pursue youwhether youre not following him and need to make that decision or youre following him marginally or youre passionate about him. He designed you for more, and he will pursue you, tapping you on the shoulder, whispering in your ear, and knocking on the door of your heart so that your daily lifeincluding your decisions, attitudes, and yes, emotionsis impacted in the purity of who he created you to be and the everyday messiness of living on Earth. If your emotions arent reflecting the character of God well, youre probably distorting something and need to get back on track. Thats what this journey is about: growing closer to God, getting to know him better, and committing to reflecting him more and more on a daily basis. Pure Emotion will dig into, reflect upon, and live out Gods Word. Chapters include: Week One: The Emotional Experience Week Two: Whats a Pure Emotion? Week Three: Fear Week Four: Jealousy Week Five: Anger Week Six: Anxiety and Peace Week Seven: Frustration Week Eight: Guilt and Shame Week Nine: Joy Week Ten: Living Emotionally Pure