Hello friend!
I’ve got one more week to go in the first semester of BSSM. I am elated about this week and also looking forward to the break. I’ll like to ask for your prayers as well. I am planning to raise funds to help with my fees in the coming weeks. I want God’s direction on how to go about it while also expecting a miracle as well. If any thought drops in your heart, please do feel free to share as well. Thank you.
Before I get into last week’s exciting update, let me tell you what I’ll be up to by 2 am, on Monday, December 13, 2021. That’s in about 2 hours!
Drumroll…
I’ll be watching the Livestream of The Chosen Christmas Special! I have been waiting for this and wishing I was in the US so that I could see it in the cinema. Thank God for the internet and the team’s desire to get it to fans outside America as soon as they could. The special comes with music from several worship leaders and a special episode that can be seen even by someone who hasn’t seen a previous episode. Last year’s Christmas special was beyond amazing. If you can, stay up with me and watch the premiere. If not, you can always catch it later on The Chosen App from your App Store.
The venue for the Livestream -
Christmas With The Chosen: The Global Live Event
Now, let’s get down to this week in BSSMO year one. As always, this week was packed with deep study, new insight, and a fresh look at Jesus.
The deity and humanity of Jesus
How can our human minds fully comprehend how Jesus was both 100% divine and 100% human? This is one of the mind-boggling questions that many parents and church leaders shush kids for. Soon enough, our curiosity gets swallowed up by the fear of doubting God. However, faith is strengthened when we feast on what several authors in the Bible write to tell us about who Jesus is.
John is a favourite place to start when studying the divinity and humanity of Jesus. Chapter One addresses the question off the bat. John immediately tells us that Jesus is the Word that was at the beginning with God, and that Word was one with God. Also, check out verse 18. I haven’t taken note of this before.
No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself, God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.
John’s claim about Jesus is repeated in different ways in the writings of the other original disciples, by Paul, and by Jesus Himself. To the angst of the religious leaders, Jesus called God His Father and forgave sins, all things that clearly told them He was claiming to be divinity.
If we look at the attributes of God as shown in the old testament, we’d see how Jesus either did or said He also had the authority to do that.
Abraham called God a judge in Genesis (18:25). David did too and Israel knew Him as their judge.
And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah. - Psalm 50:6
Jesus then says:
21For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes. 22Furthermore, the Father judges no one but has assigned all judgment to the Son, 23so that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father. Whoever does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent Him - John 5:21-23
I added verse 21 for good measure.
John also recorded Jesus calling Himself ‘I am’ seven times. He healed the sick and cast out demons. God had always been known as Jehovah Rapha. He is called the originator of everything without whom nothing was made.
Jesus is God.
Yet, He lived as a man to show us what is possible when we submit to the power of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 10:38)
He came as a man to reveal the love of the Father for us as men, to save us, and to show us the way to a loving relationship with God, with Himself.
This isn’t something a few lines can explain or even tomes of books. This requires a time of personal study, prayers, and conversations with the Father. Jesus is always eager to reveal Himself as we spend time with Him.
Feelings and Communicating them
We are back to ‘emotions’ again! I laughed a lot during this class taken by Dan Farrelly. I could relate to the examples and gained further insight into my own emotions and sometimes, denial of it.
Do you sometimes deny your emotions?
Well, it is time to stop and embrace your feelings. They are not bad. I’m sure you’ve read that from my week 8 recap.
One reason many Christians bury their emotions is because of a futile attempt to be like Christ, that is, loving, turning the other cheek, and suffering for the kingdom. Those kinds of things. We forget that Jesus spared no words with the scribes of His day, told riddles in response to questions, and chased traders with whips. Jesus was not stoic. He wept and was moved with compassion. These are all emotions.
Dan gave the example of Christians who try to be like Christ for so long until one slight pinch happens on a bad day and BAM, they explode and all the stored up bile pours on everyone around! I hollered! This was me and by God’s grace, will remain a thing of the past. What usually happens with folks like this is that they have refused to admit and address their emotions. Finally, it explodes because they haven’t learned to control and respond the right way.
For me, I wouldn’t even know what to feel and would instantly start to find reasons to justify a feeling. More often than not, I’ll find reasons why that emotion is not valid. Yet, I’ll feel it coursing through my body. He made an important note here. Your head and reason can deny your emotions but your body won’t.
My stomach drops when I’m scared and I’ll usually need to use the toilet. The last time I was in a very anxious state, I took ill. I hardly ever fall sick. I quickly learned that anxiety reduces my immunity, especially when I refuse to address the subject of the anxiety directly. When I’m full of joy, my energy levels soar. When angry, my arms and chest tremble.
Can you tell and admit it when you feel specific emotions?
There are four basic emotions that you can feel - Sad, Mad, Glad, Afraid. With these fundamentals, can you tell what your current most dominant emotion is?
Now, this doesn’t mean responding to everything you feel. It simply means knowing what is going on so that you can choose a response. Remember, your emotions are only a part of your make-up, an important part. But they do not represent your wholeness. You are not what you feel. This goes to people who like to say “this is who I am” when doing something bad. You are to table your emotions with the other elements that make up who you are. Your covenant and values should take precedence over your feelings, but they should be considered regardless. For example, when angry, rather than deny it or lash out, you can pray about it first and then, speak with the person with calmness and love.
The belief that your feelings are a full reflection of who you are can lead you to hide them and ultimately allow them to explode in the worst ways. Have you ever experienced someone lashing out for something really inconsequential and you’d wonder how it went from zero to a hundred real quick? I have. I have gone from zero to a hundred. It is not a good thing and is the result of piling up the fire. We serve a passionate God who doesn’t hide His emotions. We must learn to submit to Him to control them.
Also, you’ll realize that denying one emotion will lead to going numb in other areas. I can attest to this. In those periods I tried to bury my anxiety and just move on with life, I also couldn’t respond to joy and laughter. Everything felt fake and forced. You can’t feel absolute joy if you deny sadness or fear. You cannot deal with something that you deny existence.
I believe that hiding your emotions is a huge sign of trying to hold on to control. The Holy Spirit is here to help you live out healthy emotions. But you need to admit them and hand them over to Him.
Religion wants you to repress your natural desires in order to be accepted by a community that is afraid of its own humanity. Jesus invites you to allow Him to shine through your desires and live them out in the way humanity was designed to at the beginning. - OTDamilola
Keep sharing Jesus
No man can be good by themselves. I enjoy watching crime shows but hadn’t done that in a while until recently. Some of them were just bizarre, yet the underlying reasons remained as basic as greed, jealousy, anger, and good old stupidity. The world is mad and this is not madness that can be cured with medication or systems or just any set of rules. The world needs Jesus. From the poor to the rich, the educated and uneducated, everyone needs Jesus. Know Him. Share Him.
Love and love,
OTDamilola