Category: counsel

Zealously Affected #30

Sunday, March 22, 2026

“They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you” (Galatians 4:17,18 KJV).

Let us see if we can identify and comprehend the dangers of relying on emotions….

An emotional person announces, “We can best support poor people by taxing the rich and diverting that money to social programs!” However, a thinking individual proposes, “Find ways to reduce wasteful government spending first—and start by decreasing the salaries of the politicians who are mismanaging funds and more likely embezzling monies meant for social programs.” If wealthy business owners are taxed, they simply increase the prices their customers pay. When taxes become oppressive enough, the wealthy move elsewhere, so the region’s tax base shrinks. Who will pay for the poor now? It will definitely not be the politicians! Emotions aside, and critical thinking operating, this economics lesson is most profitable.

The death penalty has always been controversial. Supposedly, capital punishment is “cruel and unusual,” and therefore inappropriate; this too is emotionalism. Observe the renewed mind now. The Bible is absolutely clear that, any individual who takes a human life forfeits his or her own: “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man” (Genesis 9:6). Furthermore, this is not restricted to the Old Testament. If worthy of death, the Apostle Paul was willing to be executed (Acts 25:11). He even wrote about government retaining the right to “bear the sword” (behead offenders) in Romans 13:4. Does not the possibility of sentencing innocent people to death argue against capital punishment? This also is emotionalism. If potential mistakes are grounds for ruling out the death penalty, we would be forced to eliminate life imprisonment as well because many innocent individuals have sat in a jail for decades only to be proven not guilty and released! Moreover, how cruel and unusual for the guilty person spared the death penalty to be enabled to harass the victim’s family with years of appeals. Above all, you can be sure that, once the murderer is killed, there will be no chance of recidivism or financial burden to taxpayers.

Indeed, it helps to use the brain than the emotions….

Zealously Affected #29

Saturday, March 21, 2026

“They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you” (Galatians 4:17,18 KJV).

Let us see if we can identify and comprehend the dangers of relying on emotions….

Science-worshippers and so-called “intellectuals” regard us as nothing more than highly-evolved animals whose very existence is attributable to the mysterious forces of “Mother Earth” or “Mother Nature” (really the ancient heathen goddess of fertility and hunting, also known as Diana or Artemis!—Acts 19:24,27,28,34,35). It is along these lines that evolutionary theory via natural selection, animal rights, vegetarianism, veganism, conservationism, and environmentalism are promoted. Tainted by sin, emotions have cheapened human existence to be “just another clump of cells.” We exhibit boundless pity toward endangered and extinct plants and animals, seeing no problem with placing them equal to or above ourselves, but we have been desensitized to the barbaric butchering of the helpless members of our own species. Sexual activity is unrestrained and recreational, and pregnancy is simply an “inconvenience” to more fun. Abortion is thus offered as the solution, for the selfish mantra of “MY body, MY choice” has been mindlessly parroted.

Unwanted pregnancies are an obstacle to emotionally-immature and mentally-immature parties, and those in the medical community who do not wish to maintain and preserve life are just as childish when they eagerly prey on these vulnerable to their detriment. If termination of life shortly after conception is tolerable (abortion), then it is just as easy for us to be open to ending life in its waning years (euthanasia, or assisted suicide). How laughable it is that, while struggling to define just what a “man” is and what a “woman” is, our society boasts about seeking and defending “women’s rights.” Since it cannot seem to distinguish between human DNA and animal, our “civilization” is most ridiculous to brag how it campaigns for “human rights.”

Beloved, this is all irrational, contradictory, and outrageous behavior, but it is nothing more than sin taking advantage of us through our corrupted emotions. “I am not going to be told what I will think and do! I will do what I feel is right!” Frankly, emotions are just one of sinful man’s innumerable gods. We would do well to detect and flee such idolatry as soon as possible….

Zealously Affected #28

Friday, March 20, 2026

“They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you” (Galatians 4:17,18 KJV).

Let us see if we can identify and comprehend the dangers of relying on emotions….

Every generation likes the word “free,” but today’s young people are particularly fascinated with it—free tuition, free housing, free transportation, free healthcare, free this and free that. Accordingly, they also tend to be less enthusiastic to work. Pleasure and amusement are popular. They believe they “deserve” to have all their wants. Due to technological achievements and modern conveniences of recent decades, never in our species’ history has there ever been a time of such universal entertainment and entitlement! It feels SO GOOD, especially when following “the blind leaders of the blind” who are equally emotional.

Their above “spoiled-rottenness” is the least of their problems though, for they are even misinformed about fundamental, more personal matters. Sexuality is a basic human trait. Any experimenting with it produces extensive and permanent psychological, emotional, and physical damage. Strangely, some biological men claim to “feel like women” and some biological women state they “feel like men,” so they have “gender-affirming” surgery! Yet, this is our world. Physical organs, they tell us, do not define sex—but, in the same breath, they assert their removal does “affirm” it. This is ridiculous, nothing a thinking person would state! However, an emotional individual would say it, and young people have become more tolerant of such perversion. No amount of propaganda, brainwashing, or emotional exploitation can (or will) ever justify that which is contrary to nature.

“Sex” is the biological characteristic of being male or female (emphasis on reproductive organs), whereas “gender” is the role a male or female plays (focus on society/culture). The Oxford English Dictionary defines “gender dysphoria” as “the condition of feeling one’s emotional and psychological identity as male or female to be opposite to one’s biological sex.” Notice the term “feeling:” transgenderism is emotion-driven, the main “confirmation” being really nothing more than fickle feelings. I can “feel” like a lost man on my merry way to Hell, but I am anything but because my renewed mind knows (thinking!) that I am in Christ and therefore bound for Heaven!

We cannot trust feelings….

Zealously Affected #27

Thursday, March 19, 2026

“They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you” (Galatians 4:17,18 KJV).

Let us see if we can identify and comprehend the dangers of relying on emotions….

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). Writing through King Solomon, God the Holy Spirit knew the significance of godly parenting. Children are naturally emotionally and mentally unstable (“tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine;” Ephesians 4:14). Hence, there must be a constant input of sound Bible doctrine beginning at the earliest possible period for them to grow and develop into people who reach a state of steadiness, soundness, and spirituality (led and controlled by the Holy Spirit). Fathers play an especially integral role here: “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture [careful, protective instruction/training and encouragement] and admonition [urging by stern warning or firm reprimanding] of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

Since mental development in humans does not peak until the 20s or 30s and emotional maturity reaches its pinnacle in the 30s or 40s, how precarious it is for parents to let their children be exposed to a bombardment of unhealthy choices. Again, minors surfing the internet are viewing and hearing every type of filthy and false information—perhaps with parental consent (!). It is absolutely impossible to understand the rapidity of the dissemination of such propaganda, lies spreading to billions in mere seconds, minutes, or hours, and “zealously affecting” them. How exciting it is to adopt this “new” view and experiment with that “new” practice! Since it changes shapes, precious few have the discernment to realize sin is still sin.

They have no real-life experience, no clue as to whom they are or what they want to do, and no sense of what they ought to be doing. Nevertheless, with emotions running recklessly and thoughts jumbled thoroughly, children for many years have posted online texts and videos to “guide” their peers regarding sex, gender, marriage, pregnancy, parenting, politics, and myriads of other major issues, leading to yet another whole generation of instability. Friends, our sin has found us out indeed….

Zealously Affected #26

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

“They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you” (Galatians 4:17,18 KJV).

Let us see if we can identify and comprehend the dangers of relying on emotions….

Human emotional maturity is not attained until approximately age 30 for women and 40 for men. Avoiding accountability, unrestrained feelings, and a preoccupation with “drama, drama, drama” are three sure signs of emotional childishness. Moreover, the human brain still astronomically develops well into the 20s and possibly the 30s (varying by person). Therefore, young adults are not as stable in their thoughts as they suppose! Bearing in mind these peaks of emotional maturity and intellectual maturity, we grasp why younger people are more susceptible to the effects of “this present evil world.” Firstly, they have yet to understand what emotions are, what they are not, and how to regulate them. Secondly, their mental processes are still under construction, for they are learning new data and figuring out how to assemble it into a comprehensive worldview.

Whatever views are learned during the first three or four decades generally serve as the foundation for the remainder of life’s lessons and choices. Once cemented, it will be next to impossible to reverse these opinions or substantially alter them. This is not necessarily bad news though. As long as the correct information enters the system at the earliest possible time, and there is a continued positive attitude toward additional right information, one can expect to steadily become more aware of the appropriate path to take. There is never sinlessness in this life, but the quality of beliefs and decisions ought to improve with the passage of time. Foolishness and darkness should be gradually fading from one’s life. Are they?

Observe. If there are no parents with sound Bible doctrine to teach the children, or if the children fail to learn the sound Bible doctrine from the parents, then the children become victims of three brutal menaces: (1) their own unstable, deceptive emotions; (2) their own unsteady mental processes; and (3) the unstable, deceptive emotions and unsteady mental processes of other children who will solidify their immaturity. This was the Galatians, and many others in our modern world….

Zealously Affected #25

Monday, March 16, 2026

“They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you” (Galatians 4:17,18 KJV).

Let us see if we can identify and comprehend the dangers of relying on emotions….

Beloved, to have even the slightest hope of getting them right, we must start using our brains more than our heart/emotions when facing decisions. Moreover, it has to be the “renewed mind” of Romans 12:1,2, applying the Scriptures dispensationally to make sound judgments about daily life. This is especially crucial touching major choices such as marriage and parenting.

Emotionalism, regrettably, has led to countless broken families and innumerable damaged lives throughout the 6,000 years of human history. For instance, “I love him/her,” “I can change him/her,” and other such excuses still serve as the foundation for the courtships, engagements, and marriages of many… in spite of domestic violence. The unfortunate children caught in the middle truly suffer the most. Also, there is an extremely high probability they will choose partners who reflect their parents. The cycle tends to repeat with their own kids, meaning multigenerational problems ensue with just a single poor (emotion-driven) selection.

Parents not only need to carefully regulate their emotions in front of their children, they ought to set strict boundaries regarding what their minors are being exposed to. Books and other print material are not where the primary battle is being waged today. It is the internet—and has been for over 20 years. Social-media “influencers” and streaming services have done more to ruin kids emotionally than practically anything else. Presented via video format, celebrities’ worthless opinions have been offered and accepted because of associated glamor, wealth, education, and skillful oration. We cannot even begin to fathom just how emotionally unhealthy the children are who receive “parental counseling” from complete strangers who might not mean well. Kids are teaching kids because parents have failed to protect them all. Like the confused baby Christians in Galatia of today’s Scripture, these impressionable souls are emotionally exploited until their terrible role-models convince them to adopt their twisted ideas.

It is not too late, not yet, to slow down even a scintilla the cultural revolution with which our world is dealing….

NOTE: In order to bring you a special study tomorrow, we will temporarily break away from this devotionals arc….

Zealously Affected #24

Sunday, March 15, 2026

“They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you” (Galatians 4:17,18 KJV).

Let us see if we can identify and comprehend the dangers of relying on emotions….

I speak from personal experience. Attempting to reason with emotional people is, frankly, a total waste of time because emotions have no reasoning behind them anyway. (Remember how emotions respond to simulations rather than reality—sadness results from watching tragic and romantic movies, excitement comes with drama and adventure, anger stems from thrillers, fear results from horror shows, and so on.) It has been suggested that our decisions are made on the basis of 80% emotion and a mere 20% intellect! If true, no wonder our world brims with mistakes, failures, carelessness, and poor choices… especially since those short-lived emotions gave way to others, leading to additional faulty judgments.

For several years now, I have attended the various sporting events of my niece and my nephew. Parents get quite worked up when their child’s team is losing or being treated unfairly. Recently, at one such game, a mother of our group yelled at the referees, then a father of the opposite team screamed at her, and he next shouted at the referees, and she finally roared at him. How truly silly and utterly embarrassing! When emotions run high, ridiculous conduct is instigated; blasphemies and obscenities are uttered. Children notice this immaturity amongst adults, and they copy it when dealing with their peers on the court or field. I have even seen coaches throw tantrums—and, accordingly, their kids were just as asinine. Physical altercations were moments away! (This explains why police officers were stationed there.) Once, I spotted a hilarious sign at an athletic park entrance: “Our coaches are volunteers. No scholarships will be awarded here. What is most important is having fun.” Yea, here is reason. It is far more preferable to lose a game than lose a life!

Parents need to be sure they are ideal role-models for their children concerning the regulation of emotions. They need to be zealously affected in good things, and not zealously affected in evil….

Zealously Affected #23

Saturday, March 14, 2026

“They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you” (Galatians 4:17,18 KJV).

Let us see if we can identify and comprehend the dangers of relying on emotions….

Recall the conundrum of the Galatian Christians. In today’s Scripture, they were “zealously affected, but not well.” To wit, their Law-based false teachers affected them so they became fervently supportive of man’s religious performance (discarding God’s all-sufficient work/Grace). Emotionally manipulated, they were no longer “zealously affected in a good thing;” that is, they had been brainwashed to reject God’s grace which they had originally received from Paul heartily! In short, they were “flip-floppers,” suddenly changing their opinion to match their situation which had also changed. By “warming up” to their false teachers, the Galatians then “cooled down” in their affection for Paul, thereby being excluded from the Lord’s spokesman to them. Once their Apostle wrote to call this to their attention, he foresaw how they would react to him most bitterly, regarding their friend and brother in Christ as their enemy (cf. Galatians 4:16). What an ABSOLUTE mess!

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Worshipping God goes beyond mere experiencing “good feelings” and involves more than simply “getting in touch with the spirit world.” Our praise of Him must align with “truth,” and truth is not found by searching our hearts or admiring ourselves. Truth is pinpointed in the words of God “rightly divided” (2 Timothy 2:15), what the Holy Spirit says to and about us in Paul’s epistles of Romans to Philemon. We study the Bible from cover to cover, as it is all God-breathed or spoken by the Holy Ghost. Still, we make sure we understand that the Pauline Books define what the God of creation is doing at the moment. Regardless of how we “feel” about this or that, no matter what we “feel” about “him” or “her” (fellow people), here is the objective standard by which we (should!) determine the veracity or falsity of our experience.

This is the only way to survive our spiritually “perilous” world….

Zealously Affected #22

Thursday, March 12, 2026

“They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you” (Galatians 4:17,18 KJV).

Let us see if we can identify and comprehend the dangers of relying on emotions….

“No one knows everything, no one is perfect, so I cannot possibly fault my ‘favorite’ Bible teacher for promoting lies.” “Yes, our pastor teaches false doctrine, but we cannot bear to send him away from our assembly.” No matter what we “feel,” the objective Holy Scriptures stand. May we obey them by faith.

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:17,18). “I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat” (1 Corinthians 5:9-11).

“If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself” (1 Timothy 6:3-5). “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

Zeal for the Lord indeed transcends all human relations….

NOTE: In order to bring you a special study tomorrow, we will temporarily break away from this devotionals arc….

Zealously Affected #21

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

“They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you” (Galatians 4:17,18 KJV).

Let us see if we can identify and comprehend the dangers of relying on emotions….

Originating in the emotion-driven Charismatic Movement during the 1960s and 1970s, “contemporary Christian music” has now become a regular feature of “worship” services in nearly all local churches. Upon hearing these sounds, people report having “chills” or goosebumps (the technical term is “frisson”). With adrenaline released, an emotional spark or tingly feeling prompts physical reactions—lifting hands, tapping toes, swaying hips, waving arms, jumping, dancing, running, and uttering ecstatically. Although offered as “evidence of the filling of the Spirit,” we are not convinced… for we observe the same movements at nightclubs, worldly concerts, and sporting events (where patrons are “filled with the spirits”). Furthermore, compared to traditional hymns, the lyrics of contemporary Christian music tend to be shallow, the doctrine foolish and false. That means no Holy Spirit is working and God cannot possibly be glorified. Another spirit is at work, and emotions have tricked individuals yet again (“zealously affected, but not well”).

Christendom’s “scholarly elite” further threatens our spiritual welfare. Members of this party have emotional attachments to “church fathers,” seminary professors, and textual critics. They exalt the opinions of men and change the Bible text to agree with what they “think” God meant. Supposedly, God Himself sent them to recover/reconstruct His Bible that He “lost” over the centuries due to an accumulation of manuscript errors. After all, they heard this skeptic’s viewpoint in their “Christian” university classes for years. Now that they have graduated with their humanistic degrees, they pass on such error to us the naïve Christian community (programmed to worship “scholarship” too!). What unbelief (“zealously affected, but not well”)! “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

These emotional individuals are in leadership positions in our churches and schools, so indeed be on the lookout for them and promptly flee….