The Inner Room- Emotions in the Bible

Jesus journeys with men and women in Galilee. What joy must have this been? 1 COR 15:12-20 Brothers and sisters: If Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. Then...

The story of the alabaster jar broken at Jesus’s feet by a weeping woman is one of the most beautiful in the Bible. Paul and Mary stand at Jesus feet in humility -let us learn from them 1 COR 15:1-11 I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the Gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I pr...

Paul gives us a treatise on the meaning of love 1 COR 12:31-13:13 Brothers and sisters: Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. But I shall show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so a...

Teach us reverence Lord in our prayer. 1 COR 12:12-14, 27-31A Brothers and sisters: As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. Now the body is not a single part, but many. Now yo...

In the desert Moses raises the bronze serpent to lift the eyes of people who are dying. Jesus on the cross becomes the eternal horizon to which we lift our eyes NM 21:4B-9 With their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!”...

Jesus raises the bar for us to forgive as He does, 70 times 7. SIR 27:30—28:7 Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight. The vengeful will suffer the LORD’s vengeance, for he remembers their sins in detail. Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven. Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the LORD? Coul...

Jesus remains with us. How do you know how strong a foundation you are building for your life? 1 Cor 10:14-22 My beloved ones, avoid idolatry. I am speaking as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I am saying. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the Body of Christ? Because the loaf of br...

Remove the splinter from your eye is a way of saying see yourself foe who you truly are, see yourself and your companion as God sees you 1 COR 9:16-19, 22B-27 Brothers and sisters: If I preach the Gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it! If I do so willingly, I have a recompense, but if unwillingly, then I have been e...

There are many ways of knowing: the most remarkable is in the invitation of knowing God which in return allows us to know ourselves completely in a new identity that is based on how God loves us, not on anything we know, accomplish or are. We belong to a royal Kingdom in Him. 1 COR 8:1B-7, 11-13 Brothers and sisters: Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up. If anyone supposes he knows so...

Be ready for we do not know the time we will be called to God. 1 COR 7:25-31 Brothers and sisters: In regard to virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. So this is what I think best because of the present distress: that it is a good thing for a person to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek a separation. Are...

Foretold from Genesis. Mary is the fulcrum of salvation. Her “yes” allowed Jesus to dwell among us. MI 5:1-4A The LORD says: You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; Whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. (Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has bor...

Is it possible to return to innocence? Jesus cures a man and wants to cure us. 1 COR 5:1-8 Brothers and sisters: It is widely reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of a kind not found even among pagans– a man living with his father’s wife. And you are inflated with pride. Should you not rather have been sorrowful? The one who did this deed should be expelled from your midst....

When someone hurts, offends or harms us, it is best to seek reconciliation and provide correction, to establish a boundary and bring recompense when peace has been taken away by thoughtless action. EZ 33:7-9 Thus says the LORD: You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me. If I tell the wicked, “O wicked one, you shal...

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him 1 COR 4:6b-15 Brothers and sisters: Learn from myself and Apollos not to go beyond what is written, so that none of you will be inflated with pride in favor of one person over against another. Who confers distinction upon you? What do you possess that you have not received? But if you have received it, why are you boasting as if you did not receive it? You...

Paul tells us Jesus will bring to light what is hidden in darkness 1 COR 4:1-5 Brothers and sisters: Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now it is of course required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. It does not concern me in the least that I be judged by you or any human tribunal; I do not even pass judgment on myself; I am not consciou...

The pandemic is simplifying some things for us. We have stopped many things. Did the fast speed of the world afford you excuses to not be on mission, to be busy which is not the same as on mission? 1 COR 3:18-23 Brothers and sisters: Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool, so as to become wise. For the wisdom of this world is fooli...

What is the most important question of your life? 1 COR 3:1-9 Brothers and sisters, I could not talk to you as spiritual people, but as fleshly people, as infants in Christ. I fed you milk, not solid food, because you were unable to take it. Indeed, you are still not able, even now, for you are still of the flesh. While there is jealousy and rivalry among you, are you not of the flesh, and walking...

Jesus speaks with authority and power and commands the unclean spirits in us to come out. 1 COR 2:10B-16 Brothers and sisters: The Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God. Among men, who knows what pertains to the man except his spirit that is within? Similarly, no one knows what pertains to God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who...

People in the town where Jesus was born wanted to hurl him from a cliff. They saw him grow up and yet could not SEE Him. 1 COR 2:1-5 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear and much trem...

Our souls thirst for God JER 20:7-9 You duped me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped; you were too strong for me, and you triumphed. All the day I am an object of laughter; everyone mocks me. Whenever I speak, I must cry out, violence and outrage is my message; the word of the LORD has brought me derision and reproach all the day. I say to myself, I will not mention him, I will speak in his name no...

Have you been called? Being called means being invited. Being chosen means we have responded to the call and are now being held to a higher standard. 1 COR 1:17-25 Brothers and sisters: Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the Gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning. The message of the cross is foolishness to th...

All we can do or say of our own is foolishness unless it is pointing to and rooted in the Cross of Christ. 1 COR 1:17-25 Brothers and sisters: Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the Gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are be...

Lets’s stay awake. We are called into a mission field. 1 COR 1:1-9 Paul, called to be an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the Church of God that is in Corinth, to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. Grace to you and peace from God our...

The Lord instructs us in the inner room of our hearts if we dare to listen 2 THES 3:6-10, 16-18 We instruct you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to shun any brother who walks in a disorderly way and not according to the tradition they received from us. For you know how one must imitate us. For we did not act in a disorderly way among you, nor did we eat food received fr...

This is a time to encourage one another 2 THES 2:1-3A, 14-17 We ask you, brothers and sisters, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling with him, not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed either by a “spirit,” or by an oral statement, or by a letter allegedly from us to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand. Let no one deceive you in any wa...