As we begin the Holiday season… merchants have already started to advertise goods. It looks like every year the decorations for Christmas seem to go up in October right with the Halloween decorations. The stores start adjusting the aisles and shelves to accommodate the new décor of the Holiday season. Merchants showcase things that we are told that we must have…you know the status symbols, the new phone, the new Ugg boots, the new this, the new that …that must have thing!
As I was reading John 2: 13-17, some time ago…this has been on my heart before the recent election. Once the election happened, I began to take a deeper look at why Jesus overturned the tables in the temple... What was going on in the souls of those men…I believe in life that everything is connected. God is always speaking to us in different ways and through different people. So the “Merchandise of Souls” began to settle in my mind…
(I am not an expert nor do I pretend to be one…these are just my thoughts on the matter)
What is a soul? The Soul is the seat of your thoughts, your emotions/desires. It is how you connect to the world around you. We experience the PEACE of God when our MINDS, SOULS and SPIRITS are on one accord in Him.
Think of a car and its driver. Your life is the car on the highway of purpose. The Driver is your MIND. It is observing, gathering data and processing information. Your thoughts are being formed. You are thinking about the world around you. So as a man’s thinketh, so is he (Proverbs 23:7).
The Driver’s actions is your SOUL. It moves according to the directives of your thoughts. You make your decisions based on the information you have processed in your mind and now you are acting them out. These actions affect everything you do. Its your control center. It has to be discipled by the Word of God daily. Your defense mechanisms are pulled out from this place as well. It’s the reason, we understand how people are walking around with soul fractures. They are hurt in a deep place-no self-worth, low esteem, and depression to name a few. This is why prescriptive/recreational drugs, sex or alcohol can not heal a person, it can only medicate this…its deep and in the realm of the soul…only God can heal it.
Now, lets talk about the gas that runs the car. The gas is the SPIRIT of a person. It needs to be refreshed and replenished daily. Doing good things for another person, makes us feel good. It replenishes our spirit. We feel light and joyful. However, when we are fatigued from daily contact with toxic people, even people who mean well but their words are so critical that there is no life in it. They are draining to us. But think about that person who is always building you up, always affirming you and can share a different opinion but never disrespects you. Every time you are in their presence, there is life. They are a wellspring of joy and peace. They are filling your gas tank. Our God is like that person, I just mentioned. He never disrespects a person. Its not in His Character. He is the Wellspring of Life. All life comes from Him. He is the Living Water that refreshes a dry and thirsty soul.
As we wrap this up, our minds takes information in, and processes it. Our souls acts out the information and our spirits receives either gives a deposit or a withdrawal from our gas tank.
Crowning Thoughts: Lets make it a daily habit to take care of our souls. We will examine how we responded to something that irritates us…Examine what is causing the irritation? How can we respond better the next time?
Next week, we will look at how Jesus’ irritation led to reform in the Temple’s worship in Part 2!
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