EMOTION VS DECISION

Why is it that sometimes Christians go to a camp or an event and come back so on fire for God, but over time, the flame starts to fizzle away? I have wondered this very thing ever since I started getting involved in christian events and camps, and I never could figure it out until now. Emotion. Emotion often comes and takes control of our brain, not allowing us to "count the cost" as Jesus says in Luke 14. Jesus says that unless we take up our cross EVERY DAY, then we may not be a disciple. Jesus goes on to talk about building a tower, but not estimating the cost before you start building to see if you have enough money. This is how we look when we get on "spiritual highs" and fizzle out quickly. We start a tower that is never finished because we failed to count the cost, and once "real life" sinks in, we lose our fire. We must come up with practical steps every day to avoid this lukewarm christianity that is all based on emotion. Emotion can be a very powerful thing, just as it is when a marriage happens. Of course a woman will be head over heels in love the night of the wedding, butterflies will fill her stomach and her groom seems to have no flaws at all, but if she thinks that mere feeling will carry her through the hardships of marriage she is fooling herself. Instead the bride must make the decision every day to love her husband no matter what happens. Just like this we must wake up every day and decide to devote our day to God and submit everything according to His will. Emotion can only take you so far, because life gets hard and emotions come and go. Galatians 5:7-8 says, "You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth (8) That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you." This verse is a perfect picture of what sometimes happens to Christians, but it is our job to ask for strength to withstand the temptation to not finish the race when things get tough. No one is powerful enough to force us, against our will, to disobey, or disconnect us from God. We can all have the strength to live how God tell us we ought to, if we just ask Him to help us. Out thoughts are a major factor in following Christ, our mindset controls our life, whether we realize it or not. Being aware of Gods presence alone can change our whole lives, it will make us be more aware of the things we allow ourselves to dwell on and the thoughts that we entertain throughout the day. Thoughts produce desires, and desires produce action. If our thoughts are evil, or even just distracted, our actions will follow in the same pattern. This is where the fizzling out that I mentioned seems to happen. 2 practical steps that can be made are: Every single day, before your feet hit the ground in the morning, pray and thank God for waking you up, and ask that He will give you the strength to make it through the day. (John 14:13) and step number 2 is to keep a verse in your mind all throughout the day, this step will do a lot more than you would expect, it allows you to realize that the words that run through your brain when you think of that verse, are from the very lips of God and they are the truest words we will ever know. Opening your Bible every single day, periodically throughout the day will change your WORLD, and will bring you peace of mind, something that the world could never offer.