2 Corinthians 10:5 English Standard Version (ESV) We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

Are emotions thoughts? We can act out of emotions without giving thought to what we are doing. Rage comes to mind, driven by emotions where we might not have given thought to them.

I seek to be peaceable and find it difficult where I am emotionally disappointed. Certain things just rub me the wrong way and they stem from disappointment in human behavior which are meaningless on the surface.

It began with pronouncing ask like the word ax. Our dictionaries have rendered the pronunciation of ask to include ax, not because it is right but in common use to the point of acceptance.

This is emotionally unacceptable to me to allow use to determine what is acceptable. It has happened in areas of life that have serious consequences. Abortion is only the most heated argument but there are others and can be emotionally charge to the point of not considering a reasonable conversation.

When we stop reasoning with one another we have stopped sharing truth to the lost. God said “Come let us reason together.” Does anyone expect to win that contest? None of us should shy away from reasoning just because we expect to lose the argument. I am not an apologetic and we have lost the best among us in speaking truth in love.

Who among us will take up the shield of defense that was lost when Ravi Zacharias passed last year?

Admire the talent and know a vital tool for truth was lost. Emotionally I desire a replacement for that talent. None of will get to be better at speaking truth in love by avoiding those moments when practicing it is available.

Speaking truth in love needs to be practiced in order to get better at it.

Psalm 18:3 English Standard Version (ESV) I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.

Death is the enemy. It has become even more obvious these past few days of freezing weather and rolling power outages. While some would give praise to the electricians of our power companies, I praise God.

I am not trying to be spiritually high minded about the cycle of heat provided. It isn’t so much about dedicated men and women who have done their best to serve a needy state. It is about the peace found in prayer which prevented me from panicking and doing something dangerous.

Panic will set in when fearing for your life. I hate the cold and one of the reasons I settled here in Texas. This weather is the worst I’ve seen in the 52 years I’ve been here. The added stress of power outages adds to the fear of freezing. The electricians of our power companies deserve recognition for doing their best to bring us power. I acknowledge that.

My God is praise worthy for controlling me at a time it is easy to make the wrong decision. While I am from the north and know how to drive on road conditions we are having, others do not. I deemed the conditions too risky to attempt leaving. I do not have snow tires or chains. No one does from what I have seen. I’ve heard from one who went into town and got a motel room. Then their power went out while we had power here.

Who makes the right decisions is more dependent on who can keep a sound mind in the face of danger.

This is why I praise God.