Unholy Emotions: How Captured Thoughts Rewire the Heart, the Mind, and the Life
Season 1
by Kevin Ortiz
Anger itself is not the problem. Ephesians 4 says, “Be angry, and don’t sin,” but warns us not to let anger remain long enough to become a foothold. Anger is an immediate response to something wrong, while bitterness is what happens when that anger is stored, rehearsed, and repeatedly revisited. Over time, the original offense may stay the same, but the story we tell about it can grow, assigning motives and details that were never there. Bitterness can feel like justice, but the debt we keep collecting is paid by us, not by the person who hurt us. To read Unholy Emotions, go to Unholy Emotions: How Captured Thoughts Rewire the Heart, the Mind, and the Life on JesusPOD: https://jesuspod.com/api/share?type=podcast&id=Xii9RpNkhFiYWqsVNksY
David and Joseph show two very different responses to temptation. David saw, stayed, and inquired, and that private decision eventually led to devastating consequences. Joseph refused to remain near the temptation and eventually ran, even though doing so cost him his freedom. The practical invitation is to change the conditions that feed temptation before the moment arrives, establish boundaries in advance, bring appropriate accountability into the struggle, and refuse to let shame become part of the cycle. The battle is often won or lost long before the moment of temptation, in what we consume, where we go, and what we have already decided. To read Unholy Emotions, go to Unholy Emotions: How Captured Thoughts Rewire the Heart, the Mind, and the Life on JesusPOD: https://jesuspod.com/api/share?type=podcast&id=Xii9RpNkhFiYWqsVNksY
Envy begins when someone else receives what we have been praying for, and instead of simply grieving our own lack, we start keeping a scorecard. We compare their life with ours, measure their advantages, and eventually question whether God has been fair to us. Psalm 73 gives us Asaph’s honest struggle: he became envious of the prosperity of others and nearly lost his footing. But when he entered God’s presence and considered the bigger picture, his perspective changed. The problem was not simply what others had; it was the scoreboard he had been using to measure his own life. Saul shows what happens when comparison is allowed to take over. One song celebrating David’s success became a scoreboard that Saul carried for the rest of his life. Asaph chose another path: he brought his envy to God, refused to spread it, changed his perspective, and discovered that God Himself was his portion. Your life is not measured by what someone else has received. Their portion is theirs, yours is yours, and God remains faithful to both. To read Unholy Emotions, go to Unholy Emotions: How Captured Thoughts Rewire the Heart, the Mind, and the Life on JesusPOD: https://jesuspod.com/api/share?type=podcast&id=Xii9RpNkhFiYWqsVNksY
Shame can keep replaying an old failure until it feels like a permanent verdict: What I did is what I am. But Romans 8:33–34 points to a different courtroom. God is the One who justifies, Christ died and rose again, and He is interceding for us. Forgiveness rests on God’s faithfulness and Christ’s finished work, not on how guilty or forgiven we happen to feel. Guilt says, “I did something bad,” while shame says, “I am something bad.” Conviction points to a specific action and opens a door toward repentance; condemnation simply circles around our identity with no way forward. To read Unholy Emotions, go to Unholy Emotions: How Captured Thoughts Rewire the Heart, the Mind, and the Life on JesusPOD: https://jesuspod.com/api/share?type=podcast&id=Xii9RpNkhFiYWqsVNksY
Jeremiah shows that faith does not require hiding despair. He experienced loss, rejection, and devastation, yet in the middle of the ashes he turned toward God and declared that His mercies are new every morning. Jesus Himself entered deep sorrow in the garden before the cross, showing that heaviness is not automatically a sign of weak faith. When despair comes, question the verdict, focus on the next small step, turn toward God, and refuse to carry tomorrow before it arrives. And when heaviness has a physical or emotional cause, seeking medical or professional help is not spiritual failure. To read Unholy Emotions, go to Unholy Emotions: How Captured Thoughts Rewire the Heart, the Mind, and the Life on JesusPOD: https://jesuspod.com/api/share?type=podcast&id=Xii9RpNkhFiYWqsVNksY
You cannot simply command your mind to stop thinking about something. The harder you try not to think about it, the more attention it can receive. Philippians 4 gives a better approach: instead of only removing unhealthy thoughts, intentionally fill the mind with what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and worthy of praise. Paul wrote these words to a church dealing with real conflict and anxiety, showing that renewing our thoughts is not about escaping problems but learning what to focus on in the middle of them. To read Unholy Emotions, go to Unholy Emotions: How Captured Thoughts Rewire the Heart, the Mind, and the Life on JesusPOD: https://jesuspod.com/api/share?type=podcast&id=Xii9RpNkhFiYWqsVNksY
Knowing Scripture is different from being able to retrieve it under pressure. Joshua 1:8 describes biblical meditation as repeatedly speaking God’s Word to yourself until it becomes part of how you think and act. Psalm 1 compares this to a tree planted by streams of water, while Psalm 119:11 describes God’s Word being hidden in the heart so it is available when temptation and difficulty come. The goal is not simply to read more, but to store specific truths deeply enough that they become accessible when you need them most. To read Unholy Emotions, go to Unholy Emotions: How Captured Thoughts Rewire the Heart, the Mind, and the Life on JesusPOD: https://jesuspod.com/api/share?type=podcast&id=Xii9RpNkhFiYWqsVNksY
Gratitude is not about forcing yourself to feel thankful. It is a practice that retrains what your mind reaches for when pressure comes. Scripture commands us to give thanks in everything, not for everything, allowing us to acknowledge hardship honestly while still remembering what is true about God. Through David, Jehoshaphat, Paul, and Silas, we see worship happening before the outcome changes. Praise becomes evidence for the mind to remember, strengthening faith when circumstances are difficult. Speaking specific, past-tense testimonies aloud makes gratitude concrete and helps build the reflex of turning toward God before fear takes over. To read Unholy Emotions, go to Unholy Emotions: How Captured Thoughts Rewire the Heart, the Mind, and the Life on JesusPOD: https://jesuspod.com/api/share?type=podcast&id=Xii9RpNkhFiYWqsVNksY
This episode brings the podcast to its conclusion by showing what happens when a mind has been continually guarded and renewed by God’s Word. The goal is not to stop feeling emotions, but to develop a new default where love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, and self-control become the fruit of a transformed inner life. Using Galatians 5 and Colossians 3, the episode explains that these qualities are not manufactured by force. They are fruit that grows through ongoing cultivation. As thoughts become aligned with truth, emotions gradually begin to follow. Stephen’s final moments provide the clearest picture of this transformation. Even while being stoned, he responds with faith, mercy, and forgiveness, revealing that what comes out under pressure is often what has already been cultivated within. His example reminds us that the fruit of a renewed mind can influence people and lives we may never know about. The episode closes with the central message of the entire podcast: guard your thoughts, judge them by God’s Word, set your mind on what is true, and let your emotions follow. A guarded mind is not the destination; it is the place from which you can finally live.