Anger Danger

Have you ever been so angry with someone that it caused you to sin against them? Maybe a bout of road rage caused you to say or do something you wouldn't otherwise do. Or maybe someone flirted with your significant other, so you uploaded nasty posts about them on Facebook. Or maybe someone said something to provoke you and you got in a fist fight. Although anger itself is not a sin, God knows that anger can lead us to sin. That is one reason why Paul warns us in Ephesians 4 verses 26 and 27 which says:

“'In your anger do not sin'; Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold."

Satan is always at work, whether we choose to acknowledge his handy work or not. He is always looking for a foothold to cause us to sin. And anger can open the door to a foothold, just like lust, greed, or jealousy. Paul warns that in our anger, do not sin. One way to protect yourself from this is to be prepared. Pray that famous prayer - that God lead you not into temptation but deliver you from the evil one. Asking the Holy Spirit to raise red flags when we put ourselves in harm’s way can help us think before we act. And to immediately work things out with someone who has made us angry can help to quell things before they get out of hand. That is why Paul tells us not to let the sun go down while we are still angry. Because if we do, it might fester stirring up our anger to the point of causing us to sin.

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“In your anger do not sin; Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” Anger can lead to many unholy acts. It can even cause one to kill another, just look at Cain and Abel. I encourage you to heed this warning from Paul. If someone has made you angry, I challenge you to be the bigger person and smooth things over as soon as possible. Anger can drive a deep wedge between people. And something very simple can lead people to do very nasty things. Believers shouldn’t be that way. “In your anger do not sin; Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”

Full of Light

I believe that it matters what we choose to watch, read, listen to and do because all of these things make their way into our heart and whether we know it or not, it helps to form who we are. That is why the bible encourages us to think on heavenly things. If we fill our minds with sinful things, slowly our brains get washed into believing that these sinful things “aren’t that bad”. We get desensitized to the truth that sin is sin, and that all sin separates us from God. But if we concentrate on heavenly things positive washing can occur. Our brains and hearts can be washed with the things of God making us more and more into his likeness and stirring our faith and love towards him. The bible teaches us that we gain faith by reading God’s word. The more we are connected with the things of God, the more our hearts and minds begin to conform to him. That is why it says in Luke chapter 11, verses 34 through 36:

"Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you."

Every believer would agree that they would like their body to be full of light. To do that, we need to be mindful of what we allow into our hearts by way of what we see, hear and do.

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I encourage you to make every effort to ensure that your body is full of light. Read the bible, pray to God, spend time with other believers, listen to Christian music and podcasts, figure out ways to think on heavenly things and put Godly thoughts into your heart and mind. That really is the only way that we can make sure that the light within us is not darkness - as Jesus says.

Taken

How much thought do you give to the “rapture”? You know, when God will miraculously take believers out of the world without warning, leaving those who still have not chosen Jesus on this earth to suffer? I think about it a lot. There have been times when all of the sudden I can’t find my wife around the house and for a brief moment I think, “Did she get raptured? Did I miss it?” But inevitably I realize that it hasn’t happened, that God is still giving sinners a chance to come to him. But when it does happen we will all know it, and those left behind will hopefully realize the error of their ways, repent and turn to him. In Luke chapter 17, verses 34 and 35, Jesus says: 

"I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be take and the other left."

This is a warning that Jesus gives us well before the appointed time. Generations have lived and died, never to see this day. But it will come, and it will come without warning. Some will be taken and some will be left behind. And the only difference between the two will be whether we’ve given our life to Jesus or not. The verse preceding this one says: “Whoever tries to keep his own life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”. I encourage you to not try and hold on to this present life, but to lose it for the promise of eternal life.

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There will come a day when without warning, followers of Jesus will be raptured or taken. They will disappear without a trace, taken up into heaven to dwell with the Father for all eternity. If we are truthful with ourselves, all of us want to be in the group that is taken. And to do that, Jesus tells us that we will have to lose our life - to no longer live for ourselves, but to live for him. Even if we don’t live long enough to see the rapture, we need to heed this warning, because we also don’t know when we will die. It could happen in an instant, it could happen without warning. And just like the rapture if you haven’t made a decision for Christ, you will have missed your window. So please, if you haven’t given your life for Christ, if you haven’t acknowledged him as Lord, repented of your sins, and have given up your life so that it will be preserved with him, I encourage you to do it today.

Can't Stop God

Have you ever tried to do something for God in your own strength? If you have, I’m sure you’ve noticed that there is an incredible difference between working in your own “flesh” and working in step with the Spirit. When working in step with the Spirit should come the faith and knowledge of knowing that when you are in line with what God is doing, nothing on earth can stop it. In Acts when Peter and the apostles were doing the work of the Lord, they were brought before the Sanhedrin and told to stop. When they refused, the teachers of the law began discussing what they would do with them. Then in chapter 5 verses 38 and 39 a Pharisee named Gamaliel, said in part:

"Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origins, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."

You see, when God has a plan, no one can stop it. Even this Pharisee recognized that. I believe that God can bless anything that is done in his name - even things that we do in our own flesh. But when we are working in step with the Spirit, when we follow his lead and our hearts are in tuned with his as it was with the apostles, then the work can’t be stopped. So I encourage you, if you are doing work for the Lord, try to remain in step with him. If you do, nothing can stop his plan. If we work in our own flesh, we are striving without the power of the Holy Spirit. And if we work this way, our weak efforts will lack the anointing of God and can end in defeat.

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I challenge you to consider if your efforts for God are of human effort or if they are of the Spirit. Even the Pharisee realized that if it is of the Spirit, if it is from God, nothing can stop it. Why would we want to do anything without the aid of the Spirit anyway? When we do, it always lacks the power and anointing that it could have if we were in step with the Spirit. But when we are in step, no one and nothing can stop it because if anyone tries, they will only end up fighting against God.

Seek and Save

If you are a believer, you’ve probably pondered the amazing truth of how Jesus saved you by sacrificing himself. It is an incredibly humbling truth, especially when we think about how undeserving we are to have the perfect, faultless son of the almighty God take on our sin and punishment so that we may have eternal life in heaven. It boggles the mind, but that is just what he did. But before he could save you he first had to find you. Luke chapter 19 verse 10 says:

"For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost."

Every human being is born lost in their sin. It isn’t something we necessarily chose, it is in our nature - a nature that had been altered and redefined when Adam and Eve sinned in the beginning. No need to lament about it, it’s just the way it is. But God sent his son. And in Luke we’re told that he came to seek and save what was lost. I encourage you to give that verse your full attention. Jesus came to seek you out. He knew you were lost in your sin and that the only way out was for him to save you. That was his mission. You, me and everyone who has ever lived and will ever live was his mission. I hope that makes you feel a bit more loved and a bit more important today.

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“For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost.” You as well as everyone else from the beginning of time to the end of time was Jesus’ mission. But God also chose to give us free will. You have the freedom to choose Jesus and accept his sacrifice for you which would give you the privilege to live in Heaven for all eternity, or you have the freedom to reject him - to allow the penalty of sin to remain on you for all eternity. And the penalty of sin is death - eternal death in hell. I encourage you, if you haven’t already, to accept what Jesus did for us. It was his mission to seek and save what was lost. Are you lost? Jesus wants to find you today, to save you, and to write your name in the book of life.