Not the Ten Commandments..... Harder to keep!

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”     Ephesians 4:31-32 NLT

I don't hang out with people that kill others. I don't know thieves. Personally, I don't struggle with the Ten Commandments. But, this list in Ephesians is completely different. I am watching the news and seeing quite the battle to be our next president. The American public is fed up with politicians and rightly so. We are fully supporting candidates that show anger, bitterness, hate, and uses harsh words. Why can't we support and seek out candidates that are kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving. 

I also have difficulty with bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words and struggle being tenderhearted, forgiving, and kind to those not like me. Our society views these three positive traits as weakness and "whimpy". My savior is the epitome of strength, power, forgiveness, kindness, and tenderness. He shows us it is possible and should be our goal in life.

Dear Lord, I praise you for being the example of all that we need to be. When you came down to live with us you were kind, loving, and forgiving, while still being a strong and powerful leader. Help me to do the same as I continue in life with you. Defeat the anger and rage I feel toward my enemy and those who challenge me. Help me to share your compassion and love with all that cross my path. I love you Lord. I beg your forgiveness when I fall short. You are truly amazing and I worship you with all my heart. Amen!

Do you blame him?

In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord your Redeemer. (Isaiah 54:8 NIV)

God gets mad at us. Do you blame him? I look at the world today and realize my loving God has every right to be angry, to hide his face from us. The AMAZING part of grace is he doesn't stay angry long. He has such great love for us that he never gives up on us, even when we deserve his eternal anger. God is no like us, he doesn't hold a grudge. His kindness is eternal, not his anger. His anger quickly turns to compassion. Compassion is 

"a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering."

It's safe to say his anger turns to a broken heart and deep sorrow. He looks down on us, holds his head in his hands and weeps. The image of the creator of the universe crying for me is a powerful picture. I need to do all I can to change that sorrow. Sure, I am fighting an up hill battle, but I will not let my own actions feed into that sorrow. If we all worried about making our own little world a more godly place, God's tears would turn to joy. God has given us freedom to control our own lives. When we do that we usually make a mess of things. Asking God to intervene is the only way to really correct the ills of this world. So our goal, the way to change his sadness to sorrow is through spreading his gospel. If we can see more and more lives turned to Christ, the world will be a better place.

What csn you do to stop the pain of our wonderful caring God?

Anger Management

But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” (Jonah 4:4 NIV)

Is it ok to get angry?

Yes, to a point. I think I've mentioned before the temper of my youth. It still rears it's ugly head once in a while. For the most part, it lies dormant. Is it ok for my anger to rise to the top of Mount Vesuvius?

The first question-- what am I mad about? Am I mad because I didn't get my way? Am I mad because some one has treated me unfairly? Is my anger selfish or selfless? My anger should be directed at the injustices of this world. My anger should be in my inability to save the lost. My anger should boil when we fail to serve instead of being served. God certainly loves a giving heart and is indignant when sin and selfishness appear. To blow up for selfish reasons is NOT acceptable. Unfortunately, my anger is a lot like Jonah's. It does not always have pure motives.

Filter your anger through the power of Jesus Christ. If Christ would be angry, follow him. If not let it go. Let Jesus Christ manage your anger.