Harmony

On October 18, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 22: 24


Do not associate with a man given to anger; or go with a hot-tempered man.

Truth be told, it is no fun being around someone who is prone to angry outbursts. Should it be a surprise that God has specifically given us instruction to avoid associating with these people?

Some people walk around full of anger. They do their best to contain it, they wrap iron bars around their hearts in an attempt to control their anger but it always turns out to be in vain. The smallest thing sets them off and their reaction goes far beyond what is merited. The reason they have such uncontrollable and out of scale reactions is because of the hurt which is within them every minute of the day. They have nursed these hurt feelings for years or worse, have stuffed them down into their subconscious. They lie to themselves saying they have it all under control but you only need be around them for a short time to see that they are far from in control. It is easy for these angry people to become further crippled by substance abuse as well. They will look for any remedy for anesthetizing the hurt.

What happens when you associate with these people? You will get hurt and you will be influenced by their anger issues. You may even find yourself responding in anger because of the need to defend your sensitive spirit from harsh and angry language and behaviors. There is a larger concept involved here too. Jesus is the Lord of peace. A brief search of the New Testament on the word peace yields 93 instances where it was used. I like what Jesus said in Mark 9: 50, “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” We are to live in peace. He also said, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace (John 16: 33). We could go on and on because Jesus is the Prince of Peace but let me end with something Paul wrote, “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8: 6). Here we begin to see the crux of the argument revealed. Jesus is peace and the mind, or the person, set on the Spirit of God is peace. Another way of saying this is that peace follows the one whose mind is stayed on Jesus and the Holy Spirit. You cannot intertwine your life with Jesus and be a person of anger, turmoil and chaos. Jesus brings order and peace. So God recognizes that the person who is angry is not surrendered to the Trinity. These people sow friction and discord wherever they go.

This is not the way which the Lord has ordained for us. We are meant to live in peace and harmony. So, don’t go with a man given to anger. You will not be in the presence of the Holy Spirit but rather with a spirit of conflict. It is not good for you; it is not good for your spirit or even your health. Pray for those people but do not associate with them. So says God.

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Compassion

On August 11, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 54: 9 – 10

“For this is like the days of Noah to Me; when I swore that the waters of Noah should not flood the earth again, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, nor will I rebuke you. For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, and My covenant of peace will not be shaken,” says the Lord who has compassion on you.

Jesus was often moved by compassion. Often we think of this as simply and emotion that Jesus experienced but in truth it was so much more. You may hear people talk of the angry God of the Old Testament. Well, here is irrefutable evidence that God is not angry with you. He loves you and is compassionate.  And this is from the Old Testament.

This is the compassion that moved Jesus to heal and bless people. He was moved by the compassion of his father. Through the prophet Isaiah God delivered a promise of compassion and lovingkindness. By the time Jesus graced the earth God’s heart of compassion was well established. God, the Father, gave us a covenant of peace, not of anger. This is why Jesus is the Prince of peace. He is an extension and expression of his father.

God certainly had every reason to be angry with His people. He would be completely justified in being angry with us as well but He chose love, compassion and peace instead. It wasn’t an angry God that sent His only son here to die for us. Love nailed Jesus to that cross.

You are encapsulated in a covenant of peace with the creator. Let this be your revelation. Peace surrounds you and even if the mountains shake still God’s lovingkindness will remain with you. His love will never forsake you.

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Are You Kidding Me God?

On October 29, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Peter 3: 8-9

To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.

We really need to get this message and by “we” I mean “me”. Time and time again Jesus taught us to give a blessing when others curse and persecute us. There really isn’t much that is harder than to bless some that is a thorn in your flesh, the bane of your existence. It seems like God is being unfair with us and that he is asking the impossible of us. Well, two things about that. First, he is asking the impossible. You probably cannot do this in your own strength. I know I cannot. But “Let the weak say, ‘I am strong’” (Joel 3: 10). When it is impossible to you, then you have to allow His power to work through you. Secondly, God is not trying to get something from you. He is trying to get something to you. Look at the last sentence. God often requires things from us. We need to get it in our heads that he does so in order that we may receive a blessing. He needs us to cooperate with Him so that he can get the blessing into our lives. When will we just learn to trust him? When will we believe that he is a good God and that he wants to bestow good on us? You were called for that very purpose, that God may show you the exceeding goodness of himself in Christ Jesus. So forgive others. Do not get into strife no matter how much the other person tempts you. Meet annoyance and persecution with blessing. Be humble and harmonious no matter how difficult. Through this God’s purpose in the world comes.

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Grieve Not

On October 14, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Ephesians 4: 30 – 31

30  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31  Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

One thing I would never want to do is to grieve the Holy Spirit of God. That drums up a truly horrid image. Fortunately for me and everyone else, Paul proceeds to tell us how we can avoid doing so. We are to make bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and malice completely foreign to our way of living. That means that we are to have no ill will (malice) toward anyone, nor speak of others in a way that will damage their reputation in the eyes of others (slander). We are to put anger away from us. That is no surprise but sometimes we allow ourselves the luxury of anger. If you do not want to grieve the Holy Spirit of God, then you should quickly put the anger away from you and move into forgiveness. Bitterness is defined as: sharp and disagreeable; harsh; severe; piercing. 2) Characterized by strong feelings of hatred, resentment, cynicism. You have known people who are sharp with others. That is not the attitude God wants us to show to others nor are we to be cynical. Taking verses 29 through 32 together, there is a picture revealed to us of the Christian walk.  If it were to be summarized we might say guard our mouths only letting those words come out that are edifying and uplifting and be kind to everyone in word and deed. In this way we will be pleasing to the Lord God and not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.

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