12
Mar '19
I’m Just Ticked! Part 2
12
Mar '19
Many times, Christians think of anger as a selfish, destructive emotion that is from the heart of the devil and should never be seen displayed in the lives of loving believers. There are times when it is ok to be ticked off about certain situations and circumstances, and to display our anger in a righteous, holy manner. Jesus becomes our example in this matter. When Jesus overthrew the money changers in the temple, the Lord’s anger was on full throttle as He ran out those desecrating His Father’s house of prayer for dishonest gain. Ephesians 4:26 tells us to be anger and do not sin nor allow said anger to linger past the end of the day. We are not instructed to have no angry or eliminate the feelings of anger, but to deal with the emotion in a measured and controlled fashion. Here is how Jesus dealt with anger: 1) The Lord’s anger was not selfish. He was never angry for Himself, but for others, whether for the unrighteous attitudes toward His father or because of the damage sin brought on the sinner and those affected by it. 2) His anger was always directed at the right target. Ephesians 6:12 tells us that we are not wrestling against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this age. When Jesus told Peter to get behind Him for his words of opposition to God’s plan, it was Satan that He directed the rebuke at. Jesus’ anger always stemmed from His love and concern for the spiritual condition of others. 3) Jesus was never out of control, even in His wrath. Even in Jesus’ demonstrative actions driving out the moneychangers from the temple He was always in complete control. What He did, was just and measured for the benefit of those who saw (Luke 19:47). 4) Jesus did not allow His anger to fester and continue to make Him bitter. He did not allow the sun to go down upon His wrath (Ephesians 4:26) and was always ready to forgive those of humble heart. 5) Our Savior’s anger was never an act of revenge, but always intended to bring the sinner back to Himself. Our angry, should always have the intention to respond to injustice and bring the lost back to the loving and just Captain of our souls. With these things in mind, when anger rises, be slow to respond to it, remember who the real enemy is (the devil), do not let it linger or make you bitter, be measured in your response so as to keep the door of forgiveness always open, and keep God’s Word at the center of all things. May God bless you even more!!
Pastor Chris
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27
Feb '19
I’m Just Ticked!
27
Feb '19
When I see hurting people, it makes me angry. When I see good people suffer, it makes me angry. When I see injustice perpetrated on the weak and infirm, lies passed off as truth, and evil appear to prosper, it really just ticks me off. Yes, even good Christian people can get irate about situations and circumstances that confront all us. The Bible does not say, never get angry for it is a sin. What we are told is to be slow to anger and quick to listen (James 1:19). Being quick-tempered is where anger can turn to injustice. There are a few instances where we can attribute anger feelings to our Lord. When Jesus cleared the temple of those using it as a means of personal financial gain, He showed great anger. In Matthew 21:12-13 we read, “And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” In another instance, in the synagogue at Capernaum, Jesus became angry with the Pharisees because of their hard heart toward the miracles they were seeing. “And he [Jesus] said to them, ‘Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?’ But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored” (Mark 3:4-5). In both cases, the Lord’s anger was based on a holy love for His Father’s house and the Pharisees lack of love for the infirm and hurting people they were supposed to be ministering to. Anger, in and of itself, is neither moral nor immoral. Anger is an emotion. It becomes sin when displays of anger are selfish, destructive, unmeasured, uncontrolled, and improperly placed. What the Bible says concerning anger is this, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your wrath” (Ephesians 4:26). Next blog, we will look at the qualities of anger that is just and pure before God. May God bless you even more!
Pastor Chris
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15
Jan '19
Good Riddance
15
Jan '19
December 28th of last year, New York City held an annual event known as “Good Riddance Day.” It is the day in which all those desiring to attend from around the world take a preprinted form and write down all their mistakes, failures, depressive thoughts, negative memories, and anything else that has been holding them down and separating them from being victorious and carrying a positive attitude into the upcoming new year. They take that list and place it into a giant industrial shredding machine, never to be remembered anymore. From one year to the next we often carry old negative baggage that hinders people from experiencing the blessings inherent in our relationship with and service for Christ.
In regards to our past failures and sins, our Father God tells us that when we bring those things to Him, He removes them from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). God takes those negative and destructive events of our past and places them into His heavenly shredder never to be remembered again. God shreds sins we commit and the evils we experience, but unfortunately, we often keep bringing them up. We need a “Good Riddance Day” in which we forgive ourselves and others for the mistakes and mishaps of the past and begin looking to the good things God has for us in the future.
In Philippians 3:13-14, the Apostle Paul writes this to the believers at Philippi, “13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Two Sundays ago the Church brought their Good Riddance slips to the front of the Sanctuary. The next day, each slip was pulverized in the office shredder where they belonged. Let’s leave them shredded and begin 2019 with a new clean slate. Our God is a forgiving God. He puts our past in the past, as far as the east is from the west, never to be remembered again!
Be blessed even more, have a wonderful New Year and thank you for all you do for God’s Kingdom!!
In regards to our past failures and sins, our Father God tells us that when we bring those things to Him, He removes them from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). God takes those negative and destructive events of our past and places them into His heavenly shredder never to be remembered again. God shreds sins we commit and the evils we experience, but unfortunately, we often keep bringing them up. We need a “Good Riddance Day” in which we forgive ourselves and others for the mistakes and mishaps of the past and begin looking to the good things God has for us in the future.
In Philippians 3:13-14, the Apostle Paul writes this to the believers at Philippi, “13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Two Sundays ago the Church brought their Good Riddance slips to the front of the Sanctuary. The next day, each slip was pulverized in the office shredder where they belonged. Let’s leave them shredded and begin 2019 with a new clean slate. Our God is a forgiving God. He puts our past in the past, as far as the east is from the west, never to be remembered again!
Be blessed even more, have a wonderful New Year and thank you for all you do for God’s Kingdom!!
Pastor Chris
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