Controlling anger (3)

"Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord." v24-25                          Romans 7:14-25   NLT 

Our anger can bring us to the depth of total guilt and shame and we can have a temptation to give up - 'What's the point, I've blown it now?' It is an overbearing feeling and one, in which the Apostle Paul knew all about. Ask yourself one question, 'Did I think I would be excempt a spiritual attack?’ Because this is what it is. People may think bad of you, but what does God think? What do you think? 

Paul had this struggle too and questioned himself throughly about his sin. He came to the conclusion that the trouble was with him (v14-15) - 'for I am all too human - a slave to sin.' I want to do what is right but I don't do it. Instead I do what I hate'. (v18-19) 'I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong but, I do it anyway.' v24-25 'Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 'Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.'

Does this sound familiar to you? Of course it does, we all do this and it is encouraging to realise that, a man as bold and fearless as Paul could have these feeling as well. It's good to know this and shows that we are normal.

Tony Evans comments:

'Paul had the same struggles we do. We've all said, "I don't understand what I am doing. What is wrong with me?" We agree we do what is wrong, we just can't break free from it. The more closer you are to God, the more you are aware of it. The problem is, our old self was crucified with Christ, the flesh wasn't. Our sinful nature was put to death but our flesh remains active. You are totally sanctified in Christ - redeemed, totally brand new but, you live in a body contaminated by flesh. Therefore, when we sin, we are no longer the one's doing it, it is the sin that lives in us (7:20). Paul is not excusing our sin, he is reminding us that our true identity is no longer found in our actions, even if we keep sinning.'

                                                               Tony Evans Bible Commentary

So there we have it. You are normal, you will be exposed and fall to sin because your flesh is not free like your spirit is. But this doesn't mean we just get on with it and and just accept this. No, we need to do all we can to attempt, as much as we can, to live sin free lives. It can be accomplished if we stay close to Jesus.

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Controlling anger (2)

"But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.              Colossians 3:8-10   NKJV 

We are subject to anger and losing our temper, blowing our stack and possibly using some uncontrolled language that goes with the territory. Just look at an average day. You get up later than normal, the kids are not ready for school and have no intention of getting ready, the telephone rings and it is one of those long calls that you could well do without. You shout at the kids, your spouse and even the cat and the dog who are in the way and then you dash out to do the school run and find there has been a heavy frost and the windscreen of the car is iced up and you realise that you have no de-icer. Words are spoken that you later regret and you are all fired up as well. Be honest, should it be this way? Probably not, but it affects many families each and every day. How do we deal with it?

The Apostle Paul says that we should 'put off all these', he then gives us the list of things, noted above, that we should put aside. What does it mean to 'put off all these?' Literally it means to get rid of them, in other words, we should not allow them them to take hold of us and rule the moment. We need to deal with it immediately. Easier said than done, agreed, but it is essential that we need to take this action otherwise, mayhem can rule as we see from the above example. 

Paul also says in v5, that we should, 'put to death your members which are on the earth'.  These are the sins of our earthly nature. They don't belong in our life and as believers, we have taken off the old man with all of this rubbish and put on the new man, built in Jesus. Why dirty up what Jesus has made clean? They are just grave clothes, therefore we need to put on the clean clothes of a new life that Jesus has given us.

He knows how difficult it is but He showers us with His grace and favour and will help us, every inch of the way. But we have to 'put off all of these', to get rid of them and to deal with it. They do not belong anymore. Part of the word Paul says in verse 9 is 'Do not lie to one another'. Do you realise that we lie to one another every time we try to cover up our problems? Instead of covering them up, when you meet with another believer, ask them to pray for you. This helps to remove the traces of worldly behaviour. Whether we like it or not, we need each other.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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Controlling anger

"Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs."      

                                                                                                        Proverbs 29:11 NLT 

This is a practice that we all need to be in control of. Reacting to things in an angry manner can lead to all kinds of problems. It can separate people and also land you in very serious positions with the authorities. It also breaks relationships.

Proverbs 19:11 in The Amplified Bible offers this:

'Good sense and discretion make a man slow to anger, and it is his honour and glory to overlook transgression or an offence [without seeking revenge and harbouring a resentment]. James also makes mention of being, 'Slow to anger' in James 1:19.

1 Corinthians 13:5 tells us that love keeps no record of being wronged, and this is the most important part of controlling our anger. It takes discipline to hold our anger in. When someone has wronged us, the natural thing to do is to retaliate. However, as I mention quite a lot, we are not natural people, we are supernatural; we belong to God and He would have us learn to handle things the way He would.

It is all about self-discipline and this takes practice. We can't just expect to be blessed with the ability to withhold angry feelings when we first become Christians. It can take years of practice but, as we submit to God at every opportunity, it can be accomplished. Think of it this way, when we are offended, hurt or treated very badly, there is a strong man within us that is longing to get out and sort the situation out in a very worldly manner. In order to prevent this, we have to restrain this strong man.

Actually, it is not far wrong to look at it this way because, in certain situations the devil oppresses us and attempts to get us to react in an angry or hostile manner, when we are hurt. We have to take control at once before it gets out of hand and we blow our witness and cause possible mayhem. When we are not in control, nasty words can be spoken and they can seem like a dagger to the person who receives them. Once spoken they can never be taken back. Therefore, it is so important to be in control instead of being controlled.

Stop keeping a record of the wrongs people have done to you. It serves no purpose other then to wind you up. Get rid of the record and instead, forgive and love them. Hard to do, yes, but it is what Jesus would do.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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Be strong and stand your ground

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might."   

                                                                                                     Ephesians 6:10   NKJV

People are not our ultimate problem in life. Our struggle is not against flesh (humanity) but against evil, spiritual forces that attack us when we are least expecting it. Many people refuse to believe that there is a devil and, he loves this because it allows him to be more covert in his actions. Tony Evans comments on this:

'The devil is happy for us to picture him as a cartoon character wearing a red jumpsuit with horns and carrying a pitchfork'.          Tony Evans Bible Commentary

When we do this, we don't take him seriously and this makes him much happier because he can creep up on us in many ways. He uses people to do his work too. He pulls their strings so that they do his bidding without them even knowing it. There may be a need to avoid some people because of this and, you'll know this at the time but, this doesn't mean that they are to blame, they are just the instrument that the devil has used.

Of course, this is why it is essential to ensure that you are wearing the Armour of God v 13 - 18. You have no chance of taking the devil on by yourself, you need God's Armour and the Holy Spirit. In most cases, he only has the power that we allow him but, it is unwise to go it alone.

One day, Jesus will finally overtake him and his army and they will be thrown into the lake of fire. However, until then, we need to be aware that he is prowling around (1 Peter 5:8) and will do us damage if he can. Jesus offers us His protection and we should be sure that we take this.

Isaiah 14:16 gives us an interesting insight on the devil, 'Those who see you will gaze at you, and consider you saying, "Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook the kingdoms". This scripture is a two-way view of the King of Babylon and the devil himself. For a deeper understanding, read Isaiah 14:12-21.

David Guzik comments:

'Those who see you will gaze at you…“Is this the man who made the earth tremble…Who did not open the house of his prisoners?” When the king of literal Babylon fell, his weakness was exposed, and others were amazed that at one time he had so much power, and so many feared him. The same will happen when the king of spiritual Babylon falls. People will see him for what he really is and be amazed at how much power he actually had.'

                                                          David Guzik. Enduring Word

Just be sure that you are equipped with God's protection and then you will be strong and able to stand your ground.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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Is your face shining?

"Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses' hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. 30 So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him"                                                      Exodus 34:29-30    NKJV

Moses had spent 40 days and nights in the presence of God, on Mount Sinai. When he returned down the mountain, he carried the radiance of God; his face shone and it was evident that God's presence had rubbed off on him, because he was glowing. It is true that when we, spend a good amount of time with Jesus, we can become the same. Our faces may not shine so that we need to wear a veil in order to protect other people's eyesight, but there is a glow within us, an aura of God all around us, and people can tell that there is something different about us. 

This would explain when we are confronted by abusive, non-believers every now and again. We may not know these people, or they may be a friend or family member; but seemingly, for no apparent reason, they pick an argument with us over our faith. You may have met with this type of thing. Alternatively, someone in a shop may notice that there is something that draws them to you. This happened to John Wimber one time. He had visited a shop for some supplies and at the checkout, the assistant kept staring at him. Eventually, John said to her, 'You like that don't you?' She replied, 'Yes, what is it?' John said, 'It is Jesus Christ, draw near to God right now.' And she did and was saved right there and then. Now this may seem extreme, but it can happen because of the presence of God upon a person.

You see, God is Light (1 John 1:5), and Jesus said, 'I am the Light of the world (John 8:12). And Paul wrote in Philippians 2:15, 'That you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.'

The Israelites saw this in Moses, even before Moses had recognised it and, people will recognise it in you as well, as you spend quality time in Jesus' presence. 'You will become a reflection of divine glory'  2 Corinthians 3:7. You won't have to wear a veil and you won't frighten people, however, some may feel uncomfortable in your presence, hence the hostility. However, just be grateful for the privilege of being able to shine for Jesus.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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Friends with God

"So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend."   

                                                                                                      Exodus 33:11    NKJV 

How would you like to be on a first name basis with God? One of the requirements for this is to spend time with Him. The more time you spend with someone, the more you become like them. The term, 'Face to face', is a figure of speech that means 'Openly and Honestly'. To be friends with God requires openness and honesty. We have a choice to be like this or to be worldly.

To be friends with the world is to take on the values of the world. It leaves God out of the equation. The is why the values of today are not good. Children grow up learning their parent's values; if these values are the wrong ones, this may lead them to have no respect for anyone. This is why there is so much trouble on our streets today; they are coming from worldly values and God doesn't fit into them at all. Friendship with the world is hostility (enmity) with God James 4:4. Therefore, whoever wants to be a friend of the world, makes themselves an enemy of God.

As believers, we are in the world but not of it. Jesus has made us and calls us, His friends John 15:15. Just let that sink in for a moment. If you believe in God, He believes in you and calls you His friend. However, for the intimacy of being face to face with Him, there is a need to give up self. Galatians 2:20 tells us:

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.'

This is called being 'totally sold out for God,' you live in the world but are not of the world's system, you are of the heavenly system and live 100% for Jesus. It is hard to live up to this standard but God helps us every inch of the way. Really, what we are saying is that, you have made a decision to serve Jesus and not man. Therefore your values are heavenly ones. 

Living in such a way, draws people to you because what they see in you, they need. They have tried everything else and it hasn't worked. They need Jesus and you have the ability to offer Him to them and help them to be friends with God too.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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Don't grumble, God may be doing a new thing

"Why have you so dealt with us to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying 'Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness."     

                                                                                                Exodus 14:11-12   NKJV 

The Israelites had a short memory. They had been pleading with God for deliverance from the hands of the Egyptians; now that they had this freedom, they were grumbling and criticising. Mind you, let's be honest, how many times do we get into this mindset when things don't go the way we would have liked them to? We are so ready to grumble, moan and criticise at times.

God is doing new things in people's lives. This was what he was doing in the lives of the Israelites but, they couldn't see it. No matter how uncomfortable it was to be held captive in Egypt, it was their comfort zone, they had become used to it. Now Moses was leading them out into the unknown and they were frightened of what lay ahead. 

When God does new things in our lives, fear will always try to stop us, but we need to do it anyway. We must never allow fear to control us, God will honour us as we go ahead. It is better to 'do it afraid,' than not at all. The Israelites had to learn to abandon their slave mentality and take on the freedom that was being offered them and, it is the same with us.

When new things are ahead of us, we need to see this in a new way. We need to envisage what is ahead, the advantages of going forward into a new beginning or a change in life. New things are always a bit scary, this is natural. However, if we know that God wants us to do this, we have to trust Him with it all.

Is this happening in your life at the moment? Do you feel that God is doing a new thing for you? If so, straightaway, your comfort zone will not like it much and will cause you to doubt and ask questions that are unanswerable at this time. Check your heart, if it is pounding with the excitement of it all, yet there is still fear there, it is probably God's will that you go forward. This is where the 'do it afraid' term comes into practice. We do tend to know deep within us that it is right to go ahead, but this doesn't stop the fear.

Count the cost and ask what you have to lose by going ahead. It may be costly but it also may be so rewarding.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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