"Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools." (Ecclesiates 7:9)
Do not become quickly provoked," the scripture tells us. Anger does seem to get out of control easily doesn't it? Sometimes we become angry so quickly that by the time we realize we're fuming we can't remember why. All we know is that we're mad!
Doesn't that seem like us at times? Being angry seems to be a part of living in this world. We live in an age of out-of-control law suits, protests, school massacres carried out by children, business place massacres carried out by employees and customers. We're mad as we can be and we're not going to take it any more.
What does the Word of God have to say about dealing with these situations?
In Proverbs 15:1 "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." (NKJ)
In Proverbs 15:18, "A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel." (NIV)
n Lee Strobel, teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, offers a unique perspective on life in the nineties:
You really are a person of the 90's…
If you feel like life is whizzing past you at 90 miles an hour. You work 90 hours a week, and you've still got 90 items on your to-do list. You're on a 90-calorie a day diet because you look 90 pounds overweight in your swimming suit.
You've got 90 different bills to pay, and you're already $90 overdrawn-and that's just the interest. You're still paying $90 a month on your student loan, and you don't know where you're going to get $90,000 to send your kids to school.
You've got 90 channels of cable television, and there's still nothing worth watching. You drive your kids to 90 different activities and events a month. Your toddler just asked "Why?' for the 90th time today.
And you think everything would be fine, if you were just making 90 grand a year.
--Wayne Rouse (Rowell, 133 Fresh Illustrations)
"Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret"
Sowing in Abundance....Paying Forward
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Friday, June 21, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Create In Me A Pure Heart
"Create in me a pure heart, O God." (Psalm 51:10)
Psalm 51 is one of the few psalms where we are given the historical background. The inscription reads, "A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba." That identifies clearly for us the incident out of which this psalm arose.
It was the time when David became involved in the double sin of adultery and murder while he was king. He had walked with God for many years. He had gained a reputation as a prophet, a man who understood the deep things of God; and he had established himself as the long time spiritual leader of his people. Then suddenly, toward the end of his reign, he became involved in this terrible sin.
The interesting thing is that David himself records this sin for us. It must have been a painfully humiliating experience for the king. You remember the story. He was on his palace roof one day when the army had gone out to battle and he saw a beautiful woman next door bathing herself. His passion was aroused and he sent over messengers and ordered her to be brought to him. He entered into an adulterous relationship with her because she was a married woman. Her husband, a soldier in David’s army, was away fighting for his king.
Here in Psalm 51 is a frank and full acknowledgment of sin. David says, "I know my sins, I’m not trying to cover them up. They are always before me, this double act of adultery and murder. I am guilty." He doesn’t try to cover them up or to blame God for them. He says, "It’s not your fault, God; it’s mine."
That’s one reason why so many cannot find forgiveness for their sins. They suffer for years with a guilty conscience because they are not willing to come to the place where they acknowledge their sin. They refuse to call it what God calls it. They refuse to be honest with themselves and with God. But we can never be forgiven while we do this, for the first step in the process of forgiveness is an acknowledgment of sin.
"Grant us grace, Almighty Father, so to pray as to deserve to be heard." (Jane Austin)
Psalm 51 is one of the few psalms where we are given the historical background. The inscription reads, "A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba." That identifies clearly for us the incident out of which this psalm arose.
It was the time when David became involved in the double sin of adultery and murder while he was king. He had walked with God for many years. He had gained a reputation as a prophet, a man who understood the deep things of God; and he had established himself as the long time spiritual leader of his people. Then suddenly, toward the end of his reign, he became involved in this terrible sin.
The interesting thing is that David himself records this sin for us. It must have been a painfully humiliating experience for the king. You remember the story. He was on his palace roof one day when the army had gone out to battle and he saw a beautiful woman next door bathing herself. His passion was aroused and he sent over messengers and ordered her to be brought to him. He entered into an adulterous relationship with her because she was a married woman. Her husband, a soldier in David’s army, was away fighting for his king.
Psalm 51 is one of the few psalms where we are given the historical background. The inscription reads, "A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba." That identifies clearly for us the incident out of which this psalm arose.
It was the time when David became involved in the double sin of adultery and murder while he was king. He had walked with God for many years. He had gained a reputation as a prophet, a man who understood the deep things of God; and he had established himself as the long time spiritual leader of his people. Then suddenly, toward the end of his reign, he became involved in this terrible sin.
The interesting thing is that David himself records this sin for us. It must have been a painfully humiliating experience for the king. You remember the story. He was on his palace roof one day when the army had gone out to battle and he saw a beautiful woman next door bathing herself. His passion was aroused and he sent over messengers and ordered her to be brought to him. He entered into an adulterous relationship with her because she was a married woman. Her husband, a soldier in David’s army, was away fighting for his king.
Later, when David learned that she was expecting a child, he panicked and tried to cover up his actions. He ordered the husband, Uriah, to be sent home from battle, hoping that he would sleep with his wife and the child would then be accepted as his own. But Uriah was a faithful soldier, committed to battle, and though he came home at the king’s orders, he would not go into his own house but slept with the soldiers at the palace and returned to the battle the next day.
David knew that ultimately his sin would be found out so he took another step. That’s always what sin does -- it leads us on deeper and deeper, farther than we ever intended to go. Before the king knew it, he found himself forced into a desperate attempt to cover up his evil. He ordered Uriah, the husband, to be put in the forefront of the battle where he would most certainly be killed. And when news of Uriah’s death reached King David he felt he was off the hook, he had safely covered his sin. But his conscience continued to bother him.
When David says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God”, he goes back to the language of the creation itself in the first chapters of Genesis. The word "create" used here in Psalm 51 is the very same Hebrew word used in Genesis. In fact, it is a word used only of God in the Bible. It means to create something out of nothing. Human beings can fashion, arrange, or remodel things. But human beings can never create anything in the true sense of the word. We can’t bring into being something that never existed before.
It was the time when David became involved in the double sin of adultery and murder while he was king. He had walked with God for many years. He had gained a reputation as a prophet, a man who understood the deep things of God; and he had established himself as the long time spiritual leader of his people. Then suddenly, toward the end of his reign, he became involved in this terrible sin.
The interesting thing is that David himself records this sin for us. It must have been a painfully humiliating experience for the king. You remember the story. He was on his palace roof one day when the army had gone out to battle and he saw a beautiful woman next door bathing herself. His passion was aroused and he sent over messengers and ordered her to be brought to him. He entered into an adulterous relationship with her because she was a married woman. Her husband, a soldier in David’s army, was away fighting for his king.
Later, when David learned that she was expecting a child, he panicked and tried to cover up his actions. He ordered the husband, Uriah, to be sent home from battle, hoping that he would sleep with his wife and the child would then be accepted as his own. But Uriah was a faithful soldier, committed to battle, and though he came home at the king’s orders, he would not go into his own house but slept with the soldiers at the palace and returned to the battle the next day.
David knew that ultimately his sin would be found out so he took another step. That’s always what sin does -- it leads us on deeper and deeper, farther than we ever intended to go. Before the king knew it, he found himself forced into a desperate attempt to cover up his evil. He ordered Uriah, the husband, to be put in the forefront of the battle where he would most certainly be killed. And when news of Uriah’s death reached King David he felt he was off the hook, he had safely covered his sin. But his conscience continued to bother him.
When David says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God”, he goes back to the language of the creation itself in the first chapters of Genesis. The word "create" used here in Psalm 51 is the very same Hebrew word used in Genesis. In fact, it is a word used only of God in the Bible. It means to create something out of nothing. Human beings can fashion, arrange, or remodel things. But human beings can never create anything in the true sense of the word. We can’t bring into being something that never existed before.
That’s one reason why so many cannot find forgiveness for their sins. They suffer for years with a guilty conscience because they are not willing to come to the place where they acknowledge their sin. They refuse to call it what God calls it. They refuse to be honest with themselves and with God. But we can never be forgiven while we do this, for the first step in the process of forgiveness is an acknowledgment of sin.
"Grant us grace, Almighty Father, so to pray as to deserve to be heard." (Jane Austin)
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
A Merry Heart
The Bible says that a merry heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones. (Proverbs 17:22) It also says that God wants us to prosper and be in health, even as our soul prospers. (3 John 1:2)
This proverb states that a merry heart is good for us like a medicine.
· A medicine often soothes.
· A merry heart soothes us and anxiety is reduced.
· A merry heart also soothes our attitude so that we respond properly to people.
· A medicine often reduces pain.
· A merry heart reduces the pain of hurt feelings, failed expectations and misunderstandings.
· A medicine also makes one feel better, especially when infection is removed.
· A merry heart makes us feel better about the situations with which we are confronted.
·
Our emotions cause us to sweat, to weep, to tremble. Our emotions cause us to turn white with fear, red with embarrassment, purple with anger, and green with nausea. Our emotions really do effect us physically.
So the proverb is true. If you’re joyful in your heart, then that is good medicine. But if you’re not joyful, if your spirit is broken, then it dries up your bones. You become old & tired, & a person no one wants to be around.
Think about it. Who are the people to whom we are attracted? "Gloomy Gus" who walks around with a frown on his face? The person who sees all the bad things in the world, who is thoroughly convinced that everything is going to fall apart? Is that the kind of person with whom we love to spend our time?
No, not at all! We are attracted to the person who has a smile on his face, & joy in his heart.
We may encounter bad experiences in life. Do not be discouraged for we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus.
This proverb states that a merry heart is good for us like a medicine.
· A medicine often soothes.
· A merry heart soothes us and anxiety is reduced.
· A merry heart also soothes our attitude so that we respond properly to people.
· A medicine often reduces pain.
· A merry heart reduces the pain of hurt feelings, failed expectations and misunderstandings.
· A medicine also makes one feel better, especially when infection is removed.
· A merry heart makes us feel better about the situations with which we are confronted.
·
Our emotions cause us to sweat, to weep, to tremble. Our emotions cause us to turn white with fear, red with embarrassment, purple with anger, and green with nausea. Our emotions really do effect us physically.
So the proverb is true. If you’re joyful in your heart, then that is good medicine. But if you’re not joyful, if your spirit is broken, then it dries up your bones. You become old & tired, & a person no one wants to be around.
Think about it. Who are the people to whom we are attracted? "Gloomy Gus" who walks around with a frown on his face? The person who sees all the bad things in the world, who is thoroughly convinced that everything is going to fall apart? Is that the kind of person with whom we love to spend our time?
No, not at all! We are attracted to the person who has a smile on his face, & joy in his heart.
We may encounter bad experiences in life. Do not be discouraged for we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Clothe Yourselves With Humility
"Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." (1 Peter 5:5)
Simply said, humility means being of low estate. It means seeing others as higher than our self. The word (tapeinoo) literally means "to level a mountain or a hill." Humble people are those who have no hills sticking up. They are not filled up with the hot air of arrogance and pride. They are not people who clamor to be President or Prime Minister. Jesus told the Jews that when invited to special dinners, they should assume that they were to take the seats that are for the least important people (Luke 14:7-11).
Luke 3:2 (a quote from Isaiah 40:3-5) tells what the mission of John the Baptist was; "the voice of one crying in the desert, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled up, every mountain and hill made low." John’s mission was to preach a gospel of repentance -- of humbling oneself before the almighty God, so that people could receive the gospel of Salvation. His mission was to "fill in the valleys and flatten the hills."
C. H. Spurgeon wrote, "The whole treasury of God will be made over by deed of gift to the soul that is humble enough to be able to receive it without growing proud because of it. God blesses us all up to the full measure of what is safe for Him to do. If you do not get a blessing, it is because it is not safe for you to have one."
That life is most mature in the sight of God that is most childlike. That service the greatest of all that most humbly becomes the slave of all. Only the humblest of persons can walk closely with God. Only the empty, thirsty persons can be filled, and only those who are absolutely nothing in their own sight can be trusted with frequent miracles.
Measure your humility by your hunger for Jesus to get ever more glory, by your burning desire that His name be exalted.
No, we do not all learn humility; for humility is a joyful, happy thing; humility is fellowship with God constantly renewed in hope. Whatever may have been my faults and my follies I can always start afresh. Humility confesses its sins and takes from the unmerited goodness of God the fullness of His free forgiveness, and, like a child, is happy again, ten thousand times over happy again; joyful in the sense that God loves me, joyful in the sense that He gives me over and over again my fresh opportunity. Charles Gore
If I would like to please God, I am going to have to do it on his terms, and his first requirement toward holiness for his children is to be humble. Humility before God does not exist if not proved before men.
"I believe the first test of a truly great man is his humility." (John Ruskin)
Simply said, humility means being of low estate. It means seeing others as higher than our self. The word (tapeinoo) literally means "to level a mountain or a hill." Humble people are those who have no hills sticking up. They are not filled up with the hot air of arrogance and pride. They are not people who clamor to be President or Prime Minister. Jesus told the Jews that when invited to special dinners, they should assume that they were to take the seats that are for the least important people (Luke 14:7-11).
Luke 3:2 (a quote from Isaiah 40:3-5) tells what the mission of John the Baptist was; "the voice of one crying in the desert, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled up, every mountain and hill made low." John’s mission was to preach a gospel of repentance -- of humbling oneself before the almighty God, so that people could receive the gospel of Salvation. His mission was to "fill in the valleys and flatten the hills."
C. H. Spurgeon wrote, "The whole treasury of God will be made over by deed of gift to the soul that is humble enough to be able to receive it without growing proud because of it. God blesses us all up to the full measure of what is safe for Him to do. If you do not get a blessing, it is because it is not safe for you to have one."
That life is most mature in the sight of God that is most childlike. That service the greatest of all that most humbly becomes the slave of all. Only the humblest of persons can walk closely with God. Only the empty, thirsty persons can be filled, and only those who are absolutely nothing in their own sight can be trusted with frequent miracles.
Measure your humility by your hunger for Jesus to get ever more glory, by your burning desire that His name be exalted.
No, we do not all learn humility; for humility is a joyful, happy thing; humility is fellowship with God constantly renewed in hope. Whatever may have been my faults and my follies I can always start afresh. Humility confesses its sins and takes from the unmerited goodness of God the fullness of His free forgiveness, and, like a child, is happy again, ten thousand times over happy again; joyful in the sense that God loves me, joyful in the sense that He gives me over and over again my fresh opportunity. Charles Gore
If I would like to please God, I am going to have to do it on his terms, and his first requirement toward holiness for his children is to be humble. Humility before God does not exist if not proved before men.
"I believe the first test of a truly great man is his humility." (John Ruskin)
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