ANGER
Note:
The "ANGER ICEBERG" in graphical form is
displayed at the bottom of this page
Anger in
itself is not sinful or wrong.
However, sin is committed if we, in our anger, violate
another person by acting or speaking in a way that is hostile or
aggressive and then harden our hearts against the damage done to
our brother or sister. It
also grieves our Heavenly Father.
Scriptural
examples of appropriate anger include:
·
Jesus (John 2:13-17).
Trading was permitted in the courtyard area of the Temple but
strictly forbidden in the Holy Place.
This offended against God (sin).
Jesus removed the offending items (but note no harm to any
person mentioned) and reclaimed God’s Holy Place.
·
Jacob (Gen 31:36) served
Laban for many years and was tricked several times during that
period. When
Laban accused Jacob of stealing Jacob was angry but defending
himself with the facts and without aggression.
·
Nehemiah (Neh 5:6) was
angry about injustice/unfair treatment of slaves (who were fellow
Jews forced into poverty in a time of famine, compounded by
lenders charging usury – interest – when they were forbidden
by law). He first “pondered” then presented the case factually
presented the case at a meeting of the officials.
·
Other
Scriptures to consider: Exod 11:8, Exod 4:14, Gen 18-19
Scriptural
examples of anger that led to sin include:
·
Cain
(Gen 4) disobeyed God’s instruction about sacrifice, was
then jealous of Abel (whose sacrifice was accepted) and committed
sin by hating him and then murdering him
·
Ahab
(1 Kings 21) went to his palace “sullen and angry” (v4)
when he couldn’t get the vineyard of Naboth he wanted.
He “sulked” then plotted a scheme of lies against
Naboth, which resulted in his stoning to death.
·
Adam
and Eve (Gen 3) both blamed others (“scapegoating”)
rather than taking responsibility for their own sin.
Eve blamed the serpent for deceiving her.
Adam blamed Eve, and God for providing Eve to him.
·
Peter
(Matt 16:21-28) became angry, took Jesus aside and rebuked
him when he realized Jesus was to die.
His understanding and his actions were not in accord with
God’s Will.
·
Other
Scriptures to consider: 2 Kings 9:30-37, 1 Sam 18 and 1 Sam 19
10-15, Gen 27:41, Jonah 4
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BITTERNESS,
RESENTMENT, HATE
Health
research is increasingly finding evidence that links health
outcomes to attitude. Cardiovascular
disease, cancer, ulcers, psoriasis, arthritis, diabetes (to name a
few) have all been linked to “personality types” in which
attitudinal stances have been explored.
Emotional factors have been reported to play a role in the
onset and maintenance of these conditions.
Our
Heavenly Father has instructed us, through Scripture in how to
maintain right attitudes. If
we can hold the right attitudes, we may also experience the
blessing that the Israelites were promised if they could obey His
statutes, He would put “none of these diseases” upon them.
Put
away bitterness – Eph
4:31
Bitterness belongs to a
sinful nature – Gal 5:15
Don’t let bitterness grow
or take root – Heb 12:15
Stop biting and devouring
each other – Gal 5:15
Hatred is forbidden – Lev
19:17
Hatred is darkness to one
who gives into it – 1 John 2:9-11
Maliciousness is deceitful
– Prov 26:24-26
Hatred is murder – 1
John 3:11-20
Joseph’s brothers gave
into their resentment, which grew to bitterness and jealousy and
became murder in their heart – Gen 37
Cain too allowed the
process to become murder – Gen 4:3-8
BLAME
SHIFTING
Genesis 3:12-13
is the first scriptural recording of shifting the blame and
humankind has not changed. If
we catch ourselves making excuses about our behaviour or
attitudes, we may be trying to shift the blame.
This would indicate an unwillingness to be responsible
about the choices we make.
Our
ability to blame applies to our Heavenly Father for Proverbs
19:3 says that when a man’s own folly ruins his life,
his heart rages against the Lord.
Christ
too drew our attention to the process of how we can shift the
blame. Matthew 7:1-5 talks
about our ability of trying to remove the speck from our
brother’s eye, when we are blinded by the log in our own.
1 Corinthians 11:31 exhorts us to examine ourselves truly so that we are
not judged. Indeed
the whole of that chapter is one where we are encouraged to be
responsible about our choices, before the Lord.
When
we feel like shifting the blame and are reluctant to “own up”
to our part in things, remember what the Psalmist says in Psalm
138 in verse 3: “On the day I called, thou didst answer me, MY STRENGTH OF
SOUL, THOU DIDST INCREASE”.
Our Father is able to help us be strong enough to face what
we have to face.
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CHANGE
A
true follower of Christ can change for our Heavenly Father makes
it possible through a
spiritual renewal.
Change can be a difficult process, however there are many
supports that our Father offers.
The process of change needs to be in consultation with our
Heavenly Father.
2nd Cor. 5:17 gives us hope. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creation: the old has gone, the new has come”.
Think on this, that Christ is offering us a new beginning.
Titus 3:4-6
“When the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, He
saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because
of His mercy. He
saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy
Spirit whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ
our Saviour.” Can
we submit to this kindness and be grateful for it?
Phil. 2:12-13.
With our Father we work together to overcome the things
that would separate us from Him.
“Continue to work out your salvation with fear and
trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act
according to His good purpose”
COMFORT
Never underestimate the
power of the Scriptures to comfort and uplift, especially when
life is difficult. Psalm
23 gives a beautiful description of care, particularly when we are
vulnerable and feel like giving up.
Another
lovely word picture is depicted in Deut 32:10-12, where God’s care of Israel is
likened to an eagle hovering over its young, caring and protecting
them.
Whilst God does care for
us, He asks us to trust in Him.
Psalm
91:1-2 states, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust”. Trusting
God, when we feel vulnerable is an act of faith.
Nevertheless, Romans 8:28 asks us to put it into
perspective and recognise that “all things work together for
good for those that love the Lord”
Again in Romans
in 5:3-5 Paul exhorts us “More than that, we rejoice in our
sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and
endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and
hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured
into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to
us”. This
means that our suffering may be God given, to shape our character,
to help us grow in Grace and Favour.
Can we take comfort from that.
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DEPRESSION
Depression is the 4th
most debilitating mental health condition in the world today.
By 2020 it will be the 2nd most debilitating
condition*. What does
Scripture say about depression?
Scripture seems to link depression to our guilt about an
unresolved issue. In Gen
4:6-7
the Lord says to Cain “Why are you angry?
Why is your face downcast?
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?”
The Lord has much more to say to Cain, especially about
sin, and its worth reading and reflecting on this passage. In Psalm 32:3-4 David too was very depressed
until he confessed his sin of adultery.
The book of Jonah outlines Jonah’s anger and depression, towards God and
Jonah’s attempts to emotionally blackmail the Lord. It is interesting to note and reflect on God’s response to
Jonah, at all stages of Jonah’s behaviour.
So what is the way out of depression?
Scripture gives the answers.
God asks us to confess our sins and seek His forgiveness Ps 32:1-2, 51:1-19 and to put our hope in Him Ps
42:5-6. This
process would include prayer, reflecting on the Grace extended to
us, seeking the Lords help in changing our attitude (if we are
bitter, resentful or
have negative thoughts) and rejoicing in the Hope before us.
EXAMPLE
(GOOD OR BAD)
One of the things that is
incumbent on us, as brethren and sisters of Christ is to be a
Christlike example to one another, (1 Cor. 11:1) to our children (Matt. 18:6) and to our communities (2
Thess. 3:7-8).
We are encouraged to be an example from our youth (1
Tim. 4:12) and to set an example in “speech, in life, in love, in faith and in
purity”. In our
example we are to be willing and eager to serve and not to lord it
over others (1
Peter 5: 2-4).
We are also exhorted (Romans
14:13)
that in our example, we are not to put a stumbling block in
another person’s way. Most
importantly our example is before our Heavenly Father and it is He
who understands the intents of our hearts.
Proverbs
16:2 states that “All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are
weighed by the Lord”.
FEAR
One of the most
debilitating emotions is fear.
It can rob us of our energy, motivation and care.
When fear is present, our interactions are tainted by it
and our full potential cannot be realised.
Part of us remains shut down by it.
Fear is an interesting process and Scripture tells us that
our fear has to do with punishment (1
John 4:18). What
is the punishment that we are fearful of?
Do we have to look over our shoulder at past events that
might catch up with us? Are
we fearful of one another and the condemning judgments that we may
make? Are we fearful
of always doing the right thing?
Do our own thoughts alarm us?
Romans 8:15 instructs us that we should not
be a slave to fear, but that as sons we can cry “Abba Father”.
Trust in the Living God can cast out our fear as we need
not be afraid if we believe that God is our helper (Heb
13:5-6) and
(Psalm
118:6-7).
Again 1 John 4:18 states that “perfect love
drives out fear”. That
perfect love is manifest in the Lord Jesus Christ and if we can
learn to talk to him about our fears he has said that he will help
us. After
all God has not given us a spirit of timidity (fear), but a spirit
of power, of love and of self-discipline (2 Tim. 1:7).
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FORGIVENESS
“He
has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us
to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, and
the forgiveness of sins” Col
1:13-14
We talk
about forgiveness a lot. We
understand, or say we do, what it is supposed to mean, and we can
talk about the technicalities of forgiveness and what we are
supposed to do. But
what is the experience of forgiveness? And more importantly, can
we receive forgiveness? What
does it mean to accept God’s forgiveness?
Do we believe that we are forgiven, or do we live in
self-condemning ways? Christ
died for the whole world and anyone who wishes to come to the
Father can enter the process of salvation, through the living
water. To enter that process we need to repent, and Proverbs 28:13 says that “He who conceals his transgressions will
not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them, will obtain
mercy”. So is it
possible that accepting God’s forgiveness begins with letting
the light of the Lord search our inward parts to help us
understand what we need to be forgiven for.
To confess to our Father about the things that separate us
from Him and to ask His mercy and seek His help in overcoming
those things, to wrestle with them in our inward being in an
effort to forsake them. To
allow the Living God to transform us “by the renewal of (y)our
mind” Romans 12: 2.
Romans
8:1 tells us there is no
condemnation for those in Christ.
Further on we are assured that to “set the mind on the
Spirit is life and peace” v 6. So a sense of life
and of peace is part of the experience of forgiveness. We are also assured that if we remain in the Spirit we will
also experience joy and hope, Romans
15:13.
The Psalms
are filled with the experiences of people who accept forgiveness
and their joy pours out in praise.
However Psalm 131: 2
has the most beautiful description of the experience of
forgiveness (and peace, life, joy and hope) when it says “But I
have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its
mother’s breast; like a child that is quieted is my soul”
FORGIVENESS
(2)
“He
has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us
to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, and
the forgiveness of sins” Col.
1:13-14.
We
talk about forgiveness a lot.
We understand, or say we do, what it is supposed to mean,
and we can talk about the technicalities of forgiveness and what
we are supposed to do. But
what is the experience of forgiveness?
And more importantly, can we receive forgiveness?
What does it mean to accept God’s forgiveness?
Do we believe that we are forgiven, or do we live in
self-condemning ways? Christ
died for the whole world and anyone who wishes to come to the
Father can enter the process of salvation, through the living
water. To enter that
process we need to repent and Proverbs
28:13 says that “He who conceals his transgressions will not
prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them, will obtain
mercy”. So is it possible that forgiveness is letting the light of
the Lord search our inward parts to help us understand what we
need to be forgiven for. To
confess to our Father about the things that separate us from Him
and to ask His mercy and seek His help in overcoming those things,
to wrestle with them in our inward being in an effort to forsake
them. To allow the
Living God to transform us “by the renewal of (y)our mind”. Romans 12:2.
Romans 8:1 tells us there is no condemnation for those
in Christ. Further on
we are assured that to “set the mind on the Spirit is life and
peace” v 6.
So a sense of life and of peace is part of the experience
of forgiveness. We
are also assured that if we remain in the Spirit we will also
experience joy and hope. Romans
15:13
The
Psalms are filled with the experiences of people who accept
forgiveness and their joy pours out in praise.
However Psalm 131:2
has a most beautiful description of the experience of peace, life,
joy and hope when it says “But I have calmed and quieted my
soul, like a child quieted at its mother’s breast; like a child
that is quieted is my soul”. TOP
FRIENDSHIPS
As our
Heavenly Father works with us to create a more spiritually minded
community, we need to be aware of who we are walking with, as we
proceed to the Kingdom of God. We are made to respond to and be influenced by many things,
and in our day to day lives, the people we expose ourselves too
can have a significant impact.
Proverbs 12:20
says that “He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a
companion of fools suffers harm”.
Although harm can come in various forms such as physical,
emotional and financial, the greatest harm we can do to ourselves
is spiritually. Scripture
encourages us to choose wisely and to not misunderstand the impact
of our choices. 1
Cor. 15:13 says not to be misled for “Bad company corrupts
good character”. Right
friendships are important as a true friend will not only love and
support us, but will also correct us or rebuke us when it is
needed. Proverbs
27:6 says that “the kisses of an enemy are profuse but
faithful are the wounds of a friend”.
Amongst other things friendships are a source of love,
companionship, instruction, comfort and feedback.
Would that we could call our dear Saviour a friend and he
likewise call us his friend.
GIVING
Given
that Christmas is just around the corner, its worth thinking about
this topic. Our
Heavenly Father has given us a wonderful gift, the Lord Jesus
Christ. As he gave of
His Grace, we, as His children try to reflect that same Grace
towards others. 2
Cor. 9:6-7 tells us that we reap according to what we sow.
We need to generously give, of ourselves, our resources,
our time, our love, our patience, in fact of all the talents that
our Father has given us. In
this way we not only reflect our Father, but we also begin to
develop in ourselves the spiritual qualities He is pleased with.
This is also reflected in Proverbs
22:9. We are to
be kind and merciful to the needy and most importantly to not grow
weary in our giving Gal.
6:9-10. It is relatively easy to give to our loved ones, a more
difficult giving is to be kind to our enemies.
God asks us to follow His example Luke
6:27-28. Giving
is an action, so we are expected act, in fact 1
John 3:16-18 is forthright and states that unless we can show
love in this way, we do not reflect the love of God.
HOPE
Hope
is akin to faith and trust and it is what we bring, as followers
of the Living God. He
brings steadfast love and righteousness Psalm
85: 10 and asks us to
develop our faith, hope and trust in Him. Hebrews 6: 19-20
Hebrews 6: 19-20
states
that hope is an anchor of the soul and by it we are sustained in
Him. Hope is not
something easily found and tends to begin in suffering Romans
5:3-5. Indeed
we are encouraged to rejoice in suffering, as it will produce
hope. 1
Thess 1:3 contains the
same message. How do
we find hope through suffering?
Through patient endurance (with prayer), which builds
character (through prayer). Working
patiently with our Father as He shapes us as living stones.
Hope is the act of submission that He has our best
interests at heart throughout all our lives.
IMITATING JESUS
We are all called to become
Christ-like, but what does that look like?
Eph. 5:1-2 tell us that we need to imitate God as beloved
children and Exodus 35: 6-7 lists the qualities of our Father that
we can aspire to. From
a practical sense Col. 3:9-10 says that we must not lie to each
other. Lying can
harden our hearts, is the deceitfulness of sin.
Humility is another Christ-like quality we can practice as
in John 13:12-15 Jesus demonstrates an act of humility by washing
the feet of his disciples. Matthew
16:24 tells us to deny ourselves and daily take up our cross. Each of us has a different cross. And our struggle may be emotional, physical or spiritual.
What do you struggle with on a daily basis?
Can you make your struggle a holy process, as Christ did?
These are just some of the ways that we can imitate Jesus
and reflect the glory of the living God.
Phil. 2:3-8 also lists a lot of these qualities.
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LOVING AND SERVING OTHERS
1
Corinthians 13:4-7
outlines what love looks like.
Love is an action, rather than an emotion and our lord
spoke very clearly about what it means to those who wish to follow
in his footsteps. Galatians
5:13-15 reiterates what our Lord spoke about love, that we
must love others as we love ourselves.
Do we use our freedom in Christ to indulge ourselves in
ways that are destructive of our spiritual walk, or are we always
looking for ways of enhancing our spiritual life?
This is love and if we can do this for ourselves, then we
are more able to do it for others Matt. 7:12.
Phil.2:3-5 reinforces this idea of looking not only to
our own interests but the interests of other. When we honour our
brethren and sisters we are not expected to dishonour ourselves
but rather, in love, to serve them utilizing the gifts we have
been given by our Heavenly Father 1 Peter 4:9-10.
In this we glorify the Father in that we utilize the
gifts He has given us and offer an opportunity for others to thank
Him for His goodness towards them Matt
25:35-36.
LUST AND EVIL DESIRES
The
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life is
the distillation of sin. It is a handy way of bracketing what sin looks like.
However the reality of our daily struggles with sin is
often not so easily categorised.
The whispering of the serpent is a much more personal
matter and the sin we struggle with is exactly what is needed to
test our faith. Do we
love and believe our Father enough to talk to Him about our
struggle with our secret desires, to hold fast to Him Josh.
22:5. Or do we
hug these desires to ourselves, believing no one knows, therefore
it doesn’t matter Rom. 8:5-8. Our
Father knows and if we don’t turn to Him, we cannot please Him.
2 Cor. 7:1 asks us to purify ourselves from all that
contaminates us and we can do that in Christ.
Christ takes away our reproach before the Living God, so
that we can approach Him to talk about those things we struggle
with that separate us from Him.
Sometimes we can feel so unworthy (because of our sin) and
are reluctant to pray however Rom. 13:14 instructs us to
clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ so that in the spirit
of Jesus Christ we can overcome the sinful nature Gal.
5:16
OBEDIENCE
If
we love God, we will obey him.
It’s as simple and as difficult as that John 14:15.
We are also told that to obey is better than sacrifice 1
Sam. 15: 22-23. However if we choose to disobey, a sacrifice is often
required of us. When
Adam and Eve disobeyed, they had to sacrifice all the benefits of
Eden. When
Sampson’s lust of the eye caused him to disobey, he sacrificed
the sight of both his eyes. When King David’s lust of the flesh caused him to disobey,
he sacrificed the life of four of his sons.
When we disobey, the sacrifice required is often not what
we would have wanted to give up, the above examples testify to
that. Proverbs
13:13 reinforces the idea that if we disobey, there is a
consequence. On the
other hand, if we obey, there is reward in that.
We are blest Luke 11:28, we live in peace, Psalm
1, we experience fellowship and remain in the love of the Lord
Jesus Christ John 15:10-17.
There is
however a far greater reason to obey; it pleases our Father.
When we obey, we worship Him.
Psalm 69:30-31 “I will praise the name of God with
a song; I will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
This will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull with
horns and hoofs.” TOP
OVERCOMING EVIL
This is something that we all struggle with
at times. When we
believe another has wronged us, especially a brother or sister, it
can be very difficult to overcome the inner tensions that can be
created while the issue remains unresolved.
Our Heavenly Father outlines an excellent process to help
us resolve our differences. Matthew
18:15
asks us to first approach the person that we believe has
sinned against us. If
we are able to do that, in a spirit of unity (and not one of blame
and condemnation), then we may be heard and the matter can end
there. However, if
the matter is not settled, the next step Matthew 18:16
is
to take one or two others with you and approach the brother or
sister again so that both parties are able to talk in front of
independent and unbiased witnesses.
Again, this should be done prayerfully and in the spirit of
unity. Should the
matter remain a contentious issue the next step Matthew 18:17
says
that you can take it a step further and tell the matter to the
ecclesia. This of
course is a serious step and we must question our conscience here.
Do we want vengeance, are we after retribution or do we
have the well being of the wrongdoer at heart.
This is where we wrestle with overcoming our own evil
intentions.
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