Anger or Love

This past week I found myself in a couple of situations that rose up in me some angry feelings. After examining myself closer I noticed these feelings of anger were rooted in pride. I was prideful that these people who were the cause of this anger didn't understand me and were judging me wrongly. I am thankful I curbed my tongue before I said something wrong and spent time in prayer with Father allowing Him to show me the cause of the anger. 

Even when Jesus was being tortured for us He never complained or became angry. No, as He hung on the cross He said instead, 

Luke 23:34

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

  Friends, I encourage you when someone misunderstands you or mistreats you do not become angry but love them and pray for them. That is what Jesus did and we are to follow in His footsteps not the footsteps of the world. 

I'm linking up with Barbie for The Weekend Brew

Blessings,
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Will You Make It?

I have some pretty amazing on line friends that inspire and encourage me. :) This post was inspired by Lisa at My Heart's Home. She wrote an amazing raw post on Friends talking about forgiveness and that got me to do some pretty serious thinking.

Luke 21:34-36 NIV
“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

According to the above Scripture we see that in the lat days one can be weighed down by multiple things one being the anxieties of life. From listening to and taking part of conversations I am realizing that more and more people, as time moves on, are being weighed down by the anxieties of life. Could this be caused by making merry with lots of strong drink? Maybe, or it maybe the fact that as we grow closer to the time of Jesus' return, Satan is throwing the concerns of life at us.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 NIV

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

That is a very hard word to take to heart. Friends, I am seeing this. Me, who lives a lot in solitude am seeing this in the few people that I associate with. I am seeing a bitterness and a hardening of heart weave into the church, into people who I knew to be kind, loving and very forgiving. I see the affect of a selfish world penetrate into God's people. We truly need to be diligent in seeking after the heart of God, turning the other cheek to those who lash out at us. We need to keep our focus on God and His love seeking after a forgiving heart even when others hurt us.

A really good example for me comes in the form of driving. ;P I use to be a transport truck driver and I drove all over Canada and the United States. I consider myself a very good, professional driver who obeys the rules of the road and the unspoken common courtesy, like not driving in the left hand lane except to pass. Here, Satan can really get under my skin and my temper can rise when I see arrogant, foolish people doing 10 K or more under the speed limit sitting in the passing lane. This is a form of selfishness and it is on the increase here in Canada. Where the rule of thumb, even in Toronto on the 401, use to be always keep the left hand lane clear, is now being filled up with those who do not follow these rules. I know this is minor and really not a huge issue but it is one that shows the underlying heart of a person.

Brothers and sisters, we need to walk the talk. How can we be sure that we will go to heaven if we do not do what we are told to do?

QUESTION: If Jesus raptured His church today are you sure you would go? 

This is something I am really thinking on and examining my heart over. Am I living in sin? The sin of anger and unforgiving of that person in the left lane clogging up the traffic.

No, we are not perfect and we will continue to sin, but are we holding on to that sin and wallowing in it like a pig wallows in a mud hole?

Galatians 5:13-26 NIV

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

The more times I read this above passage the more I am understanding that walking in the Spirit goes against our 'feelings'. We may feel anger and hatred but we are not to act in anger and hatred but we are to act in love and forgiveness and the more we act in love and forgiveness the feelings of anger and hatred will dissolve. The more we love and forgive the easier it will be to spread this and hopefully show others the Spirit of God and allow them another chance to see who God is and hopefully they will consider Him and give their lives to Christ. After all that is the biggest concern for the Christian, to win others to Christ through our actions. :)

Blessings in Christ Jesus,
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Love To Forgive

Colossians 3:13 NIV

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Sometimes forgiveness does not come easily, especially if the hurt is deep. We need to ask God to give us strength and for His supernatural power in order to forgive. Does this mean we trust and forget? No, but we choose to love and accept and He works a miracle in our heart as we obey the Father. There is freedom in forgiveness. 

I'm linking up with Barbie for Fresh Brewed Sunday. 

Forgive

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Psalm 55:12-14 NIV

 If an enemy were insulting me, 

   I could endure it; 

if a foe were rising against me, 

   I could hide. 

But it is you, a man like myself, 

   my companion, my close friend, 

with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship 

   at the house of God, 

as we walked about 

   among the worshipers.

Forgive

I am working on this one, although it is hard God promises it is worth it. When David experienced this with one of his close aides, he poured out his heart to God. He spoke and confided in God and he didn't lash out but in turn forgave him who betrayed him. Jesus can relate to us here after all one of his close disciples betrayed Him to death. He forgave him because He knows the bigger plan of God. 

Im' linking up with Barbie My Fresh Brewed Sunday.

Blessings,

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Reaction: Negative OR Positive?

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Scenario:

Two boys raised in the same home by an alcoholic father. When grown they each went their own way, one became an alcoholic and the other a teetotaller. One was asked, "Why did you become an alcoholic?" The other was asked, "Why did you become a teetotaller:" Each of the men answered this question in the same way, "What else could you expect when you had a father like mine?"

Stuff happens, good and bad. We have the power and control to decide how we wish to react to these situations. It is easier to make sound judgements when you have been given a good start with a loving, caring family however there is still no guarantee that these kids will become model citizens. They too have a choice to make in how they are going to live their life.

When growing up in a poor home life there is still the choice to; feel sorry for ourselves, blame others, live life without a goal or purpose or you can forgive the parents, love them just because God gave them to you to honour, respect and obey. The choice is ours to make we can look at our cup half empty or half full. The cup and the liquid does not change it is our approach that makes the world of difference.

Hebrews 4:12-13 NIV

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edge sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to who we must give account.

It is very difficult to honour a mother or father who is an alcoholic, an abuser, or an abandoning parent but the best way we can honour such a parent is to not let our past direct our future. What a great honour it would be for parents if our children would rise above their early setbacks and invest their lives in doing what is right and good for others.

Matthew 7:13-14 NIV

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few fine it."

We all have "stuff" to deal with but it is how we look at this "stuff" that makes the world of difference. Here is a song by Paul Overstreet called 'Dig Another Well'. This kind of sums up this whole post. Enjoy!! 

Blessings,
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Heaps of Coal

While traveling on the plane to visit my family in the east, God lead me to read Romans 12. A few verses jumped off the page at me and I asked my son for some paper and started jotting down what came to mind. I knew this was lead by God but it wasn't until today that I realized this is for Lon from Humble Path.

Romans 12:19-21 NASB  Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written. "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in doing so you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
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It seems bizarre, be kind to your enemy and you will be heaping burning coals on their head. Our culture does not understand the meaning from the Semetic speaking people, for heaping coals on the head was not a cruelty or vengence like it sounds, but a great kindness.

Before matches and instant heat, a fire had to be started with either flint or rubbing sticks together to make a spark that could be coaxed into a flame and then fed with small bits of dry wood, leaves and such to allow for a good roaring fire to blaze. This was a long tedious process and if there was no dry material around it would be nearly impossible to get a fire going. People from biblical times and today's Africian people carry most everything on their heads, jars of water, baskets of fruit and all kinds of food. Coal was also carried this way so the person, or family always had fire readily available for warmth or cooking. Heaping coal on your neighbours head was a very good and generous thing to do.

Matthew 5:44 NASB "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Jesus wants us to love one another and to pray for those who have hurt us, for in this way we are providing an opportunity for the Spirit to minister to them and hopefully they will repent and if they do not know Jesus then they will come to know Him and have a chance at eternal life in His kingdom.

I think there is also symbolism here for forgiveness of sin. Fire is life and in the temple of God there was to be a continuous burning embers kept on the sacrifice altar. Leviticus 6:13 NIV The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out. John tells us in Luke 3:16 NIV...He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Fire is vital for existence so in being kind to our enemies we are giving them the chance at living an eternal life with the Creator of the universe. What better gift is there than that.                                Google Image

Praise you Holy God for your words that teach us and Your fire that ignites us. Jesus bless Lon and ignite him with Your Holy fire. Thank you in the powerful name of Jesus Christ amen.
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