How can a follower of Christ battle the temptation to react in anger?

So, Harold has, on many occasions, had to remind me of this critical truth: I can control how I react to my circumstances--even when my circumstances are doing their very best to provoke me to react sinfully in anger.

In my sober (and by sober I mean not intoxicated with anger) state of mind, this truth is easy for me to embrace.  However, with one year of marriage under my belt, I recognize (all too well) how prone I am to surrender all control of my emotions at the slightest provocation.

As Harold and I navigate the ropes of Christ-like respect and love in our marriage, I confess that I am in need of grace and instruction from the Lord. Therefore, I have prayerfully assembled a selection of verses from God's word to help compose this post. I pray that these truths will cleanse the renegade chambers of my heart, soul, and mind, and will, in turn, provide me with the ammunition necessary to battle the deceitful enemy of anger. I hope that my transparency into this matter will encourage you to exercise control over your own anger as well--for the glory of God, alone!

Following one of my losing duels with anger, I tend to flip penitently to this instructive verse from the book of James:

"Know this, my beloved brothers: Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires." (James 1:19)

It may seem like a simple set of precautions--be quick to hear and slow to speak.  However, these two short phrases supply followers of Christ with valuable wisdom and practicality. If I humble myself so that my ears are eager and willing to hear someone's point of view, explanation or even complaint against me, an entire battle could be circumnavigated. And if I am slow to voice my opinions or to make my defense upon hearing someone's point of view, explanation, or complaint against me, then--once more--the situation could easily deescalate.

Admittedly, this verse usually only comes into view once the consuming cloud of smoke and ash from my anger volcano has settled. How helpful it would have been, I think with remorse, to have regarded these words instead of reacting in anger! If only I hadn't allowed my anger to rise like lava from the mantle of my heart and spew uncontrollably out of my mouth! (Ok, so maybe my thoughts aren't quite this eloquent and simile-esque following an angry feud, but you get the point!)

Truthfully, all of us use our tongues to vent and direct the anger within our hearts. In his writings, James goes on to provide some powerful metaphors related to the human tongue and the manifestation of sinful anger:

"How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness...no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing." (James 3:5-6, 8-10)

Because our words have the potential to be so damaging, the admonition we receive from James to "be slow to speak" is of great value. Christ himself is the greatest example we have to follow as we train ourselves to bite our tongue. I am always so humbled as I read about the events leading up to the Crucifixion of Jesus. Jesus was aware--even in the midst of the deepest accusation and persecution against Him--of His true identity. He knew he was:

• The King of Kings, the Lord of Lords (Revelation 17:14, Revelation 19:16)
• The name at which every knee would eventually bow and every tongue would confess as Lord (Philippians 2:10-11)
• The creator and upholder of the universe (Hebrews 1:2-3)
• The One worthy to receive power, and wealth, and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing (Revelation 5:12)

Jesus deserved to be worshiped and revered as King, but instead, he was whipped and ridiculed as a criminal. In light of who He was and how He was being treated, Jesus--more than anyone--was entitled to make a defense. He was entitled to get angry, and not even with a sinful anger, but a pure, righteous and justifiable anger. He could have unleashed the words of His mouth to silence and condemn any and all of His earthly opponents.

But as the pompous, hypocritical leaders brought their false charges against Him, Pilate, the chief officer who was set over the whole dispute, directed this question to the guiltless King Jesus:

"Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you."

What happened next was amazing. In fact, the Bible says that even Pilate was amazed! Because, rather than make His defense, we read that Jesus made no further answer.

Jesus would not compromise His obedience to God, for He knew that He had been called by God to love and die for His enemies. Therefore, He made no further answer. Wow.

You and I are not Jesus. We have none of the entitlements that He has. We are lowly humans, tainted by sin and tempted to sin at every turn. How much less of a defense, therefore, should we be willing to make when we are brought to trial as a result of our sin-laden actions and words.

I don't expect for my sinful reactions to change by my own will-power alone, and neither should you. I believe that our ability to react with love and self-control will depend upon the Spirit's enabling, for the Spirit that God has given us is one of power and love and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7).  May it be the Lord Himself that directs our hearts to the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ (2 Thessalonians 3:5) as we strive to put to death the sinful anger that rages within. And may we resist, as Christ did so graciously and willingly, the temptation to make a defense for ourselves--with minds set above.

 

How should a follower of Christ view death?

So, Harold and I recently paid a visit to our local theater to see The Fault In Our Stars. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with the premise, the film unpacks the evolving romance between two teenagers, Hazel and Gus, who are united by one debilitating commonality: cancer.

Hazel Grace Lancaster suffers from a highly intrusive and incurable form of lung cancer, which requires her to be connected to an oxygen tank at all times. At the beginning of the story, Hazel's mother suspects, contrary to Hazel's objections, that her daughter's depression is worsening as a side effect of the day-in-and-day-out struggles and limitations associated with her cancer. Hazel goes on to narrate her perspective of the matter by stating the following:

"Whenever you read a cancer booklet or website or whatever, they always list depression among the side effects of cancer. But, in fact, depression is not a side effect of cancer. Depression is a side effect of dying."

This quote struck me--mainly because, in reality, we are all dying, be it from physical illness, freak accident, or even just plain old age. So, if Hazel's observation is true--if depression really is a side effect of dying--shouldn't we all be depressed? I believe the answer is: yes, but no. Death, for the believer in Christ, should take on an entirely different connotation. Therefore, my aim in this post is to address the reality of death from the perspective of a follower of Christ. Because, along with Hazel, death is a reality that we must all confront.

We are first met with the concept of death at the beginning of the Bible in the book of Genesis, following what is referred to as "The Fall".  As a result of the first man's (and woman's) direct disobedience to God, sin enters the world--and with it, death. God makes this clear in verse 19 of the third chapter of Genesis:

"By the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

The sin of Adam and Eve, the first created humans, brought about sin and death for all of mankind. The brevity of life, the birth and consequence of sin, and the reality of death are all consistent (and solemn) themes addressed by Scripture:

Psalm 39:4-5- "O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!"

Romans 3:23 and 6:23- "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...The wages of sin is death." (meaning all, including you, me and everyone else in this world, have disobeyed God and deserve to be punished by death)

1 Corinthians 15:21-22- "For as by one man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive." (Though the birth and consequence of sin is a present theme in this verse, there is also a profound theme of hope to be found for the believer, which I am excited to address! Keep scrolling!)

Romans 5:12- "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned..."

Those are just some of the verses I found that show (1) the origin of sin, (2) the reality that all have sinned, and (3) the ensuing death that follows sin. Although, there are two other passages that I find most sobering in relation to these themes. Contrary to what I used to believe, death is not merely a harmless state of eternal numbness and nothingness--rather, for those who have sinned against (or disobeyed) God (which all have), it is a state of eternal punishment and separation from all things good, especially from Christ himself:

2 Thessalonians 1:7- "...when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do no obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might..."

Matthew 13:41- "(referring to the end of the world, when Christ returns) The Son of Man (Jesus Christ) will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

If the eternal state of suffering and separation depicted by these two verses is the reality of what awaits all mankind after physical death, then I wholeheartedly agree with Hazel Grace: yes, depression ought to be a side effect of dying. However, ironically enough, the antidote to this hopeless, depressing fate can be found in Hazel's very own middle name: Grace.

The Gospel, or good news, of Christ is the good news of God's grace and mercy toward sinners. One definition of mercy is "compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender or enemy." As disobedient sinners, all humans stand as enemies of God, in need of grace and mercy. Christ is that grace. And it is by the grace of God through Christ that we, as followers of Christ, are saved from death and eternal punishment.

The fate of a follower of Christ after death, in stark contrast to the fate those who do not know Christ, is depicted by this verse:

Revelation 21: 3- "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."

If the eternal state of joy, painlessness, and comfort depicted by this verse is the reality of what can await mankind after death by believing upon Christ, then I wholeheartedly disagree with Hazel: no--hope, not depression, ought to be a side effect of dying.

Though I've never faced cancer, I have faced the fear and hopelessness of death. Before discovering the eternal life offered by Christ, I used to lie awake at night and envision dying. I would picture myself drawing my final breaths, and then, nothing. Darkness. Loneliness. No family. No friends. No hope. No comfort. I thought of my family members dying and tried to imagine what their fate would be. This trail of thoughts would fill my heart with grief on many occasions.

But soon after, God graciously revealed His plan to me--a plan to give me life and not death, hope and not despair, joy and not sorrow. This hope came in the form of Jesus and His words. The concept of eternal life, let alone one filled with hope and love and a glorious God, was foreign to me. But it was also irresistible to me once God opened my eyes and my heart to believe the words of Jesus. And it is with His words that I want to leave you to consider today, both for the comfort they bring to the believer, and the invitation they elicit for the unbeliever:

John 3:15-16- "...So must the Son of Man be lifted up (raised from the dead), that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."

John 3:36- "Whoever beleives in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him."

John 5:24- "Truly, truly I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life."

John 6:27- "Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you."

John 6:40- "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

John 6:51- "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I give for the life of the world is my flesh."

John 8:24- "I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins."

John 10:27-28- "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish..."

John 11:25-26- "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die."

John 17:3- "And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."

Death is inevitable, but grace through Christ is available. And though it is natural to mourn the loss of life of loved ones while here on earth, there is a supernatural perspective available to us, as followers of Christ, that can prevent the reality of death from stealing our joy and our hope.

I believe that the apostle Paul, a fellow follower of Christ, had a right view of death when he said, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain...My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better." Therefore, let us echo the sentiments of Paul as we confront the reality of death--with minds set above.

What enables a follower of Christ to understand the word of God?

Standard: [1 Corinthians 2:11-12]
Objective: We will examine the factors that enable a believer to understand (and cherish) God's word and how we should respond to the reality of these factors.

So, this past week, Harold and I joined a group of people from our church to go on a prayer walk at a local park in downtown Tampa.  The intent of the prayer walk was to engage in conversation with people, to learn of any present and pressing needs they had (and would be willing to share with complete strangers!), and to offer them prayer for those needs.

I was paired with another lady from the church, and at the onset of our walk, we each prayed for the hearts of the people that God would lead us to speak with, and for our own hearts as well. There was one specific part of my companion's prayer that God used to speak to me that evening.  Her plea went something like this: "Lord, help us to be humble and to simply be obedient to share your truth in love."

Talking to complete strangers about such an intimate and universally diverse matter as prayer can be intimidating. Even the apostle Paul seemed to be somewhat familiar with the intimidation that can accompany the obedient act of speaking truth to others. He makes this assertion in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5:

"And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."

Paul confesses that it was in weakness and in fear and much trembling that he shared such an implausible, or unlikely, message. And yet, despite all intimidation, he walked in obedience and humility as he shared God's truth in love with the people in Corinth--the very thing we are called to do with the people in our own cities.

Well, there just so happened to be a storm brewing over our city that evening as we were driving to the park. I would be lying if I failed to confess that the nervous (and selfish) part of me was hoping that the inevitable downpour would soon commence and squelch our mission. However, upon hearing my partner pray those words--help us to be humble and obedient--and after engaging in conversation with one particular woman that evening, God began to lift my anxious thoughts and, instead, directed  my mind to this one, praiseworthy reality: He has graciously granted me with an understanding of the Gospel and of His word.

The stories and messages of the Bible, which once seemed to me empty, meaningless and fictitious, have--since believing upon the Lord Jesus Christ--become messages filled with hope, and instruction, and purpose. If you are in Christ today, the testimony of transformation I just shared will mostly likely resonate with you as well. And that leads us to consider the essential question of this post: What enables a follower of Christ to understand (and then cherish) the word of God, especially when we consider that so many others cannot understand it and do not cherish it?

I am writing this post under the conviction that before we endeavor to share God's word with others, in hopes that they will understand and cherish it, we must sharpen our awareness of how we ourselves have been enabled to understand God's word. And this awareness will remove (or at least lessen) the intimidation we may feel in sharing God's truth.

As i mentioned earlier, there was one particular conversation that evening which led me to consider the essential question of this post. At one point in the evening, the rain did indeed start to fall. We fled for cover under a nearby building, and that is where our conversation took place.

The woman we spoke with had a hodgepodge of incomplete, and sometimes incoherent, truths to share with us related to God's word, the person and work of Jesus Christ, and the reality of sin (please bear in mind that my aim is not to berate this woman and her understanding as I recount this experience to you--rather, it is my aim to respond humbly to this experience in an effort to seek and apply Biblical truth to my own life).

As we asked this woman questions, listened to her answers, and responded with God's word in love, I could sense that she did not possess an understanding of the true, saving Gospel of Grace--that Christ was sent by God to live a life of complete obedience (thereby substituting his obedient life in place of our disobedient life), to die and bear the punishment of sin (thereby absorbing the death and punishment we deserved due to our sin), and to be raised from the dead to eternal life (thereby restoring our hope for eternal life instead of eternal death).

While driving home that evening, I shared with Harold just how humbled I felt that God, in his mercy and grace, would grant me an understanding of His Gospel, while others, at present, were left without that understanding. And though that is a hard reality to consider (the reality that some are not/have not been given understanding) this post serves mainly as an opportunity to praise God, as believers, for the understanding He has granted to us, and the understanding he has yet to grant to others. I want to direct our focus to the factors that enable us, as followers of Christ, saved by grace, to understand the word of God and the true Gospel of Grace.

Inasmuch as Paul understood the intimidation of sharing God's word, He understood fully and with complete conviction the factors that enabled followers of Christ to understand God's word, and this compelled him to share with others. He says this in 1 Corinthians 2:11-12:

"For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God."

Paul was well aware that followers of Christ are given a mind to understand the word of God only after God himself has given them the Spirit to understand.  And this precious Spirit of understanding is given the moment we believe upon Christ for salvation. So then, God himself enables us to understand His word.

Paul goes on to say this:

"The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned."

Apart from the Spirit of God in us, we would not understand, nor would we cherish, any of the things found in God's word. Again, God himself enables us to understand, and cherish, His word.

Do you see the theme emerging from this text? It is by God's grace and power alone that we can reap any understanding from His word and from the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! This is such a sweet, humbling, an praiseworthy truth to meditate upon! Just think about it--the only reason we, as followers of Christ, can receive comfort, healing, hope, wisdom, love, instruction, purpose, delight (etc.) from God's word is because God himself has given us a mind to receive such meaning! Without God's enabling, we would consider His word folly, or foolish.

This truth can give us great confidence to share God's word with others--for we know that the power to transform a mind belongs to God alone by means of His word alone. The power does not rest upon our presentation, rather, it rests upon God's enabling Spirit of understanding, which God graciously bestows upon those who believe in Jesus Christ for their salvation.

In closing, I want to share a song that beautifully captures the reality that God enables us to understand His word, by His Spirit. The song is titled, "O Great God" and is written by Bob Kauflin of Sovereign Grace Music (FYI--Sovereign Grace is my favorite worship group, so expect for me to bombard you with more of their wonderful songs as my blog advances!).  Every single time I hear the second verse, a sense of awe and gratitude washes over my soul:

"I was blinded by my sin

Had no ears to hear Your voice

Did not know Your love within

Had no taste for Heaven's Joys

Then Your Spirit gave me life

Opened up Your Word to me

Through the gospel of Your Son

Gave me endless hope and peace"

"O Great God"-Full Song with Lyrics

May we always be thankful to God for giving us eyes to see and ears to hear the truth of Christ, and may we share God's word in love, trusting in His power to transform and to save--with minds set above.

Why should a follower of Christ anticipate answers to prayer?

So, Harold and I received an answer to one of our prayers this past Friday.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I recently went to select a new teaching position due to the loss of my current position. I was second to last on a list of nearly 30 other displaced employees within the county.

What I hadn't mentioned was that prior to attending this selection process (known as "The Pool"), my principal had informed me that he was 99% certain there would be a first grade teaching position opening up at my current school for next year. I told him that I would definitely like to be considered.

The opportunity to continue teaching at my current school was far more appealing than the alternative, which was to acclimate to a new grade level and a new work environment with new routines and new people. Not only would it be new, but, apparently, it would be rough.

The school I ended up selecting, unbeknownst to me, was a rather rough school. And as I delivered the news of my uninformed selection in passing to other teachers, their facial expressions couldn't help but confirm this reality. Even my assistant Principal's reaction had a hint of distress. Based on these questionable reactions, I felt like I had made a huge mistake!

Needless to say, Harold and I quickly and consistently began to pray about this matter. We prayed that God would graciously grant me the opportunity to remain at my current school. In response to our prayers, our good and faithful God delivered a favorable answer! My principal informed me on Friday that the first grade position had officially become available and he offered it to me! Praise the Lord!! I am beyond grateful for His provision in this matter. 

And yet, I find that it is far easier to trust that God answers prayers after the fact.  Once He has changed the status of our request from pending to approved, we suddenly have all the confidence in the world in God! At least, I do. Admittedly, on the night preceding the good news of my answered prayer request, I was lacking that level of confidence. I had been scrolling through Facebook and I happened upon the status of a college acquaintance who was praising God for answering a prayer request of her own: After having a not-so-pleasant teaching experience at one particular school--which made her call into question her desire to be a teacher altogether--she had now been offered a full-time Kindergarten position at a school that she loved!

Although I was genuinely happy to see that God had been faithful to answer her request for a teaching position, for some reason, in that moment, I felt less inclined to believe God would grant me with the same answer. This led me to ask myself: Do I anticipate that God will actually answer my prayer requests? Because it's one thing to believe He is simply capable of answering our prayers, but it's another thing to trust, embrace and sincerely anticipate answers to our prayers.

So let's consider this question together: Why should a follower of Christ anticipate answers to prayer?

First of all, Jesus tells us to do just that in Mark 11:24!

"Therefore, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

Believe that you have received! In just 5 words, we are given the green light to start anticipating answers to our prayer requests! Bearing in mind that God's ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts higher than our thoughts (meaning his version of an answer to prayer might vary from our own), we can, indeed, anticipate God to answer our prayers, according to His perfect ways.

There are a couple of key verses from the Psalms that also encourage us to anticipate answers to our prayers:

Psalm 66:19-20-"But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!"

Psalm 69:13-"But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness."

The Psalmist acknowledges that the timing for any answer to prayer remains in God's capable, all-knowing hands--yet, there will be an answer nonetheless! Praise God!

Perhaps you are like me, in that you often struggle to anticipate--sincerely and wholeheartedly--an answer to your own prayer requests (let alone, a good answer!). May we learn to trust that God is good, and he answers our prayer requests according to His abundant goodness. I challenge you to consider a prayer request of your own that is currently pending. Meditate on the words of Jesus in Mark 11:24, and start to wait with eager anticipation for an answer to that prayer--with minds set above.