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Eph. 4:26 - Be ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, NASU
Mark 3:4-5 - And He said to them, "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?" But they kept silent. 5 After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. NASU
The apostle Paul said, "Be angry and yet do not sin..." (The reason it is in all capital letters above is this is a direct quote from the Psalms 4:4) Jesus, according to Mark, was angry with the Pharisees attitude in regard to healing on the Sabbath. Jesus was there to heal people and it didn't matter to Him if the healing took place on the Sabbath or not. I have said it this way: "It is never wrong to do what is right." and that is what Jesus did. What mattered to Jesus was a good deed was done and this glorified God.
If you are angry my question to you would be "What is the source of your anger? I believe this to be a very important issue. You must identify what causes you to become angry. Many people have called Jesus' anger "righteous indignation". I have no problem with anyone calling His anger that. The question for us is "Could our anger be called righteous indignation"?
Candace Lightner's 13 year old daughter, Cari, was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Fair Oaks, California in May 1980. Candace used her "anger" to organize a group of people we know today as Mothers Against Drunk Driving or MADD. Driving laws in our country have been changed because Candace used her anger in a positive way. The apostle Paul said, we can be angry we just can't allow our anger to lead us into sinning. So maybe you have been cheated or robbed in some way. It is okay to be angry but don't allow your anger to become sin.
Years ago when I was doing counseling I would tell people they needed to learn how to ventilate their feelings. You will either do one of two things with your feelings. You will either ventilate or suppress them. The choice is yours. The best solution is learning how to ventilate properly. Let's say you are driving and the person driving the car in front of you is going to slow according to you. How are you going to ventilate what you are feeling? You can get closer and do what they call "riding their bumper" or when you get an opportunity to pass you cut back in real close to them to let them know you don't appreciate how they are driving, OR you could think and say to yourself is God trying to slow me down to save me from a serious accident up ahead? This is exactly what happened to one passenger who was supposed to be on ValuJet Flight 592 from Miami to Atlanta where all 110 passengers and crew were killed. He said, he was yelling and screaming at all the cars that were in front of him for not driving fast enough according to him. He said the realization of the crash hit him hard as he stood in the airport and heard the report of the crash of flight 592. All those cars that were in his way were now the reason he was still alive. James 1:19-20 - But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. NASU
According to James we are to be slow to anger and then Paul says, if you are going to become angry don't allow your anger to lead you to sinning. I hope you have an anger free week. Think About These: "Anger" is one letter short of danger. For every minute you are angry, you lose 60 seconds of happiness. Striking while the iron is hot maybe okay, but don't strike while the head is hot. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Matt. 6:4 - No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." NASU
The Greek word for "serve' is "douleuo" and it means to be a slave to. Wealth has been called a terrible master. We have all probably known someone who was a slave to wealth. People want to be rich. There is nothing wrong with being rich unless you have allowed it to become your master and it has enslaved you. People have lost their health, families and friends when all they had time for was to pursue wealth. I have told you before about my conversation with an elderly farmer in VA. We went for a walk around his farm and as we were walking he said that the youth puzzled him. He went on to clarify his statement by saying this: "The youth spend all their health to gain wealth and then when they are old they spend all their wealth to gain health." I just smiled and had to agree with him.
Where do you spend most of your time? What takes up the majority of your day? What are some promises that wealth cannot make you? Can wealth say to you, "If you are wealthy you will be able to sleep well at night?" We all know that is false. Yet, that is exactly what the Psalmist says, "…Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O LORD! You have put gladness in my heart, More than when their grain and new wine abound. In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety (Ps.4:6-8). He is able to lie down and sleep not because of the bumper crop of grain and wine but because God has put gladness in his heart and because of this gladness he is able sleep in peace. So do you want to have a good night's sleep? Then I highly recommend serving the LORD. It is better to serve the LORD than serve wealth. Think About These: Never spend your money before you've earned it. Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants. The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Acts 10:30-31 - Cornelius answered: "Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me 31 and said, 'Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. NIV
I wonder what went through Cornelius' mind after that conversation with an angel. I am fairly sure he was not giving to the poor to be noticed by God. Yet, that is exactly what happened to him. He gave to the poor and God noticed him. I am fairly sure that when we give to the poor we do not give thinking "Well, God is watching me so I will give a large sum to this poor person." When we give we do so to help this person. Do you remember a time when someone helped you? Now it is our turn to return the favor.
In the Old Testament times when the Israelites lived in an agricultural society God told them not to harvest all of their crops. They were to leave the edges of their fields alone and the poor people could come and glean the edges of their fields for free. In other words, the poor people had to do something to help alleviate their poor condition. They were given an opportunity to better themselves by harvesting a crop that was left in the field for them by the land owner. They could use this harvested crop to feed their family or sell the crop to support their family. This type of living is supported by the Apostle Paul in the New Testament when he writes in 2 Thes. 3:10 - For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. NASU
I have been asked if I give to the people who are at the stop lights begging for money. My answer is "No." But I will tell you who I do give money too. I give to the ones working in the restaurants. I know the ones working there are definitely not rich. A lot of them are working there as a second job. They are trying to make ends meet. Some of them are in school during the day and working there at night. God's plan is to help those who are indeed working to try and get ahead in this life and I see waiters and waitresses doing exactly that. When I leave them a nice tip I see this as a way to give to the poor.
Proverbs 14:21 - But happy is he who is gracious to the poor. NASU Prov. 22:9 - He who is generous will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor. NASU
Think About These: Poverty is often the sidekick of laziness. A man is truly poor, not when he has nothing but when he does nothing. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Matt. 7:11 -"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!" NASU
I can remember getting plenty of gifts on my birthday and at Christmas time. When I was seven years of age I received my first pony (Trigger), at 10 years of age I received a bicycle and at 15 I would receive an Ithaca 20 gauge shotgun. Yes, my parents knew how to give good gifts. One of the best gifts I received and I didn't know I was getting it at the time was the value of working hard at your job. I worked for my dad from the age of 12 - 18 and anyone that ever worked for him would tell you same thing when you punched the timecard to start work he expected a day's work for a day's pay. I would carry that mindset to every job and in fact it is still with me to this day. I guess you could call that the gift that kept on giving.
The first time the word "gift" is used in the New Testament is in John 4:10 - Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." The "gift" that is being referenced here to the woman at the well is Jesus Christ Himself. He is the "gift" of God. Jesus was and is the "gift" that God gave to this world and without Him we would all be in trouble. Acts 2:38 - Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. In this passage of scripture we can see the Holy Spirit is the "gift" we are able to receive from our Heavenly Father. Justification is also identified as a "gift" from God and is connected to redemption. What does it mean to be a recipient of the "gift" of Justification? One of my professors Dr. Jack Cottrell said it this way: "The best way for a Christian to understand what it means to be justified is to picture himself as a defendant standing in a courtroom before God as the presiding Judge, and to hear God pronounce His verdict: 'No penalty for you!' … To be justified thus does not mean that God treats me just as if I'd never sinned, but rather just as if I'd already paid my penalty." The apostle Paul said it this in Romans 3:21-24 - But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;… Justification is another "gift' from God. One can easily see that our Heavenly Father really does know how to give us awesome gifts. Think About This: Justice is what we get when the decision is in our favor. God cares for people through people. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Matt. 8:1-3 - When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. 2 And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." 3 Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. NASU
It is now time for Jesus not to preach anymore but to put into action what He has preached.
Below are some of the lessons that Jesus had just finished teaching His followers. They were to be the light of the world and to let their lights shine. Matt. 5:14-16 - "You are the light of the world.... Let your light shine,… and glorify your Father who is in heaven." NASU When Jesus heals this leper He will have displayed His good works and glorified His Heavenly Father exactly like He told His followers. The leper is asking, seeking and knocking on the Lord's door, and He has already said if you will do those three things, the door will be opened to you. Matt. 7:7-8 - Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. NASU You will notice Jesus teaches a lesson on how we are to treat people. We are to treat them the same way we want to be treated. Matt. 7:12 - "In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets." NASU Can you hear the followers murmuring in the background? What murmuring? The murmuring, "It's a leper. Is He going to help a leper?" It was believed by many that you were cursed with leprosy from God because of something evil you had done. Now a leper is coming to Jesus to be healed. Jesus taught them to treat people the way you want to be treated. He didn't say unless they are Babylonians, Moabites, or lepers. Jesus is close to the end of His message when He says, in Matt. 7:17-20 - "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit …"So then, you will know them by their fruits." NASU When Jesus heals this leper He is letting them know He is a good tree and He will bear good fruit.
Yet, the leper knew enough to come to Jesus for help. When you pray you need to be like this leper. You need to come to Jesus and inform Him that He can heal you from whatever problem you are carrying in life, if He so desires. You don't want to miss what the leper said to Jesus. "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." The leper had faith that Jesus could heal him and he wasn't afraid to say it (Heb. 11:6). If you want results in your prayer life come with faith believing that if it is the Lord's will your prayer will be answered the way you desire. Think About These: Prayer doesn't need proof, it needs practice. If you are too busy to pray, you are too busy. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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