A recent article in “The Business Insider” was entitled, “A Wave of Anger Is Sweeping The Cities of The World”. I didn’t read the article– I didn’t need to. It is obvious to everyone that people everywhere are angry– some justifiably so and some not. God’s Word says, “Be ye angry”, but it adds “and sin not” (Eph. 4:26). Everyone excels at the former and fails at the latter. Anger then becomes an adversary rather than an aid. That same verse also says,”—let not the sun go down upon your wrath”. Sadly, some have remained angry for decades and no reconciliation is in sight. And their sinful anger leads to terrible results.

Just the other day I read about a soccer ref who was killed and dismembered after he had stabbed a player. And everyday we read of some incident involving road rage or domestic abuse. But this problem is deeper than that. Nations are angry. Leaders are angry. And it trickles all the way down to the general population. Maybe I should say, it rises all the up, because it starts with individuals. As you know well, it’s hard to find a person who doesn’t have a problem with anger.

I don’t know a lot about many things, but I do know something about anger. Until the day I was saved I had an uncontrollable temper. It is a miracle that I didn’t kill someone or get killed. I destroyed furniture, busted out car windows, hit my best friend with a baseball bat, and threatened to shoot people. I wasn’t the kind of person you would want for a friend or an enemy. I didn’t believe in “an eye for an eye” and “a tooth for a tooth”. I believed in a life for an insult. In my mind, anything that didn’t please me was a major problem. But by the grace of God I was saved before I ended up in prison or a grave. That’s when things began to change. Although I’m not the man I ought to be or want to be, thank God I’m not what I used to be.

Anger is dangerous. It causes people to act contrary to common-sense. It causes us to harm others and hurt ourselves. It causes us to do things we can never undo. Anger disfigures your character, defiles your life, and destroys 1001 things. We simply cannot afford to let our anger get the best of us. Bitter anger in the heart is like a deadly cancer eating away at our vitals, and like a raging fire consuming our valuables. Sinful anger is deadly. It not only hurts you and harms others, it grieves God.

Since anger is such a formidable foe it behooves us to be able to recognize it and remove it before it conquers us. One of the first things we need to realize is that anger manifests itself in numerous ways–a sharp tongue, sullen silence, etc. We might pretend it isn’t there, but discerning people see the signs. Stop kidding yourself. If you are harboring anger in your heart admit it and confess it to God. You and everyone around you will be glad you did.–HDS

Fret not thyself against evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.–Psalm 37:1

Nearly every American can remember where they were twelve years ago today. 9-11-2001 is a date we will never forget. I don’t need to explain what happened because it is deeply imprinted in our minds. The only question about that terrible tragedy is “Why?”. That’s something people wrestle with to this very day. They want an explanation. They want answers to their questions. They want to know, why would a good God allow a bad thing like this to happen?

Not only are they confused, they are enraged at those responsible for the cowardly attacks. For some it goes far beyond anger— they have bitter hatred in their hearts toward the perpetrators. They want revenge. And their bitterness bleeds through and shows itself in numerous ways.

In light of all this it is difficult for some people to take the words of our text serious–“Fret not thyself–neither be thou envious–“. They even resent being told to “Cease from anger; and forsake wrath: fret not—“( vs. 1,8) If that describes you, you need to read this entire Psalm. Here’s what you will learn—God is still good, and still in control, and will use the bad for good, and will judge the evildoers, and will reward the righteous.

We need to remember everyday that no evil goes unpunished and no good deed goes unrewarded. Regardless of what is happening, God will balance the books and make all the wrongs right. Because that is true you should “Trust in the LORD”(vs. 3), “Delight thyself also in the LORD”(vs. 4), “Commit thy ways unto the LORD”(vs. 5), “Rest in the LORD”(vs. 7), and “Cease from anger”(vs. 8). Embrace this precious promise and you will be encouraged—-“And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him”(vs. 40). “He is their strength in the time of trouble”(vs. 39). We never know what a day might bring — what hardships we will be forced to face, but we can always rely upon God to keep His promises. —HDS

Have you ever noticed—sometimes we become our own worst enemy? It’s true. And sometimes this happens in unusual ways. Case in point— we bring a curse down upon our heads by expecting the Christian life to always be enjoyable and easy. Upon what Scripture do we base that expectation? That is something man invented. The Bible teaches otherwise. Although it is easy to become a Christian, it is not easy to be a Christian.

Just about everything we are commanded to do is hard, even impossible for us to do on our own. The Scriptures impose demands upon us that are far beyond our ability to do without divine aid. Who can say they have succeeded on their own? Have we not all failed at some point? Think about it. Have we honestly forsaken all to follow Christ? What about forgiving, loving, and helping your enemies? Are we truly “doers of the Word”? Most of us fail more than we like to admit.

The demands of discipleship are difficult. And the difficulties of discipleship are by divine design— never forget that! Jesus warned His followers from the very beginning that it would be hard. He never encouraged people to follow Him under false  pretense. He was open, honest and up-front about what to expect and what was expected. He told them they would be hated, persecuted, and murdered. Yet He told them to be faithful unto death. They were to forsake all for this? That doesn’t sound very appealing– not something you would say if your goal was to “win friends and influence people”.

So how did we develop this idea that the Christian life should be all fun and games? Next to the natural appeal of the flesh, I suspect the biggest culprit is preachers. In an effort to make Christianity more appealing many have tried to reduce the demands of discipleship. They have turned things up-side down, making it more about us than God. However, as appealing as this might seem, it doesn’t satisfy– neither God nor man. God’s way, the hard way, the challenging way, is the only way that leads to true satisfaction. Whatever the cost the product is worth the price. Nothing satisfies the soul of man more than knowing he has done the will of God. That’s the only life worth living. Christians must live for the glory of God and the good of others, or suffer grief due to a guilty conscience. Only those who are willing to pay the price can enjoy perfect peace.—- HDS