• Week Two
• Day 3
• As always don’t forget to pray and ask for guidance.

Scriptures

Matthew 5:21-26
21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

Luke 6:37-38
37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Galatians 5:19-26
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Devotional

JESUS’ MEASURE FOR ANGER

Do you have any grievances with anyone? Have you done everything possible to restore any broken relationships? How do you handle your anger towards your spouse? How many things are you angry or frustrated about?

Theologian D.A. Carson stated, “There is no clear distinction between the person with seething anger, the one who insultingly calls his brother a fool, and the one who prefers, as his term of abuse, Raca.” In the past, have you made a distinction between these “degrees” of anger? What has your response been to others in regard to the Scriptures you read?

The term “raca” means imbecile, fool, blockhead. The expression “fiery hell” comes from the Hebrew word meaning “the Valley of Hinnom” This was a ravine south of Jerusalem once associated with the pagan god Molech and his disgusting rites, including child sacrifice and fornication. Later on, the valley was converted into a dumping ground for filth and the corpses of criminals. Even as late as the first century it may still have been used as a garbage pit, complete with smoldering fires. Because of these fires, the valley came to symbolize the place of eternal punishment, and the phrase “gehenna of fire” was used to express this (slightly modified from William Barclay, The New Daily Study Bible).

The hard truth is, we actually deserve to go to hell for unjustified anger! But Christ bore even the sin of our anger on the cross, so we must trust in Him to be free from this penalty. Then He provides strength to free us from anger’s presence.

What does Jesus tell us to do with our anger?

How many of the sins listed in the Galatians passage are related to anger and bitterness? What fruit of the Spirit can you exercise instead the next time you are angry?

As you meet with the Lord today, pray about what pushes your buttons. When is it most difficult for you to manage your anger or respond with grace and patience? Don’t be afraid to be honest (God already knows anyways) Choose one of these areas to focus on. Ask the Lord for His plan and His help to address it, to not let anger fester and grow, and to instead exhibit the fruit of the Spirit.

My own thoughts:

Thank you for joining me for another deep soul searching study into our own hearts. Topics may be mildly uncomfortable to one’s own self-righteous anger and cause an allergic reaction. Symptoms may include but are not limited to the following if help is not sought after immediately!;

• feelings of depression immediately upon hearing this
• fear/anxiety over things in the past
• and impending doom in the future

If gone untreated for too long, the repercussions can be life threatening! One MUST seek the Great Physician for this healing! Run, run to Him and don’t delay! Only He can take these feelings away…

All jokes aside…Yeah… *My eyes squint into narrow slits as I stare at the computer screen* I know that my readers are from all over but when I say this lesson is stomping on my toes like a southern baptist preacher… everyday the Lord is stomping a little bit on my spiritual toes. These lessons have given me much to think about. I love you all very much! until tomorrow be blessed and stay peculiar!