Learning Self-Restraint

Anger Controlls Him (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
    do not fret—it leads only to evil.

Psalm 37:8

New International Version (NIV)

          I'm much better than I used to be.  Although I've never been overly contentious with others for the most part, I've had my fits of resistant anger.  I still can be very opinionated and under certain circumstances be willing to vocalize those opinions.   This often does more harm than good and in the end I am resentful and  relationships are strained.

         We have been in some crazy times of late.  We have seen the results of organized anger and the resulting evil.  As we grow nearer to the U.S. elections there will be many bitter and accusatory words flying in the air.   My advice is to listen carefully and only engage when the opposition wants to listen carefully to you.   This is the season when a lot of people are hearing a lot of words, but nobody understands much of anything that is said.

        When we don't listen, we don't know what has been said.  A blind shouting match is an invitation to hatred.  

My dear brothers and sisters, always be more willing to listen than to speak. Keep control of your anger.  Anger does not help you live the way God wants.

James 1:19-20

Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

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Where Is the Celebration?

English: Gian Lorenzo Bernini - Dove of the Holy Spirit (ca. 1660, stained glass, Throne of St. Peter, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Clap your hands, all you nations;
    shout to God with cries of joy.

Psalm 47:1

New International Version (NIV)

         There are always parties and celebrations going on somewhere in the world, but often the pain and suffering seems to supersede all of that.  You probably hear as much complaining around you as I do and like I do you may do your fair share of complaining sometimes.   Sure, I suppose I can always find something to gripe about, but I'm probably looking at life the wrong way when I do.

          Life is short.  Life is a marvelous gift that God has given us and so often it is squandered.  I guarantee you that you don't have to look too hard to realize that there is a lot more in this world to celebrate than there is to be unhappy about.  Still many hang on to the negatives and try to drag everyone else down with them.

           I think I'll lift my face heavenward and give God a big round of applause.  God, You made this all perfect and we keep screwing it up.   Sorry Lord, but please forgive me for my negative contributions and give me a charge of Your positive energy.  

            I feel better already.  The celebration is right here.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

New International Version (NIV)

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When The Trumpet Sounds

God has ascended amid shouts of joy,
    the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets.

Psalm 47:5

New International Version (NIV)

          This past week I've been thinking about the Rapture.  We were talking about the topic at church.   A song that I know by the Oak Ridge Boys started running through my head.  I couldn't find their version, but I did find this soulful version by Dottie Rambo.





¹³ Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

New International Version (NIV)

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Father Knows Best

English: Sugar cubes. Español: Terrones de azúcar. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

       Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God; 
may your good Spirit
    lead me on level ground.

Psalm 143:10

New International Version (NIV)

         When I was a child of about 3 or 4 years old, my family went out to eat at a restaurant.  There on the table I marveled at a most wonderful discovery.  In a glass container on the table were sparking white cubes of what I discovered to be crystallized sugar.  I made this discovery when out of curiosity I took one of these cubes out and tasted it.  Upon realizing the sweetness of it I popped it into my mouth and ate it.

         My father having seen what I had done warned me not to eat any more of the sugar cubes because they would make me sick.  Yet the temptation was too strong.  I desired the sweetness and popped another cube into my mouth and then another.  My father continued his admonitions not to eat, but whenever he wasn't looking I would eat another.

         I suppose my father could have removed the sugar bowl from my reach or even punished me there on the spot and humiliated me in front of the entire restaurant.  Then again, perhaps he was allowing me to learn my lesson about making bad choices and doing things I've been told not to do.  Not listening to wise counsel can have its consequences.

         Later, after we left the restaurant and got to the car, I began to get a bad feeling in my gut.  All that sugar in one little boy was having its effect.  I suddenly threw up before getting inside the car.  I did not feel well at all.

         "I told you eating those sugar cubes would make you sick," my father said in a gentle tone.

          I realized then that my father told me things for good reason.  Everything we do has a consequence.

...this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome...

1 John 5:3

Everything I Need

Worried (Photo credit: p.joran)

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Psalm 23:5

King James Version (KJV)

           Sometimes it can be all too easy to be swallowed up by our daily troubles.  We come under assault and the natural reaction is to flail out blindly with any defense we can muster.  Our blind punches are mostly wasted energies.   Words spoken thoughtlessly can become weapons used against us.  

            Old habits can be difficult to break when I try to free myself from them.  I'm often caught up in that old rat race of worry and fear, doubt and stress.  I need to let it all go and get my priorities straight.  Things always have worked out in the past, but I still seem to forget why that is.  It wasn't much of anything I did on my own.  I always had help.  There are far more important things to dwell upon than my own useless worries.

             I need to get ready or I'll be late for the feast.

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’   For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.   But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.   Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:31-34

New International Version (NIV)

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Hey God--It's Me Again

English: God called to Adam and said, Where are you? as in Genesis 3:9: "And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?"; illustration from the 1728 Figures de la Bible; illustrated by Gerard Hoet (1648–1733) and others, and published by P. de Hondt in The Hague; image courtesy Bizzell Bible Collection, University of Oklahoma Libraries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have relieved me in my distress;
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.

Psalm 4:1

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

      Yes, Lord, it's me again.  Making the same mistakes and some new ones.  When will I learn?   Will I ever learn?   Old habits can be hard to break.  Old weaknesses can be hard to conquer on my own.  I need You, Lord, to get me out of the rut that I find myself in so often.

        You've always been there to pull me up when I fall down.  I've got to stop this silly stumbling before I fall to my death.   When I fall, I should be falling prostrate in humility and worship.   You are God.  I am not.

 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

1 John 1:6-10

New International Version (NIV)

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How's the Reception Where You Are?

English: Looking west toward a distant storm along about 3 km west of . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Blessed is the one 
    who does not walk in step with the wicked 
or stand in the way that sinners take 
    or sit in the company of mockers, 
² but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, 
    and who meditates on his law day and night.

Psalm 1:1-2

New International Version (NIV)

        Places like West Texas are not very conducive to listening to the radio for long stretches of driving.

         At one point during my recent trip I decided to try to find something worthwhile to listen to as a break from the collection of CDs that I had brought with me for our cross-country road trip.  I like music while I drive, but sometimes I want to find something to listen to on the radio--something like an informative news program or some helpful Christian programming.

          This time I was in luck.  I found an outstanding Christian program dealing with the topic of the Biblical stance on creation.  I became absorbed in the topic as I drove those vast empty stretches of God's creation.  However, soon I started to get out of range from the station.  Air wave interference made it impossible to listen to the broadcast and I knew my reception would soon be gone.

         I hit the seek button on the radio, but all I could pick up were distant Spanish language stations that I could not understand or Mexican music that was unappealing to me.  I was no longer in the zone of reception of that which I wanted to hear and could only hear things I did not want to hear.

         When we're driving across the country it's often like that.  It can be difficult to stay focused on what we'd like to zero in on and keep with us.  That metaphorical walk through life is different.  We have greater control over what we want to tune our minds onto.   A lot of distractions can entice us to listen to this or look at that and to think of other things that serve us no good.

          Sometimes my mental airwaves become filled with interference.  Perhaps I need to get closer to the broadcast station in order to get better reception.  How about you?   What's keeping your mind from being focused on the most important things?

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.  For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh,the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.

1 John 2:15-16

New International Version (NIV)

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