Category: Bible

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Bible Psalm

A Future For Peacemakers

Look at those who are honest and good, for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace. Psalm 37:37

We hear and read news about the threat of wars and verbal barbs about someone who did this and said that. It captures our attention and makes us wonder what the future is. So it is good to remind us there is a future for peacemakers.

Look at those who are honest and good, for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace.

Psalm 37:37 NLT

Sadly, those who work for peace don’t grab the headlines as much as those who embrace conflict. We don’t tend to qualify what a person is saying or doing by whether it is honest or good. We like a good fight and we especially like the person who shares our views to put the other side in their place.

But what if the future belongs to those who promote peace? Indeed, there are only two choices in this world; those who work towards war and those who work towards peace.

We look forward to peace though it is in short supply. Remember a few months ago when we spoke about peace on earth?

Are All Conflicts Necessary?

We have values that we are willing to fight for, and we should. But what about those that don’t really matter? If we paused to think about why we may feel angry and ready to fight, is that skirmish with our neighbor really worth fighting for?

Are there some battles that are only jeopardizing our future? Most of us have memories of being angry at someone, but we can’t remember why. The emotion lasts longer than the actual offense.

If we are honest with others and show good to others, perhaps that will go much further than our animosity towards others. Occasionally, it may even make the news for a good, worthy reason.

Consider if that conflict is necessary today. Pause to consider if we are less angry at that person in front of us and angrier at a similar person that did us wrong years ago. Be honest. Be good and remember there is a future for those who love peace.

Categories
Exodus motivation

Opportunities and the Impossible

Opportunities and the Impossible

Most of us would like an opportunity. But very few of us want an impossible situation. We see a problem and we are tempted to throw up our hands and give up. But what if that annoying situation is the opportunity we’ve been looking for?

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

Charles R. Swindoll

Today I started reading in the Book of Exodus. It looked like the Israelites were in an impossible situation. Moses even believed it was the case. He tried to solve the situation forty years later. Instead, he murdered an Egyptian and fled for his life. Now he was safe while his fellow Hebrews continued to suffer under Pharaoh.

Then God shows up and gives Moses an impossible assignment. Moses tries to convince The LORD he has the wrong guy. Moses even pleads to just send someone else. God wasn’t having any of it.

But the LORD didn’t sugarcoat the assignment either. He tells Moses that he knows Pharaoh will not relent without great pressure. Any opportunity is like that. There will be opposition and we will wonder at times if it is worth it.

That is why comfort is so appealing. We like to think someone else will do it, sit back, and let others duke it out. After all, it is always much easier to do nothing and complain than to do something that could change the situation.

Are we ready to come face to face with opportunities and the impossible? Or are we going to sit back and complain about the world? One option makes us and the world better. The other just makes us comfortable in our bitterness.

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Bible Encouragement

Controlling Anger

This morning, I am teaching kids about one of the times David spared King Saul’s life in 1 Samuel 24. At the moment, David had the perfect opportunity to do away with the king. And if he followed Saul’s example, David would have done just that.

King Saul was pursuing David. Saul’s anger caused him to abandon the work of governing and pursue his young rival. He wasted time and only became more obsessed with killing David. It reminds me of a quote by Mark Twain.

“Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.”
Mark Twain

Mark Twain Quotes. BrainyQuote.com, BrainyMedia Inc, 2022. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/mark_twain_120156, accessed January 16, 2022.

Saul did not meet his doom in this story. But he eventually did in a war. The story could have been so much different if he didn’t forget his duties and try to kill David. Saul may have been prepared for his final battle. Instead, he focused on a little threat while a much larger one was brewing.

On the other hand, David did the right thing. As a result, he became king without killing his rival. His people considered his reign legitimate because of the way he treated Saul. David showed that refraining from anger is a much better course.

Anger makes us bitter and stupid. We can’t think straight if we don’t manage it. It causes us to do and say things we will later regret. What’s more, it can make us lose focus on more important matters.

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

Psalm 37:8 (NIV)

Let’s be careful about what makes us angry. It can lead to a lot of stupid, evil things.

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Attitude Bible Proverbs

A Soft Answer Turns Away Wrath

Background of a creek. Text is Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

It can be frustrating when things aren’t going your way. Someone isn’t meeting a deadline. That stupid supply chain is ruining your sales! Why can’t that kid do what I ask when I asked him? There are plenty of situations to get frustrated about.

Each time the frustration builds, we have an opportunity to make things better or worse. You can raise your voice and invoke fear to get things done, and it may work in the short-term. But what does that do in the long-term? Fear-based leadership is no leadership at all.

And what happens if it doesn’t make things happen, but the angry words just accelerate between you and the other party? Fear-based leadership become less effective when the other party is no longer afraid—even angrier than you. Then you end up with bigger problems.

There are plenty of reasons to get frustrated and lash out. But Proverbs 15:1 reminds me how we reply makes all the difference.

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

Proverbs 15:1 (KJV)

The last two years have been frustrating for everyone. There is no shortage of stories on people behaving badly because of frustrations. We don’t know what a person could be going through or what they’ve lost recently.

When tensions are high, we have an opportunity to make things better or worse by our reply. A soft answer could make all the difference in your day and mine!

Categories
Bible Proverbs

Guard Your Heart

Illustration of two men guarding a heart on display

“Above all else, guard your heart,
    for everything you do flows from it.”

Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

The other day, part of my pastor’s sermon was based on this verse. I thought of all the struggles we face each day to keep our hearts from turning bitter. The news can be discouraging. People say evil things to each other on social media. And we’re getting to the point we will say those things to others face-to-face.

We believe the end justifies the means. But does it? If we are in warrior mode every time someone disagrees with us, are we doing the right thing? If we feel winning is everything, has power corrupted us? If fear dominates, do we do things we would otherwise think are barbaric and unloving?

Guard your heart! Be careful what you put into it. If it is fear and anger—fear-based, abusive, angry actions will spew out. If it is love, joy, and peace, you and everyone around you will be much better for it.