Righteous Anger- Is There Such A Thing?

  You hear people tell you this-- be angry and sin not.
  Anger. It is narcissistic. All about your own rights.
   Do we have the right to be angry?
   Looking to the Bible to see what it says about the issue, I can not find a right.
   All I find is that we are to forgive when people wrong us. To forgive we have to give up or forfeit our right to anger-- or even to be offended.
   Talk about offense.. we have offended God who created us to be with Him forever, but Adam, who I believe was our first parent and stood as a representative of all his offspring to come, disobeyed God.
   Talk about offense. If anyone was offended it was God. He created something and gave it the ability to make decisions and it made the wrong choice.
    In anger, God could have wiped out mankind. He, not having sinned, would be the only one who had the right to anger. He would have been righteous. He almost did it during Noah's day. remember?
   The Bible tells us there is none righteous.
    Therefore, we have no rights.
    I submit that we have no right to anger...ever.
    God is allowed anger. When we get angry we stand as guilty as the one we are angry at. God is sinless. He alone is perfect. His character allows for judgement. Anger is judgement.
     Face it, God loves us and thinks we are special. But we are not God,

     Yes, you say, but Jesus got angry. Yes, Jesus also is the God/man. He alone could be angry and sin not. Which is another quote people throw around.


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Ask Yourself, Would God Want Me To Be Doing This

 
 Today being Sunday and today being a day I attend services at my church, the sermon was centered on Romans 12:2. Submitting your body as a form of sacrifice.
     It is simple. Ask yourself if what you are doing is pleasing to God. Would God actually want you to be doing what you are doing?
    And in personal affairs, are you humble? Do you allow God to use you?  Working through you?
   Do you handle your temper? There is a book out, which I will review soon in my blog that states we shouldn't be angry at all. It isn't our right or position to do so. To leave the anger up to God.
   But that review hasn't been written yet nor has the book that is about that subject been read. It is only April 26 at this moment.
   Getting back to what I was saying,  Others are watching you, if you state you are a Christian, and are prejudging what they falsely call 'Christian' activities. That word used as a descriptive adjective or an adverb is the wrong use. Christian is a noun. A person. Not a state of being, in my opinion
   Only a Christian is able to present their body as a living sacrifice.
  Ask yourself, would God want me to be doing this?
   Likely the answer would be no.
 

Our Instruction Guide

It always is a wonder to me how a God who is afar off can be so near and concerned about His Creation. So concerned that He communicated and had spiritually prepared people record His words and deeds and preserve them through the ages to what we have today known as a Bible.
   Yes, it is God communication to us.
    We do need a good translation since the original is in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek... for sure not languages that we read everyday, unless we are in areas where these languages are spoken. And even then you still need to have the communication interpreted for you.
     I prefer my translation to be in my mother tongue,which in this case is  English.
     Let me suggest if you need to purchase a good translation you can click here and be sent to a place where you can acquire a Bible and some study aids.
     As I said, God has communicated. He is not silent. He is an invisible God, that is true. But He is not silent. There are things He wants us to know.
      I have a page in WordPress where I presently am telling the story contained in the pages of the book. Go and like it.
     Even though Adam sinned and all born after him are born in sin, God cares enough to communicate.  He cares enough to preserve His communication.
   
    

Faith Is Important

 What ever we ask for in prayer we should do in faith.
  Faith is not a hope for or something added on to make the request holy.
  In Hebrews, one of the epistles located in the Bible, we are told faith is needed to get things done. All the eleventh chapter is packed with people of faith.
   Faith has a paradox to it . We are believing on the basis of what God has said that we have what we ask for. It is not a magic formula. We need faith because life is messy and God is mysterious. We come to realize that faith  is often confusing
   God tells us to ask and believe when we pray. When we trust and obey that is when faith happens.
    Therefore, faith is a process not a product. It is journey.
    Faith is important because God is important. God is not absent. God wants to provide for His followers.
     Sometimes God waits before answering. Faith is needed to beleive that He hears and He is willing to provide your request. But you have to make the request.
    If you are a parent you no doubt want to provide all needs of your child. But you are waiting for the child to request the need before you release the answer. God may be like that also. He has what you need but He will not force the provision on you if you don't request it.
    Let me know how you are enjoying these posts.

Let's Talk About Deacons

 You hear about deacons if you are in the church. No matter what type or branding of church you belong to, there may be a deacon board or just a group of deacons.
  Just what is a deacon?
  That is simple. A deacon is a helper. A table waiter. He pops up in the book of Acts, the sixth chapter.  There was a disagreement in the new church over ther serving of the new Jews, the group of new believers in Christ. They were saying they weren't getting their proper amount of attention or food.
  So James and the apostles got together and said, "It is not right we serve tables. We are called to give you the word of God and to pray for you. You select spiritual people, seven men, and let them take over the office."
   Deacons today are to do the business of care for the church and meet the needs of the people. They are to allow the pastor, who has been called to lead, to do his study and preaching.
  They are to free up the pastor from doing mundane things. Not that a deacon is less in the body but are important to the proper running of the congregation.
   But they are not the people called to run the church. They are called to help the church function.

Further In And Higher Up-

 The title of this post is a phrase used by C.S. Lewis in his Chronicles of Narnia series. It meant to get to know a deeper truth better.
  For us when we study the Bible we are going further in and higher up.
   God wants to communicate and He has done that through the Bible. Those 66 books are a unit and are God allowing us to see Him.
    We, like gold hunters, must dig and pan out what is there.
     We do that through the right study techniques. I have discussed this earlier in this blog and you will have to do a bit of hunting through the table on contents.
     What ever you do and how ever you do it, you will need a good Bible translation. That you can find at  the book store I recommend. Just click on the colored words in the last sentence and you will be taken there.
       With this translation ( We don't have the orogianl manuscripts, but these translations found at the store are fine to use) you will also need a notepad to jot down insights to the reading you are doing.
   As you read you will be asking, what is this passage saying? To whom is it addressed? (Hint, we are not the primary people being addressed.)  Who is speaking?  Why is it here?  Are there other places this incident is spoken of?
    Of course you will be using Bible aids as you explore. You will need a Bible history book, a concordance, a writing instrument to write with.
   Much prayer is called for. Wait for the answer. You might not get the exact meaning. You may need to ask your pastor or gifted teacher in the fellowship to help you.. 
    Once again let me say you are digging. A good study will take time.
   Don't be afraid to mark your Bible. There may be passages you want to memorize. Please do so.. This will make it easier for God to speak to you. He only speaks what the Bible speaks since it is what He has revealed to us about Himself. He does not and has never spoken outside what is already written in the Bible. He is not revealing new truth. Be careful of people who tell you otherwise.

Prayers May Be Answered

  Have you even had times when you have wondered--is God even listening to my prayers? Does He even incline his ear to my requests and answered them?
  That is a few questions. And the Bible infers the answer to the last two by what it does say.
   I consider the Bible to be God's communication with us humans in the revealing of Himself. All through the first half of the Bible He reveals Himself as a person who hears prayer and answers prayer of those who are in a relationship with Him.
   He gave a son to Hannah when she asked. He saved Lot form Sodom when Abraham asked Sodom to be spared if ten righteous people could be found. Only Lot was found.
   He heard Jesus when Jesus prayed. He hears us also according to 1John 5:14. "And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us.' (esv)
 It is my contention that our asking is what is being referred to here as God's will.
 this promise is only for Christians. I define a Christian as one who has a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It is a family relationship.
  As for belief, this is where faith steps in. For without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith says that God exists and is one who rewards those who are His.