ANGER GAMES

Feeling angry happens to ALL of us; it even happened to Jesus. (John 2: 13-17 when he chased the money lenders out of the temple) Anger in itself isn't a sin. Matthew 5:22 says "But I tell you the truth that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgement. Again, anyone who says to his brother "Raca" (I think that is like idiot) is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says "you fool" (I think this is cursing someone) will be in danger of the fire of hell." I KNOW...I'm sure you are thinking..."Saundra, you JUST SAID that anger is not a sin"...and I still think I'm on the right track, so hang in there for a second.  This passage in Matthew has been debated for EVER...some translations have "without a cause" after angry with his brother, but there is thinking that it was added later...and I don't think we need it...here's why...He seems to be referring to two separate outward expressions of anger...one gets you in trouble with the local justice system, and one gets you hell...WOW!...I don't know the original Greek for this term anger, but the passage says we will be SUBJECT to judgement...meaning it could happen...WHEN???...well, read on...WHEN YOU CALL YOUR BROTHER AN IDIOT OR CURSE HIM...that is ACTION associated with a feeling...THAT'S what makes it an offence.  It is the feelings of anger out of control that make it a sin...as I am reading this...AND coupled with Ephesians 4:26-27 "In your anger do not sin". Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and give the devil a foothold" it also says that we are in a state of anger, but it is the action that makes it a sin.  Anyhoo, that's how I'm reading this...anyone out there is always welcome to shed more light on the subject as we are all in this together!!

SO, I am reading that it only becomes sinful and wrong when we handle our anger incorrectly.  Have you ever sat and thought what makes you angry, and further, WHY you got angry?  

We feel angry when our sense of justice or right and wrong is attacked; or we perceive it has been attacked.(that may be the same thing...hmmmm)  It can be a reasonable sense of justice or our own skewed justice born from things we have stored too long without handling it. The feeling is not wrong...it is a built in warning system that something is not right somewhere...and that is a good thing!! It becomes wrong when we do something sinful as retaliation or too quick a reaction.  It then becomes a GAME.  You know the scenario...someone gets angry and they say something ugly, or DO something ugly either to someone else or ourselves. THEN the person you said or did something to retaliates or you hurt yourself in some way and have some consequences from it...and on it goes UNTIL you either loose everything you love (which could even be your life) or you decide you want to be still and listen to God (Psalm 46:10a...be still and know that I am God) and break that cycle or end the game.

I was in the grocery store one day talking on the phone.  I had stopped to listen carefully so was just standing in one place.  All of a sudden a big man bumped into me.  He walked a few steps and then turned and began yelling at me for making him bump into me.  He said a few choice words that I won't repeat and was yelling at the top of his voice!  I and everyone within earshot (which was EVERYBODY) just stopped and stared.  The only thing that came out of my mouth after the instinctive "sorry" was "Shame on you".  He continued to yell, but I just walked on.  Mostly from embarassement, for me and for him! And, it was a little scary.  I think this man had a bit of an anger issue...if we look at this the way we've been discussing it he had some issues that were unresolved so he reacted inappropriately.

I used to react from anger all the time.  I remember one time in a fight with my boyfriend on the phone and he said things that made me angry so I literally threw the phone across the room!  OK, the consequence was I had to buy a new phone, and I freaked out my boyfriend and had to work hard to apologize and change my reactions to show that my apology was sincere.  That was goofy!  What good did that do???  It is just a simple example of anger turned outward and how silly, wrong, and full of consequences it is!

In my last post I talked about how satan is a liar and how he can feed us lies about ourselves that destroy the beautiful person God created...or at least make us unrecognizable from His original creation.  THIS is the way we can find our true selves as God intended...by going back and examining WHEN we are triggered to an inappropriate reaction and asking God to help us see the difference between the lie and the truth He intended us to know and be.  Like I said in that post for ME I got a message early on that I had to be perfect. WOW that's an impossible task!  Through that lie I also adopted the idea that if others weren't perfect there was something wrong and somehow I had to fight to get it right...for THEM and ME. WOWIE  WOW WOW!!...The truth was that I don't need to be perfect, I can't be perfect as Jesus was the only one walking that was perfect and that God gives us His grace freely, and that covers the imperfect self! Ephesians 1:6 "So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son." It doesn't mean that we have a free pass to do what we want and expect God's grace to cover it.  Our hearts are a big deal to God...are we living as He asked us to...are we looking to Him for answers in our lives...That is critical.  Proverbs 27:19 "As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man"and I Samuel 16:7b "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" 


James 1:19 "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you"


Acting out in anger isn't the answer.  We've all done it I am sure...and we've all been so miserable in it, I am equally as sure...so it is our CHOICE to either stay in that anger game, or find out what is eating at our souls that makes us stuck, asking God to help us understand what HIS truth is about us, and moving forward.  Not always an easy task, but SO REWARDING when we see the awesomeness of God and how He can heal our hurts that get us stuck and help us find our way to a life free of those chains!!

GOD BLESS!

SATAN IS A LIAR! (in case you hadn't heard)

John 8:44 "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire.  He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies" Here Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees...some guys that had it all wrong...and who fought against Jesus...to the point of having Him killed.

Life is hard enough without ole evil guy getting in our way and making it harder.  I've been doing a lot of soul searching of late, and a lot of work to combat the evil lies that satan has told me over the years...Things like..."You have to be perfect", "You make bad decisions", "You are not smart", "You are alone"...Those lies came in the form of events that occurred to me that I have talked about in this blog, and things I was told by various people in my life...all lies.  For God made me and I am His and He would not tell me these things because He loves me and wants my good. Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose" That is a promise...and God does not, can not lie.  Titus 1:2 "a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time" and Hebrews 6:18 "God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged." We CAN believe in God, He is our father, He loves us, He works for our good, and He does not lie.  WOW!  Great things to hold on to as we fight this life of lies and deceit. 

WHY does all this go on?  It's satan who wanders this earth looking for who he will devour. I Peter 5:8 " Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." He blew it and he is eternally damned and he wants to take everyone he can with him.  That is his nature. 

In order to do this he MUST be deceitful...he MUST lie and make us believe his lies...and in order to do that he has to be crafty and creative and it has to be believable...so he works in the lives of others who walk with him...he chips away at us day after day with whispers of lies and all manner of things to make us believe them so we will give up and destroy ourselves.  It is a scary thing.

BUT we have armor you know...Ephesians 6:11 "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." we have but to tell him to get away and he will flee...THAT is another promise from God...that is our defense!  James 4:7 "Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

We have all been chipped away at.  We've all been told lies in our lives.  For me the process was to go to each significant event in my life and pray that God help me to see what satan was trying to lie to me about and help me replace it with His truth about me.  It was a tough process...and I'm sure I'll revisit things from time to time as some new thing pops up, but I'll never allow myself to encapsulate all those lies together again without fighting against the devil and believing that God loves me and is always THERE!  

There IS NO life sentence unless I allow it.  There is only freedom!  Galatians 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand FIRM, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery".  

Find that way that works for you to disavow the lies you've believed and find that freedom that is there for each one if we just live for Christ!!

GOD BLESS!!

HOW TO REALLY FORGIVE...AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT!

For quite some time now I have dealt largely with the things that people have done to me over a course of time, and what the scriptures say. I'm sure over the course of these posts I've talked about forgiveness.  But, the whole time I've read these scriptures and written all these words I've held in my heart a knowledge that I haven't been able to  forgive some people...that leaves a hole in the WHOLE concept of being Christian, being a woman after God...doing what I've been asked to do.

Matthew 6:14 is an important reason why forgiveness is important for us to practice...:  "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." and Luke 6:36 tells us "Be merciful just as your Father is merciful" OK, yep, I want to be forgiven...sooooo  That's a biggie.  The concept is not just to be forgiven...it is for our well being, our hearts to stay soft and Godly...OK, so if I need to forgive BUT I am having difficulty...what else is there for me to understand?

Luke 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.  For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." WOW, there really IS something in there for me...tee hee...Is THAT why we should forgive??  Hmmm I'm sort of thinking that's not really the reason...I'm moving on, through this...follow me if you can follow my brain...:)

So, for me, when I have a decision to make between choices MY personality is to say the things I don't want and eventually I'll eliminate everything until I get to what I actually want...perhaps a long process, but I guess my brain works backwards...artist and all I guess...SOOOO Let's just look at this practically!  Here is a list of what I DON'T want when I DON'T forgive...

To feel like I have isolated myself from everyone...BECAUSE remember We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23 so, when I don't forgive it sort of seems like I think I am better than everyone else...and that gets me ALONE, ALL BY MYSELF...looking from my self imposed place of ALONENESS at the rest of the world moving along.

OK, I also DON'T want to have the poison of UN forgiveness in my heart because it feels bad to ME, it hovers over my life and I begin to feel depressed and I stay ANGRY and I am not who I know GOD made me to be...It shadows life...it can make me SICK...and then I'm STILL stuck looking out the window at life passing by...it makes me STUCK!  and not in a joyful place I'm here to tell you!!

I also know I don't want to be seen as an angry, vengeful, negative person, and that is what I would be if I get stuck without forgiveness in my heart...I want to be a light of positive in the world...so, if I can't do that when I have the cloud of UN forgiveness then I must BE A LIGHT...of joy, of example, of happiness in the face of trial, of FORGIVENESS...for ME to be a better person, for GOD, for me, FOR ALL THOSE OUT THERE WHO NEED TO BE FORGIVEN!

But you know what...there truly is more in forgiveness...it may help the OTHER person to think twice before they do something that is hurtful to someone else. Sometimes through the act of forgiviness it may help the other person to grow...the bible talks about heaping coals on their head...WHY would it be in there??  Well, it seems it might help them to feel a little remorse so they might be led to be a better person the next time around...   Romans 12:20 - "On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him, if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.  In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." hmmm... helping BOTH of us at the same time...ISN'T GOD AWESOME!!  

Here's a little thing I do when I need to forgive someone...It works best if I have known that person for awhile.  I imagine them as they have grown up, I usually know stories they have told me that impacted them...so, I imagine them going through those things in their life.  EVERYONE has had tragedy, EVERYONE has had trial and hurtful events.  When I can imagine them going through those things as a child or young person I can SEE why they may have become the way they have that led them to hurt me in some way...and THAT understanding helps me to forgive them...to see them not as a rolling force of evil in my life, but a flawed human that makes mistakes too. (remember Romans 3:23)  And, THAT understanding helps me to understand why Romans 12:20 is intended to help the other person to come around...

And, for those folks that I'm still stuck on, unable to feel forgiveness towards???  Yep, there's a couple out there...I have to allow myself to feel the grace that God gives me so freely.  He KNOWS my heart...He KNOWS I am trying to be what He wants me to be...He KNOWS I struggle with this...So, I remember that He gave me the gift of grace and I forgive MYSELF my failing and I trust that I WILL GET THERE eventually...because I WANT to. Read 2 Cor. 9:8 in several different translations and see if it doesn't make more sense WHY we need God's grace, and what it does for us!!...I like the way this version says it, but grace is the subject even though the words isn't there..."God can bless you with everything you need, and you will always have more than enough to do all kinds of good things for others"...THAT is a GIFT! And you know the awesome thing...GOD forgives you when you ask to be forgiven for not being able to forgive...WOW!!


There have been a couple of people of late that I have had such difficulty with in my heart for things from YEARS ago...(wow, the chains I've been carrying around!!)  Over time my hurt and resentment had grown big...so, I took a chance and reached out to that person.  I didn't say hurtful, ugly things from anger...I just told them how I felt, and why they had a part.  And you know...they told me they were SORRY...and asked what they could do to help make it better!!  THAT gave THEM the chance to make it right...THAT was important for THEM!  and...it cleared the way to forgiveness.  (It won't always happen like that, but when it does...WOW...the power of clearing the air in a Godly way!) God's plan is a perfect one...its we humans that make messes...And THAT is why I'm SO grateful for God's grace...that He gives out so FREELY!

PS...I hope those out there that I have hurt, unknowingly, (cuz I work actively on asking for forgiviness when I KNOW I've hurt someone) will come to me and give me a chance to be forgiven!!

GOD BLESS!