Hi Friends!
Bible Commentaries remind us that when Jesus said, “But I tell you,” he was not doing away with the law or adding his own beliefs. Rather, he was giving a fuller understanding of why God made the law in the first place.
Sometimes I think we feel righteous for having never done a certain sin. We sometimes feel like we can put a notch in our belt for that accomplishment so to speak. But I wonder if there is a blind spot where we are keeping God’s rules but have closed our eyes to His intent?
Jesus teaches that we miss the intent of God’s Word when we read the rules for living without trying to understand why He made them. My conviction from Scripture is that God made rules for living to help us love Him and love others as He loves each of us.
And so with this entry I just pass on to you what I trust is true of the majority of people reading this blog: murder has never crossed my mind but I do find myself being angry from time to time.
And yes, there is such a thing as righteous anger, where we see Jesus being upset over actions and attitudes that are contrary to the will of God. But what I'm talking about here is personal anger, where I get upset because something is contrary to the will of Jeff.
If you struggle with personal anger from time to time, join me in praying that we will see the resolution to this sinful root to be the unconditional love of our great Savior and in praising Him that through the power of the Holy Spirit living within us, we can root out our personal anger with His great love.
Thank you Jesus for your intentional love!!
God's Peace,
Jeff
It is so easy to white-wash ourselves, and so see ourselves as pure. What we often are, instead, are white-washed tombs. Pretty on the outside, and full of death and corruption on the inside. We need integrity (integrated, one) so that we are the same inside and out - and that is when we are washed in the blood of the Lamb.
ReplyDeleteIsaiah 1:18 says "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool."
That is true whether the sin is anger, or murder, or anything else. We cannot overcome it ourselves. No self-improvement book will help us out of the pit of sin. Only Jesus' sacrifice can do that. "Thinking happy thoughts" cannot keep us from getting selfishly angry. Only the Holy Spirit can do that, if we let Him.
I continue to learn to say Yes to God, and No to Steve.