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I want to discuss these three areas that I believe are major problems in the Body of Christ. They have been a problem since the very first sin was committed by Cain several thousand years ago. ANGER: Understand this, my beloved brethren. Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to take offense and get angry. For mans anger does not promote the righteousness God wishes and requires. ~ James 1:19-20 Anger means; A strong feeling if displeasure aroused by a real or supposed wrong, wrath. The opposite of anger is; love, peacefulness, acceptance, forgiveness. I have been dealing with anger my whole life. God has been dealing with me about this for years. I have struggled with trying to be a good quiet Christian woman. I find verse 19 to be a challenge at times. I am not always quick to hear and I can whip a slew of words out faster than a thought can form. I do not get offended too often. However, I ask God's forgiveness on a semi regular basis for my temper and how quick I respond before thinking. I am much better than I used to be. Thank God. I am still a work in progress though and have by no means "arrived." The best advice I can give those of you who struggle in these areas is to keep pressing in. Keep getting into the Word. Keep asking God to help you. And one day you will wake up and realize how far you have come. It will happen if you choose to never give up and never let your mistakes get you down. That is the key. The devil loves to make us feel like dirt. He loves to throw our faults and mistakes in our faces. In order to find victory you must begin to recognize these attacks and throw it back. Stand up against the little worm. He has no authority over you. He is under your feet. Jesus put him there. The only way he can get out from under you is if you let him. Verse 20 is what keeps me from staying down when I slip. I do not want to be the kind of Christian woman that makes my Beloved Savior look bad. I do not want to be a poor example of for my children. I want my light to shine so bright that every demon in hell will be blinded, and people will know Who and what I stand for.That is why I do these devotions. To encourage and equip Moms of Faith. To help us become all that God created us to be. Application: When you mess up don't give up. Get up. Brush yourself off, and move on. CONFLICT: What leads to strife and how do conflicts, quarrels, and fighting originate among you? ~ James 4:1a Conflict means; in opposition, clash, disagree, strife, controversy, quarrel, collision. The opposite of conflict is; reconcile, peace, truce Conflicts almost always begin because someone either does not get their way, someone gets offended, or people do not agree about something. Many times we just don't want to let things go, we don't want to give something up, or we are just plain stubborn. When the Church allows quarrels and conflict to go unchecked it weakens us as a whole. That is why our adversary works overtime trying to generate discord in the Body. He wants to split us up, cause us to magnify the faults in others, place unrealistic expectations on leaders and those we respect, destroy the Church with pride and discord, and try to make us act out on it in a sinful way. The only way we can overcome this is to recognize it, and then not allow it to manifest itself in us, and disable the Church. Until we get over ourselves and start loving each other and being obedient children of God, we will continue to see the Church become more and more powerless. James goes so far as to say that when we hate it is like we are committing murder in our hearts. That statement sounds a lot like when Jesus said simply looking at another with lust we have already committed adultery. These are HUGE statements. It is an issue that begins on the inside. It is a heart matter. And where does it all begin? Our thought life. Our minds are the first line of attack. The enemy sends all his forces to our minds, because he knows that if he can get into our thoughts, he will get our hearts. The only way to protect our minds from becoming the devils playground is to consistently study...not just read...God's Word. Most Christians go to church, but few of us have an active and consistent life in the Word. Most of us are too busy making sure we don't miss the next Survivor episode. Most of us hardly ever feed our spirits outside of our church visits. The Church is overcome with the mind of the world instead of the Mind of Christ. Application: If we would just set our hearts and minds on Him, we would have less discord and more productivity in the Church and in our relationships. UNFORGIVENESS: For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. ~ Matthew 6:14-15 Unforgiveness means; unrelenting, unyielding, not allowing for carelessness or weakness, blame, condemn, charge. The opposite of unforgiveness is; forgive, pardon, excuse, reprieve, cease to feel resentment. This is one of those Scriptures we like to bypass. We don't like to spend too much time examining it. It makes us very uncomfortable. We all have had our share of forgiveness battles. We have all been wronged on some level....some more than others. We seem to like haning onto our anger and unforgiveness. We even make excuses for holding onto them. Unfortunately, none of our reasonings can change the infallible, uncompromising, authoritive Word of the The Almighty. Jesus makes it crystal clear: Forgive and be forgiven. Do not forgive and you will not be forgiven. It's more that John 3:16 and 1John 1:9, dear sisters. It's about being obedient and giving the same as we need. Why should we be pardoned if we will not pardon another's offense? We must take the words of Jesus VERY seriously. We must develop a forgiving heart and release our hurts and anger to Him. We must learn to obey this command. If we do not, then we are playing a game that does not have a happy ending. Application: We are NEVER hurting the offender when we harbor unforgiveness, we are ONLY hurting ourselves! Let's Pray, Daddy God, please forgive me for any discord that I have encouraged or been involved in. Your Word says that blessed are the peacemakers. Well, I want to be blessed. I want my life to please You. Help me to recognize when the enemy is trying to bring any strife into my life. Help me to show Your love and mercy to others, and not need to be right. I ask that You remove any hate or animosity from my heart, and replace it with Your love, Your forgiveness, Your mercy, and Your compassion. Please orgive me for the times I let my mouth get ahead of me and my anger overcome me. Forgive me for the times I have been a poor example for You in front of the children that You have given me. You know my heart longs to live my life for You, and to shine for You. I will keep pressing on and I will NEVER give up. Please help me to forgive as I have been forgiven. Please help me to develop in this area. Help me to let go and give it all to You. Forgive me for holding onto anger and bitterness. I release it all to You right now, by faith. I believe that You will set me free as I release it to You. Help me to die to unforgiveness EVERY day. I love You, Lord. And I want nothing to hinder my growth or relationship with You. I will be all that You created me to be. I will! I love You, Lord. In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen. In His Love and Service, Lara ;) Copyright © Lara Velez Note: All Scripture is taken from the Amplified Bible.
Article Source: http://faithandfamilyarticles.com
About the Author: Lara velez is a Christian wife and Mother. She is a published author, web publisher, and business owner. You can see her work at The Complete Woman Magazine and Moms of Faith.
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