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1264th -- Tempering Our Temper

  

In life we will always have frustrations, we will always have struggles and trials that try their best to bring down our spirits and make us question our life's purpose. What we must realize in these moments of questioning is that our attitude should remain steady and focused on the good that is before us. It is easy for anyone to give in to the frustrations and feel like venting all of the negativity that they feel within themselves, but when we have the foresight of faith and know that this temporary trial won't be here to last, we will see past the negative and we will focus more on the good that is promised to come our way. We simply must be disciplined enough to know and remind ourselves that God is good and His love for us is never-ending. The trials that we face serve a purpose even when we don't realize it and when we stay in faith believing for good to come our way again, we will be rewarded for not giving in to the enemy's temptations. (1 Corinthians 10:13) (Hebrews 2:16-18)

You may feel frustrated today because of the trials that you are facing. You may have already spoken negative words over your frustrations because the trials seem so overwhelming, but I want you to know that you can overcome that situation without giving in to negativity. You simply must remind yourself of the many times that you have overcome in times past and know that the trials you face now will also not last, but they will serve a purpose in making you better, wiser and stronger than you were before them. I encourage you to face every difficulty with a sense of calmness. Don't allow yourself to worry, don't ring your hands in fear, but be confident in the One who calls Himself I AM. He is everything we need no matter what we may need or when we may need it. God is more faithful than we often realize. Let us trust Him with everything, let us trust Him in everything and let us rest assured that no matter what may come our way, All Will Be Well With Us. (2 Timothy 1:7) (Exodus 3:14)

I hope this message inspires and challenges your heart to stay in peace no matter how tempted you are to give in to murmuring or complaining.


TEMPERING OUR TEMPER

A young girl came into the house with a tear in her pants. Her mother was exasperated, as this had happened too many times before. At her wits end, she said to her daughter, “Now you go into your room, take off those pants, and sew up that tear!” The poor child had never held needle and thread in her life. 

So understandably, a little while later her mother saw the pants crumpled on the floor of her daughter's bedroom -- still torn. She looked around for her daughter. Spying the basement light on, she called down the stairs, “Are you down there running around with your pants off?”

A big voice boomed up, “No ma'am. I'm reading the gas meter.”

Of course, what parent can't relate to her exasperation?

On the other hand, I DO have trouble understanding the guy in Los Angeles who was arrested for negligent discharge of a weapon after shooting his toilet bowl five times with a handgun (and yes, this is true). Why did he assault the commode? He apparently exploded when he couldn't extract a hair brush his daughter flushed down.

He might benefit from the advice of one of America's great presidents, Thomas Jefferson, who cautioned, “When angry, count to ten before you speak; if very angry, count to 100.” I think it applies to discharging weapons, too. 

It's not that anger is a bad thing in itself. A good bit of fire in the belly may be needed to right the world's wrongs. But this isn't about righteous indignation. It's about tempering our temper. 

I've seen marriages destroyed, careers derailed and relationships of all kinds decimated by uncontrolled rage. It's no wonder all of the world's great religions have something to say about it. To name a few, the Buddha said, “You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.” And in Scripture Jesus instructs, “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

You get the idea. 

I like the motto Mahatma Gandhi hung on his wall at Sevagram: 

“When you are in the right, You can afford to keep your temper; When you are in the wrong, You can't afford to lose it.” I'm sure I could never say it better. 

By Steve Goodier


Read and meditate on these scriptures:

Isaiah 26:3-4 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.”

Ephesians 4:29-32 “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”

Philippians 2:14-16 “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.”

James 1:2-5 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible.


Today's Selected Poem: AFTER THE RAIN
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/enpoem84.htm

Today's Selected Testimony: RESCUED FROM DEPRESSION
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony37.htm


In Christ’s Service,

Dwayne Savaya
God’s Work Ministry

 
 

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