Reading your Bible September 9

September 9: Matthew 5:21-26

KJV Key Verse: Matthew 5:24
24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

Devotion:
What is your temper like? Do you get angry quickly with people? Are there people who you think demand too much from you who make you angry? The list could probably grow as quickly as we could think of new ways to make us angry! But what you do with those situations will tend to dictate how you live your life; the easier we get angry with things in our lives, the less likely we are to find peace in our lives!

I find it very hard to sit down and read my bible or to pray when I am angry or upset, so keeping a steady overview on things tends to help me get through a whole lot more in my life than before. I know God is still with me, even when I am full of anger, but I am typically too worried about my anger and too focused on it to see anything else going on around me… even losing sight of God when things get too bad!

God wants us to take care of things in our lives as they pop up – that way we are not building on shakin foundations all the time. The more we build our hopes on things which could collapse at any second, the less hope we have in our lives. But the more we build on sure foundations, the more of that hope we see come to reality and the more we can hope in the unseen. No matter how many times we see things written down about God always doing things, it is only when we get to see things for ourselves that many of us will believe.

But fighting against the things which make us angry and upset will take too much of our attention and time for us to continue living with God in our daily lives. When we feel upset or start to get angry, we should be focusing on diffusing the situation by sorting out the problems as they arise. The more we are able to be still and listen to God instead of fighting battles which take all our attention, the more we will be able to do God’s will in our lives. Yes, it is hard at times!

Points to Ponder:
How does your anger affect you?

Do you ask God to help with that anger or those situations?