Memory Monday

Last week:

Psalm 4:4

In your anger do not sin;
when you are on your beds,

search your hearts and be silent.

Proverbs 16:32

Better a patient man than a warrior, better a man who has self-control than one who take the city.

Wow! God is continuing to teach me about all this emotional stuff- purifying that heart to be more like Christ.

This week:
Ephesians 4:26-27

Go ahead and be angry.

You do well to be angry- but don't use us your anger as fuel for revenge. And don't stay angry. Don't go to bed angry. Don't give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.

God helped me realize this morning that anger can be a good thing. It is a signal that something is wrong- it lets me know a need or expectation or desire is not being met in my life. So instead of letting the devil make it into a foothold, I need to acknowledge the anger and work through the underlying emotions. That's why I like this verse for this week- It is my permission to get angry- but the challenge is to turn that anger into growth.

In the KJV version the term is "wrath", Greek word: parogismos, "which describes a person who brings anger to his side and then embraces it." When I hold that anger in just to be selfish and have my way, I am clinging to that wrath and embracing it with my heart- dangerous stuff!!

Another term in KJV is "place" for foothold- "the devil seeking a specific place, an entry point, through which he can enter our minds and emotions to stir up trouble and affect our relationships." (from Sparking Gems from the Greek)

Here is the prayer from the devotion: "Lord, I am sorry for the times I've allowed anger to rise up and take control of me. I realize that I have no excuse, for the Spirit of God inside of me is present to restrain me and to produce the fruit of the Spirit in me. I now see that I have opened the door to the devil in the past by allowing wrong attitudes to be pervasive in my life. I want to shut the door to the devil so he can no longer find access to me, to my family, to my business, to my church, or to any part of my life. To shut that door tight, I am asking You to help me remove uncontrolled anger from my life." Amen!