Six sins that will trip you up.

Six sins you want to avoid and three behaviors you need to put into practice.

[31] Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. [32] Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:31-32 ESV)

Look carefully at the following.

Bitterness: resentment, harsh feelings, ill will,

Wrath: violent anger, bursts of rage

Anger: strong feeling of displeasure

Clamor; loud outcry, statements of discontent, angry bickering

Slander: statements that injure the reputation of someone else, abusive speech

Malice: meanness, wrong thoughts, wanting others to be unhappy, spite

These are vices we all deal with from time to time, and they always mess us up.

With God’s help get rid of all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, and malice and work at being kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving.

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

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Called to Bless

What happens when Biblical principles are put into practice?

[9] Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. (1 Peter 3:9 ESV)

Is an issue resolved when you repay evil with evil?  No

Does responding to an insult with an insult restore relationships? No

Try an act of kindness.  Try a kind word.  See what happens.

Look for God’s blessing after responding the way scripture teaches us to respond.

Biblical principles really do work.

Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. (Psalm 34:14 ESV)

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Don’t grow weary of doing good.

Many times when we are weary and discouraged we are tempted to stop doing the good things we know we should be doing.   We don’t feel like exercising so we want to quit.  We are tired and don’t want to spend time in the Word.  Our life gets busy and complicated and we begin to look only to our own interests, and not the interests of others. The list go on.  We want to give up.

Giving up can be so easy, yet so unproductive.

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. [10] So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:9-10 ESV)

Hang in there.  Scripture says that we will reap if we do not give up.  We will be blessed for doing good, at God’s proper timing.  Don’t grow weary of doing good.

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Are you a good listener?

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; ….  (James 1:19 ESV)

Here is my interpretation of James 1:19.   Relationships will be strengthened when we to learn to close our mouth and open our ears. 

Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. (Proverbs 13:3 ESV)

When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent. (Proverbs 10:19 ESV)

 Be nice to someone today.  Listen to what they are saying.

 Even better, listen to what the Holy Spirit has to say to you.

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Humility is a virtue.

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3-4 ESV)

When we are living our lives the way Jesus taught us how to live (with the help of the Holy Spirit), we are more focused on the needs of other people and we are less focused on our own selfish purposes.

Greatness comes in serving others, not in being served.

Others, Lord, yes, others,
Let this my motto be;
Help me to live for others,
That I might live like Thee.
—Charles D. Meigs

What would happen if we all applied this principle in our lives today?

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Applying the “Golden Rule”

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:12 ESV)

In the 90’s a wristband with the acronym WWJD (What would Jesus do?) was popular among many young people.

We need to ask ourselves, “What did Jesus do?”

What did Jesus do for us?

…. but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 ESV)

…..  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10 ESV)

 (Many more examples of what Jesus did could be added here.)

 How can we apply the “Golden Rule”?

What should we do for others (“to them”)?

Since Christ showed His love for us, we should imitate Him (WWJD) by allowing His love to be reflected from us to those around us.

We need to treat others the way we want to be treated or better yet the way Christ treated us.

 From   Jesus    through   Us   to   Others

Future blogs on www.seekinghiskingdomministries.com will tell specific ways of how we should treat others.

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Can the simple be made wise?

What happens to us when we study God’s Word?  What is the result of careful Bible study and obedience to the Word?

 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; (Psalm 19:7 ESV)

It’s not that complicated.

The more time we spend in the Word the more truth we will learn.

The more time we spend in the Word the better we will understand scripture.

The more time we spend in the Word the wiser we will become.

P.S.  This seems to be a good reason to participate in a group Bible study.

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Self-Exam.

Here is a quick self-exam that we can use to evaluate our behavior.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight,  O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.  Psalm 19:14

 Are your words acceptable to God?  Are you using truthful, kind, encouraging, soft answers, and helpful words or are your words lying, harsh, cutting, hurtful, discouraging, and disrespectful?

How about your thoughts?  Are your thoughts acceptable to God?

It would probably be helpful for all of us to included Psalm 19:14 in our daily prayers.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight,

 O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

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Prepare your “to-do” list thoughtfully.

What are your plans for today?  Is your “to-do” list in order?

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV)

How much have you thought about your agenda for today?  Does today’s “to-do” list provide opportunities for God to be glorified?

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