Solomon planted seeds of willfulness and independence that reaped a harvest of age-old rebellion in his heart. Let’s see what God did in response to Solomon’s defiance. Read 1 Kings 11:9–11. His very first reaction was a strong statement of divine anger. Right off the bat: “Now the LORD was angry with Solomon” (v. 9). What a refreshing balance, what a clean breath of air! Of course God was angry!
Read MoreCategory Archives: Anger
Peace . . . in Spite of Panic
I invite you to focus your full attention on one of the rarest of all virtues. It is a virtue that everybody pursues, but very few possess on a regular basis. I’m referring to the often-longed-for but seldom-found virtue of peace. Peace—something that is needed between nations just as badly as it is needed between neighbors. We are a warring people. Deep down underneath our placid plastic cover we are fighters.
Read MoreJealousy
Like an anger-blind, half-starved rat prowling in the foul-smelling sewers below street level, so is the person caged within the suffocating radius of selfish jealousy. Trapped by resentment and diseased by rage, he feeds on the filth of his own imagination. “Jealousy,” says Proverbs 6:34, “enrages a man.”
Read MoreThe War with Evil
Enemy attack? There was a time in my life when I had no enemies. Once I began ministry, however, that changed. It should come as no surprise that many who serve God in full-time ministry become targets of demonic assaults, especially those who serve in regions where the powers of darkness are commonplace. But enemy attacks are by no means limited to those dark corners of the world.
Read MorePlaying Second Fiddle
I REMEMBER READING OF Leonard Bernstein, the late, legendary conductor of the New York Philharmonic, giving an insightful answer in an informal interview. Following a televised performance, one admirer asked: “Mr. Bernstein, what is the most difficult instrument to play?” With quick wit and without even a thought he replied:
Read MoreNothing New
Remember that suffering is not new. In what is probably the oldest book in the Bible, the book of Job, we read, “For man is born for trouble, as sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7). Now there’s a statement we need to teach our children.
Read MorePatiently Waiting
My, oh my, did David learn a lesson! “Blessed be God. He kept me from murdering this man—from doing evil. I don’t have to fight that kind of battle, that’s God’s job. If vengeance is required, it is God’s to do.”
Read MoreGod of All My Moments
Wouldn’t you love the ability to go back in time and change something you did or said? I know there have been moments in my life—awful moments when I acted on the impulse of the flesh—that I would dearly love to call back.
Read MoreAnger’s Bitter Fruit
Now, wait a minute! Did we miss something? Where did Moses get the okay to deliver that scathing address? The truth is, he didn’t. Then where did it come from? From anger.
Read MoreIntrusions
I watched a young mother in a waiting room just last week. She was pregnant and had a toddler, plus one in diapers in her arms. Was she busy! Yet with incredible patience, that mother hung in there.
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