Dealing with Anger

Anger is something we all have to deal with from time to time. It may be our own anger or someone else’s. It’s also possible that stress over covid19 and the shut-downs make dealing with anger more common and more difficult. In this post, we’re going to look at some things God’s Word has to say about anger and dealing with it.

First of all, anger is not always sinful. We know that because the Bible says that God, that is both the Father and the Son, got angry on a few occasions and we know He does not sin. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Let’s consider examples of times when God was angry. In Exodus 32 God was angry with Israel because they broke the Covenant and made a golden calf. More than that though, they also began to say it was that stupid idol that delivered them out of Egypt rather than God. Exodus 32:9-10 says, “And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.” Isaiah 13 speaks of a time when God’s anger comes upon the sins of man saying, “Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts and in the day of His fierce anger.” Mark 3:1-5 tells us that Jesus got angry at the Pharisees for their hardness of heart when He showed mercy and cured the man with the withered hand. In every case when God is angry, it is a righteous anger. That is anger over sin and injustice, when the Holy Name or Person of God is demeaned, mistreated or abused in the thoughts, words or actions of men. Righteous anger is when something that is holy is defiled.

That we can be angry without committing sin is also clearly evident in Ephesians 4:26-27, “’Be angry, and do not sin’”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.” That contains a quote of Psalm 4:4, where the Spirit counsels David about responding to the evil committed by other men, “Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.” I dare say that most of the time we humans get angry, it is not righteous but unrighteous anger. Unrighteous anger is sinful and involves some form of pride or self-centeredness. If I get angry when things don’t go my way, it is unrighteous anger and sin. If I get angry when I am facing the just consequences of something I deserve, it is sinful anger. When I respond to sinful anger with my own, that too is unrighteous anger. The Spirit through Paul lists anger as acts of the sinful nature (see Galatians 5:19-21. Proverbs 29:22 says, “An angry man stirs up strife, and a furious man abounds in transgression,” while 29:11 tells us, “A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back.” You know how it is. You’re just minding your own business and doing your thing, and next thing you know someone is ruffling your feathers, either getting on your case or getting on your nerves. If you get angry, it is most likely that your case and your nerves are rattled because something is not going your way. That is prideful and that is sin.

So what do we do? We know it’s wrong. I doubt many people want to be angry all the time; that is a hard way to live and it takes years off your life. Yes, your life is shortened either because of the harm you are doing to yourself or the harm your anger invites by mouthing off to the wrong person. You know what I’m talkin’ about.

What we must do is rid ourselves of anger. That is the command given by God in Colossians 3:8, “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.” Also in Ephesians 4:31-32 God says, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

That is easy enough, right? Hardly, in fact it is impossible to obey those commands unless the Holy Spirit is in us. As a believer in Jesus Christ you are given the Holy Spirit who works to make you more like Jesus as you yield your life to His control. That’s the whole thing, being under the influence of the Holy Spirit is the only way to overcome anger, as well as resentment, unforgiveness, bitterness, envy, and general human crabbiness. That is what Galatians 5:16-26 is all about. I strongly encourage you to read it. Now.

One of the things the Spirit will do as you yield yourself more and more to His control can be found in James 1:19-20, “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” If you struggle with anger, normally or just now that you’re trapped at home, being swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger is something the Spirit of God will certainly help you do. You can try it on your own, but you’ll just end up getting angry. I know that because unrighteous anger and pride go hand in hand. If you are so prideful that you think you can stop the anger without totally depending upon Him, then that pride will repeatedly rear its ugly head and wham! You’ll be angry. Also, you’ve heard it said that you shouldn’t let the sun go down on your anger, don’t sleep on it; that’s good advice because it came from God (see Ephesians 4:26).

So what if you aren’t the problem? Yeah right, ‘cause you’re always the innocent one I suppose? Anyway, let’s say you are dealing with someone who does struggle with anger (that’s code for struggling with pride by the way). First of all, pray and ask the Spirit to help you cope and not get angry or resentful in return. Ask Him to help you respond in a Godly way. Proverbs 15:1 says, “A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 20:22 adds, “Do not say, ‘I will recompense evil;’ wait for the LORD, and He will save you.” Pray for (not against) the person, asking God to do a work in their heart that you cannot do, and for Him to guard your heart in the process.

You know the most effective means of dealing with anger? It’s forgiveness. You can avoid being angry by forgiving instead of getting mad for the injustice done to you; you can deal with someone else’s anger most effectively through forgiveness. Does that come naturally or is it a character trait you can instill yourself? No, just like not being angry, forgiveness is a fruit of the Spirit.

The bottom line is this, the best way to deal with anger (and unforgiveness) is yielding to Jesus and the Holy Spirit

May the Lord watch over you, protect you, and fill your heart and mind with peace,

Pastor Mark

"Stay at home" vs "assemble together"

People are getting restless. Several news sources have covered stories this week about protests by different groups, some religious and some not, against the covid19 stay at home orders. As a Christian I seem to be in a quandary between the government’s instructions to stay at home and God’s instruction to “not forsake the assembling of yourselves.” How much of a dilemma is this and what, as a Christian, should I do? This is a question we must all decide, even if our decision so far is actually the result of making no decision.

We all know that churches are getting by right now primarily through on-line communications and phone calls. We’ve all heard accounts of churches trying to meet in parking lots where everyone stays in their cars and in some cases have been fined for doing even that. Perhaps you’ve read comments on-line from people complaining that if it is okay to practice social distancing at a grocery store or alcohol distributor, why can’t a church practice social distancing on their own property. We’ve also heard that our current social distancing practices are successfully reducing the spread of the virus.

So again, what do we do about the Biblical mandate to gather together which is not limited to the statement in Hebrews 10:25; it is imbedded throughout the New Testament and the Old for that matter. Christianity is not simply a relationship between myself as an individual and God; it is a relationship between God and His Church of which I am made a part through faith in Jesus Christ who died that I may be forgiven and redeemed, and who rose that I may have new life in Him. Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, for example, tell us that life as a Christian means being involved in each others’ lives for encouragement, building each other up in the faith, working together to do His will, and worshipping. And let’s face it, on-line is nice, but it cannot replace actually meeting in person.

Before anyone thinks I am calling us to revolt, let me get to some other things that God commanded in His Word, the Bible. I mentioned this briefly in a previous blog as a note at the bottom of that post, but let me expand upon it now as the current situation continues to unfold. If you actually read Romans 12 a moment ago, and I hope you did, then let’s continue on to Romans 13. It is no coincidence that the Holy Spirit moves the Apostle Paul from a discussion of what it means to be part of the Body of Christ in Romans 12 to that of obeying the government  and loving each other in Romans 13. God knew that in many places and times during the era between Jesus’ first coming to die on the Cross and His second coming as King of Kings, there would be situations where His Church was hindered from freely doing what He called it to do. Here in America we have had it pretty easy during my lifetime. For decades I’ve been saying that we need to make full use of this religious freedom because we never know how long it will last. Because of the reality of spiritual attack, and other types of attack too, God gave us many instructions about what to do. Through the wisdom granted by His Holy Spirit to us, the Body of Christ, we then apply those instructions to ever-changing situations.

The situation we are facing today in America and many parts of the world is that governments are restricting our ability to gather for legitimate health reasons. As a little side-bar here, I cannot help but think about our brothers and sisters in Christ who have, and who are, suffering in exceedingly greater ways than any limitations we are facing now. Being required to stay at home in no way compares to the threat and reality of being persecuted, even killed for your faith. Our current situation in America is just a matter of seeking God’s wisdom about gathering together right now. So let’s actually look at Romans 13.

“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God” (Romans 13:1). That, my friends, is a powerful statement from the Holy Spirit about the sovereignty of God Almighty. God not only established human government and gave it authority, He appoints each one. Now some of you may immediately raise the question of tyrants and those leaders who terrified and treated their people brutally; there are many examples of those in history.

Keep in mind that God never promised there would be no suffering, in fact He says just the opposite, that there will be suffering and hardship and persecution. Jesus Himself said in John 15:18 and 20, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you…Remember, the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” Jesus added in John 16:1-3, “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.” An example of this is found in Acts 5:40-41 when Christ’s disciples were called before the Jewish Council. “And they (the council) agreed with him (Gamaliel a teacher of the Jewish law), and when they had called for the apostles and beat them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.”  I would also add 1 Peter 2:19-21 which says, “for this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongly. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.” I strongly encourage you to also read Romans 8:18-30.

God tells us many times that there will be hardships, trials, and persecutions. He never promised to provide you with happiness and luxury. He promised to forgive your sins when you confess them (1 John 1:8-10), to be with you always (Matthew 28:20), to provide strength and encouragement (2 Corinthians 3-7), and that your inheritance is reserved in Heaven (1 Peter 1:3-5). As a believer, we have fellowship and unity with God in all circumstances; that is our joy.

So yes, there have been many times when brutal, oppressive and even murderous governments have persecuted their own people and others. All of that falls under the Spirit’s statement in Romans 13:1, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” As human beings we cannot possibly understand the wisdom of God (see 1 Corinthians 1-2). Then Romans 8 talks about how all Creation eagerly awaits God’s deliverance from the bondage of human sin and corruption which involves all kinds of suffering.

Alright, let’s get down to the matter. God created, appoints, and gives authority to human government. So what authority did He give it? Part of the answer is listed in Romans 13:4 when it says, “for he (governing authority) does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.” Thus, one reason God created and appoints governments is to maintain order and deal with those who do evil. When some citizen goes into a public school and starts shooting people, that is evil and the government has God-given authority to punish that person. In America, we have a system of justice that tries a person first to make sure we’ve got the guilty party, and then justice is served. That person needs to be brought to justice because innocent people are dead and their families are suffering due to his or her evil actions. The examples go on and on, but I will stop there. Does this mean there should be no compassion for all people involved, even the guilty? It does not. Anyone can be forgiven, mercy should be extended, but justice must also be served and sometimes there must be consequences. God gives human government the authority to maintain order and justice within its borders.

Directly connected to that is a government’s authority to protect its citizens from those outside of its boarders. I just talked about protecting citizens from internal threats, now we consider that the same authority extends beyond its borders in some cases. On December 7, 1941 the Empire of Japan attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor launching a war against us with a sneak attack. The US government then declared war on Japan and its allies including Hitler’s Third Reich. During Hitler’s reign of terror in the 1930s and 1940s, many nations fought against his blatant abuse of governmental authority. Hitler went far beyond the authority given to him in Romans 13 by attacking other nations and slaughtering innocent men, women, and children in concentration camps, gas chambers and all the rest. The United States was one of the nations who fought against that tyranny and it had every right to do so. A government has the authority to not only to defend its own citizens, but also the basic human rights of those being oppressed and killed outside its borders.

God also gave authority to human governments to establish and enforce laws. In 1 Peter 2:13 the Spirit wrote through Peter, “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.” We then, are commanded by God to obey the government’s laws. Now, if the government enacts laws that violate the Word of God, it has overstepped its authority. The government is not sovereign over God, He is sovereign over it. So if that happens are we supposed to forcibly rebel? Well, is that what Jesus did? Is that what Paul did? No, they did not.

In times when the government oversteps its authority and enacts laws that violate the Word of God we, as believers in Christ and citizens living under a human government, continue to be like Jesus who sought to proclaim forgiveness, mercy and love through the Gospel to those around Him. We don’t change things by violence and use of force; we change things by something much more powerful, by proclaiming the life changing and life giving Gospel of Christ, one person at a time.

Let me be clear, there is no dilemma. I do not believe the US or PA governments have overstepped their authority by issuing the stay-at-home orders due to covid19. It is within their God-given authority because the purpose is to protect their citizens. God says to obey every ordinance of the government; the social distancing and stay at home orders for covid19 are lawful orders that do not overstep that authority.

So, instead of complaining, as believers we should be praying for God’s will to be done, reaching out to our brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage and strengthen them as best we can, and we must demonstrate love to all those around us. Let us also consider that perhaps we have taken our ability to assemble a little too lightly. How many times have you missed a church gathering on a Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday or whatever days your church meets because you had something else you wanted to do? Maybe, we as the church need some repentance for taking His Church a little too lightly in recent years.

May the Lord watch over you, protect you, and keep you close to Him.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Mark

A Preacher's comments on covid 19

How many times in your life have you heard someone, particularly a preacher, identify some event as a sign of the end or that God was giving mankind some message of doom? Now, there have been times when God sent a prophet to warn His people of something, including some coming judgment for their sins and that they should repent. Isaiah was such a prophet, just read Isaiah 1 and 6 and you’ll get the picture pretty quickly. There are also examples of God sending a prophet from Israel to some foreign land to warn them of coming judgment unless they repent; such is the case with Jonah.

Does that mean that every preacher or prophet in modern times, who says some crisis is a sign of God’s impending judgment is to be believed? What about those who predicted that World War I indicated the end of time was near, or World War II, or the immanent destruction of the Earth by a nuclear war during the Cold War? What about those who say a particular natural disaster like a hurricane, wildfire, tsunami, earthquake, famine or even a plague is some specific warning from God? Haven’t such things been fairly common for a long time? I looked up a list of epidemics and pandemics and was amazed at how many there have been just since 1800! In 1899-1923 more than 800,000 people died in Europe, Asia and Africa from the sixth cholera pandemic. Between 1915 and 1926 1.5 million people died worldwide from Encephalitis lethargica. The Spanish flu killed between 17 and 100 million people worldwide between 1918 and 1920. Between 1877 and 1977 500,000,000 people died of smallpox. According to worldmeters.info/coronavirus the number of deaths from covid19 as of April 10, 2020 was 102,594. So do all of these epidemics and pandemics signal the end or are they some specific warning from God?

I think we must consider Jesus’ comments about end times in Matthew 24. Jesus’ disciples asked Him about the sign of His Coming and the end of the age. Jesus responded, “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes, but all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs” (Matthew 24:4-8). Jesus was saying that during the period between His first coming as the sacrificial Lamb of God, when He went to the Cross and three days later rose again, and His second coming as King of Kings, that there would be wars, famines and earthquakes, all kinds of trouble. But His followers were not to fear for “all these things must come to pass but the end is not yet” (Mt 24:6).

I know some Christian brothers and sisters will disagree, and some make predictions about Jesus coming back because some natural disaster takes place, some war breaks out, some famine hits, or some pandemic spreads internationally. When I hear such things I think of Deuteronomy 18:22, “when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has NOT spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.” Similarly, in Jeremiah 28, Jeremiah was confronting a false prophet who said the Lord would bring peace when Jeremiah and many before him said there would not be peace. In Jeremiah 29:9 we read, “As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one who the Lord has truly sent.” The idea is the same, if it happens, you know it was from the Lord, if not, the “prophet” was not speaking from the Lord.

At this point and from a spiritual perspective we don’t know why this coronavirus outbreak is happening any more than previous ones. If you pronounce this to be God’s judgment and it isn’t, you’ve made it obvious that you did not represent the Lord when you spoke. If you say it isn’t and it is, same thing. What we do know is that every time some human tragedy strikes, whether it’s a hurricane, a fire, a war, or a plague, someone claims God is taking vengeance upon mankind for something. Look, God is the righteous Judge and He will one day pour out His wrath upon those who have rejected His mercy and grace. That mercy and grace is powerfully demonstrated in His sending His Son Jesus Christ as the One and only way of forgiveness of our sin. We will all stand before Him someday and give account of ourselves, the main issue being did we accept or reject salvation from sin though Jesus (Rev 20). But to claim any particular event during this age as God’s judgment is precarious at best. We must be careful about pointing to any particular thing, such as covid19, and saying with all certainty that it is the wrath of God. Some crisis situations are the result of human sin taking its course of hardship and death. God will judge all sin one day, but that might not be today. God is gracious and gives us time to repent, even when we are in open rebellion. That time will eventually run out, but only God knows when that will be for any individual and for all of humanity. You can have forgiveness right now. Through faith in Jesus Christ, your sin debt is paid and the wrath of God satisfied; through Jesus’ Blood you are accepted and united to God.

Jesus, who is the Prophet, eternal High Priest, and King of Kings, said that there are going to be many troubles, but this is not yet the end. What we can say for sure is that Jesus could return anytime and thus we need to be ready all the time. We need to be living for Him and spreading the Good News of His mercy, grace, forgiveness, redemption, and unity to those around us.

God will judge sin, and He does lovingly discipline His children like any good father (Read Hebrews 12:3-11). How do we know if some crisis is the End? The End will come. In the mean time, trust in Jesus for your forgiveness, redemption and salvation and then love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Then you have no reason to fear.

May the Lord watch over you, protect you, and keep you close to Him.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Mark

Spring Is Here

Things almost seemed normal today as I sat at my desk. That sensation only lasted until 9am when the prayer gathering would normally start followed by Bible study. Those didn’t take place again this week, which is the reason I‘m writing this blog during that time. Life has been anything but normal lately. Our routines are interrupted and after a few weeks of this, maybe some new “norms” are settling in and becoming habit. At the same time it is obvious that life goes on as always when you go outside.

In case you haven’t noticed, the grass is growing and will soon need cut. Nathaniel and I changed the oil in the lawn mower yesterday, re-hung the swing in the back yard and put out the lawn furniture. We even cut up some wood for the backyard fire pit. The birds, squirrels and even a skunk we’ve named Stella make daily visits to our feeders. Nature is waking up in western PA and is a good reminder that sickness and disease, even major outbreaks like this (or worse) come and go. I’m not being insensitive or unrealistic about the current situation, but I am getting weary of the many alarmists that make it sound like none of us will survive until summer. Life will continue.

I say that not because of six thousand years of troubled human history that we’ve survived so far; I say that because God says life will continue. There will be a time when He will drastically change life on earth and He describes how that will happen (and covid19 isn’t it). We humans like to think we are pretty smart, and we do accomplish some impressive things when we work together (see Genesis 11:1-9 where God told mankind to spread out and fill the Earth, but in their pride they decided to disobey and remain together, so God scattered them and they went and filled the Earth). However, we must not make the same mistake, for human wisdom cannot compare to the wisdom of God. He is God, we are not. He sustains things, we do not. He determines when, where, why and how, we do not. Elevating ourselves in pride against God is easy for us to do but also foolish. It is a house of cards that tumbles easily.

This is one reason I love reading Job 38-40. It puts my pride in its place as I am reminded of the greatness of God. I encourage you to read those chapters in Job sometime this weekend as a reminder that He is still on the Throne of the universe and all things are under His power and authority.

I am also reminded that God is forever on the Throne when I look outside the window this morning. The sky is a brilliant blue and the many shades of green are beginning to burst forth. We are quarantined, stuck at home, separating by six feet and in groups of ten or less because that is what our God-ordained government has instructed us to do (see Romans 13:1-7) as they try to minimize the effects of covid19. So we honor those instructions. While we are doing that, however, be encouraged that God remains on the Throne, sustaining life and making things new again this spring.

That is what God does, He makes things new. He takes what is dead, like you and me who were dead in sin, and He restores life. He makes us new creations through the redeeming Blood of Christ. Second Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.” The passage goes on saying, “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us, we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:18-21).

Only God can take what is dead and give it life. He did that here on Earth during His Creation of the universe. He does that when a sinner confesses, repents and believes on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness and salvation. He does that every spring as nature is renewed and life springs forth; just look outside and see.

May the Lord watch over you, protect you, and keep you close to Him.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Mark