Do Not Sin
“In your anger do not sin”. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, and don’t give the devil a foothold…for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. ( Ephesians 4:26-27; James 1:20 ) Ohhhh, if we’d hang on tight to this one and pause long enough to ask God for righteous responses, many of us ( men and women alike ) would stay outta the doghouse a lot longer than usual. We’ll still have inconsiderate people blocking the passing lane…one cashier that can’t seem to speed up…thugs that don’t care who hears their vulgar “music” at the redlights or gas station parking lots…missed calls by the umps and referees…the occasional spat-with-the-spouse… and any other number of things that get under our skin…but…we don’t haveta sin in our anger. Remember…anger ain’t a sin…it’s what we do with it that is. “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall ! No temptation ( to sin ) has seized you that someone else ain’t already experienced. And God is faithful; He won’t let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you ARE tempted ( to sin ), He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” ( 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 ) It’s ahight t’ get mad, just don’t let it cause you to sin … whether it be against another human being, or God. God’ll test us sometimes to see what we’ll do…and even if we don’t hear, “ I’m proud of how you stood up to that test and passed with flyin colors”… we can know God saw it and is proud of us…and THAT’S what counts. You might ask, “I thought anger and sin kinda went together … how can we get angry and still not sin ?!” Don’t respond like this world expects. Satan gets a foothold when we respond in “unrighteous” ways. We get angry at the slow traffic, slow check-out person, slow employee… we oughta bow or close our eyes ( not while driving ) and pray for them. We don’t know what their struggle is at that time…but God does…and He may just be waiting on you to ask Him to help that person. Sure…some people are inconsiderate of others and live self-centered lives, but that shouldn’t have anything to do about how you live yours. As far as it depends on “you”, get along with everyone and treat em as more important than yourself” ( Romans 12:18; Philippians2:3 ). Remember how good God’s been to you ! You’re no longer locked up or locked down … you’re free from all chains and shackles ! Sin ain’t cha daddy anymore … God is ! Jesus bought and paid for you … and the ol devil lost a good-un ! ( 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ) Instead of findin things to complain about, find things to compliment that person about. Finding fault, tearing down and belittling ain’t a character trait of Jesus Christ our Lord … neither should it be ours. Flippin somebody off or cussin ain’t honorable unto God and it doesn’t compliment the NAME we carry around…”Christian”. Anything that doesn’t glorify God and magnify the Name above all names, oughta bring shame upon us and cause us to repent and seek forgiveness … from God, first, and then from the one we wronged. If you’ve never been good at saying you’re sorry, you oughta try it ! It’s liberating ! And the more you practice it, the easier it gets. Plus, it honors God … even if it was the other person that SHOULD be doin the apologizing. We’re all gonna disagree every now and then … but it doesn’t mean we’re enemies. We’re here to encourage and make each other better. By acknowledging God’s word as our guide, walking in the Spirit instead of the flesh, and abiding in Christ in all our ways, thoughts and actions, we CAN get angry ( about sin ) and still not fall victim to it ! I’m pretty sure we can all be of one mind and one spirit … as long as it’s THE SPIRIT ( of GOD ) … we’ve only to ask Him to glorify Himself, in us and through us, today … because that’s what we’ve got right now ! Won’t you join me ?! Stand up to them temptations and battle against em with God’s armor ! You’re a warrior and didn’t even realize it ! Satan saw you on your knees with your head bowed and thought he’d won … until he heard you say, “ Amen “ !