DEAL WITH TODAY’S PROBLEMS -TODAY

MEMORY VERSE: Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Ephesians 4:26

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Leviticus 4-6

That recent incident (where you were wronged) doesn’t have to destroy the relationship that you have built over the years. I learnt this from a great man of God: “there are no permanent enemies and there are no permanent friends. That fellow who wronged you today could become your life-saver tomorrow. ” As we discussed yesterday, let’s be honest with our anger. There is no point pretending or denying our anger. This does not help resolve the matter in any way. Also, let's avoid the blame game. Watch your words when you are angry. Remember, with our tongue we can start a war and also with the same tongue we can bring an end to war. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” We say, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me,” but it’s not true. A person can die of a crushed spirit, and the one who spoke the words can live to regret the damage that they inflicted and may never get a chance to undo it. On the other hand, anger properly handled never needs to be repented of.

Keep your anger current. Storing anger in our hard drives only hurts us. Some of us are angry with one of our siblings or a friend for something they did or said in the past. The fellow who wronged you or made you angry probably can’t remember the incident but you are still angry and hurt. You are the one who is losing emotional energy, not them. They are living life with zest and you are still hurt. Why not let go. There are some of us who are angry with the dead. The dead doesn’t know you are angry, unfortunately, he or she can’t return to apologize for the wrong done. Why not let go and ask the Lord to help you get over it. What happens when we download old resentments and start to rehearse them is that we grow bitter. When you are angry deal with it quickly. Don’t passively allow time to decide your options or sit around hoping the other person will see the light and apologize. Problems do not go away. They must be worked through or else they remain, forever a barrier to the growth and the development of the spirit. Matthew 18:15 says, “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.” If someone offends you, try to resolve it and restore the relationship. When you repress it you add one more skeleton to your closet. Sooner or later, doctors say it’ll be at your stomach lining, attack your immune system, and predispose you to heart problems, cancers, and other physical, social and emotional disorders. In the meantime, it’ll preoccupy you, dissipate you to heart problems, cripple your creativity, and hinder your fellowship with God, your friends and fellow believers; not to mention that it denies the offender an opportunity to clear their conscience, repent and get right with God and you. Lets’s stop dragging up the past, trying to blackmail the guilty by hauling skeletons out of closets at “auspicious” moments, plotting revenge, and passing down resentments for the next generation to carry.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please give me the humility and courage to deal with today’s problems – today.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

HANDLING ANGER

MEMORY VERSE: Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Ephesians 4:26

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Luke 13-14

Two forceful personalities in a relationship are like two rivers flowing into one; there is definitely going to be a strong current. Anger comes in different forms. It can be like a flash of lightening or prolonged like the rumble of thunder. Sometimes we clash painfully, other times we distance and silently abandon the relationship. But, anger handled the right away doesn’t have to destroy (the relationship that has been built over the years).

There are few things we can do to handle our anger. Firstly, let’s be honest when we are angry. When angry, do not deny it. Let’s not pretend that all is well when all is not well. It is perfectly normal to get angry when people are mistreated and wrongs are not being made right. We are right to get angry when people falsely accuse us of something we know nothing about. Ignoring the other person, stifling, suppressing the anger or pretending that we are not angry is basically dishonest. Another form of lying when we are angry is exaggeration. “You never listen to what i say.” “You always ignore my wishes.” “You are always doing these things to get me angry.” Such generalizations are untrue and serve only to aggravate and polarize, guaranteeing the real problem gets obscured and goes unresolved. Another way to lie when we are angry is blaming. “It is your fault that this happened to us.” “Maybe if you had arrived on time i wouldn’t have to nag you.” Blaming is a way of evading our own responsibility while pointing the finger at others. It angers others, perpetuates our own anger and never produces the result we want. Blaming is counter-productive.

Ephesians 4:26 says, “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” What this means is that we must not let our anger escalate to the point of doing damage. When angry we must not use our words as a weapon or a control mechanism. It is okay to express our emotions in a healthy way; we must keep them in check. Our goal must be to resolve the problem and strengthen the relationship, not ‘sound off’ and wound the other person. Words spoken in jest, sarcasm, self- righteousness or ‘righteous indignation’ wound people, sometimes permanently. Perverseness of the tongue breaks people’s spirit. Proverbs 15:4 says, “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.” Angry words, once unleashed, can: “go down into a man’s inmost parts” (Proverbs 16:22). Our words can live in the heart and memory of a person and go all the way to the grave with them. A person can die of crushed spirit, and the one who spoke the words can live to regret the damage that they inflicted and never get a chance to undo it. On the other hand, anger properly handled never needs to be repented of.

NOTE: We must learn to differentiate between the anger we feel and the words we speak. Anger, carefully thought through, can reveal important information about needed changes.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please rid me of anger.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

ANGER HINDERS PRAYERS

MEMORY VERSE: And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab. 2 Kings 3:13

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Hebrew 7-9

The number one hindrance to prayer is sin. Isaiah 59:1-2 says: “Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” God loves man, but He hates sin with a passion. The fact that we are saved does not give us the liberty to sin. Romans 6:1 says: “what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” Another hindrance to prayer is unforgiveness. Mark 11:25 says: “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Friend, it is high time you forgave that fellow. Except you forgive, there is nothing any one can do to help you. Forgive that fellow, that in-law, that colleague at work, that husband or wife, not because they deserve it, but because you want God to answer your prayers. Besides, Christ forgave your sins not because you deserve it. Luke 12:48 says: “………. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required....” Because you have been forgiven, you are expected to forgive others.

 Another hindrance to prayer is doubt. James 1:6-7 says: “but let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” Anger is another hindrance to prayer. In 2 Kings 3, three kings – King of Judah, King of Israel and King of Edom – ran into problems and they called unto Elisha. When He arrived at scene, he went ballistic. 2 Kings 3:13 says: “And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.” After reacting angrily, he could not pray. He had become weak in the spirit. He had to request for a minstrel because his spirit was down. 2 Kings 3:15 says: “But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.” Elisha had every right to tell off both kings - king of Edom and king of Israel -for they worshiped idols, yet his anger made it impossible for him to pray or prophesy.  Friend, if you are always getting angry with your children, you will not be able to pray. If you are always shouting at your wife or arguing with your husband, your family prayer altar will become cold. Once you are angry that is it, praying becomes an uphill task. The Holy Spirit is a loving Spirit not an angry Spirit. He takes His leave once anger comes in and without the Holy Spirit, you cannot pray effectively.

TO DO: If you are suffering from the spirit of anger, I recommend fasting.

PRAYER: Father, please rid me of anger.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

twitter@BroOluwatoki

QUICK TEMPER FRUSTRATES GOD’S PLAN FOR OUR LIVES

MEMORY VERSE: he that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of 
wicked devices is hated, Proverbs 14:17

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Judg 9, Acts 13, Jer 22, Mark 8

As far as you are alive, people will annoy you. As far as you are living amongst men, people will irritate you. As far as you have dealings with people, they will offend you. The only way to avoid been irritated by humans is by living with animals in the thick forest. Even at that animals will irritate you for example, whilst you are enjoying your early morning nap birds will start singing and that can be irritating especially when you are tired. The shocking thing is you don’t have to offend people before they offend you. Not too long ago i heard a loud bang behind me so i looked back to check what was happening. When i looked back i saw a woman and a man by a car, the man looked at me and started running towards me. When he got to where i was standing , he began threaten to do me i.e. attack me. I have never set my eyes on this man before, never spoke a word to him in my life yet he wanted to do me. The devil is a liar.

If i was the type that get angry easily or get angry at every giving opportunity, i would have done something stupid and probably end up in jail. When you get angry easily or at every opportunity you may lose your destiny if care is not taken. Disagreement is inevitable especially with those you are close with. Many have landed themselves in hot water as a result of what they said or did in anger. I beg you in the name of God, never reply an email or text in anger because you may live to regret it for the rest of your life. I heard the story of a fellow who threatened his colleague in a text message. One thing led to another and the matter ended in court. The text message was used as evidence in court.

People who get angry easily end up destroying their future in advance. Proverbs 14:17a says he that is soon angry dealeth foolishly in other words a quick tempered fellow will behave in a foolish way. A host pastor invited two guest pastors to come and minister at their annual convention. He printed fliers and paid for radio jingles. Out of the blue one of the guest Pastor - Pastor A called and demanded that his name be removed from the flier and radio jingles. The disappointing thing was Pastor A gave no reason for not coming. The host pastor had to pay for another 5000 fliers and radio jingle. Anyone in the host pastor's shoes will be very disappointed. After the convention, the host pastor continued to be friends with Pastor A. Today that host pastor now owns a church building worth over a million courtesy of Pastor A. It was Pastor A who connected the host pastor with the estate agent who sold the church building. The question is what if the host pastor had called Pastor A after the convention and began to abuse him or swear never to greet him again for the rest of his life; would Pastor A have connected him with the estate agent?

PRAYER POINT: Father every spirit of anger in me; please drive them away by force.

REACT NOT IN ANGER

MEMORY VERSE: he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city, Proverbs 16:32

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Num 34, Ps 78:39-72, Isa 26, 1 Jn 4

The wise rarely react in anger because wrath is cruel and anger is outrageous, Proverbs 27:4. Not only that, anger resides in the lap of fools, Ecclesiastes 7:9. Reacting in anger increases your chances of making a bad decision. In 1 Samuel 14:25-45 Saul out of anger sentenced his son (Jonathan) to death because he licked honey. Thank God for the people who rescued Jonathan from his hands. Making a bad decision as a result of anger can be very fatal. I heard the sad story of a man who paid the ultimate price for the wrong decision he made out of anger. He saw his brother surrounded by four police men. Instead of approaching the policemen to ask questions, he got very angry, grabbed a club and ran towards the police men. One of the policemen saw him running towards them with a big club and shot him in self defense. Sadly this man did not survive the shot.

Reacting in anger can cause you to lose valuable things. In Exodus 2:11-15 Moses saw an Egyptian beating up a Jew. Of all things to do in the world, Moses killed this Egyptian and buried him. This single act turned Prince Moses into a vagabond in the desert. Also reacting in anger only complicates a matter not settle it. Because Saul disobeyed God, Samuel decided to path ways with him, 1 Samuel 15:24-28. As Samuel turned to leave Saul out of anger grabbed his garment and it rent. Because Saul rent the garment of prophet of God, the Lord rent the kingdom of Israel from his hands. Reacting in anger can also cost an individual God’s plan and purpose for his life. God’s plan was to take Moses to the promise land. Moses could not because he reacted in anger, instead of speaking to the rock he struck it twice and the Lord decided to replace him.

An important reason why you should not react in anger today is because your reaction could be used against you tomorrow. Because Moses reacted in anger and killed the Egyptian, at the end he became a murderer .After the death of Moses; Satan used the death of the Egyptian against Moses but thank God he did not succeed, Jude 1:9. Proverbs 16:32 says he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city .This is the main reason why you must run from people that are advising you to react in anger. Rebuke that spirit that is asking you to care less about the consequences and react in anger.

PRAYER POINT : Father, help me to rule my spirit.

Treading down our enemies

Psalm 60:12 Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies.

Without God, one will be a laughing stock or a toy in the hands of the enemy. The psalmist says in Psalms 124:1-3, if not for God who had been on our side the enemies would have swallowed us alive. As a matter of fact unless God intervenes there is nothing anyone can do. There is nothing any herbalist, doctor /surgeon, prophet, president or political godfather can do to help us.

There are two categories of enemies. The ones we aware of their existence and the ones we are unaware of their existence. Dealing with the enemies we are aware of their existence is not so difficult, simply take them to God in prayers and that settles it. Dealing with the enemies we are unaware of their existence is almost impossible. How can anyone fight an enemy he or she does not know exist? When we talk of enemies we are unaware of their existence in our lives, we are not talking of witches and wizards. Witches and wizards are small, all you need is just the name of Jesus and they will run. We are talking of enemies within. We are talking of enemies present inside us. An example of such enemy is pride. Many suffering from the spirit of pride do not believe they are proud. Some will even get angry when you suggest it to them. How can such people man fight the spirit of pride in their life? Proverbs 16:18 says pride goes before destruction. Many suffering from anger problems do not know they have the problems. By the time they know they are suffering from anger problems it will have been too late, sometimes it is when they start exhibiting the symptoms of hypertension and high blood pressure. Those in the medical professions have advised that intense and unresolved anger is linked to health conditions such as high blood pressure, depression, anxiety and heart disease. So also is the fellow who laziness is destroying his life. Proverbs 10:4 says lazy hands make a man poor. To a lazy fellow he is just resting or chilling, unknown to him he has been idle for hours whereas his colleagues are busy achieving things. The one suffering from loose tongues do not know he or she has that problems. The fellow would have divulged all their life secrets and plans to vision killers without knowing it. Most people with acidic tongue will tell you they only say things as they are or they are been real but unknown to them that careless use of the tongue is dangerous. According to James 3:6, as small as the tongue is, it is able to take a man to hell.

How can we fight an enemy we are unaware of its existence, it is by linking up with God who can see everything and has the power to deliver us from these enemies. Hebrews 4; 13 says before God nothing is hidden. We might be unaware of the existence of the enemies in our life but God is aware of their existence. That was why He was able to warn Cain of the presence of anger he was unaware of its existence in his life in Genesis 4:5-6. Cain did not heed to the advice and his anger brought a curse upon his life.

ACTION POINT: Father, every enemy within secretly destroying my life and my future please bring it to my attention and destroy them today.

Cost of anger

Proverbs 15:18 - A wrathful man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger allays contention.

Anger is very costly. It is able to turn a prince in to a fugitive. In Exodus 2:11-17, Moses-a prince in Egypt became a fugitive in the land of Midian courtesy of his anger. He saw an Egyptian beating up a Hebrew, instead of simply reprimanding the Egyptian or better still ask what happened and resolve the matter, he got angry and before he knew it he became a murderer. The boy who was once favored by Pharaoh suddenly became an enemy courtesy of the result of his anger. Anger can bring curses. In Genesis 4:3-11, Cain got angry because God rejected his offering .Out of anger he killed Abel and that action brought God's curse on him. Many marriages are on the rock today as a result things that were said in anger. There are so many who have destroyed their own labor due to anger. Something they labored for all their life, in anger they destroyed it. Many parents out of anger have placed a curse on their children. There was a slight misunderstanding between a sister and her fiancee and out of anger this sister took the expensive watch this brother bought for her as a gift and destroyed it in the presence of this brother. The brother simply called off the wedding .The sister who was meant to get married in few months suddenly became single again.

Worse is uncontrolled anger. The anger that led Moses to kill the Egyptian in Exodus, made him to disobey God in Numbers 20:1-3. The instruction was speak to the rock but out of the anger he refused to control, he hit the rock and the Lord decided Moses was not worthy of leading Israel into Canaan. Studying the live of Moses we will come to the conclusion that uncontrolled anger leads to untimely death - Moses who was meant to die in Canaan died in the desert before his appointed time; uncontrolled anger brings disfavor - Moses who God appointed as the leader in Israel was suddenly found unworthy of been a leader by the same God who appointed him because of the anger he refused to control ; Uncontrolled anger rubs us of our destinies - the destiny of Moses was to lead Israel to Canaan but he could not out of anger. Why is anger bad? in anger one thinks irrationally. Proverbs 14:17 says He that is quickly angry deals foolishly: and a man of wicked intentions is hated. Proverbs 16:32 says He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that rules his spirit than he that takes a city.

Brethren anger can cost us heaven if we do not do something about our anger. James 1:20 says for the anger of man works not the righteousness of God.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please rid me of every form anger today.