Be angry and NOT sin?

My prayer for us today is that we all listen with our heart, choose our words with care and through it all remember the good in each other - which is the very essence of God, our father.

One of the poems I wrote is about this very issue. It is my hope that the poems will help us reflect on what God is telling us, personalize them through our past experiences and remember the lessons learned for future situations.  The devotional is from Daily Bread today.

With love,

Candace

No Cause For Alarm

READ: Ephesians 4:25-32

“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath. —Ephesians 4:26The sound of the alarm blaring from inside the church struck panic in my heart. I had arrived at church early one Sunday morning, planning to spend a little time in peace and quiet before the congregation arrived. But I forgot to disarm the burglar alarm. As I turned the key, the disruptive and annoying blasting of the alarm filled the building—and no doubt the bedrooms of sleeping neighbors.


Anger is a lot like that. In the midst of our peaceful lives, something turns a key in our spirit and triggers the alarm. And our internal peace—not to mention the tranquillity of those around us—is interrupted by the disruptive force of our exploding emotions.


Sometimes anger appropriately calls our attention to an injustice that needs to be addressed, and we are spurred to righteous action. Most of the time, however, our anger is selfishly ignited by the violation of our expectations, rights, and privileges. In any case, it’s important to know why the alarm is sounding and to respond in a godly way. But one thing is sure, anger was never intended to continue unchecked.


It’s no wonder that Paul reminds us of the psalmist’s warning: “‘Be angry, and do not sin’; do not let the sun go down on your wrath” (Eph. 4:26; Ps. 4:4). — Joe Stowell

Spirit of God, please change my heart

And give me a new desire;

Help me to be a man of peace

Who’s not controlled by anger’s fire. —K. De Haan

Anger left unchecked is cause for alarm.

Obedience Walks True

Words form as my mouth is ignited into motion,
Muscles strain, face contorts, sounds of the deep are hurled forth,
Tremendous pain and agony is the kindle,
Sparks burst into existence singeing all within reach,
The burn turns to a blaze from the oxygen expelled,
The torrents of tears come too late to extinguish the flames.

Death of so many from the combustible forces,
Tender twigs reaching for life crackle and smolder from the impulsive havoc,
New seasons, new life, through years of dormancy reigned,
Each planting… reaching fingers, through rich soil from debris,
Encouraging waters penetrate that which is buried deep,
Slow saturation, life drank it in,
Overcoming the demons that snuffed years from the scene,
God understood the pain and the cause,
He never gave up or quickened the time,
His patience and love are more than enough…
Like creation and then destruction to regain true birth.

Let us always remember the loss from the fires,
Always go rushing, so seeds will throw down.

Time is the magic when obedience walks true,
His steps are leading though only one path is seen,
Forward forever, the future has no end.

Behind are the lessons to teach others to grow,
Remember your yesterday, put away all strife,
It’s in this we grow mercy, so all may have life.
By Candace Huffmaster