DRAWING NEAR
June 5
Be Slow to Anger
"Let everyone be . . . slow to anger; for the anger of man does
not achieve the righteousness of God" (James 1:19-20).
Have you ever started reading your Bible, thinking everything was
fine between you and the Lord, only to have the Word suddenly cut
deep into your soul to expose some sin you had neglected or tried to
hide? That commonly happens because God seeks to purge sin in His
children. The Holy Spirit uses the Word to penetrate the hidden
recesses of the heart to do His convicting and purifying work. How
you respond to that process is an indicator of the genuineness of
your faith.
"Anger" in James 1:19-20 refers to a negative response to that
process. It is a deep internal resentment accompanied by an attitude
of rejection. Sometimes that resentment can be subtle. Paul described
those who "will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their
ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in
accordance to their own desires" (1 Tim. 4:3). They're the people who
drift from church to church in search of someone who will tell them
what they want to hear--or a congregation that wants a pastor who
will make them feel good about themselves instead of preaching the
Word and setting a high standard of holiness.
Sometimes resentment toward the Word ceases to be subtle and turns to
open hostility. That happened when the crowd Stephen confronted
covered their ears, drove him out of the city, and stoned him to
death (Acts 7:57-60). Countless others throughout history have felt
the fatal blows of those whose resentment of God's truth turned to
hatred for His people.
Receiving the Word includes being quick to hear what it says and slow
to anger when it disagrees with your opinions or confronts your sin.
Is that your attitude? Do you welcome its reproof and heed its
warnings, or do you secretly resent it? When a Christian brother or
sister confronts a sin in your life, do you accept or reject their
counsel?
Suggestions for Prayer:
Thank God for the power of His Word to convict you and drive you to
repentance. Welcome its correction with humility and thanksgiving.
For Further Study:
Read 2 Timothy 4:1-5, noting the charge Paul gave to Timothy and his
reason for giving it.
Drawing Near, Copyright 1993 John F. MacArthur, Jr.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
http://www.gty.org
~~~
Acts 7:57-60
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and
ran at him with one accord;
58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the
witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named
Saul.
59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying,
"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not
charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell
asleep.
2 Timothy 4:1-5
4:1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who
will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:
2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince,
rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine,
but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears,
they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned
aside to fables.
5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work
of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
These devotions are posted with permission from John MacArthur's
first (1993) devotional work, _Drawing Near_, and they are also sent
out daily for free to several folks via e-mail.
In addition, John's second (1997) devotional, _Strength for Today_,
is also available free via e-mail only. _Strength for Today_ follows
the same format as what you have seen here from _Drawing Near_, but
with different monthly themes.
If you would like to receive daily devotions via e-mail from either
of these series, just let me know (via e-mail), and I will gladly add
you to the list(s) of your choice.
You can hear John MacArthur daily via the Internet by visiting:
http://www2.oneplace.com/Ministries/Grace_to_You/
and
http://www.gty.org.uk/
You may email John MacArthur in care of Grace to You at:
letters@gty.org
NOTE for those of you reading via newsgroups: If you wish to reach
me, please contact me via e-mail for quickest results.
In Christ,
Peter
Peter G. Chase :: Columbus, Ohio, USA
pchase@wowway.com
STOP! Who do you think Jesus is?
http://www.gty.org/Gospel
http://www.gty.org/
http://www.nwbible.org/
There is a living God. He has spoken in His word. He means just what he says, and will do all that He has promised. - Hudson Taylor
.
|
