Tag Archives: anger

August 18
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“But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” (Psalm 86:15, NIV)

God is powerful, but He isn’t expecting us to be strong. Instead, God wants us to rely on His strength.

God is everywhere, but He never expects us to be in more than one place at one time. Instead, God wants us to be sensitive to His calling, so that we will always be at the right place at the right time to do His work, according to His plan.

God is all-knowing, but He never requires us to have all of the answers.  Instead, God wants us to temper our measure of knowledge (however large or small) with His wisdom.

In today’s psalm, David tells us that God is compassionate.  Who among us will choose to be like God in that regard?

David tells us that God is gracious. Who among us will dare to be gracious?

God is slow to anger — and so should we.

God is abounding in love and faithfulness. From the overflow of our heavenly Father’s love and faithfulness to us, we are expected to be channels of love and faithfulness to others.

Is this what it means to be like God?  – Luther

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July 26
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“Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.” (Psalm 37:1-2, NIV)

Today’s scripture from the psalms reminds us of two important things: (1) To not fret because of the deeds of evil people; and (2) to not be envious of those who prosper in wrong-doing.

Sadly, there are some in our society who promote lawlessness.  

Worse still, there are others who envy the fruit of lawlessness (e. g. ill-gotten wealth, cheap fame, stolen influence). For these individuals, the adage, “crime doesn’t pay,” is not supported by the evidence.

The scripture reminds us not to fret because of such people.  Yes, they are a source of senseless pain.  Yes, they do destroy and leave nothing in its place. Do not fret, we are told, because they will not endure.

God has not forgotten the righteous.  In the meantime, follow the words of John Wesley (1703-1791): “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.”  – Luther 

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