Tag: anger

November 17, 2025

November 17th, 2025

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Matthew 21

Highlight Verse:

“Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭21‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Today I’m thankful for holy anger.

You could call it righteous indignation.

I’m not talking about the kind the indignation that keeps people hanging on to empty traditions.

I’m also not calling all traditions empty.

I am talking about the holy anger that Luther used against the corrupt practices of the church of his day.

That same kind of anger banished slavery.

Later, Luther’s namesake, Martin Luther King, Jr. brought it to bear against racial discrimination.

Jesus’ anger was not based on selfish desires but on true devotion to the Father that could not bear to see people using God to profit instead of truly worship.

While none of us have the direct authority that Jesus had in overturning the tables, we do have the responsibility to bring to light the injustices and corruption that we come across.

I write this not to sow division in the church. Instead,

I hope to help us find the best way to accomplish the purpose of bringing people to encounter and follow Jesus.

If we are doing things that drive people away from finding Jesus, that’s when I get angry.

What have you seen believers do that drives people away?
What can we do to correct those things?
October 15, 2025

October 15th, 2025

Wednesday – History

Reading – 2 Samuel 13-14

Highlight Verse:

“So at Absalom’s signal they murdered Amnon. Then the other sons of the king jumped on their mules and fled.”
‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭13‬:‭29‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This one verse raises so many questions.

The first thing that stands out to my slightly warped brain is, “Mules? Why mules? Didn’t they have horses?”

I don’t know the answer to that nor do I really care. The important thing is that they got away.

What next stands out to me is the fact that Absalom was incredibly persuasive. I’m sure his good looks helped, but to get people to kill for you takes a diabolical amount of persuasive power.

Looking back at his life, things look like they started going sideways when Amnon took advantage of his sister.

Instead of seeking justice, he sought revenge.

His revenge against Amnon came quickly but he extended his rage against his father and brothers.

More on that in the coming weeks.

Today we see Absalom’s rage turn pathological. It controlled him to the point that his actions became diabolical in the literal sense of the word.

He let the devil control his thoughts and actions in an attempt to destroy David’s kingdom.

All this started with taking justice into his own hands rather than turning it over to God and the justice system God put into place in Israel.

Terrible things happen. The need for justice can make people do desperate things.

But God is the ultimate judge and will bring justice one way or another.

Have you ever been tempted to take justice into your own hands?
What do you do when you doubt that justice will be served?
How can you help assure that proper justice will be served?
July 28, 2025

July 28th, 2025

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Mark 15-16

Highlight Verse:

“The soldiers took Jesus into the courtyard of the governor’s headquarters (called the Praetorium) and called out the entire regiment.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭15‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Why would the soldiers call out the whole regiment?

In my first two years of high school, I went to school in a wealthy suburb of San Francisco. (I lived in one of the little duplexes at the bottom of the hill).

There was still a lot of racial tension back in the 1970s and when a fight broke out between a white local student and a black student that was bused in from East Palo Alto, hundreds ran down to the parking lot to watch.

It quickly escalated to a brawl.

I stayed as far away as I could.

It was a tough time to be a minority. My Mexican dad refused to speak Spanish at home for fear that us kids would learn and be discovered to be half Mexican.

The Roman Empire was a tough time and place to be a Hebrew.

The Roman soldiers would have thought it great fun to be given free reign to abuse and insult a Hebrew like Jesus.

They all gathered around to join in the “fun.”

It’s very easy to get caught up in the group mentality even when the group is going off the rails.

I’m sure there were some more levelheaded soldiers in that regiment, but they all gathered to take part in the abuse.

In this same chapter, some of the people who followed Jesus just days before shouted for his crucifixion.

I dare say that if I had been all white, I might have gotten caught up in that racist brawl.

We need to be diligent to follow Jesus even when the crowd goes a different way.

For those who are the victims of abuse, Jesus can truly understand what it is like to be abused.

His heart goes out to all those who have suffered abuse and discrimination.

Just like He healed bodies, He can heal your heart.

Have you ever gotten caught up in a bad group mentality? How did you break free from that?
How has Jesus healed your abused heart?
June 5, 2025

June 5th, 2025

Thursday – Letters

Reading – 1 Corinthians 13-14

Highlight Verse:

“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It seems like the older I get, the rowdier the music I listen too.

I like cymbals… and drums, guitars, etc.

Maybe not gongs so much.

But I don’t think this verse is really talking about musical instruments.

I think it is talking about stuff like a video I saw recently.

A legalistic preacher was tearing apart the sermon of a Methodist pastor who was talking about reaching people where they were with the Love of God regardless of their sins.

I got the impression that the legalistic preacher posted that video not out of love for God but because of a felt need to be right and to be heard.

He was a clanging gong.

I might disagree on some points of theology with that Methodist minister too, but I agree with the notion of leading with love.

The legalistic preacher might have cared some too, wanting people to escape the grasp of sin. But the way he presented the Gospel would drive most people away from the perceived hate before they had the chance to repent.

While I would not downplay the seriousness of sin, I would always lead with love.

What is your favorite part of this chapter’s description of love?
Why?
May 17, 2025

May 17th, 2025

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Psalm 112

Highlight Verse:

“They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭112‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Bad news.

We’ve all had our share.

The expensive repair.
The painful diagnosis.
A friend’s betrayal.
The loss of a loved one.

Sometimes the news is saddening.
Sometimes devastating.

To say it will all work for the better is misleading and hurtful at best.

How can we live out this verse?

Trust that God is sovereign and compassionate before the bad news comes.

Know that terrible news comes to each of us.

The feelings of grief and anger and hopelessness are inevitable.

But so is the faithfulness of God that will outlast every feeling and doubt no matter how strong.

Trust and love Him with all your heart soul mind and strength and He will see you through it.

How have you gotten through bad news in the past?Are you in the midst of bad news now? Let us share in your struggle.
April 6, 2025

April 6th, 2025

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Psalms 37-39

Highlight Verse:

“Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper— it only leads to harm.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This was written by David.

When he was a young adult, he led a group that protected local farms from robbers.

One farmer, Nabal, didn’t respect David and his men for what they did to protect him.

That ticked David off.

He was ready to kill Nabal.

But Abigail, Nabal’s wife stepped in and calmed his anger.

David respected that of her so much that he married her (after her husband died).

As David grew older and wiser, He learned how to control that temper to the point where he could honestly write today’s verse,

What sets off your anger?
How can you avoid that?
March 10, 2025

March 10th, 2025

Monday – Gospels

Reading – John 11

Highlight Verses:

“When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. “Where have you put him?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and see.” Then Jesus wept.”
‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭33‬-‭35‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I don’t understand when people think that God is just some cosmic force or emotionless supernatural being.

Just within these three short verses, we see Jesus get angry, troubled, and weep.

Jesus experienced the full range of emotions that we do.

Why?

I might be stretching it a bit but I think all three emotions came for the same reason; the lack of sincere faith in the people around him.

Mary and Martha, who believed Him to be the Messiah, did not expect Him to be able to raise Lazarus from the dead.

The mourners were likely there out of religious duty and not for love of Lazarus or his sisters. They certainly did not expect Jesus to raise him from the grave.

Jesus reacted appropriately, getting angry at the lack of faith. He was troubled about how deeply traditional and shallow the faith of God’s chosen people had become. He wept for what that meant for the people of Israel.

He came to bring true life to His people and found a dead religion.

How alive is your faith?
Do you believe that Jesus cares enough about you to do the impossible?
He does.
January 12, 2025

January 12th, 2025

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Psalms 4-6

Highlight Verse:

“Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent. Interlude”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This seems like an odd line for a song.

But when you look at the whole Psalm together, you find David singing about how people were talking behind his back, trying to ruin him.

By the end of the Psalm, we hear how God protected him.

In the middle, David advises himself to stay calm, presumably because God has it all under control.

David had good reason to be angry.

Sometimes we do to. (Though sometimes we don’t).

We would do well to take David’s advice and step back, maintain our integrity, and let God take care of it.

Sometimes we fail.

Sometimes David failed.

That’s why he wrote this Psalm to remind himself and us that God has it under control.

How do you react when people bad mouth you?
Have you ever stepped back and let God take care of it?
December 4, 2024

December 4th, 2024

Wednesday – History

Reading – Esther 3-4

Highlight Verse:

“When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or show him respect, he was filled with rage.”
‭‭Esther‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We’ve all dealt with them.

That person who blows a gasket any time things don’t go exactly as they want.

Haman was an extreme narcissist.

He not only expected things to go his way, but he expected others to bow down to him.

I probably would have given him a piece of my mind I could ill afford to lose.

Probably not the best course of action.

Mordecai and Esther handled the situation much more wisely.

They exercised grace and patience. At the right time, they brought their plight to the King’s attention in such a way that he was disposed to favor them.

In doing so, they saved the nation of Israel.

How do you deal with difficult people?
Do you have enough patience to act as wisely as Mordecai and Esther?
October 23, 2024

October 23rd, 2024

Wednesday – History

Reading – Nehemiah 5-6

Highlight Verse:

“After thinking it over, I spoke out against these nobles and officials. I told them, “You are hurting your own relatives by charging interest when they borrow money!” Then I called a public meeting to deal with the problem.”
‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Sometimes, especially when I’m mad, my mouth gets ahead of my brain.

Nehemiah was ticked, but he stayed calm.

He took the time to think the situation over.

Then he called a meeting and dealt with the people who had been taking advantage of their neighbors in a reasonable way.

I’d like to say that I’ve learned from Nehemiah. In fact, I have.

But there are still times when my mouth tries to bypass my brain.

Nehemiah showed the best example by stopping to think it through.

We would do well to do the same.

Does your brain do a good job of staying ahead of your mouth?
How can you remind yourself to stop to think before you speak?

Tag: anger

Today I’m thankful for holy anger.

I am talking about the holy anger that Luther used against the corrupt practices of the church of his day.

I hope to help us find the best way to accomplish the purpose of bringing people to encounter and follow Jesus.

If we are doing things that drive people away from finding Jesus, that’s when I get angry.

This one verse raises so many questions.

Instead of seeking justice, he sought revenge.

But God is the ultimate judge and will bring justice one way or another.

Why would the soldiers call out the whole regiment?

It’s very easy to get caught up in the group mentality even when the group is going off the rails.

We need to be diligent to follow Jesus even when the crowd goes a different way.

His heart goes out to all those who have suffered abuse and discrimination.

But I don’t think this verse is really talking about musical instruments.

He was a clanging gong.

While I would not downplay the seriousness of sin, I would always lead with love.

Bad news.

How can we live out this verse?

But so is the faithfulness of God that will outlast every feeling and doubt no matter how strong.

That ticked David off.

But Abigail, Nabal’s wife stepped in and calmed his anger.

As David grew older and wiser, He learned how to control that temper to the point where he could honestly write today’s verse,

Jesus experienced the full range of emotions that we do.

I might be stretching it a bit but I think all three emotions came for the same reason; the lack of sincere faith in the people around him.

He came to bring true life to His people and found a dead religion.

This seems like an odd line for a song.

By the end of the Psalm, we hear how God protected him.

We would do well to take David’s advice and step back, maintain our integrity, and let God take care of it.

That’s why he wrote this Psalm to remind himself and us that God has it under control.

Haman was an extreme narcissist.

Mordecai and Esther handled the situation much more wisely.

In doing so, they saved the nation of Israel.

Nehemiah was ticked, but he stayed calm.

I’d like to say that I’ve learned from Nehemiah. In fact, I have.

Nehemiah showed the best example by stopping to think it through.