Righteous Living – Page 38 – Three Minute Bible

February 29, 2020March 1, 2020

Anger’s Judgement – 1 Corinthians 6:1-3

If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!

So far we have talked about what causes anger, and about the power of anger. The main thesis has been that anger by itself is neither good or bad, but is a sign of a deeper pain. In “Anger’s Power” we discussed the good or bad part. Anger based on a violation of God’s values is more righteous than anger based on a bruise to our ego. Today I would like to look at ways we can evaluate the anger we are confronted with in ourselves or someone else.

There is a touching story in 1 Samuel about the friendship between David and the son of King Saul, Jonathan. Saul has been stricken by a wild jealousy of David. The jealousy has roused a fit of powerful anger in Saul and he tries several times to skewer David on a spear. David escapes only to be reconciled to Saul by the efforts of his friend Jonathan.

February 28, 2020March 1, 2020

Anger’s Power – Zechariah 1:14-15

Then the angel who was speaking to me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment.’”

Yesterday in “Anger’s Cause” we talked a little about where anger comes from. But anger is not like a light switch. We do not simply become angry. There are many degrees of anger, just as there are many degrees of happiness.

When things in our life do not match our expectations (here I should add that we are talking about those things that are worse than what we expect) we start to become irritated. Irritation leads to frustration, and frustration can lead to anger. As we see in today’s verse, anger can range from a little angry to very angry.

Sometimes the change from happy to angry happens so fast that we miss all the warning signs along the way. And that is what irritations and frustrations are; warning signs. They tell us that there is danger ahead. If we heed the warnings, sometimes we can avoid the anger. The main point today though is that there are degrees of anger.

Where does this power for being very angry come from?

February 27, 2020March 1, 2020

Anger’s Cause — Jonah 4:4

But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

Today we are going to change gears for a while and talk about a topic that affects everyone’s life at some point or another: Anger.

People tend to think anger is a bad thing but actually, anger itself is nothing more than an indicator like a gauge on the dashboard of your car. The problems that we have with anger are manifested in how people react to it.

So what causes anger?

February 26, 2020February 26, 2020

James 3: 2 – A Show of Hands

We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.

How many of you (dear readers) are never at fault in what you say? I am taking James at his word when he writes “never.” So when we say, “… never at fault…” we mean someone who is not at fault and has never been at fault.

Hmmm… I’m not seeing a show of hands.

Let’s try the other side of the coin: How many of you have been at fault in what you say at least once in your lives?

Ahhh! Now I see everyone’s hand!

February 21, 2020February 21, 2020

James 2: 25 – Shorthand

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?

There is a kind of shorthand that exists when it comes to the matter of the Bible. Certain people I hobnob with are prone to refer to Bible passages by their address only. Instead of reciting the passage they are thinking of they simply give the verse and chapter and assume that you will know what they are talking about. Usually, I am left to look up the verse on my own if I want to have a clue what is going on.

(Full disclosure: I occasionally do the same thing, but rarely. Mainly due to an abundance of ignorance about exact passage references. :- )

February 20, 2020February 20, 2020

James 2: 23-24 – God’s Friend

And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

The scripture James refers to is found in Genesis 15: 6. God has just told Abraham that he will have a son who is his own flesh and blood. God tells Abraham to count the stars in the night sky if that is possible and he will have an idea how many offspring he will have. The text says that “Abraham believed God.” Does this mean he simply said, “Oh yeah, God. Sure. I believe you,” or did he accept it as a foundational truth that what God said would happen?

We don’t see the evidence of Abraham’s belief in what God told him until God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son. At that point, we know what it means when scripture says he “believed.”

Two things resulted from this belief.

February 19, 2020February 19, 2020

Wisdom Wednesday – The Prize

My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,

for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you peace and prosperity.

— Proverbs 3: 1-2

What do you want out of life? Do you know? Are you looking for things to do that will shorten your life? Do you like to suffer? Are you the kind of person who enjoys going hungry?

Of course not!

Nobody in their right mind (and I grant you that there are people who are not in their right mind!) wants to die young. So hopefully we can agree that it is desirable to prolong life and enjoy the time in peace and prosperity.

February 16, 2020May 24, 2021

Psalm Sunday – Coin Toss

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

— Psalm 1: 6

This sounds like an Affirmation Monday verse, but it also happens to be a verse from Psalms. So today’s verse a twofer! 🙂

The two key points in this verse center around definitions. What does it mean to be “righteous” and what does it mean to be “wicked?”

Righteousness means “doing what is right.” That is all there is to it. Oh… I know … most dictionaries throw in a qualifier about doing what is “morally right,” but honestly who in the secular world is going to decide what is moral? Only God can do that.

February 15, 2020February 16, 2020

James 2: 19 – Phone Call for James

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

Who is James arguing with?

Have you ever listened to someone talking on the phone? You can hear one side of the conversation, but not the other. Listening to one side only leaves us guessing at what the person on the other end of the line is saying.

Reading James’ letter is a bit like that.

February 14, 2020February 14, 2020

James 2: 18 – A Puppy Named James

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

If you ever have had a puppy dog for a pet, you know how they like to play tug-o-war. It doesn’t matter if it is a $15.00 toy from Pets-R-Us or an old sock. Given the chance to chomp down on something, growl fiercely, and throw their head back and forth, they will take it every time.

Like a puppy with a sock, James has sunk his teeth into this idea of faith and deeds.

Grrr-rrr-rr—rrrr—rrrrrr—rrr!!

He just won’t let go!

So here we are, talking about faith versus deeds again.

Like a puppy who wants to play, James growls out a challenge: Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds!

Let’s accept his challenge. Let’s show James our faith. And we will do it without deeds. How does that work?