Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Ephesians 4:27 (KJV)
We're told in Ephesians not to give place to the devil. This means we shouldn't give him any chance to work within our life. Notice we are told not to "give." This infers we have been freed from our sinful nature, and we would have to choose to give Satan permission to wreak havoc in our lives.
Why would we want to do this? What purpose of gain would come from such a foolish act? One of the most common ways we can do this is when we choose not to forgive someone. It's those times where we have been hurt emotionally or even physically. When this happens we can tend to become angry with those who have hurt us and we can choose to file away the act causing us pain.
When we do this, we have basically opened the door to our heart and invited Satan in. A bitter root starts to grow, and just as is it is with cancer, it spreads throughout our body, affecting our spiritual and physical health, and our attitude. But Jesus knew the enemy would tempt us to do this and so He spoke specifically about how we should respond.
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, Matthew 5:44 (NKJV)
Jesus teaches us we should pray for those who use us and persecute us. I think this is imperative for us as true Disciples of Christ because when we go to the cross and seek Jesus to intercede for those who attack or hurt us, then we are freed from this bitterness, and we will have a compassion for them because we know they have no peace. We can pray it will be used to lead them into an understanding of their need for forgiveness, and for repentance. Our heart will be healed when we handle this properly, and we are given a covering of peace upon our lives as well. We need to know and trust God in God's perfect timing and way to deal with their sin.
If we do not deal with bitterness immediately we will carry it and it will surface in our conversations and actions. When this happens it can cause others to be hurt and led astray in their walk with God and it will be divisive in the body of believers.
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; Hebrews 12:14-15 (NKJV)
I want to encourage you to meditate upon these things today. Let's choose to forgive every offense committed against us as an act of worship unto the Lord. Let's continually be on guard against the schemes of the devil and choose not to give him a place in our lives. Remember, it's our power to give.
STUDY QUESTION: According to the Scriptures in this devotional how are we to handle those who attack and hurt us?
PERSONAL INVENTORY: Are you willing to forgive those who have hurt you?
APPLICATION: Let's lay down any hurt or offenses committed against us. Let's ask God to work in the lives of those who may have hurt us.
We're told in Ephesians not to give place to the devil. This means we shouldn't give him any chance to work within our life. Notice we are told not to "give." This infers we have been freed from our sinful nature, and we would have to choose to give Satan permission to wreak havoc in our lives.
Why would we want to do this? What purpose of gain would come from such a foolish act? One of the most common ways we can do this is when we choose not to forgive someone. It's those times where we have been hurt emotionally or even physically. When this happens we can tend to become angry with those who have hurt us and we can choose to file away the act causing us pain.
When we do this, we have basically opened the door to our heart and invited Satan in. A bitter root starts to grow, and just as is it is with cancer, it spreads throughout our body, affecting our spiritual and physical health, and our attitude. But Jesus knew the enemy would tempt us to do this and so He spoke specifically about how we should respond.
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, Matthew 5:44 (NKJV)
Jesus teaches us we should pray for those who use us and persecute us. I think this is imperative for us as true Disciples of Christ because when we go to the cross and seek Jesus to intercede for those who attack or hurt us, then we are freed from this bitterness, and we will have a compassion for them because we know they have no peace. We can pray it will be used to lead them into an understanding of their need for forgiveness, and for repentance. Our heart will be healed when we handle this properly, and we are given a covering of peace upon our lives as well. We need to know and trust God in God's perfect timing and way to deal with their sin.
If we do not deal with bitterness immediately we will carry it and it will surface in our conversations and actions. When this happens it can cause others to be hurt and led astray in their walk with God and it will be divisive in the body of believers.
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; Hebrews 12:14-15 (NKJV)
I want to encourage you to meditate upon these things today. Let's choose to forgive every offense committed against us as an act of worship unto the Lord. Let's continually be on guard against the schemes of the devil and choose not to give him a place in our lives. Remember, it's our power to give.
STUDY QUESTION: According to the Scriptures in this devotional how are we to handle those who attack and hurt us?
PERSONAL INVENTORY: Are you willing to forgive those who have hurt you?
APPLICATION: Let's lay down any hurt or offenses committed against us. Let's ask God to work in the lives of those who may have hurt us.
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