When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”“But you,” He asked them, “who do you say that I am?”Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!”And Jesus responded, “Simon son of Jonah, you are blessed because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father in heaven.”Matthew 16:13-17

Describe something you learned in high school.

Three Things to Avoid When You’re Angry
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Three Things to Avoid When You’re Angry
By Rick Warren — 06/14/2024
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“If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin.”

Ephesians 4:26 (GNT)

We all get angry from time to time. We may handle it differently, but none of us can escape the emotion entirely. But just because we get angry doesn’t mean we’re sinning.

The Bible says, “If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin” (Ephesians 4:26 GNT). Paul tells us in this passage not to let our anger lead us into sin. That means that anger isn’t necessarily sin. The truth is, we can deal with our anger in both appropriate and inappropriate ways.

Unfortunately, many of us express our anger in ways that get us further from our goals instead of moving us closer to them.

For example, here are three things to avoid when you’re angry:

Don’t suppress your anger. Don’t store it up inside. When you suppress anger without expressing it in proper ways, it’s like taking a soft drink bottle and shaking it up. One day it’s going to pop! It’ll impact your body eventually. Doctors tell us a number of physical ailments are often brought on by suppressed anger.

Don’t repress anger. When you repress your anger, you simply deny it’s there. Deny your anger often enough, and you’ll be depressed. When I used to do more counseling, I’d hear many people tell me they were depressed, but they were really just angry. They thought that Christians should never get angry, so they bottled it up inside. Denying anger is a sin. It’s called lying.

Don’t express your anger in inappropriate ways. We can express anger in a variety of inappropriate ways. We pout, spit sarcasm, manipulate, or do something stupid. None of those approaches get us anywhere near the result we’re looking for.

So what should we do with our anger?

Confess it. You don’t just admit the anger, but you also admit the cause. You tell God—and whoever you’re angry with—that you’re frustrated or you feel threatened. The more honest you can be in your relationships, the easier it will be to get to the root causes of your anger.

Here’s the good news about your anger: You may have grown up in a home where anger was consistently expressed in inappropriate ways. Inappropriate anger is learned, but it can be unlearned too.

You don’t have to stay the same. You can start changing how you deal with anger today!

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Talk It Over

How did your family deal with anger as you were growing up?
Which of the three inappropriate ways to deal with anger do you tend to use? What would your family say you tend to use?
What anger are you dealing with now? How does God want you to handle it?
The post Three Things to Avoid When You’re Angry appeared first on Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope.

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Includes 9 full-length messages from Pastor Rick’s series Building My Life on Values That Last.

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Series Summary
Message 1: Choosing My Standards
Message 2: Accepting Responsibility
Message 3: Developing Trust
Message 4: Developing Self-Control
Message 5: The Balanced Life
Message 6: Showing Respect
Message 7: Offering Forgiveness
Message 8: Maintaining Moral Purity
Message 9: Showing Fairness

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Do Not Be Deceived

1 Corinthians 3:18-19 (NIV®)
Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.

We’re often told it’s a good idea to follow “conventional wisdom.” That means believing something that is generally accepted to be true, and then conforming to the patterns of those who believe it. As the world moves farther away from the truth of God’s Word, its “wisdom” moves farther away, as well. Satan began his devious work with Adam and Eve and has been pursuing humanity ever since. Jesus said about him, “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44 NIV®). I encourage you to guard your heart and mind and the hearts and minds of those under your influence. Talk about what you see and hear. Learn to see the world through the lens of God’s Word and rely on the Holy Spirit for wisdom.

THINK ABOUT IT
“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking” (James 1:5, NLT®).

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, I turn to You in humility and with an open heart. Give me Your wisdom, insight, discernment, understanding, and the courage I need to make choices that will bring Your very best into my life and into the lives of those around me. Thank You for Your plan for my good and not for harm—I trust You. In Jesus’ name, amen.