ICS Daily Devotions
Grace and Mercy
There will be times when we are angry, but we need to differentiate between righteous and unrighteous anger. Our God is absolutely holy, righteous and just, and only His anger is perfectly righteous, all the time.
Ephesians 4:26-27 (NKJV) “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.
Anger is righteous when it arises from witnessing an offense against God or His Word. Thus, the indignation many Christians feel towards abuse, abortion or blasphemy can be regarded as righteous anger. Other times, however, our feelings might be better described as justifiable anger, rather than righteous anger, such as when we have suffered a personal slight or detriment. In such situations, we need to be careful to reign in our flesh and emotions, so that we don’t end up in the realm of unrighteous anger, which seeks destruction or revenge. Through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we can control our anger and not allow it to lead us into sin, whether against man or God.
2 Peter 1:2-3 (NKJV) Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
A family that is filled with anger, rage and violence lacks peace and grace. This scripture tells us that grace and peace can be MULTIPLIED to us when we know God. Therefore, there will be an increase in grace and peace in our family the more we know Him. We need to know God, what He has done for us and given to us pertaining to this life. That is why it is important for families to attend the same church to receive the same teaching from the pulpit; having the same foundational understanding makes it easier for the Pastor to carry out any necessary counseling.
God’s divine power enables us to live our lives in godliness, which include self-control, love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness and faithfulness. This is possible because having been born again, we are a new creation. When we exercise self-control instead of letting our emotions get the better of us, we allow the presence of the Holy Spirit to flow within and through our lives and we start to bear the fruit of the Spirit.
Ps 103:8-9 (NKJV) The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever.
This verse reveals to us that while God has righteous anger towards sin, He is slow to anger. In fact, He abounds with mercy and grace, He will never strive with men and neither will His anger last forever. We are to do likewise towards others. Let us choose not to be contentious, but pursue peace with others. Let us also choose to forgive those who have wronged us, as God has forgiven us. We are called to be peacemakers.
Sermon Series: Pastor, I Have Questions for You (Part 2)
