Stuck in the Muck

CONSIDER
Too often we are stuck in our anger and ruminate on the offenses until they fester in our souls. As we consider the impact on an individual, we can recognize there is a transgression progression that begins with unmet expectations resulting in frustration, hurt, and anger. A transgression that results in anger may move to resentment and progress to bitterness. Yielding to the temptation, we shift to demanding satisfaction and seeking revenge. Because we cannot achieve satisfaction, the situation may degenerate into hatred.

BIBLE TRUTH

But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness. (1 John 2:11 NLT)

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
Anger is a God-given emotion to address unmet expectations. When anger begins to arise we must ask, “What did I expect?” Often just identifying our expectations can assist in determining how to proceed. Was it a personal expectation, or was it God’s expectation? Most of the time, we must admit that personal expectations arouse our anger. We wanted our way, and events did not occur as we expected. Our self-centered sense of entitlement convinces us we must have everything we want.

Then we must ask, “Was it realistic and appropriate to expect?” When we conclude that our expectation has not been realistic or appropriate, then we must adjust our expectations. With the realization that I have fallen short in my expectations, I must ask for forgiveness and forgive the debt.


PRAYER
Jesus, I know that You say, “Love your enemies!” I know that You say, “Pray for those who persecute you!” I desire to act like a true child of my Father in heaven in this way. You give Your sunlight to both the evil and the good. You send rain on the just and the unjust alike. If I love only those who love me, what reward is there for that? Anybody can do that. If I am kind only to my friends, how am I different from anyone else? Anybody can do that. . . . (Matt. 5:44–47)



(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

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The Conundrum of Anger

CONSIDER
It seems apparent that there are times we can be angry and sinful, but there can also be times we can be angry without being sinful. So what is the difference?

BIBLE TRUTH

"The Lord your God, who lives among you, is a jealous God. His anger will flare up against you, and he will wipe you from the face of the earth." (Deut. 6:15 NLT)

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
God can be jealous because He has no rival! In like fashion, God can be angry and not sinful because He is the only one who has a right to expect anything! Since He is God, He created the world and all that is in it. He established the order of all that is. Therefore, He knows exactly what to expect and has every right to expect things to go according to His blueprint.

Anger is a God-given emotion designed to assist in addressing issues. We get angry as the result of unmet expectations. Something we expected to happen did not occur. Our anger is not sinful when we expect the same things God expects. Sin enters the scenario when we expect our self-centered expectations to be met. As Creator and Sustainer, God is justified in having His expectations met. However, because I am not God, I have no right to demand that my expectations be fulfilled. When we assert that our way must be followed, we are usurping God and elevating ourselves above His position. This idolatry is sin, and the anger that results from expecting to get our own way is also sin.


PRAYER
God, Sometimes it is difficult, but I do not want to become conceited or provoke others. Help me not to be jealous of others either. . . . (Gal. 5:26)



(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

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My Way or His Will?

CONSIDER
Unfortunately, all too often we lose sight of the treasures God has in store for us, and we continue to search for trinkets we perceive to be valuable. While we work against what God wants to do in our lives, we continue to assert our way over His will. Gratefully, God installed a warning system that can be used to determine when things are not going as expected. Anger is evidenced when either God’s expectations are being violated or when my personal expectations are being violated.

BIBLE TRUTH

In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” (Gen. 4:3–7 ESV)

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
Psalm 4:4 sheds some more light on the topic: “Don’t sin by letting anger control you.” This passage is reiterated in the New Testament: “In your anger do not sin” (Eph. 4:26 NIV). Verse 27 emphasizes the reason why we should not let anger control us: “for anger gives a foothold to the devil.” Since I really do not want the devil to have a foothold in my life, I must be diligently cautious to make sure God is in control of my anger, not I.

PRAYER
Dear God, I know that now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. I don’t want to lie to anyone. I desire to live a life that has stripped off my old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Please enable me and encourage me to put on my new nature so I may be renewed as I learn to know my Creator and become like You. . . . (Col. 3:8–10)



(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

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Our Deliverer

CONSIDER
God is extending deliverance to us as we rely on Him. The question is, will you in your desperation depend on God? Will you respond to the invitation God gives to you? Will you continue in your self-effort? Will you believe the same lies? Will you commit the same sins? Will you experience the same problems over and over again? Or will you realize that you are a child of the King with an inheritance already in your possession?

BIBLE TRUTH
“It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies”(Zech. 4:6 NLT).

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
God’s job is to bring us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ, by whatever holy means are appropriate. God uses love to promote purity (1 John 3:1–3), goodness to promote repentance (Rom. 2:4), patience to promote redemption (Luke 8:4–15), discipline to produce maturity (Heb. 12:5–10), and pain to promote growth (Heb. 12:11). God uses trials to bring us to completion (James 1:2–4), tribulation to produce hope (Rom. 5:3–5), trauma of truth to produce brokenness (2 Cor. 7:8–11), and thorns in the flesh to produce dependency (2 Cor. 12:7–10). All His blessings are for achieving the one purpose of transforming us into the image of Jesus Christ. This endeavor is His most important task. All facets of God’s economy function to produce Jesus’ image within our souls, bringing glory to Him as we depend on Him. God produces His essence within us as we yield to Him.

PRAYER
God, I am certain that You, who began the good work within me, will continue Your work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. . . . (Phil. 1:6)


(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

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The Great Connection

CONSIDER
The great and precious promises of God connect us to His divine nature. As a result of this connection, we possess the moral capacity to be holy and the emotional ability to be healthy. His promises give us the direction to arrive at His ultimate destination of Christlikeness.

BIBLE TRUTH

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. (Rom. 8:12–14 NLT)

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
Although we are not fully aware of all aspects of our inheritance, God’s promises provide a taste of the expectations He fulfills so we may live with earnest anticipation as we experience His life living through us. His promises are not merely for the hereafter, but encompass life here and now. God provides the solution for life change. By acting on His promises we have His resolution to all problems and deliverance from the social ills that plague us. We do not comprehend that the solutions to all of life’s problems stem from believing and acting on the promises of God. God is literally saying to you, “I can solve your emotional problems, your parenting problems, your relationship problems, your mental problems, all of your problems, if you will trust My truths.” If our Christianity does not make a difference with our problems, then we have a problem with our Christianity.

PRAYER
God, because of Your glory and excellence You have given me great and precious promises! These are the promises that enable me to share Your divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. . . . (2 Pet. 1:4)



(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

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Blessed by Our Benefactor

CONSIDER
As our benefactor, God provides from the resources of His kindness, love, and mercy, through the abundance of His grace, to complete our souls. He does not give us what we deserve but from an overflow of His generosity. It is ironic that when we think of God’s benefits, we most often visualize our version of what the blessing should look like. We often miss experiencing God as our benefactor because we want Him to bequeath to us people, positions, and possessions, believing that through these we would be fulfilled.

BIBLE TRUTH

But—“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life." (Titus 3:4–7 NLT)

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
The benefits of God include His purchasing our freedom through His Son, Jesus Christ. This freedom affords the privilege of entering His home as His child, where we can sit at His table dressed in our royal robes washed in the blood of Jesus. The price was not paid to merely release us to seek our independence or to indulge ourselves with the pleasures of this world. We are now free to belong to Him. It is sad, however, when the selfish mind misses this whole truth and insists freedom gives liberty to sin and do what we want to do when we want to do it. For these deluded individuals, eternal life in heaven is more important than being children of God. The idea of a relationship with Jesus holds no value to such people. It is yet another form of indulgence waiting for them in the next life of everlasting bliss. But for the authentic Christian, relationship with Jesus is vital. Possessing the privilege of the position as His child, our persistent pursuit is His divine nature and Christlikeness.

PRAYER
Abba, Father, I am so very privileged to be your child! You have sent the Spirit of Your Son into my heart prompting me to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now I am no longer a slave but Your own child. And since I am Your child, You have made me Your heir. . . . (Gal. 4:6–7)



(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

If you would like to receive our blog posts via email, simply submit your email address in the box on the left. They will make you verify your request by jumping through a few hoops, but that is for your safety!

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Empowered to Live Beyond Ourselves

CONSIDER
Grace from heaven moves the heart to calm tranquility. When our core needs are addressed, the issue of well-being is resolved, the crisis of the day is settled, the intricacies of interpersonal relations are solved, and the prospect of pleasing God is complete God’s peace pervades. When will that ever happen? When we access God’s grace. There are two access points from which we may qualify to enter into God’s grace. The first is faith, believing what God has said. The second is obedience, doing what God has said. Navigating these pathways will enable the Christian to negotiate all of life’s challenges and experience Jesus Christ as relevant to every area of life.

BIBLE TRUTH

So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. (Col. 1:9–10 NLT)

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
As surrendered followers of Jesus Christ who live in desperate dependency upon Him, we are empowered by God to live beyond ourselves. The power to live Christ’s life on earth cannot be manufactured by our own efforts. We are not even capable of conceptualizing the process. Human beings on a quest for their own best interest usually resort toward self-indulgence or self-promotion, thinking self-empowerment is somehow the solution to their powerless condition. Seeking within our own strength to create our own grace always leads to some form of illicit dependency, addiction; some inappropriate behavior, deviance; some undesirable state of being, mental illness; or some irreversible consequence, death. Thus grace must come to us not through us. In God’s economy we are the recipients of His grace not the progenitors of it.

PRAYER
God, I must admit I have a difficult time comprehending that You have given me everything I need for living a godly life. But I choose to trust that by Your divine power, You have given us everything we need for living a godly life. . . . (2 Pet. 1:3)


(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)


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