Scripture: Ephesians 4:25-28:
“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.”
BarbTalk: A wonderful person one day told me, “When you see a ‘therefore’, look above to see what it is there for.” Before the scripture above, we learn that God has created a new self in us, like Him in righteousness and holiness. Therefore. Therefore don’t lie, because we are part of each other. Don’t go to bed mad. Work out your differences so little arguments don’t turn into walls of separation. Don’t give the devil a foot hold, or even a toe hold.
I know families who have members who have not spoken for years. This makes no sense to me. One doesn’t have to be best friends with their family, but at least figure out how to reconcile so you can be civil. Pent up anger can cause bitterness, resentment and depression.
I was the Queen of Depression for so many years. It was so bad that sometimes I would shut down and not be able to speak or hear. I was filled with unforgiveness and hurt and saw no way out. I am more than grateful to God that He healed my depression. It was like being in prison. I know what it is to be in chains and I know what it is to be free. I will always choose freedom now. Before I met Jesus, I didn’t seem to have a choice. When He came into my life, He opened my eyes to a whole new understanding. I was able to reject all the things that were imprisoning me. I learned how to forgive with His help. I truly believe that we are not capable of forgiving others or ourselves if we don’t have divine intervention.
Sometimes we enjoy our unforgiveness like a fine meal. Chew and chew and rather than diminishing, the unforgiveness gets bigger. Almost an entity, it takes over our lives. We are controlled by the very thing that we hate.
The freedom I now feel is amazing. I still have a long way to go, but Jesus shows me the way. I was not able to navigate alone. I need a guide. God sent His Spirit to live in us to give us the ability to be all that He created us to be. As always, submission and surrender are on top of the list. If I want to nurse a resentment, or enjoy a ‘mad on’, then I can just do that and get depressed and bitter. I really don’t want to live that way any more.
Some hear the phrase ‘don’t give the devil a foothold’ and remember Flip Wilson saying, “The devil made me do it!” And we laugh. It is amazing to me how the devil has used people to reduce his evil into comedy. He has changed our holy days into children’s dress up days. Santa Claus, Bunny Rabbits and Halloween Costumes are common and take away any meaning of a holy day.
I remember the Bible Study Fellowship standard: We are created to love God and enjoy Him forever. Enjoy God. Some people think that is ridiculous. To enjoy God, you need to get to know Him. How? Jesus said, John 14:6 (King James Version): “Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” Either Jesus was a liar or a lunatic, or He was telling the truth. I found that believing Him when He says He is the truth, means freedom: freedom from the chains of depression and destructive behavior, freedom to choose the things that put a smile on God’s face and mine.
I am grateful that God is real, alive and is in the business of resurrecting. He can bring to life all those feelings that we thought were dead. We think we stopped loving our spouse, parent, sister, or friend. I believe love is buried under resentment and bitterness and so we cannot feel or experience it.
When I was walking one day, I marveled at a tiny plant coming up in a tiny hole in the asphalt on the street. This thought rushed through my mind: Man has tried to cover over and kill the life that God has placed in the ground. And yet, here is this little plant, defying all the heat and torture and asphalt. In the same way, as we present our resentment and bitterness to God, He pokes holes in it, and once again, love starts to grow.
The next phrase in our scripture is: ‘Don’t give the devil a foothold.’ A foothold could be someone having his or her foot in the door and not letting us close it. I think the point is, don’t even open that door! I understand the scripture to say that letting our anger ‘steep’ opens the door to lots of awful things. Who is my guide? Who shapes my beliefs about myself, others and God? The devil, who hates God, or God who loves me? I want to choose love. Even when people are hateful, nasty and out of sorts. I choose love. I ask for God’s eyes to see what is really going on.
I am well aware when I am being a jerk. If I am not being a jerk, then something awful is going on in the person that is being nasty or short with me. That gives me compassion. My heart warms to them and I ask, how has your day been going? So often, the stories spill out, because they were dammed up as the person tried to be okay after someone had been cruel to them. Letting loose some of the upset brings peace to them and a new perspective often.
No one loses when we don’t let the devil get a foot hold. Everyone wins when we choose to not be easily offended. The fruit of the Spirit grows in us as we make the choice to not be touchy and overly sensitive, like the entire world revolves around us. There is always a bigger picture. There is always some information that we are lacking in any situation. And, there is always someone who is hurting, who needs a little compassion.
I often think about the phrase “that person got knocked off their high horse”. The phrase reminds me of what happened to the Apostle Paul. He was on his way, with special permission letters, to imprison and kill those who believed in “The Way”. On his way to Damascus, Jesus appeared to Him, and the brilliance of His presence knocked him off his horse. When we get full of ourselves, and look down on others, there is no compassion and we really lose our ability to see and feel. I am grateful that the Lord is still knocking us off our own high horses and reminding us that He is Lord and we are not. As we cooperate with God, He closes the door firmly with us, so the devil can’t get in. I like that!
The final section of our scripture is: “Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.”
This part of my journey has been interesting in that I do not have the funds I had before. I could be generous, as I worked hard to make a good living so I could share with those in need. Now there is no income, except some disability social security. I have to get used to a new lifestyle. That makes me sad because I love to be generous. I have been going to the Lord and asking my friends in Christ what this new life is to look like.
As I look at Scripture, and especially the last phrase of our scripture today, I see: “do something useful with their own hands.” What can my hands do? They can type. They can fold together in prayer. They can give a hug or a handshake. My eyes, what can they do? They can look into someone else’s eyes and really see what is going on. My ears? They can really listen. And my voice can call out to God for those in need. I may not be able to provide finances, but we all need more than just money. We need hope. We need compassion. We need a light in the darkness. We need our empty places to be filled and our dead areas of our lives to come alive again.
Today, as we look in the mirror, may we ask God to set us free from all that is imprisoning us. He has created us for freedom with responsibility. May we seek His comfort and His peace and His embrace. He is waiting. He is ready. He knows what we can be, both good and bad, and yearns to be part of our lives. Open your heart and life and arms to God, and don’t give the devil a foothold!!
“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.”
BarbTalk: A wonderful person one day told me, “When you see a ‘therefore’, look above to see what it is there for.” Before the scripture above, we learn that God has created a new self in us, like Him in righteousness and holiness. Therefore. Therefore don’t lie, because we are part of each other. Don’t go to bed mad. Work out your differences so little arguments don’t turn into walls of separation. Don’t give the devil a foot hold, or even a toe hold.
I know families who have members who have not spoken for years. This makes no sense to me. One doesn’t have to be best friends with their family, but at least figure out how to reconcile so you can be civil. Pent up anger can cause bitterness, resentment and depression.
I was the Queen of Depression for so many years. It was so bad that sometimes I would shut down and not be able to speak or hear. I was filled with unforgiveness and hurt and saw no way out. I am more than grateful to God that He healed my depression. It was like being in prison. I know what it is to be in chains and I know what it is to be free. I will always choose freedom now. Before I met Jesus, I didn’t seem to have a choice. When He came into my life, He opened my eyes to a whole new understanding. I was able to reject all the things that were imprisoning me. I learned how to forgive with His help. I truly believe that we are not capable of forgiving others or ourselves if we don’t have divine intervention.
Sometimes we enjoy our unforgiveness like a fine meal. Chew and chew and rather than diminishing, the unforgiveness gets bigger. Almost an entity, it takes over our lives. We are controlled by the very thing that we hate.
The freedom I now feel is amazing. I still have a long way to go, but Jesus shows me the way. I was not able to navigate alone. I need a guide. God sent His Spirit to live in us to give us the ability to be all that He created us to be. As always, submission and surrender are on top of the list. If I want to nurse a resentment, or enjoy a ‘mad on’, then I can just do that and get depressed and bitter. I really don’t want to live that way any more.
Some hear the phrase ‘don’t give the devil a foothold’ and remember Flip Wilson saying, “The devil made me do it!” And we laugh. It is amazing to me how the devil has used people to reduce his evil into comedy. He has changed our holy days into children’s dress up days. Santa Claus, Bunny Rabbits and Halloween Costumes are common and take away any meaning of a holy day.
I remember the Bible Study Fellowship standard: We are created to love God and enjoy Him forever. Enjoy God. Some people think that is ridiculous. To enjoy God, you need to get to know Him. How? Jesus said, John 14:6 (King James Version): “Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” Either Jesus was a liar or a lunatic, or He was telling the truth. I found that believing Him when He says He is the truth, means freedom: freedom from the chains of depression and destructive behavior, freedom to choose the things that put a smile on God’s face and mine.
I am grateful that God is real, alive and is in the business of resurrecting. He can bring to life all those feelings that we thought were dead. We think we stopped loving our spouse, parent, sister, or friend. I believe love is buried under resentment and bitterness and so we cannot feel or experience it.
When I was walking one day, I marveled at a tiny plant coming up in a tiny hole in the asphalt on the street. This thought rushed through my mind: Man has tried to cover over and kill the life that God has placed in the ground. And yet, here is this little plant, defying all the heat and torture and asphalt. In the same way, as we present our resentment and bitterness to God, He pokes holes in it, and once again, love starts to grow.
The next phrase in our scripture is: ‘Don’t give the devil a foothold.’ A foothold could be someone having his or her foot in the door and not letting us close it. I think the point is, don’t even open that door! I understand the scripture to say that letting our anger ‘steep’ opens the door to lots of awful things. Who is my guide? Who shapes my beliefs about myself, others and God? The devil, who hates God, or God who loves me? I want to choose love. Even when people are hateful, nasty and out of sorts. I choose love. I ask for God’s eyes to see what is really going on.
I am well aware when I am being a jerk. If I am not being a jerk, then something awful is going on in the person that is being nasty or short with me. That gives me compassion. My heart warms to them and I ask, how has your day been going? So often, the stories spill out, because they were dammed up as the person tried to be okay after someone had been cruel to them. Letting loose some of the upset brings peace to them and a new perspective often.
No one loses when we don’t let the devil get a foot hold. Everyone wins when we choose to not be easily offended. The fruit of the Spirit grows in us as we make the choice to not be touchy and overly sensitive, like the entire world revolves around us. There is always a bigger picture. There is always some information that we are lacking in any situation. And, there is always someone who is hurting, who needs a little compassion.
I often think about the phrase “that person got knocked off their high horse”. The phrase reminds me of what happened to the Apostle Paul. He was on his way, with special permission letters, to imprison and kill those who believed in “The Way”. On his way to Damascus, Jesus appeared to Him, and the brilliance of His presence knocked him off his horse. When we get full of ourselves, and look down on others, there is no compassion and we really lose our ability to see and feel. I am grateful that the Lord is still knocking us off our own high horses and reminding us that He is Lord and we are not. As we cooperate with God, He closes the door firmly with us, so the devil can’t get in. I like that!
The final section of our scripture is: “Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.”
This part of my journey has been interesting in that I do not have the funds I had before. I could be generous, as I worked hard to make a good living so I could share with those in need. Now there is no income, except some disability social security. I have to get used to a new lifestyle. That makes me sad because I love to be generous. I have been going to the Lord and asking my friends in Christ what this new life is to look like.
As I look at Scripture, and especially the last phrase of our scripture today, I see: “do something useful with their own hands.” What can my hands do? They can type. They can fold together in prayer. They can give a hug or a handshake. My eyes, what can they do? They can look into someone else’s eyes and really see what is going on. My ears? They can really listen. And my voice can call out to God for those in need. I may not be able to provide finances, but we all need more than just money. We need hope. We need compassion. We need a light in the darkness. We need our empty places to be filled and our dead areas of our lives to come alive again.
Today, as we look in the mirror, may we ask God to set us free from all that is imprisoning us. He has created us for freedom with responsibility. May we seek His comfort and His peace and His embrace. He is waiting. He is ready. He knows what we can be, both good and bad, and yearns to be part of our lives. Open your heart and life and arms to God, and don’t give the devil a foothold!!
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