Friday 27 January 2012

Read Numbers 20:1-13

 

The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression. –Proverbs 19:11

 

A man from Michigan had an idea for removing a tree stump from the yard of a friend.  He decided to use some dynamite he had stored away in his house.  It did the trick.  The explosion turned the tree stump into an airborne missile that travelled 163 feet downrange before crashing through a neighbour’s roof.  The stump made a 3-foot hole in the roof, split the rafters, and pushed through the ceiling of the dinning room.

 

If we are honest, we can see ourselves in the actions of the dynamite user.  We have used explosive words and actions to try to solve problems, which only made things worse.  We get action, but we leave much damage in our wake.

 

We are not the first to let anger make trouble for us.  It happened to people in the Bible too. Moses, for instance, became extremely frustrated with his murmuring followers (Numbers 20:10).  So, instead of speaking to the rock, but there was a problem—Moses had disobeyed God. Because of this, God told him he could not enter the Promised Land (vs 12).

 

Anger, like dynamite, is explosive.  Be sure to handle it with wisdom and self-control. –Matt De Haan

Angry words take just a moment

And bring forth a flood of tears,

But the wounds they have created

Linger on for months and years. –Stairs

 

When a person’s temper gets the best of him, it reveals the worst of him.

 

Prayer:

 

¨ Pray for our Youth Group as they commence a new year.

 

¨ Ask God for growth, new leaders and continued spiritual growth amongst our Youth.

 

¨ Pray for the kids who are moved up into Youth, that they will settle in quickly.