Week 42 Day 3
Pray:
Ask God to reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.
Read:
Matt. 5:23-24 Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
Reflect:
The Lord said we must not proceed in worship until we have made things right with one another. Paul said we should not proceed to another day holding on to bitterness towards one another. ” ‘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” (Eph. 4:26-27). It is interesting that Paul separates anger and sin. This doesn’t mean that you should harbor or hold on to anger, because his point is not that there are times when anger is okay. Rather, his point is that we must not let anger take hold in our hearts, because if we do, then we are allowing the enemy to set up camp in our hearts as well. If he establishes a foothold, then it is not long before he can establish a stronghold. From that stronghold he can carry out all kinds of attacks in many different areas our lives. Of course, there are things that we can legitimately become angry about, but again, the principle here is that we must not let anger dominate to the point that we carry it over from one day to the next. If we become angry with one another and then we sleep on that anger and wake up angry the next day, we have potentially embedded that anger in our hearts. Do this often enough and you will not merely be a person who gets angry, you will become an angry person. This is when the devil has set up an encampment in your heart. Our hearts are the home of the Holy Spirit and though we will become angry, we must not become angry people. Love, not anger, must define us. To maintain clear relationships with one another means we will act consistently and resolutely against fostering anger towards one another. We can experience and express it appropriately, but then we must give it to God and not allow it to become our constant companion. Anger loves to unlock “heart-doors” to the devil. Grace and love will lock those doors to the enemy of your soul as they unlock them to God and others.
Pray:
(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today.