This is His good pleasure!

It’s vital that we catch the powerful truth that God is a loving Father. If we don’t receive that in our hearts, we will always struggle with guilt, shame, condemnation and fear. The enemy of our souls uses fear, doubt and condemnation to make us feel like God is angry at us and wants to punish us. Yet, it is the enemy that want to destroy us. God loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross to save us and to adopt us into His family. Luke 12:32 says: “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom”. Did you just read that? It is His pleasure! He rejoices to see us as part of His family. He loves to converse with us and walk with us. He loves when we relate to Him as our Father. He is the one who taught us to call Him Father. His Kingdom is awesome! In His Kingdom, there is healing (Matthew 4:23). The poor in spirit are blessed in His Kingdom (Matthew 5:3). The persecuted are blessed in His Kingdom (Matthew 5:10). His Kingdom belongs to those who obey His commandments (Matthew 5:19). His will is done in His Kingdom (Matthew 6:10). All of our needs are met in His Kingdom (Matthew 6:33). Spirits of evil are cast out when His Kingdom is present.(Matthew 12:28). In Christ, we are now kingdom citizens, and all things are new. We do not have to struggle any more. We are part of His Kingdom and its His good pleasure to give us the Kingdom.

This is what will stop contentions!

There is much debate in this nation as to how words can stir up anger, hatred and strife. This is such a powerful truth. Proverbs 15:18 (AMP) says: “A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, But he who is slow to anger and patient calms disputes.” Another version (AMPC) says: “he who is slow to anger appeases contention”. When we let anger take over our mental and emotional states, it removes the logical and common sense filters that allow us to “think before speaking or acting”. We then go on a word or action tirade, and once it’s finished, the damage is done. We have probably hurt others with our words or actions, and might even have destroyed relationships. In some cases, people can lose their job, their spouse, a friend, and in some cases, even land in jail for hurting or even killing someone in a fit of rage. Ephesians 4:26 (EHV) says:“ Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry”. It’s not a sin to be angry. What is a sin is if you allow your anger to control your actions, thoughts and decisions, thus causing you to do things that are sinful in nature. Anger can be used constructively. You can break a bad habit if you get angry enough to begin the process of breaking the habit. In many cases, people will not do anything about a problem until they have had it and they can’t take it any more. Anger is a good servant but a bad master. So instead of immediately  giving in to anger, be slow to anger. Let patience have it’s work in the midst of the challenges of life. In doing so, you will be known as the person who can appease or calm potentially dangerous contentions and disputes. This way, issues will be resolved instead of relationships being destroyed. God is the God of peace, not of dissension and contention! We are His people, so let’s flow with His nature!