Honey From The Rock

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Honey From The Rock
Psalm 81:16

"Sweet Stuff From God's Word"

A daily Bible study with Victor Knowles
Copyright 2007

DENYING THE DEVIL A FOOTHOLD

This entry was posted on 05-30-2008 and is filed under uncategorized.

"And do not give the devil a foothold" (Eph. 4:27 NIV).

In the context, being angry or letting the sun go down upon your wrath is giving the devil a foothold to climb into your life and take over. God warned Cain about his anger problem. "Why are you angry? Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it" (Gen. 4:5-7). But Cain gave the devil a foothold. Philip Henry said, "When anger was in Cain's heart, murder was nor far off." Thomas a Kempis said, "When anger enters the mind, wisdom departs." Horace noted, "Anger is a short madness." In Cain's case, a madness just short enough to take his own brother's life!

Dr. James Dobson has said, "Satan's most successful maneuver in churches and Christian organizations is to get people angry at one another, to attack and insult our brothers and sisters, thus splitting the body of Christ." Unchecked anger gives Satan a foothold into many a church or Christian organization. Who will we listen to: Satan or Jesus? Jesus said, "I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder" (Matt. 5:22, The Message). When will we ever learn that "the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God" (James 1:20 NASB)? What fools we are to play around with anger for "anger rests in the bosoms of fools" (Ecc. 7:9 NKJV).

James S. Davis suggests that we simply abandon all anger. He suggests several steps. (1 Abandon the life-altering and mind-controlling evil natures of bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander, along with all malice. (2 Fill the void as follows: Be kind to one another, be tenderhearted, freely and graciously forgive each other, even as Christ forgave you. See Eph. 4:31,32; Col. 3:8-10). Check out his paper on "The Action of Anger" at www.focusonthescriptures.com

Prayer: God, give us the wisdom to deny the devil a foothold by getting rid of all anger! Through Christ we pray.