Renewing Your Mind (Victory Series Book #4): Become More Like Christ

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Book: Read Renewing Your Mind (Victory Series Book #4): Become More Like Christ for Free Online
Authors: Neil T. Anderson
Tags: REL012120
repentance that leads to a knowledge of the truth. Only then can we come to our senses and escape the trap of the devil (see 2 Timothy 2:25–26). Failure to do so will leave many Christians defeated and bound to their pasts.

Session Three
Overcoming Anger
    “Disappointment—His appointment,” change one letter, then I see,
    That the thwarting of my purpose is God’s better choice for me.
    His appointment must be blessing, though it may come in disguise,
    For the end from the beginning open to His wisdom lies.
    “Dissappointment—His appointment,” Whose? The Lord, who loves me best,
    Undertstands and knows me fully, who my faith and love would test;
    For, like a loving earthly parent, He rejoices when He knows
    That His child accepts, unquestioned, all that from His wisdom flows.
    “Disappointment—His appointment,” no good thing will He withhold,
    From denials oft we gather treasures of His love untold.
    Well He knows each broken purpose leads to fuller, deeper trust,
    And the end of all His dealings proves our God is wise and just.
    “Disappointment—His appointment,” Lord, I take it, then, as such.
    Like the Rod in hands of potter, yielding wholly to Thy touch.
    All my life’s plan is Thy molding; not one single choice be mine;
    Let me answer, unrepining—“Father, not my will, but Thine.”
    —Edith Lillian Young
    Daily Readings
1. Emotional Honesty
1 Samuel 18:1–16
2. A Humble Walk With God
Micah 6:6–8
3. Goals and Desires
Luke 12:13–21
4. A True Sense of Worth
2 Peter 1:3–11
5. Righteous Indignation
Mark 11:12–25

1
Emotional Honesty
    1 Samuel 18:1–16
    Key Point
    We need to be real about our emotional condition if we want to be right with God.
    Key Verses
    “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.
    Ephesians 4:26–27
    T hink of your emotions as being to your soul what your ability to feel is to your body. Now suppose somebody had the power to take away the sensation of physical pain and offered it to you as a gift. Would you receive it? If you lost the ability to feel pain, your body would become hopelessly scarred in a short time. Your soul would also be scarred if you never felt anger, anxiety, or depression.
    These God-given emotions are like an indicator light on the dash of a car. Covering the light with a piece of tape is like suppressing ouremotions, which is dishonest and unhealthy. Stuffing our emotions will cause psychosomatic illnesses. Smashing the light is indiscriminate expression, and venting our rage is unhealthy for the people around us. So, how should we deal with our emotions? What we should do is look under the hood of the car. That is acknowledgment. Our emotional health is dependent on our emotional honesty. We can’t be right with God and not be real. If necessary, God may have to make us real in order to be right with Him.
    When it comes to learning about how to deal with our anger, we can learn some valuable lessons from the story of Saul and David. Saul was jealous of David because David was getting more applause than he was. Like many insecure people, he grew angry because David was upstaging his social status. Saul certainly didn’t look under the hood, nor did he suppress his anger. He vented his anger on David. A little self-inventory may have prevented all of that.
    David was the best friend of Saul’s son. David had saved Israel from the Philistine giant, and he had successfully done whatever Saul sent him to do (see 1 Samuel 18:5). Saul should have thanked God for David. David was secure because the Lord was with him (see verse 12). People who are secure in Christ are less prone to anger because their identity and sense of worth are found in Christ, not in the success or failure of others or in the positive or negative circumstances of life.
    Before Saul ever became angry with David, he was bitter as a result of his confrontation with Samuel (see 1 Samuel 15).

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