A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger...A king's wrath is a messenger of death, and a wise man will appease it....Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city....but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

Proverbs 25-29

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger...A king's wrath is a messenger of death, and a wise man will appease it....Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city....but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. Proverbs 15:1, 16:14,32, 1 Peter 3:15-16 

I continue my study of Proverbs week 9 from my study workbook, which focuses on Proverbs 25-29.  My focus for today is question 2-4 from my workbook.  These questions examine how (1) Proverbs offers guidance about how to resolve relational conflict and how Jesus builds on this teaching by offering more prescriptive guidance for those in the church, including an escalation model (Proverbs 25:9-10, Matthew 18:15-17); (2) Proverbs offers teaching on how to respond during times of disagreement (Proverbs 25:15, 15:1, 16:14, 32, 1 Peter 3:15-16); and (3) Proverbs teaches us that there is no "one size fits all" set of words for how to share the gospel in our daily lives - we are to tailor the words to the circumstances (Proverbs 25:20, Romans 12:15). In particular, I can use the teaching from (2) - to offer soft responses without harshness, anger or tension, and to be gentle and respectful in response.  God please help in this area of my life.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of gentleness and respect, and who is slow to anger - thank You Jesus for the softness with which You respond to me - even though I am deserving of Your wrath and anger...we all are due to our sin.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me turn from and overcome my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!

Philippians 1-4

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! Psalm 133:1

Day 349 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) continues as I move further into the New Testament - this afternoon I read the last of Paul's prison epistles - Philippians. My commentary* notes in this letter: "While still imprisoned, Paul also reaches out to the Christians in Philippi, with whom he has maintained close ties since his three visits to their city. Paul clearly feels a special relationship to the Philippians, not only because of his close association with them in past years but also because they have often generously contributed to his support....In this letter Paul is writing to a small-town congregation in which two women, Euodia and Syntyche, have had a falling out. As is so often the case when personality conflicts develop, their personal animosity is splitting the whole church. Therefore Paul pleads with the two women—and indeed all Christians—to learn to love each other more. Paul bases his appeal on the bedrock example of Christ’s own humility in putting others’ interests first, even at great personal cost. The apostle urges them to sacrifice their selfish feelings and to commit themselves to working out their problems, particularly in light of the fact that their pagan neighbors are watching their behavior. He points out that his appeal is not based upon any credentials that he himself might have, but upon the compelling love of Christ which was demonstrated in his life and sacrificial death. This love, says Paul, is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy—and the only basis upon which fractured groups or interpersonal relations may be healed."

*Smith, F. LaGard. The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) . Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition. 

Although, as noted by both my commentary* as well as commentary from the MacArthur Bible Study Commentary (for purchase) which both indicate several themes (including Paul's thankfulness for the Philippians' financial support, and for warnings about false teachers), this afternoon I am most struck by how Paul focuses on an exhortation to Euodia and Syntyche to put aside their disagreements and focus on service and love of one another as a gesture of unity within the local church. John MacArthur indicates that "apparently, the disunity in the Philippian church was about to destroy the integrity of its testimony". 

I often struggle with pride and arrogance and these sins cause me to lash out to others in various settings and of course this causes problems of disunity and fracture.  Paul stresses humility and service to others once again as a means to drive unity.

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who has blessed me with other believers in the church - these people have supported and encouraged me through difficult times and I am grateful.  Thank You Jesus! Yet I often put my own interests above others and this causes great harm.  Please forgive me Jesus for these sins and help me overcome and turn from my sins towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.

 2 Samuel 2-5, 1 Kings 2:11, and 1 Chronicles 3:4, 29:26, 27 and 12:23-40

David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years. 2 Samuel 5:4-5

Day 94 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) focuses on David's ascension to the throne over all of Israel, including resolution of civil war.  Conflict and internal strife is inevitable, of course this is true also within the church. Check out this great post from DesiringGod.com where we are encouraged to tackle conflict head-on as conflict becomes an opportunity for grace.  The post provides examples of how Old Testament prophets, Peter, Paul and others tackled conflict head-on, resulting in God's glory on display and an advancing gospel.  It goes on to talk about how Jesus did not back down from heading into Jerusalem, ultimately going to the cross. The post includes a scriptural example from 2 Timothy where Paul writes Timothy about how to deal with false teachers and other opponents of the faith where differences manifest themselves:

And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:24-26

I, for one, am greatly convicted by this post.

My Prayer:  Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who has been gentle with me even though I know I am quite undeserving.  Thank You Jesus.  But again, I am not deserving.  My sin continues, including being harsh with others in conflict.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.