Bible Verse of the Day Saturday May 20th, 2023

Ephesians 4:26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,

Housekeeping chores are only sometimes the most fun thing we can think of doing. It would be convenient if we could clean our house and remain that way permanently, but housekeeping is a daily undertaking. When we clean the house, the dust comes back thin, layer by layer, and the disorder that eventually befalls our abodes builds up one fragment at a time. Sin in our lives is like the disorder and dust that fills our house; when we say a prayer of confession, sin returns daily. One thought of self-pity or self-indulgence and our attitudes can go from bad to worse. Every day we will make bad decisions that result in unpleasant repercussions (Colossians 3:8).

The Apostle Paul counseled the Ephesian church with advice that applies to us today that we should rid ourselves of anger, rage, bitterness, malice, and slander (Ephesians 4:31). In Ephesians 4:26, He tells us not to let the sun set on our anger. Anger indicates self-centeredness when we use hostility as a form of communication. In most cases, anger will result in anger returning, then a cycle of vicious insults and digs are tossed back and forth. Anger can cause self-deception when we see our anger as justified and the other person’s offense as a wrong attitude (Ecclesiastes 7:9). Some folks have a low degree of acceptance, “blowing a gasket’ over minor issues. We accept our anger because someone did not do what we thought they should or did something we felt they should not. (Proverbs 14:29; 15:18; 16:32).

When Christ Jesus went to the Cross and died to justify our sins and rose on the third day to claim victory over sin and death, it did away with the requirements for daily sacrifices in the Mosaic Law. However, true daily confession and repentance remain necessary to experience a victorious life as a Christian. Keeping these sins Paul speaks of, such as anger, rage, and malice, out of our lives is not something we can do with one prayer; we must be in daily communion with our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. Just like a schoolteacher cleans their whiteboard daily with a strong cleaning solvent, we need to keep the whiteboards of our hearts and souls clean with daily prayers of confession.