“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but
a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1 NIV).
Have you noticed that human beings have a tendency to mimic other people’s emotions especially if we’re sitting right across the table from them? The reason we do this is because of mirror neurons in our brains that allow us to sympathize and to mirror what other people feel.
For instance, if somebody gets angry with you, you get angry back.
If somebody is really miserable and you hang around that person long enough, you get miserable, too. In the same way, when people raise their voice against you, you usually raise your voice back.
Then they raise their voice higher. Then you raise your voice higher. Then pretty soon things have escalated, and your emotions are out of control. The Bible says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1 NIV).
Let me give you a little tip that will save you a lot of heartache and conflict: When other people raise their voice, lower yours in your marriage, in your parenting, in your friendships, and at work.
That’s called strength under control. Gentleness defuses conflict.
It deescalates anger. Here’s a good verse you’re going to need someday maybe even this week.
Ecclesiastes 10:4 says, “If your boss is angry at you, don’t quit!
A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes” (NLT).
When your boss rips into you or your spouse speaks
loudly in anger, you need to realize it may not have
anything to do with you. Instead of getting defensive, practice gentleness. Let your gentle answer disarm the other person
and defuse the situation.
No Matter What You’ve Done,
You Can Be Saved
“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right
with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that
you are saved” (Romans 10:9-10 NLT).
The Bible says in Romans 1:17, “The Good News shows
how God makes people right with himself” (NCV).
How does God make us right with himself?
This is called the Gospel, and there are three points.
First, we can’t make ourselves righteous.
Heaven is a perfect place.
There’s no sin, sadness, evil, or injustice.
But here’s the problem: We are imperfect, and God can’t let sinful people into heaven because then it would be full of sin, too.
Romans 3:20 says, “No one can ever be made right with
God by doing what the law commands.
The law simply shows us how sinful we are” (NLT). The only people who think they can keep God’s laws are those that don’t know them, because God’s laws are perfect, and none of us are perfect.
We cannot be made right on our own. God needed a plan.
Second, God sent Jesus to pay for our sins so we could be declared righteous. When you break man’s laws, you pay man’s penalty.
When you break God’s laws, you pay God’s penalty,
which is eternity in hell. Somebody has to pay for all the things
you’ve done in life that hurt other people, yourself, and God.
But God has a plan. He says, “I’ll send my Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty. He will take your place so you don’t have to go to hell.
You can be with me forever.” Do you understand why
the Gospel is called Good News? It means everything
you’ve ever done or will ever do wrong in life has
already been paid for by Jesus Christ on the cross.
Through Jesus you can be made right with God. “[God] saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy” (Titus 3:5 NLT). Third, we have to accept by faith what God did for us. To be made right with God, just believe and accept by faith that what Jesus did on the cross paid for your sins.
Then, you are a part of God’s family. You can live the way he wants
you to live now and then go to heaven in eternity.
That is righteousness. Romans 10:9-10 says,
“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and
believe in your heart that God raised him
from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is by believing in
your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved” (NLT). Hallelujah!
We can all be saved no matter who we are, what we’ve done,
or how long we’ve done it. Today is the day to settle this.
If you aren’t sure if you’re going to heaven when you die, please pray this prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you made me, that you have a plan and purpose for my life, and that you made me to know you.
Thank you for the choice that you’ve given me to accept or reject your offer of salvation. Today I humbly ask you to save me not based on what I’ve done but based on what Jesus Christ did for me. I don’t understand it all, but as much as I know how, I want to put
my trust in your Son. God, I want to get to know you.
I want to learn to love you. I want to hunger and thirst for
righteousness the rest of my life. I put my trust in your
grace and in your forgiveness. I want you to
be the Lord of my life. Amen.”
a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1 NIV).
Have you noticed that human beings have a tendency to mimic other people’s emotions especially if we’re sitting right across the table from them? The reason we do this is because of mirror neurons in our brains that allow us to sympathize and to mirror what other people feel.
For instance, if somebody gets angry with you, you get angry back.
If somebody is really miserable and you hang around that person long enough, you get miserable, too. In the same way, when people raise their voice against you, you usually raise your voice back.
Then they raise their voice higher. Then you raise your voice higher. Then pretty soon things have escalated, and your emotions are out of control. The Bible says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1 NIV).
Let me give you a little tip that will save you a lot of heartache and conflict: When other people raise their voice, lower yours in your marriage, in your parenting, in your friendships, and at work.
That’s called strength under control. Gentleness defuses conflict.
It deescalates anger. Here’s a good verse you’re going to need someday maybe even this week.
Ecclesiastes 10:4 says, “If your boss is angry at you, don’t quit!
A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes” (NLT).
When your boss rips into you or your spouse speaks
loudly in anger, you need to realize it may not have
anything to do with you. Instead of getting defensive, practice gentleness. Let your gentle answer disarm the other person
and defuse the situation.
No Matter What You’ve Done,
You Can Be Saved
“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right
with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that
you are saved” (Romans 10:9-10 NLT).
The Bible says in Romans 1:17, “The Good News shows
how God makes people right with himself” (NCV).
How does God make us right with himself?
This is called the Gospel, and there are three points.
First, we can’t make ourselves righteous.
Heaven is a perfect place.
There’s no sin, sadness, evil, or injustice.
But here’s the problem: We are imperfect, and God can’t let sinful people into heaven because then it would be full of sin, too.
Romans 3:20 says, “No one can ever be made right with
God by doing what the law commands.
The law simply shows us how sinful we are” (NLT). The only people who think they can keep God’s laws are those that don’t know them, because God’s laws are perfect, and none of us are perfect.
We cannot be made right on our own. God needed a plan.
Second, God sent Jesus to pay for our sins so we could be declared righteous. When you break man’s laws, you pay man’s penalty.
When you break God’s laws, you pay God’s penalty,
which is eternity in hell. Somebody has to pay for all the things
you’ve done in life that hurt other people, yourself, and God.
But God has a plan. He says, “I’ll send my Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty. He will take your place so you don’t have to go to hell.
You can be with me forever.” Do you understand why
the Gospel is called Good News? It means everything
you’ve ever done or will ever do wrong in life has
already been paid for by Jesus Christ on the cross.
Through Jesus you can be made right with God. “[God] saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy” (Titus 3:5 NLT). Third, we have to accept by faith what God did for us. To be made right with God, just believe and accept by faith that what Jesus did on the cross paid for your sins.
Then, you are a part of God’s family. You can live the way he wants
you to live now and then go to heaven in eternity.
That is righteousness. Romans 10:9-10 says,
“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and
believe in your heart that God raised him
from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is by believing in
your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved” (NLT). Hallelujah!
We can all be saved no matter who we are, what we’ve done,
or how long we’ve done it. Today is the day to settle this.
If you aren’t sure if you’re going to heaven when you die, please pray this prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you made me, that you have a plan and purpose for my life, and that you made me to know you.
Thank you for the choice that you’ve given me to accept or reject your offer of salvation. Today I humbly ask you to save me not based on what I’ve done but based on what Jesus Christ did for me. I don’t understand it all, but as much as I know how, I want to put
my trust in your Son. God, I want to get to know you.
I want to learn to love you. I want to hunger and thirst for
righteousness the rest of my life. I put my trust in your
grace and in your forgiveness. I want you to
be the Lord of my life. Amen.”
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