Heart of Anger

Thanks for joining us for this daily encouragement from Our Daily Bread. I'm Bill Crowder and I titled our reading, Heart of Anger. Guernica, Pablo Picasso's most important political painting, was a modernist portrayal of the 1937 destruction of a small Spanish town by that name. During the Spanish Revolution and the ramp up to World War II, Nazi Germany's planes were permitted by Spain's nationalist forces to use the town for bombing practice. These controversial bombings took scores of lives, drawing the attention of a global community concerned over the immorality of bombing civilian targets.

Picasso's painting captured the imaginations of the watching world and became a catalyst for debate about humanity's capacity to destroy one another. For those of us who feel confident that we would never intentionally shed blood, we should remember Jesus' words in Matthew chapter 5. The heart can be murderous without ever actually committing murder. When unchecked anger toward others threatens to consume us, we desperately need the Holy Spirit to fill and control our hearts so that our human tendencies can be replaced by the fruit of the Spirit. Then, love, joy, and peace can mark our relationships.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Matthew chapter 5 verses 21 to 26. ...is answerable to the court, and anyone who says, You fool! will be in danger of the fire of hell. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First, go, and be reconciled to them, then come and offer your gift. Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court.

Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly, I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. Let's pray. Father, help us when we want to strike back at those who hurt us. Please help us to respond with love. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening today. My name is Bill Crowder, and today's encouragement is provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.