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“People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness.” Proverbs 14:29 (NLT) When someone is angry with you, it’s easy to show anger in return. But before you allow yourself to get mad back, calculate what you’re going to lose. Calculate the cost of anger. The Bible is extremely specific about uncontrolled anger. Proverbs 29:22 says, “An angry person causes trouble; a person with a quick temper sins a lot” (NCV). In Proverbs 15:18 , you read, “Hot tempers cause arguments” (GNT). And Proverbs 14:29 says, “A hot temper shows great foolishness” (NLT). When you let anger take control, there is a cost. You’re going to get in trouble. You’re going to sin. You’re going to cause arguments. You’re going to make mistakes. When you lose your temper, you always lose. You may lose someone’s respect, the love of your family, your health, or even your job. Maybe you’re someone who uses anger to motivate people to do the right thing. Don’t do it! You may get the sh...

“Any fool can start arguments; the honourable thing is to stay out of them.” Proverbs 20:3 (GNT) Wise people are peacemakers, not troublemakers. Wise people don’t carry a chip on their shoulders. They’re not always looking for a fight. And they don’t intentionally antagonize other people. The fact is, if you’re around someone for any length of time, you’ll figure out what irritates them. Then you may file that information in the back of your mind as a tool to use when you get into an argument. When the person says something that hurts, offends, or slights you in any way, you may pull out the information you filed away and use it against them. You push the hot button. And it works every time! You know what the Bible calls this kind of behaviour? Stupid! It doesn’t get you any closer to resolution or help your relationship. In fact, it hurts the relationship. It’s not wise. Proverbs 20:3 says, “ Any fool can start arguments; the honourable thing is to stay out of them ” (GNT). We...

 God Is Always Right on Time “The vision will still happen at the appointed time. It hurries toward its goal. It won’t be a lie. If it’s delayed, wait for it. It will certainly happen. It won’t be late.” Habakkuk 2:3 (GW) Habakkuk 2:3 (GW) God is never in a hurry, and he’s never late. He’s always on time. God’s timing is perfect, even when we can’t understand it. We’ll never fully understand God’s timing because God exists on a different wavelength. Because he is timeless, he has a different view of time. The Bible talks about God’s understanding of time in 2 Peter 3:8 . It says, “Do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (NIV). Does that sound like the way you treat time? It might feel like a thousand years when I’m waiting for a meal sometimes, but we humans don’t think in those terms. God’s timelessness has big implications for your life. When God created you, he put a dream in your heart. Most...

  Ask God for Help With Your Finances Philippians 4:19 (MSG) “You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 (MSG) Philippians 4:19 is an amazing and all-encompassing promise regarding God’s provision:  “You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus”  (MSG). Note these two words: “God will.” It doesn’t say, “God  might ” meet your needs. It says, “God  will ” meet your needs. It’s written as a fact. God is staking his character and his reputation on it. The verse continues, “God will take care of  everything .” It doesn’t say, “God will take care of  some  needs.” It says he’s got them all covered. Now, it doesn’t say, “God will meet all your greed.” There’s a big difference between needs and wants. If you’re a parent, do you give your kids everything the...

  Good Decisions Always Line-up With God’s Word “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Psalm 119:105 (NIV) Essentials for Living Every day, we make one decision after another, and it can be hard to know how to make those decisions. But here’s a simple principle: If you want to make good decisions, listen to God. The Bible says, “If you want better insight and discernment . . . learn the importance of reverence for the Lord and of trusting him . . . He shows how to distinguish right from wrong, how to find the right decision every time” (Proverbs 2:3, 5, 9 TLB). So how do you listen to God? One major way God speaks is through his Word. So when you’re making a decision, ask yourself: “Is my decision in harmony with God’s Word?” When you’re making a decision, you’re choosing what’s going to be your ultimate authority in life. It really boils down to this choice: God’s Word or the world. Are you going to base your decisions on what God says or what other people say...

YOU CAN'T Connect if you DON'T commit “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” -  Proverbs 18:24 (ESV) You Can’t Connect If You Don’t Commit Good relationships don’t happen by accident. They take cultivation, work, and a lot of time. They take commitment! I can’t count the number of times my wife Kay and I have felt like walking out of our marriage, particularly in the early years. We often thought, “This is not worth it. We’re so different. This marriage will never work.” But we didn’t walk out. Why? Because we’d made a commitment. We took a vow—“till death do us part”—not just to each other but also to God. So we said, “We’re going to keep this commitment even if it kills us.” And it nearly did! There have been times in our marriage when the only thing keeping us together was that commitment—not love or interest but simply the commitment we made to God. I’m so glad we did not give up. Today, my wife is my best friend...

 “A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.” - Proverbs 11:13 (NIV) Is Gossip Destroying Your Relationships? We tend to think of gossip as one of those “little” sins. But when God talks about gossip, he puts it on the list with things like sexual immorality and murder. Why? Because it is so destructive to relationships. Gossip can tear apart friendships, families, and churches. When you gossip, you talk about a situation with somebody who is neither a part of the problem nor a part of the solution. If we’re honest, gossiping often makes us feel a little more important at somebody else’s expense. We’re talking about their hurts and their problems to make us feel like we’re morally superior to them. That’s the danger and the hurt of gossip.  There’s a story in the Old Testament about a family that struggled with gossip. Moses had siblings named Miriam and Aaron who got caught up gossiping about him. So God called all three of them to come see him. H...