A very useful document that you can use to understand the Christian faith is the Westminster Confession of Faith.
This document lists all key areas of faith including Creation, God, Man, the Bible, Sin, Saving Faith, the Church, the Sacraments, and Life After Death. In all it touches on 35 areas in 55 pages.
The thing I like about this document is the explanations and then it lists all the Bible verses as references. So you can look up the verses to see where the belief comes from. Unlike the Catholic Catechisms, the sole references are from the Bible.
Where you are seated at a special ocassion often determines how important you are to the host of the function.
If you are the bridal table at a wedding reception it means you are very special to the bride and groom. If you are at the King’s or Prime Minister’s table at a special function you are held in very high regard.
The Bible tells us that when Jesus returned to heaven He was seated at the right hand of the Father (Ephesians 1:18-23). That is the highest place of honour in the whole universe. There is no greater place than being seated next to the Father.
But that is not where the great news stops. You are also seated with Christ! Let’s have a look at what the Bible says in the next chapter…
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7 NIV)
If you are in Christ Jesus (that means in relationship with Him, trusting Him for your salvation, and have received Him as your King) then you are spiritually seated with Christ in the heavenly realms! You are seated with Him in the highest place in the universe!
Because of this great news you no longer have to walk around with your face pointing to the ground or your shoulders hunched over. You no longer have to feel unworthy. You have high standing and high honour with the King and Creator of the universe!
I don’t know about you, but that is great news to me! It is something that has radically changed the way I see myself and as a result it has radically changed the way I live.
The Bible says, “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires” (James 1:19-20 NLT).
As I read this today the words “Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires” really jumped out at me.
Human anger happens when we don’t get our way or when we think people have not considered us or when we haven’t heard something correctly. We can become angry and act out as we did not get our way.
Compare this to righteous anger. Jesus was angry at the corrupt money changers in the Temple. He was not happy that God’s House was turned in to a marketplace, rather than a house of prayer and worship (John 2:13-16).
We then see that Jesus made He a whip. Bible scholars tell us this would have taken several hours, and then He went back and overturned the tables.
Human anger says I am not happy about this. I am going to get my way. I will get you back. You hurt me, I will hurt you.
Righteous anger says I am not happy about this situation and goes to God in prayer. It says, “What should I do God? How can I help this situation?” And then it acts slowly and deliberately at God’s leading.
Remember it is not wrong to get angry at human injustice or suffering. We just need to go to God first and ask how we can respond in accordance with His will and purposes. He may want us to act or He may want us just to pray.
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