Quote from Forum Archives on March 1, 2011, 11:55 am

Posted by: edwrather <edwrather@...>

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The Burning Bush Devotional
Welcome to the 1811 new subscribers since January 1, 2011!!
There were 4010 new subscribers during 2010!!
Classic from 2002

03.01.11

Chill Out!

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the
day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil
speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. -
Ephesians 4:30-32.

To "chill" in American teen vernacular means to "calm down." "Chill" has
evolved from the ancient "be cool," to "chill out," to simply "chill."
Apparently, there are more and more people who need to avail themselves of a
good "chill."

In Lowell, Massachusetts a 38-year-old woman became enraged, and beat up an
older woman (51-years-old), because the older woman had brought one too many
items to the 12-or-less express checkout counter. In St. Paul, Minnesota,
early one Saturday morning at a bar, John Haider became more than a little
upset with a man he thought was staring at him. So he called a friend, and
had his friend bring him a gun. Haider, then shot Patrick Murray in the
head. St. Paul Police Sgt. Bruce Wynkoop said, "The best we can get is that
the guy was angry because the victim was staring at him he apparently
doesn't like people staring at him." Apparently! Then there is the man in
Terrace, British Columbia who was so upset by the violence in "Lord of the
Rings," that he smashed the theater's cash register, soda fountain, and a
plant in the lobby!

Malice, is the desire to cause harm, to come to someone else. Wrath goes
beyond thought to action - actions of violent anger and rage. These things
the apostle Paul makes clear grieves the Holy Spirit, and should be "put
away from you." Not only should they be "put away from you," but those
emotions and actions, should be replaced with something better. Kindness,
tenderheartedness, and forgiveness should be our nature, and the source of
our actions.

How do you "chill?" The apostle tells us in Philippians 4:8 to think about
things that are good, to meditate on these things. Instead of dwelling and
becoming angry, about all the bad things that may happen, immediately
concentrate on the good. God's Word is a powerful weapon to use when events
or things happen that cause you to experience anger or even rage. As you
draw closer to God (James 4:8), He will draw closer to you, and more and
more of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) will become evident in
your life. As you draw closer to God, you will find yourself experiencing
and demonstrating "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self control."

So the next time someone stares at you, or checks out with one too many
items in the express line, just "chill out!"

Copyright © 2011. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush website has
been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the
Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather began writing devotionals
in the early 1990s. The distribution of these first devotionals was
primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison facilities
throughout the United States and Canada.

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