Pastor David McGee’s Devotional 12th June 2021 Cross the Bridge Saturday Message
Topic: Before the Sun Goes Down
Through the Bible…
Morning: Ezra 1, 2
Evening: John 19:23-42
Proverb: Proverbs 12
Ephesians 4:26 – Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
NKJV
Dear Friend,
Ephesians 4 is packed with so many treasures. As a church we memorized the last two verses, Ephesians 4:31-32 “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.” NKJV
The words ‘you’ and ‘your’ are used many times in Ephesians chapter 4, so it is speaking to ‘you’ as a believer. It says “don’t let the sun go down on your wrath.” Now, this could be your anger, which is the main and plain meaning, but if you don’t ask for forgiveness for things, then your sin works to separate you from God. So whether you need forgiveness, or you need to forgive somebody in obedience to the Lord and forget your wrath, do it before sundown.
Are you nursing any wounds? Are you holding on to any unforgiveness? Bitterness? Offense? Did you get offended by someone and instead of putting the offense down, you are carrying it around? You can’t do that. It gives place to the devil in your life.
This world is getting worse by the day and you can’t be tied up and weighed down by the past. The Bible says ‘don’t let the sun go down on your wrath’. Now here’s a cool little nugget. How do we count our days? Well, we say that it goes to midnight and then the next day starts. Man came up with that. It’s not in the Bible. Actually in the Bible, in Genesis Chapter 1, verse 5 and many other verses, it says “the evening and the morning were the first day,” “the evening and the morning were the second day,” “the evening and the morning were the third day.”
- The biblical day ends at sundown.
- At sundown you begin the next day.
The verse says don’t let the sun go down on your wrath, anger or unforgiveness. Ask God to forgive you, and forgive others, before this day ends and before you start your next day. Do it everyday. Because of God’s grace and Jesus death on the cross we can be forgiven! And as we walk in forgiveness we are empowered to forgive others.
Yom Tov! That’s Hebrew for good day.
Life Lesson:
God wants to deliver us out of His wrath and anger, and the consequences of it.
Dear God,
I ask that You please forgive me for holding on to offenses, for letting the sun repeatedly go down on my wrath. I’m sorry. Thank You for Jesus and the forgiveness I have in Him. Father, show me any place where I have allowed a root of bitterness to get established in my heart and remove it. I choose to trust and obey. Help me to forgive others as You, in Christ, have forgiven me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Living to tell what He died to say,
Pastor David McGee
Scripture quotations marked “NKJV™” are taken from the New King James Version®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
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