Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Cut It Out

A surgeon by the name of Dr. Kane was looking for a candidate for a very routine surgery. He wanted to prove that an appendectomy could be performed under local anesthetic...and that a patient didn’t need to be asleep during the process. After finding his volunteer, Dr. Kane numbed the area and skillfully removed the appendix. During the surgery, the patient was wide awake... even able to talk with the nurses the entire time. Recovery was over after a couple of days and the patient was released from the hospital. That brave patient’s name? Dr. Kane. He had removed his own appendix.

Self-surgery seems absurd. What would drive someone to cut into and remove something from themselves? But the Bible talks about one such surgery in Ephesians 4:31. It says “All bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice.” Here’s the truth... only you can remove these things from your life. Only you can eliminate your bitterness and anger... and every great sermon, every self-help book, and every deep breath can only calm you down temporarily. Scripture tells us these things must be cut out completely from our everyday behavior. How do we do it? Decide to. And when you feel like being bitter or angry... dwell on today’s verse. Remind yourself that God has a plan for your life... He’s given you a destiny that anger, bitterness, malice, and slander will just sidetrack. Ready to make lasting change? Scrub up and get ready doctor... your patient awaits!