​Jesus was able to persevere through rejection because he knew who he was and to whom he belonged. He was the son of God, the Messiah. He and the Father were one. His identity was secure. We have the same security. Our identity is not found in those around us, no matter how much we are accepted or rejected, but in our place as a child of God, in our unity with Christ. No matter what type of rejection we experience it can never take away our identity in Christ. We are sons and daughters of God! No matter how painful the rejection we experience is, it can never separate us from the love of Christ. As Paul reminds us in Romans 8, NOTHING can ever separate us from the love of Christ!

Questions for further thought:
1. What does it mean to have your identity in God alone?
2. Where are you placing your identity outside of God?

​Challenge:  Write out Romans 8:35-39 and place it somewhere that you will see it every day. Read it out loud to yourself daily.

When Jesus family came to take him home because they thought he was “out of his mind”, Jesus looked around at the crowd he was with and said that whoever does the will of God is his brother, sister, and mother. Sometimes when we experience rejection from others, God is leading us to closer relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ. When Jesus was dying, he instructed John to look after his mother. Jesus was reaching outside of his “biological” family to his spiritual family. As Christians, we are adopted as sons and daughters of God. We become family with our fellow believers. Not only family but members of the same body! This is not just a pleasant sentiment. We are instructed to function as one body. When you experience rejection, maybe God is leading you into closer relationships within the body of Christ.

Questions for further thought:
1. In your times of rejection have you found fellow believers that helped to walk you through your difficulties?
2. How can you be there for someone else within the body of Christ that may be going through a time of rejection?  

​Challenge: If you are currently experiencing a time of rejection, seek out a fellow believer to help you walk through this time. If you are not experiencing rejection yourself, be aware of the Holy Spirit’s leading and watch for others you can help walk through times of rejection.  

There are times in our lives when God calls us to move away from those who are rejecting us. Jesus himself on many occasions removed himself from the source of rejection. Sometimes this took the form of letting someone go. When the rich young ruler decided that Jesus’ demands were too great, Jesus allowed him to walk away. When a large number of his followers decided that some of his teachings were too tough, he let them go. When Judas was leaving to betray him, Jesus did not try to stop him. Sometimes he “removed himself” by not engaging in situations, such as when he chose not to answer Pilate or Herod. Other times, he physically removed himself, such as when he left his hometown after they rejected his teaching. There are times in our lives when the Holy Spirit will lead us to move away from the source of our rejection. During these times we need to step away and surrender the situation to God.

Questions for further thought:
1. Are you currently experiencing a situation that God is leading you to walk away from?
2. How can Jesus' example help you to discern when you may need to walk away from a person or situation?  

​Challenge:   If you are facing a situation you are unsure you should stay in, pray for the Spirit’s guidance, and clear direction. Find a trusted Christian friend or counselor to talk to.

The Bible tells us we will experience rejection, as difficult as it is God often calls us to extend an invitation to those rejecting us. Jesus provides many examples of loving those who rejected him. Jesus' family at one time “thought he was out of his mind”, yet later the Bible tells us that after Jesus' resurrection he appeared to his brother James. On the cross, Jesus prayed for the soldiers who were crucifying him asking God to “forgive them for they know not what they do”. Peter not only fell asleep during Jesus’ great hour of need in the garden of Gethsemane, but three times he denied even knowing him!  In John we find Jesus not only forgiving Peter but choosing him to be the rock upon which he built his church. As a Christian, accepting those who reject us is a mandate. In Matthew, Jesus teaches when we are struck, we are to offer the other cheek and if someone asks for our cloak, we should also give him our tunic.  Paul tells us in Romans to give food and drink to our enemy. By responding with love and compassion to those who reject us we demonstrate and invite others into the deep love God has for them.

Questions for further thought:
1. How have you extended God’s grace to someone who has rejected you?
2. When has someone you have rejected extended God’s grace to you? 

​Challenge:  Think of one person in your life who has hurt you through rejection. Pray for that person, you may have to begin by just asking God to give you a desire to pray for that person.

​We have all experienced rejection in our lives. Some rejections, while unpleasant, have little impact on our lives. Other rejections are devastating rejections from family, community, someone we counted as a close friend, even those in our church family. Jesus experienced rejection in all arenas of life. His family thought he was crazy and came to “take charge of him”. The community in which he grew up wanted to throw him off a cliff! His faith community tried, and eventually succeeded, in having him executed.  His closest friends denied him, ran away when he was being arrested, fell asleep when he most needed their support and, one of his own disciples, turned him over to the Roman authorities. In a final devastating blow, Christ even felt abandoned by God in his final moments, crying out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Hebrews 4:15 tells us, we have a high priest who understands and sympathizes with all our temptations and weaknesses. There is no form of rejection we have experienced, or will experience, that Christ has not also suffered through.  He walks beside us in the midst of our rejections with a depth of understanding that can only come from someone with a shared experience.

Questions for further thought:
1. How does Christ’s experience of rejection help you in your own experiences of rejection?
2. How did Christ respond when he experienced a rejection similar to your own? 

Challenge: Think about a time or times you experienced painful rejection in your life.  Research how Christ experienced a similar rejection and what his response was.

If you want a nice, concise, practical bit of advice on how to deal with anger in this world of social media and overcommunication, this passage is it! Two bits of advice (somewhat out of context). First, if something (Fox News, Facebook, Joe at work) continually makes you angry, flee! Cut it off if possible. Stop letting it into your life, at least for a time. Second, don’t start or get involved in arguments that go nowhere (especially with Joe). Instead, listen, and if you can, provide gentle, constructive input.  

Questions for further thought:
1. What information sources or people most shape your opinions and impact your emotions? Where do the Bible and Holy Spirit rank on that list?
2. Once you identify situations, people, programs, or places which consistently make you angry, what are some practical ways of avoiding them? 

​Challenge: Read this passage daily for the next two weeks. Ask yourself how well you’re managing the inputs into your mental life and whether you’ve been a gentle representative of Jesus in any virtual or face-to-face interactions.

Practically speaking, anger is a bigger issue for some people than for others. The way we are wired by life experiences, our personality or simply the way we were made, means we may be prone to a quick, and sometimes verbal, angry reaction. James provides practical advice for all of us, and especially those who tend to flare quickly. Practice listening. Hold your tongue. Try to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. 

Questions for further thought:
1. On a scale from 1 to 10, rate your listening ability. Why did you give yourself that rating?
2. Do you think it’s always, sometimes, or never best to speak your mind? Why did you answer as you did and how has your approach generally worked for you? 

​Challenge: This week, when you hear or read something you strongly disagree with, step back and try to understand where the person or source may be coming from. Consider how Jesus might respond to them.

There is a reason why we’re advised in Ephesians not to let the sun go down on our anger. When we hold onto and nurture our anger, our grudges, our righteous indignation, that root grows into something that poisons us and the people around us. The Amish have a saying, ”The acid of hate destroys the container.” When we fail to let go of our anger and forgive, we do damage to ourselves.

Questions for further thought:
1. Is it hard for you to let go of certain sorts or sources of anger? Which ones and why?
2. Are there certain offenses that are unforgivable? Would Jesus agree? 

​Challenge: The next time you are thinking and ruminating on an event that made you angry, turning it over and over in your head, replaying what he said and she said and what you should have said and how angry you are, ask yourself this question: “Are they thinking about this as much as I am or have they not given it another thought?”. 

While it is true that Jesus did get angry on occasion, it is also worth noting what He was angry about. Generally, it was the sin and blindness of the religious leaders, leading their followers astray, that ticked Him off. His anger mirrored His Father’s. As James points out, ours usually doesn’t. Much of our anger is the result of the sinful desires within us. We want something we didn’t get or can’t have, we’re offended because we didn’t receive the respect or recognition we think we deserve, or we lash out because something someone says brings back a past, unforgiven hurt. Jesus experienced righteous indignation. Most often, ours is unrighteous anger.

Questions for further thought:
1. What makes anger, which we all experience, cross the line from normal emotion to sin?
2. Do you have certain kinds of anger (bad drivers, for instance) that you put into the category of “excusable?” Do you think God would agree?

​Challenge: Ask the question – why am I so angry? Watch yourself over the next week and note anytime you say, “I’m so angry!” Then dig down to determine why this particular person, thing or statement has fired you up. Focus on this area and ask for God to reveal what steps you need to take to address it.

Everyone gets angry. In fact, there are several passages in the Bible that describe Jesus as angry. Anger generally comes on us quickly, and for a wide variety of reasons. The key issue is, what do you do with that anger…and what do you allow it to do to you? When anger controls our thoughts and words, the outcome isn’t positive. Believers, however, have the advantage of the Holy Spirit and God’s process of transforming our minds. The goal is to give control to God, not to anger.

Questions for further thought:
1. Would you describe yourself as prone to anger? Why or why not?
2. If you are somewhat anger prone, what steps have you taken to manage that emotion in the past?  

​Challenge: Think of someone that you know that has, in your opinion, “anger management issues”. Then, reflect. Do you see any of those traits in yourself and how would you counsel your friend in those moments? Try them out on yourself.