When is aggression right?
Psalm 71:8That is why I can never stop praising you; I declare your glory all day long.
Psalm 89:33I will never stop loving him nor fail to keep my promise to him.
Hosea 12:4Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him. There at Bethel he met God face to face, and God spoke to him.
Hebrews 4:14So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe.
We are blessed when we aggressively pursue our relationship with God—seeking him, trusting him, loving him and praising him.
Luke 9:23Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.”
Luke 14:33“So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full.’”
Romans 12:1And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
Galatians 2:20My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Hebrews 12:1-3Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.
We are to aggressively pursue Christ at all costs. He gave everything to us, and in love and loyalty, we can offer everything back to him. Becoming more like him requires great training, endurance, and sacrifice, but it is worth the eternal prize!
Genesis 25:21Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The Lord answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins.
2 Samuel 12:16David begged God to spare the child. He went without food and lay all night on the bare ground.
Daniel 9:3“So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes.”
Luke 11:9-10“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
2 Corinthians 12:8Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.
Ephesians 6:18Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
Hebrews 4:16So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
We are to aggressively pursue a life of prayer. God wants us to come to him with our requests and trust him for the answers that are best for us. If something is worth praying for, pray with persistence and passion.
Mark 7:26She begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter.
Mark 7:32A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him.
Mark 8:22When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch the man and heal him.
Luke 4:38After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon’s home, where he found Simon’s mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. “Please heal her,” everyone begged.
Luke 5:18Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus.
Luke 7:4So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.
We are to aggressively bring others to Jesus (not argumentative or nagging, but patient, prayerful, persistent, and bold—in love). Helping someone know Jesus and have their life changed for eternity will be worth all our efforts.
John 4:47When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son, who was about to die.
We are to aggressively seek Jesus’ help with our problems.
1 Thessalonians 2:12We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory.
1 Timothy 1:18Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they help you fight well in the Lord’s battles.
1 Timothy 4:11Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them.
1 Timothy 5:21I solemnly command you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus and the highest angels to obey these instructions without taking sides or showing favoritism to anyone.
Titus 3:8This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone.
We are to aggressively encourage one another to grow in our personal relationship with God. Encouraging others to walk more closely with God will have a profound and life-changing impact on them forever.
Proverbs 22:24-25Don’t befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people, or you will learn to be like them and endanger your soul.
Matthew 5:29-30“So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your hand—even your stronger hand—causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”
1 Corinthians 5:9When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin.
1 Corinthians 6:18Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.
1 Corinthians 15:33Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”
Ephesians 5:11Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.
Colossians 3:5So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.
James 4:7So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
We are to aggressively resist sin’s temptations, separating ourselves from thoughts, behaviors, situations, and sometimes even people that lead us into sin.
