"So Moses took the staff from the LORD's presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, 'Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?' " (Numbers 20:9-10)

Moses sounds mad, angry, ticked off. He had been shepherding the Israelites around the wilderness for 40 years, and they never really seemed to stop questioning everything he did. God had made him their leader, but they almost always found a reason to doubt him -- and to doubt God. It probably didn't help that Moses' sister Miriam had just recently died.

So with the power of God in his hands in the form of that holy staff, Moses tells them off for a change, calling them rebels. His anger would be understandable, but he made a critical error. He allowed his feelings to derail his trust in God.

His first mistake seems to be that he's about to take credit for giving the people water, even though that's obviously something only God could do. Having taken their abuse and blame for the lack of water -- something beyond his control, as well -- he apparently wanted to take credit for giving them water (while pointing out that, as "rebels," they didn't deserve it).

Think: Has your justifiable anger over someone else's wrong actions or attitude ever caused you to sin, as well? Why does anger make us vulnerable to making foolish choices? What do you do to try to control your anger and keep from sinning?

Pray: Ask God to help you not to allow your anger to lead you into foolish and sinful choices.

Do: Read what Paul wrote about anger and sin in Ephesians 4:26-27.

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12)

What a simple idea! I'm sure the religious leaders resisted this statement. Their power and authority came from being masters of the specifics: "How much am I required to give? How often am I required to forgive? How exactly must I wash my hands?"

Jesus moved past all the specifics to get to the point of the law. In another passage, He said the greatest commands were to love God (with everything) and love all of our neighbors as ourselves. Here it's even easier: Do what you'd like done to you.

How would you like someone to respond when you're being a jerk? What would you like someone to say when you've make a mistake? How when you like someone to notice when you've made an effort to look good? How would you want your friend to treat you when she's had a terrible day?

Jesus' golden rule is genius. Don't focus on the rules. Focus on being the person you'd like to have for a friend.

Think: Think back over the last week: Were there a couple of times when you did not "do to others what you would have had them do to you"? How could you handle that differently next time?

Pray: Ask God to help you to do to others what you would have them do to you.

Do: Ask a good friend or sibling how he or she would have liked to have been treated during your last fight.

Okay, we get it. Although anger is not a sin by itself, it makes it a whole lot easier to sin. After all, add a "d" to "anger" and you get "look out!" But how are we supposed to let it go before the day ends? How are we supposed to stop the sun from setting?

First, you've got to believe it's possible, or Paul wouldn't tell us to do it. With God's help, you absolutely do have the power to stop being angry for today, at the very least.

Paul quotes here from Psalm 4:4, where David says we should go lie down, think hard, and shut up to keep out of sin until we can ditch the anger. That's good wisdom.

Notice also that anger pushes you to the front lines of spiritual battle. Anger nurtured somehow gives Satan a place to stand in our heads. Anger protected and unreleased gives him access to our hearts.

We've got to let it go.

Think: On a scale from 1 to 10, how hard is it for you to stop feeling angry once it hits? What could you do to make it less likely that you will sin when you're feeling angry?

Pray: Ask God to help you not to sin when you're angry and to learn to let go of your anger quickly. Ask Him to protect you from the devil's attempts to use your anger against you.

In the first chapter of his book about Jesus, John packs some huge ideas about Jesus into just a few simple sentences. That's good writing. Even those of us who take God's Word as just that don't often give it credit for being well written. God took great care to make sure the words used to communicate His Word were not just meaningful, but also delivered with excellence.

It's no accident, then, that John's first big idea is to call Jesus "the Word." You've probably heard that the original greek word for "word" is logos. That word was known both to Greek philosophy and Jewish theology. It was a perfect word to introduce the idea of Jesus to everyone in John's audience -- on the way to introducing us to the reality of Jesus as the Son of God.

The first thing we learn about this logos is that it's more than just a connection between God and the material world; it is a He. The logos is a person -- a person who has been around since the beginning, a person who has been with God, a person who is God.

Thinking: Have you ever wondered why John called Jesus "the Word" and not "the Picture"? Why do you think God puts such value on words? Why not reveal His truth in video instead of text?

Pray: Ask God to help you get to know Him better by better understanding His Word and all the words in it.

Do: Think about memorizing John 1:1-14 this week.

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"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." (Romans 12:18)

I like that God knows that we live in the real world. He doesn't hand out impossible commands and then sit back to laugh at us when we inevitably fail. God gives us loving commands that He knows are for our good -- and then He helps His children to succeed in following after Jesus.

Today's verse is a perfect example. Built into it is the understanding that some people will just absolutely refuse to be at peace with us. God knows that I can't control you. If you have declared yourself my enemy, I can't force you to change that -- and He doesn't expect me to.

On the other hand, this command sets the bar really high for us. If we follow it, it means we never get to be the reason someone isn't at peace with us. We must own our part of the conflict, even if our part is only 5 percent, and try to make it right. If the other guy (or girl) is willing to make peace, God-obeyers say "yes." Every time.

We are the peacemakers.

Think: Have you ever tried hard to make peace with someone who just would not forgive you or accept you? How often are you the reason a conflict remains unresolved?

Pray: Ask God to help you to make peace with as many people in your life as possible.

Do: If you have any outstanding conflicts, call, text, or talk to someone who might not be okay with you in attempt to own up to your part and make peace.