Prayer ~ Lord God, open my eyes, as well as my heart, to a deeper understanding of the power, love, and self-discipline that You give to me. Thank you.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity,
but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
Meditate. Where do you get self-control?
No fear. God’s given us power, love, and self-discipline.
The King James Bible translates self-discipline as just “discipline.” Strong’s definition (4994) adds
self-control. I like that since it is part of the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians
5:23) and not only is it easily recognizable, but it is easily within our
reach. If you feel you are not “in control”…like a kid nervously bouncing their
foot, it is easy to remind yourself…or the child, to simply stop bouncing that
foot. Ask God to help you. Control is achieved. Self-control via self-discipline.
I think it is only with the power of the Holy Spirit that this whole action is
achieved--especially if it is a sin issue with which you are dealing. Remember, God wants us to be holy, pure, like Him. The Fruit of the Spirit in self-control is achievable—and we do not have to experience fear
or even timidity in the process.
Now, to experience the power, it needs to be God-given.
Fear can be evident…but with God everything is possible…and that includes His
power and love in situations where fear can be abolished. I pledged to “give up
fear” for Lent. That’s going pretty well—no fear—but I’m sure it is only with
God’s help. That spirit of timidity is a quality that God needs to
work on in me. I’m not bold like Paul when it comes to getting into conversations
where I can ask others about their relationship to Jesus—if they believe in Him
as their Lord and Savior. If they simply ask about the word “Lord” and what it
means—I have to stop and think about that. What does LORD mean to you? Ruler.
Redeemer. God. King. He is that at a spiritual level for now…and one day Jesus
will be the great Lord of Lords over the Heavens and earth, physically. I am subject
to Jesus—I intentionally choose Him daily as my Savior and Lord. The result of
my choice is not only becoming part of Jesus’ family…but it guarantees eternity with Him. Those who do not choose Jesus as their Lord and Savior
ultimately choose to spend eternity apart from Him…which will banish them to
Hell. That could or should create fear. Fear of the future—fear of being cast
into a lonely, very hot. and vile place. I choose instead to love the Lord my
God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, with the hope of an eternity
in the presence of Jesus—walking on streets of gold—and serving the greatest
King of Kings.
Choose Jesus. Choose power, love, and self-discipline.
Verse of Salvation ~ So think clearly and exercise
self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when
Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 1 Peter 1:13
Memory Verse of the Week ~ For God has not given us a
spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2
Timothy 1:7
© 2022 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M. Hunacek
"Parenting Day By Day - Daily Devotional for Building Character"
Do you want to be like Jesus?
What are His characteristics?
Do you see those qualities in yourself?
Look at Jesus' traits day by day.
"Coins of the Bible: New Testament Stories"
Four stories about money.
How important is money to you?
No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matthew 6:24
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
No comments:
Post a Comment