Prayer – Lord, I feel like I’m bouncing around like Tiger. Give me self-control of my attitude and actions that in all things that I think, say, do, and eat, I would be pleasing to You.
But
the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23 NLT
Meditate.
Self-control—how, when, where, and why.
Self-control
is…self-discipline, willpower, restraint, and obedience. According to Strong’s
concordance it is the ability to master one’s desires and passions.
 |
| Is the wall to your heart and life broken down? |
No self-control
in a person’s mind lets in evil thoughts and that begins the downward spiral to
destruction. Satan would be happy about that—probably laughing his head off at
the stupidity of that person. When the walls of purity are broken down, in
dance the hobgoblins and just revolting, disgusting thoughts.
I’ve
tried to emphasize with my grandchildren from time to time how important self-control
is. It can begin with a simple bouncing of one’s foot. Control that foot
bouncing and you are beginning to control thoughts and actions overall. That is
a glorious action. Self-control. A smile and a praise can go a long way to
ensuring that that action doesn’t occur again! That mastery of one’s desires
and passions needs to begin as a small child. Teenagers and adults who have no self-control may not be able to control their sexual desires. God wants us to
be in control of that area of our lives…or rather He wants us to submit to His
expectations which is maintaining purity. Remember that Jesus said to think of
breaking one of the Ten Commandments is to do that. Don’t kill, commit adultery,
lie, covet, or steal. Can you do that?
Purity
begins with self-control. What is your choice for that characteristic?
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 NLT
Friday’s
Feast at the King’s Table
Pure food—like
pure thoughts, words, and actions—take some choices and discipline. What’s
really pure? You could choose pure water. Our bodies need daily hydration to
maintain healthy functions. Don’t choose water whose purity is questionable for
the sake of being cheap. The best costs no more. I was doing a day hike at Mt. Rainier
once years ago and was astonished at people drinking from a dirty little stream
alongside the path. It was a warm day and most of the hikers didn’t have any water
with them so they chose to drink what looked like good water. They would pay
for that later. Water may look good, but it can harbor germs, bacteria, and
viruses just from environmental sources. How many wild animals or birds drank
from, pooped in, or maybe died in that same little bubbling brook upstream? Do you
really want to share their pathogens that could cause giardia and horrid episodes
of watery diarrhea? That diarrhea could result in life-threatening dehydration.
It’s good
to always take your own drinking water when hiking or even walking on a warm
day. If you are going to be in a remote or wilderness area then take along some
iodine tablets or a water purifying drinking straw. It’s better to be safe than
sorry. Purity is a valuable commodity.
© 2024 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
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
Parenting Day By Day - Daily Devotional for Building Character
Coins in the Bible: New Testament Stories
No comments:
Post a Comment