The last part of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. On the one hand, we need self control. On the other hand we need to deny ourselves and surrender to Christ. How do we do both? I think the more we surrender to Christ, the better we can have self-control. As we follow Him, not only are we declared righteous by what He did for us, not by our own doing, but our lives and desires will be changed and we will want to do what is righteous and overcome temptation through the Holy Spirit. That to me is what self-control is about.
Continue reading “Self-Control”Tag: temptation
What God Sows
The type of soil we use for our gardens and crops can really make a difference. The right soils can produce a beautiful garden, good crops and abundant fruit. Other soils, not so much. We used to live in Nevada. It was hard to get things to grow there (except sagebrush and tumbleweeds and nasty things called “goatheads which have spikes that will go through a bicycle tire and don’t feel good on the feet). Other places we have been have lush green plants because they have that dark organic soil full of nutrients. How we hear and understand (and accept or not) God’s word is kind of like that, as Jesus explains in this parable.
Continue reading “What God Sows”The Good and Bad of Fire
Fire will burn you, but it also provides so much to improve our daily lives. It gives us light. It gives us heat. We cook with it. We use it to purify metals and to shape them into tools and so much more. As we discussed in the previous post, God often reveals Himself through fire. Here we will discuss how fire is used for judgement, but it is also used to purify us, to help us to grow. It is also used to represent the evil schemes of the devil, but we know that fire will await him in the end. Continue reading “The Good and Bad of Fire”
God’s Promise: You Will Overcome
This week started out with some struggles at work. I was frustrated and angry. Someone said some things that really upset me. It was early in the day, so it put me in a bad mood for awhile and I was flustered. So, I prayed. I prayed to clear my head and to not allow this affect my thoughts, my mood or how I treated others. I prayed that I would have wisdom and that I would do my job well and that I would be a light to those around me. I think to the most part, I was able to do that. The Bible says, “be angry and do not sin,” or another version is something like “do not sin in your anger.” I think I did pretty well, but the person I was most angry at was gone by the time I got back from underground (I am a geologist in an underground mine, so I was away from most of the people in the office). As I was thinking about that this morning, I was thinking of one of God’s promises, that He is always with me and He will help me to overcome whatever situation I may be in. As a child of God, I have this confidence. Continue reading “God’s Promise: You Will Overcome”
Apart from the World
How does God want us to live? Number 4 in our “We are saved…now what?” series. When we are saved, we are now apart from the world. We are a new creation, we have been set free, God has a plan for us, let us be an example, a testimony to those around us.
- Do not love the world. Overcome the temptations of this world and your flesh.
My Daily Scriptures 