Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Self-control”
Our Bible verse for today: “But the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “You can control yourself.”
Today is June 1st and summer is upon us. So how’s your beach body coming along? Have you lost the weight you promised yourself you were going to lose? Have you toned-up those abs? Are your biceps bulging?
I hope you realize I’m writing this with tongue firmly placed in cheek. I’m sixty-two this year and despite my best efforts at diet and exercise, everything seems to be expanding, sagging, wrinkling, and becoming increasingly unsightly. Therefore I tend to stay fairly covered-up these days – including at the beach. At this age a “beach body” is no longer in the cards for me and therefore I’m not inclined to put it on public display. It’s really a kind of public service. And you’re welcome.
But still, despite advancing age, when it comes to health and physical fitness I do have a stewardship responsibility placed upon me by God to do my best to stay as healthy and fit as I can for as long as I can. God expects me to take good care of this body He has given me.
Doing so is a matter of self-control. Everyday I make choices about the things I will eat and drink and the activities I will participate in. I can choose to eat junk food, or I can consumer good nutritious foods. I can choose to plant my fanny on the sofa in front of the television, or I can go out for a two-mile after-dinner walk. I’m in control of those things, and God expects me to control them.
But that’s just one example. Self-control is a Fruit of the Holy Spirit. It’s a character trait that increases as we mature spiritually. That being the case, the more spiritually mature and the more like Christ we become, the more self-control we should exhibit in all areas of our lives.
Self-control is a big issue in the Bible. God created us with free will and therefore we have the ability to evaluate choices, make decisions, and take actions. God has also created a big beautiful world filled with wonderful things for us to enjoy. But then He placed limits and boundaries upon the exercise of our free will and tells us to control ourselves in a manner that honors Him. We’re to exercise self-control and live within the limits He has set for us.
All this month we will explore this subject of self-control. We’ll consider it from many angles including spiritual disciplines, sexual morality, finances, healthy living, relationships, personal conduct, and much more.
In many ways the overall quality of our lives often ends up being determined by how well we do or don’t control ourselves. The good news is that we can learn to exercise self-control in all areas of our lives. It’s a spiritual discipline and therefore the Holy Spirit will help us do it.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 