When you think of the word, “self-control,” what comes to mind? For some people, it’s having self-control over food, or indulging in certain pleasures or hobbies. But when we look deeper into the meaning of this word, we realize that it’s not just talking about one certain thing. It can be referring to many things. The word “self-control" literally means just what it says, “having control over one’s self." Self-control is a widely talked about fruit of the spirit. Self-control from food, self-control from anger, self-control from harmful substances and addictions like drugs, alcohol, and choosing bad options on the internet. All those things are really important, but today we’re only going to talk about one of these categories. Today we’re going to talk about the power of the tongue. We’re going to talk about having control over our emotions and how words can destroy a relationship, crumbling right before our eyes. That’s not a pretty picture, but it’s even more devastating when it happens to you, so let’s see how we can have self-control over our tongues and keep this from happening. Let’s pretend we take ten people and put them into a room. These ten people all have something in common. None of them like each other. None of them can get along nicely. And it’s not because they leave their things laying around, or they take their shoes off and walk on the new clean carpet. It’s not because they take more than they give, or forget to buy gifts on special occasions. No, the true reason they can’t get along is because each of them have hard feelings against the other. They’ve built a brick wall around their hearts. And the reason? It’s because of the power of the tongue. Imagine a heart. This heart belongs to Cindy, a young woman with bright eyes and a bubbly personality. This isn’t your typical heart, mind you. It’s a heart that’s never been hurt, it’s never been harmed in any way. It’s soft and tender, loving and kind. That is, until Allie comes into the picture. Allie is Cindy’s older sister, and up until now, they’ve gotten along quite well. But something changed inside Allie, and not for the better. It all began by a simple negative comment. “You’re cake looks awful, Cindy,” Allie laughed at her sister's first attempts in baking. Cindy laughed along, but it was more to keep from crying than anything. Almost without even acknowledging it, a thin layer of bricks surrounded Cindy’s heart. But it was such a slight change, the layer of bricks so tiny, that Cindy didn’t even notice. But the comments continued. “You’re always bugging me, Cindy.” “Can’t you ever think on your own, Cindy?” “Cindy,your voice sounds awful! Don’t ever try out for the local talent show.” Layer by layer, brick by brick, a wall surrounded Cindy’s heart until there wasn’t even a single spot left uncovered. We can take that entire story and go in so many directions. We could talk about the importance of guarding our hearts to keep from building those walls. We could talk about not keeping a record of wrongs, or being stuck in our past. We could talk about not letting these things define us. But today we're going to address the one thing that started this. The tongue. The tongue is a very powerful weapon. It’s referred to time and again as “fiery darts,” or “sharp as a two-edged sword.” So, how can we have self-control over our tongues? First, we need to look at a few scriptures that speak on this topic: 1 Peter 3:10 “For, Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.” Colossians 4:6 “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Ephesians 4: 29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Proverbs 15:4 “The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.” Given those scriptures, what are some ways we can control our tongue? 1. Think before you speak This might be the most obvious one, and it’s because you’ve probably heard it a lot during your life. If we think before we speak, then it would really cut down on the negative comments. But how do we do this? If you’re the kind of person who speaks hastily without thinking most of the time, then count to five whenever someone asks you a question. And count to five especially before you make a comment towards someone. You’d be surprised at how much negativity this cuts down! 2. Meditate on good things They say, “what you put in your mind will come out through your words and actions.” And it’s true. So let’s fill our mind with godly things. Let’s read our Bibles every day, meditating on His words. Let’s listen to hymns and read wholesome books that will edify us, strengthen us in our spiritual walk, and bring us closer to the Lord. Let’s make sure that what we’re putting in, is worth sharing with others. 3. Pray We must pray every single day that the Lord will give us a loving spirit and a kind tongue. We must pray that He will help us have control over our tongues, because, we can’t succeed in this alone. He is the only one who can help us do it. Do you have difficulty having control over your tongue? You’re not alone, trust me on that! Have you found certain ways to help you in this? Comment below and let me know what they are. I’d love to hear them! Let’s strive to make sure that EVERYTHING we do is bringing glory to His name! With humble hearts, let’s all strive to become more like Christ and take these things to heart. Let's all be joyful, willing, servants of our King. I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas! Do you have a favorite memory from the holidays? Our family went Christmas caroling with our grandparents and that was so much fun! Let me know what you did in the comments, I’d love to hear about it!
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Imagine being able to go back in time and follow Jesus around every day. What characteristics would you see? Today’s fruit of the spirit is gentleness, and I think I can say without a doubt, it would be on the top of the list of attributes you’d find in Jesus. But thanks to the Bible, we don’t have to go back in time to see Him in action. We can read about his encounters right here in our own homes. And when we read them, one certain word keeps coming to mind on how He treats others. Gentleness. He treats them with gentleness. He treats them with kindness, love, humility, tenderness. Gentleness is a form of kindness, and we know that we will never learn to love others if we don’t demonstrate kindness. Jesus didn’t just go around talking about the many ways to love others. He showed us. And He ended up showing us the greatest act of kindness there is, by dying on the cross in our place, taking the punishment that we deserved. Paul gives us a glimpse of the way he treated others in Thessalonians 2:7. He says: "We were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.” Some scriptures to think on: Philippians 4:5 "Let your gentleness be evident to all." Matthew 11:29 "I am gentle and humble in heart" Matthew 11:29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.” Proverbs 15:1 “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” The act of showing gentleness stops a lot of potential arguments and anger between children. If your child asked another child gently for a toy, instead of grabbing it, there would be a completely different outcome. Even babies can be taught to be gentle. Once they're old enough to grab your hair, you take it from their grasp saying, “be gentle.” If you have multiple children, you’ve probably told the older sibling on occasion, ‘be gentle with your baby sister.” Boys especially, can benefit from the act of gentleness. But in truth, we can all use more of this fruit of the spirit, whether we’re one, or ninety-one. What are some ways we can show gentleness to others? 1. Slow down Sometimes the easiest way to show gentleness is to just slow down. At times, we go so quickly that we end up harming other people with our actions or words, not even noticing that we’re doing it. Slowing down can fix a lot of our problems in this regard. Slow down, take a deep breath, and go about your task with a gentle state of mind. 2. Think about it If someone hurts us, is our first inclination to strike back? Or is it to stop, (count to ten if you need to) and respond with gentleness to the situation. Sometimes a good way to do this, is just by saying nothing at all! 3. Apologize Gentleness can go a long way with just the simple act of an apology. If you mess up, or even if you’re wrongly accused, have a word of apology ready at once. You’ll be amazed how quickly it can diffuse the situation. Wrong accusations can be tough to deal with, especially among children. But like I remind my siblings when situations like these arise, “Jesus was wrongly accused to the point that they killed Him. If He can take being wrongly accused and dying on a cross, and still respond in gentleness, then you can take the wrong accusations, (usually just words) and respond with a gentle tongue." Is there someone in your life that can use a gentle word today? Did a certain person come to mind while you were reading this? If so, make it your goal today to say at least one kind thing to that person. And let’s try our hardest to respond with gentleness in every situation. Let’s strive to make sure that EVERYTHING we do is bringing glory to His name! With humble hearts, let’s all strive to become more like Christ and take these things to heart. Let's all be joyful, willing, servants of our King. "Abby Johnson thought she was helping women in crisis. She was about to learn the truth . . . And facing the secrets of her own painful past would be the toughest truth of all. In this documentary based on the book Unplanned, learn how Abby Johnson went from Planned Parenthood clinic director to leading voice for life and women in crisis." This book was SO eye-opening! It gave me such a vivid look into the lives of the workers on “the other side of the fence.” Abby’s story was precious, a priceless example of the fact that we’re NEVER too far to be brought into the arms of Christ and forgiven and cleansed by His grace and mercy. “unPLANNED” is definitely one to add to your collection! What book are you currently reading? How has it impacted your life? I'd love to hear about it! I can’t believe that we only have two more fruits of the spirit to cover after this one! It seems like yesterday when I started on the journey to deepen my own understanding of these fruits, and I hope that we’ve learned some things together! Today’s fruit of the spirit is faithfulness. Faithfulness can, and should, be directed towards many different people. Your children, your spouse, your siblings, your boss. But today, we’re going to talk about our faithfulness to the most important Person of all, Christ. If you want to learn about faith and some of the Biblical people who had it, Hebrews 11 is a wonderful chapter to read. The entire chapter is about faith, and the heading describes it splendidly; “By FAITH we understand.” I’m not going to list the chapter today, but I encourage you to read it on your own. And maybe you might want to do what I’ve done and underline the phrase, “by faith,” every time it appears in that chapter! =) Do you find it hard to have faith at times? Can you relate to the disciples when they say, “Lord save us! We shall perish!” And then Jesus’ gentle rebuke, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” You see, the disciples had been following Jesus around for how long? They had seen miracles first hand and watched as Jesus cared for others. Yet, when faced with a trial, their faith diminished. How can we make sure we’re staying faithful to Christ? How can we make sure that our faith stands strong in the times that matter most? For starters, staying close in your relationship with Christ is a must. And as the ever-familiar scripture in James goes, “draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” What are some ways we can do this?
2. Don’t let them in! Just like remaining faithful in a marriage, it’s the same with Christ. Don’t let worldly thoughts and temptations stray you away from your relationship with Him. If you ask yourself, “is this glorying God? Is this showing my faithfulness to Him? and you come away with the answer, “no,” then put it out. There’s no room for it in your relationship with Christ. What are some scriptures that talk about our faith with Him? Psalm 37:28 - “For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones.” Proverbs 3:12 - “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring your prosperity.” Proverbs 16:6-7 - “Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil. When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.” Proverbs 28:20a - “A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.” Revelation 2:10 - (NKJV) “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested and will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Our faithfulness in Christ is one of biggest things we can count on in this day and age. The Lord has promised to provide for us and keep us safe, but we need to trust Him and have faith that He will do what He says. And here’s a humbling thought; when we’re not having faith in Christ and trusting Him to take care of us, we might as well say, “I want to believe what You’re saying is true, but I just can’t trust that You’ll keep Your promises.” Ouch. Because when has He ever broken a promise? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m positively sure the answer is ZERO. So is our relationship and faithfulness to Christ important? I’d say yes, absolutely. This is perhaps one of the most important fruits of the spirit that we’ve covered so far. So let’s try something this week, let’s give a thorough look into our relationship and faithfulness with Christ. Let’s endeavor to strengthen it and make sure we’re growing stronger in our faith every day. Let’s strive to make sure that EVERYTHING we do is bringing glory to His name! With humble hearts, let’s all strive to become more like Christ and take these things to heart. Let's all be joyful, willing, servants of our King. |
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