" PRACTICING SELF - CONTROL "

Greetings to you on this fine day that the Lord has made. Isn't God good as I'm sitting here peering out of my window, watching the birds while taking notice of my wife's Crape Myrtle's, and I'm appreciating life even more. I'm truly in awe of the Lord Jesus Christ everyday as I'm recognizing His goodness. I've been reading about Jesus' final days and hours in the Gospels and I'm struck by his self control.

"A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps >himself under control"... Proverbs 29:11.

Self - Control is restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires. Self - Control can also be said to be the mastery of your personal desires and passions. The Word of God shares with us that difficult times for those of us who are believers will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self - control, brutal, haters of God. Treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied it's power; Avoid such men as these (2 Tim 3:3). Now, I believe that this is a person who is a slave to a habit or desire. Since we pretty much communicate mainly by speech we ought to learn how an when to hold our tongues. You have not conquered self-control if you do not control what you say. I think that we all are aware that words can cut very deeply. If you want to be self- controlled, begin with your tongue. Stop and think before you react or speak.

As we obey Christ who guides us by his spirit we will develop self-control, notonly with respect to food and drink, but also with respect to our emotions.

Last quick thought, If you can control your tongue this small and yet very powerful instrument, you can control the rest of your body and your life.

Until next Time...
Jim