Jan 25- The Fruit of Self-control
srjames702
Posts: 41 Member
The Fruit of Self-control
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Galatians 5:22-24
Dear Friend,
I awarded myself with a big, shiny medal today! That's how I feel anyway. You see, I am writing this while on the 25th Day of my Daniel Fast and as you can imagine - I am really looking forward to breaking it on Sunday morning. But meanwhile I have a friend in need and one way to care for her is through the popular and time-proven "ministry of freshly baked oatmeal-raisin cookies."
So here I am in my little cottage in Central Washington. It's snowing more today and we just now emerged from weeks of below freezing temperatures! I'm out in my cozy kitchen, mixing the cookie dough while BeBe and CeCe Winans sing to me from their Greatest Hits CD. I'm having a grand time singing along, praying for my friend and baking the batch of cookies.
Sounds pretty relaxing, right? Actually, there's also a battle going on! OH, does the flesh want to nibble. There's no one here but me. Who would know? Okay, I know God would know . . . but no one else! He would surely forgive me if I ate just that one little corner of that cookie that crumbled as I lifted it off the sheet and onto the cooling rack.
But you know, as I whipped my flesh into submission and resisted even a tiny morsel, I realized one of the most precious gifts of the Daniel Fast. And that is truly experiencing bringing our fleshly desires under control so that we can have the outcome we really want.
While this may seem like a silly little "victory," the exercise is strengthening to my spirit. I once again see that I can resist and be successful. The next time I want to overeat . . . I can resist and do what is best for me. The next time I want to buy something on a whim, I can resist and do what is best for me. The next time I want to dwell on a past hurt or offense, I can push the thought out of my mind and do what is best.
When we make the choice for "self-control" we are walking according to the spirit in us, which is connected to the Spirit of God. And against this discipline there is no law.
The spiritual medal I awarded to myself today was for the victory I achieved over my flesh . . . I can't hang it up on the wall, but I can remember it the next time I am confronted with a choice. My victory medal will help me press on to making the right decision, which will take me one step closer to where I want to be.
Be blessed,
Susan Gregory
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Galatians 5:22-24
Dear Friend,
I awarded myself with a big, shiny medal today! That's how I feel anyway. You see, I am writing this while on the 25th Day of my Daniel Fast and as you can imagine - I am really looking forward to breaking it on Sunday morning. But meanwhile I have a friend in need and one way to care for her is through the popular and time-proven "ministry of freshly baked oatmeal-raisin cookies."
So here I am in my little cottage in Central Washington. It's snowing more today and we just now emerged from weeks of below freezing temperatures! I'm out in my cozy kitchen, mixing the cookie dough while BeBe and CeCe Winans sing to me from their Greatest Hits CD. I'm having a grand time singing along, praying for my friend and baking the batch of cookies.
Sounds pretty relaxing, right? Actually, there's also a battle going on! OH, does the flesh want to nibble. There's no one here but me. Who would know? Okay, I know God would know . . . but no one else! He would surely forgive me if I ate just that one little corner of that cookie that crumbled as I lifted it off the sheet and onto the cooling rack.
But you know, as I whipped my flesh into submission and resisted even a tiny morsel, I realized one of the most precious gifts of the Daniel Fast. And that is truly experiencing bringing our fleshly desires under control so that we can have the outcome we really want.
While this may seem like a silly little "victory," the exercise is strengthening to my spirit. I once again see that I can resist and be successful. The next time I want to overeat . . . I can resist and do what is best for me. The next time I want to buy something on a whim, I can resist and do what is best for me. The next time I want to dwell on a past hurt or offense, I can push the thought out of my mind and do what is best.
When we make the choice for "self-control" we are walking according to the spirit in us, which is connected to the Spirit of God. And against this discipline there is no law.
The spiritual medal I awarded to myself today was for the victory I achieved over my flesh . . . I can't hang it up on the wall, but I can remember it the next time I am confronted with a choice. My victory medal will help me press on to making the right decision, which will take me one step closer to where I want to be.
Be blessed,
Susan Gregory
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