Fruit of the Spirit - Self-Control

I'm hooked on "24". This might surprise some people as they know that I liked to make fun of "24" for years. Don't get me wrong, I loved the concept of the show, I was just amazed at all Jack Bauer could do in a 24 hour time period.

In the midst of the craziness of the day, Jack is very controlled and is able to get the things done that needs to be done. However, there are times when things do not go as planned (ie, a terror suspect doesn't answer the questions quick enough or something unexpected happens) that Jack loses his self-control and gets more than a little mad in his efforts to accomplish his task.

Does this sound familiar with you at all? Do you demonstrate self-control up to a point? What sets you over the edge?

No matter what our circumstances are, God has some thoughts about what it means to be self-controlled and how it affects ourselves and others.

Read 1 Corinthians 9:25, 2 Peter 1:5-8

1. What do these verses tell us about self-control?
2. What is the strict training we, as believers, are involved in?
3. How is self-control apart of that training?

Application:

This whole series on the Fruit of the Spirit was meant to be an encouragement to fight for Christ! I've said it before, but we have to choose each day to follow Christ. It's an active choice in an active relationship. 1 Timothy 6:12 says, "Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses."

This week, fight the good fight of your faith each day by instilling the fruit of the spirit in your life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Clothe yourself with one or more of these fruit and encourage others to walk alongside of you as you all, together, fight for your relationship with Christ. Choose to follow him today and see how he blesses you!

Pray