The Gospel According to Paul: Limit Excess in Your Life. Message Magazine’s Online Devotional for Tuesday, May 29, 2018
[Listen to “Thoughts in Worship 05.29.2018” on Spreaker.“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Left to Ourselves
We are inundated with opportunities to practice excess. It is becoming more and more difficult for those of us that are not fully connected to Christ to resist the temptation. We are pushed to eat too much, overspend, stay up late every night, and other things that are contrary to the principle of temperance. Our children are suffering with poor health, bad tempers, and poor grades, largely because of unrestrained appetites.
Our appetites are not fed by just food. We can have appetites for extreme excitement, the praise of others, and illicit relationships, to name a few. All of these things can take us down a winding road to destruction. So that we can be more like Him, we need the Lord to control every aspect of our lives.
Best Example
Jesus was the most temperate man to ever live. He gave us a glimpse of this when He was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. He was hungry and weak, and possessed the power to relieve Himself of that hunger, yet He chose not to. He could have turned stones into bread with a thought, but maintained control in order to be our example. The self-restraint He exercised can be ours. He did it all for us. Today is a good day to ask the Lord to reproduce the victory of Christ in our own lives. It is a blessing to be temperate in all things.
I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, are you?
