Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
The MacArthur Study Bible: “self-control. This refers to restraining passions and appetites.”
Scripture: Titus 2-11-14 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”
2 Peter 1:3-11 “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Titus 2:3-5 “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.”
All the fruits tie in with one another, and it takes self-control to live out each one. It also takes self-control to chop out the bad fruit in our lives – to pull up sin by the roots and put it far from us.
More than self-control, it takes Spirit control, as my Pastor says. Working on your own strength will only get you so far. Pressing on in the Spirit makes all the difference in the world.
How do we do that? We go to the Word of God. It is filled with answers to our questions, comforts for our sorrows, calm for our anxiety, truth for our wonderings, encouragement to stay in the race, and so much more. Through the lens of Scripture, we see not only who Christ is, but how to be like Him.
So read the Bible. Meditate on its pages. Come before God in prayer, not only asking requests, but singing His praises. Gather with other believers.
And be diligent. Making time for these things doesn’t always come easy, whether that be because you’re wrestling with a heart issue, or because you’re schedule is crazy. So decide today to make time to be with God.
This week, may we decidedly and persistently spend time in the Bible and seek to eliminate sin as we strive to control our thoughts, words, and actions. The more time we spend with God, the more our fruit will grow.
* “I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
no turning back, no turning back.
“The world behind me, the cross before me;
the world behind me, the cross before me,
the world behind me, the cross before me;
no turning back, no turning back.”
*Author Unknown
The Misplaced Mom 
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