Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. I will give it all to you if you will worship me. ”Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’
Memory Verse: Proverbs 25:28 “A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.”
Let’s admit, the world is a beautiful place but there are some places that are glamorously breath taking. One of my hobbies is tourism, mainly focused on history and there are some amazing cities in the world with so much historical artifacts I have been privileged and grateful to tour.
When I visit such places, a lot of imaginations come to mind, and I see myself asking endless questions on how these people were able to achieve such beauty with so much details.
It’s quite easy to get carried away in such environments, amazed and baffled by how history is brought to life. It’s the same reason why someone walks into a shopping mall and gets carried away, buying both their needs and wants. removing every restriction and being unable to control appetite for acquiring. Some people call it “shop till you drop”.
The bible is full of examples of individuals who have lost control of themselves. Some were able to retrace their steps while others simply couldn’t. The inability to retrace often leads to total destruction like in the case of King David and Kind Solomon.
Today’s bible verse reminds us of the life of Jesus while on earth in person, he was tempted by the devil during the 40 Days fasting period, but Jesus had control over His needs, wants, His desires and His ego, Luke 4:3-12. At every point Jesus used the word of God as His tool for control and even though the devil knew and knows the scripture also, Christ refused to succumb and continued to remain steadfast and unmovable, an act which contributed to Him winning the keys to the kingdom.
The word of God reminds us that if we lack control over some particular things then we automatically become a slave to that thing, all because the specific act or thing is in control of us. Such things capable of controlling us are most times not enormous in size, for fact very little things could control us and ultimately lead us to depart from God’s presence. Food, money, sex, lies, lustful desires, perversion, jealousy, backbiting, anger are some of the many examples of typical things that control people, and has thus become a thing of struggle to deal with daily.
The consequences for lack of self-control can be overwhelming, as God is unable to lower His standards due to our lack of people’s self-control. At the time we allow ourselves to be led and controlled by those things, we have redirected ourselves into slavery and are no longer led of the Holyspirit, it is impossible to serve two masters at the same time when it comes to the things of the kingdom. The masters involved have different aims and objectives, there will be conflicting interest which will make each master’s tasks almost impossible to achieve efficiently.
Living a self-controlled life is the foundation of living a life that pleases God. It means some of the things that you slave away to are being replaced with your full dependency on God. If you struggle with a particular thing, it’s no shame talking to God about it. Dwelling on the word of God that deals with that are of your life likewise helps a great deal, it gives you a sense of direction.
We are to dwell and meditate on the word of God day and night to help deal with our everyday life. The word as a light to our feet and a lamp to our path, fills our hearts with the fruit of the spirit, one of which is self-control. It’s not always very easy to have control over one’s self but you can do all things when determined, through Christ who strengthens you, Philippians 4:14. Once we continue to strive towards walking right with God, the Spirit of God is able to help us live a well-balanced, spirit controlled life, 2Timothy 1:7.
A person without self-control is living at risk, vulnerable and exposed to the viles of the enemy.
Prayer Points:
- Father, I thank you for you for you are indeed a living God
- Father, I pray for self-control over myself and towards everything in life.
- I receive the grace to live a well-balanced, fruit bearing and spirit controlled life.
- Thank you for forgiving me of my sins and answering my prayers. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
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Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation Version, Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation and The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.