FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT, No. 23, SELF-CONTROL

September 16, 2016September 13, 2016 | lindamowles

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT, Series Post No. 23

SELF CONTROL – SELF MASTERY SO WE CAN SERVE GOD IN FREEDOM

PART ONE

You may recall that the initial entry in this list of graces from the Holy Spirit is “love” and this last entry is “self-control” or, in the King James Version, “temperance”. In Greek language structure, it was common to place the elements that you wanted stressed at the beginning and at the end. Thus, the first fruit of “love” would be known to be of paramount importance because of its placement at the head of the line. This is true in our own language construct. However, in the Greek writing, the last item is also intended to be emphasized. Se we need to pay special attention to this characteristic that the Holy Spirit is desiring to develop in us.

As for the other fruit of the Spirit, the world speaks of this fruit but the meaning and application is greatly different than that which the Spirit imparts.

For example, Oscar Wilde has said “The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.” No self-control there!

Tom Wilson (An American cartoonist, 1931-1978) said: “About the only time losing is more fun than winning is when you’re fighting temptation.”

cat-exercising-self-control — The look says it all!

Benjamin Franklin came closer to the Scriptural meaning when he said: “Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”

In his World Biblical Commentary, Richard Longnecker says that the word “self-control” has a long history among Greek classical writers. Plato used the term in contrast to overindulgence in both food and sex. Aristotle gave it significant treatment in his writings on ethics, specifically pointing out the difference between the person who has powerful passions but keeps them under control (self-control) while its opposite (incontinence) is the person who does not deliberately choose the wrong but who has no strength to resist temptation. The term “incontinence” is also called wantonness. Aristotle thought self-control was primarily related to bodily enjoyment but that it was not improper to be incontinent with respect to money or temper or glory.

Later, Augustine said that incontinence was not a problem of knowledge, which is of knowing but not acting. Rather, it was an issue of will. He found that it was an everyday occurrence that men failed to exercise self-control by choosing the lesser over greater goods.

Romanticism came into vogue and the incontinent choice of feeling over reason became increasing more welcome. Blake wrote that “those who restrain desire, do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained.”

All this progressed in a downhill spiral until the 1960s with the breakdown of conscience by “letting it all hang out” – acting out and emotional self-indulgence and drama. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incontinence_(philosophy)]

What does Scripture say?

We have come to the final entry in the fruit of the Spirit that Paul lists in 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.

Galatians 5:22-23.

At the time of Paul’s writings, self-control was a central concept in Hellenistic ethics. Indeed, Josephus uses the noun in various places to refer to self-control in sexual matters. Therefore, we can understand Paul’s placement of self-control at the end of the list as intending emphasis as well as to highlight the direct contrast to the list of vices of “drunkenness” and “orgies” that concluded the listing of the works of the flesh in verses 19-21. The Spirit’s fruit of self-control is not limited to either control of the appetite for drink or the consequent tendency to unrestrained and immodest behavior.

The Greek word for self-control is Egkrateia – self-control. The Lexicon defines the term as being 1) the virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, especially his sensual appetites and 2) restraint exercised over one’s own impulses, emotions or desires.

Philip Rykers in the Reformed Expository Commentary on Galatians says that self-control means temperance or moderation, especially like drinking, sex, and eating. He refers to this virtue as “a sober virtue” and says that it prevents liberty from becoming license in the Christian life. A person with self-control has the restraint and self-discipline not to be ruled by passion, and, therefore, she is able to resist temptation.

James Montgomery Boice describes self-control as the quality that gives victory over fleshly desires and which is therefore closely related to chastity both in mind and conduct. It is the “great quality which comes to a man when Christ is in his heart and it is that quality which makes him able to live and to walk in the world, and yet to keep his garments unspotted from the world.”

How does this apply to my daily life?

Dr. R. C. Sproul references the frequent description of our world today, when we warn someone to “be careful, it’s a jungle out there!” Then he notes that God put man in a garden, not a jungle. What is the difference between the two?

dscn2248 — Jungle like conditions in bird habitat at Brookgreen Gardens, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

used-flower-garden — Formal gardens at Bellingrath Gardens, Mobile, Alabama.

Both are places where things grow. Both are places where there are animals of various types. Both are places of a variety of plants and trees and shrubs. But one is wild – not structured – not subject to any control. The other is under control and has an intentional structure; the garden is actively tended – continually groomed, monitored, fed and weeded so that the plants can grow to their fullest potential. The jungle is ignored and unrestrained; there is no intentional structure, rather anything is allowed to grow without any attention or direction.

God, in creation, put man in the Garden. Because of man’s sin, he was ejected from the Garden and thus exchanged the Garden for a jungle and chaos was substituted for God’s order. Self-control, temperance, is the fruit of the Spirit which replaces the jungle of uncontrolled emotions, passions, violence and chaos with a desire for God and His order. It is our restraint through the Holy Spirit that conquers the chaos of the flesh and allows us to embrace the life that our Lord desires us to have through His Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is not the author of confusion but of order, harmony and self-control, and it is this self-control that we must nurture by reading our scripture, prayer and reliance on the Holy Spirit for guidance and growth.

What is the difference between self-control as a fruit of the Spirit and self-discipline or sheer willpower?

Paul provides a distinction between living by the flesh and in the spirit in Romans 8:13-14:

For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Again, Paul in Colossians 2:20-23 said:

If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations – “do not handle, do not taste, do not touch.” These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

The self-control of the flesh is strict adherence to rules and regulations. In contrast, the self-control from the Holy Spirit gives us restraint based on God’s strength, not on ours.

We tend the garden of our heart by the exercise of self-control so that the weeds of the world cannot transform our garden into a jungle which is out of control and outside of God’s plan for us.

Blessings to you and I pray that you will continue to walk with me as we learn about the fruit of the Holy Spirit and as we mature in our transformation into Christian believers who speak and act as Jesus did and who share in the passions that Jesus had for the lost sheep and for the worship of His Father, the Almighty God.

BUT IT’S TOO BIG!

August 25, 2015August 25, 2015 | lindamowles

Do you ever have the feeling that some task or calling is too big for you? It just doesn’t fit … it’s just too big! (This chair was at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum during our visit in 2011 — incredible craftsmanship!)

Huge Rocking Chair at Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum

I can’t climb it, I can’t see my way around it … it’s just too big!

I can’t cross it – it is too big! [Picture of river and flora in Cumberland County, Tennessee]

Rocks and flora in Cumberland County, Tennessee

It asks for skills that I don’t have; I don’t know how to do this task; I am not equipped to handle it. If it were smaller, maybe then I could do it, but this is … well it is just too big! (Picture below was taken in Yosemite National Park)

View from mountains in Yosemite National Park

Have you ever said: “Lord, you must be thinking of someone else! You can’t possibly be asking me to do this! I’m not smart enough, not strong enough, not ready for such a challenge! I love you, Lord, and I want to serve You, but I can’t do what You are asking! It’s too big for me!”

Moses said the same thing when God spoke to him out of the burning bush, recorded for us in the Bible at Exodus Chapter 3. [I confess that the pictures that follow are not of the wilderness facing Moses when this conversation occurred. They are taken in The Badlands National Park in South Dakota; but when I think of a wilderness, this is what I envision.]

God tells Moses what He wants him to do, and Moses’ response might be in different words but the meaning is all too familiar to us because we say the modern equivalent when God directs us to do something that is out of our comfort zone:

“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” Exodus 3:11

God reiterates the fact that He will be with Moses all along the way.

The conversation continues and Moses says:

“But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you. ‘” Exodus 4:1

God shows His power to Moses to confirm that this was, indeed, what Moses was to do and that He was who He said. Notwithstanding God’s patience in this conversation, Moses responds with yet another objection:

“But Moses said to the LORD, ‘Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.’” Exodus 4:10.

The Lord’s response is that He is fully aware of Moses’s abilities, skills and nature – and He wanted Moses to do this work notwithstanding those shortcomings.

“Then the LORD said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.’” Exodus 4:11-12.

Moses’s options seem to have evaporated – left with nothing else to argue, he gave his final plea in opposition to God’s demand:

“But he said, ‘Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.’ …” Exodus 4:13.

We really aren’t any different than Moses, are we? When an assignment appears insurmountable, we balk, make excuses, plead that the job be given to another, and then pout.

It is as if we were standing before God and stomping our spiritual feet, just like toddlers, while we are saying “I don’t want to!”

Beloved, God is the same today as He was thousands of years ago when He directed Moses to bring His people out of Egypt. When he assigns a job for you to do, even if it is bigger than anything you had ever done, He will prepare you and strengthen you so that the assignment will be done according to His plan.

Consider Isaiah’s vision in Isaiah Chapter 6. When Isaiah saw the Lord sitting upon His throne, Isaiah was confronted with the power, majesty and holiness of God and with that came an immediate recognition of how sinful he was:

“Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Isaiah 6:5

God did not leave him in that condition, however – a seraphim touched his lips with a burning coal from the altar and said that his guilt was taken away and his sin atoned for. Isaiah 6:7 Then, God said:

“Whom shall I send and who will go for us?”

Now that he had been cleansed and his sin removed, Isaiah was able to respond to God’s inquiry with no objections, no excuses, no stalling, no stomping his feet – he simply said:

“Here I am! Send me.” Isaiah 6:8.

When we are tasked with something outside our comfort zone or beyond what we think our abilities are, we must trust God to give us the words, to give us the physical strength, and to give us the wisdom necessary to accomplish His purposes in the work at hand. In short, we must trust that the Holy Spirit will work through us to accomplish things of eternal consequence which we, in our own strength, could not comprehend.

So, is there something too big for you to handle staring you in the face? Has God directed that you undertake some task and you are balking at the assignment? Do you want to pull the spiritual covers over your head and pretend God didn’t really ask you to do that thing?

Trust Him. Ask for forgiveness for your stubborn pride, for your refusal to believe that He is able to work through you in this circumstance, for your spirit of laziness in refusing to undertake the project … you can add whatever else is appropriate. Then, be a 21^st century Isaiah and respond “Here I am. Send me.”

The job is not “too big” – in fact, it is “just right” when God is in it with you.

Father, May we be modern day Isaiahs! May we hear your call and respond “Here I am Lord. Send me.” May You bless us as we travel our spiritual path in Your Strength, Father, and may we, through the power of Your Holy Spirit, as given to us through Your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ, be effective in serving as You direct and enable.

OCEANS – WHETHER FEARFUL OR PEACEFUL, ALWAYS UNDER GOD’S CONTROL

June 2, 2015June 2, 2015 | lindamowles

What exactly is the ocean? Merriam Webster defines it as “the whole body of salt water that covers nearly three fourths of the surface of the earth, or any of the large bodies of water (as the Atlantic Ocean) into which the great ocean is divided.” [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ocean] But, somehow this definition does not even come close to capturing the essence of the ocean, does it. It does not account for the pounding waves that keep coming ashore with their relentless hammering of the coastline, dissolving the rocks into grains of sand, and destroying even the most well-intentioned child’s sand castle!

We drove along the Oregon coastline and saw the waves pounding against the side of the mountains, receding back into the ocean body as if it had accomplished nothing. But then we would look at the sand along the beach and we could see the result of the wave’s incessant pounding.

The sand dunes at Coos Bay, Oregon are mind-numbing in magnitude and sheer volume. The dunes are literally mountains of sand.

Oregon Sand Dunes - mountains of sand — Oregon Sand Dunes – mountains of sand

The Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area website notes that there are “40 miles of wind-sculpted, shifting sand dunes!” Some of these mountains of sand tower 500 feet above sea level. They are like no other dunes in the world and comprise the largest expanse of coastal sand dunes in North America. “The strong elemental forces of tides, waves and winds have been constantly moving the sand for centuries – up to two and a half miles inland in places!” [See http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/siuslaw/recarea/?recid=42465 ]

Webster’s antiseptic definition doesn’t account for the majesty of the ocean, the pure scope of it; the power of the water as it becomes a hurricane, or the tranquility of the water’s surface at sundown with clouds showing vibrant colors as the sun descends from view. Here we were watching the sun set from a ship off the New England coastline.

Ocean sunset from ship with distant lighthouse

Scripture tells us that God created the heavens and the earth, including the ocean or sea.

“And God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:9-10 [ESV]

In Psalms 24:1-2, David says:

“The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths.^”[NLT]

When I look at the ocean, I am reminded that my Savior is Lord over all. The ocean and seas of this world, with their incredible expanse and surpassing power, came into being at the power of His voice and they obey His voice, even today. If the oceans of my life are turbulent, and fear engulfs my heart and mind, I must remember that all of creation came into existence at the power of His voice.

That same Creator God is with us in every circumstance. God is in control and we can be confident that whatever flood overwhelms us, whether it be water, problems, illness, finances, relationships, employment, or some other circumstance, our Lord is in control.

Trust Him, even when you feel that the ocean of despair has flooded your heart. Pray, ask Him for help. His voice is still powerful! The power that created the seas of the world can create peace within you.

Look to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Sovereign of this world and the Prince of Peace who also happens to be the Lover of your Soul. Let Him calm the storm of doubt and fear when He provides His rainbow of love, peace, assurance and security.

Praise His holy name!

PERSPECTIVE: FROM MICRO TO MACRO

May 30, 2015May 30, 2015 | lindamowles

We happened to be in England when rapeseed was in full bloom. As we left the airport we were told to watch for the “yellow fields” because they were so pretty. We saw the yellow plants as we sped (literally) down the motorway.

Pretty? Sure, but not necessarily spectacular as we were led to expect.

But then – Oh, but then, we went up a hill and saw the countryside splayed below us, and the “yellow fields” were gorgeous! Only by looking at the overall broad picture could we appreciate the beauty of these fields in full bloom. The patchwork of yellow blossoms, trees bordering the various parcels of land, fields plowed with crops just starting to grow, and homesteads with trees providing shade all melded together to form a mural that made a lasting impression on my mind and heart.

As we were looking at this vista, I could not help but think of the perspective that we usually have. We get lost in the detail of every-day life – bills to pay, work deadlines to meet, housecleaning, laundry, children’s activities to watch, etc.

To quote an old adage, sometimes “we can’t see the forest because of the trees!”

We live moment-to-moment because we were created, in time ‐‐ without the ability to transcend that which is immediately upon us. God, however, has a far different perspective.

The Preacher in Ecclesiastes 7:14 says:

“In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.”

As the creator of time, God is not controlled by it. He sees the end from the beginning, and He sees all that is in between with perfect clarity. While we do not know the future, we can rest in the confidence that He does! In Psalm 139:16 we read:

“Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

God had our days numbered and the events in them mapped out for our growth in faith and trust in His unfailing love – for the fulfillment of His purposes and for His glory – even before we were born!

We cannot live above the daily grind. As long as we are capable of movement and activity, we will be cleaning homes, watching after the children, doing the laundry, working at our jobs, cooking meals (and even yummy desserts), etc.

We can, however, live above the circumstances by knowing that God is in control and that He knows what we need for our own spiritual benefit. God sees the pattern of our life and how it interacts with the lives of thousands of others – a pattern that we cannot see because we don’t have His perspective.

Next time you are down because of the demands of all the activities pressing upon you, change your perspective.

Stop and visualize the yellow fields from above.

Or picture your town sparkling in the evening light as you stand on a mountain top.

Or visualize standing on a sand dune, gazing out over the vast ocean.

Standing on sand dune looking at ocean waves

Or visualize the power and majesty of our Creator God, at least as we can see and understand it in our finite minds.

May I always take time to praise our Sovereign God for His provision of a perspective that is slightly altered from what I can usually see, a perspective that enables me to remember that the big picture belongs to Him. May my perspective be changed from the micro of every day to the macro of His divine majesty.

He is the Divine Artist Who creates the pattern of each of our lives, all for His glory and honor. Praise His holy name for His promises and perspective!

THE ROCK

May 26, 2015 | lindamowles

Many of us have heard the old hymn, Rock of Ages, and we probably also have heard the description of Jesus Christ as the “Rock of Ages”. Further, we likely have heard preachers compare Jesus to being our Foundation, Security and Surety. Those concepts are surely accurate, but they are lofty and sometimes hard to think of in real terms that we can touch and feel.

We were in England and visited Stonehenge – now there were some rocks, and big ones too. It was so hard to imagine how the people created this monument with such immense stones. They are truly “solid rocks”.

But then, when we were in Yosemite National Park, we saw a physical illustration of a Rock of Ages!

El Capitan is a peak that rises 7,569 feet high in the Sierra Nevada range of central California in Yosemite National Park. Its exposed monolith rises 3,600 feet above the valley floor.

El Capitan ‐‐ according to the National Park Service, El Capitan is the largest monolith of granite in the world! “Capitan” is Spanish for “Captain”. The monolith is awesome in its scope, size, power and strength!

If we are Christians, our Captain is Jesus Christ, upon whom our hope is built. He is our Rock, and He will provide us the strength and ability to stand when the storm comes. He will preserve the believer even if all may desert him/her, and He will preserve us from that supreme disquiet that attends fear, anxiety and worry.

Christ’s comforts will not fail; they will be the believer’s strength and song; and they are the believer’s an anchor of his soul, sure and steadfast, in this life and the next. The Apostle Paul says it this way:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me – the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.

2 Timothy 4:7‐8. [New Living Translation]

The Christian life is certainly not without difficulties, in fact, Jesus promised that we would have problems and trials. But, we can stand on the Rock and know that, whatever buffets us in life, nothing can take us away from our Captain.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38 [New International Translation]

When the believer comes to the last moment of life, our hope in Christ will remove both the terror of death and the power of the grave. Christ will carry the believer, covered in the blood and righteousness of Christ, to God the Father where the believer will be accepted by God and given life eternal.

Praise Him, our Rock, Captain, Redeemer and Savior, now and forevermore!