1 - Introduction - Living like a real Christian SELF CONTROL | Page 3

Good morning Norwegian Settlers Church!!
This week’s devotionals are the final in our series on the Fruit of the Spirit. We consider
this week the subject of “SELF-CONTROL”.
When we started this series we took the fruit aspect literally. I remember peeling an
orange in church and exposing the scaffies to you. The object lesson was simple: the
scaffies are a picture of all the other aspects of the Fruit of the Spirit, i.e. Love, Joy,
Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness and Gentleness. The skin however, is
typical of Self-Control. Where it is the skin of the orange that keeps the scaffies intact
and in order and it is the skin that protects the scaffies, and today I really want you to
realise that self-control does for us the same thing that the skin does for the scaffies.
I realise that there are some things that we have no control over. None of us can control
the tides or the weather, even insurance agents will talk about natural disasters as being
“acts of God”, i.e. there are some things that only God can do. There are, however, some
things that we do have some control over. You control how you run your business, you
have control over your relationships and your priorities, but we all have absolute
control over ourselves. Some people may argue that their circumstances control them,
but this is clearly not true. Even in bad situations, your reaction to your circumstances is
completely under your control. Please note, as well, that not even God will control you;
He does not treat you as a child would a remote control toy and control you remotely
from a distance. God, from the outset of creation, has chosen never to violate your will.
We realise, therefore, that we are totally responsible for our own reactions and
responses and that, at the end of the day when we stand before God, we will never be
held responsible for somebody else’s reactions, only our own.
Sadly, when we look across the world, we see people relinquishing their control to
different things. Some give away the control of their lives to bad habits, or wrong
thought patterns, or addictions, but I am hoping that through this week’s devotions, you
will see the need to take back control of your life and submit it to the perfect will and
purpose of God.
Each day of this week we will be dealing with a different aspect and implication as it
relates to the subject of Self-Control. I hope that you will put into practice the practical
application, because I am convinced that this aspect of the fruit is hugely important in
helping us to live lives that will glorify God and will be good for ourselves and for one
another.
Have a nice life! ?
Trevor and Helene