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July 1, 2008
Good afternoon family!
I hope that everyone is doing well this fine Tuesday. It is definitely a beautiful day here in Raleigh and it is a great break from the blistering heat for a change. Thank God for that! I've been missing in action and I do apologize for my disappearance, however, I'm back! DAAAANGGG! (sorry 5 Heartbeats Flashback LOL). Without further adieu though, the WFTD everybody...the WFTD.
Today we will be talking about self-control, but before we get started lets define this thing. One definition says that it is “The ability to control one's desires and impulses; willpower ”. I will go one step further and and tell you that an impulse is an “urge” or “an instinctive motive”. Now given these working definitions lets go to some scripture.
Proverbs 25:28 “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.”Now that is simple and to the point. No fluffy stuff. No thou's, art's, or thee's and that's what is neat about the Bible. Sometimes the word of God is very descriptive and in depth. At other times is is short, sweet and to the point.
In old days, cities use to be built with walls around them for protection from outside forces, enemies, and/or dangers. If you recall ever seeing a castle from the medieval period on TV, you will notice it has a wall around it as well and the people dwell on the inside. If you ever noticed whenever a city was attacked, the door or gate to the city was attacked because it was the most vulnerable part. As gates became just as strong as walls so did weaponry become strong enough to tear down walls. If a wall was ever torn down or broken, that made the folks inside the city vulnerable to anything on the outside because it had open access to go to and fro through the walls.
Now look at you and me. We all have to maintain some self-control, but as Ryan spoke about yesterday, we are born with a sin nature. It is innate that we have urges and desires that go against the very teachings of Christ, but if we do not deal with them, they can make us weak. What do I mean? Well lets take for example someone who use to curse (for phonetics, lets go with the spelling and pronunciation, “cuss”). If you have put that old self away, then listening to others cuss around you actually offends you. However, the moment you lose control and allow yourself to accept the cussing around you, then you become weak. You develop a weak point in your wall and now the devil has a way to go to and fro as he pleases in your life. Why? The reason is because you have a broken down wall and the next thing you know you're back cussing again.
This is just one example out of an uncountable number, however, you know your urges and desires. If you lack self-control or lose it, you become weak and the enemy can have a foot hold in your life. Learn to always maintain self control because it is always easier to tear down a wall than it is to erect one again (read the book of Nehemiah in your spare time).
Be blessed folks and have a good one.
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Regards,
Antoine E. Hall
Blog: http://toinebo.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AntoineHall
"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." - 2 Samuel 22:33
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