Back to Basics -- Part 8

(We conclude our series on “The Fruit of the Spirit” with a discussion on the word “self-control.”)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

I am not sure if this is the custom in other countries, but here in America many people make resolutions, or set goals, in an effort to change some aspect of their life that they are not happy with. Traditionally most resolutions begin on New Year’s Day. Unfortunately their good intentions often end in failure.

When areas of our lives are out of control what do we do? We often make grand statements like:

• “I’ll never do that again.”

• “I’m going to quit smoking, drinking, or gaining weight.”

• “I’m going to control my tongue.”

When we attempt to make these changes on our own, more times than not we fail. However, with a little help we can find a way of getting control of our lives again.

The Holy Spirit offers such help in the form of the fruit of self-control. This is a fruit that delivers us from despair, and it enables us to win the battle against the negative things in our lives.

Today we will examine the fruit of self-control, something that we all so desperately need in our lives. We will learn how to exchange our self-confidence for faith. We will learn how to exchange our will power for God’s power. Finally, we will learn how to exchange our weakness for God’s strength.

Back to Basics -- Part 7

(This week we will continue our series on “The Fruit of the Spirit” with a discussion on the word “meekness,” which is the King James Version of the word “gentleness.”)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

The word meekness is a very misunderstood word. The world has altered people’s perception of the true meaning of meekness. Today people associate the word meekness with weakness. However, meekness has nothing to do with weakness. If anything it takes a lot of strength to have a meek spirit.

Weakness is a negative trait, such as the lack of strength or the lack of courage. Meekness is a positive characteristic, because it is due to a person’s conscious choice. It is a person’s ability to exhibit controlled strength and courage and maintain gentleness towards people.

Meekness should be a normal part of a person’s Christian experience. Meekness means having a patient, gentle disposition. It also means having humble submissiveness to God’s will. The Bible contains many examples of people who exhibited such meekness.

Let’s examine three things regarding the fruit of meekness -- the meek learner, the meek leader, and the meek Lamb.