Latest / Bible Chat Devotional / May 30 - The Quiet Strength of Self-Control

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May 30 - The Quiet Strength of Self-Control · Bible Chat Devotional

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  Welcome to Bible Chat, where we have devotional conversations
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  rooted in Scripture and relevant for today.
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  May 30th Strength in patience. Here's a question that might
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  surprise you. What does it actually take to be
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  strong? Because we usually think of
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  strength in terms of power being the loudest, the most dominant,
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  the one who wins the argument or gets their way.
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  Culture rewards that kind of strength.
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  It looks impressive, but Proverbs chapter 16, verse 32
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  completely redefines the whole concept.
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  Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty.
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  And he who rules a spirit than he who takes a city, ruling your
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  own spirit, that is harder and greater than military conquest.
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  The person who can stay calm when they're being provoked, who
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  can hold their tongue when everything in them wants to
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  react, who can choose patience when frustration is boiling.
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  That person possesses a strength that is genuinely rare and
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  genuinely powerful, and God calls that better than being
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  mighty. Think about that.
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  Verse 31 frames this in terms of a life well lived.
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  Gray hair is a crown of glory. It is gained in a righteous
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  life, a long life shaped by consistent righteousness.
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  By choosing well repeatedly over time produces something you
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  can't fake or rush. It's the kind of character that
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  only comes from 1000. Small decisions made faithfully,
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  not flashy, not viral worthy, but real, lasting, and
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  honorable. Ephesians chapter 5 verse 8 then
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  gives us our identity as the foundation for all of this.
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  For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.
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  Walk as children of light. You are not who you used to be.
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  Whatever was there before, the patterns, the habits, the ways
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  of responding that came from a place of fear or self
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  protection, that is not your identity anymore.
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  You are light, and light doesn't blend into the darkness around
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  it. It shows up differently.
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  It changes the room. Verses 11 and 12 make the
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  practical implication clear. Take no part in the unfruitful
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  works of darkness, but instead expose them, for it is shameful
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  even to speak of the things that they do in secret.
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  The call isn't to be judgmental or self-righteous, it's simply
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  to not participate when the group chat starts circulating
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  something harmful. When the pressure is on to go
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  along with something you know is wrong, when it would be easy and
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  socially safe to just stay quiet and blend in.
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  Being light means you don't. Not with a big speech
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  necessarily, but with the quiet, consistent choice to not give
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  your participation to what tears people down or dishonors God.
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  That takes patience. It takes self-control.
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  It takes being willing to stand slightly apart from the crowd
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  sometimes without making a big deal of it.
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  And here's what nobody tells you about that.
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  It's actually freeing when you stop chasing the approval of the
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  loudest voices in the room and start living from a place of
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  genuine conviction. There's a settled Ness that
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  comes with it, a piece that doesn't depend on whether
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  everyone is clapping for you. Patience and self-control aren't
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  weakness. They're the daily practice of
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  the strongest kind of character there is, and they're being
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  built in you right now, one small faithful choice at a time.
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  Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for
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  redefining strength in a way that is actually attainable and
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  actually real. Help me to be slow to anger and
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  quick to choose patience, not because I'm suppressing myself,
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  but because I am genuinely submitted to you.
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  Where I've been walking in darkness or going along with
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  things I know are wrong. Redirect me.
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  I want to walk as a child of light.
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  Consistently, humbly and honestly.
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  Shape my character in the quiet moments that nobody sees, and
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  let that shape everything else in Jesus name, Amen.
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  What if the battles hitting your family are not random and your
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  home can become a place where darkness loses every right to
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  stay? The Secured Home is a powerful
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  six book prayer series for believers who want to guard
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  their households with biblical authority, peace and confidence
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  in Jesus Christ. Book 1.
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  Guarded Thresholds fortifies every doorway, room, and entry
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  point with prayerful protection. Book 2, Cleansed Rooms, helps
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  reclaim spaces marked by fear, unrest, and spiritual
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  defilement. Book 3, Closed Breaches, exposes
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  hidden access points and severs every agreement with darkness.
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  Book 4, Broken Assignments, confronts oppression, torment,
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  and attacks against your family. Book 5, Consecrated Walls,
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  dedicates every space and rhythm of the home to God.
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  Book 6, Abiding Peace, shows how to maintain spiritual order,
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  rest, and holy presence every day.
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  Order now on Amazon or visit prayerscripts.org.
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  Now I invite you to spend time with God in today's three-year
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  Bible reading plan. Proverbs Chapter 16, verses 31
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  to 32 World English Bible Gray hair is a crown of glory.
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  It is attained by a life of righteousness.
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  One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty one who
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  rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
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  Ephesians chapter 5 World English Bible Be there for
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  imitators of God, as beloved children walk in love, even as
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  Christ also loved us and gave himself up for us.
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  An offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling
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  fragrance. But sexual immorality and all
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  uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be mentioned among
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  you as become Saints, nor filthiness, nor foolish talking,
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  nor jesting, which are not appropriate, but rather giving
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  of thanks. Know this for sure, that no
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  sexually immoral person, nor unclean person, nor covetous man
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  who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the Kingdom of
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  Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with
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  empty words. For because of these things the
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  wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience.
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  Therefore don't be partakers with them, for you were once
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  darkness, but are now light in the Lord.
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  Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the Spirit is in
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  all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is well
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  pleasing to the Lord. Have no fellowship with the
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  unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather even reprove them.
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  For it is a shame even to speak of the things which are done by
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  them in secret. But all things when they are
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  reproved, are revealed by the light, for everything that
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  reveals is light. Therefore he says, Awake you who
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  sleep and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
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  Therefore watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise but as
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  wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
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  Therefore don't be foolish, but understand what the will of the
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  Lord is. Don't be drunken with wine, in
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  which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking
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  to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and
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  making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always
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  concerning all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to
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  God, even the Father, subjecting yourselves to one another in the
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  fear of Christ. Wives, be subject to your own
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  husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of
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  the wife, as Christ also is the head of the assembly, being
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  Himself the Savior of the Body. But as the assembly is subject
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  to Christ, so let the wives also be to their own husbands in
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  everything. Husbands, love your wives, even
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  as Christ also loved the assembly and gave Himself up for
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  it, that He might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the
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  washing of water, with the Word, that He might present the
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  assembly to Himself gloriously, not having spot or wrinkle or
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  any such thing, but that it should be holy and without
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  defect. Even so, husbands also ought to
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  love their own wives as their own bodies.
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  He who loves his own wife loves himself.
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  For no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and
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  cherishes it, even as the Lord also does the assembly, because
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  we are members of His body, of His flesh and bones.
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  For this cause a man will leave his father and mother and will
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  be joined to his wife. The 2 will become one flesh.
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  This mystery is great, but I speak concerning Christ and of
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  the assembly. Nevertheless, each of you must
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  also love his own wife even as himself, and let the wife see
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  that she respects her husband. Thanks for joining us on Bible
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  Chat, where Scripture meets everyday life.
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  If today's devotional encouraged you, share it with a friend and
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  be sure to follow the podcast so you won't miss the next
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  conversation. Until next time, stay rooted in
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  truth, anchored in hope, and walking daily with.
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  Jesus.