By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 
–Gal 5:22-23

We made our way through the orchard!

No matter how many times I read a passage of scripture, something new catches my eye. Today, it is “There is no law against such things.” Nothing of human control can deny love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. As Fred Craddock and Eugene Boring explain it, “acts of Christian love will not violate the law they are so tempted to idolize.”

Strive at this list and not only will we be faithful, but the world around us will be all the better for it!  But incorporating these gifts into daily practices is where the struggle lies. Which leads to how we will interpret our final fruit this Sunday, “self-control.”

Obvious interpretations of self-control would be to preach about lust or gluttony or greed or maintaining our emotions. By leaning  into more of a spiritual discipline focus we indirectly cover those others as well.

Our featured text for Sunday will be a portion of Jesus’ sermon on the mount in Matthew 6:25-34 which begins with, “do not worry about your life…”

Anxiety is real and it is so easy to lose ourselves down a spiral of unhelpful thoughts. Being stuck in a constant loop of worry or negative attention is dangerous.

Centering ourselves around the Spirit or returning our focus to Holy endeavors is the gift of self-control. How can we practice the discipline of prayer in a way that is authentic, meaningful, and attainable? How can we return our attention to our faithful walk, trusting God to already be there with us?

I look forward to worshipping with you in the chapel at 9:30 on Sunday or on YouTube as we center ourselves around God, our Christ, and the Holy Spirit! 

Brett