The fruit of the Spirit is self-control, also known by that insipid poly-syllabic word “temperance.”

So what comes to mind when you hear these words? For me, it usually has something to do with taking care of one’s body, breaking bad habits, or restraining one’s passions and appetite.

Sounds pretty good.

But lately I have been wondering whether it is humanly possible to live temperately, with self-control. Can I really break all my bad habits? I mean, I know I stopped sucking my thumb like a baby ages ago. But I have developed other ugly bad habits over the years. And worse yet, I like some of my bad habits. Now how about that?!

I can try all sorts of DIY tricks to break bad habits but when the blaring message of pop culture is “If it feels good, it must be right”… well, the still small voice within is silenced. So what then?

One of my favorite Bible writers, Apostle Paul, writes in Roman 12:1-2 (NIV):

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing, and perfect will.

Perhaps, what is needed is a focus on self-control as a spiritual act of worship. An act of worship to a merciful God. An act of worship that is guided by the Spirit who renews the mind so that patterns of this world are no longer desirable.

If God wants me not to conform to patterns of this world, He has got to have a better alternative. Something that is way more fulfilling than the cheap thrills of this world. And if God’s will is as “good, pleasing, and perfect” as Romans 12:2 promises, then His plan for me has got to be the better alternative, THE way to go!

So laying aside the temporal feelings that bad habits have to offer, I now seek to worship my Creator.

Self-control as an act of worship.

Care to join?

Gliding downhill.

Sweating it uphill.

The gentle thump-thump of my shoes hitting the ground.

The crunch-crunch of gravel beneath.

The occasional chats with those I pass by.

Jogging into bright sunrises and purple-pink sunsets.

Beauty. Joy. A few sore muscles. And sheer exhilaration!

I love running! Did I mention that yet?

At a recent race, I ran without much training - Strike One. I figured a 5K would not be so bad.

The race began with a gradual downhill and a relatively flat course. I sped up a little not realizing that the hill ahead was not just any mole hill - Strike Two. I ended up dragging myself uphill.  And then, I was left panting for a few minutes.

With the clock still ticking, I finally approached the last quarter mile. My running buddy who had slowed his pace thus far coaxed me into sprinting the last quarter with him. Bad idea. I had barely made it over 50 feet and I was ready to give out - Strike Three. I had to tell my buddy to go on without me.

I finished the race - alone and exhausted.

You may not be a runner but there are moments when life is much like this race. The path ahead seems easy enough. Rather straightforward, even.  You tell yourself, “Oh, that’s not so bad. I can do this - easy as pie!”

And you are tempted to go it alone. Immediately, you are in greatest danger of stumbling. For soon you will be left panting for air, wishing you had better paced yourself, wishing you had trained better, wishing you had listened to the Coach, wishing. . . And at the end of the day, you finish alone and exhausted.

So, here’s the challenge, my friend: next time life throws you a task that seems “easy as pie,” go for it!  But not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit (Zech 4:6).

Tempted to race to the finish line?  Call on the Helper who dwells with you, His Spirit of Truth (John 14: 16-17).

But amidst all the pain this past week, my dear loving brother brought me what some call “a girl’s best friend.” No, not diamonds.  Chocolate!

I thanked him (Isn’t that what good little sisters are supposed to do?).

But as that yummy glorious piece of chocolate melted in my mouth and slid past my throat, PAIN was redefined.  My pus-covered, enlarged tonsils screamed, “ENOUGH!”

Enough indeed. Chocolate for my wounds - sweet on my tongue, sheer torture down my throat.

Funny as this story might sound to you (believe me, I was NOT laughing), it made me think of the many times I have served my Savior chocolate for His wounds.

A man with a “Homeless” sign stands on the street corner and I drive by because I don’t have enough change (a $10.00 bill might be better spent, right?)

Chocolate for His wounds.

A classmate needs help but I’m too busy….. facebooking?

Chocolate for His wounds.

The old man driving in front of me is going 10 miles under the speed limit. I mutter under my breath as I pass him by.

Chocolate for His wounds.

My little 5-year-old sister wants to plays with me but mean words escape my tongue.

Chocolate for His wounds.

Sometimes, I butcher the Pastor and his sermon for Sabbath lunch.

Chocolate for His wounds.

The Son of God gave me a robe of righteousness to cover my filth and I gave him chocolate for His wounds.

Like Paul, I cry out:

“So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:21-25)

Words that sometimes makes us squirm.

Who or what is the antichrist anyway? Satan? A human being? Someone like Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda? A spiritual leader? A leader of secret societies? A national leader? Just an ordinary person who passed you in the grocery store?

Apostle John gives us a straightforward definition:

“every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.” (1 John 4:3)

Well, why should we even care about these antichrists? The title of the lesson gives it away - “Walking in the Light: Rejecting Antichrists.”  Part of growing in our walk with our Savior involves rejecting the lies about him, rejecting those things that are anti-Christ.

And if the spirit of the antichrist is already in the world, how might we know the difference? What are we supposed to do?

Apostle John offers more encouraging words of direction in 1 John 4:

1. First, he reminds us who we are:

“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them”

2. Then he reminds us who our God is:

“for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

3. John goes on to describe what the antichrists are like:

“ They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.”

4. He tells us how to identify fellow believers:

“We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us.”

“By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

Indeed, it is only by walking with God, knowing who we are in light of what He has done for us, that we can decipher the spirit of error, the spirit of the antichrist.

So walk in the Light. Pursue that relationship with your awesome Creator, who so loved you that He gave Himself up for you!

It was my high-school administrator explaining to us that fights and arguments between students were often caused by misinterpretation of each other’s words. 

You would think that once everyone grew out of the high school bubble, such behavior would change. Not so. Even today, at least half the misunderstandings in our workplaces and homes are still caused by misinterpretation of words. And the church is not immune to it. If you have ever been part of a heated Sabbath School debate, you know what I am talking about.

In a world where words seem to be the limit of human understanding and expression, how does one go about interpreting the words of God’s messengers - the prophets? This week’s lesson suggests several elements to consider when interpreting prophetic writings:

1. Exegesis: consider the original meaning of the text
2. Homiletics: consider the usage of the text in the context of a sermon or appeal, without regard for its original meaning
3. Time and Place: consider the circumstances in which the text was written
4. Immediate Context: consider the immediate audience that the author was addressing
5. Larger Context: consider the author’s words in the grand scheme of salvation presented to us in the Scripture

These methods are just a few. One could certainly add to the list.

But the key principle to keep in mind is that studying God’s Word and His prophets is part of loving Him with all our hearts, minds, and souls. So as you go about your study, ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

There is a beautiful quote from Ellen White that says, “Allow no one to be brains for you, allow no one to do you thinking, your investigating, and your praying” (Review and Herald, 09/11/1894). Indeed, she was right. Our study of God’s Word and of His messengers ought not to be a mere matter of “He said-She said.”

Allow God’s Word to pierce your heart, challenge your thought, and renew your soul. Allow Christ to be glorified in you.

Doors slammed hard.

More screams, hoots, leaps of joy, and absolute exhiliration!

I knew it. My phone rang. It was true.

November 4, 2008. Senator Barack Obama had just been declared the 44th President of the United States of America.

Out my dorm window, I watched as some fellow students went for joy rides, blaring horns and hooting. An “outsider” unsure of how to react, I stared in wonder, very much aware that I had just been part of a historic moment.

I flipped open my laptop and logged on to every news website I knew, looking for footage of this moment from across America. People clapping, smiling, laughing, high-fiving, crying tears of joy. Newscasters reviewed the day’s events showing clips of people in long lines at the polls - young and old, rich and poor, people of all classes, creeds, and color.

“Congratulations America!” I thought to myself.

Later, my roommate and I waited in anticipation for the new President-elect to deliver his first speech just hours away in Chicago. Crowds thronged Grant Park. Chants of “Yes We Can!” had changed to “Yes We Did! Yes We Did! Yes We Did!”

The President-elect stepped on stage to a thunderous applause.

And I wondered at how one man could inspire so many to believe in him and to hope for change. I wondered at his ability to rally young people and, with just one election, show a nation that young people are not as apathetic as they are perceived to be.

A week earlier, I sat in church listening to a preacher remark about how awesome it would be if young people - with all our passion and power - harnessed our energies to serve in God’s campaign. And I thought to myself, what if…..?

What if Seventh-day Adventist Christian young people lived out the true meaning of our only creed - the Bible?
What if we stopped “checking out” of our churches and communities?
What if we woke up and responded to Christ’s call to “Go ye therefore….”?
What if we lived out authentic Christianity each day?
What if we passionately and intentionally pursued our neighbors, revealing to them Christ’s patient and loving pursuit of us?
What if we lived out our identity as Children of God?
What if…. inspite of the global economic meltdown, we still convey our Hope for tomorrow?

What if we, like Apostle Paul, truly believed “I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13)?

Yes, HE Can!

In this universal campaign, it is not about us. The price for this struggle between good and evil has been very high. And on the cross, Christ paid it all. And we can convey hope in any crisis because He rose from the grave victoriously.

Yes, HE Did!

He Lives!

(Photo Thanks to JGrindal)

This familiar melody has been sung in many a church; yet, its true meaning still boggles me. If I could rewrite the lyrics based on my experience with grace, it would probably say something like:

“Annoying grace, how interesting the sound”

Indeed, one of my earliest experiences with grace was quite annoying. Let me explain:

It is the height of a volleyball game. I had messed up two spikes and my team now trailed just a few points behind. The ball comes over the net. The pass is perfect and the setter sends the ball my way. Eager to spike, I approach, jump and —

Oops. I had approached too quickly. Again.

“You’re Off! You’re OFF!” my coach yelled.

I whacked the ball, not caring which direction it went.

“That’s it,” I thought, “I’m benched.”

But my coach (who normally had a policy of “three mistakes – you’re benched”) showed no signs of calling for a substitute or pulling me out of the game.

I should have been happy but I was frustrated. Angry. Annoyed. I hated the fact that I could not spike. I hated myself for causing my team to fall behind in the game. I glared at my coach, hoping she would pull me out. But she did not.

We lost the game.

Stomping into the hallway for a post-game team-meeting, I figured I would have to do push-ups for all my botched-up spikes that cost us the game.

“Well, I’m really proud of you girls and what you did out there tonight…”

What?! My coach was proud of us? Proud of the fact that we lost a game? Proud of all my pathetic attempts at a decent spike?! That did not make sense.

I wished she would yell at us, tell us how horribly we did, and make us do push-ups or run laps. At least that way, I could justify my anger and frustration.

But no. My coach saw something different in us – in me. All I saw was a team in need of points. I focused on my inability to help achieve those points. My coach saw a team willing to stick together. She focused on supporting and believing in one frustrated player who just could not get it right.

I was annoyed that my coach did not give me what I deserved, what I wanted. She gave me what I needed, what I did not deserve – a chance to get back up and keep trying.

That day, I learned my lesson in grace. It was annoying. Terribly annoying. It made no sense.

Early during that volleyball season, I was told, “This season, you may lose many games but you will build character.” My team lost many games that season but I learned to keep trying, to trust my coach even when her grace was annoying.

Philip Yancey puts it well in saying, “Grace is unfair, which is one of the hardest things about it.”

How true. Perhaps, grace is unfair but it is precisely what assures us of our salvation.

“It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8)

This season – the beginning of a new year 2008 – Christ offers you the same gift He gave at Calvary, His gift of grace. There are no promises that you will win every game, that your life will be a joyous ride of victories. You may not get what you want or deserve. In fact, the experience can be quite frustrating. But your Heavenly “Coach” does promise to give you what you need.

This season, will you let Him build your character?

Next time you sing “Amazing Grace,” think about that.