Oct 9

Proverbs 25:28
28 A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.

You're about to appear on an episode of American Gladiators. The show's producer explains that you're going to get into a ring with two iron-pumping, steroid-gulping athletes named "Sheer" and "Dicer." Your task is to carry a ball the size of your head, dash by Slicer and Dicer, and drop the ball into a barrel. Oh, yeah, Slicer and Dicer will be swinging twenty-pound mallets at you. And you have to do it six times. The producer asks, "Oh, by the way, do you want to wear any protective gear?" Duh! Or let's say you're the new captain of the starship Enterprise. You command your navigator, VoCal Solo, to steer toward the planet Blendor. Suddenly the ship starts to pitch violently back and forth, tossing crew members around like croutons in a salad. Suddenly your first mate, Vanna, shouts, "We're under attack, Cap'n!" You look at the giant screen before you, and a bazillion enemy ships and missiles are speeding toward your craft. Over the deafening screams and explosions occurring all around you, Vanna cries, "Should we turn on the defensive force field, Cap'n?" Duh! OK, then, say you're a Christian kid who wants to please God but who also wants to squeeze the greatest possible enjoyment and satisfaction out of life. You know God loves you, and you love him, too. But it's not always easy. Your parents expect so much. Your friends put pressure on you to do certain things. You even feel like giving up sometimes. In the midst of all that, the Bible says, "Be self-controlled." Huh? Actually, those three cases aren't so different from each other. If you're under attack from a couple of American Gladiators, you need some protective gear. If you're under attack from alien ships and missiles, you need a defensive force field. And if you're under attack from the temptations and traps of the world, you need self-control. The Bible says, "A person without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken-down walls" (Proverbs 25:28). In other words, self-control protects you, just like a tall stone wall encircling an ancient city or a safety belt that can hold you back at just the right time. It can protect you from saying the wrong thing. It can prevent you from doing something you'll regret later. Like all godly virtues, it can protect and provide for you. So don't leave home without it!

REFLECT: How is self-control like each of the "defenses" in the above reading? Are there any areas of your life where you seem to have good self-control? Are there any areas in which you need to show more self-control?

PRAY: "God, I need the defense of your armor, especially when..."

i didnt really get the short story about the ship and all but i did get the overall message: self control. okay well this reminds me of a devotion we had like a week back? im not exactly sure...ANYWAYS! self control can be used as a shield against satan. when you are in least control over yourself and letting yourself drown in negative thoughts, you are giving satan the chance to control you rather than your own self. when we are in self control it means that we are in God's presence and we are being Godly in a way i guess. self control can be really hard because we are all rebellious teens and there are so many different things that are exposed to us that can really make ourselves just lose our self control under pressure and/or whatnot. God's "defensive shield" for us is really our own self control.
well thats it for now...i hope it made sense
byee!

My gosh, I'm assuming the people who made these devos really want the reader to get the idea of being self-controlled into their heads!
Self-Control is a really great trait. With self-control, comes good temper, manners, kind personality, etc. All the things God wants us to be.
Honestly, that's all I could get...
Sorry this devo sucks xD
if i think of anything better, i'll post tomorrow

I think this referred to how we tend to Jesus in our "city" Pretty cool if you think about it as housing Jesus within your spiritual body.

If we preserve our mental state and keep it clean, it would be the equivalent of Jesus living in a nice, well kept house containing only what in necessary and keeping it organized. The way we keep our "city" clean determines how Jesus can be comfortable in ourselves. As we start to pollute these things, Jesus is hurt, and our relationship becomes something that's not as new and well kept as before. It becomes the same as getting a gift from our parents, and not caring for it the way it should be kept. It starts to lose value and memories/treasures that we once used to hold in it. God's someone who gets close to us, the more we think of him and our relationship. He's very open, but he won't take more than one step unless we reach out our hand also. And that starts with making the "place(city)" clean, and opening the "gates". You know, putting effort into our hearts, and letting him in.

Self controll helps us avoid temptation and making bad decisions. It's what protects us. Without this trait, it's obvious you will fall apart. That's why I thought today's verse was interesting.
God is the foundation to our building and we can not keep on building more and more up if you don't have the base/core right.....it will eventually collapse. We are like this. If we keep on moving forward without having god beside us, it just doesn't work.
God is our sheid. Many things will be thrown at us during your walk with god. But as I said, if you have your foundation right, you won't fall.

Hmm.....I think that was a bit of funny wording there.....hope it made sense though!
~Audrey~

This reminded me of the song God of the city, because it shows us that God provides us with the walls of protection. We are the city, and he provides us with strong fortifide protection. Temptation and sin try to get through but God is always there to knock them back and prevent them from entering.
We should always accept God into our hearts in both happy times and down times. Some people may only look on towards God when they are struggling because they see no point in having defense when there not getting attacked, but the thing is we are always getting attacked with our everyday lives and all the temptations around us.
all ig ot
gnite =)

This devo was similar to the last nights' I guess.
But this devo made me realize the importance of self control in the sense that it is a very effective safeguard against all kinds of problems that could happen. We become weak when we lose our self control, and maybe I realized this point a bit late, but felt kind of eyeopening in terms of that concept. So exercise self control wherever you go and make the right decisions.

Above all the CAPTAIN KIRK, it's easy to kind of reflect upon today's devotion. Nobody would bring a knife to a gunfight, really.
Realistically, you're not gonna be able to win with yo fists, no matter how much anger and boldness you have inside you.
Sometimes its usually best to think with your head instead of just how you feel in that current moment.
Essentially, never doing or saying something when you're mind isn't sane, IS the way to go.
That, to me, is self-control.
If you want to speak, you've got to be willing to listen, especially to God.
Just like what goes on, comes around.
Learning as children to be treated like you would want to be treated.
But never an eye for an eye.

Well let's see...
I'm can only say that self-control becomes more and more important as you get older.
Like Uncle Ben said, "with great power, comes great responsibility". In this case, by power, I mean freedom.
You get the freedom to do anything so you can choose God rather than being forced into it.
I'm sure we've all just about chosen God, as members of this team so just remember that even if you're not with school friends, it's your responsibility as a Christian and as a member of this team, not to play a role and fake being a strong believer of Christ.
Be your best at all times.