In what areas of your life do you struggle with self-control? Are there parts of your life that feel completely out of control? As you read these passages from the Bible, ask Jesus to help you in these areas. But also be willing to let his gentleness work within you, to not just bring these areas under control, but under Christ’s control.
From
the Torah: Genesis 39:1-23 (NIV)
From the Former Prophets: 1 Samuel 24:1-22 (NIV)
From the Latter
Prophets: Jeremiah 33:15-20 (NIV)
From the Books of
Wisdom and Poetry: Proverbs 16:21-33 (NIV)
From the Late
Books: Daniel 6:1-28 (NIV)
From the Gospels: Luke 6:27-36 (NIV)
From
the Epistles: James 1:12-27 (NIV)
From the Torah
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of
Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites
who had taken him there.
The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived
in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything
he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant.
Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care
everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all
that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of
Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had,
both in the house and in the field. So Potiphar left everything he
had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything
except the food he ate.
Now
Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s
wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”
But he
refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern
himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my
care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing
from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked
thing and sin against God?” And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even
be with her.
One day
he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household
servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with
me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
When
she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, she called her household
servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make
sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream for
help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”
She
kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to
make sport of me. But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me
and ran out of the house.”
When
his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave
treated me,” he burned with anger. Joseph’s master took him and
put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.
But
while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the
eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the
prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to
anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him
success in whatever he did.
Genesis 39:1-23
From the Former Prophets
After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told,
“David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” So Saul took three thousand
able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the
Crags of the Wild Goats.
He came
to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to
relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. The men said, “This is the day
the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy
into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed
and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
Afterward,
David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a
thing to my master, the Lord’s
anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow
them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.
Then
David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!”
When
Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face
to the ground. He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is bent on
harming you’? This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in
the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lay my
hand on my lord, because he is the Lord’s anointed.’ See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but
did not kill you. See that there is nothing in my hand to indicate that I am
guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me,
but my hand will not touch you. As the old saying goes, ‘From evildoers come evil deeds,’ so my
hand will not touch you.
“Against
whom has the king of Israel come out? Who are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea? May the Lord be our judge and decide between us. May he consider my
cause and uphold it; may he vindicate me by delivering me from your hand.”
When
David finished saying this, Saul asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” And he wept
aloud. “You are more righteous than I,” he said. “You have treated me
well, but I have treated you badly. You have just now told me about
the good you did to me; the Lord delivered me into your hands, but you did
not kill me. When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May
the Lord reward you well for the way you
treated me today. I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established
in your hands. Now swear to me by the Lord that you will not kill off my
descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.”
So
David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men
went up to the stronghold.
1 Samuel 24:1-22
From the Latter Prophets
This is what the Lord says:
“A voice is heard in Ramah,
mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”
This is what the Lord says:
“Restrain your voice from weeping
and your eyes from tears,
for your work will be rewarded,”
declares the Lord.
“They will return from the land of the enemy.
So there is hope for your descendants,”
declares the Lord.
“Your children will return to their own land.
“I have surely heard Ephraim’s
moaning:
‘You disciplined me like an unruly calf,
and I have been disciplined.
Restore me, and I will return,
because you are the Lord my God.
After I strayed,
I repented;
after I came to understand,
I beat my breast.
I was ashamed and humiliated
because I bore the disgrace of my
youth.’
Is not Ephraim my dear son,
the child in whom I delight?
Though I often speak against him,
I still remember him.
Therefore my heart yearns for him;
I have great compassion for him,”
declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 33:15-20
From the Books of Wisdom and Poetry
The wise in heart are called
discerning,
and gracious words promote
instruction.
Prudence is a fountain of life to
the prudent,
but folly brings punishment to
fools.
The hearts of the wise make their
mouths prudent,
and their lips promote instruction.
Gracious words are a honeycomb,
sweet to the soul and healing to
the bones.
There is a way that appears to be
right,
but in the end it leads to death.
The appetite of laborers works for
them;
their hunger drives them on.
A scoundrel plots evil,
and on their lips it is like a
scorching fire.
A perverse person stirs up
conflict,
and a gossip separates close
friends.
A violent person entices their
neighbor
and leads them down a path that is
not good.
Whoever winks with their eye is plotting
perversity;
whoever purses their lips is bent
on evil.
Gray hair is a crown of splendor;
it is attained in the way of
righteousness.
Better a patient person than a
warrior,
one with self-control than one who
takes a city.
The lot is cast into the lap,
but its every decision is from the Lord.
Proverbs
16:21-33
From
the Late Books
It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom,
with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made
accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. Now Daniel so distinguished
himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities
that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. At this, the administrators and
the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct
of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no
corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor
negligent. Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges
against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”
So
these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May
King Darius live forever! The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king
should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god
or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall
be thrown into the lions’ den. Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that
it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians,
which cannot be repealed.” So King Darius put the decree in writing.
Now
when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his
upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he
got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a group
and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. So they went to the king and
spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during
the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you,
Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”
The
king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and
Persians, which cannot be repealed.”
Then
they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the
decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.” When the king heard this, he
was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until
sundown to save him.
Then
the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, “Remember, Your
Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict
that the king issues can be changed.”
So the
king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May
your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”
A stone
was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and
with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. Then the king returned to his
palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment
being brought to him. And he could not sleep.
At the
first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. When he
came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant
of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to
rescue you from the lions?”
Daniel
answered, “May the king live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the
lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong
before you, Your Majesty.”
The
king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when
Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he
had trusted in his God.
At the
king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and
thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the
floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
Then
King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth:
“May you prosper greatly!
“I issue a decree that in every
part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.
“For he is the living God
and he endures forever;
his kingdom will not be destroyed,
his dominion will never end.
He rescues and he saves;
he performs signs and wonders
in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.”
So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of
Cyrus the Persian.
Daniel
6:1-28
From the Gospels
“But to
you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone
takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who
asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have
them do to you.
“If you love those who
love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who
love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is
that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those
from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners,
expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies,
do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your
reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the
ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Luke
6:27-36
From
the Epistles
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having
stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord
has promised to those who love him.
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot
be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted
when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then,
after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is
full-grown, gives birth to death.
Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every
good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the
heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He
chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a
kind of firstfruits of all he created.
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone
should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because
human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore,
get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly
accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do
what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is
like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at
himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever
looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not
forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they
do.
Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a
tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is
worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is
this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep
oneself from being polluted by the world.
James
1:12-27
