"One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless." Proverbs 14:16 Ok, I want you to think about your answer to this question: What words would you say are the opposite of self-control? I would think that “reckless” and “careless” would be pretty good answers to that question. Let’s be honest here: We’ve all had at least one situation in our lives where we would say that we were reckless or careless. If you’re anything like me, you’ve actually lost track of the number of your reckless and careless moments. Why do we have these moments where our self-control loses to our selfishness and we do or say something that we know we shouldn’t? I think one of the biggest reasons is that we don’t always listen to the Holy Spirit like we should. Even as Christians, we have those times where our flesh wins us over and self-control goes out the window. If we are believers, then the Holy Spirit will convict us, but it is up to us to listen to Him. So, my encouragement to you today (and to myself, really) is to follow God’s leading. Pray for His help to listen to whatever the Holy Spirit tells you to do. Remember that our ultimate purpose on this earth is to bring God glory and share His love with those around us. If we are chasing after that goal, we will be more cautious and will turn away from evil more often by default. “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” -Galatians 5:16-17 #WGCApowerverse #WGCATheMix (fb)

"Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable." 1 Corinthians 9:25 I’ve never been a big sports fan. Let’s just say that the Super Bowl is about the only football game I watch every year. When I do watch sports, one of my favorite parts is the end when they hand out all the awards and trophies. Everyone is there, everyone is cheering, and the winners hold up the prize and everyone is excited. I can’t help but wonder when I watch things like this: How often do we work for what doesn’t actually matter in the long run? Sometimes, we pour all our energy into something that will eventually fade away. Those trophies that sports teams win will eventually rust and rot. Our careers and accomplishments only last the amount of time we’re on this earth. Thank the Lord that He has given us something that can never tarnish and never fade. Thank the Lord that we have the blessing of eternal life to look forward to. We are not serving our God for nothing. Let us take heart when we are exhausted in our spiritual walk that we are not competing for something that could ever be lost. #WGCApowerverse #WGCATheMix (fb)