21 Days of Prayer
Jesus invites us to journey with Him over these 21 days toward shalom, wholeness in our hearts and lives. As we draw near, reflect and pray, we join Him as He works in and through us to restore and refresh our hearts and minds; heal and renew our relationships with those close to us; and empower us to foster harmony in His church, our local community, our country and world.
Week 1: Be Restored
Week 2: Renewal in Relationships
Week 3: Fostering harmony in the church, local community, country and world
READ Psalm 37:1-9
What strikes you? What challenges you? What encourages you?
How does this paint a challenging picture of self control?
How does this paint an encouraging picture of self control?
How does this illustrate the core to self-control lying in the power of God, not in the strength of our own will power?
READ Matthew 12:43-45
What strikes you? What challenges you? What encourages you?
How do you see these verses as being related to self-control?
If, as Dan's been preaching, self-control is more about relying on God's strength rather than exerting our own will-power, how does this parable support this message?
APPLY YOURSELF TO THIS MESSAGE
In the last sentence of these verses, Jesus points the parable directly at the generation before Him, one that is hearing His teachings but not choosing to enter into His Kingdom. In what areas of Jesus' teaching through His scriptures, through the teaching of the church, or through the Spirit's message to your own heart is a lesson being preached that you are not letting in to your "house"?
Are there areas of your life where you have obediently repented of sin, cleansed your life of sinful habits, but not replaced those behaviors with positive full life of the Spirit of God? Put another way, in emptying your life of the bad, where might you be also closing off the power of the Spirit to flow in and through you to re-fill your emptiness with the Spirit's goodness?
CLOSE BY READING OVER PSALM 23
What does God desire to fill your house with?
READ Isaiah 55:1-3
What strikes you? What challenges you? What encourages you?
When one hears "self-control" our first instinct might be to think about self-denial, refraining from that which is enjoyable. How is that NOT the picture in these verses?
When you experience pain, especially emotional, what is your very first-instant instinct? If you're like me, you grasp at what you can to escape the pain, distract yourself from it. Many of my own struggles with self-control stem from moments like this - shove a chocolate in my mouth, get lost in a Facebook rabbit hole, bark at someone in anger - all to distract or defend myself from the pain. But none of these go-to's are about my true desires. What do these verses say about our true desires and needs and what God desires to do with them? How might this shift our perspective about a God who desires us to live with self-control?
What guides those obedient to these verses in how they "delight in rich food?" What does this tell us about the growing of the fruit of self-control in our lives?
Where do you see healthy self-control exhibited around you? What effect does that have on you, others? What effect does lack of self-control have?
READ Ecclesiastes 3.1-14
How does this passage support a picture where self-control has an important role to play?
How does this passage paint a picture that contrasts ways of life like asceticism (severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons)?
How does this passage support living in a rhythm of sabbaths and sabbaticals?
READ John 5.16-24
If anyone should be free to be self-directed, shouldn't it have been Jesus? How does this passage illustrate something different?
What rubric or authority should determine how we behave?
How do we lean into a life that exudes self-control?
Our mission at North Harbor is to lead people toward a growing relationship with Jesus and we believe this is best accomplished in community. We invite you to become a part of our community and hope that in us, you would find a place where you belong.
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