This free church bulletin article was written by Brian Humek from Irving, TX. You are free to use this in church bulletins, church emails and on church websites. No credit needs to be given. Simply clicking the book link at the end of this free bulletin article will help more content to be placed on this site. Donate your own bulletin article here.
Bible Passage: Galatians 5:23
One of the most difficult Christian disciplines is self-control. Eating, anger, lust, television watching, shopping, drinking, and other types of addictive behaviors are curbed when a person possesses self-control. I relate this to baseball when a batter faces a pitcher. Since the baseball playoffs are taking place now, I think some baseball analogies may be appropriate for the next couple weeks.
The batter steps up to the plate. The pitcher gets the signal from the catcher, pauses, and then looks the runner back to first base. Another pause, a stare at the catcher, the windup and the pitch. Fastball down the middle, strike one! Another pitch, another quick strike. But now the count is 0 balls and 2 strikes. For some reason, there is an unwritten rule in baseball that a pitcher does not throw a strike on this ball/strike count. This batter has never been known for discipline. He’s a free swinger, always swinging at pitches outside the strike zone. He has no self-control. The pitcher stares at the catcher, he sees the sign, the catcher wants a curveball low and outside of the strike zone. Here comes the slow and winding pitch towards the plate and then it swoops way outside the strike zone; the batter swings nonetheless.
The batter did not have self-control. As Christians, when we act in a way that isn’t in accordance to God’s will, we are actually swinging at pitches outside the strike zone. I believe not having self-control in any matter, no matter how small, is outside of God’s will. When was the last time you swung at a bad pitch (exhibited no self-control)? Was it at the buffet restaurant you visited last week? Was it when your child misbehaved and you got angry? Was it when a co-worker messed up a project and your bad attitude got the better of you? Was it when you went shopping for shoes and you bought three pairs? Or was it when you sat down to watch an hour of television and stayed there for five hours?
There are so many ways we swing at pitches outside the strike zone. Let us pray for more self-control, and strive to swing only at strikes from now on. We’ll be better batters (I mean Christians) for having this discipline.
—> Support our free content ministry by purchasing the 5 Star rated Leave it to God on Amazon today.
Related posts:
I often get a yearning for more. When I was planning my honeymoon to Denver, Colorado so many years ago, I looked at the map and saw that Cheyenne, Wyoming was just up the highway. So we went. When lo...
Fluffy, a beautiful brown tabby cat dies and goes to Heaven. God meets him at the gate and says,"Fluffy, you've been a good cat all your life. Is there anything I can do for you? Just ask and it'...
No matter how much pity we want to party with, there's no such thing as a Christmas without gifts. Seriously, I thought we were having a giftless Christmas one time, actually more than one time, but I...
We all want to be spirtually stronger, don't we? Don't worry if you haven't prefected Chrsitian spirituality yet; it doesn't happen overnight. In fact, you'll never be perfect at it, but you should be...
Today’s Bible verse begins, “Every good and perfect gift is from above…” When my son Ezekiel was born, I received a card with that Bible verse on it. I thought it was quite appropriate. He definitely...
That precious heirloom from Grandma is protected from all kinds of harm. You never let the children play near it. It is enclosed in some type of protective case. If that heirloom is some type of glass...
I’ve been allowing God to guide me. He has pointed me in directions I wasn’t even considering. This happens when I cry out to him and ask, “What do you want me to do? Where do you want me to go? I jus...
You’ve heard that saying, “Where one tree is cut down, God will provide another.” What? You haven’t heard that saying? It’s true. I’ve witnessed it personally in my own front yard.
