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Controlling Our Appetites
Read Genesis 25:28-34
“Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright” (v. 34).
My father died when I was four-and-a-half years old, and my mother was left to raise my two brothers and me on a very limited income. I cannot recall a time when I left the table hungry, though many times I would have preferred something different to eat. Having grown into adulthood, and even into my senior years, I live very affluently compared to my childhood. Those early days and experiences have caused me to be frugal, sometimes eating leftovers when I preferred, and could have afforded, other things more appealing to me, thus controlling my appetite.
The Scriptures do not tell us why Esau did not kill some wildlife and prepare himself something to eat. We only know that he was very hungry, faint, and perhaps thought that he would die from his hunger. Because of this, he was willing to sell his birthright, something that was a very precious possession of the firstborn. He may have been fairly close to home when he encountered Jacob and could have found something to suffice his hunger in the tent of his parents. However, it seems that he was controlled by his appetite rather than controlling his appetite. (Larry DeOrnellis)
Controlling our appetite does not only refer to our hunger, but also to our emotional and sensual appetites. God is interested in helping us to control all of our appetites.
This devotional is the Thursday, October 1, 2015 entry from Opening the Word.
Practicing Self-Control
Lesson 5 - October 4, 2015
Focus Text: Judges 16:18-21; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Titus 2:11-15
Central Truth: The Christian family knows self-discipline increases our effectiveness for Christ.
Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to list areas in which they need to exert greater self-discipline.
Lesson Outline:
- When Self-Control is Missing (Judges 16:18-21)
- The Goal of Self-Control (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)
- A Call to Self-Control (Titus 2:11-15)
Purchase Biblical Family Values Sunday school materials!
Lesson Highlight: "give me this mountain" – Joshua 14:12
"Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said." (Joshua 14:12)
David Woods writes in "God's Word for Today":
The most admirable aspect of Caleb's bold request to receive the inheritance God had promised was not his age, his perseverance for forty-five long years in the wilderness, or his courageous stand when the rest of the nation wanted to return to Egypt. Rather, Caleb's confident attitude is seen most now, having that past, asking for one of the most difficult areas of Israel in which he might settle.
The land Caleb wanted was mountainous. It was filled with the Anakim, the giants that scared the ten spies so many years before, and the remnants of which settled in Philistine territory.
Discussion: When you have your choice of challenges, do you choose the most difficult or the easiest?
Source: Biblical Family Values, Adult Teacher's Insights, page 24.
Lesson Highlight: "as strong … as I was"
"As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in." (Joshua 14:11)
In "God's Word for Today" for this lesson, David Woods asks the obvious question:
Do you think his estimation of himself was overstated? If we think Caleb was exaggerating (whether he was or wasn’t), what does our attitude say about ourselves?
Discussion: How can we develop and maintain such a positive and confident attitude toward life?
Source: Biblical Family Values, Adult Teacher's Insights, page 24.
Lesson Highlight: "wholly followed" – Joshua 14:8
"Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God." (Joshua 14:8)
In "Biblical Perspective" for this week's lesson, Dr. Gordon Snider notes:
Three times in this short passage the words wholly followed the LORD are used of Caleb (vs. 8, 9, and 14). The word suggests fullness, abundance, and completeness. They are also a repetition of what God himself had said of Caleb in Numbers 14:24 and Deuteronomy 1:36.
Discussion: What does it mean to "wholly follow" the Lord?
Source: Biblical Family Values, Adult Teacher's Insights, page 23.
The Hope of Confidence
Read Philippians 1:3-8
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (v. 6).
Perhaps, like myself, you have a cache of unfinished projects. These are projects I have laid aside to complete at a later time because something else required my attention, I ran out of supplies, or I was bored and needed a change. When I look through my stash of unfinished projects, I remind myself God always finishes what He starts!
Today it may seem God has forgotten you. You may feel like God is never going to finish the work He began in you. Perhaps despair is stalking you with the thought your case is too hard for God. Don’t ever think for one moment God is unable or unwilling to complete the work He started in your life. Your situation is not too hard for God! Don’t quit before God has a chance to finish His work in you. God always completes what He starts. He is faithful to bring His work in your life and mine to perfection if only we will cooperate. God does not have “unfinished business” or “unfinished projects.” (Lee Ann Davison)
“Then I’ll dread not the future, and fear not the foe.
I am safe in His keeping wherever I go;
For no soul that has trusted Him will He forget,
For He never has failed me yet.” — W. J. Henry
God will continue to work until all is perfectly complete.
This devotional is the Friday, September 25, 2015, entry from Opening the Word.