Study Scripture:
2 Peter 1:5-7 -
"In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises.
Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral
excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control
with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness
with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone."
(NLT)
Lesson From
Scripture: Joseph in Genesis 39
Facing temptation
is never easy, and it is likely that Potiphar's wife was fairly tempting for
Joseph. A loyal man, Joseph had been prosperous in Potiphar's house, and he was
trusted implicitly by Potiphar. What a temptation Joseph faced when Potiphar's
wife threw herself at him. Yet, instead of giving into an affair with her, he
chose to run away. He refused her over and over again, until one day he left
his cloak behind, and she turned and accused him of trying to rape her.
Potiphar, believing his wife, had Joseph placed in jail, where he found favor
in the eyes of the prison warden. From there, and through Godly circumstances
and intervention, Joseph eventually went on to become the highest official in
Egypt at the time.
Life Lessons:
We can all learn
lessons from Joseph's self-control. It is so easy today to give into the
temptations that Christian teens face. Sometimes it is actually harder work to
walk away from temptation than to give into it. After all, there is so much
peer pressure to drink, have sex, do drugs, not go to church, and more.
However, God
rewards your self-control. Look at Joseph. While he spent a number of years in
prison and as a slave, eventually he rose to the highest appointed position in
Egypt and even found his family once again. God will eventually reward your
self-control. You just need to have some patience, which is the focus of next
week's Fruit of the Spirit Devotions.
