{"id":2838,"date":"2014-02-04T14:00:31","date_gmt":"2014-02-04T14:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=2838"},"modified":"2014-02-04T14:00:31","modified_gmt":"2014-02-04T14:00:31","slug":"manage-myself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=2838","title":{"rendered":"Manage Myself"},"content":{"rendered":"

As you know, I\u2019m reading a book about wisdom and the importance of asking God continually for wisdom in my life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I read a quote in that book that that struck a chord with me. \u201cWe so often hear, I wish I knew how to manage my time better<\/i>. Rarely do we hear, I wish I knew how to manage myself better<\/i>.\u201d[i]<\/a> Yes, I believe that really is the issue.<\/p>\n

\"i1035<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You see, when I allow myself to daydream, or chat a tad-bit extra with a friend, or spend a too much time watching television to name a few, I do run out of the time I have available to complete the tasks given to me. It may seem like I\u2019ve mismanaged my time, but in fact I\u2019ve mismanaged myself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As you may know, God has quite a bit to say about managing ourselves, so let\u2019s take a look at some of these principles.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

First, we must realize that we are not our own. When we make Jesus our personal Savior and give Him our lives, He then becomes the Lord over every aspect of my life. In reality, I\u2019m laying down my life over and over again for Him to use for His purpose.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We sang a song on Sunday morning called \u201cLay Me Down,\u201d by Chris Tomlin. It really says what we must do. Allow God\u2019s will and His way to rule our lives. Give up our pride, our rights, with hearts open wide and ask God to use us. That\u2019s what it\u2019s all about.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We must also realize that we cannot do this on our own. God\u2019s Spirit is within us to help us on this journey. And what a journey it is when we fully allow God\u2019s Spirit to join us.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Then it\u2019s time to start the real work. Finding the areas of my life that aren\u2019t up to God\u2019s standards. If you need help with this, there are plenty of places in Scripture to find sinful acts. Let\u2019s just look at one of them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In Ephesians 4 and 5, Paul shares some unbeliever-like behaviors that should be removed from our lives so that God\u2019s Spirit has more control over our lives. Here is what Paul has to say.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Put off falsehood – Ephesians 4:25<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t sin in your anger \u2013 Ephesians 4:26<\/p>\n

Steal no longer – Ephesians 4:28<\/p>\n

Get rid of unwholesome talk \u2013 Ephesians 4:29<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t grieve the Holy Spirit \u2013 Ephesians 4:30<\/p>\n

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander and every form of malice \u2013 Ephesians 4:31<\/p>\n

No hint of sexual immorality \u2013 Ephesians 5:3<\/p>\n

No obscenities, foolish talk or coarse joking \u2013 Ephesians 5:4<\/p>\n

Idolatry \u2013 Ephesians 5:5<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That\u2019s quite a list! And that\u2019s just the beginning. There are plenty of other sinful behaviors that we should consider removing from our lives.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now once we\u2019ve determined which behaviors to remove, what are we to do? Ask God\u2019s Spirit to help in the process. We must be determined to have the self-control to do so. How blessed we are that self-control is a fruit of God\u2019s Spirit. He is there to help us along this journey.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When there is a void in our lives, we must fill it. If we don\u2019t fill these voids of removed behaviors with something positive, it will likely be filled with another undesirable behavior. So what else can we learn from Ephesians 4?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Speak words that are helpful and edifying \u2013 Ephesians 4:29<\/p>\n

Be kind \u2013 Ephesians 4:32<\/p>\n

Be compassionate \u2013 Ephesians 4:32<\/p>\n

Forgive one another \u2013 Ephesians 4:32<\/p>\n

Be imitators of God \u2013 Ephesians 5:1<\/p>\n

Filled with thanksgiving \u2013 Ephesians 5:4<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

These are just a few areas where we need help managing ourselves. I\u2019m so thankful for God\u2019s Spirit to help along the way. To lead and guide. To spur and reign me in. To convict and encourage. However, it\u2019s up to me to make the decision to follow His urgings. That\u2019s where I get to manage myself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I pray that your day is filled with opportunities for you. I pray that you too will be open to the Holy Spirit today to help you with managing yourself. I intend to listen intently!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Donna<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n

[i]<\/a> Edward R. Dayton ad Ted W. Engstrom, Strategy for Living (Glendale, CA: G\/L Publications, 1978), p. 175.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As you know, I\u2019m reading a book about wisdom and the importance of asking God continually for wisdom in my life.   I read a quote in that book that that struck a chord with me. \u201cWe so often hear, I wish I knew how to manage my time better. Rarely do we hear, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,17,14,21],"tags":[1828,1829,1827,1831,1826,1830],"class_list":["post-2838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asking-god","category-obeying-god","category-seeking-god","category-trusting-god","tag-lay-me-down","tag-chris-tomlin","tag-ephesians-4-5","tag-gods-spirit","tag-manage-myself","tag-managing-myself"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2838"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2845,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2838\/revisions\/2845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}