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‘Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls.’ Proverbs 25:28 NKJV

David Jeremiah wrote: ‘The Great Wall of China was erected in the third century BC as a defence against raids by nomadic peoples from the north. Throughout succeeding centuries, especially during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), the Great Wall was repaired and extended in length, finally stretching for forty-five-hundred miles.’ (Imagine a wall from Cairns to Perth straight through the centre of Australia—and back again!)

Centuries before the Great Wall was begun, Biblical cultures used walls for protection, as well as for boundaries around their land so they could identify their territory. To be effective, however, those walls needed regular maintenance. The slightest breach could give the enemy a fateful advantage. There’s a valuable lesson here. As a Christian, there’s one wall in your defence system to be maintained and protected at all times—the wall of self-control. The Bible says, ‘Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls.’ A failure to maintain self-control is like opening the city gates and issuing an invitation to the devil to attack you.

J. Wilbur Chapman, one of history’s great preachers, formulated what he called ‘my rule for Christian living’. And it’s a rule it’s wise to live by. He said, ‘The rule that governs my life is this: anything that dims my vision of Christ, or takes away my taste for Bible study, or cramps my prayer life, or makes Christian work difficult, is wrong for me, and I must, as a Christian, turn away from it.’

Question: have your boundary walls been breached or fallen into disrepair? If so, do something about it today.

SoulFood: Judges 16:1–19:15 Luke 14:25–35, Ps 119:89–96, Pr 18:1–5

word4today an adaptation of The Word For Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2024

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