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This Week’s Devotional Topic
TAKE CARE OF THE TEMPLE
When you believe the gospel and accept Jesus Christ as your savior, then your body is the Temple of God.
After Jesus cleansed the temple, the Jewish leaders demanded an answer to their questions: “What are you doing? And if God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.”
John 2:13-22 “All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?” But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.
That was Jesus expressing the concept that His body was a ‘temple’. Listen to Paul’s admonition to the church at Corinth.
I Corinthians 6:15-20 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
We reap what we sow!
II Corinthians 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
I recently overdid it while working on a project for my daughter. It was an important and time sensitive job so I just kept pushing myself. My body was very sore for several days after. I was hurting myself to the point of abuse. The conundrum is that I love my daughter and would do anything to help meet her needs. On the other hand, she loves me and doesn’t want me to be in pain. I confessed to the Lord that I had overdone it and I know He forgave me and it taught me a lesson, one that I share with you today.
Of course, God is gracious and provides forgiveness when repent and ask and it is also a reality that some of the consequences of our actions are undeniable and sometimes permanent results, scars for life and in some cases affecting others also.
It is important to give our bodies a “Sabbath”. Take time to rest your body, mind and spirit. Exercising your body is also very important and God gives us wisdom to know and have a balance between that exercise and rest.
And we should make wise choices with it comes to the food and drink we put into these bodies. Not just the nutritional values but the amounts that we take in. Most of us are creatures of habit and some have additive leanings. I am one of those. For example: I remember Mt. Dew came out many years ago. I had easy and open access to a Pop machine at that time and it allowed me to drink that soft drink almost every day. I maintained that habit from my teenage years until my mid-30s. For many of you, that would not be an issue, but for me, those calories added weight, inches to my waist and the caffeine caused other problems.
As we face choices every moment of every day, be aware of the fact that we are to be good stewards of what God has given us. Ask for wisdom and be obedient to His voice.
James 1:5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
When it comes to our body as the temple of the living God, Lord give us a hunger for your word that will provide instructions for our lives. May your Spirit give us wisdom to apply it to the choices we make and strength to do what we know is right. Amen.
This week’s Scripture:
I Corinthians 6:15-20; John 2:13-22; Galatians 6:7; II Corinthians 9:6 and James 1:5
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