Ephesians 5:15-21 and 1 Corinthians 6:17-20
How often do you think about your body as not being your own and being a temple to the Holy Spirit? (1 Corinthians 6:19). I'm guessing not that frequently, if you're anything like me. So I was glad that Paul brought these things to my attention today. You see, Paul's message here in 1 Corinthians 6:17-20 is really something we need to realize and think about as we live out our lives in bodies that belong to the Lord.
So how can we keep a "temple" mindset from day to day? And how should we be taking care of and maintaining our "temple"? Tami W.
the only way we can overcome the flesh and keeping our bodies holy for Christ Jesus is to delve into His Word daily and allow the HOLY SPIRIT guide us in Jesus' wisdom and humility....we are to be as close to Christ-like as we can....that means trying our utmost to keep our bodies clean of impurities and sin....though we are human and will sin, the HOLY SPIRIT is ever here to lead us into holiness.
Just as we take care of our body physically,the same way we should nourish it spiritually.We have to study and feed it with the word of God daily.If we neglect our physical body,it will start to develop various diseases,the same thing will happen to our temple,if we do not feed it well with the right food,the word of God,thru positive words,meditation,bible study,prayer, praises etc. It will destroy us,if will fail to take care of it.
This is alot eaisier than it seems, now that I understand it. Since sin directly affects the body and it's abilities, a good start-up is just what the doctor ordered. If we spend time in the word, and pray every morning, remembering to put on the full armor of God Eph.6:10-18 before starting the day. The temple is cleaned, charged, and ready for the days events. A friend of mine put it this way, "If you prepare in the morning, less chance you'll have to repair at night." Alot of people focus on what goes into the body when you talk about this subject, but Jesus said "it's not what goes into the body that defiles it, but rather what comes out of the mouth." Remember that you are a child of God, speak blessings into people's lives always. Integerty is a good foundation on which the temple can stand.
I would guess when most people read Paul's writings reminding us our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and admonishing us to treat it as such, most people think of smoking, using illegal drugs (or legal drugs improperly), drinking alcohol to excess, sexual immorality, etc. However, I think it would be interesting to hear Paul address today's obesity epidemic.
According to several studies, as many as 1/3 of adults in America are overweight and of that third, almost 6% are considered extremely obese. Obesity can lead to a multitude of health problems- diabetes, heart disease, heart attack,high blood pressure, etc.
In addition to the health risks, the economic costs of this epidemic is staggering. One study estimates weight-related health care costs as close to $100 BILLION.
While most of us agree that we should avoid the big three- smoking, being drunk with wine, and sexual immorality, it hits a little close to home for many of us when we talk about the extra pounds that we have allowed to amass over the years.
In addition to the big three, I believe that to take care of and maintain our "temple" we need to pass on that extra dessert, turn off the t.v. and take a walk, and ask God to help direct our eating habits.
David M.
Listening to uplifting, worshipful music throughout the day certainly helps us to keep a "temple" mindset. Otherwise, we get lost in the details of the day.
A really hard concept, but certainly a blessed one! The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Cor 4:7 "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us"
Now that we have this "treasure" in us we need to stay close to Him (that's where safety is), always feed/nourish our spirit, and always be on guard, watching out - lest our adversary entices us to drift away from our Lord. We live a life of devotion & service to Him.
As Christians, we must first realise how blessed we are that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. First we must be happy with the body that God has given us and thank him for it and do not abuse it with the things that hurt our body physically.
Spiritually, we must feed our body with God's Word. It is God's temple and we have to strive to keep it holy and clean by not being lured into worldly things. Everyday there are things around us to tempt us but we must have faith that God loves us so much that if we call on His name for help He will take us through. He will not forsake nor will He allow anyone to clutch us from His hand. He knows we are weak because we are human and will (not may) forgive our sins when we repent. Let us surround ourselves with godly people, people who talk and walk the Word.
Let us also pray for each other and for our families and friends that God will keep us away from evil all the days of our lives. Friends we have to pray without ceasing. The time is near. God bless us all.
Great stuff -- I like when Remi says "our mind will develop diseases," like our body, when not fed properly!
Wow -- nicely put!!
Satan wants to injects "arrows of deception and shame" into us so we are not able to be Christlike! We must protect the TEMPLE of the Holy Spirit!! I love the visual picture of Eph 6-10-18 as Chris W. says putting on these 6 pieces of armor protects us!! I think about the visual of an old armor helmut from the middle ages! The Helmut of salvation to me can not be penetrated by the evil attacks that come my way. I picture the arrows coming at me but breaking and bouncing off as I stand strong in my armor!!!
We are saved by the blood of Christ and when Satan trys to attack with shame from past sins we must stand strong in our armor -- it is a battle and we are the frontlines!
I like what Kay said about uplifting christian music -- I love www.klove.com for Christian music -- you can listen to it on your computer free at your desk if you are in an office and can't get local Christian stations.
Recently we had a bilbe conference at our church (revial). The speaker, Jeff Walling, spoke about HOLY for 4 days. In regards to our body being a Holy temple, try this way of thinking: Close your eyes (no really, close your eyes!), think about what you see when they are closed (it's just you and God), now open your eyes and look at your hands (again, really look at your hands). You are looking at the hands of God....now think about what have Gods hands been led to do. Where have they surfed on the internet? What or who have they touched? What have they read? What channels have they been surfing? The list goes on...
When we realize that we are Holy and our temple therefore needs to be treated as Holy, it is a huge wake up call! When you can check out Jeff Walling and his webiste he is amazing!
How do I keep a "temple mindset" daily? I know I must keep in God's Word DAILY. I know the mindset doesn't happen overnight. It is DAILY time with the Lord in His Word and Prayer. I know each day I am away from God's Word gets me further from the "temple mindset" and I start making "fleshly" decisions. When I pray consistently and persevere daily in my Christian walk there is a noticable change in my attitude and actions. Just like a earthly bodies can not survive on one meal a week, or we become weak and sickly, our spiritual temples need more than a weekly or occasional "meal" feeding on God's word, or it will become weak and sick. I truly Praise GOD that He is faithful, even when I am not. He will never leave us or forsake us, and I should never leave or forget Him either.
Dolores makes a very good point. That's food to chew on. The word of GOD is so vital to us as we live our lives. Though we try, it's hard to do things without the guidance of The Holy Spirit. The dwelling place of The Holy Spirit should always be kept clean. What better way to do it except by the washing of the word of GOD.
Keeping a temple mindset starts when we wake up each day and spend time in prayer worshipping God for who He is. We then must move to His word sometime throughout the day. Reading and studying to build our relationship is very important to our temple mindset.
To maintain our temple, we should be exercising our mind and our bodies. We should be eating properly and not allowing drugs and alcohol to enter when the Holy Spirit dwells. We should be mindful of sin and refrain from other harmful behaviors.
I think taking every thought captive to the Word is a good way to keep our temples pure. I had not noticed this before either Tami. And sadly haven't thought of my body as a temple. I think that is going to be my next thought to dwell on and mull over for a bit. Christ lives in me, I am not my own! PTL
I found an verse in Proverbs about overeating and drinking that i thought was interesting:
its Proverbs 23:20-21
20 Be not among drunkards [1]
or among gluttonous eaters of meat,
21 for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
and slumber will clothe them with rags.