DATE POSTED Wednesday, 2022-05-11
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 1 Corinthians 6:18-20
TRANSLATION: GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹⁸ Stay away from sexual sins. Other sins that people commit don’t affect their bodies the same way sexual sins do. People who sin sexually sin against their own bodies. ¹⁹ Don’t you know that your body is a temple that belongs to the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit, whom you received from God, lives in you. You don’t belong to yourselves. ²⁰ You were bought for a price. So bring glory to God in the way you use your body.

APPLICATION: It is shocking to observe the environments designed and put in place for almost every lifestyle one decides on, especially here in the USA. Just drive down the highways and glance at the billboards, you will be amazed that our business people have gone to such extremes to attract men and women of every lifestyle, belief, desire and frame of mind. In dealing with the church at Corinth, I believe that Paul must have seen evidence of them living in wicked ways similar to what we looked at above. One of the primary differences that I see between Paul’s address to the Corinthian church and our churches today, is that Paul was deliberate about pleasing God in speaking truth to his congregants about their evil deeds. However, to keep the doors of our churches opened today, it appears like messengers have reduced the message to something that is pleasing to the ears of all attendees and in most cases will not ‘rock the boat’. Now before you start beating up on your pastor, let me suggest that most Christians today tend to do the same thing, and that’s probably a sermon for another day, because I want us to truly get a good understanding of what God led Paul to preach and teach in our lesson today. For those who question their understanding of the Bible, let me try to explain in simple terms what Paul is challenging us on today. When a sinner accepts Jesus into their heart and life, it means that you have accepted the special provision God gave to us as our means for forgiveness of sin, and providing the way for us to enter into the holiness of God, and our eternal home that He has prepared for us. When this action is taken, God sends His Holy Spirit – part of the trinity, to live inside of us to be our helper while still here on earth. Help with what, you might ask? In every aspect of life, we are often picked on when we try to be different to the crowd that we normally hang out with. Being a Christian is no different, for you made a 180 degree change in living like the world and its leader, Satan, to living like your new Master, Jesus Christ. God knew that we would need help with such a drastic change, so He ordered the Holy Spirit to come and dwell inside of us to be our helper, comforter, protector, encourager, friend and guide to all things pleasing to God. So, considering the type places I referred to above, can you even imagine how God must feel when we ignore the voice of the Holy Spirit (God Himself) and ignore His very presence inside of us, and still enter into the wickedness of this world? When we got married, we had to start thinking, acting and being mindful for two. When the Holy Spirit comes alongside to help us stay true to our new Master, we should always think about the places we go and the things we expose our eyes and mind to, for we are now exposing Him to the same thing. Paul taught that prostitution is one of the worse sins, for you expose the Holy Spirit to something in which you are becoming one with that person. I believe from my above explanation, you can see where this also happens when we enter into sin of any kind as well. Friends, because the Holy Spirit dwells inside of the believer, God calls our bodies ‘The temple of God’. Just as we would never think of allowing sin into our church buildings, that some call ‘The Temple’, let’s be just as careful to keep our ‘Temple’ (our bodies and lives) holy for the Holy Spirit to reside in.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Although it seems overwhelming to live according to God’s perfect plan with wickedness bombarding us from every angle, we have been given a powerful helper to see us through the struggles and temptations of this old world – the Holy Spirit!

PRAYER: Thank You Jesus for seeing to it that we receive the necessary help to overcome the powers of evil here on this earth. Please embolden us with this reminder day after day so that we might never lose hope, or become disappointed at the fear of possible failure. Help us to always surrender to Your will, Your desires, Your commands and Your teachings that You provided for our guidance. Teach us Lord to be a mirror of You in everything we do and say, so that the lost will see through our efforts and see the real truth of the matter – that it’s You in control of us! AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!