Tag: Temple

Your Temple Belongs To God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

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!

What Are You Doing To Christ?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Holy, Holy Spirit, Pleasing to God, Purity, RighteousnessLeave a comment

The Bible – The Good News Translation

1 Corinthians 6:15–17

15 You know that your bodies are parts of the body of Christ. Shall I take a part of Christ’s body and make it part of the body of a prostitute? Impossible! 16 Or perhaps you don’t know that the man who joins his body to a prostitute becomes physically one with her? The scripture says quite plainly, “The two will become one body.” 17 But he who joins himself to the Lord becomes spiritually one with him.

Thoughts:

Many Christians cringe when they sit down and watch a movie about the crucifixion of our Lord. Many more abhor any type of disrespect of God, either in abusing His name, or dishonoring Him in either way. These things are honorable for the children of God, but how often do we stop and consider the abuse we are subjecting our Father to when we find ourselves in places where sin abound, or in a movie where there is no respect for man or God? Paul was addressing the subject of male prostitution that had become very prominent in the Corinthian church, and he reminded them that they should consider that they are not just abusing and disrespecting their physical bodies, but that God’s Holy Spirit has taken up residence in their holy temple, when they first accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. I believe that this obvious sin is very clear to see friends, but what God challenged me in through this scripture, is to be extra careful about what I subject my eyes to, and what I subject my ears to, and what I allow my mind to envelope and ponder, and the things that I abuse and subject my body to, for the Spirit of the most High is resident in this body. Just for a moment, think about the idea of going out one morning and spray-painting the inside of your garage, with you brand new car sitting in the garage! Can you image what the paint job of your car will look like when you have finished beautifying the walls of your garage? OK, in the same way, our bodies are much like the garage, whatever we subject it to, we are subjecting/disrespecting God’s Holy Spirit to, that resides within this body. Shame on us? Ashamedly, I would say yes, very much so. I remember the words of an old saint who once found herself in a location that she regretted. She openly prayed, Lord Jesus, please don’t come now!! Funny? Yes, but like the car in the garage, the damage is already done. An old nursery rhyme or song is very appropriate here: “Oh be careful little eyes what you see ……”

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I am especially thankful for Your Holy Spirit! I am thankful that You created me, and saved me so that my body might be the temple of the Holy Spirit. Please forgive me for the times that I’ve abused the residence and Lordship of Your Holy Spirit, for I am ashamed. Thank You for directing me to this passage of scripture, and sharpening my awareness of the abuse of this temple where Your Holy Spirit resides. I pray that I might concede to full obedience to Your Word, and that I might protect and preserve this temple, and never subject it to anything contrary to what is taught in Your Word. I believe that in such a condition, You will be free to accomplish Your work through me that You have in store for me to do while here below. I’m afraid that I’m not alone in this dear Jesus, so I ask that You speak words of wisdom and encouragement to all your children reading this blog today, so that Your holiness and mighty work might be preserved and accomplished here in this sinful world. Please have Your will and way in our lives today, is my humble prayer that I ask in Your precious and holy name, Jesus my Lord, AMEN!

 

NOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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.