Caring for our Bodies as a Temple

Working out, eating healthy & drinking clean water are cornerstones in our family. These healthy habits keep our bodies running like strong machines so we can attend to the other facets of life. Like anything good, however, we can miss the meaning of the discipline & the good-thing can become a little-g god-thing.

Paul reminds us in 1 Cor. 6:19 of the link between our bodies & the Temple in Israel. Before I share that, however, I want to tell you about Solomon’s dedication of the Temple. The glorious Presence of the Lord becomes so thick that the priests have to stop their sacrifices!

3 times in the passage Solomon declares, “I have built this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.”

After the 3rd mention, I paused to ask:

Why do we build OURS?

OR 

Why do we NOT?

Remember Paul's reminder?

In a sassy-pants kinda way, I can almost see him scoffing when he declares, 

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you & was given to you by God?

You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.“

Talk about an imperative sock to the gut!

The Temple of Israel is a place of worship, where God resides & promises to watch over the place He calls, “My name will be there.”

How might we care for our bodies & use them in ways that glorify the Father, remembering that we house His Presence?

The why behind the what of caring for our bodies is not mere stewardship, but a spiritual act of worship!

We all want to look nice, feel great & have lots of energy, but for what purpose?

I often remind my husband that we’re like Ferraris who need fancy fuel SO THAT we can do all the things God calls us to do…& that’s true. But 1st & foremost, we “build” healthy bodies as a Temple to honor HIS name, remembering that we are the ones He calls, “My name will be there.”

Oh Father, help us steward our bodies as ones who bear Your Name! May the foods we eat, water we drink, actions we take & even clothes we wear, be a spiritual act of worship! May we not misuse the bodies You’ve given & ever remember that they are not our own, using them only to house Your glorious Presence!

#OneYearBible

June 11th One Year Bible Readings

1 KINGS 8:1-66

ACTS 7:51-8:13

PSALM 129:1-8

PROVERBS 17:1

Waiting for a Deliverer?

Are you in need of a Deliverer? Someone who’ll swoop in & pluck you out of hard circumstances? Maybe it’s been a long season of hardship & you feel teary weary? Well, I’m writing today to remind myself, & whomever needs to hear, that there’s no limiting circumstance that can thwart our limitless God!

The life of Moses, as the deliverer of Israel, is a foretelling of our Messiah, but the puzzle pieces firmly connected as I read Stephen’s account.

Stephen stands before his false accusers moments before they stone him to death, making a compelling case for Christ.

He’s stealth in his approach as he retells the history of Israel, something they all agree upon, so the council of priests listen without interruption. Little do they know that when he speaks of Moses, he secretly speaks of Jesus, & when he tells of the rebellious Israelites, he tells of the Jews who rejected the King Who’d come!

He declares, “So God sent back the same man his people had previously rejected when they demanded, ‘Who made you ruler & judge over us?’’

As Moses receives life-giving words from his mountaintop encounter with God, however, the people reject him again. They make little-g gods & declare, “Who knows what’s happened to this complain who brought us out of Egypt?”

Jesus came & his people rejected him. He WILL return, & yet sometimes in the wait, it can be easy to fall into desperation like the Israelites & cry, “Where is this Jesus who led me out of Egypt?”

Crafting little-g gods can distract us from the difficulties…& yet the silence of waiting for our Savior doesn’t have to remain silent.

It’s in the quiet of the night or the difficult moments when we feel like we’re untangling a financial, relational or emotional mess, that we can let our words create change in our hearts.

To the same degree that Stephen hoped his words would transform the hearts of his accusers, so can we let a sacrificial hallelujah transform ours.

Father, we invite You, our Source of Light, into the dark places, external & internal. We can’t change the things we face, but we choose today to face The One Who can! Holy Spirit, help us raise a hallelujah while we wait for our Divine Deliverer!

#OneYearBible

June 10th One Year Bible Readings

1 KINGS 7:1-51

ACTS 7:30-50

PSALM 128:1-6

PROVERBS 16:31-33

How Careful We’d be if We Knew Which Goodbyes Were our Last

I watched a show recently where a man was suddenly bit by a venomous snake. He’s found by his friend who brings him back to his homestead where he faces death’s door with his wife by his side. He dies for a brief moment, but then miraculously comes back to life. When he does, his wife makes this profound statement:

“How careful we’d be if we knew which goodbyes were our last.”

It caused me to ask myself,

“If you knew today was your last, what parting words would you speak & to whom?”

I’ve said this before, but it’s worth a repeat because I think pondering eternity on the daily is a healthy habit: We all know that we have an expiration date, but the problem is that it’s unpublished, so it’s easy to fall into relational complacency or do the flip & hyper focus on unresolved problems.

Today I read about the time everyone stares at Stephen. He’s a well respected man, full of faith , grace & God’s power. In fact, he’s so filled with Spirit & wisdom, that some Jews become jealous & agree to bear false witness against him.

As the accusations hurl in his direction, he says nothing. It is in the deafening silence that, “everyone in the high council stares at Stephen because his face became as bright as an angel’s!”

I wonder if Stephen knew these lies would lead to his violent death by stoning that very day?

When the high priest finally asks whether the accusations are true, however, he sidesteps the question & tells the long history of God’s faithfulness to the Jewish people.

I’m jumping ahead in reading, but he then turns the conversation to make his own accusations against the Jews, calling them heathen at heart & dead to truth.

Stephen uses his last words to try to awaken his people to meet their long-awaited Messiah, but they cover their ears & refuse to listen. As they begin stoning him, he falls to his knees & lets his dying words become a merciful prayer: “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin.”

Stunning, right? He breathes his last breath to plea mercy for his killers.

Oh, Father, remind us of the brevity of life so we may boldly speak whatever the Holy Spirit prompts. Help us say what we need to say today, so that we have no regrets on our last.

#OneYearBible

June 9th One Year Bible Readings

1 KINGS 5:1-6:38

ACTS 7:1-29

PSALM 127:1-5

PROVERBS 16:28-30