Your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit- what do you feed it?
In 1
Corinthians 6:19-20 it says “…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.”
In this particular verse, Paul is referring to sexual immorality. He states that our bodies are members of Christ and he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Even though Paul is referring to sexual immorality in these particular verses, they are true in all areas of our lives and our bodies. I began thinking about what I feed my body. My thoughts did start with food. I love food, especially sugary food. I love cakes, cookies, Coke, and made from scratch cookie dough. My body has become addicted to these foods. I know they are bad for me and my health, but my body screams for them like a body who is addicted to drugs. It is almost impossible to say no. Our culture thrives on unhealthy foods. There is a drive-thru on every corner, with food filled with grease and artery clogging ingredients. There is a Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Donuts tempting us as we drive by. We love it. My husband brought me a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts last week and I ate half of them- YES- SIX chocolate covered glazed doughnuts 😮. They were delicious.
My daughter will stand in front of the open fridge or open pantry and scream there nothing to eat. She’s looking at plenty of food while she screams this. Her flesh wants what it wants. It doesn’t want what we have in the kitchen. It won’t compromise. The cravings of the flesh take over. If it’s not exactly what she is craving, forget it. I am starving her.
When I was a child and did this exact thing- my mom would name off multiple items I could eat. Rightly available. But I didn’t want THOSE foods. She always ended up telling me to eat cereal. I think that’s why cereal for dinner works for me. If I let my daughter eat junk and feed on junk, how is that healthy for her? I let her feed on junk all day with her phone, etc. I don’t feed her the meat of the Word or God. My spirit stirs me everyday. I know God will help me. I don't want to fail again. God is gracious and merciful. Please God give me the strength in my Spirit to feed my children your life-giving word. It is not only life giving, it is life saving!!!
I can't leave out alcohol either. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, eph 5:18. I like the occasional beer, wine and martinis.....and occasional drunkenness - I have no reason for doing this but to satisfy the flesh. I feel guilty afterwards. My Spirit knows better, but I ignore it to do what I want.
I go to the grocery store (or my refrigerator and pantry!) and there is a small section of fruits and vegetables in a corner when I walk in. But the remainder of the store is filled with aisles of processed food and sugary drinks. There are two aisles of soda and sugar packed drinks, two huge aisles with beer and wine, and a small section with milk. In America, we love our junk food. We thrive on it and it is advertised constantly. It is pushed down our throats, almost literally. I have tried my entire life to give up the foods, knowing they are harmful. But I always fail. I try again, and fail.
I have been
praying that God help me with this. I need to be healthy. Not only for myself,
but for the good works God has planned for me to do.
I can't be unhealthy and still have the strength that I need to fulfill my mission on this earth. I need God to help me. I cannot do this on my own. Just like I cannot save myself from God's wrath. Jesus did that for me. I know Jesus can’t stop me from putting junk in my mouth, but he did give us his word in the Bible with instructions. The verse about my body being a temple kept running through my mind. My body houses the Holy Spirit. How amazing is that? Everyone who is a Christian has the Holy Spirit living in their body. It got me thinking, what am I feeding my body? My body is earthly flesh, but it still houses the spirit. My body needs to be strong. If I am feeding it junk, it loses its effectiveness. The spirit cannot move in me if I can’t get up off the couch or move away from my desk! Now it is time for me to put this in action. Will I succeed? Not on my own. My flesh wants what it wants. I have to call on the spirit to give me strength. I have to remember who I am feeding. Do I want to feed my flesh and the Holy Spirit junk? Would anyone want to feed the Holy One junk? Think about it. God has given us a gift in the third person of the trinity. He is there to help us and guide us. If we chose to ignore him and feed him earthly junk all day, He can't work properly. Our bodies can’t work properly and our Spirit cannot be connected to God as it should be.
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand, that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10.
I can't be unhealthy and still have the strength that I need to fulfill my mission on this earth. I need God to help me. I cannot do this on my own. Just like I cannot save myself from God's wrath. Jesus did that for me. I know Jesus can’t stop me from putting junk in my mouth, but he did give us his word in the Bible with instructions. The verse about my body being a temple kept running through my mind. My body houses the Holy Spirit. How amazing is that? Everyone who is a Christian has the Holy Spirit living in their body. It got me thinking, what am I feeding my body? My body is earthly flesh, but it still houses the spirit. My body needs to be strong. If I am feeding it junk, it loses its effectiveness. The spirit cannot move in me if I can’t get up off the couch or move away from my desk! Now it is time for me to put this in action. Will I succeed? Not on my own. My flesh wants what it wants. I have to call on the spirit to give me strength. I have to remember who I am feeding. Do I want to feed my flesh and the Holy Spirit junk? Would anyone want to feed the Holy One junk? Think about it. God has given us a gift in the third person of the trinity. He is there to help us and guide us. If we chose to ignore him and feed him earthly junk all day, He can't work properly. Our bodies can’t work properly and our Spirit cannot be connected to God as it should be.
I have never
had many health issues. As we age, these issues arise. I am 43 now. In the
past two years, I have had high blood pressure. Never thought much of it, just
thought it would return to normal. It hasn’t. It concerns me now. I look for
any supplement that claims to help lower blood pressure. High blood pressure
leads to heart disease and stroke. Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the U.S. Everything I read says exercise and follow a
healthy diet- no processed food, more fruits and vegetables. Cut out as much
sugar and salt as you can. All sounds good, right? It’s the follow-through that
I fail at.
As I have
been reflecting on the Bible verses, I have come to another alternative for
motivation. It is not about me. It is not about me “looking good” and being
skinny. It is about my body housing the one who is holy. It is about my earthly body being healthy so I can live out God's will for my life.
So here it
comes- the next step in my thinking. What else am I feeding my spirit? In my
earthly flesh, it is a lot more than unhealthy food that I feed him. It is
hundreds of awful things. If you are a Christian, what are you feeding him? Here is a few examples of my poor diet- I feed him laziness, pride, worthless
television shows, the internet, games on my phone, social media, greed, lust,
envy, to name a few. I feed him negative thoughts, pity, anxiety, stress, guilt, depression, anger. I
sometimes feed him the Word of God. I sometimes feed him prayer. I sometimes
feed him time listening to a sermon or reading a Christian book. But which
takes most of my time? Which do I look forward to and which do I sometimes
dread like it’s a chore? Over the years, I have come to love God's word. I do
look forward to reading and studying it. Every time I do, I wonder why I don’t do it more
often. My flesh is pulled away so quickly onto other responsibilities. Of
course we have responsibilities in this life. I have to work and raise my family.
But I tend to do that in my own strength. It doesn’t always work out.
What are you feeding your temple? What are you encouraging your children to feed theirs? It is sports, TV, friends, video games, the internet, you-tube, Instagram, grades, looks, busyness? Satan loves busyness. It is one of his favorites. So easy in America. We are so busy, we don’t have time to think about eternity. We have a life to live on this earth. We don’t have time to sit down and teach our children the word of God- (that is what the two hours of church a week are for, right? Maybe a Wednesday night activity? Maybe a Sunday night youth group?). They have schoolwork and after school activities. They want to play video games. They sit on their i-phones. They want to watch TV. We don’t want to bore our kids. We want them to be happy. Also, it makes it easy for us. The video games and TV and phones can babysit our kids so we don’t have to deal with them. It is easy. We need to realize that Satan is the one laughing. He is in control in these situations. He loves it because it makes his job simple. We allow it and he sits back and laughs. We need to wake up. Satan cannot have our children. Do we want so-called happiness and ease on this earth in exchange for our souls? In exchange for our children's souls?
"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28
I fail. I am guilty. I have tried to control it on my own. I have failed again and again. It takes strength in the Lord to give up ourselves. Our flesh can't do it, we must walk in the Spirit.
"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." Galatians 5:16.
The Word says we are to be selfless and we are not our own. We belong to Christ. Oh Lord, I can’t do it. My flesh doesn’t want to. But God's word says " if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." Romans 8:13.
My flesh doesn’t want to think about eternity. It wants to think about the here and now. I want all the American dream can offer. But the American dream won't last.
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. Romans 8:6.
"For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot." Romans 8:7.
We MUST use the Spirit in us to lead us, teach us, and help us flee from our fleshly desires!
LIFE will fade like a flower. Our lives will be gone as a wisp of air flows.
"Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." James 4:14.
Oh Lord,
help me. I cannot do this. I need you to take control. I give myself to you. I
surrender.
One at a time. I’m relying on the spirit. One day at a time. I have gotten excellent at choosing his Word. I don’t turn on the TV much anymore.
Now that the junk from the TV is removed. I don’t want it!! I know it’s junk!!! Yuck!
I have a long way to go. I have started removing junk from my life. I’m feeding myself truth and life, now it’s time for me to start feeding my family the same thing.
I can’t do it on my own. I cry out for help. The spirit overpowers the body at anytime I cry out. Choose the spirit first. Flesh last. And watch your choices get easier and easier. Your flesh will slowing stop winning. And it feels amazing!!
The Gospel is good news and God is good- His mercies are new everyday.
God is faithful to forgive, to give us grace and mercy, and to give us strength to defeat our flesh on a daily basis. He has given us the greatest gift- Himself.
God is faithful to forgive, to give us grace and mercy, and to give us strength to defeat our flesh on a daily basis. He has given us the greatest gift- Himself.
GOD IS HELPING ME RELY ON HIM AND REMOVE TRASH FROM MY LIFE.
ONE JUNK AT A TIME
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments, And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. John 14: 15-17.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you" John 14:26.
When your flesh doesn't know how to pray, hear his Word.
"The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." Romans 8:26.
When the flesh wants to hate, be angry, impatient, rude, prideful, unfaithful, harsh, disobey, and break the commandments, hear his Word.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23.
"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Luke 11:13.
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 COR 3:17.
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Romans 15:13.
"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." Ez 36:26-27.
"And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual." 1 Cor 2:13
"You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him." Romans 8:9
"In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit." Eph 1:13
"And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:5
"Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me." Psalm 51:11
"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." 2 cor 3:18
"In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory." Eph 1:13-14
"If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you." Romans 8:11
"And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Cor 6:11
"For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." 2 Tim 1:7
"The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." Romans 8:16
"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
"Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple." 1 Cor 3: 16-17
"He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior." Titus 3: 5-6
