By Pastor Walt Scott
April
12, 2012
Psalm
139:13-16 (NIV)
13
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Our physical
bodies are a complex, intricate system of interrelated organs, tissue
and bone. Everything works together, supports each other, and is
controlled by various parts of the brain. A phenomenal accomplishment
and still not completely understood. Obviously, only one of God’s
wonderful creations.
Our
spiritual bodies are not hindered or restricted in the way our
physical bodies are. These we will receive upon our passing when our
spirit is released into them from our physical body. We do, however,
have to care for our spiritual body as well. It has to be nurtured
and fed by God’s word, the Holy Spirit, and our service to Jesus
Christ. We may not be of this world, but we are in it for a season
and need to understand it and serve in it as God intended.
1
Corinthians 12:12, 13, 27
12 Just as a
body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one
body, so it is with Christ.13 For we were
all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave
or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
27
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Such gifts to
us from God clearly display His unconditional love for us. Accepting
our bodies as a gift, and through our other gift of free will, we can
decide how we want to receive and use our gifts of physical body. We
could argue that because it is a gift, it is ours alone to decide
what to do with it or how to use it. On the other hand, we only live
in it for a relatively short period of time and then it dies, is
discarded, and our spirit will live on for eternity somewhere.
Understanding that it is only a temporary residence, is it really
ours to use as our free will dictates? I would say no, it is not.
Ephesians
5:29, 30
29 After
all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it,
just as Christ does the church 30 for we are
members of His body.
1
Corinthians 3:16-17
16
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that
God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If
anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for
God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.
Romans
12:1-2
1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s
mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing
to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve
what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
1
Corinthians 6:12, 15, 19-20
12
“I have the right to do anything, or everything is permissible for
me” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right
to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.
15 Do you not know
that your bodies are members of Christ Himself?
19 Do you not know
that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom
you have received from God? You are not your own; 20
you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
The bible
states that we should offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to God.
This means in service to Him because we love him and want to praise
Him. The bible, directed by the Holy Spirit as our life’s guide,
states what we should and should not do with our bodies.
1 Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler;
whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
4
Sluggards do not plow in season;
so at harvest time they look but find nothing.
so at harvest time they look but find nothing.
6
Many claim to have unfailing love,
but a faithful person who can find?
but a faithful person who can find?
11
Even small children are known by their actions,
so is their conduct really pure and upright?
so is their conduct really pure and upright?
12
Ears that hear and eyes that see—
the LORD has made them both.
the LORD has made them both.
13
Do not love sleep or you will grow poor;
stay awake and you will have food to spare.
stay awake and you will have food to spare.
Proverbs
21:17
17
Whoever loves pleasure will become poor;
whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.
whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.
Proverbs
23:20,21
20
Do not join those who drink too much wine
or gorge themselves on meat, 21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor,
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
or gorge themselves on meat, 21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor,
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
Romans
6:11-14
11
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in
Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin
reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13
Do not offer any parts of your body to sin as an instrument of
wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been
brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him
as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For
sin shall not be your master, because you are not under the law, but
under grace.
Be good
stewards of your physical and spiritual body and mind so you can
perform God’s service to your best ability. Love your body and care
for it as you would any gift from God.
The best way
you can serve God is to make every effort to stay healthy to the
extent that you are able. Eat right, sleep enough, exercise
regularly; always be conscious of the quality and quantity of what
you allow into your body and mind. Pray, study the Bible, ask the
Holy Spirit for understanding, receive God’s words and act them
out. This will allow you to continue growing in your walk with Jesus
Christ, stay active in your church, and obey God’s commands.
Proverbs
4:23
23
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
for everything you do flows from it.
Romans
14:7,8
7
For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for
ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we
die for the Lord.
Luke
12:35,36
35
“Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36
like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding
banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open
the door for him.
A good rule
is to do all things in MODERATION and with forethought. If you don’t
know or are unsure, ask the Holy Spirit for guidance, and wait
patiently, as long as it takes, for the answer.
Colossians
1:17,18
17 He is before
all things, and in him all things hold together. 18
And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and
the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might
have the supremacy.
Romans
12:4,5
4 For
just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members
do not all have the same function, 5 so in
Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all
the others.
Just as the
body of Christ, which is the Church, can be injured, or worse, by one
bad part or decision, so also can your spiritual and physical body.
Healing and recovery, although a learning experience, takes valuable
time and energy away from our main objective: serving Jesus Christ.
Colossians
2:9, 10
9For in Christ all
the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form, 10and
you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every
power and authority.
2
Timothy 1:7
7
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us
power, love and self-discipline.
Develop and
nurture good habits, obedience, discipline, perseverance and
patience. Remember you are in this world temporarily, and as a
follower of Jesus, your eternal home is in Heaven. To benefit
maximally yourself and in your service to God, take care of yourself
always, and be a Christian example to others. We don’t have any
foreknowledge of the exact hour or day God will call us home.
1
Corinthians 15:35-38 and 42-44
35
But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of
body will they come?” 36 How foolish! What
you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37
When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a
seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38
But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of
seed he gives its own body.
42
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is
sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43
it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in
weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is
sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a
natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
1 Peter
5:10,11
10
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in
Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore
you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11
To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment