The Temple of God

 Here is this week's Bible Verse.

VERSE:             1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

REFLECTION:

From the moment of conception, your body is the workmanship of God. There are people every day trying to alter their looks, change who God created them to be, but that is not the way God intended it to be. It isn't "My Body My Choice". It is His temple, His choice. Essentially, that means we should be doing all we can to take care of that temple. Don't alter the outside or the inside. God made you just the way He wanted to make you. 

Instead, we need to ask Him what He wants to use us for. In everything we do we should be glorifying God. After all, He sent His only Son to die for our sins. We were bought at the price of God's only Son Jesus. 

I recently visited the Dahl Car Museum in Lacrosse Wisconsin and they had a car in there for about 500k. Now let's say you pay 500k for that car, would you let someone else change the outside or inside of that car. I know I wouldn't, I don't even think I could drive it. We shouldn't be altering our looks but instead we should be seeking God and what He wants us to do with our temples.

PRAYER:

Dear Father in Heaven, thank you for creating me just the way you wanted to. Guide me on how I can honor you by doing what your will is for this temple. Thank you for paying the price of Jesus Christ. In Jesus Name Amen.

Hope you enjoyed today's verse. 

The Ultimate Prize

 Here is this week's Bible Verse.

VERSE:             Philippians 3:14

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

REFLECTION:

What prize are you pressing toward? There are so many things in this world that grabs our attention and so many prizes we can run toward. Ultimately we have to decide which one is the most important to be pressing toward.

In baseball teams play 162 games to see if they are good enough to play for the ultimate prize of the World Series. In football teams play 17+ games to hopefully play for the Super Bowl. In hockey teams play to hopefully get their name on Lord Stanley's cup. We just witnessed Spain win the World Cup in futbol. On an individual basis every four years countries come together and showcase their talents for a chance at gold in the Olympics.

All of  these and more are mere human created endeavors to help us feel good about what we do and who we are but the true and ultimate prize is making sure your name is written in the Lamb's book of life. God created each one of us and put us here not to win gold or get our name on Lord Stanley's Cup instead we are to press in and toward all things God by accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior. Then seek God's will for your life because each of us have a purpose to spread the gospel and to glorify God. That may mean giving Him praise when you win that medal because he gave you that talent and ability. Otherwise those are just distractions to keep us from the ultimate prize of heaven.

So press on to the ultimate prize of heaven by accepting Jesus and living for God.

PRAYER:

Dear Father in Heaven, thank you for giving me the talent and gifts you having given me. Guide me in a way that I can use them to glorify and honor your name. Thank you for the free gift of Jesus Christ. In Jesus Name Amen.

Hope you enjoyed today's verse. 

The Love of God

 Here is this week's Bible Verse.

VERSE:             Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

REFLECTION:

There are a lot of people who are refusing to accept Jesus as their Savior because they don't feel they are worthy. Some might feel their sins are so egregious that there is no way anyone would pay the debt for their sins.

There are also those who think they will wait until they are clean or free of sin before accepting Jesus. Maybe you are one of them or maybe you have a friend or a family member who thinks this way.

Fortunately for each and everyone of us we can point to this verse and know that it doesn't matter if we are sinning. If we just give our life to Jesus He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Eventually we will be so thankful to Him that we will not want to sin and we will instead praise and worship Him.

Every year Adult & Teen Challenge comes to our church. They usually sing and give testimonies. If you ever doubt the love of Jesus and your worthiness to receive salvation just listen to the testimonies of these individuals. They didn't wait to get free of sin or their addiction before accepting Jesus. Instead they, like all believers humbled themselves and accepted Jesus as their Savior. Then Jesus cleaned house as he does and will do for all of us if we just accept Him as our Savior.

PRAYER:

Dear Father in Heaven, thank you for loving me so much that you were willing to die for me. Please open the eyes of unbelievers. I pray they will humble themselves and come to accept you as their Savior. Please use me to spread the Gospel and the love of Jesus to family and friends. In Jesus Name Amen.

Hope you enjoyed today's verse.