Our bodies are a temple

 

Our bodies are a temple

 

1 Corinthians 3:16 – Don’t you know that you yourselves are God's temple, and that God's spirit lives within you. If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy them, for God's temple is sacred and you are God's temple. 1 Corinthians 6:19 – Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you whom you have received from God. You are not your own, you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body. In 2 Corinthians 6:16 – we see we are the temple of the living God. In Acts 17:24 – we see that God does not live in a temple built by man. He lives and dwells in each one of us, our bodies, our minds are the place where God dwells; we are his holy temple.

 

I just weighed myself and I tip the scale at 175 pounds, 22 pounds lighter than I was 8 ½ weeks ago. I have not consciously attempted to lose weight; I just eat less, eat less often and regularly walk. I don’t really eat much between meals I am definitely too thin in my opinion. Did I need to be at 197 pounds? Not really. I found it difficult to get below 190, now I know I have found the solution; eat less, eat less often, exercise more, monitor food portions, don’t eat between meals, don't drink an excessive amount of fluid, stay away from pop and other caffeinated products. Now I know why the word of wisdom is so important. It would be difficult to fast if not impossible if our body was accustomed to the intake of any substance other than food or water, that includes sugar related products as well.

 

Addiction to anything is a hindrance to the spirit, it focuses the mind and body on its fulfillment rather than fulfilling our Heavenly Father's will and commands.

 

How can we possibly think we can follow the will of the Lord when we are addicted to following the will of our minds and our bodies?

 

 Alcohol, drugs, nicotine from cigarettes, caffeinated products such as coffee, tea and soda, sugar based foods, are not for the body.

 

We may have sugar, the others mentioned above are definitely not for the body, mind or spirit. The dictates of these products prohibits strict adherence to following our Heavenly Father's command. Our mind and spirit needs to control our bodies, these products have the opposite effect. The necessity of these items in our bodies control our mind and spirit. In Matthew 26:21 – he says to watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak. Our bodies have no mind of their own, however they do have a memory. They remember what you put in it. The food we put in our body fuels both our bodies and the mind. As it says in Matthew our bodies are weak, therefore be careful what you do with it, don’t put addictive substances in your body, it will remember those substances which in turn creates a mind altering experience. Thus our mind becomes cloudy and we are unable to focus on doing the will of the Lord, we become inattentive to the voice of the Holy Spirit and thus are cut off from the light and knowledge of our Lord and redeemer Jesus Christ. These artificial stimulants also mask the true feelings of our bodies, our bodies may be trying to say to us, I am tired, but instead of listening to it, we feed it more caffeine, thus masking the true problem, a tired body. When we do this we further exacerbate the problem. Our minds become less clear and we begin to exhibit mood imbalances, usually for the worse. When we are tired we should rest not feed our bodies with caffeine. If we deprive our bodies of rest we create in our minds a feeling of anxiety, anxiousness, and our mind becomes upset with our bodies and we lash out at our bodies and at everyone else. We became hostile, angry, short tempered, easily provoked, self-centered – we focus on our needs because we have deprived ourselves of the needs of our mind and spirit by polluting the body. When we focus on our needs we are incapable of focusing on the needs of others thus failing to love and serve as our Heavenly Father commanded in Deuteronomy 10:12-13  And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.

 

All of us knows what it is like to go a day without coffee, we get anxious, a splitting headache, nervous, upset, hot and feverish, all we can think about is how bad we feel. How could we possibly think about serving others in this pitiful condition.

 

Nicotine is described as a poisonous substance found in tobacco and used in medicine and insecticides. Do we really want to put a poisonous substance in our body.

 

Caffeine – is defined as a bitter white alkaloid found in coffee, tea etc. and used as a stimulant.

 

Poison – is defined as a substance that causes injury, illness or death by chemical means. To have a destructive influence on, corrupt.

 

Alcohol – any of a series of hydroxyl compounds that include ethanol and methanol. Intoxicating liquor containing alcohol.

 

Intoxicate – to stimulate or stupefy.

 

Stupor is defined as a condition or reduced feeling or sense, numbness. A condition of apathy.

 

Methanol – a colorless, poisonous, flammable alcohol used in antifreeze, fuel, general solvent, and denaturant for ethyl alcohol.

 

Ethanol – alcohol.

 

Hydroxyl – a chemical compound of an element or radical joined to an oxygen and hydrogen group.

 

Radical – an atom or group of atoms that has at least one unpaired electron.

 

Electron – a subatomic particle with a negative electrical charge.

 

Our bodies require positive electrical charges not negative ones. The three most common addictive products, alcohol, nicotine and caffeine are all legal. Don’t be misled, they are all killers. They all rob us of our ability to love and serve. It is impossible to fast with a proper frame of mind when our bodies are screaming for a foreign substance to pacify its insatiable need for a chemical fix. These chemical compounds were not made for our bodies and our bodies were not formed to be subject to these chemical compounds. Heavenly Father said Joshua 24:15 – Choose this day whom you will serve. In Matthew 4:10 – we are told to love the Lord our God and serve him only, he also said in Matthew 6:24 – No one can serve two masters. In Ephesians 4:12 – we are asked to serve wholeheartedly. In Colossians 3:24 – we are called to serve our Lord Jesus Christ. In 2 Peter 2:19 – he says a man is a slave to whatever masters him. In Romans 6:15-23 – we are called to be slaves to righteousness.

 

When we believe in Christ, we give of ourselves fully and freely, we no longer become slaves to sin – Romans 6:6 – we become slaves to God – Romans 6:22. We need to set ourselves free and not be a slave to sin. We are called into the presence of the Lord, called to do his work. We are called to fast and pray, love and serve. Suffice it to say we must stay away from addictive substances so as to remain clear in thought, mind, body and soul. Thank you Lord for this inspiration, thank you Holy Spirit for your guidance and counsel. I commit to obey the commands of our Lord so that I may love and serve my fellow man. I will be blessed with and receive health in my navel, and marrow in the bones. I shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge even hidden treasures. I shall run and not grow weary, and shall walk and not grow faint. The destroying angel shall pass me by and not slay me. What a great day, I have an extreme amount of joy, I now have a better understanding of the purpose of fasting and prayer.