Day 14: Health (part 2)

“What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” I Corinthians 6:19-20

First and foremost today, let us be reminded that we are not our own (physically nor spiritually) … we are GOD’S. Secondly,   because our bodies are God’s, our physical health (or lack thereof) has now become a part of our spiritual warfare. Is everyone with me so far? Thirdly, because IF we did not know #1 and #2 before, we do now, and, therefore, are accountable to God for this knowledge (James 4:17). Fourthly, as this is a spiritual warfare, how we fight (or more specifically what we do about this) will speak for itself. Let me explain … if I believe that my child will be harmed or killed by walking out in the highway, I will do ALL in my power to prevent that from happening. If I do not believe that, then I will go about my way doing NOTHING. Am I not correct? Are you just going through life letting your health run out in the highway as it pleases … or are you doing all in your power to prevent that from happening?

Now, let us look closer at this spiritual warfare called our physical health. I realize that genetics can play a big role in our physical health, but I do not believe that we can use that excuse … nor “it is just old age” … because God knew when He formed us what we were made of. Yes, genetics can play a role, but there is so much more that we can do to slow down or change that course.

An important truth that we need to see and acknowledge is that poor health is simply a tool of Satan himself. He is not stupid, my friend! Oh, no! He goes around SEEKING who he can eat alive. Do you know which ones he likes the best? He likes the ignorant, the naïve, and the weak … hello! Those are the fattest and the juiciest! Yum! He loves them!

Healthy bodies are STRONG bodies because they are obedient to God (Ephesians 6:10). If we are not healthy physically, we are WEAK! Satan LOVES weakness! He loves it because he knows that when we are weak physically, he is strong … and when he is strong (and we are weak), guess what? We are not able to live for Christ as we should. Now is the light coming on? Our weak physical health hinders us from living for God and serving Him as we should.

Why do you think so many Christians (and especially those in ministry) are so unhealthy? Because Satan is a master deceiver and liar! Beware, my friend! He will try to deceive you too! They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so let me try to paint a picture here … “I do not have the time,” “I do not have the money,” The government will help me,” “I do not have insurance,” or “That is too expensive. I cannot afford it.” Can you see it now?

Bottom line … one day you and I will stand before a righteous and holy God and have to give an account of how we took care of His temple. We may use lack of time, lack of money, etc. as our excuses now, but I guarantee that they will not cut it then! You may have messed up … BIG time … in the past, but there is no reason why you cannot do something now. Stop doing nothing!

I do not want you to look at my life and judge me by what you see. Why? Because I am still just a work in progress (most definitely so!!). God is not finished with me yet (physically or spiritually). We all have to start somewhere and I hope you have found that starting point today!

Day 13: Health (part 1)

What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” I Corinthians 6:19-20

I do not want to come over too strong in this issue … and, if I do, please forgive me … but God has gotten ahold of my heart on this and I cannot let go. As I write this devotional, please know that I write in love and that I write while seeking the Spirit’s help and guidance.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported that “each year, nearly 900,000 Americans die prematurely from the five leading causes of death” … that is nearly 1 MILLION people!! Not only that but “up to 40 percent of annual deaths from each of the five leading US causes are PREVENTABLE.”1 Do you realize what this is saying? You and I have a say so in a large portion of our health through decisions that we make every day. Just a few chapters over in I Corinthians we find in chapter 10 and verse 31 that “Whether therefore ye EAT, or DRINK or whatsoever ye do, do ALL to the glory of God.” Our health is part of that doing ALL!

When thinking of our spiritual warfare with the devil, our physical health is not the first thing that comes to mind. But, our health (or lack thereof) is truly a deadly battleground (physically AND spiritually). In verse 20 above, Paul tells us that we are to “glorify God in your BODY, and in your SPIRIT, which [by the way] are [not yours to begin with, but] God’s.” I think that the devil has deceived us long enough … making us think that we are only to please God in our spirit, when Paul so plainly tells us that we are to please Him in our bodies as well.

God has convicted me of this personally. I have repented of this sin (yes, it is sin) and I am striving to live a more pleasing life to God in my body, His temple … His abiding place. I will be the first to admit that I am not the most perfect housekeeper, but I try … and I am much better than I was. When I know that someone will be coming over, I especially get motivated to clean. I start picking things up and doing some extra cleaning so that everything looks all nice and shiny. But, what about all of those times that we have people coming into our home without notice … which is a perk of our ministry? I must be prepared at all times, correct? I would be ashamed and embarrassed to let anyone into my house when it was a mess.

What about our physical bodies? We should be just as meticulous about keeping it healthy and clean as we do our homes. Why? Because God’s Spirit resides there! I would not want to go to someone’s home or a motel that is dirty and unkept. You probably would not either. So, why do we not do what we can to keep our physical bodies clean and healthy for Him?

To be honest (and quite frank), we have been slowly conditioned by man for so long that for the majority of us this is the farthest thing from our mind … that our physical bodies have anything to do with God. It is sad! Let us change this, my friend! Find time today to let God examine your physical health. Are you needing to repent and seek forgiveness from Him today?

1 http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/p0501-preventable-deaths.html