Good Day! Wow, we have come a ways and now we are winding down. We have discussed our relationships with parts of ourselves, with others and with God. In that we have dealt with the mind and the soul.
Today, we are going to go forward and discuss our body – our Temples, our Vessels of Honor.
I don’t know about any of you, but when I got active in church, I gained weight. Was it that I thought being ‘Holy’ was enough, did I get lazy because I was always at bible study or on my knees ( really not true, just an example)- what was the cause?
Okay, let me unpack this a bit – so I stopped clubbing, didn’t drink much, and eventually let that go, we do not eat at bible study
( but I betcha, if food was served, the church might be full 
? ), So what was it.
The church has been said to be a hospital – where sick people come to be healed; we bring all of our stuff with us – remember God’s Witness Protection Program? And to be frankly honest, we keep it, we stuff, and we add new stuff, because now we are in a body of believers who can and have affected us and not always in a positive way.
We meet ourselves in the people whom we encounter- the self that we don’t care for within us, and we take that home and feed it and we get sick, and we get tired and we hurt, and we have pain and…. whatever the reason, emphasis is not as a whole is placed on Temple Maintenance, being Godly Stewards over our bodies.
I feel that this is such a sensitive issue. Clergy does not always address this because it might offend. Frankly as clergy, it will require a change within some of us as well, because we must be the change that we want to see and preach about. It is so easy to say, “you need to fellowship among believers, you need to tithe, but let a preacher tell you that you need to lose/gain weight, eat better, don’t eat any more chocolate and we will no longer serve any fried food or sweets at the church dinners,” then all hell is going to break loose, so we dance around it and say in a very Holy ethereal voice ” You know your Temple is the Temple of the Holy Ghost” and leave it with that.
On this first day of June, think about your body, then about your body systems and how they are functioning, think about the blood that Jesus shed and His declaration that He is within us. Is Jesus’ blood able to flow through each body system, respiratory, digestive, circulatory, etc freely – has those triggers prohibited complete healing so that the SON shines brightly within? Is Jesus comfortable in your body? Are you? Transparent – I am not comfortable in mine at this time.
Today remember this:
Pray, talk to God and asked Him for His comfort, which He gives, freely. You may still be in pain, go back over these past 31 days for comfort.
Understand that our flesh has defeated us so many times, but God’s strength never runs out. So borrow His. Today, ask God for guidance on anything that is going on within your temple from an ache to disease and lean on Him for ” For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” ( Matt 11:30 NLT)
Picture it – the yoke, the shackle that the enemy attacks us with is weighted down, we cannot hold our heads up, we constantly bend our shoulders,to the point where we almost crawl and slither and we are in pain. Choose today – not tomorrow or later – TODAY!
God will do these things:
Show us how to do with Him what we can not do alone.
Help us to disengage the self-limiting thinking in our heads.
Help us to find the strength to keep going when we feel like giving up on ourselves and feel there is no hope .
This is your permanent and unshakable identity: You are God’s beloved. Matthew 3:17 – “We are the beloved sons and daughters of God just as Jesus is the Beloved Son” (Henri Nouwen)
“You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Rev. Jacki
