Day 22: My Body is a Temple

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To worship you I live..

To worship you I live.. I live to worship you.

 

"My body is a temple."

 

When I would first read that verse or hear someone casually say it, I just looked at it as referring to my physical body and what I consume.  But this morning as I was praying and worshiping God, I was reminded of so much more.

 

God’s word says to honor Him with our body.  More specifically, it says “whatever you eat, whatever you drink, and whatever you do, do unto the Lord.." or something like that.  Note it says - whatever we do.  Yes, we should honor God through what we choose to eat and what we choose to drink… but doesn’t that mean so much more?  From the crown of my head to the sole of my feet, I should honor God.  I should worship God. 

The song quoted above says “I live to worship you.  To worship you, I live.”  I was created to worship you, God.  And by worshipping you, I live.  By worshipping you, I have life and I have life abundantly. 

To worship God is not only limited to raising our hands and calling out "Hallelujah!"  That is amazing worship.   But is it limited to that?  Is to worship God not more than that?  Is to worship God to honor our bodies?  Is to worship God to speak truth?  Is to worship God to believe and have faith in Him.  Is to worship God to speak from a pure heart with pure intentions? 

 

My family and I are renting a home that is in front of some woods.  We have a tall gate up around our home, but the trees behind the gate were growing so long and wild that they were extending into our yard.  Because of this, some of the gate panels have been loose and the branches have even been falling on the shed in our back yard.  My husband and I reached out to the owner of the house to let them know what was happening but they moved slow in cutting the branches down, so my husband took it upon himself to do it on his own.  He reached out to a family member and he came that same week.  Maybe he came a little quicker than we were prepared for, but maybe it was right on time.

The branches have now been removed from the tree and we have these lifeless branches in our backyard.  The problem was solved, but now these branches are just lying in the backyard waiting to be thrown out (or whatever their purpose will be).  And every day when I look in the backyard, I see those branches.  Lifeless, withered, dull… dead.  I’m just waiting for my husband to throw them out.  But after a few weeks of them sitting there, God used those same branches to show me something about Him.

Those branches were once connected to a tree.  When they were connected to the tree, they were full of life… so much life that they were growing uncontrollably.  But what happened is that they began to grow too wild and they had to be removed.  Once they were removed, what happened?  All the life they once had was cut off.  They were no longer connected to their source.

God said – that is you and the tree is me.  You have not been connected to me.  And because you have not been connected to me, your source, your vine, your living water - you have been dying.  You have been withering, you have lost your color, and you have been lifeless..  you have been dead.  But if you stay connected to me, as with the other branches that are still on the tree, you will be full of life, joy, peace, and love.  You will be filled with me and filled with my Holy Spirit.  And you will be able to do anything… because apart from me, you can do nothing.  Flowing through me are streams of living water.  But you have to stay connected to me to receive that. 

 

To stay connected to Him means to worship Him. 

 

For so long, I have been trying to do life on my own.  Even off and on throughout this challenge, I have been trying to do many things on my own.  But if I just stay connected to my vine.. if I stay connected to my living water, I’ll never go thirsty again.  How can I stay connected to Him?   By worshipping him with my entire being.  By worshipping Him with my mind, body, and soul.  By living every day in worship to the one and only true and living God.  From the crown of my head to the sole of my feet.  From the thoughts in my head to the words that I speak.  From the urges in my heart, to the steps of my feet.  Yes, my body is a temple and I should treat it as such.  But is my body being a temple more than just what I choose to drink or choose to eat? It’s greater than that.  It is to worship Him.

 

I live to worship God with my mind, body, and soul… and to worship God – I live.

 

This devotional was probably all over the place today because I was truly being led by the spirit.  I hope y'all understood it the way I felt it.  If it's for you, you know.  If not, I hope it still blessed you in some capacity.  Nevertheless...

 

Today, I vow to treat my body as a temple.  To truly worship God with my mind, body, and soul.  And to stay connected to my source – because apart from Him, I can do nothing. 

I want to encourage you to do the same.

 

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“Remain in me, and I in you.  Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.  I am the vine, you are the branches.  The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.”  - John 15:4-5

 

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” - 1 Corinthians 10:31

 

“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; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies."  - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20