1 Corinthians 6:19 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?
Yes Friends, it was another beautiful summer’s day in my area! I sincerely hope it was in yours too, and that many of the Lord’s new mercies and blessings flowed down on you and yours, making your life somewhat easier and more interesting than if you were devoid of that rich spiritual force. Wow! Bruh Paul surely would have been proud of that sentence. (smile) Anyway, here’s an interesting quote on spirituality, by Israel Salanter Lipkin. ‘Spirituality is like a bird: if you hold on to it tightly, it chokes, and if you hold it loosely, it escapes.’ It makes sense. If we hold on to our spirituality too tightly, in this case our Christian faith, and are rewarded with all we ask for or seek, then that faith will become weak, because as we’ve always said, faith is hoping, expecting without seeing, not knowing if, how, when or where. But if we get everything we expect and hope for, then we become like robots, without feeling, or like spoiled brats, who get all their hearts desires but appreciate nothing. However, if we assume the opposite view, where we never get anything we expect, then that kills our faith. What good is hoping, expecting or waiting for something you know you’ll never receive eh? Therefore, it seems best that our spirituality should be of the balanced kind, where we expect the Lord to help us in times of need, but we must also do our best to provide for ourselves. Remember, we are partners in this with the Lord; we have our part to play, and He has His. We know He will never shirk His responsibility, so it’s left up to us, the lazy, naturally sinful man to pull our weight, if we want to see positive results. So what’s our part, you ask, and how do we accomplish it? First off, we’ve got to acknowledge Bruh Paul’s words. ‘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?’ Don’t forget Friends that we are two beings; a carnal, fleshly being, namely our physical bodies, and also a spiritual being which inhabits that physical body for our earthly life. That spiritual entity is of God; a replica of His invisible, omnipotent, omniscient presence through which He communicates with us. And it doesn’t belong to us, nor is it there for our purposes, that’s why we have limited control over it. Hear Bruh Paul explain it to the Roman Church; ‘For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.’ (Rom.14:7-8) End of story. But since we are God’s property in whatever state we are, we have certain responsibilities, which caused Bruh Paul to admonish the Corinthians in the early part of his letter: ‘Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.’ (1 Cor.3:16) Here he’s referring to the local church, not the individual believers. But who makes up, or constitutes the church? Individual believers. So, by extension, we all have that Spirit in us that’s a sanctuary for our Holy God, and we are each responsible individually, as well as collectively, to ensure that that temple is not destroyed, desecrated or defiled in any manner. And that happens when we veer towards the lusts of the flesh, rather than to those of the spirit. On that topic, Bruh Paul had some strong words of advice for the Corinthians in his second letter. ‘Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’ (2 Cor.6:14-16) Yes Friends, as believers we ought to be in the world, but not of the world, so that we can bring unbelievers to Christ. This though puts a great strain on the steadfastness of our faith, for it means living amongst all the glitz, glamour and evil lusts of the flesh that Lucifer advances, but still living a Holy life, reflecting God’s nature. That means staying away from actions, influences or persons that will contaminate us, or lead us astray. It’s not an easy feat to accomplish my Friends, especially if we’re spiritually immature as the Corinthian Church was, when Bruh Paul wrote them. However, like he said to them: ‘But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.’ (1 Cor.15:57-58) Yes my people, spiritual victory is possible over the carnal flesh if we work with the guiding, helpful Spirit of Jesus that indwells us all. That’s our part that Bruh Paul spelled out, and if we do it, then Christ will certainly do His. Much LOVE!…anything in the body that’s not godly…defiles God’s holy temple…
Yes Friends, it was another beautiful summer’s day in my area! I sincerely hope it was in yours too, and that many of the Lord’s new mercies and blessings flowed down on you and yours, making your life somewhat easier and more interesting than if you were devoid of that rich spiritual force. Wow! Bruh Paul surely would have been proud of that sentence. (smile) Anyway, here’s an interesting quote on spirituality, by Israel Salanter Lipkin. ‘Spirituality is like a bird: if you hold on to it tightly, it chokes, and if you hold it loosely, it escapes.’ It makes sense. If we hold on to our spirituality too tightly, in this case our Christian faith, and are rewarded with all we ask for or seek, then that faith will become weak, because as we’ve always said, faith is hoping, expecting without seeing, not knowing if, how, when or where. But if we get everything we expect and hope for, then we become like robots, without feeling, or like spoiled brats, who get all their hearts desires but appreciate nothing. However, if we assume the opposite view, where we never get anything we expect, then that kills our faith. What good is hoping, expecting or waiting for something you know you’ll never receive eh? Therefore, it seems best that our spirituality should be of the balanced kind, where we expect the Lord to help us in times of need, but we must also do our best to provide for ourselves. Remember, we are partners in this with the Lord; we have our part to play, and He has His. We know He will never shirk His responsibility, so it’s left up to us, the lazy, naturally sinful man to pull our weight, if we want to see positive results. So what’s our part, you ask, and how do we accomplish it? First off, we’ve got to acknowledge Bruh Paul’s words. ‘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?’ Don’t forget Friends that we are two beings; a carnal, fleshly being, namely our physical bodies, and also a spiritual being which inhabits that physical body for our earthly life. That spiritual entity is of God; a replica of His invisible, omnipotent, omniscient presence through which He communicates with us. And it doesn’t belong to us, nor is it there for our purposes, that’s why we have limited control over it. Hear Bruh Paul explain it to the Roman Church; ‘For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.’ (Rom.14:7-8) End of story. But since we are God’s property in whatever state we are, we have certain responsibilities, which caused Bruh Paul to admonish the Corinthians in the early part of his letter: ‘Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.’ (1 Cor.3:16) Here he’s referring to the local church, not the individual believers. But who makes up, or constitutes the church? Individual believers. So, by extension, we all have that Spirit in us that’s a sanctuary for our Holy God, and we are each responsible individually, as well as collectively, to ensure that that temple is not destroyed, desecrated or defiled in any manner. And that happens when we veer towards the lusts of the flesh, rather than to those of the spirit. On that topic, Bruh Paul had some strong words of advice for the Corinthians in his second letter. ‘Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’ (2 Cor.6:14-16) Yes Friends, as believers we ought to be in the world, but not of the world, so that we can bring unbelievers to Christ. This though puts a great strain on the steadfastness of our faith, for it means living amongst all the glitz, glamour and evil lusts of the flesh that Lucifer advances, but still living a Holy life, reflecting God’s nature. That means staying away from actions, influences or persons that will contaminate us, or lead us astray. It’s not an easy feat to accomplish my Friends, especially if we’re spiritually immature as the Corinthian Church was, when Bruh Paul wrote them. However, like he said to them: ‘But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.’ (1 Cor.15:57-58) Yes my people, spiritual victory is possible over the carnal flesh if we work with the guiding, helpful Spirit of Jesus that indwells us all. That’s our part that Bruh Paul spelled out, and if we do it, then Christ will certainly do His. Much LOVE!…anything in the body that’s not godly…defiles God’s holy temple…
SCRIP-BITS 