Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “A life that matters”
Our Bible verse for today: “Don’t you know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Your life matters so take care of your body”
As we continue to consider how we will spend our time in 2017, what goals we will set and what plans we will make, we have to consider our physical health. We have to be intentional about taking good care of ourselves.
We live in a society today where obesity is now a national health epidemic. Being overweight has become the norm rather than the exception. That’s true even among our children. Nowadays most adults have to take some kind of prescribed medication on a daily basis to control blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, and a host of other lifestyle related health problems. There are far too many people, even young ones, who are in bad physical condition because of poor nutrition and lack of exercise. But this should not be. Our bodies are a gift from God and we are Biblically commanded to take good care of them.
In 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 Paul was writing specifically about not using your body in sexually immoral ways. But there’s a larger and more general truth expressed in that passage as well. Your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was placed within you by God. Your body is also not your own, it was purchased on the cross by Jesus. Your physical body is a walking, talking, mobile temple of God’s Holy Spirit. You were purchased by Jesus for that very purpose and therefore you are expected to glorify Him by the way you use your body – and that has to include taking proper care of it.
What if we don’t take proper care of this body the Lord has given us? What impact does that have on the cause of Christ? There could be multiple ways in which an improperly cared for body has a negative impact on God’s plan. For one thing, the less physically able you are the fewer ways in which He can use you. Church workdays become harder and mission trips may be impossible for you because of your health. Maybe you need to sleep more than normal, or perhaps because of your illnesses you are absent from church functions a lot.
How much work time does your deteriorating health cause you to miss? For that matter are you still able to work at all? How much extra money is spent on your doctor’s visits, medical tests, medicines, and other health-related expenses?
What about your life expectancy? How many more years would your family have had you with them, and how many more people could have been served and blessed and positively impacted by you, if you had only taken care of yourself?
I know this message is a little heavy and even negative, but the situation is serious and if my words result in even one person resolving to take better care of themselves in 2017, then I have achieved my purpose.
Your body has been given to you by God as a gift and you have a stewardship responsibility to take good care if it and to use it in a way that honors Him. God requires us to be a good steward of our finances, our relationships, and our possessions. So too we must be a good steward of our body.
Your life matters and we need you to be healthy. I urge you to be intentional about taking proper care of yourself.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 