The first and most important reason

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Selfcare”

Our Bible verse for today: “Don’t you know that your body is a temple 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. So glorify God with your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “The first and most important reason”

This morning, I want us to consider today’s Bible verse in conjunction with the one we looked at yesterday from 3 John 2. That verse reads: “Dear friend, I pray that you are prospering in every way and are in good health, just as your whole life is going well.” In that verse John was referring to a wholistic approach to life. He prayed for prosperity in “every” way – in the person’s whole life.

The truth is that you are a whole person who consists of a physical body, a mind, and a spirit. To be truly healthy and doing well in all aspects of life, you must be healthy physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. All those parts of you combine to make up the whole you, and they are interrelated. Each impacts the other and if you are unhealthy in one of those areas, it will have a direct and negative impact on the other two. We must take care of the whole person.

So, when Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit he is saying that your physical body (which is home to your mind, emotions, and soul) is also home to the Holy Spirit of God. And therefore, we as individuals have a stewardship responsibility to keep all aspects of our person as healthy as possible for as long as possible, and to use our whole person for the honor and glory of God.

Paul also tells us in verse 20 that we were bought for this purpose at the price of Jesus’ death on the cross. On the cross not only did Jesus purchase your eternal soul, but He purchased your physical body (and your whole person) to be a walking, talking, mobile temple of God’s Holy Spirit.

In the Old Testament the Spirit of God resided in a temple made of stone. In the New Testament the Spirit of God resides inside the bodies of the followers of Jesus Christ. And just like the people of God had a stewardship responsibility to properly care for the Temple in the Old Testament, so too do the people of God in our day. We have the same responsibility to take proper care of the temple of God and in our day, and that temple is your body.

This is the first and most important reason you must take good care of yourself – because God said so and He requires it of you. You are the temple of His Holy Spirit and therefore you must take good care of yourself. We will now spend the rest of this month discussing many ways to do exactly that.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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