Rebuilding My Temple

I shared a song at church the other day that I had written called, “House of God”.  It talks about the fact that WE are the church…not the building that we meet in.  It is based, in part, on this scripture: 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 NLT - “ Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.”

After focusing on that scripture, I started thinking about how I was treating my “temple”.  Sadly, I realized that I was slowly destroying it…and I only get one!  I was very overweight, I never exercised, and I ate entirely too much junk.  My feet and knees were hurting, my back was aching and I was so short of breath, I could barely sing. I knew that God was not pleased with how I was treating His “building”. 

So, I decided it was time to get it in gear!  I went back to Weight Watchers, because that had worked for me in the past.  I got some great exercise buddies to go to the track with me…they won’t let me be a slacker! But most importantly, I asked the Lord to help me rebuild my temple.  He reminds me every day that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 NKJV

And now I am letting you -the whole cyber world- know about my renovation plans!  If I know people will be watching me, I will have to stay on track!  “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every WEIGHT that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us RUN with endurance the race God has set before us." Hebrews 12:1 NLT  

We are the temple of the LIVING GOD!!!  What better motivation could we have than that? I challenge everyone who reads this post to join me and LET THE REBUILDING BEGIN!!    

Do You Have a Big BUT? Part 4: Begin to Exercise

I don’t know about you, but when I’m trying to lose weight, it doesn’t matter how healthy  I eat, if I don’t exercise, I will not be successful.  It’s the same way with our “spiritual” diet.   You can fill yourself with great spiritual food every day,  go to church every time the doors are open, and listen to only Christian music, but until you start walking out what you have learned, you will not be successful in getting rid of your big BUT. 

With physical exercise, we have to start small and work our way up to build strength and endurance.  Myself and three other brave ladies are going to start training to run (and I use that term VERY lightly) a 5K race.  But, we can’t just jump out there and start running.  We have to build up to it over several weeks.  If I tried to run right now, I would probably pass out and quit!   It’s the same thing with our spiritual race.   You have to start small and work your way up!  For example, if you are afraid of praying out loud at church, start praying out loud in your car.  Then graduate to praying at the dinner table in front of your family.  Before you know it, you will be silently screaming at the preacher at the end of the service, “pick me, pick me!”   Or maybe God is calling you to be in ministry and you think that you can’t speak in front of people.  Start by leading a small devotion at work or at home with your family.  Then move up to filling in teaching a Sunday School class.  Eventually you will have the courage to speak in front of more and more people.

Possibly you think that there is nothing that God is calling you to do?  That is not so!  God has called each of us to do some form of ministry.  From the preacher to the person that cleans the toilets at church; from the missionary in Africa to the person that smiles and encourages the tired clerk at the store….God has something He is calling you to do.   I love Paul’s words to the body of Christ in Romans 12:  “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.  If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.  If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.  Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.  Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.  Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.  Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.” Romans 12:4-12 NLT

  

Don’t let your big BUT get in the way of what God is calling you to do. When He calls you, He equips you.  So get rid of that BUT by GETTING UP, EATING THE RIGHT FOOD, and EXERCISING!!  No more big BUTS!!!!!     

Do You Have a Big BUT? Part 3:Start Eating the Right Food

“…people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” - Deuteronomy 8:3 NLT

The second thing that we have to do to get rid of our big BUT is…START EATING THE RIGHT FOOD.  The last couple of weeks, I have been trying to lose weight.  That means changing the way I eat.  “Garbage in, garbage out” is a quote I love.  If I put junk food in my body, my body runs like junk.  But, if I put healthy food in it, I will be healthy.  It is the same thing with our “spiritual” food.

Do we really expect to be able to grow spiritually and minister to others out of what we learn from watching secular TV, reading secular books and listening to secular music?  (Secular = of or pertaining to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred; temporal.) Trust me; there is nothing there that would teach us how to be more like Jesus. Most of the television we watch is completely opposite of what the bible teaches.

I’m not saying that you have to cut out all of the “junk”.  Just like on my diet, I still have that ice cream cone if I want it.  But the main part of my diet is healthy food. And I always find that after eating healthy for a few weeks, the junk food just doesn’t taste good anymore.  The same goes for our “spiritual” diet.  After we begin to concentrate on reading God’s word and listening to Christian music or watching Christian TV, when we do watch or read something else, we will most likely find it offensive. “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” 1Peter 2:2-3 NIV

So to work on that big BUT, you must start eating the right “spiritual” food.  The bible tells us that we must mature and grow so that we can teach others AND be able to differentiate between right and wrong.  “You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God's word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn't know how to do what is right.  Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”  Hebrews 5:12-14 NLT

Do You Have a Big BUT? Part 2: Get Up!

The first thing we have to do to get rid of our big BUT is…GET UP!  In 1 Kings 19, Elijah the prophet fled to the desert when Jezebel threatened his life.  He was tired of running and he even prayed that he would just die there.  But God wasn’t done with him yet.  He had a mission for Elijah to complete.  So God sent an angel to minister to Elijah.  The angel said, “Get up and eat.”  After he was strengthened, he went to a cave where God manifested His glory to him and encouraged him to complete the work He had for Elijah to do. 

In Acts 9, when Peter healed a paralyzed man named Aeneas, he “got up” and ALL those living around him turned to the Lord!  Act 9:32-35 NIV “As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years.  "Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat." Immediately Aeneas got up. All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.”  I imagine after he “got up” he went out into the city and proclaimed what had happened to him.  This doesn’t say a few or some turned to the Lord, it says ALL!  Just this one act changed the lives of two whole towns!

The Lord got Paul’s attention in Acts 22 on the road to Damascus when He blinded him with a bright light.  Immediately he knew it was the Lord and asked “What shall I do, Lord?”  “Get up,” the Lord said, “and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.”  Countless people over many centuries were saved and are being saved today because of Paul’s obedience. He wrote 13 of the books in the New Testament including Romans.        

In all of these examples, the people were told to “get up.”  And after they obeyed that one thing, God used them.  Elijah “got up” and had an encounter with the Lord that strengthened him and kept him going.  Aeneas “got up” and shared a testimony that turned many people to the Lord.  Paul “got up” and took on an assignment that changed the lives of too many to count.  His words are still changing lives today.  So the first thing we must do get rid of our BUT is to get up and start being obedient. We can’t do anything for the Lord sitting there on the couch.  Get up! Seek the Lord! Tell people what He has done for you and what He can do for them!  Many lives will be changed just by this one simple thing….GET UP!!     

Do You Have a Big BUT??

As Christians, how often do we use the phrase: “I would do that,  BUT _____________”(fill in the blank).  Today I want you to take a look at your BUT!!    What is it that is holding you back from what God is calling you to do?  Some excuses I have heard in the past are: I would help people, BUT I don’t have any extra money.  I would witness, BUT I’m not good at talking to people. I would work at Bible School, BUT I just don’t have time.  I would sing at church, BUT I can’t get up in front of people. I would go to church on Wednesday night, BUT I’m just too tired…and the list goes on and on.    

Even great people in the Bible had some big BUTS.  Look at Moses in Exodus 4, when God first told him what He wanted him to do to free the Israelites.  Moses basically said, “I would go, BUT I really can’t talk very good.  Please send someone else to do it!”  And Jonah, when God told him what He wanted him to do the scripture says, “BUT Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish” Jonah 1:3.   And Sarah, when the angel told Abraham that she would have a son, laughed and said, “BUT I’m too old!” The angel’s reply was, “Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son" Genesis 18:14.

Guess what?  Satan LOVES those big BUTS!  He probably sings that song, “I like big BUTS and I cannot lie.”  He knows he has us right where he wants us when we are not being obedient and doing what God is calling us to do. 

How do we get rid of our big BUTs?  The same way we get rid of our big BUTTS!  When we want to lose weight or re-shape our back sides, we 1) get up off the couch, 2) start eating right, and 3) begin to exercise.  We need to do the same things to get rid of our BUTs!  Over the next few days we are going to look at these three remedies for getting rid of our big BUTS!   Hope you join me!!

Who's Holding You Up?

Exodus 17:11-13 NLT - "As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses' arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset.  As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle."

We have been studying Moses and the Israelites and their adventures in the wilderness for the past few weeks at church.  Last Sunday, we read this story in Exodus 17 about the battle with the Amalekites.  Moses, his brother Aaron, and his brother-in-law Hur went to the top of a hill to hold up the staff of God during the battle.

The first question that struck me was, “what was so important about the staff that Moses had to hold it up?”  So I did a little “digging” and found that the staff had been with Moses since day one at the burning bush.  God showed His power to Moses that day by turning the staff into a snake…and from then on, God directed Moses to use the staff to show His power in many situations (the plagues in Egypt, parting the Red Sea, water from the rock, the battle with the Amalekites). 

Moses was interceding (intervening on Joshua’s behalf) by holding the very POWER of God over the battle when he kept the staff elevated.   As long as Moses was interceding for Joshua and his army, they were winning.  But when he grew weak and couldn’t hold up the staff, the enemy was winning.  How important was Moses’ intercession that day?  It was the difference between victory and defeat. 

But Moses could not have done it alone.  He wanted to be obedient to God and hold the staff up, but in his human weakness, there was no way he could have continued to do it alone.  His brothers were there to hold him up so that he could do God’s work.  Without their support, Moses would have dropped the staff and the battle would have been lost. 

Can you see the lesson here?  Our intercession (prayer) for one another is how we hold God’s power over a battle.  Joshua was too busy fighting to be able to cry out to God, so Moses had to be there for him.  As long as Moses interceded, the battle was being won!  But Moses grew weak, so Aaron and Hur had to be there for him.

Do you know someone that is in a battle right now?  Maybe you are fighting one yourself.  Are you trying to do it alone?  This story shows us that none of us can fight our battles alone.  We MUST have Christian brothers and sisters who are interceding on our behalf and who are willing to “hold us up” when we grow weak.  This is especially true of our pastors.  They have so many people that they are trying to intercede for, but who is holding them up?   They grow weak just like the rest of us.  We have to HOLD THEM UP!  

1Timothy 2:1 NLT - "I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them."