[Editor’s note: I had planned to follow up on last year’s God’s Gifts that I sent out daily in December, with the Most Important People in the Bible, but unfortunately my health got in the way. I am getting close to recovery and hope to be back on a better schedule soon. If you would like to help, we have a donation page set up at Go Fund Me. Thank you. ]
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:1
Whether you believe in God or not, you cannot avoid seeing churches as you travel around. There are churches in every small town (at least in North America) across the land. These churches, or temples, are used to bring people together to celebrate their beliefs with other like-minded people. Some are big and some are small, but they all serve the same purpose.
Jesus didn’t think that the temple needed to be huge, in fact He didn’t need a physical building,
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20. So the building is not the temple, the temple is anywhere people gather. That’s why Jesus could preach outside during the Sermon on the Mount which can be found in Matthew 5-7. If you’ve never read these chapters, I suggest you do. In these three chapters Jesus lays out His most powerful messages to the assembled crowd.
But there is another temple that has no building and yet must be preserved and looked after in preparation for the return of Christ. That temple is the human body; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”(NKJV)
So the Apostle Paul tells us that our body is a temple and must be looked after as such and presented to God in that manner, clean, pure, and unblemished. But what does that mean? Well to begin with we must follow the Ten Commandments in our daily lives. It’s possible to do that, but we also must careful what we eat and drink. If we consume unclean foods, then we are poisoning our bodies and our holy temple. And the problem is only exasperated as we consume more and more of these foods because our bodies cannot properly digest them.
But we also have to consider our minds in the holy temple. If you allow your mind to be filled inappropriate materials and thoughts, then you’re poisoning your temple also. This could come from the books you read, movies you watch, games you play, or even the people that you interact with. So think about your day, consider what you do throughout the day, and ask yourself are you ready to present your pure temple to God?
Having a major illness like Guillain Barré Syndrome takes its toll on people in multiple ways. Unexpected expenses arise for which there is no coverage. In addition, even though I had income protection, it doesn’t provide full income, and yet the bills continue. We’d appreciate any donation to our cause, no matter how small that amount is.
But wait, if you’ve got a body that is full of unclean foods and impure materials in your head there’s a way to clean them away and still gain your ride to heaven. And that way is Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6): “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” So Jesus is your way into heaven. He will clean you of all unclean thoughts, and purge the unclean foods. And as an added bonus, when He cleans you, God immediately forgets the sin.
So Jesus wants us to live as pure a life as possible, but He is there to be with us when we stumble occasionally. And we all do, even the most dedicated people who put Jesus as number one in their lives will eventually sin, even a small sin, and they must ask for forgiveness to God. And it only to God via Jesus that we ask for forgiveness (1 Timothy 2:5: For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; “ So confession should always and only be present to Jesus and not to any man!
it don’t take my word for it. Do the research, Google is a remarkable tool, and so is your Bible. If you haven’t read it for a while, or ever, then maybe today is the day!!??
As I continue to lay in my hospital bed recovering from GBS, I really believe that God has something really special planned for me. I only hope that I am worthy and equal to His task. I wait for it to be revealed.
God Bless.
Shiny Side Up 
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