According to 1 Cor. 6:19-20, your body is a sacred dwelling place. Why? Because of the One who lives in there.
The Scripture reads:
What? Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God, and that you are not your own? You were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
If you are in Christ, the Holy Spirit lives in you. Here are some names for Him. Please read these out loud:
- Spirit of God
- The Breath of the Spirit of Life
- Spirit of Yahweh
- Spirit of Wisdom
- Spirit of Counsel and Might
- Spirit of Understanding and the Fear of Yahweh
- The Intercessor
- Spirit of Truth
- Spirit of Christ
- Spirit of Grace
Question: If God’s Spirit lives within you and these attributes describe Him, is it possible to still live a life of defeat as a Christian?
Unfortunately, yes. How can that be?
Ask yourself: Do you habitually ignore the Holy Spirit’s presence as you live each day?
Defeat occurs when a person fails to renew their minds to God’s truth and walk accordingly every day. It is possible to have the very Spirit of truth living within you, yet still act according to lies.
Being Spirit-led is making deliberate decisions based on God’s truth, not your will.
However, being “driven” means that you’ve put someone else or something else in the driver’s seat.
Being flesh-driven makes you feel like you are just a spectator in your own life. You are just along for the ride as you allow your body’s passions and desires to drive you places daily that you don’t want to go.
As long as your mind is still locked into your old ways of thinking, you’ll follow what your flesh wants to do daily, not what your Spirit wants you to do.
Following the flesh will keep you in bondage. That takes away your peace.
The first key to freedom is to accept that you belong to God. Ironic, isn’t it?
Because you belong to someone else, you do not have the right to act any way you please.
Because Scripture says our bodies belong to God, we do not have the right to treat them any way we please either.
This is the first truth about which your mind needs renewal.
For example, I am married to Mike Taylor. As such, I do not have the right to go out on dates with other men.
Now, I did have that right before I pledged myself to Mike. But after my pledge in the marriage vows, I committed myself to Mike, and my marital status changed.
To have a successful marriage, I must know the difference between “before” and “after“!
It’s the same with your spiritual walk in Christ.
Has your status changed to “after,” ‘ but you are still trying to live as if you are in “before”?
If you are rejecting the truth of your status change, then you will also reject any attempt the Spirit makes to lead you.
That would be like a married woman still trying to live as if she were single.
The church is the bride of Christ (see Rev. 21:2), which you are. Are you taking your marriage vows to Christ seriously?
As part of my commitment to Mike and having a good marriage, I use the Bible as my guide. The more I live in the “after,” the more I will experience the blessings of the “after”!
With the Take Back Your Temple program, I use the Bible as our guide so that you learn to live in good health and enjoy abundant life in Christ. Study them, renew your mind to them. Operate them in your daily life. In the fullness of time, you will see change.
As you follow the Spirit daily, you will grow in the things of the Spirit. Many people say that Proverbs 3:5-6 is one of their favorite Scriptures.
Here is how to walk this out in reality:
1. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Trusting God is a heart decision and one that requires a whole heart, not half. God doesn’t want a divided heart, one part given to Him and the other to the world.
He deserves your whole heart.
2. Spend time with the Lord to learn to trust Him. How can you trust someone you don’t know? Unless you take time to share your heart with the Lord every day, He will always be a stranger to you. He promises if you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you.
3. Do not lean on your own understanding. Remember—just because you have a thought does not make it true. You need to assess your thoughts to ensure your Spirit and God’s word agrees. If not, reject them immediately.
4. Consult the Holy Spirit through prayer and do what He tells you to do. The more you actually use the wisdom the Lord gives you, the more you will receive from Him.
5. Pay attention to what is in you, who is around you and what is around you. All of these can make the difference between living a victorious life versus settling for less than God’s best.
Here are other keys to remember:
- Take your spiritual walk seriously every day. It is the essence of life.
- Remove quitting as an option when life gets difficult.
Recognize that the Lord provides the strength to breathe through any problem you face today.
Your very breath comes from Him, remember? When your body tenses from stress, just breathe in God’s presence.
- Remove the “thorns” that would choke God’s Word in your life and make it unfruitful. This can happen when you prioritize worldly cares and pursuit of worldly things above your relationship with God. Cast your cares upon the Lord, for He cares for you.
Become an active participant in your own life. The Spirit is a gentleman; He wants to take your hand and lead you through life.
The enemy wants to drive you to dark, fearful, isolated places so that he can steal from you and to kill and destroy you (see John 10:10).
Which life experience do you believe God wants you to have? Choose daily—and choose wisely! {eoa}
Once 240 pounds and a size 22, Kimberly Taylor can testify to God’s healing power to end binge-eating. She is an author and the creator of the Christian weight-loss website takebackyourtemple.com. Visit today for inspirational health and weight-loss tips.
This article originally appeared at takebackyourt
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