Honour HIS Temple

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;  you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies. 1 Cor 6:19,20 NIV

 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 1 Cor 3:16 ESV

These verses make it very clear that we have to look after our bodies, after all we are reminded that we are bought at a high price. Don’t thumb your nose at a Holy God!

This blog might annoy or even hurt some readers, but that presupposes that I actually get some folks who will not ignore, but read my musings. What are the things that we have to be careful about if we are serious about honouring God’s Holy Temple? In Paul’s day, it included food which had been offered to idols or not consecrated. It would also have included anything which had a bad influence on the health, eg gluttony which is also warned about in other passages and/or anything which would make them sluggish. Some liquids would hamper bodily functions and make them sluggish. Sound familiar?

But what about today? There are some obvious ones, and that is where I may lose some friends or readers. Some of the things we were warned about in Paul’s day can be directly related to our time, and to us individually. Take overeating. It was a real issue then, and it is a real problem today, especially with all the unhealthy fast foods we consume. The result can be obesity, and a health issue to go along with it. A shorter lifespan is not uncommon. Tell me, is that honouring our Holy God? Oh, I can already hear some overweight folks say, but it’s in my DNA and genes, so I can’t help my weight. I know some obese folks, but I have not come across any who have actually tried to change their eating regime. Why? Easy, because they like their eating lifestyle, and have accepted their weight issue. In fact, they do not see any health issues at all.

What about our national love, and consumption of alcohol? It makes the body woozy, sleepy, unable to drive, stagger etc etc. Is the sight of a drunk man or woman (yes sadly, this includes women too) wandering and staggering home from the pub a sight that glorifies a Holy God? I think not! Unsurprisingly, for me, I tend to think of drinking and smoking in the same breath, so what about tobacco, and the effects on health and example to others? I know in the Bible Paul says to Timothy (who had a stomach problem), a little wine for your stomach’s sake. That little phrase has opened the door to any and all Christians to feel that the consumption of alcohol is acceptable, and even encouraged. The result is a tendency to have wine with a meal for no other reason other than they want to, and not whether or not it honours a Holy God.

Smoking tobacco is addictive, and that includes most vapes. If a smoker is addicted to tobacco, does that not give a message to children and young people, especially when you can become a slave to a legal drug? Use your imagination, and visualise a Christian coming out of church, Bible in hand, and a fag drooping from lips, bouncing up and down while talking. It doesn’t make for a pretty sight, and I would suggest not a good example of a Holy God. Would you agree?

Many folks see no problem in buying a lottery ticket once a week. It’s only a pound so what’s wrong with that? In this case, nothing, but what if it opens the door to a gambling addiction? Don’t tell me you have never heard of a well meaning pound a week turning into an amount which cannot be controlled? There are many ‘super gamblers’ who started in a very small way and didn’t see how they could possibly become addicted. I know it doesn’t happen that way for everyone, but is it worth the risk? That’s another gamble altogether. More to the point, does it give a good outlook for a Holy God?

I know there are other areas which could be mentioned, and you may disagree with some of my own suggestions, but what is the goal? If it is truly to honour the Temple of the Holy Spirit, we should take no chances but take every opportunity to keep our Holy God first and foremost. Nothing is more important as we work to honour His Temple. May we be worthy!

Trust or Control

Do you see yourself as a person who trusts others? Or to put it another way, and perhaps in a more telling way, are you a trustworthy person yourself? Do others see you as someone they can trust? Is your word your bond, and can it be relied on? Wow, so many questions, but they go to the heart of my thoughts today. 

After all, what is the opposite of trust? Perhaps the person who has little or no trust is a control junkie where there is a monster round every corner, waiting to take away your personal freedom. If you are not a trusting person, there is a big  probability that you fear being controlled. There are those who do have an irrational fear of ‘big brother’/government control which can be seen and applied from many angles. The food we eat. Is it deliberately processed to control? The news program we watch. Is it set to present a skewed view of the world in such a way to suggest we are being controlled from a higher place?

Somehow, I think you have come across people who fear control. There may even be a few friends who think that way, and express their views openly and in such a way as to gather support for their views. These folks may be quite unsure of themselves or even paranoiac. They can also be very vocal in the expression of their views.

The faithful Christian believer is ripe ground for feeling they (and the world) are under control from the top, whether government, MPC (Monetary Policy Control), or the biggie WEF (World Economic Forum). These may all lead in an extreme way to the One World Government, and/or a Single Currency. A good example of a united currency is where the Euro replaced a dozen or so other national currencies. Take that a step further and think of the world having one currency. Imagine the benefits, but also the dangers!

The Bible warns of the end times having a one world currency, and a one world religion. Imagine the dangers, and now maybe we can understand why some fervent believers are so vocal in their views. Are they right, or perhaps misguided in their extreme opinions?

A man brought his son to Jesus for healing from a demonic spirit, and he knew his own limitations, but he fully believed in Jesus’ power to heal when he exclaimed:”I believe, help Thou my unbelief”. Mark 9:24. He got it right when he determined that Jesus knew the difference between doubt, disbelief and unbelief, and could heal all three. May we have the simple faith of that man!

God or No God

I will honour those who honour me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me. 1 Samuel 2:30 NLT

The UK was once known as ‘Great Britain and Northern Ireland’, but something has changed because we are no longer ‘Great’, and you could argue that we are no longer ‘United’ either. What happened?

I believe the answer lies in the way we have treated our attitude to God. Other countries, who were once poor, third world nations, have taken over. One of the certain differences is how they approach the question of God. Not only do they believe in God, they practise that belief too. They have honoured God, and so God has honoured them in return.

The rise of the third world countries who have honoured God, has been slow, and the fall of our once proud, Godly (no, that’s not a contradiction) nation has been slow, but sure too. I am no longer proud of my country as I once was, and the downfall is clearly seen by the dishonour shown to God. The Bible is relevant even today, and when it says God will despise those who think lightly of Him, that has meaning and repercussions to place and people alike.

The question arises as to how we can ever get back to our once Great British Glory. I wish I had the answer, but one thing I do know is that our leaders and politicians do not care, and are not making plans or changes which will bring us back to God. Sadly, our national church leaders are not trying either. Oh, there are some small independent fellowships who care and would love to promote the thought, and certainty of God, but they are overwhelmed and drowned out by the sheer number of those who do not have any place for God in their lives.

I suggest we are left with this thought and associated action. Live our lives as though God really IS the most important person, and in some way we may make a small difference to those around us. It might not change the direction of our nation, but it certainly will make a difference to our own life and how it is lived, plus it may very well make a change in some of the lives of those who stand by and watch. I believe we have a bigger influence in the way we live than we realise. This is better said by Shakespeare.

Quote: “The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones” - Shakespeare

The Apprentice

Before I was allowed to go near an electric wire or circuit, I spent 4 long years learning the skills of an electrician. I often asked myself, and others, why all that time? Four years?? In truth I was one of the first in an intake of 4 years when it had previously been a 5 year apprenticeship!!

The question ‘why’ was soon answered, and it was learned by all of the apprentices within a short time. Have you ever had a 440v electric shock from a three phase supply? It can maim, or even kill. The thing in our favour was age. We were young, fit and healthy so our heart was able to take it. The biggest problem was being thrown across the room and against a wall. Broken bones were not unusual, but hearts were intact.

What about the end result of those 4 years? Was it worth it? Ask any untrained labourer who didn’t get the chance and worked side by side with those who actually did spend those tough four years. Money. Pay. Wages. Of course I can hear you say that there are many examples of very rich people who never put on a boiler suit or held a screwdriver (no, not the cocktail drink) in their hand. For anyone in that category, there will be a hundred, or more, time served apprentice electricians. Fact!

Our nation is in a sad place. There are fewer young men, and women too, who are helping to build our country. We rely on many well trained time served journeymen from other countries who now see the benefits of the skills we have slowly but surely lost. What happened? Who is to blame for the national shortage? We are. You and me. We sat and watched, and slept while other nations were alert to the need to build their own country, and gather extra cash by working in our country, and in the process took work from our own now unskilled workforce.

When will the malaise stop? I don’t know, but there is no doubt that the answer lies in our own hands. Not in the hands of the young apprentices who are starting out in year one of four, but in the now rich hands of those who know the benefits, and probably even worked their way through their own apprenticeships but decided to follow a faster way to get rich, without the hassle of keeping tabs on a four year process where not every one who started will finish. Oh, did I forget to say that some of those who started with good intentions didn’t finish the course? At least the process ensured that those who ended up as time served journeymen, were qualified to be the best of the bunch. Quality was assured. What does all of that say about the calibre of our nation’s youth where our work ethic starts? Answers on a postcard please, or perhaps in the comments below.

The Breakdown

Let’s say that your old family car has run smoothly for some years, but through time you can hear and sense that some of the parts are getting worn and ‘tired’. The wee car keeps on going but it doesn’t feel quite the same as the day you drove it from the garage forecourt. Then the unexpected (yet anticipated) happens. It stops, right at the most inconvenient time and place and no amount of looking under the bonnet helps it to restart. The thing is, the signs were there but you either ignored them, and/or hoped they would get better (even if you are not really, fully surprised) all by themselves. Unfortunately, that’s not the way of it. The hard fact is that a car needs regular servicing and maintenance to make sure it doesn’t just stop when and where you don’t expect it (even if deep down you are not shocked).

Our life is just like our wee family car. We need regular servicing and maintenance, but where and who is best placed to perform the work? Our frame is a mixture of the physical, emotional and spiritual and each part needs its own attention if we are to stop it getting ‘rusty’ and failing. I wonder where you would place the biggest priority and spend the most time and effort? Might I suggest that the physical is easiest to handle, followed closely by the emotional? Some regular visits to the local gym, and/or a personal trainer will take care of these parts of our nature. But what about the spiritual part of our being?

Most of us would agree that we are more than skin, bone and tissue, and have a greater need in our spirit. The place we might differ is how to address that part of our ‘person’. Can I be bold enough to suggest a few things which I think would certainly help?

If you don’t have a Bible in the house, get one either from an understanding friend, or buy one for yourself. That way, it will always be there and always be yours! Secondly, find a local church where God is fully worshipped and the Gospel is preached. You will be sure of a welcome. If you get that far, (or even if you don’t), give praying to our God a chance. You can’t go wrong, and it will certainly help you get your whole being running properly again. You are important to God and others whether you think it or not. Your family and friends need you to be in good working order to be the best help you can be to them. After all, half of a man or woman is of little use to anyone.

That takes us back full circle to where we started. To give you the best chance of avoiding a breakdown, include a relationship with God in your life. Job Done.

Infallible and Inerrant

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16,17 NIV

Really? I mean, are you kidding? Every word in the Bible really IS the Word of God?

When you are brought up in the church as I was, you accept and understand that the Bible is the Word of God, without question. From the quaint story of Adam and Eve with a fruit tree and a talking snake, through to the revelation and testimony of an apostle who was exiled on an island for the mentally insane! In between we have the story of a big fish that swallowed Jonah purely to teach him a lesson that he should never have disobeyed the instructions of God. 

There are those in church circles who treat some of the Bible as fables to teach us lessons, but they are NOT completely true. If that really is the case, what do we do with the verses at the top of our blog? If we discount them, what other verses do we discount? Do the ten commandments still hold? I suggest we are in dangerous territory when we mess about with the Bible as written, no matter the translation. We can’t pick and choose what we accept depending on the version or translation we prefer.

The questions raised by some believers (yes they are believers) are real, and take some answering, but they must be addressed. Otherwise we cast doubt on the infallibility and inerrancy of Holy Writ, and that cannot ever be good for believer and unbeliever alike.

I prefer to take the position that I may not understand the Bible in its entirety but I believe it enough to take it to the grave and therefore my eternity because my salvation depends on it. There are enough unbelievers and disbelievers to go round and pick at our Bible, but please do not let us join their ranks. All that does is cement their thinking. Can you hear their words as they talk to their other unbeliever friends? Hey, did you not know that David doesn’t believe the Bible either? Based on his life and words, the Bible and the way of salvation just cannot be trusted. Told you they are all hypocrites.

For my part, I must take my Bible as truth, in its fullness, otherwise there are many who will drive a bus through my belief system. I do not wish to stand before my final judge, and be condemned by my own words of apparent doubt. It comes down to this: Will you and I take the Holy Scriptures as fully true, or will we cast doubt which will be a means of tripping up another seeker and letting them slip into a lost eternity? We have a grave responsibility in the words we speak, yes, even to our believing friends!

Members and Attendance

 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 2 Timothy 4:2 KJV

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8 NIV

There is a serious malaise in the church today. Attendance. But the question hanging on the lips and hearts of many church leaders is this, “how do we get people back into the seats where they once happily sat individually, or in family units?” The church is not a business, but there is nothing wrong with learning their useful lessons which have stood the test of time, and with positive results. Here are some successes taken from the business world.

Advertising your best characteristics unashamedly, and in the most public ways. Newspapers, magazines, radio and even local TV. The local church is a good way to bring people together while preaching the gospel in a gentle way. It can help heal fractured communities and society by uniting separated neighbours.

Talk openly and freely in general conversations about the church you attend. Don’t be afraid or ashamed or reticent in ‘talking up’ the best parts of your church. Your neighbours can easily see the genuine article, and will equally see right through the apologetic person. Done properly, talking about your fellowship does so much good, but the opposite is also true if you are shallow, if you speak about your pastor or leaders in a negative way.

When the verse says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good”, it suggests that the person you are talking to must give it a try. There is no benefit in talking about church, but keeping your friends at a healthy distance in case they get offended, affected, ‘contaminated’ or convicted by the Holy Spirit of their wrong, sinful, lifestyle.

There is one sure way to get the Word of God across to the general non church goer, and that is to get them under the sound of the gospel, so I make no apology in using the verse in 2 Tim 4:2 where it says, “preach the Word”, even if you don’t feel like listening, but something has happened to society during the past few years. We all have the need for a ‘fast fix’ on just about anything from hamburgers to church attendance. I can get a burger quickly, almost without effort and the experience is over in an instant. Why can’t we have that with church? Trouble is, our eternal future takes more careful thought than some shallow consideration. 

It is important that we find our full and complete salvation. Oh, there’s one of those words we have trouble with, ‘salvation’, but why? I can hear some of you say, ‘and who says you have the right way?’ That’s very presumptuous. Surely there are many good ways to salvation and heaven? It’s a very common argument, and one I have heard often, even from good, well founded Christians who are sure of their salvation. You see, it is counter intuitive that if there is a God, and He is good, He would make it easy to gain true salvation. Therefore, since the Bible really IS the Word of God, we have to consider these important following verses:

“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)  

However, Jesus has the final say and His words still cause a problem today. He is either the Son of God, or a charlatan. The choice is yours. Your free will is also given, courtesy of this same person. Worth remembering!

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

The answer to the biggest questions in life, who am I, where did I come from, and where am I going, is Jesus Christ! We seem to have come full circle on the question of how to get more people into church, and catch their interest. Do you think the question has been answered, even in part? If you think you have an answer to this serious question, please feel free to add your comments.

Friendship

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24 ESV

There is a distinct difference between a companion and a friend. Who would you trust with your life? What about your family? Would you trust the welfare of your children with a companion or a true friend?

We tend to pick up many friendships along life’s way, but not many true friends. I reckon you could count on one hand the number of trusted friends you have. Don’t get me wrong, it is good to have friendships as they make life go smoother, but much better to enjoy the company of those few real, true, trusted friends who make life glide more smoothly!

If you have such friends, hold them close to your heart. You will always have that person’s best interests, and they, yours. When our verse suggests that your friend sticks closer than a brother, you have the closest of bonds, and that bond will not, and cannot be broken. Take note of the first part of our verse where it says you can have many different companions, but they are not trustworthy, and will bring you to ruin because they will work against each other, supposedly on your behalf and allegedly in your interest. Nothing is closer to the truth. 

Think about those ‘distant friends’ you have and the number of times their good intentions have landed you in trouble. You know the old saying that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”, and never let yourself be deceived by that friend, like Judas who kisses your cheek while selling you, body and soul, down the river! Learn the lesson before you get badly hurt.

Life teaches us many lessons, but this is one of the toughest to learn, and is usually painful, so take care as you recognise and choose your friends.

Your God?

“You shall have no other God(s) before Me”. Exodus 20:3 

I would suggest that since the first commandment gives us the foundation for the other 9 commandments, and much of the Bible, it must be important. We should therefore treat it with respect and reverence. But do we do that, even and especially as so called ‘committed Christians?’

What or who is your God? Please don’t patronise me by suggesting that you have no God other than the God of Exodus 20:3. I can think of a few, and they include, but are not limited to: my house, my car, my spouse, my child, my parents, my bank account, and the list goes on. Question: Would any of these ‘gods’ keep us from going to church? I would suggest not, unless they were used in an extreme case by an extreme person. 

So, what kind of ‘gods’ might keep us away from the place of worship? What would you rather do, or where would you rather be, instead of church? It is possible that some in the previous list might keep us from church, but there is another which certainly would keep us from our place of worship. I have seen it show up at all ages, from primary school age, right through into mature adulthood. The reason is simple. This one can involve the whole family, especially when encouraged in the young, by their parents and once started, it is almost impossible to stop.

Sport! Any kind of sport, whether actively involved, or as an armchair participant. You will inevitably hear the words, “but this is the final. Or Semi final. Or an important draw etc etc…” I know of no greater potential drain on church attendance, or even membership than sport.

Beginnings

“In the beginning, God”. Genesis 1:1

The Bible starts with a double whammy. Two words which are either loved (by the believer), or loathed (by the unbeliever). The words in this short entry to the Word of God cause heart problems, for good or ill, but cannot be ignored so let’s face them head on.

Firstly, we have the word “beginning”. When exactly was the beginning then? Do you know? Was it thousands, or perhaps billions of years ago? This has been the major topic of conversation at times, both in the pub and the church, and each is divided perhaps 50/50. Bible purists (is there any other kind?) say around 6,000 to 8,000 years, and those led and guided by science and a measure of common sense say millions, or even billions of years. God has given us all freedom of choice and a common sense of the obvious. Based on this alone, is it unreasonable to eliminate the ‘thousands of years’ argument? Oh, I can hear these Bible purists shout, “so you don’t accept the Bible as the inerrant and infallible Word of God then? 

Secondly, we have the word, “God”. Who says there is a God anyway? Which God? After all there are lots of religions and they all have their own God. Since we are talking about God in this context, we mean the Christian God. Yes, the triune God of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. That may be hard to get our minds round, but it is the sure ground where we take our stand. Those of us who profess to having a clear relationship with this Triune God, have no question over the validity of this choice. Once again, there are as many others, outside the believing church, who will question their God, as those who are within the camp of believers.

It’s when Scripture (yes we have to consider this as ‘Scripture’) puts these two words into the same phrase, that we have trouble. It’s bad enough that we disagree over the age of the earth, but that is only compounded by the choice of the word ‘God’. If we accept and believe that God was right there in the beginning, we have a sure foundation for our Christian faith, but we also have a certain root for an argument with those who disbelieve. It would be nice if we really could enter into a discussion, but invariably this always starts and ends as an argument, in much the same way as the topic of creation v evolution. But maybe that’s for another day. We have enough to chew on for this day.