Attracted To The Temple

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?  1 Corinthians 6:19 (NLT)

I heard this text a lot growing up. And primarily the focus was about taking care of yourself. Your body is the temple of God so you should take care of it. It’s God’s; not yours.

You know, we are called to be good stewards (someone who manages or looks after something) of what we are given. God gives us our bodies so really, we should take care of it.

I agree with all that. But recently, the thought popped into my mind that we sometimes limit this text to physical stewardship. Couldn’t it be so much more? Back in Paul’s day, there were temples on every corner. Temples whose primary purpose was to bring glory to Poseidon, Aphrodite and many others. The temples were beautiful and attractive. As such, people were drawn to them.

What if we looked at ourselves the same way? Are we a place people are drawn to? When people interact with us, do they want to come back? Does the way we behave draw them closer or push them away? Does our character and interactions with people scream “God lives here!”? Do we glorify God with beauty that shines brightly from the inside?

Just something to ponder….how does the light that radiates from your temple represent God? What do people see on the inside?

I Wanna Be Like You!

So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT)

I spent the week last week with a couple of toddlers.  Once each day we sat and watched movies. They were usually Disney or Pixar movies. As I watched with them, I remembered the line in the Jungle Book song "I Wanna Be Like You" that says:

Ooh-bi-doo, I wan'na be like you
I want to walk like you, talk like you, too  

And I thought about God.  Shouldn't this be our goal?  To walk like Jesus and talk like Jesus?  How do we do that?  How do we start to walk like him and talk like him?

The thing is, we have to spend time with him to facilitate that change. We become what we behold. Truly, each day the goal is to represent Christ in a way that inspires people to know him. We can't do that if we don't reflect his image well.

So, as you walk through your jungle today sing the song:

Ooh-bi-doo, I wan'na be like you
I want to walk like you, talk like you, too

And remind yourself what it's really all about.

A Minute In It - Leadership

A minute in Gods' word will change your life.  Read through the Bible text and read the questions at the bottom of the post.

7 The Lord told Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” 9 Then the Lord said, “I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are. 10 Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.” 11 But Moses tried to pacify the Lord his God. “O Lord!” he said. “Why are you so angry with your own people whom you brought from the land of Egypt with such great power and such a strong hand? 12 Why let the Egyptians say, ‘Their God rescued them with the evil intention of slaughtering them in the mountains and wiping them from the face of the earth’? Turn away from your fierce anger. Change your mind about this terrible disaster you have threatened against your people!13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.[a] You bound yourself with an oath to them, saying, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven. And I will give them all of this land that I have promised to your descendants, and they will possess it forever.’” 14 So the Lord changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people. Exodus 32:7-14 (NLT)

And

19 When they came near the camp, Moses saw the calf and the dancing, and he burned with anger. He threw the stone tablets to the ground, smashing them at the foot of the mountain. 20 He took the calf they had made and burned it. Then he ground it into powder, threw it into the water, and forced the people to drink it. 21 Finally, he turned to Aaron and demanded, “What did these people do to you to make you bring such terrible sin upon them?” 22 “Don’t get so upset, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know how evil these people are. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has gold jewelry, take it off.’ When they brought it to me, I simply threw it into the fire—and out came this calf!” 25 Moses saw that Aaron had let the people get completely out of control, much to the amusement of their enemies. (v. 19-25)

There are two types of leaders represented in these passages. Which of these leaders would you want on your side? Which one truly cared about the people? What were the character differences between the two? Which type of leader are you?