Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Temple Keeping

My Body – Your Temple
You left the Temples
Of the times past
Of gold and precious stones
Of glory untold
To come dwell in me
To find rest in me
That nothing shall come between
You and me;
How honoured am I
That you chose my body
To be your temple
To display your glory
That many will see
And bless your name
And worship you
And love You more;
And all I need to
Is keep this temple in top form
Ensure all parts function
And every part is at your disposal;
With all that You’ve given
I present my body to You
Your glorious temple
Ever ready for Your use.


The Inspiration
I can recall when I first moved into my apartment. Everything was in good working condition. I hoped it will remain the same. With time, the harmattans made the door stiff and I ignored the cracks. The rains left stains on the net – I was too busy to clean them. The water made most metal rust – including the hook in the WC. One day I realized that the door handle was off, the net was weak and the toilet could not flush. They were no longer in good working condition. It did not happen over night. I had been negligent.

The same thing can happen to our bodies. If we do not take care of every part of our body, one day we’d realize they are not working as well as they should. This does not have to do with old age. Some young people today suffer from sickness and diseases simply because they did not eat right or take good care of their bodies.

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? [1 Corinthians 6:19]. As a child of God, the Holy Spirit resides in you. God wants to use your body to bring light to the world, to bring glory to HIS Name and to restore the world to HIS original plan. HE needs you and every part of you. Very often a discussion about the body being the temple of the Lord is attributed to accepting your righteousness in Christ Jesus and hence keeping the body holy. This remains true. However, today we will focus on your diet and health habits. God had put in place plans to ensure you are healthy and free from sickness and diseases. He has provided all that pertains to life – importantly food. Are you aware of these? Are you taking care of your health and diet?

Having a healthy and balanced diet is one way of preventing illness. This leaves your body fit for purpose. Is your diet rich in vitamins and mineral salts, balanced with all the nutrients, or is it heavy with cholesterol and junk? Daniel and his friends fed for ten days on vegetables and water, and ended up looking healthier and better nourished than those who ate the royal food [Daniel 1:10-15]. Their senses were alert as well. Do not underestimate what fruits and vegetables can do to your body. We live in a world where junk food is the order of the day. They look and smell good but have little relevant nutritional value. They do more harm than good. Even being slim (like I am) is no excuse for taking excessive fatty and high-cholesterol-content food. Some day you are likely to face the consequences. Eat healthily. There are lots of information on appropriate dietary needs specially for you. Take out time to find out.

Train your digestive system to allow for effective bowel movement. This helps to remove lots of toxic substances from the body. Don’t be a closed system. A lot of germs, bacteria, etc. are flushed out through our excretory system.

How do we get the oxygen that purifies the blood? Through the working of the lungs. So what are you inhaling today? Is it fuel? Smoke? Carbon monoxide? Or do you take out time to stay with nature where you can get fresh air to revitalize you? Help your lungs to help you. Now the blood is being pumped by the heart. Let me take you to an area we like to avoid – exercise. Are you warming up the heart, sending the blood to all parts of the body and excreting the sweat that flushes out waste matter? You can take quick walks and some jogs if you want to avoid strenuous exercises. But really, there should not be anything stopping you from exercising. You might feel you are young, or you come from a family where all live till 100 years. It is the way you take care of your body now that will determine how healthy it will be in the future.

Of course, don’t stress your body. Your body needs rest. God rested [Genesis 2:2]. Allow your body the necessity of rest, relaxation and sleep. Don’t wait for a breakdown before you know it’s time to rest.

If you have any eating disorder, hand it over to God in prayer. HE alone can get to the root of the matter and solve it. If you have problems with being regular with exercises, give it to God. There is power in prayer. If you have addictions that are affecting or have the potential to affect your healthy living, cast it upon HIM for HE really cares about you [1 Peter 5:7]. You do not want to look ten years back sometime in your life and say “Had I known?”

I beseech you therefore, Brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service [Romans 12:1]. And, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God [1 Corinthians 10:31]. Your body is HIS temple – keep the temple in good working condition.

Have a blessed day.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Temple keeping????

It was a shed the last I checked
Cobwebs and dust everywhere
It was entered by no one
I guess owned by no one
No, it had an owner yes an owner
Legend has it that he was mad
Slept on the streets,picked up junk
And threw the junk into the shed
The mad man died and so the shed
Until someone acquired it
Two years later, I saw not a shed
But the greatest Temple I had ever seen.


........... A temple in the wrong hands will be a shed....A shed in the right hands will be a temple. Think about it

Funmi Nasiru

Anonymous said...

Seed it was a year ago
Plant it was the next
Flowers I saw the next time I checked
Fruits I ate afterwards
With the fruits came more seeds
With more seeds came more plants
With more plants came more flowers
With more flowers came much more seeds
and on, and on , and on

Thanks for sharing your inspirations on your blog. Your sharing can only make you get more......HAPPY BIRTHDAY RITA!!!

Rita said...

Who are you?
I am yet to know
But one thing is for sure -
You are a special being
Who are you?
Greatness walking into my life
Teaching me the meaning
Of friendship and Phileo
Just want to say
That the little I know of you
Makes me know
You are a gifted blessing
Worth knowing and keeping.

Funmi, Thanks for your birthday wish.