“The Temple of the Holy Spirit” utmost.org | Tuesday, December 05, 2017 By Oswald Chambers
…only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you. —Genesis 41:40
I am accountable to God for the way I control my body under His authority. Paul said he did not “set aside the grace of God”— make it ineffective (Galatians 2:21). The grace of God is absolute and limitless, and the work of salvation through Jesus is complete and finished forever. I am not being saved— I am saved. Salvation is as eternal as God’s throne, but I must put to work or use what God has placed within me. To “work out [my] own salvation” (Philippians 2:12) means that I am responsible for using what He has given me.
It also means that I must exhibit in my own body the life of the Lord Jesus, not mysteriously or secretly, but openly and boldly. “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection . . .” (1 Corinthians 9:27). Every Christian can have his body under absolute control for God. God has given us the responsibility to rule over all “the temple of the Holy Spirit,” including our thoughts and desires (1 Corinthians 6:19). We are responsible for these, and we must never give way to improper ones. But most of us are much more severe in our judgment of others than we are in judging ourselves. We make excuses for things in ourselves, while we condemn things in the lives of others simply because we are not naturally inclined to do them.
Paul said, “I beseech you…that you present your bodies a living sacrifice…” (Romans 12:1). What I must decide is whether or not I will agree with my Lord and Master that my body will indeed be His temple. Once I agree, all the rules, regulations, and requirements of the law concerning the body are summed up for me in this revealed truth-my body is “the temple of the Holy Spirit.”
OUTSIDERS ourdailyjourney.org | Tuesday, December 05, 2017 By Tim Gustafson
Read: Matthew 1:1-17 "It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed . . . . For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies (Hebrews 11:31)".
All too soon, we’ll be hearing New Year’s resolutions. Check out this clever social media post from several years ago: “Increase my relationship status from ‘forever alone’ to ‘slightly desperate.’ ”
Funny. Yet a tinge of despair lurks beneath that wry tweet, and we can all relate. At one time or another, we’ve all known the discomfort of being the lonely one. The outsider.
The New Testament begins, “This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1). Ho-hum, right? But don’t miss what follows. In verses 5 and 6 we read, “Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth).”
Rahab and Ruth—two foreign women amid a list of Jewish men. Their stories could fill novels. When two Israelite spies hid out at Rahab’s place, she was more than slightly desperate. Prostitution is a desolate existence (Joshua 2:1). But Rahab recognized God at work in the people of Israel. Because of her actions, God preserved Rahab and her family when Jericho was destroyed (Joshua 6:22-25). The author of Hebrews honors “Rahab the prostitute,” who came out of the idol-worshiping Canaanites (Hebrews 11:31).
Ruth, too, epitomizes the outsider. She was from Moab, a pagan nation whose existence might embarrass us. Her people descended from an incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughter. Yet Ruth made this classic statement of faith: “Your God will be my God” (Ruth 1:16). She went on to become King David’s great-grandmother.
As we read the Bible, let’s not skip the genealogies. There we meet the God of the outsider. The God who does amazing things with the stories of all who turn to Him.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Colossians 2:1-15
More: Read 1 Corinthians 1:27-28 and consider how God has used people despised by the world to work out His perfect plans.
Next: As you read the Bible, ask yourself: What’s happening in this story? How does it fit with the rest of Scripture? What do I learn about God?
