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The Body

by Janelle Goodwin  
5/14/2013 / Devotionals

THE BODY

Scripture Reading

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinned against his own body. What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
Psalm 1:1-6 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, not sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted my the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Psalm 4:3-4 But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him. Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

Lesson Subject
Our body is very important to God. He has created each of us for a special reason. God desires for us to live a life so that we can be used for His service and His glory. We are His temples. If you have truly repented of your sins and have a true desire to change to be who God created you to be, then He will give you the desires of your heart. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the inward appearance.
Lesson Studies
And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote in the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She said, no man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. (John 8:28)
As Christians we have given our bodies to God for His use as a home to live in us. We are no longer our own bodies, since we were bought with the price of Jesus Christ. Once we have made the decision to be who we need to be for God then we must remain faithful to him in every area of our lives. God does not have a sin scale. Here in John, Jesus told this woman to go and sin no more. That is what we need to do; once we have been forgiven of our sins we do not need to go back to it. We must respond in like manner and accept the forgiveness God offers and go forward and not live in sin anymore.
Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-24)
If the Spirit guides us we will not obey our fleshly desires. If we obey God then the Spirit has control over us. The spirit will tell us where to go and what to do. The Lord knows those people who are truly His. As we turn away from evil and stop doing the things that are wrong, we will change the way that we live so that we can be vessels used for the glory of God. God has chosen the faithful people to be His special people. He wants us to be his very own. He wants us to know that He will always be there for us and he is faithful to hear us when we call on Him. As we put our trust in God and follow after His ways, we will be able to offer the perfect sacrifices unto Him.
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity which is the bond of perfectness. (Colossians 3:12-14)
As the elect we are told that we need to portray ourselves as a new man full of true holiness and righteousness. We must show kindness, humbleness, meekness and longsuffering to one another. It is up to us to forgive one another when we argue with others, because Christ has forgiven us. Love is the bond of perfectness and love must be shown to every creature no matter who they are or what they have done. Love is the most important thing we can do. The Bible tells us that love covers a multitude of sins. Love is what ties everything together.
If we allow the peace of God to rule our hearts and we are thankful for everything, then what is on the inside will shine through to the outside. As we let the word of God dwell in us, then we will be able to teach others, by our example, how to live the Godly lives that God desires for us to live. Whatever we do, needs to be done as if we are doing it for the Lord. God bought us with the price of his own son, Jesus Christ; therefore we need to glorify God through our bodies and spirits.


Life Lessons
Author Unknown

I was holding a notice from my 13 year-old son's school announcing a meeting to preview the new course in sexuality. Parents could examine the curriculum and take part in an actual lesson presented exactly as it would be given to the students. When I arrived at the school, I was surprised to discover only about a dozen parents there.
As we waited for the presentation, I thumbed through page after page of instructions in the prevention of pregnancy or disease. I found abstinence mentioned only in passing. When the teacher arrived with the school nurse; she asked it there were any questions. I asked why abstinence did not play a noticeable part in the educational material. What happened next was shocking.
There was a great deal of laughter, and someone suggested that if I thought abstinence had any merit, I should go back to burying my head in the sand. The teacher and the nurse said nothing as I drowned in a sea of embarrassment. My mind had gone blank, and I could think of nothing to say. The teacher explained to me that the job of the school was to teach "facts," and the home was responsible for moral training. I sat in silence for the next 20 minutes as the sexuality course was explained. The other parents seemed to give their unqualified support to the materials.
At the break time, the teacher announced that there were donuts in the back of the room and requested that everyone put on a name tag and mingle with each other. Everyone moved to the back of the room. As I watched them affixing their name tags and shaking hands, I sat deep in thought. I was ashamed that I had not been able to convince them to include a serious discussion of abstinence in the educational materials. I uttered a silent prayer for guidance.
My thoughts were interrupted by the teacher's hand on my shoulder. "Won't you join the others, Mr. Layton?" The nurse smiled sweetly at me. "The donuts are good." "Thank you, no," I replied. "Well, then, how about a name tag? I'm sure the others would like to meet you." "Some how I doubt that," I replied. "Won't you please join them?" she coaxed. Then I heard a still, small voice whisper, "don't go." The message in my head was unmistakable: "don't go!" "I'll just wait here," I said.
When the class was called back to order, the teacher looked around the long table and thanked everyone for putting on the name tags. She ignored me. Then she said, "Now we're going to give you the same lesson we'll be giving your children. Everyone please peel off your name tags and look at the back of the tag." I watched in silence as the tags came off. "Now then, I drew a tiny flower on the back of one of the tags. Who has it, please?" the teacher asked. The gentleman across from me held it up. "Here it is!" "All right," she said. "The flower represents disease. Do you recall with whom you shook hands?" He pointed to a couple of people. "Very good," she replied. "The handshake in this case represents intimacy. So the two people you had contact with now have the disease." There was laughter and joking among the parents. The teacher continued, "and whom did the two of you shake hands with?" The point was well taken, and she explained how this lesson would show students how quickly disease is spread. She concluded by saying, "Since we all shook hands, we all have the disease."
It was then that I heard the still, small voice again, "Speak now," it said, "but be humble." I wryly noted the latter admonition, and then rose from my chair. I apologized for any upset I might have caused earlier, congratulated the teacher on an excellent lesson that would impress the youth, and concluded by saying I had only one small point I wished to make. "Not all of us were infected with the disease," I said. "One of us abstained."

Lady of Virtue Ministries started as Janelle Goodwin attended Bible College in upstate NY. Janelle became burdened to see souls saved from eternal condemnation. Upon returning home from Bible College, she also became burdened to see women of the world develop characteristics of a Proverbs 31

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