BetterSample

PRAYER:

Jesus, help me understand my value to you. Help me let go of the things that master me. I want to live with you as my only Master.

READING: 

Your Body Is A Temple

- Andy Stanley

Obedience to God gives us life. Paul encourages obedience with our whole bodies because our bodies are the temples of God. This was a profound concept in Paul’s time because before Jesus, the temple was a place you went to meet with God. Now you are the temple of God. Why? Because the Holy Spirit lives in you.

If this is true, then you are sacred. Not because of your behavior, but because of the One who lives inside you. God resides in you. So what is true of the temples of old is now true of you. You are not your own. Just as the temples belong to God, your body belongs to God. And you’re his because he bought you.

You need to understand that you don’t belong to yourself if you’ve placed your faith in Christ. You belong to him because he has purchased you with a price. The problem is, we don’t realize our value. To understand the price he paid, we need to understand just a little bit of Economics 101, which says that a perceived value of an object determines the price a person is willing to pay. For example, someone in a desert would be willing to pay more for water than someone who lives by a stream. 

Here’s what’s amazing. There was a price put on you, and that price was determined by your value in the eyes of God. The price that God paid for you? His Son. God has placed a value on you that was paid for by the blood of his Son, Jesus.

This begs the questions: What has the thing that you’re holding onto offered you? What has it sacrificed for you? Nothing. You are the one paying the price. Why do you honor and empower that thing? Why are you allowing something that’s hurting you to be your master?

Paul concludes, “Therefore, here’s what I want you to do… in all your behavior, your relationships, your decisions, in all that you do, honor God.” Anything that gets in the way of God’s love for you needs to be moved out of the way. And anything that gets in the way of your love for other people needs to be put away. 

Stop holding onto what is holding you back! God loves you and he’s inviting you to a way of life where you set down every encumbrance so you can be fully his. And if you haven’t already, I hope you will then take hold of the One who bought you and wants to give you an abundant life that is truly life.

REFLECTION:

Jesus is the Master who demonstrated his love for you in this…  that while you were still hanging onto stuff that was holding you back, while you were still a sinner, he died for your sin. And then he’s invited you to follow him. Set down what is hindering you and take hold of Jesus. Let him be the Master that truly makes your life better.

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