Archive for the ‘Temple of God’ Category

Fear God…an appropriate response but not if He knows you.

Thursday, March 14th, 2013

Temple of God, March 14

…God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, www.solascriptura.com

Father, indeed, we who love You with all our heart, mind and soul and love our neighbor as ourselves, are not appointed to Your wrath. We know that does not mean that we are protected from the wrath of mankind, where people are capable of heinous crime.

We are protected from Your wrath and most theologians take that to mean we will not endure Armageddon, because we will have been caught up in the clouds, either before the 7 years of tribulation, in the middle of the 7 years or at the end of the 7 years. You have chosen to not make it perfectly clear whether we should hold a pre-trib, mid-trib or post-trib view but You have made it clear we should be “ready.” If we are ready we will be taken to Your side and we will not endure the final trials that will occur.

You have appointed us to salvation. Your grace called us and Your Son took away our sin. Help us, today, to respond to Your love and mercy. Being protected by You, for eternity, is Your promise.

When we do experience the wrath of man, help us know that the suffering of this present time is not worthy to be compared to what You have prepared for us. We are Yours, forever, not just for this extremely brief moment of time (a finite number is incomparable to an infinite number) but for eternity. If we live less than three score and ten, we graduate early (to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord) and if we live longer we get to serve longer. Bless us this day, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Posted in Christianity, God's Children, Temple of God, faith, salvation | 21 Comments »

Fidelity an option?

Saturday, October 20th, 2012

Temple of God, October 20

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?
… he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
Or 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?
For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1 Corinthians 6:15, 17, 19-20,  www.solascriptura.com

Father, elsewhere You have taught us that when we invite You into our heart, that we become one with You, just as when a man and woman come together, their union makes them “as one”. Here we learn that when we decide to acknowledge and accept Your grace in our lives, we become as one with Jesus.

Father, it is clear that fidelity to You, the Holy Spirit in us, is of utmost importance. We were bought at a great price and if we say we love You, and in fact do love You, at least for a while, and then decide to kick You out of our lives, then we have committed the unpardonable sin which You defined in Hebrews 6:4-6.

So it is Father, with a man and a woman. Fidelity is not an option because if it was, we would be going against Your stated will, for a man and a woman. O’God, teach us, right now, how much fidelity to You and fidelity to those we make vows to here, matters. Where we have erred, forgive us we pray and enable us to go forward in Your strength. In Jesus’ name we pray.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O.Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Posted in Christianity, God's Gift, Holy Spirit, Religion, Temple of God | 3 Comments »

Eat, drink, work, play…as unto the Lord.

Friday, October 12th, 2012

Temple of God, October 12

Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things.
For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables.
Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him.
He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.
For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.
For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

Romans 14:1-3; 6-9, www.solascriptura.com

Father, our bodies are the place where the Spirit abides and therefore we are the Temple of God. If we decide to be vegetarians, or not, Your word teaches us not to let that become an issue. We are told that we need not worry about the other person’s eating habits.

You teach us elsewhere that it is not what enters into the stomach that defiles a man, it is that which proceeds from the heart. What we eat and what we drink may or may not be healthy (we get to make choices) but what we say and the way we behave must be consistent with Your expectations.

Your word says that if we eat, we eat as unto the Lord, if we speak, we speak as unto the Lord. Father, may we “Do all things as unto the Lord”. What a perfect yardstick for measuring our thoughts and actions.

Help us, today, to take care of the body you have given us and to be an effective witness, one that presents ourselves as a Temple of God. Give us, we pray, the self-discipline, buoyed by the power of the Holy Spirit to be as You Jesus, full of joy, humility and love. In Your name we pray, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Am I my brother’s keeper…yes, more than I thought.

Friday, September 21st, 2012

Temple of God, September 21

…let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.
Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense.
It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.
Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.
But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.
 
Romans 14:19-23, www.solascripura.com

Dear God, You have taught us that we have freedom in our choices of food and drink. Here You teach us that when we make decisions about eating or drinking that we should feel we are acting in a manner consistent with Your will.
 
You teach us that our conscience must be clear when we make choices about eating and drinking and that if our heart convicts us concerning such things, we should refrain. You also tell us that if we do not feel right about what we are doing and we go on doing it, we are sinning.

Father, there is another issue that You bring up. When a person is upset by our choices of eating and drinking and if we insist on moving forward with that choice, we err. If our brother in Christ does not feel drinking wine or eating pork or any other prohibition, is proper, we need not make an issue of it and You say we should never cause that person to stumble. Give us discernment in such matters, we pray.

Father, it all seems to come down to our love for You and our neighbor. If we have a clear conscience before You we are free to eat and drink whatever we choose, knowing that doing either to excess, leads to problems. If we truly love our neighbor we will not do anything that offends what you describe as a “weaker brother” simply because we love them and do not want an issue of that sort to divide us.
 
You sum it all up by saying “…let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.” Let that be our goal we pray. Amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Posted in Christianity, Conscience, Humility, Law of God, Temple of God, peace | 13 Comments »

Love God. That’s easy. Love your imperfect neighbor, that is something else!

Monday, September 3rd, 2012

Temple of God, September 3

We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.
For even Christ did not please Himself…

Romans 15:1-3, www.solascriptura.com

Jesus, we see from Paul’s words that You lived among us and did not focus on pleasing Yourself. You eventually made the ultimate sacrifice for us and You made it clear it was a very painful act. The suffering was one thing but absorbing all of the sin of mankind meant at least a temporary separation from the Father.

Jesus, we sometimes feel that we must “have our way”. We too often focus on our rights and our needs. Help us today to see that You set the perfect example for us. In loving You with all of our hearts, mind and soul, we serve You. In loving our neighbor as ourselves, we serve them.

We humbly pray for more patience as we place our hopes and needs before You and as we extend Your love to others. It is much easier for us to “wait upon the Lord” knowing that Your will for us is what is best for us, even when we beg You to intervene in difficult circumstances, than to be patient with our neighbor.

Help us show the same consideration to our neighbors and friends as we do to You. Keep us from rejecting people simply because they are irritatingly persistent at times. What a wonderful thing it is when You honor our persistence instead of getting impatient with us. Give us a servant’s heart towards our neighbor, we pray, in Jesus’ name, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Posted in Christianity, Courage, Religion, Temple of God | 6 Comments »

40 years in the desert and their sandals did not wear out?

Wednesday, August 15th, 2012

Temple of God, August 15

Now Moses called all Israel and said to them: “You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land
”the great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders.
”Yet the LORD has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day.
”And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet;
”you have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or similar drink; that you may know that I am the LORD your God.

Deuteronomy 29:2-6, www.solascriptura.com

Father, Your chosen people have experienced firsthand what it is to be the temple of the living God. You did miracles in their midst, giving them manna every day, giving them water where none should have existed and leading them in the paths You wanted them to go.

They saw how they were redeemed from captivity as Moses confronted Pharaoh with miracle after miracle showing him that You Father, were in total control. These people were walking examples of Your glory.

Yet, Father, disobedience persisted. They had eyes that did not see and ears that did not hear and their hearts were not full of discernment.

Father, we, and everyone in the world, have been chosen by You to receive Your grace. Jesus, when He went to the cross and was raised again, told us that His death and resurrection established a New Covenant, one in which the truth is written on the heart of every man, whereby no one is without at least some Light.

We are Your temples and You are our Lord. The evidence of Your love has been verified. Help us and every person in every nation to respond to Your grace. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Posted in Christianity, God's Children, Temple of God, salvation | 38 Comments »

Do I need to make some lifestyle changes?

Thursday, July 26th, 2012

Temple of God, July 26

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

1 Corinthians 3:16, 17 www.solascriptura.com

Father, Paul reminds us that we are the temple of God. Your Spirit is in our heart and as we walk about, we are as a Temple among men. Paul teaches us that if we defile the temple that You will destroy us. That is pretty strong language!

What is it that we might do Father to defile the temple? That is a question that each of us needs to answer as individuals. If we were to make a list of things that we think “defile the temple”, what would our list include?

God, help us know what it is that You would have us stop doing. We pray for the Holy Spirit in us to give us the resolve to make any changes in our lifestyle and habits that are necessary. Give us an effective witness among those we meet, we pray. Help each of us to be Holy in Your sight; we pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Who will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Sunday, July 8th, 2012

The Temple of God, July 8

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

Food is for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.

1 Corinthians 6:9-14, www.solascriptura.com

Father, You have taught us that we are Your Temple and that you reside in our hearts. It does not surprise us that this temple should not be dragged into sinful situations. If we claim we are Yours, help us not desecrate the temple, nor embarrass You, and eventually ourselves, by our bad choices.

We know that You hate sin and will not let it into Your midst. Is there any way Father that we can willfully sin and still expect Your presence? There may be a way but it seems like a childish expectation.

Father, the sins listed are more or less “sins against our bodies” but are sins of anger, pride and envy any less irritating to You? You have taught us the answer many times; we are to be as Jesus and that was the embodiment of perfection. Since we are in a state of “becoming” in terms of our sanctification, we realize that sin will pursue us, relentlessly. Strengthen our resolve to look to You for the solution.

You did resurrect Jesus and the last verse of this quotation says You will lift us up. We are, at times, very burdened here and can’t wait for the perfection You promise. In the meantime, help us use the days You have allotted to us wisely that we may bring glory to You. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Posted in Christianity, Fidelity, God's Children, Religion, Temple of God, salvation | 4 Comments »

Which sins anger God the most?

Friday, July 6th, 2012

The Narrow Gate, July 6

…(they) worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.
Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,
backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;
who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

Romans 1:26-32, www.solascriptura.com

Father, Paul is not mincing words when he tells us what upsets You, what causes You to give up on those who choose to live their life pursuing things that You say are not fitting, not right.

What we notice Father, is that You place pride and disobedience in the same list as sexual immorality and murder and say the same penalty awaits all sinners. Father, we know that sin is sin and that all sin separates us from You. You have told us that You will not permit sin to come into Your presence.

How are we able to come into Your presence? It certainly is not as one who has never sinned. Regardless of the sins that we have committed, you tell us that our faith and belief in the redeeming act of Jesus, can, at our election, wipe away every sin, as far as the east is from the west, never to be remembered against us again.

That is truly a miracle and none of us is worthy of such grace and mercy. Help us stop sinning and to claim a victory over sin by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit in us, we pray. Amen.

Bruce Caldwell

The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064

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Posted in Christianity, Conscience, End Times, Perseverance, Religion, Satan, Temple of God, salvation | 7 Comments »