1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Do you not know and understand that you [the church] are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells [permanently] in you [collectively and individually]? If anyone destroys the temple of God [corrupting it with false doctrine], God will destroy the destroyer; for the temple of God is holy (sacred), and that is what you are.

Greetings Rose Buddy!

I have implemented a new upload day for the blog posts. If you’re like me, then you find it hard to function without structure. So, clap with me as I announce that finally there is some consistency with my uploading schedule. Now, you can look forward to reading the blog post’s on Monday’s between 7am-9am. My video upload schedule will remain on Wednesday’s via Youtube at 7am as well. In this month, I will be focusing on FAITHmas while everyone else will be participating in “vlogmas” on Youtube. These will be faith based videos to keep Christ as the center of why we celebrate. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to support Christian content. Every day we are constantly fed junk food, worldly watered down hope, and temporary satisfaction. It is of most importance to help spread The Truth of God’s Word to such a desperate and hopeless generation. Watching the videos, sharing the blog posts, and subscribing helps visibility for Jesus to be displayed. It’s not about pushing my name out, but God’s. This is not just concerning me, but Christian content creators alike. We should support those whom Heaven supports. If you know anyone with a blog, social media platform, business, etc…who are bringing glory to the Kingdom of God and have a passion to showcase Jesus Marvelous Light to those still in darkness then share their platform. Also, keep them in prayer because it can be very hard to remain steadfast in a heavily secular, saturated field. Okay, that’s that on that. Let’s get into this blog post, shall we?

Our good fellow Paul is writing to the church of Corinth because there was some sectarianism happening in the church. I do encourage you to start at the beginning of this chapter because Paul literally snapped. Rightfully so, because the church at that time was not living up to the standard from which they were taught. Paul began to address them as babes in Christ, meaning they had little spiritual growth. Even went so far as to call them carnal. Some still debate if there is such thing as a carnal Christian. From what I believe while reading, is that these are indeed brethren in the Faith, but chose to be led by their flesh to the point they appear carnal more than spiritually led by God. We even see it now perhaps in our own lives and even in the lives of others. I can definitely attest to moments where my witness would’ve been questioned. There were definitely times I chose to be led by my flesh more than yielding to God’s Spirit. Forgetting that my actions matter not only for my own accountability, but also for the sake of not causing others to stumble. No, I did not allow my flesh to rule over every aspect of my life. If so, I would not be able to truthfully claim Jesus changed my life. However, I am admitting to instances where I was more flesh driven than faith driven.

“There are only two kinds of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, ‘All right, then, have it your way.”

— C.S. Lewis

Now we can discuss the focal verses for this blog post. The what shall we say then author goes back and forth between the physical temple of God and reminding them they too are the temple where God now dwells. There was so much fleshly behavior happening from envy, division, and strife it was polluting God’s House. Before we judge them too harshly, we can easily see some form of this in today’s church. This is why it is important for leaders to handle these things with urgency and care before it spreads like wildfire. Leaders have to be more adamant before it becomes the norm. Why? Well, how we behave and conduct ourselves in church is a tale tell sign of how we most likely behave in our every day lives. If we are quick to envy others and stir up division, it may mean we also may carry that same energy outside of The Lord’s House. God didn’t create us nor save us to behave this way. Yes, we have to deal with our flesh, but we should not allow ourselves to be led by it as believers. We have help now. William McDowell sings this song titled, I Won’t Go Back. In that song, it speaks of after both living for flesh and now living for God there is no comparison. After such a miraculous change, there is no logical or intelligent answer to turning back to the way things were before Christ. That song to me, showed how serious the believer should take their walk with God. It showed that we are not the same anymore and for that our actions and lifestyle should follow suit. We aren’t trying to keep up with the world. We are to display The Marvelous Light to their darkness. This cannot be done returning to carnal behavior. Paul then states God will destroy those who define His Temple. This is speaking of the physical church. We see churches being built to worship everything, but God. There are churches made for celebrities, made in false doctrine, and for personal gain. Let me just say, God meant what He said. As much as we talk about the Love of God we can’t forget that His Wrath is just as strong and real. There are consequences for corrupting The Lord’s House and that consequence looks like being utterly destroyed. This is why urgency matters in correcting believers. Allowing ourselves to be led to do things God isn’t pleased with and misusing the Grace we have to sin is deadly. It paints the wrong image of God and its only end destination is destruction. Not only does Paul not want them to perish, but God doesn’t either. This is why correction should be looked at as love for the believer. God corrects those He loves. We are in desperate need of more leaders who care more about souls than selfish ambition.

Lastly, Paul ended with a reminder. After the warning, he said “Whose you are.” Don’t know about you, but that really stirred me. It stirred me because even in my own life, I have to quote this same verse. There are pivotal moments where God’s Word reminds me who I am in Him. The standard has dramatically and permanently changed for me! Oftentimes, I look on social media and see people say, “new phone who dis?” or “the price just went up.” How much more for the believer should we declare, “new creature, who dis?” or “the price was paid?” We aren’t living for Christ and obeying scripture out of religious obligation, but gratitude! We live because He granted us the privilege to do so. There’s a certain way a person behaves when their life was saved, changed for the better, and are immensely loved. This is why we treat our bodies as sacred. This is why we give much reverence to The Lord’s House. It’s because of the acknowledgment that if it weren’t for Jesus, none of this would be possible. We’d be living empty, deadly lives leading to eternal death with no option. Keep this in mind as we celebrate this joyous season. I know this has been a tough year and I am not telling you that what you experienced won’t cause some form of pain. Just know that God desires to join us in our pain. He wants to heal us from what ails us even if it’s a broken heart. Remember Jesus came because He cared for us and He never stopped caring. Allow Him into your heart this season. You won’t regret it!

Heavenly Father, forgive us for disgracing our bodies and not remembering it is the place You seek to dwell. Forgive us for also disgracing Your House with any fleshly desires and behaviors we adopted from the world. We repent and turn ourselves back to Your Way! Your Way is righteous. Your Way is holy. Your way is the only acceptable way for us. We tried this thing called life on our own and we vow not to return back. Give us a right Spirit and clean us again. We want to look more like Your Son, Jesus and keep Your Temple sacred and a sweet savor unto You Heavenly Father. We love You and can’t do this without You. It is in Jesus Name we pray, amen!

Alright Rose buddy! Be sure to go to my YouTube channel for my series titled FAITHmas this month. Uploads will be every Wednesday so don’t miss out. See you next week, PEACE!