"Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves but to God; he bought you for a price. So use your bodies for God's glory." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 TEV) "Sanctify" means to dedicate something for personal use by God. You can take your house and say, "God, I dedicate this house to you." You can say, "God, I take this car and dedicate it to you." It means taking whatever you have and giving it to God for his use. The Bible says, "Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves but to God; he bought you for a price. So use your bodies for God's glory" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 TEV). God uses all kinds of vessels, but he wants your vessel to be pure, clean, and healthy. If you want to be used by God, you need to get in shape. When your body — your vessel — is sanctified for God's use, it needs to be in the best possible shape to do the things God calls you to do. The Bible says, "You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands" (Psalm 119:73 NLT). God set up the principles of good health. He says you have to balance eating and exercising and sleeping. You need all three of these for good health. God wants you to be just as healthy physically as you are spiritually so that he can do a great work through you. Talk About It
Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and most influential churches. Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller "The Purpose Driven Life." His book, "The Purpose Driven Church," was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. He is also the founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for pastors. This devotional © 2012 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. |
