1 Cor. 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit in you, whom you have of God? And you are not your own, for you are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.
A few years ago, there was a fascinating article in Bloomberg about how the prices of some paintings are falling rapidly. As I read the article I wondered just how much paintings actually go for.
The most expensive painting according to Wikipedia was sold for over $300 million dollars. It's called "Interchange" by Willem de Kooning. I thought -- "wow that's a lot of money." Then there was another painting called "Number 17A" by Jackson Pollock that was sold for over $200 million dollars!
As I perused Pollock's collection, (I'm no art connoisseur) the paintings looked like a bunch of house painters' drop cloths that were hung on the wall. Honestly, to me they just looked like a mess -- yet people have paid millions of dollars for these works!
That got me to thinking -- what is a human life worth? To some uninformed or cynical eyes, human beings are just a mess of "useless eaters" (a phrase used by Henry Kissinger to describe the elderly) ... but we know that every human life is extremely valuable because God was willing to pay the highest price for it. He gave His Son for your life -- declaring its value in His own precious blood!
So while you may feel, or even look like a house painter's drop cloth, in God's economy -- the only one that matters -- you are priceless, of inestimable value!
Live your life in the Father's estimation of its value. You are a precious piece in His "collection" His valuation of you is filled with loving purpose -- let it sink in -- you are precious, "worth more than many sparrows"; bought and paid for by the King of Kings whose taste is impeccable!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]This unique passage in Revelation has a warning and a blessing.
The first part of this verse was a warning about the suddenness of the Lord’s return as He is coming as a thief to the world not anticipating His return.
The Hebrew language contains numerous words that have the same root yet vast differences in meaning. On deeper examination however, these words can be related in illuminating ways. For example, the three Hebrew letters --"Lamed", "Chet", and "Mem"-- which spell, "lechem", or "bread" in English, are also the root letters for "fight" (lehilachem) and "war" (milchama). For centuries Rabbis have discussed and debated the connection between these three words.
When the twelve spies were sent out by Moses into the land of Canaan, ten came back with a bad report. Joshua and Caleb, however, returned with a good report, saying in essence, “If God is for us — then who can be against us?” The two courageous spies expressed their confidence in a way that was quite cool: “Do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us.” [Numbers 14:9]
In Israel, the celebration of Shavuot took place yesterday. Most Christians would recognize this as the celebration of Pentecost in Acts 2. However, the very first Shavuot took place fifty days after the Israel crossed the Red Sea. It was on this day according to Jewish tradition that the law was given on tablets of stone.
An ancient Hebrew commentator wrote of this verse, "In the words of our teachers of blessed memory and in the Midrash [ancient Hebrew commentaries of the O.T.], it is taught that the 'breaker' is Elijah and 'their King' is the branch of the son of David."
In the Greek olympic games of old, a unique race was run. The winner was not the runner who finished first --- it was the runner who finished with his torch still lit!
“One that sows discord among brothers” is an abomination to God. It’s an amazing passage that is often overlooked when considering offenses which God hates.