1 Cor 3:16-17 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.
Ephesians 2:21-22 in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
What an amazing thought that a holy and infinite God dwells within our bodies when we come to faith! This awesome God so desires to inhabit our very beings ... wow!
Now imagine how that God is constructing this magnificent temple of living stones, believers around the world, and fitting us together into a masterpiece; stones of every color, every size, and differing weight, and fitting them TIGHTLY and perfectly together for His glory!
Imagine walking into a glorious Temple, a visual masterpiece exemplifying His temple of Living stones…and gazing at the splendor of gold, silver and precious gems … imagine the awe of the beauty you're taking in!
Now brace yourself and imagine a person entering this glorious place, taking a sledgehammer and smashing the walls ... hitting every stone ... doing all he can to desecrate and destroy all this wonder and beauty … you'd say it's the height of insanity, a massive blasphemy against the magnificent work of the Creator!
But how often do we ourselves as His body pick up our hammers, big and small, and do this destructive work?
There is a proverb of Solomon – “Life and death are in the power of the tongue”. Our tongues can become "hammers" of destruction and death to His precious children, His Holy Bride. in the Temple of God, His Body.
Words can build up … and sadly, can also destroy!
Use words, not as hammers of destruction, but as skillful building tools inspired by the Holy Spirit to build one another up … polishing each and every precious stone in God's Temple. Our Lord is a builder, the Living Word who says, "Let there be! And it IS! …so let us also be aware before we open our mouths to speak, as we will be judged for every idle word! We have the words of life to speak into anyone's life today. And "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." [Proverbs 25:11]
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]As we continue our study of the men who followed David, let’s look at their boldness — the boldness of lions! We also need this boldness in the face of the enemy who is “like a lion”, himself….a roaring lion.
As we continue our study of the Mighty Men of David, another quality is worth pointing out — they were not procrastinators. Notice that these men decided to cross the Jordan river when it was at flood stage! They didn’t wait till the river receded, but rather, boldly crossed when it was the most dangerous!
As David grew in stature those who stood by him increased in number, devoting themselves to fight with him. Though it was a time of adversity for David, and a time of warfare, he found that there were many willing to join their lives to his; "...a brother is born for adversity"; and "there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother". Again we note that David's anointing and his character made him a friend to many...and many became his loyal friends.
In the 1970s when the Alaskan Pipeline was being constructed many Texans went to Alaska to work on the pipeline alongside the Eskimos, native Alaskans. However the Texans could only work a few hours in the frigid weather, while the Eskimos could easily work for hours on end.
A program by National Geographic gives a powerful illustration for us. In the great annual wildebeest migration in Serengeti National Park in Africa a giant herd, thousands of wildebeest, slowly move in groups across the plain. They are invariably followed by stalking lions. But the lions never attack the herd – they simply watch carefully for the stray wildebeest, either careless or seeking greener grass, who separates himself from the larger groups of animals. The isolated wildebeest will become the sudden prey of the lions who attack with lightening speed and ferocity.
50,000 soldiers from the tribe of Zebulun served in David’s army with UNDIVIDED (some translations: “not double-hearted”) hearts. Can you imagine a skilled army with this level of loyalty and devotion?
The mighty men that followed David were of one mind and heart to make him King. Their recognition of David’s anointing may have been the most significant quality of these Mighty Men. What was it in David that drew out this deep loyalty? I believe it was God’s Holy Spirit which David received when Samuel anointed him king.[1 Samuel 16:13].