Many people today are obsessed with health and fitness. They watch what they eat and exercise religiously, but is that really the most important thing in life? Not according to Scripture. Paul told Timothy, “Bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things” (1 Tim. 4:8). Yet this doesn’t mean we should ignore our physical bodies and indulge in unhealthy practices. These are the only bodies we have at present—the only ones with which to serve the Lord and accomplish whatever He’s planned for us. Therefore, we should do our best to take care of them.
So what does Scripture say about our bodies? Paul teaches that if we are believers, they belong to God, are members of Christ, and are temples of the Holy Spirit. What an amazing thought—that our bodies belong to the divine Trinity. Therefore we must care for them and not ignore or abuse them with sinful or self-indulgent practices.
Because Christians respect church as a place where God is worshipped, none of us would walk into a sanctuary and deliberately vandalize it by smearing paint all over the walls. Yet our bodies are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and are worthy of more honor than any house of worship.
Nevertheless, some believers assume that neglecting or mistreating their bodies is their prerogative. However, as we read in Scripture, our bodies belong not to us but to the Lord, who purchased us with His own blood. The goal isn’t to make physical health an idol, but to be responsible to God for how we treat this marvelous gift from Him.
We don’t think of seconds as very important. But they tick away into minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years. Look at it this way: A 70-year-old has lived the equivalent of about two billion, two hundred seven million, five hundred and twenty thousand seconds! While you were reading that last sentence, about five seconds of your life elapsed, and you can never go back and decide to use them differently.
Small as they are, seconds are precious because they are a creation and a gift of God. How we use even these small time increments is important because our heavenly Father has a plan for each and every life. Since we are to live it for His purpose and will, we must consider how He would have us spend not just years, months, and days, but even minutes and seconds. And the time to evaluate how we should use them is now, before any more of our life passes by.
Understanding the value of each moment, the apostle Paul urges us, “Be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15-16). In essence, he is instructing us to take advantage of every opportunity the Lord gives us.
The heavenly Father is the one who opens doors for us to serve Him in a variety of ways, but if we neglect these opportunities, there is no guarantee that we will have a second chance. That’s why we must become aware of how we are using our time. Are we wasting it or redeeming it according to God’s will?
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When God’s people humbly call upon His name, He releases awesome power. The Bible is packed with stories of His mighty intervention on behalf of those who cry out to Him.
Take Jehoshaphat, for instance. He received word that the Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites were joining forces to wage war against his kingdom. But today’s passage tells of the king’s reliance upon the Lord in that time of adversity.
Jehoshaphat admitted his fear but quickly reminded himself of God’s faithfulness to other believers in the past (v. 7). Confessing total dependence on the Lord, he gathered all of the Israelites to cry out to their Father. Through the prophet Jahaziel, God reminded them this was His battle, so they were not to fear (vv. 14-15). The people praised the Lord for His encouragement. And amazingly, when they “came to the lookout of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude, and ... no one had escaped” (v. 24). All their enemies lay dead.
God worked in a more miraculous way than anyone could imagine—and He still exceeds our expectations today. Through such means as prayer, praise, song, and fasting, we can ask Him to reveal Himself. He is ready to respond when we bring heavy hearts and deep concerns to Him.
Though we are unable to succeed on our own, we try all too frequently. Crying out to God and asking Him to work in our life requires humility and persistence. By allowing us to bring our concerns and desires before Him, Jesus lovingly helps us realize our dependence—and His power.
God’s Word contains commands about many things, from expressions of worship and relationships with other people to frequency of prayer (Deut. 6:5; John 13:34; 1 Thessalonians 5:17). Surprisingly, though, there is no place in the Scriptures where the believer is specifically instructed to fast.
Yet the words “whenever you fast” (Matt. 6:16, emphasis added) show Jesus’ expectation that His followers would practice this discipline. And there are examples in the Bible of people who abstained from certain activities in order to draw close to God.
Before we go further, it is important to dispel a popular misunderstanding. Fasting doesn’t serve to change God’s mind, speed up His answer, or manipulate His will. Instead, fasting helps us focus our attention on God alone, so that we listen and worship wholeheartedly.
Denying ourselves in this way makes us better able to fix our eyes on Christ and hear Him clearly. His Spirit often starts by bringing to mind sin that needs to be confessed. In so doing, He sanctifies our thoughts—then He can use this precious time to intensify our desire for God, reveal His will, and grant understanding and peace. In essence, fasting binds us to Him in a oneness that is otherwise difficult to cultivate in our busy world.
Do you want to see God move in awesome ways? By removing anything that hinders your focus, you can fix attention solely on the Creator and cry out to Him regarding your needs. As you gain understanding about your Father and yourself, you will grow closer to Him.
Have you ever heard a testimony from someone who has been through a horrible tragedy and seen firsthand the faithfulness of God in that situation? We pay close attention to these accounts because they inspire us to trust the Lord. And of all the witnesses to God’s grace in times of trouble, none is more compelling than the apostle Paul.
Paul was no stranger to hardship. Throughout his ministry, he was dragged, beaten, stoned, arrested, shipwrecked, and accused of heresy by both the Jewish leaders and the Roman government (2 Corinthians 11:23-28). This was certainly a contrast to his early life, when he enjoyed opportunities that his Roman citizenship and Jewish education provided.
In the midst of these amazing ups and downs in his life, Paul discovered a valuable lesson. In Philippians 4:11, he writes, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” His attitude didn’t change with his circumstances—it remained constant whether he had plenty or was in need (Phil. 4:12).
Paul referred to this contentment as a “secret” but then revealed the source of this attitude in the very next verse: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). He is speaking, of course, about Jesus.
In ourselves, there is no way we can muster contentment in every situation. But once we understand that God works through our trials to make us more like His Son and that our union with Christ strengthens us to endure and even rejoice, we have a strong foundation for contentment no matter what is going on around us.
