Keeping our Temple Free of Contamination
As we continue with this series, it’s important to note that with all these temptations against our body, our soul, and our spirit, the enemy is looking for our worship. Our body, soul, and our spirit are all components of the temple of the Holy Spirit. We’re the temple the Lord created for His worship, not to worship the work of our hands or any other idol.
The luring of the enemy that Adam and Eve succumbed to twisted them in their view of God and disfigured them in their soul (what they thought, in their emotions, and their willpower). This twisting caused their flesh and emotions to rule their actions through fear. All this was what the enemy needed to cause them to run from the presence of the Lord and hide from Him.
Adam forgot that everything he had accomplished so far in the Garden came from standing in the presence of the Lord. The wisdom he received to give every animal its proper name came from being in the presence of the Lord. In the same way, God is interested in us. He wants us to spend time with Him. Like Adam did before the fall, we obtain every single thing to function on this earth from His presence.
As we’re steadfast in spending time with Him we can take His presence with us wherever we go. Then we can boldly ask someone if we can pray for them, or maybe we need to pray for them without letting them know if that’s what the situation calls for by releasing the virtue of Jesus for their healing, or His peace to their hearts if you see them scared or worried.
Atmospheres can also change when we arrive at a place, release the atmosphere of heaven, and invite the Holy Spirit to move among us. We can invite God’s Kingdom into everything we do and everywhere we go. It’s not mystical to invite the Lord Jesus, His Holy Spirit, angelic assistance in what we do, and even ask the Father to intervene in our situations because we’re growing in our Heaven consciousness in our daily living. These are some of the ways we act as conduits of the glory of God o the earth.
The intention of the enemy was to move us away from this wholesome relationship with God where we delight in each other’s presence and can hear of the great things He wants to do in us and through us, just like He did with Adam and Eve before the fall. Thankfully, Jesus was able to restore that relationship with the Father for us with His death on the Cross and the shedding of His Blood.
After all, all the things we could give to God come from the grace and mercy He extends to us. The praises due to Him, our prayers, our reading of His Word, the revelations we receive, any offerings and thanksgiving, already come from Him to us. He’s our only source for us to give and receive from Him. It’s like when our dad gives us money to buy Him a Father’s Day present. We’re giving to Him because He first gave to us.
Romans 11:35-36 says,
“Or who has first given to Him that it would be paid back to him? For from Him [all things originate] and through Him [all things live and exist] and to Him are all things [directed]. To Him be glory and honor forever! Amen.” AMP
Therefore, our greatest gift to the Lord does not come from our hands but from our hearts. He does not want us to seek Him for what we can give to Him, but to give our hearts to Him. Just like the people we love, we demonstrate our love to them when we spend precious time with them and share in the things that please them. We can give them all the gifts in the world, but without our presence in their lives, those gifts are meaningless.
We were created to desire His presence and worship Him with all our heart, not to be preoccupied with doing and toiling and then give Him the scraps of our tired body and the last few minutes before we go to sleep. He wants us to make Him first and to desire His presence. Mary and Martha give us a perfect example of this.
Luke 10:38-42 tells us,
“Now while they were on their way, Jesus entered a village [called Bethany], and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Lord’s feet and was continually listening to His teaching. But Martha was very busy and distracted with all of her serving responsibilities; and she approached Him and said,
“‘Lord, is it of no concern to You that my sister has left me to do the serving alone? Tell her to help me and do her part.’ But the Lord replied to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered and anxious about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part [that which is to her advantage], which will not be taken away from her.’” AMP
Many people are wearing Martha’s shoes of taking on many responsibilities. However, this is not possible without knowing that what we’re doing is first, His will for us, we’re doing those things within our assigned jurisdiction, and in the right timing of God for us. We want to walk with the Lord and have Him hold our hand, not walk ahead or behind Him, or even worse, far away from Him.
The only way we can do the greater exploits Jesus promised we will do than He is when we have a strong relationship with Him that helps us know Him and His heart for every situation we encounter. This way, we know that what we do is according to His will, His way, and His timing. I heard someone call these the original World Wide Web “www.” This way, we yoke ourselves to Him, and the Bible tells us that His yoke for us is easy and His burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.’” NKJV
John 14:13
“‘Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” NKJV
Daniel 11:32
“And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” KJV
The Amplified Version explains what this means.
“With smooth words [of flattery and praise] he will turn to godlessness those who [are willing to] disregard the [Mosaic] covenant, but the people who [are spiritually mature and] know their God will display strength and take action [to resist].” AMP
More on the next post. And as always, to God alone be all the glory. *
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