Christian Daily Devotionals

by Max Lucado
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“Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you?� 
1 Corinthians 6:19 (NLT).

Paul wrote these words to counter the Corinthian sex obsession. “Run away from sexual sin!� reads the prior sentence. “No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.� (v.18 NLT).

What a salmon scripture! No message swims more up-stream than this one. You know the sexual anthem of our day: “I’ll do what I want. It’s my body.� God’s firm response? “No, it’s not. It’s mine.�

Be quick to understand, God is not anti-sex. Dismiss any notion that God is anti-affection and anti-intercourse. After all, he developed the whole package. Sex was his idea. From his perspective, sex is nothing short of holy.

He views sexual intimacy the way I view our family Bible. Passed down from my father’s side, the volume is one hundred years old and twelve inches thick. Replete with lithographs, scribblings, and a family tree, it is, in my estimation, beyond value. Hence, I use it carefully.

When I need a stepstool, I don’t reach for the Bible. If the foot of my bed breaks, I don’t use the family Bible as a prop. When we need old paper for wrapping, we don’t rip a sheet out of this book. We reserve the heirloom for special times and keep it in a chosen place.

Regard sex the same way—as a holy gift to be opened in a special place at special times. The special place is marriage, and the time is with your spouse.

Casual sex, intimacy outside of marriage, pulls the Corinthian ploy. It pretends we can give the body and not affect the soul. We can’t. We humans are so intricately psychosomatic that whatever touches the soma impacts the psyche as well. The me-centered phrase “as long as no one gets hurt� sounds noble, but the truth is, we don’t know who gets hurt. God-centered thinking rescues us from the sex we thought would make us happy. You may think your dalliances are harmless, and years may pass before the x-rays reveal the internal damage, but don’t be fooled. Casual sex is a diet of chocolate—it tastes good for a while, but the imbalance can ruin you. Sex apart from God’s plan wounds the soul.

Your body, God’s temple. Respect it.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/07/02/ml_body/

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Max Lucado
From: It's Not About Me
© (Thomas Nelson, 2007),

Used by permission
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://www.maxlucado.com/about/

by John Fischer
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The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. (Westminster Catechism)

Do you realize that if you stop right now and worship God, think about Him, marvel at His attributes, call His name Holy, let your heart burst into song, lift your hands, dance ... whatever you want - you will be fulfilling the prime reason for your existence? What could be better (or easier)? And on top of that, you have the assurance that your offering is joyfully received.

We were created to worship - to notice the song of the birds, to catch the shape of the clouds, to feel the penetrating heat of the day, to observe the twist of the lips that makes one smile different from another, to catch a drop of rain on the tongue, to hear a humming bird hum, to taste the sweetness of an orange and notice its color - these are far and away the most important observations we can make. And look at how accessible these are!

What we're talking about here is living with an attitude of praise. Anyone can do it - rich or poor, new Christian or old, healthy or sick - we can all un-clutter our lives by arranging everything around God and the celebration of why we are here. Nature is doing it unconsciously. Children do it most easily. We need a little instruction - a little prodding - only because we get distracted and we forget.

Outside my window right now is a tree unlike any I have ever seen. It grows out as much as it grows up. Its branches defy gravity, growing horizontally for 20 feet or more before shooting up with heavy branches, as if held up by an invisible hand. This one tree provides shade for five houses. Cut it back and it keeps growing. New shoots are everywhere. What is this tree doing right now? Praising God. It can't help it. It is old and wise and sturdy, yet still putting out new life. It is a living monument to its Creator. God thought this tree into existence and put it here, years ago, for his pleasure and mine. He and I share this tree together. And when it flowers, the buzzing of a thousand bees can be heard in the early morning quietness. It's our tree throbbing with audible praise.

We can do it too. Even more so, because we have a mind, heart, body, soul and spirit. We can hum our thanks to our creator with words and meaning, for we were made for this, and we are restless souls without it. Let everything that has breath (and even that which does not) praise the Lord! Praise ye the Lord!

Question: What is your favorite way to give the Lord praise?

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/05/07/jf_praise/
Not to be reprinted without permission

by Idelette McVicker
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“This is my body, given for you; do this in remembrance of me.� Luke 22:19 (NIV)

I remember waking up in a narrow twin bed. I was at a women’s retreat: two nights away from home, with time to spend with God in the company of other women. It was still early. I reached for my Bible and opened it to Luke chapter 22. I heard the women in the hallways, getting ready for the day. There was cheerful chatter and noise that can only happen at a women’s retreat where thirty women have to share bathrooms and hairdryers.

I was still reading when the Spirit stopped me in my tracks: This is my body, given for you … This is my body, given for you … This is my body, given for you …The words rang in my ears as I heard the sound of the women in the background. Thoughts and emotions collided. This is my body given for you. These were members of our church—the Body of Christ—and they too were given to me. I had always thought only of Christ’s physical body and His offering when taking communion. For the first time, I felt the sacred gift in the presence of my fellow members of the Body. These are the people we share our lives with, our community. A gift to everyone who is willing to partake.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/04/08/im_body/