Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.[1 Corinthians 6:19–20]
You belong to God. I belong to God. We belong to God. The Bible says, "You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). Your career belongs to God. Your family belongs to God. Your home belongs to God. So does your car, your health, the beat of your heart, and the breath you draw in your lungs. It is all a gift from God to you.
Often we will forget and neglect God, but is it too much to dedicate some time every day to pray and read the Word of God? God gave you everything that you have. You can give thanks. Is it that big of a deal to say, before you start eating, "Lord, thank You for this food"? It doesn't have to be a long prayer. You don't have to pray for every missionary around the world. But it is important to give thanks to the Lord for all that you have, acknowledging that you have received it from Him.
Is it asking too much to take a percentage of your income and give it to God's work? That is called tithing. The Bible talks about tithes and offerings. Tithe means "a tenth." In fact, Jesus commended the Pharisees for their tithing, while at the same time saying they were simply missing the point (see Matthew 23:23). Every Christian should tithe and bring offerings (see Malachi3:10).
What if all the church was just like you? No individual Christian can sin without affecting the whole body of Christ. No child of God can grow cold in the spiritual life without lowering the spiritual temperature of everyone else around him or her. You affect others, and others affect you.
Share this today:
"You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Today's Bible Reading
Jeremiah 48:1 Concerning Mo’av, this is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says:
“Woe to N’vo, for it is ravaged;
Kiryatayim disgraced and captured.
Misgav is put to shame, distressed.
2 “In Mo’av, nothing is left to praise.
At Heshbon they plotted her downfall:
‘Come, we’ll cut her off as a nation.’
You too, Madmein, will be silenced;
the sword pursues behind you.
3 An agonized cry from Horonayim,
ruin, terrible devastation!
4 Mo’av has been shattered;
the cries of her young ones are heard,
5 as they ascend the slopes of Luchit,
weeping bitterly as they climb.
On the road down to Horonayim
shrieks of destruction ring out.”
6 Flee! Save your lives!
Be strong, like a tamarisk in the desert.
7 Because you trust in your deeds and your wealth,
you too will be captured.
Together with his priests and princes,
K’mosh will go into exile.
8 A destroyer will descend on every city,
no city will escape.
The valley too will perish,
the plain will be laid waste,
as Adonai as said.
9 Give Mo’av wings,
so it can fly and get away.
Its cities will become ruins,
with no one to live in them.
10 A curse on him who does the work
of Adonai carelessly!
A curse on him who withholds his sword
from blood!
11 Mo’av has lived at ease from his youth;
he is [wine] settled on its dregs,
not decanted from jar to jar —
he has not gone into exile.
Therefore it retains its own [bad] taste,
its aroma remains unchanged.
12 “So the days are coming,” says Adonai, “when I will send people to tilt him; they will tilt his jars, emptying them and shattering the wine-flasks to pieces. 13 Mo’av will be disappointed by K’mosh then, just as the house of Isra’el was disappointed by Beit-El, a god in whom they had put their trust.
14 “How can you say, ‘We are heroes,
warriors valiant in battle’?
15 They are ravaging Mo’av, attacking its cities;
its best young men go down to be slaughtered,”
says the king, whose name is Adonai-Tzva’ot.
16 Mo’av’s ruin is coming soon,
its disaster speeds on swiftly.
17 Pity him, all of you who are near him,
all of you who know his name;
say, “How the mighty scepter is shattered,
that splendid staff!”
18 Descend from your glory, and sit in thirst,
daughter living in Divon;
for Mo’av’s destroyer advances on you;
he has destroyed your strongholds.
19 Stand by the road and watch,
inhabitant of ‘Aro‘er;
ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping,
“What is going on?”
20 Mo’av is disgraced, indeed, destroyed.
Wail aloud! Shriek!
Proclaim it by the Arnon
that Mo’av has been laid waste.
21 Judgment has come on the Plain — on Holon, Yachtzah, Mefa‘at, 22 Divon, N’vo, Beit-Diblatayim, 23 Kiryatayim, Beit-Gamul, Beit-M‘on, 24 K’riot, Botzrah and all the cities in the land of Mo’av, far and near.
25 “Mo’av’s strength is cut down,
his arm is broken,” says Adonai.
26 Because Mo’av boasted against Adonai, make him so drunk that he wallows in his own vomit and becomes a laughingstock. 27 After all, Isra’el was a laughingstock for you. He didn’t associate with thieves; nevertheless, whenever you spoke of him, you shook your head.
28 You who live in Mo’av,
leave the cities, and live on the rocks;
be like the dove who makes her nest
in a hole in the rock at the mouth of a cave.
29 We have heard of the pride of Mo’av:
so very proud he is! —
presumptuous, proud, conceited;
so haughty his heart!
30 “I know what meager ground he has
for his arrogance,” says Adonai.
“His boasting has nothing behind it,
and it hasn’t accomplished a thing.”
31 Therefore I wail for Mo’av;
for all Mo’av I cry;
for the people of Kir-Heres I lament.
32 I will weep for you, vineyard of Sivmah,
more than I wept for Ya‘zer.
Your branches spread to the sea,
reaching as far as the sea of Ya‘zer.
On your summer fruits and on your vintage
the destroyer has fallen.
33 Gladness and joy have been removed
from productive fields and the land of Mo’av.
“I have stopped the flow of wine from the vats
and the shouts of those who tread the grapes —
those shouts of joy are stilled.”
34 The cries from Heshbon to El‘aleh
are heard as far away as Yachatz;
those from Tzo‘ar to Horonayim
are heard in ‘Eglat-Shlishiyah;
for even the waters of Nimrim
have become a desolate waste.
35 “Moreover,” says Adonai,
“in Mo’av I will put an end
to anyone sacrificing on a high place
or offering incense to his gods.”
36 This is why my heart is moaning
for Mo’av like funeral flutes,
why my heart moans for the men
of Kir-Heres like funeral flutes;
for the wealth they produced has vanished.
37 Every head has been shaved bald,
every beard has been clipped short,
gashes are on every hand,
sackcloth around every waist.
38 On all the housetops of Mo’av
and in its open places —
lamentation everywhere!
“For I have broken Mo’av like a pot
that nobody wants,” says Adonai.
39 Wail, “How shattered is Mo’av!
How shamefully in retreat!”
Thus will Mo’av become an object
of ridicule and distress to all its neighbors.
40 For here is what Adonai says:
“Look! Down he swoops like a vulture,
spreading his wings against Mo’av —
41 the cities are captured, the strongholds are seized.
On that day the hearts of Mo’av’s warriors
will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
42 Mo’av will be destroyed as a people,
because he boasted against Adonai.
43 Terror, pit and trap are upon you,
people of Mo’av,” says Adonai.
44 “Whoever flees from the terror
will fall into the pit;
and he who climbs up out of the pit
will be caught in the trap.
For I will bring on her, on Mo’av,
the year for her punishment,” says Adonai.
45 “In the shadow of Heshbon
the fugitives stop, exhausted.
For fire breaks out from Heshbon,
a flame from inside Sichon,
consuming the sides and tops of the heads
of Mo’av’s noisy boasters.
46 Woe to you, Mo’av!
K’mosh’s people are doomed!
For your sons have been taken captive,
and your daughters led into captivity.
47 Yet I will end Mo’av’s exile
in the acharit-hayamim,” says Adonai.
This is the judgment on Mo’av.
49:1 Concerning the people of ‘Amon, here is what Adonai says:
“Has Isra’el no sons?
Has he no heir?
Then why has Malkam inherited Gad,
with his people settled in its cities?
2 Therefore,” says Adonai, “the days are coming
when I will sound the battle alarm
against Rabbah and the people of ‘Amon;
it will become a tel of ruins,
her villages burned to the ground.
Then Isra’el will inherit from them
who disinherited him,” says Adonai.
3 “Wail, Heshbon, for ‘Ai is doomed!
Cry out, daughters of Rabbah!
Wear sackcloth and mourn,
running here and there among the sheep pens.
For Malkam will go into exile,
together with his priests and officers.
4 Why do you take such pride in the valleys,
your well-watered valleys, rebellious daughter?
You trusted in your riches
and thought, ‘Who can attack me?’
5 I am bringing terror on you,”
says Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot, “from every side.
Each of you will be driven out headlong,
with no one to gather the fugitives.
6 But afterwards, I will bring back
the exiles of ‘Amon,” says Adonai.
7 Concerning Edom, this is what Adonai-Tzva’ot says:
“Is there no wisdom left in Teman?
Have her wise men forgotten how to counsel?
Has their wisdom vanished?
8 Flee! Turn back! Hide yourselves well,
you who live in D’dan;
for I am bringing calamity on ‘Esav,
when the time for me to punish him comes.
9 If grape-pickers came to you,
they would leave no grapes for gleaning.
If thieves came at night,
they would destroy until they were satisfied.
10 So I, for my part, have stripped ‘Esav bare,
I have exposed his hiding-places;
he will not be able to hide himself.
He is doomed — sons, brothers and neighbors —
so that he is no more.
11 Leave your orphans; I will keep them alive;
let your widows trust in me.”
12 For this is what Adonai says: “Those who do not deserve to drink from this cup will have to drink it anyway, so should you go unpunished? No, you will not go unpunished; you will certainly drink it. 13 For I have sworn by myself,” says Adonai, “that Botzrah will become a ruin and an object of astonishment, reproach and cursing; all its cities will be ruins forever.”
14 I have heard a message from Adonai:
“A messenger is sent among the nations, saying:
‘Gather together, and march against her!
Prepare for battle!’
15 Here! I will make you least among nations,
the most despised of people.
16 Your capacity to terrorize
has deceived you and made you arrogant.
You make your home in the rocky crags
and seize the top of the mountain;
but even if you build your nest high as an eagle’s,
from there I will drag you down,” says Adonai.
17 Edom will become an object of horror;
everyone passing by will whistle
in astonishment at all its disasters.
18 It will be like the overthrow of S’dom,
‘Amora and their neighboring towns,” says Adonai.
“No one will settle there any more,
no human being will live there again.
19 It will be like a lion coming up from the thickets
of the Yarden against a strong settlement:
in an instant I will chase him away
and appoint over it whomever I choose.
For who is like me? Who can call me to account?
What shepherd can stand up to me?”
20 So hear the plan of Adonai
that he has devised against Edom,
and his purpose that he will accomplish
against those who live in Teman:
the least of the flock will drag them away;
their own pasture will be in shock at them.
21 The earth quakes at the sound of their fall;
their cry can be heard at the Sea of Suf.
22 Like a vulture he will soar, swoop down
and spread out his wings against Botzrah.
On that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors
will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
23 Concerning Dammesek:
“Hamat and Arpad are confused;
having heard bad news, they dissolve in fear,
like the churning sea, which cannot calm itself.
24 Dammesek, weakened, turns to flee;
trembling has seized her;
anguish and pain take hold of her
like the pains of a woman in labor.
25 How can a city so praised be deserted,
a city that gave me such joy?
26 Therefore her young men will fall in her squares,
and all her warriors be silenced on that day,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
27 “I will light a fire inside Dammesek’s walls
which will consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.”
28 Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hatzor, which N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel struck, Adonai says:
“Set out! March against Kedar!
Plunder the people of the east!
29 They will seize their tents and their flocks,
their tent curtains and all their equipment;
their camels too they will take for themselves
and shout at them, ‘Terror in every direction!’
30 Flee! Leave your homes! Hide yourselves well,
you who live in Hatzor,” says Adonai;
“for N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel
has devised a plan against you;
he has formed a scheme against you.
31 Get up! March on a nation at ease,
that lives secure,” says Adonai.
“They have neither gates nor bars;
they live in isolation.
32 Their camels will be booty,
their many cattle a spoil.
I will scatter to the winds
those who shave the sides of their heads;
From every direction I will bring
their disaster on them,” says Adonai.
33 “Hatzor will be a place for jackals to live,
desolate forever;
no one will settle there any more,
no human being will live there again.”
34 This is the word of Adonai that came to Yirmeyahu the prophet concerning ‘Eilam at the beginning of the reign of Tzidkiyahu king of Y’hudah: 35 “Adonai-Tzva’ot says:
‘I will break ‘Eilam’s bow,
the mainstay of their might.
36 I will bring against ‘Eilam the four winds
from the four quarters of the sky
and scatter them to all those winds.
There will not be one nation to which
the dispersed of ‘Eilam will not come.
37 I will break ‘Eilam before their foes,
before those who seek their lives;
I will bring disaster on them,
my burning anger,’ says Adonai.
‘I will send the sword to pursue them
until I have finished them off.
38 I will put my throne in ‘Eilam
and destroy their king and leaders,’ says Adonai.
39 ‘But in the acharit-hayamim,
I will bring back the exiles of ‘Eilam,’ says Adonai.”
Psalm 67:(0) For the leader. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song:
2 (1) God, be gracious to us, and bless us.
May he make his face shine toward us, (Selah)
3 (2) so that your way may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
4 (3) Let the peoples give thanks to you, God;
let the peoples give thanks to you, all of them.
5 (4) Let the nations be glad and shout for joy,
for you will judge the peoples fairly
and guide the nations on earth. (Selah)
6 (5) Let the peoples give thanks to you, God;
let the peoples give thanks to you, all of them.
7 (6) The earth has yielded its harvest;
may God, our God, bless us.
8 (7) May God continue to bless us,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
1 John 1:1 The Word, which gives life!
He existed from the beginning.
We have heard him,
we have seen him with our eyes,
we have contemplated him,
we have touched him with our hands!
2 The life appeared,
and we have seen it.
We are testifying to it
and announcing it to you —
eternal life!
He was with the Father,
and he appeared to us.
3 What we have seen and heard,
we are proclaiming to you;
so that you too
may have fellowship with us.
Our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son, Yeshua the Messiah.
4 We are writing these things
so that our joy may be complete.
5 And this is the message which we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him — none!
6 If we claim to have fellowship with him while we are walking in the darkness, we are lying and not living out the truth. 7 But if we are walking in the light, as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of his Son Yeshua purifies us from all sin.
8 If we claim not to have sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we acknowledge our sins, then, since he is trustworthy and just, he will forgive them and purify us from all wrongdoing.
10 If we claim we have not been sinning, we are making him out to be a liar, and his Word is not in us.
_____________________________Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie
P.O. Box 4000
Riverside, California 92514-4000 United States
Phone: 1-800-821-3300
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