Our Physical Bodies: Called for Holiness
OPENING PRAYER:
Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you today because we desire to know you more and to do your will. Your Word is holy and powerful -- please open our hearts to your message so we can see our sexuality in a God-honoring way, whether we’re married or single.
READ:
“ It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body[a] in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.[b] The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.” I Thessalonians 4:3-7 (NIV)
REFLECT:
This week’s subject can create anxiety and discomfort, maybe because we’ve had a distorted view of our physical bodies. Yet it’s clear in this passage that part of the sanctification process, the holiness process, is to avoid sexual immorality. It’s not an easy topic for us, nor is it easy to deal with as we parent our children. But a holy life is important to God; and, therefore, it is important to us.
Does every Christian know to “avoid sexual immorality”? As believers in Christ, we have been taught that we were bought and paid for at a price. Therefore, we are to honor Christ with our bodies. We don’t merely live a spiritual life, but also a physical one. It matters what and how we think, but it also matters what we do, and don’t do, with our bodies. The author of Thessalonians takes the warning one step further – the sin committed to someone else’s body will not go unpunished.
APPLY:
For our application today let’s pray. In every quiet moment spend time in communication with God asking for his guidance in this area. Confess to God our anxiety and distress with this subject and ask him to open our hearts to what he has for us this week. Thank him for paying the ultimate price with his body on the cross and ask how we need to honor him with our bodies.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Thank you, Jesus, for speaking to us through your Word. Help us not to conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We want to be able to test and approve what your will is—your good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2, paraphrased.) Amen.
WORSHIP: