The Divine Healer

About a dozen years ago, I began to apply Romans 12:1. It urges us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God. The apostle Paul also tells us twice in 1 Corinthians that our bodies are God's temples. He draws two powerful images: living sacrifices and temples.

To me that means God is concerned about us caring for and protecting our bodies. After all, our bodies are the essence of what we work with. Our minds may be more important, but they surely don't function independently. If our bodies aren't important, why would we have a resurrection that promises some form of physical substance? 

Then why do we tend to discount the body or pay too little attention to its care? I've begun to realize the answer-for me, that is. If we acknowledge our responsibility to care for the temple of God, then we're held accountable for how we treat it. And if we misuse our bodies or offer God blemished sacrifices, what does that say about our commitment?

So first off, I acknowledge I'm a temple abuser. I have offered my badly-taken-care-of and less-than-perfect body to God. For years, I was among the sleep-deprived generation. I ate a lot of foods that harmed my body. Until I faced some serious physical problems, I didn't think much about exercise. I allowed stress into my life when I could have found healthy ways to correct it. 

1st Corinthians 13... for Moms

BY GINA

If I live in a house that is spotless, perfectly in order, and people are not free to LIVE because my home is more important than my family, I have not love. I have kept a house. I have not made a home.

If I spend an exorbitant amount of money on decorations, and care more about the appearance of my house than the atmosphere of my home, I have not love. My children have learned materialism, not godliness.

If I try to control my husband, responding in irritation to him and finding only fault in him...and I do not seek to build him up, I have not love. My children have learned to disrespect their father, not to honor him.

The Body/Finance Connection

by Marty Copeland

Many people in the Body of Christ are finally realizing that prosperity is not a side issue with God. Well, I’m here to tell you that health is not a side issue either. The prosperity of your body is as much a part of your covenant as the prosperity of your finances. Health and wealth are spiritually linked. It’s what I call the body/finance connection.

One afternoon, as I was praying for people’s deliverance from food addiction, the Lord dropped these words into my heart. He said, Trying to lose weight without presenting your body as a living sacrifice is like trying to prosper financially without tithing. It just won’t work. Any time we step outside of God’s Word, we step outside of covenant rights and privileges. On the other hand, when we line up with God’s Word, we activate supernatural power on our behalf.

Romans 12:1 says, "I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies—presenting all your members and faculties—as a living sacrifice, holy [devoted, consecrated] and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable [rational] service and spiritual worship" (The Amplified Bible).

Moved by Love

In order to make a decisive dedication of our bodies to God, we must understand the motivation behind Paul’s plea here. It is love. Why does God ever ask anything of us? So He can get something to us. The decision to present your body to God opens the door for blessings. All we have to do is line up with His Word.

His Word says there are three things that belong to Him: your spirit, your body and your tithe. I Corinthians 6:19-20says, "Do you not know that your body is the temple—the very sanctuary—of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own, You were bought for a price—purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body" (The Amplified Bible). It honors God when we recognize the value of our bodies because it honors the blood.

Say this: "God lives inside me. I have my body because of God. It’s not my own. I’ve been bought with a price. Father, I honor the blood of Jesus by submitting my body to You, a living sacrifice. Now, Father, I’m expecting You to bless it."

When you present your body to God, you are giving God your first fruits so all the rest will be blessed. It’s an issue of stewardship. Luke 16:12 says, "And if you have not proved faithful in that which belongs to another [whether God or man], who will give you that which is your own [that is, the true riches]?" (The Amplified Bible). Submitting your spirit to the Lordship of Jesus gives you eternal life. Submitting your tithes and offerings to God gives you prosperity. As you submit your body to God as a living sacrifice, He will get involved in your eating habits. He will get involved in your weight loss. He will get involved in the health of your body. Why? Because He wants you walking in perfect health and abundant wealth. He wants you walking in victory in every area of your life.

ww.kcm.org.au/content/bodyfinance-connection

Health and prosperity are a part of your covenant. Grab hold of them! They are yours! Meditate on this body/finance connection until it gets deep into your heart and becomes real to you, and go forth and prosper in every way. You’ve got the right—the covenant right!