Jesus becomes so personal while remaining so very practical

Word from Scotland: 

Notice how John is so Christ centred, in these closing verses of John Chapter 14. This passage is focusing upon Jesus Christ, and how Jesus Christ cares for, and is concerned about, those whom He calls.

No matter what you are going through or experiencing in these present days, know that the risen living Jesus cares for you and that He is concerned about every detail.

Jesus has been speaking about peace, and peace can be vague and illusive and many strive for peace, and march for peace, and hold ‘Peace Rallies’, but peace like Jesus Himself is unique and uniquely flows from Him and from Him alone.

Now, that is a lesson the world finds hard to accept, but it happens to be true. Peace is a gift of God and we so need that gift in these troubled times.

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.