Sermon for today by Joyce Meyer : Your Body Is God’s House

Topic: Your Body Is God’s House

You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own].

So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.

1 Corinthians 6:20

Are you an investor or a gambler? Are you investing in good health now so you’ll reap benefits later? Or are you gambling that you can do nothing, or even abuse yourself by having many unhealthy bad habits, and get by with it? Sadly, many people are gamblers where their health is concerned, but they are not wise.

A wise man will invest in his own self by
making choices that will keep him healthy and strong not only in the present but in later years as well. Just as a wise financial
investor will do without some things now in order to invest for the future, so we should discipline ourselves to conserve our
energy and health.

According to God’s Word, we are His temple, or His house. He lives in us. The Old Testament instructions on how
to build, decorate, and care for the temple were detailed and abundant. It was not supposed to fall into disrepair due to
periods of negligence, and if it did, entire programs weredesigned to rebuild and repair it.

Do you need a fresh coat of paint, or do you need an entire program to rebuild and repair your health? If you need to develop healthy habits, put them at
the top of your list of habits to develop, possibly right after developing the habit of spending time with God. Because your
health affects you and all the people you are in relationship with in a variety of ways. One of the ways we can show our
love and appreciation for God is by being good stewards of the
health He gives us.

Your body is the vehicle you need to get
around the earth in, and if you destroy it you cannot go to a store and purchase another one. God has a destiny for you, and
there is some special assignment that only you can fulfill. It is important that you live long enough to do whatever it is that
God has assigned to you.

Late in 2006, I got tired of feeling tired too much of the time and not liking the way I was starting to look physically. So
I went on a program to rebuild and repair my body. I felt that God had shown me that if I didn’t begin to exercise regularly, I
would not be strong for the last third of my journey here on earth. It is very important to me that I finish what God has me
here for, so I took His instruction seriously.

I signed a one-year contract at a gym, secured a trainer and nutritionist, and went to work. Years later I am very glad I
took action when I did. Yes, I was sore much of the time and I missed some of the fatty, sweet foods I was accustomed to
eating, but I survived, and before long I had developed healthier habits. It required, and still requires, an investment of my time, but I believe I am a better person today than I was then in many ways.

Mark Twain said, “The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like and do
what you’d rather not.” In many ways this is a true statement, but the good news is that even though you may start out not liking some of the things you will need to do, eventually you will become accustomed to them and you will crave them as much
as you now dislike them. If I have to miss going to the gym for a few days, my muscles actually crave the workout.

Sounds impossible, I know, but it is true. Today I am craving vegetables and will have several different grilled or steamed
vegetables for lunch. I can hardly believe it myself, but I am being truthful. Our bodies are not really all that intelligent.

They just crave what we repeatedly give them. If it is bad, they will want what is bad, and if it is good, they will want that. You can retrain yourself to enjoy healthy choices in all areas of life.

There are many wonderful books available on nutrition that will help you if you are uneducated in this area.

Do yourself a favor and purchase and read one of them, because
the knowledge you gain will renew your mind and help you make healthier choices. Of course I recommend my own book
Look Great, Feel Great, and I also recommend Dr. Don Colbert’s books. He is a wonderful Christian doctor and
nutritionist, and he has helped thousands of people develop healthy habits.

We perish for a lack of knowledge, so be willing to educate yourself in any area where you need help.