011: Your Body is a Temple. It’s Time to Treat it That Way

I challenge you to be one of the healthiest people on the planet. God is reflected in our bodies so we need to consider what we are reflecting. Are you reflecting God’s power and beauty and grace? Our bodies don’t belong to us, but Jesus. 

In this episode, you'll learn..

01:03 how a healthy body allows us to fulfill the great commission

01:23 the disconnect of the importance of our physical health and body

02:09 how to glorify God with our bodies

02:38 we can look to the Old Testament

07:09 connecting the dots from Old Testament to the New

08:05 your body doesn't even belong to you

08:44 what we are reflecting

11:18 God’s grace and mercy makes the difference

"Let's be the healthiest because listen, our physical health, it matters. I believe a healthy body  allows us to fulfill the great commission and be the healthy hands and feet of Jesus as we serve those around us. Our physical bodies, it's the vessel that God uses to complete his work here on earth."   - Katrina


Links mentioned in this episode:

Episode 3: Katrina's Journey to Health

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Connect with me!

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Visit my website: www.healthyfreelife.com


Until next week... bye for now. 

~Katrina

Transcript

Episode #011: Your Body is a Temple… It’s Time to Treat it That Way

I have a challenge for you. Let's be some of the healthiest people on the planet, free from disease and excess weight, full of energy and vitality in order to do the good work that God has given us to do, whether that's staying at home raising our babies, or our grandbabies,  or maybe it's serving the homeless, or fostering children, or doing mission work on the other side of the world, whatever it is that God has called us to.

Let's be the healthiest because listen, our physical health, it matters. I believe a healthy body allows us to fulfill the great commission and be the healthy hands and feet of Jesus as we serve those around us. Our physical bodies, it's the vessel that God uses to complete his work here on earth.

After working with thousands of Christians over the last decade, I have found that there is a disconnect with the importance of our physical health and the significance our body's role plays. Listen, our body, it's the temple of the Holy Spirit. How you care for it, what you eat, what you drink, everything that you do with your body, it matters.

And in fact, it doesn't even belong to you. I hope to radically transform your mindset as it relates to this. In first Corinthians six, 19 through 20 Paul urges us. And he says, "Don't you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God. You are not your own for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body." 

That is such a huge concept. Isn't it? It's one of those that can be difficult to understand, or at least I thought it was. And that's why I want to help you to connect the dots, to help you to see that it is truly vital that we care for our bodies in a way that glorifies God.

And I think for us to really understand this verse and its significance, I believe that we can look to the Old Testament and the Old Testament representation of the temple and what the temple looks like in the Old Testament. Because when God gave the instructions to Moses beginning in Exodus 25, and for many chapters beyond, he began to share with Moses and the Israelites exactly how to construct that Old Testament temple, the original tent, portable version of the temple.

He talked about the details of the measurements, the type of wood, the measurement of the wood, the types of fabric, the linen, the beautiful yarn, the colors that were to represent him, the precious gemstone, the metals of gold and silver, bronze, and iron. My research on the subject led me to find out that there were eight tons of gold, silver, and bronze that were used in the construction of this temple.

And then later on when Solomon built the permanent temple in 1 Chronicles 29:1-9, it says, "Then King David said to all the assembly, 'My son Solomon, God has chosen him alone. He's young and inexperienced. The task is great because the building will not be built for humans, but for the Lord God. So to the best of my ability, I have made provision for the house of my God, gold for the gold articles, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron, and wood for the wood, as well as onyx stones for mounting, antimony stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones and a great quantity of marble.

Moreover, because of my delight in the house of my God, I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the house of my God over and above all that I provided for that holy house. 100 tons of gold and 250 tons of refined silver for overlaying the walls of the buildings. The gold for the gold work and the silver for the silver, for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now who will volunteer to consecrate himself to the Lord today?’ Then the leaders of the households, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the King's work gave willingly. For the service of God's house, they gave 185 tons of gold, 10,000 gold coins, 375 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 4,000 tons of iron. Whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the Lord's house under the care of Jehiel, the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced because their leaders willingness to give, for they had given to the Lord wholeheartedly. King David also rejoiced greatly."

Listen, both temples, they were magnificent. This newer one that was built by Solomon and the Israelites was even more grand and beautiful than the one before. Why was this so important? Why was it important that it needed to be grand and beautiful and strong? Because listen, God's presence was going to dwell in that temple.

And so it needed to reflect his beauty and his strength to the nations around him. First Chronicles 29:1 says, "The building will not be built for human, but for the Lord God," and listen, isn't it the same with our bodies as well? Like, why did God even create us? He created us for himself.

So this physical temple was to represent God in the Old Testament. And God knew that he was the God of gods and he wanted that to be represented to the nations around him. Once God did dwell there, he also gave instructions as to how the temple was to be cared for. 

And it was so vitally important that they follow those instructions that God gave because death was a consequence if those instructions were not followed. I believe for us to fully understand our New Testament temple, this body we are living in, that we need to connect the dots from that Old Testament to our New Testament temple. Yes. As New Testament believers, we are no longer bound to the law of the Old Testament.

However, we cannot discount what God gave as far as instructions and care and love and honor for that Old Testament temple. Why? Well, because Christ died for you and he died for me and he died not only for your soul, but also for your body. And so we need to care for our bodies just as they cared for the Old Testament temple. We need to be diligent in the way that we treat it, the way that we love it, the way that we see it, the way that we talk to it, the way we feed it, the way we move it. Everything we choose to do with our bodies, it matters, mostly because guess what?

Your body doesn't belong to you. 

It belongs to Christ. He bought it and he paid a very high price for it. He paid such a high price for it, and it is such a premium put on that body that he decided to dwell within it. So therefore we have to treat our bodies with love and respect and honor. We also must remember that our bodies are a reflection to the world around us of God's strength and of God's beauty and of God's goodness. Christ's light, it dwells within us. And we are a reflection of that light. So let me ask you, what are you reflecting?

It breaks my heart to see so many good Christian people plagued with disease, excess weight, and exhaustion. Statistics show that in America, six out of 10 have chronic diseases. The most common of these chronic diseases are heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Most all of these cases are directly related to diet and lifestyle.

88% of Americans are considered metabolically unhealthy. Diabetes is on the rise. One out of two Americans is type two diabetic or pre-diabetic. 75% are overweight. 42% are obese. And if you were to look at the Christian population, particularly, there is absolutely no difference that I can see where these numbers are any different inside or outside the church.

We as Christians should be some of the healthiest people on the planet. And there are several reasons why God gave such strict dietary and lifestyle guidelines to the Israelites in the Old Testament. And I believe that one of them was because his son would be born hundreds of years later. And these were the people group where his son was to be born from.

And he needed the Israelites, these people, to last for generations before that happened. Eating, as he designed, helped to ensure that the Israelites were physically strong and healthy to withstand disease, infection, and more. While other people groups died off, theirs survived. What we eat, how we live, it matters. 

And listen, maybe you are one of those statistics. Maybe you have not eaten or lived in a way that brings health to your temple. Well, thank God for his grace and his mercy, because even if we have not cared for our bodies, our temples, as we should in the past, and trust me, I've been there, in episode three, I share my story and the journey to health that I went on.

You need to know that there was a time in my life where I didn't connect the dots. And I didn't understand that my temple was to be cared for or that caring for my body, that it mattered. And you would think that I would know better. I was a registered nurse for crying out loud. And so for years I abused my body.

But by God's grace and his mercy, that is no longer the case. He taught me how to live and how to eat healthy for his glory. And I want to help you to do the same. So remember, dear one, I want you to know and remember that your body is the temple of the Most High God. It is beautiful. It is valuable. It is worthy and it is of utmost importance that we care for that body.

And so now I want to leave you with this. In 1Chronicles 28:20 David is commissioning his son Solomon to build the temple. And it says, then David said to his son, Solomon, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don't be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not leave you or abandon you until all the work for the service of the Lord's house is finished.”

And while yes, this was in regards to the physical temple that Solomon was about to build, what an encouragement to us as we seek to start and continue the work of restoring our bodies' temples.

Be strong and courageous, dear one. Until next time. Bye for now.