Not My Body - Martin Wiles

And the church is his body; it is filled by Christ, who fills everything everywhere with his presence. Ephesians 1:23 NLT

It’s not my body after all.

“It’s my body. I can do whatever I want with it” is an argument often used by advocates of particular causes or those with habits that can potentially ruin their health—even kill them. On the surface, the argument appears valid. It is my body, and I do have power over it. If I want to go into the kitchen, work outside, attend church, or drive somewhere, I can make my body obey. Whatever messages enter my mind that require bodily movement, my body will obey unless it’s physically incapacitated, or I ignore the message.

The Bible says God is spirit, but he showed up in bodily form in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ body moved according to the Father’s plan. He went where God told him and spoke the words the Father whispered in his ear. But that body was mangled, crucified, placed in a tomb, raised to life three days later, and eventually received back into heaven.

God’s body is now represented in every believer’s body. And if it belongs to God, then it doesn’t belong to us. While we still have control over it and can ignore God, we’ll only be blessed and rewarded when we make our bodies follow the messages God puts in our minds. We receive those messages as we daily read his Word, pray, and pay attention to the still small voice of his Spirit.

God expected his Son’s body to follow his directives when he was on earth, and he wants his church body to do the same.

Let God direct your body to accomplish his perfect will. You’ll be glad you obeyed.

Prayer: Father, direct our bodies so that we may accomplish Your kingdom’s work in this world. 

Tweetable: Are you following God's directives for your body? 

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Held Accountable - Martin Wiles

Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign Lord, for the awesome day of the Lord’s judgment is near. Zephaniah 1:7 NLT

I had to take the initiative, or the consequences would come quickly. I would be held accountable.

Middle school was a frightening experience. Cliques formed, peer pressure increased, and girls stopped being icky. But the most significant change was acquiring responsibility. If I were absent, the teacher would no longer remind me about make-up work. Instead, if I didn’t schedule make-up work, she would record a zero for the assignment. The rule was plain: “When students miss school, it is their responsibility to decide with their teachers to make up assignments. Failure to do so in a reasonable amount of time will result in a zero.” The late penalty or the “I forgot to turn it in” excuse didn’t work either. The teacher subtracted thirty points if the assignment was one day late. After that, it was a zero. Some middle school rules seemed harsh, but the teachers were trying to teach me a more important lesson: accountability for my actions.

The people Zephaniah preached to were adults who hadn’t learned accountability. Because they disobeyed God and wouldn’t repent, God sent a foreign power to exile them. Unfortunately, Zephaniah’s audience repeated their actions, so he warned them about their responsibility to God.

As a teacher of middle school students, I attempt to instill in my students the same thing my teachers tried to instill in me: accountability. My actions affect me and usually others. If I make bad eating choices, my health suffers. If my kids make lousy homework choices, their grades flounder. And poor relationship choices may lead to losing a spouse, job, or position at church.

While there are many earthly sources to whom I’m accountable, my ultimate accountability is to God.

Whether I like his rules matters not. He’s the Creator and gives the orders. I can obey and hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” or disobey and hear him say, “Depart from me.” The choice is mine. Personally, I’d rather hear the “Well done.”

How is recognizing your accountability to God impacting your life?

Prayer: Father, remind us we are accountable to You for our actions, words, and attitudes. 

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Discovered - Martin Wiles

But if you fail to keep your word, then you will have sinned against the Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out. Number 32:23 NLT

He loved to fight, but one day he fought the wrong thing.

I once housed twenty-five chickens, among them four roosters—and among those four roosters one named Rochester. After a series of bad life events, I decided to move in with my parents for a while until things settled down. My brother had as many chickens as I did, so when we combined them, we had a yard full of chickens.

A mean streak ran through Rochester. Each day as I entered the pen to feed them and gather eggs, he made his attack. I wore rubber boots and fought him off with a good swift kick. Nothing about his antics changed when I moved, other than that my parents had two dogs.

Curious about the new crop of chickens, the two dogs often stuck their noses against the fence for a smell. Rochester didn’t appreciate the intrusion and laid into them with spur fury.

Did I mention Rochester also had a habit of flying out of the pen? One day, when I arrived home from work, I noticed feathers scattered across the yard. Rochester wasn’t dead, but the two dogs had stripped him of his feathers. His sins had found him out, and he never flew out of the pen again.

Three Israelite tribes wanted to settle on the eastern side of the Jordon rather than the western side. Moses was angry over their decision, but they promised to help the other tribes conquer the Promised Land before they settled on their land. Moses agreed, but warned them if they didn’t, their sin of lying would find them out.

Sins and consequences go hand in hand. God designed it that way. When the first created couple disobeyed, they immediately felt shame and hid from God. The remainder of the Bible—and history—is filled with examples of sin being discovered, along with consequences.

I’m personally glad God designed the system to work this way. If He hadn’t, I’d go on in my sinful way, never realizing this wasn’t the best way to live life. So would everyone else. And the mess our world would be in wouldn’t even compare to the mess it’s in now.

So rather than hating it when consequences follow your sinful words or actions, thank God that He’s designed consequences to guide you back onto the right path.

Prayer: Father, thank You for discovering our sins and letting the consequences follow.

Tweetable: Have you discovered sin's consequences? 

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Sin’s Fallout - Martin Wiles

I punish the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations. Exodus 34:7 NLT

Sin’s fallout effects are never pleasant.  

My wife and I pass a particular church’s parking lot on the way to our church. We were once affiliated with this church when the parking lot was full and so were most of the seats inside. The music was awesome, and the preaching charismatic. New members joined regularly, and excitement filled the air. 

Now, things are different. The auditorium is only half filled and there is an air of despondency. Not because of anything any of the current members have done, but because of sin’s fallout effect. A leader—and a few members—chose to delve into sin, and now the entire church is feeling the effect. 

I once thought this verse was confusing…even unfair. Why should children and their children suffer for something they didn’t do? Then I discovered a better interpretation. God isn’t saying they are responsible for their relatives’ sins but that they will feel the fallout from them. 

Though I’m responsible to God for my personal sins, they are rarely private in that they affect only me. Thousands of children suffer physical and emotional ailments because their moms chose to use dangerous substances while they were pregnant or because parents chose to berate them with emotionally damaging messages. Numerous spouses have irreparably ruined credit records due to poor decisions by an ex-spouse. And many reputations suffer when the person themselves had no control over a bad situation. 

Since I’m involved with others in some fashion, my closest associates will feel the effects of my decisions. Choosing to sin is never just about me. Not only will my sinful choices take me where I really don’t want to go—even though I think I might—I’ll carry others with me who unwillingly don’t want to go but who are carried along by association. I’ll then keep them—and myself, longer than any of us really want to stay, and the cost will be astronomical.  

While confessing sin is crucial, rarely does it remove the consequences of my decisions. Consequences are God’s reminders. Better yet is my making a commitment to live a pure life and to walk in the power of the new nature God has given me. When I do this, I’ll experience less of sin’s fallout effect—and so will others who are close to me. 

What can you do to prevent sin’s fallout effect in your life?

Prayer: Father, remind us our bodies are temples of Your Spirit and that we are to present them as a pure and holy sacrifice to You. 

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