beautiful you

Temples...   A temple is a house for a god, a place where the god dwelt and was worshiped. Often enormous and elaborate, excessively adorned. Breathtaking works of art, a dedication from man to their god Do you know that your body is a temple? The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians: (1Co 3:16-17 NIV) Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for God's temple is sacred, and you together are that temple. You are a temple of God and the Spirit of God lives in you!  God values you so much that he will bring ruin on anyone who ruins this temple.  God’s temple is holy, and you – Christ follower - are His temple. Read 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 (1Co 6:12-20 NIV) "I have the right to do anything," you say--but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything"--but I will not be mastered by anything.  You say, "Food for th...

  Beauty and the Bubble Bath What is Beauty?  Where does it come from?  What makes a person beautiful?  Is it their appearance, their attitude, or both?  Think of someone that you think is truly beautiful.  What makes them beautiful?  Is it their hair, their skin, their perfect figure?  Or is it their heart, their caring and compassionate nature, their gentle and quiet spirit?  Man vs. God:   We are bombarded by voices everywhere, each one expressing an opinion about our worth or what we must do to be beautiful, to be accepted and to be loved.  (like the latest fashion magazines & beauty tends) Where else do some of these “voices” come from? How many of us are honest enough to say that we sometimes believe the lies that the voice of “man” tells us?  I know I have struggled with this! In Matthew 23:25 Jesus exchanged conversation with the Pharisees, the religious rulers of His time.  He accused them of shining the...

~by Lynne Rienstra (used with permission)   Imagine a girl, a precious member of the body of Christ.  She possesses a saving knowledge of Christ and His work for her and a growing dependence on the Holy Spirit.    Imagine that this girl is able to study the Bible for herself, and therefore has a deepening relationship with her heavenly Father (regardless of what kind of earthly parenting she is receiving). Constantly in God’s word, she is learning, memorizing, and applying the promises He has made to her.  Like footsteps, those promises guide her faith walk each day.    Imagine that as others struggle to answer the question, “Who am I?” this girl already knows the true question is “Whose am I?”    Imagine this girl is sure of her value as an image-bearer of God and recipient of His grace, she is shielded from the self-destructive behaviors of her peers.    Imagine her more and more able to hear God’s voice. She is less...