Glorify God in Your Body

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By the time I hit post, it will be very close to 2017. I’m amazed, really, because I seldom stay up until midnight, but God and I have been talking. 

I don’t do New Years Resolutions. To me, that’s too close to setting yourself up for failure. What I do, however, is ask God what He’d like me to focus on, and then I ask Him to help me stay focused. I have two main assignments this year. One of them is to take even better care of my body. 

I’ve worked hard, in the past twelve months, to eat right and get at least some exercise every day. Many times I’ve intentionally cheated. Many times I’ve failed. Even so, I am healthier and stronger than I was in December of last year. In large part, this is due to the fact that I’ve been having to care so much for my husband, who’s had a very rough year. My reality is that if anything were to happen to me right this minute the two of us would be in serious trouble. This knowledge is a great motivator. 

But he IS getting better, which means I will hopefully not always have that reminder, so I asked God to help me stay conscious of the necessity of a healthy lifestyle. Which brings me to tonight’s Bible reading. I prayed, “Give me this day my daily bread,” then turned to the next chapter in my daily reading; it “happens” to be 1 Cor. 6. The context here is sexual immorality, but truth is truth and God hit me with exactly the reminders I needed. 

(13) …the body is…for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 

(15) Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?

(19) Or do you not know that your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN? (emphasis mine)

(20) For you were bought at a price; therefore GLORIFY GOD IN YOUR BODY and in your spirit, WHICH ARE GOD’S. (emphasis mine)

Ask and you shall receive. I have my reminders, scriptures I can come back to in the coming year any time I forget why I’m limiting sodas and pulling out the weights and trying to take 10,000 steps a day. With God’s help, next December 31st will see me even healthier, stronger, and more prepared to take on the challenges that come my way. 

Happy New Year!

Celebrating Jesus!

Tammy C

I Really Don’t Know

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I recently had a conversation in which a gentleman who had just discovered I am a church secretary said something along the lines of, “You work all week? I guess I figured you would just show up at services and that was it.” Er… no. Not even. Not EVEN. 

His comment started me thinking, again, about how little we know about each other’s lives. We look at what we see another person do and think we get it, but we usually have no clue. (And the stay-at-home moms shouted, “Amen!”)

Celebrating Jesus!

Tammy C

It’s Just Color

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Sapphires and rubies: They’re two very popular stones, and have been through the ages. I may be mistaken, but as I recall the ruby has consistently been the more valuable of the two.

When people think of sapphires, they generally envision a rich blue, but in reality sapphires come in a wide range of colors. My personal favorite is the pink sapphire—the hotter the better. I’ve never bought one for myself, though, because jewelers generally label them as rubies so they can get higher prices for them. Deceptive, no?

Well, it depends on how you define deception…and which deception you’re talking about. You see, rubies and sapphires are both corundum. They’re the same stone. Red, yellow, blue, or white, the only differences are their color and their perceived value.

The same is true of people. We were all made from dirt and will return to dirt. Yes, there are different colors of dirt, but it’s all dirt. Other than our delightfully variegated cultures, the only differences between the so-called races are color and perceived value. Like a customer who walks into a jewelry store, many have bought into the idea that one color is more valuable than another.

But it’s just color.

Celebrating Jesus!

Tammy C

Why Church? Multi-generational Benefits

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This one may surprise you – or may not. Another of my favorite things about my church is its multi-generational composition. With our current lifestyle, we often end up surrounded only by people in our own general age range, but in my church we have people of all ages as well as ethnicities, backgrounds, etc. When my kids were growing up, they had grandparents nearby, but if they had not they would still have had their “church grandparents,” those seasoned family members who have so very much to offer those of us who haven’t walked as far down life’s road.

I’m thinking of a particular couple right now. They’ve been married longer than any other couple I’ve ever known, and still obviously love each other dearly. They are a constant example to those of us who are married, or who want to be married. Their love of God, their understanding of Him as sustainer, their persistently positive outlook on life… These are things developed over time, and I am truly grateful to be a partaker in what they have, what they are.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Why Church? I Never Thought of That!

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One of the things I most appreciate about church is the many “AHA!” moments. God has given me a pastor who is unique and obviously chosen just for me. He sees things in the Bible that I’ve never noticed before, and shares them in ways that can be truly unforgettable. I don’t know how many times I’ve been sitting in church and, whether through his specific words or the Holy Spirit using his words as a springboard, been shown something I’ve never seen before.

I love sharing those moments with the rest of the family too, hearing what they take away from the service, seeing how each of us implements the things we’ve learned, and learning more from friends with whom I “geek out” over the Word. No, we don’t stand around all day talking about religious matters, but many a lunch has turned into a “Have you ever noticed…?” session. Again, family shares common interests, and these particular common interests help us grow in the Lord as we share and learn from one another – as “iron sharpens iron.”

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Why Church? Family

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This is something that is particularly hard to explain to someone who has never experienced a church family. Even if you go to church, but are one of those who arrive late and leave early, you’ve likely never known what I’m talking about. I don’t just “go to church.” I spend time, at least twice a week, with my church family.

Family dynamics can be just as complicated in church families as in biological families. Relationship building requires time, and clashing cultures can create moments of confusion. As is true in any family, you have times of both triumph and testing. Nothing can take the place of my biological family, and nothing can take the place of my church family. If God told me to move, I would, but barring that I’m stuck to these people like glue.

When you’re an active part of the right church family, the family God has called you to, you are covered in love and surrounded by people who’ve got your back. Jesus said, in John 13:35, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” In my church family, we have this love for one another, and it shows. It’s one more irreplaceable gift that comes from being a “fitly joined together” part of a church.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Why Church? Where Two or Three…

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In Matt. 18:20, Jesus says, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

In the introduction to this series, I mentioned the man who told me he could get just as close to God on the lake as at church. I know you can get very close to God on the lake, but if that is your only place of worship you ignore this verse. Now, he might answer, “My buddy and I are two…” but I’d hazard a guess that he and his buddy would have gathered in the name of fishing and merely invited the Lord to join them. That’s not quite the same thing.

There are obviously many places in which two or more gather in Jesus’ name and enjoy being in His presence. Care groups, prayer meetings, small groups… They’re all wonderful, and I strongly support them for many reasons. I can’t see them being a replacement for church, though. The more we come together in His name, and enjoy the benefits of being together in His presence, the better.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Why Church? The Commanded Blessing

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In Psalm 133, we see the benefit of truly being part of a church family. “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” Verse one gives the conditions that must be met for the blessings to come. We, brothers and sisters in Christ that we are, must “dwell together” and do it “in unity.”

There’s a big difference between living with your siblings and seeing them only on rare occasions. There is as great a difference when we’re talking about brothers and sisters in Christ. In my church, I have many with whom I dwell. Some I see more often and some I see less often, but those of us who come together as a unified body know that blessing the Psalmist talks about. It IS good. It IS pleasant.

In the last few words of Psalm 133, we see David pulling together the pictures he’s given us. Why are all these things so good, so pleasant, so precious, so nourishing? “For there the Lord commanded the blessing – life forevermore.”

I want that commanded blessing in my life, so I choose to be an active, integral part of a church family that strives to live together in unity.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Why Church? The Big Picture

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Coming together, as a body, in God’s presence, has been a part of our relationship with God from the first day He walked with Adam in the cool of the evening. When God laid out the Law through Moses, as He worked on turning this group of people into a true nation, He specifically told them to come to the place of meeting for certain feasts every year – no matter how far away they lived.

In Jesus’ day, they customarily went to Temple every week. We see repeatedly that it was Jesus’ custom throughout His ministry, and in the book of Acts we learn that the disciples continued to do the same. The disciples also met from house to house in the book of Acts.

I see an interesting progression here. At first, the requirement was to gather a few times a year, though obviously the more often a man came to Temple the better. In Jesus day, on the Sabbath was a standard. After the death, burial, and resurrection we see the true disciples meeting pretty much daily.

Now look at us. A very few who claim to be Christians meet twice a week. A few more meet once a week. The majority (here in the US anyway) who claim to be Christians might make it to church on Christmas and/or Easter.

It looks to me like we’re regressing rather than progressing.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Why Church? Stability in Unstable Times

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We all go through hard times, some being worse than others. One thing we all need during those times is stability.

One particular time, for me, was more devastating than any other before or since. I felt like every natural thing I’d built my life on was coming apart, and that its foundation was crumbling. At that point, all I could rely on was God.

It would have been easy to back away from church right then, to draw into myself and give in to the pain and fear. Instead, I did two very important things. I kept one (ONLY one!) very close, mature friend up on what was going on so that I had her prayers, encouragement, wisdom and support, and I stayed active in church. When many others would have run away from the church, I ran to it.

My problems didn’t disappear when I walked through those doors, but as I served Him in my appointed ministry, and as I soaked in the sermon, I found true peace. I seriously understood the Psalmist’s words, “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.” In truth, church services, during that time, always ended too early for me.

Different denominations use different words, but we call the room where we worship the sanctuary, and that’s what it was for me – in every sense. I found sanctuary there, protection, refuge, comfort, peace…stability.

I learned many things during those horror-filled months, and this is one of them. The church, if you are truly an active part of it, offers stability in unstable times.

Celebrating Jesus!

Tammy C