In the last post we started our three part series of looking at how to love God with our whole being. Now, we are going to look at loving Him with our body.

Follow through with me on some verses that I hope to encourage you into fully loving Him with your body.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

1 Peter 3:4 But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. (Not the   outward body, but the inward beauty.)

 2 Corinthians 7:1 Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

Proverbs 14:30 A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.

Proverbs 3:7-8 Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.

Sin and stress really affect our health. Some verses that speak of this are Psalm 38:3-8, Proverbs 12:25, and Matthew 6:27. We see in the verses above that we are created by God to be a temple of the Holy Spirit. We are to hide God’s Word in our hearts and to let that radiate through us, also perfecting holiness allowing our bodies to not be contaminated. In this day and age, we are told countless times a day to work on the outside of our body in order to achieve beauty. God’s Word tells us otherwise; our outward beauty comes from the inside.

However I do believe, as the verse 1Timothy 4:7-9 states, that physical exercise (training) has value.

Spend your time and energy in training yourself for spiritual fitness. Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important for it promises a reward in both this life and the next. This is true and everyone should accept it.

I want to encourage you to get out and do some form of exercise. It is good for our health and also will allow us to live longer. When we are healthy, we are able to work harder for the Lord. Our disposition is altered when we don’t feel well. Determine a goal and stick to it! Perhaps you can attend a gym each day or say only 3 times a week; find out what will work for you. Maybe you can make a commitment to walk each day. Whatever you decide, remember, the answer to better health is to stick to your goal.

Also, watch what you eat. Daniel chose to not eat the “fine” foods and wine of the king for 10 days. The commander of the officials was concerned that he would look more haggard than the youths his age, but agreed to “his diet”.  In the end, Daniel 1:14-16 says:

At the end of ten days their appearance seemed better and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food.  So the overseer continued to  withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables.