It’s Not My Body – I’m SOLD-OUT!
During a fast it is difficult to avoid thinking about the effects that fasting has on our body. Well at least we think it’s our OWN body. With the grumbling stomach, the fatigued muscles, the loss of body mass, and just the general feeling of exhaustion, we’re quick to take ownership. But, upon reflection and study we find a passage of scripture in I Corinthians 6:13…

Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.

Reading further in I Corinthians, Paul goes on to hit even closer to home…

19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

NO TRESPASSING
So as we continue to fast, pray, and seek God’s face, it’s a good reminder to allow God to take ownership of the body, the very Temple of the Holy Ghost. Not until we begin to fast are we truly cognizant of just how many things we, as the body of Christ, allow to trespass on His property.

I think it would behoove every Christian to post a “NO TRESPASSING” sign on their lives. This works for several reasons. One, it reminds us, that yes, God granted us use of this body, but it is temporal. So giving way to things that contaminate our temples violates God’s sacred trust in US! Secondly, our enemy is well aware of this “NO TRESPASSING” sign even as he dares to tread on the property for which Christ gave his life. When this happens, God is prepared to aptly defend his territory. After all, He gave the most precious thing He could, His only begotten son, that we might have life, and have that life more abundantly. I’m reminded of one of my favorite scriptures in James 2:19 – Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Your Body Does Matter
So many people feel it’s inconsequential what happens to their body. That’s not the way God sees it. If that were true, then what happened to Christ’s body would have been inconsequential too. But Peter says, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” (I Peter 2:24). Christ loves us too much to allow us to be banished to a fiery pit for eternity. Do you wonder if Hell is real or not? There’s no way God would have went to the lengths He did to save us if it were not!

God’s made a great investment in you, and He’s prepared to defend it. Why don’t WE do what WE can to live a righteous and holy life? We can bolster that defense, by avoiding the deadly things of this world that could contaminate us and ultimately destroy us.
 

So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. (Isaiah 59:19)

How Do I Feel?
I still have my moments. Literally positioning my hands to type, my arms become fatigued. Climbing stairs feels like I have 50 lbs. attached to each foot. Maintaining my liquids has been key though. Spiritually, the Lord is fueling my thoughts continually. When I get in that realm, I’m motivated to go farther. I’m definitely in uncharted territory. I’m currently wiping off my own personal “NO TRESPASSING” sign. It’s gotten a bit weathered, and the words a bit faded over time. I want my enemy to know beyond the shadow of a doubt when he’s overstepped his boundaries. All I can say is, he better be prepared to suffer the consequences! If God be for me (and He is), who can be against me?