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? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of the Christian life is: a healthy lifestyle.
We do not often think of eating healthy or exercising as spiritual activities, but they are wholly connected to our lives in Christ. As Christians we are to glorify God in our physical body, because it has been bought with a price – the precious blood of Christ. It is now the temple of the Holy Spirit! It is the dwelling place of God!
This verse is one of the main arguments for abstaining from alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, etc. They destroy the temple of the living God! It is comparable to vandalizing the temple of God. But even more than abstaining from “bad” things, it means involving yourself actively in making wise health decisions.
Make healthy eating choices. Get physical exercise. Get proper rest.
This is not a health or PE class, but the point is biblical – we have a stewardship to care for our body – because it is not our own. So don’t just do it for yourself and your own benefit – do it for the Lord!
A wise family has a vision for their physical health and well being and makes plans accordingly.
Last week I started this series discussing having a spiritual vision for your family. Today, let’s consider an intellectual vision as part of the process of inventing the future of our families.
The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. Proverbs 18:15
Prudent gives the idea of someone who is discerning, who considers things, who is careful intellectually. In other words, someone who is thoughtful. Thoughtful people acquire – or find – knowledge. Amazing concept right? A wise person seeks – begs for, longs for – knowledge.
Interestingly, this verse does not say that only school children ages 3 to 14 do this. It does not say that this only applies to a new worker during the first few weeks on the job. God gives no age limit or categories here. This is for everyone of every age and station of life. A biblical picture of lifelong learning.
An intentional family will have an intellectual vision for each person of the family and the family as a whole.
We know that knowledge begins with the fear of the Lord (Prov 1:7). So start with yourself. Grow in your knowledge of the Lord. Feed yourself.
There are so many ways to learn today that we have no excuse! So many things available at our finger tips.
Reading is the greatest intellectual advantage in the world. If you are a reader, you can teach yourself anything, you can acquire knowledge about any subject.
Supplementary to that are podcasts, videos, sermons, Bible study books, devotional books, etc, etc.
Learning opens opportunities to excel in your life. Learning opens doors and enable you to serve other people.
Parents – turn off the TV. Turn off the tablet. Teach your children to seek knowledge. Teach them to be hungry to know the Lord, and to explore the world that He has given us to explore.
A family inventing the future is made up of wise people, prudent people, who have a vision to pursue knowledge and benefit from it.
“The best way to predict the future is to invent it”
– Alan Kay
Over the next few weeks, I plan to post a series of blogs centered around 5 key areas for a family vision. Today, we focus on the most important: a spiritual vision.
Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. Luke 9:23
Jesus said that if you are following Him, that it means something. It means you will take up your cross – that you will sacrifice and suffer with Him, for Him. Daily! This is what it means to be an active follower of Christ.
The spiritual life of your family is not a joke. It cannot be a game. It cannot be something else on your calendar.
You must have a spiritual vision for your family members:
A vision for their salvation A vision for their service A vision for their surrender
Those are really three areas of spiritual growth. You get saved, you begin to serve, and you fully surrender. It’s a process we can see in the Bible, and in our own lives.
Parents – your children need to see the reality of your faith.
They need to know your faith in Christ is real.They will not see that if you never come to church. They will not see that if you never read your Bible or pray. Your spouse needs to see that your relationship with the Lord has a real impact on your decisions, on your actions, on your life.
Pray for your spouse, your children, your extended family and their spiritual growth.
Have a vision for every member to be an active follower of Christ.
I was recently asked by a friend how I plan my time as a full time ministry worker. In other words, how do I know when to work and when to have time off? Do I take a day off? Do I work 9 to 5 (that’s a joke)? What do I do?
Whenever I tell people we are adopting, I usually get two types of responses: very excited and somewhat interested. Whatever group you fall into, I thought I would take a moment to explain why we are adopting and why we fall into the “very excited” camp. This list is not exhaustive, but these are nine great reasons why we believe in adoption (and maybe you should too).
Our technology is outgrowing our ability to filter it, as I recently discovered on an international flight. It was during this flight that I realized a new enemy is present for parents who want to protect the innocence of their children: lack of control.
