BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

* * * * article from p. 28 continues * * * * The New Testament applies the same principle to the physical bodies of believers. It tells us our bodies are not our own. They are temples of the Holy Spirit and they belong to the Lord. He tells us in His Word what we can and cannot do with our bodies, and He has every right to do so because they’re His. “For ye are bought with a price,” 1 Corinthians 6:20 says, “therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” “But Gloria, that sounds like religious bondage to me.” No, it’s not bondage. Obeying the Word of God is freedom. As Jesus said, God’s “word is truth…. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 17:17, 8:32). What God tells us to do in His Word is always to our advantage. He wants things to go well with us. He wants to do us good. That’s the reason He gives us instructions about how to live. Things don’t go well with us when we’re not walking in His ways. He can’t do us good when we’re devoting our body to someone besides Him and living in sin like the world does. Sin shuts the door on THE BLESSING of God. It robs us of joy, peace and the many other benefits He has provided for us. It reduces us to the level of the world, and the world doesn’t have anything good to offer. It can give pleasure for a little while, but unlike the pleasures of God that last forever, the sinful pleasures of the world quickly fade. They also have some terrible side effects. “For to be carnally minded” (or, in other words, to set your mind on things of the flesh) “is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). No wonder God says, “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind”! No wonder He wants us to quit thinking like the world and to learn to think increasingly like Him! The more we think like Him, the more we’ll talk like Him and act like Him—and that’s how we operate in His abundant life. It’s how we take possession of our kingdom-of-God privileges and promises and bring forth His wonderful will on earth as it is in heaven. God Doesn’t Change With the Times Don’t ever let anyone talk you out of thinking like God does. What He says is right is right and what He says is wrong is wrong. His ways don’t change with the times. He’s the same yesterday, today and forever, and what He said in 1 Corinthians 6 is still true: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (verses 9-11, "NKJV"). In this current world culture, those verses aren’t considered politically correct. Especially when it comes to sexual behavior, society these days thinks that anything goes. It claims that things like fornication, adultery and homosexuality are all just fine. People on television even laugh and make jokes about them. But immorality is no joke! It’s a deadly form of darkness that tears up people’s lives. That’s why the devil is always trying to promote it. It’s why he tells people it’s no big deal and that they can’t help how they act sexually because it’s part of who they are. * * * * article concludes on p. 30 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A WONDERFUL LIFE • Keep God’s promises in the soil of your heart, be patient, and you will reap the harvest of a wonderful future. Heb. 6:11-12 • Open the door to God’s plan for your life by seeking Him first. Matt. 6:33 • Get the news about your future from the Word instead of the world. Jeremiah 29:11 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BVOV : 29

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