Transformed – teen devotion – February 10, 2019
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20
My body, God’s temple
Do you have a pet? If you do, that animal belongs to you. You paid for it, so you get to name it. You get to tell it what to do and where to go. It has to obey you. But your pet doesn’t just obey you because you have a receipt proving that you bought it. It obeys you because you love it and take care of it.
Just like we are our pets’ masters because they belong to us, we like to think that we’re our own masters and that we can do anything we want with our bodies because they belong to us. So why shouldn’t we be able to eat what we want, drink what we want, or engage in sexual activity if we want?
But, “You are not your own.” Your body doesn’t belong to you. It belongs to God Almighty. He bought you at a very high price. He paid for you with the life of his one and only Son, Jesus. Since you are God’s child, the Holy Spirit has set up his throne room in your heart. Your body is now the temple of the Holy Spirit.
God is your heavenly master who didn’t just pay a high price for you, but loves you and cares for you by giving you food to eat, a place to sleep, video games to play, friends to hang out with, sports to enjoy, and most importantly a spot in his family.
God deeply loves you. He lives in you. Therefore, honor God with your body. Looking at pornography and touching yourself inappropriately isn’t honoring God. Having sex of any kind with someone who is not your husband or wife does not honor God. It’s sinning against your body; the body that God gave you. It’s also sinning against your God, who lives in you.
So, if you struggle in any of these areas, ask God your heavenly master to help you honor him. He will do both. He will forgive you and will help you honor him with your body.
Prayer: God, my body is your temple. Forgive me for the times that I’ve trashed it with sexual thoughts or actions that were inappropriate. Help me to honor you with my body. Amen.
