“My Body, My Choice”
“My body, my choice,” right?! Yes, no, maybe. Yes, in some circumstances, and NO, in many others, including the right to choose who you sleep with. If you are a professed follower of Jesus, the slogan “my body, my choice” is not a Christian idea. For we who confess Jesus as Lord, the choice is clear. In the words of the apostle, “You are not your own! Therefore, honour God with your body.” Honouring God with our bodies is choosing to live within the margins of His teaching. It’s not lost on us that the commandment to honour God with our bodies is in the context of fleeing sexual immortality.
Christians don’t view the instructions in the Bible as restricting or oppressive. Quite the opposite, in fact. We see obedience to God’s law as truly liberating. That’s why Paul says that “all things are lawful to me,” that is, if they fall within God’s will, but “I will not be dominated by anything.” In the words of Wm. Barclay, “Often a man says, “I will do what I like,” when he means that he will indulge the habit or passion which has him in its grip; it is only when a man has the strength of Christ in him that he can really say, “I will do what I like,” and not, “I will satisfy the things that have me in their power.”
The real zinger for those who love the Lord is the truth that sex and spirituality are practically synonymous. Paul draws a direct line between sex and spirituality and offers multiple arguments for practising sanctified sex. In essence, the New Testament argument is that there is more to one’s sexuality than temporary ecstatic pleasure. There is so much more to sex than the momentary biological release.
Paul races to his point in 1 Corinthians Chapter 6, where he states, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.” As in an earthly marriage, when the bride and bridegroom become one flesh, so too, those who are “joined” to the Lord by faith become “one spirit with Him.” Our bodily functions are meant to parallel the spiritual oneness that we have received from the Lord.
Christians take a very different view of the body than much of the rest of the world. “My body, my choice” is not a sustainable position for the follower of Jesus. Because we view our bodies as “temples” of the Holy Spirit, we seek to honour God with our bodies. It’s much more than a “traditional” custom for us. It’s a timeless and liberating truth, which we honour and obey in order to glorify God, our Creator, our Redeemer, and our Lord.
This Christian ethic is as foreign to today’s world as it was to the world in which it was introduced. Many Corinthian believers grew up in a raw, pagan culture of sexual immorality, much like the youth of today’s Canadian culture. So Paul wrote to instruct these ancient Christians on the pathway to freedom from sexual enslavement. And his writing is as applicable today as it was then.
Join me at one of our two Sunday morning services when we dive into this refreshingly bold and apropos paragraph of God’s Word.
Cheering for your freedom in Christ,
Pastor Deric
Faith Without Prayer Is Dead!
Prayer is the key to living in faith. If you say you have faith, but you don’t pray, your faith is dead. Prayer is as essential to being a Christian as Jesus is. One cannot be a Christian without Him. One cannot be a Christian without prayer. It’s one of the basic building blocks of being a follower of Jesus. The more important question to me is, “Why do we pray?” There are many good answers to that question. But the one that appeals to me is that prayer is simply practicing the presence of God. I’m glad that our Father in Heaven is responsive to our prayers. But I’m awestruck that He reveals His heart and mind to us in prayer. “I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15).
I’m convinced that Jesus taught the disciples to pray by the example of His prayer life, even more so than by His teaching. They listened to His prayer life and learned how to talk to God. Luke 11 tells us that “Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” Notice that he didn’t say “how to pray,” but “to pray.” Upon hearing Jesus pray, the disciples realized that they too needed to pray. Learning our need to pray is vastly more important than the mechanics of prayer. When one is desperate enough to pray, the words will come naturally.
But Jesus did give His disciples an “outline” of prayer, so to speak. It’s not so much a formula as it is a summary of what to pray for when you finally figure out the importance of prayer. It’s recorded as part of Jesus’ famous sermon in Matthew Chapters 5, 6, and 7.
“Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
The structure of the prayer that Jesus introduced to the disciples teaches me to work through STATIONS or SEASONS throughout my day built around common themes captured in this famous prayer. Here’s how I use them in my daily prayer life:
- RELATIONSHIP
We all know how the prayer begins. It’s so well known that we often miss the importance of the first two words of the prayer. Simply “our Father.” Prayer is meant to renew and refocus your mind and heart in a relational posture toward God as your Heavenly Father.
- WORSHIP
His name is “hallowed.” I ask the Lord to show me any way that my life does not reflect His holiness and grace.
- KINGDOM
I pray for kingdom agenda stuff, from my life to the needs of the world.
- PROVISION
“Give us this day our daily bread” is more than a prayer for food. I talk to God about the necessities of life, from food to finance and everything in between.
- CONFESSION
“Forgive us our trespasses,” as Steve Brown is famous for saying, “for they are many.” One cannot be in the presence of God without feeling our vulnerability and weaknesses.
- PROTECTION
“Deliver us from the evil one.” We need the Lord to guard and defend us from all spiritual enemies that seek to defeat and discourage us.
Rather than simply repeating the Lord’s prayer verbatim, why not allow the Holy Spirit to lead you in your prayer agenda. After all, He is described in Romans 8 as interceding with us and for us. “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.”
If faith without prayer is dead, then churches without prayer are dead churches. Having said that, I want to invite you to join us for our Week of Prayer, March 26th to April 1st. Sign up at the table in the foyer or online. Our prayer guides are ready to be picked up on Sunday when you sign up. Plan to join us for our LIFT Prayer Service on Wednesday, March 29th, at 7 p.m. in the auditorium.
Praying with you and for you,
Pastor Deric
