Wed.’s Devo - Honoring God with our Bodies

Read: Ezra 10:1-44; 1 Corinthians 6:1-20; Psalm 31:9-18; Proverbs 21:3 Ezra repented for the nation’s sin of intermarrying with the pagans. Shecaniah, one of the leaders came to Ezra and repented because he had married one of these women. He suggested they all divorce their wives and repent and turn back to God. They would send their wives and their children away. How painful would that be! Ezra made them all swear they would do what Shecaniah said and they all swore an oath. A proclamation was made for every Israelite should come to Jerusalem in three days. If they refused to come they would be forfeiting their property and be expelled from the assembly of the exiles. It was in the middle of winter but they came and stood before the Temple. They were trembling because of the seriousness of the matter and because it was raining and cold. Ezra stood and told them to repent of marrying strange wives and to get rid of them and their children. Since there were so many who had done this they had to set up a schedule for the divorces. The priests who had married foreign wives were listed. Only four of the leaders opposed to what Ezra was doing. Two of them were Levites. In Corinthians, Paul rebuked the believers for not judging themselves in the church. One day we will judge the world so why would we let the world judge us now? Christians were suing Christians making a mockery of themselves to the world. He told them to instead, accept the injustice knowing that one day they would be judged for it by God. He explained what having sex with a heathen does to not only the person but the whole Body of Christ. We are all part of Christ’s body so what one of us does, affects all the others. Paul said to run from sexual sin because no other sin affects the body as this one does. It affects your physical and spiritual body. We were bought with the high price of Jesus blood, we need to honor that. Lord, may we worship and honor you with our bodies and not give ourselves over to sexual sins or even imaginations. May we honor the Temple of God within us and others.