This week's devotion is entitled:

...And Keeping it Clean

And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people." Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty."
~2 Corinthians 6:15-18

Why is it that some people search and study the Bible so hard to find the fine line between right and wrong when it comes to chemical and human influences, and then try to live on top of that line and still claim to be Christians? Why is it that some people think it's OK to smoke or do drugs because those things aren't mentioned by name in the Bible? Why do some people want to live a comletely secular life and then go to church on Sunday? Living like that doesn't get you any closer to God, and it doesn't let God's light shine through you. You are the only Bible some people will ever read. What do your pages say?

God wants us to live a life free from all impurities. Remember last week's devotion about cleaning your temple? That applies here too. Would you bring Vodka to church with you? Would you stand in a circle with your non-Christian friends telling dirty jokes at the altar? Would you do drugs in the youth room? Have sex in the pughs? If you wouldn't defile a mere building that only represents God's temple, why would you defile the actual dwelling place of the Lord--your body?

You would never cuss out your pastor during the sermon, drink alcohol during worship, smoke a cigarette during prayer, have sex during youth group, or do anything even remotely resembling those scenarios. (And if you would, and this is in all seriousness, you need to seek out spiritual help.) Why, then, would you do those things to your body--the very temple of the One and Only Living God--under any circumstances whatsoever?

As Christians, we need to stay away from alcohol, tobacco, drugs, sexual immorality, and cursing. These things hurt our bodies, they hurt our ministry significantly, and worst of all they hurt our relationship with God.