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 6:19-20 (NIV)

It’s Monday morning [once again] and another weekend has now been relegated to the annals of history. Last Thursday, I was given unpleasant news by my doctor and threatened with a drastic course of treatment if I did not take the steps necessary (responsibly) to correct the problem. The necessary steps are diet and exercise and the drastic course of treatment (if I fail to comply) involves insulin. For a long time I have been a type II diabetic and have treated the malady with pills. As time goes on, the number and variety of pills has increased. It has come to my attention through study of God’s Word that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. I have a measure of responsibility here that I have forsaken. The Holy Spirit has convicted me of this through the Word of God, the way I feel and [most certainly] the word of my doctor.

I feel good about the fact that this weekend I have been good about watching carbs. In fact, since I saw my doctor Thursday afternoon, I have been consciously counting carbohydrates whenever possible and feeling pretty good about myself (with God’s absolutely necessary help, of course). Already I notice a difference with the alleviation of certain symptoms such as “night sweats” and other things. Sometimes, when we are caught up in a sinful lifestyle, we become immune to it and unaware of the way it is degrading our lives and making us feel. When that happens, it has imprisoned us and the devil has us right where he wants us. It was that way with me for several years with drugs, alcohol and cigarettes (which I treat differently but are in reality a drug, as well).

There is a method I know of staying on course with this and living the way God wants me to live. It involves my yielding myself to the life-changing presence and power of the Holy Spirit. The good news is that I already have it as a believer in Christ. I have only to acknowledge that and surrender to Him. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. -Philippians 4:13 (NIV)