My Father in Heaven is Perfect

Troy and his family began to attend a church
where he was taught that his body is the temple of God.
Troy was thrilled  and eager to learn more about God.
He sang the songs with all of his heart.
He studied far into the night
making sure that everything he was being taught
matched up with the word of God.
Troy had never felt happier in his life.

Soon he noticed that member after member
began to question him about his smoking.
It was like they were more concerned
about his health than his spiritual growth.
Troy didn’t mind at first, but soon the expectations
of other people began to wear on him.
He began to feel all alone,
like he was the only sinner in the church.

One day, Troy overheard a conversation
between two old ladies who always sat in the back.
One whispered loudly as if she wanted him to hear.
She said she figured that Troy wasn’t a church member
because he smelled like smoke.
She didn't think he should be helping the praise team.
For Troy, the mortification of that moment
caused him to feel like a second class citizen
and ultimately caused him to stop going to church. 

His wife and children kept begging him,
and he still longed for the singing and the study,
but every time he thought of those judgmental ladies,
he felt ashamed and unworthy to go to church.
His heart agonized to think that he was not
even good enough to be a sanctuary for God.

As time went by, Troy’s wife and kids
continued to go to church without him.
Troy read his Bible less and less and wondered
what was the point with no one to share it with?

All alone one weekend morning,
while his family was at church,
Troy was so bored that he flipped through the channels.
Suddenly, a TV preacher caught his attention.
His message was about being the temple of God.
He preached that God is actually more concerned
about our spiritual health than our physical health.
God longs for His Spirit to dwell in our imperfect bodies.

Troy was amazed.
He been focusing on the temporary and physical while
God had been longing to heal his mind for eternity.
Troy thought of how he loved to sing and study.
He thought of how he wanted to live
every moment in complete one-ness with God.
He immediately got up off of the sofa
and went back to church that very day.

His wife and children were thrilled and surprised
to see him walk through the door.
The old ladies were shocked too,
especially when he went to the front of the church
and joined the praise team.

Being a temple of God
(another word for temple is sanctuary)
simply means to allow God's Spirit to dwell in us!
Yes, it's important to be healthy
because our health affects our brain
and our brain allows us to comprehend God.
Fortunately, God’s grace meets each of us where we are.
Just as God met Troy at home watching TV
and filled Troy’s struggling mind with His Spirit,
God is waiting to fill each of us with His Spirit.

Troy discovered that he had been thinking backwards.
It was not his job to overcome smoking
so that he could be worthy of God’s Spirit.
No, Troy discovered the deeper truth
that God’s Spirit wanted to fill him
so that he could become an overcomer.

“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord.” Zechariah 4:6

As Troy continued his walk with God,
God’s Spirit changed his life and
he was able to throw those cigarettes away.
Nobody knows if the ladies discovered his secret,
The last Troy heard they were still sitting in the back row 
discussing who was not worthy to take part in the service.

We Were Designed to be God's Temple

You realize, don't you, that you are the temple of God,
and God himself is present in you?
No one will get by with vandalizing God's temple,
you can be sure of that.
God's temple is sacred—
and you, remember, are the temple.
2 Corinthians 3:16-17

And you are living stones that God
is building into his spiritual temple.
1 Peter 2:5

What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God.
As God has said:
"I will live with them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be my people.

2 Corinthians 6:16

Lucifer/Satan Defiled His Temple

"You defiled your sanctuaries
with your many sins and your dishonest trade."
Ezekiel 28:18

Satan Will Sit In God's Temple (Human Minds)

"He will even sit in the temple of God,
claiming that he himself is God." 2 Thes 2:3-4

The People in God's Church are His Temple

"All who are victorious will become pillars
in the Temple of my God..." Revelation 3:12

"You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people.
You are members of God’s family.
Together, we are his house,
built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets.
And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.
We are carefully joined together in him,
becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
Through him you Gentiles are also being made
part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit."
Ephesians 2:19-22

"You have come to Mount Zion,
to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven."
Hebrews 12:22-23

Inspirational Thoughts:

"From eternal ages it was God's purpose
that every created being,
from the bright and holy seraph to man,
should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator.
Because of sin, humanity ceased to be a temple for God. Darkened and defiled by evil,
the heart of man no longer revealed
the glory of the Divine One.
But by the incarnation of the Son of God,
the purpose of Heaven is fulfilled.
God dwells in humanity,
and through saving grace the heart of man
becomes again His temple."

Desire of Ages p. 161