Mobilize Your Defenses
| Don't you know that you
yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone
destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred,
and you are that temple. 1 Cor. 3:16,17, NIV. |
The invaders
stealthily surround the sacred temple. Silently they take up their positions
and wait. At the right opportunity they will attack. In the meantime, they
continue their surveillance patrols and strengthen their offensive. They
don't realize they will lose the upcoming battle because of one significant
factor. The temple has an incredible defense team. It's the IS, better
known as the immune system.
This highly trained team
consists of cells known as lymphocytes, including T cells, killer cells,
and natural killer (NK) cells. They watch for the first sign of invasion
and stay ready to mobilize their forces. The paratroopers, NK cells, patrol
the sacred temple daily. They know they can't stop invaders from taking
up their positions, but they can throw off their attacks. The T cells prepare
to identify the invaders, then give orders to the killer cells to wipe
out the invaders. If they fail to destroy the invaders, the message goes
to the B cells—the artillery of the army.
If you can visualize this
situation, then think of yourself as that sacred temple. Around you and
inside you is the battlefield. Every day enemies seek to destroy your temple.
You can win each time only if your immune system with its killer cells
stays vigilant. Your enemies—bacteria, viruses, cancer cells, fungi—assault
your body through any possible opening, such as mouth, eyes, nose, or even
your skin. Anything that weakens your energy, health, alertness, and perception
gives the invaders an advantage.
You have other enemies as
well. Pollutants, chemicals, and stress continually attack your body. How
will you handle the next onslaught? Will you lose the battle to a flu bug?
get felled by a nasty cold? let a bronchial infection knock you out of
action for a week? Or will you take charge and fight?
Just as God has given us
the IS (immune system) to fight off physical disease, God has given us
the HS (Holy Spirit) to combat spiritual disease. You are the temple of
God. Use your IS and HS defenses and protect God's property.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you
power
to keep your immune system strong and
healthy. |
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