Building a Wall

My Sunday school teacher preached on Sunday, and her message really stuck with me. There were 4 things that really stuck in my mind as I listened, and I wanted to talk about them, and the thoughts that came to my mind.

First, the main point of her message: "Don't let the enemy steal your identity." We have to watch ourselves, and be careful. If we get offended, or angry about something in church (or anywhere), it can cause us to lose who we are in God. It can take away from us as Christians, and wear us down, chipping at our identities.

That's where the second point comes in. We have to "protect what God has done in us." We have to be diligent, and read our Bibles, and pray, and learn to let stuff go, so that it doesn't chip away at what God has built in us. She preached from Nehemiah. God had erected a temple, and they were building a wall to protect it, in spite of the enemy's ridiculing, and attacks. We have to do that in ourselves. She said God has built a wall in us, and we have to protect it from the things that would tear it down. (While she was speaking of this wall, I had a tie-in thought that I'll share tomorrow.)

Third, she said that we have to watch for discord in the church, in the body of Christ. "How dare you come against one another?" We are individuals. But we are also one body! We must stand together, and strong against the enemy. Satan has come against me before to give me doubts about going to this church. It only takes one little thing to plant that seed (of doubt, anger, hurt), and we have to be mindful. We have to take that stuff to God, and pray about it and really listen for His answer. We have to learn to let it go. It doesn't matter if it was an intentional slight or not. We have to change the way we react to it.

And last, but not least, she talked about how the enemy tries to tear us down. "Who are you to be who you say you're gonna be?" This was probably my favorite point. When we give our lives to God, we become His children, and our bodies become His temples.

"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). This verse is talking specifically about sexual immorality, but it applies to other things too. When we speak ill of others, when we allow anger and doubt to cloud our thoughts, we are defiling God's temple. I know all this is easier said than done, but we have to try. And day by day, it'll get easier, until we can't remember why it was difficult in the first place.

God is building something in us, and we have to protect it from the enemy. I am a child of the Living God. He has a purpose for me. And I can tell Satan that I dare to be who God has called me to be, because God has called me for a purpose.