Ever play "body ABC's"--where you bend and break into some kind of twisted pretzel to form alphabet letters? A great game for the agile--the fragile better forget it! Here's some ABCs for you to ponder--no exercise required here, only eyeball movement: Body AWARENESS--it's everywhere! People are trying to trim down, shape up and make-over! Some of it works; some doesn't, and the TV and magazine models won't make you feel much better! Body BEHAVIOR--or MIS-behavior--is everywhere too! Morality and decency have gone down the tube--and that's an unplanned pun--but you and I both have had our fill of the immorality and indecency on TV, not to mention the movies. We live in a sick world where the flesh and the devil run rampant.

And then there's the body CONNECTION, and psychologists, pastors, counselors, and mad magazines all try to help: either promoting sexual abstinence and purity, or approving "safe sex" which is neither safe nor sex as God designed it--but downright sinful! We try to keep our singles from connecting and our marrieds from disconnecting--and any Christian counselor will tell you he has his hands full! It's a wild world out there, and true believers want to scream, "Enough is enough!"

But THAT'S not the kind of body connection this devo is about! Read some good Christian literature if you need help in that department--Dr. Ruth or Laura, I am not! There's a BODY Connection that's eternal. It began in the Book of Acts and continues to this day--blessing in a positive way, burdening in a negative way--but the Body of Christ we are! Come down to the Ezekiel's Valley of Dry Bones with me, right next to the Well (sing along the way if you'd like!), and let's learn about God's ideal Body connection--may it be alive and well in His Church today!

A Helping Word...or Two!

God's Purpose for the Body!

God didn't purpose for you to be an island. We need each other--and so He created the Body of Christ, with Christ as its Head and each of us an integral part. That Body, imperfect though it may be, is made for the purpose of honoring and glorifying God in our world. It is also designed to fulfill a unique purpose to each one of our lives, but that purpose is only fulfilled as we surrender to....

God's Plan for the Body!

God didn't plan for you to be top dog, bottom dog, hot dog, or any other kind of dog. All parts of the body are equal in His sight, each part important to the smooth functioning of the Body. He has as much a plan for the big toe as He does for the brains and brawn. We are all needed in His plan...and it is for us to find out what it is. What are your talents? What gifts has God bestowed freely upon you? Find out--and then sharpen those gifts to the best of your ability, for God needs them. He has uniquely planned your life to fit into His Body in the best place and position possible. He'll find that place--and He'll work out that position. Don't fight His call or His plan--He really does know what He is doing!

God's Precision for the Body!

God didn't throw all the Body parts in a bucket and pick at random which one to give YOU! His plan is precise--and you've been given the best part for you over anyone else in the world. There's not ANOTHER part just like you (and for that, you thank the Lord...grin!), but seriously, God has precisely chosen you to play the "part" He needs you to play for the promotion of His Kingdom. Be content with the "Body part" that you are, surrender it to Him, and watch what He will do!

And now for some fun! God has as many "Body parts" as you can creatively imagine--let's name a few: There's the mouth, the "smilers" of the Body. They bring joy and laughter wherever they go! The "soft shoulders" who offer encouragement and a shoulder to cry on just when it's needed. The hands--these are the "doers" who sew, play an instrument, build, keyboard, cook--do whatever their hands find to do. The heart--these are the "lovers" who intuitively know when you need a loving word. There's the singers, the speakers, the Body-menders and the taco-makers. There's the arms to hold, the brains to think, the toes to balance, the knees to pray, the feet to go--and we've only begun. You see, we're all needed, each a vital part of the Body through which Christ loves, gives and serves.

But hold on...the Body WITHOUT the connection is merely a MESS of body parts without rhyme or reason--we need each other! The arms need the legs; the heart needs the hands; the toe needs the thumb; the knees need the nerves. Some visible parts; some hidden parts, but all vital to the Body's function. We've got to connect--not to pull apart in envy, jealousy, hurt, wrangling and strife. So what connects us? The Blood of Christ, coursing through the lives of each part, giving power, strength, ability, a common bond and a consistent connection. His Blood was not only shed for the sinner; it was shed for the saint, and we need that precious Blood to bind us together in love and one accord. Only then will Ezekiel's dead dry bones come to life, breathed into by the eternal breath of God, and bound together by the Blood of His Son. We're part of an amazing BODY CONNECTION....all to the praise and glory of the One who made us, a Body incomplete in its parts alone, complete in its plan together. God, make us one Body and one Spirit to bring Your life to a dying world!

...and that's just a word or two from my heart to yours!

His Healing Words

Bible Gateway.com - passage=1Corinthians+12:12-27">The Body of Christ

"Lord, I've been lying around as a loose, lifeless part in the Body of Christ--discontented, discouraged and disheartened. I'm tired of feeling useless--show me the place You've prepared for me in Your Body, and help me to work with others, suffer with others, rejoice with others--all in the one Body of which You are the Head.
Lord, make us all one. In Christ's Name, Amen.

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