Temple of the Holy Spirit

Press the play button to watch the video above or press 'more' to read the transcript of the daily devotion below. Please read Acts 7:44-60(use your own Bible or use the link above to access the in-App Bible).

One of the joys of my role is that I spend many Sunday mornings in a different church each week. I get to travel around the diocese visiting the congregations who are the Christian presence in their community. Oftentimes the church building stands at the centre of the local society; be that in the middle of a housing estate, the middle of a shopping centre, or surrounded by the fields of a rural community. Physically the church building stand as a reminder of the presence of Christ right at the heart of everyday life.

And what a joy those buildings are, the architecture, the history, the place where families have gathered at the most important times of their lives to mark significant events. But actually, the bigger joy is not the buildings, despite their beauty, but the people contained within.

We read today in Acts God clearly telling us He does not live in the building, God is not confined to what happens in church on a Sunday morning and neither should our faith be. The worship we will partake in today is important, but of greater importance is the way we honour God in our everyday lives.

If we consider our bodies as temples for the Holy Spirit how does that change the way we act, the way we speak, and the things we devote our time to? Are we living our lives ‘all for Jesus’ or do we box our faith into an hour each Sunday morning, something we can tick off as having done that we don’t need to think about until it comes round again the next Sunday.

The Christian faith spread across the world, and indeed only reached us in the UK, because Christians down the centuries have lived their lives all for Jesus. They have devoted every part of themselves to Him, given over control of their lives, and in doing so have found incredible freedom and joy.

If God does not live in churches made by human hands, what kind of house are you building for Him to live in?

Let us pray: Father Almighty, give us confidence to live our lives all in for Jesus, come to us today and make our bodies the dwelling place of your Spirit. Amen.