Arming God's Vessel for Holy Purposes

Daniel 5:3-4
So they brought in the gold goblets that had been TAKEN FROM THE TEMPLE OF GOD in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. As they drank the wine, they PRAISED THE GODS (LITTLE "G") OF GOLD AND SILVER, OF BRONZE, IRON, WOOD AND STONE.

When reading Daniel 5 and the story of King Belshazzar, Daniel and "the handwriting on the wall", we can easily say "how dare King Belshazzar to not only use items taken from God's temple, but to use them for his own purposes . . . for ignoble reasons . . . to worship other gods?" But how often do we do that in our daily lives. In II Corinthians 6:16, we are told " . . . 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.' " Once we have accepted the gift of God's salvation, our bodies become His temple, a holy vessel. We can never be snatched away from God's hand, but we can be used by Satan for unholy purposes. In our present day, what do the unholy purposes surface as?

Complaining . . . Do we remind our husband what he didn't do? Do we complain that we didn't like the way something was handled at church, work, school? Have you ever noticed when you complain to one, then it catches on like wildfire which leads to dissension.

Gossiping . . . Do we share something under the title "prayer request"? Do we tell someone something with the preface to protect ourselves, our children, our family or others, but truly it does nothing but tear someone else down?

Pride . . . Do we look at Sunday services as a fashion show, ignoring the true reason for attendance? Do we want to show off our new car, purse, jewelry or some other material item? Do we like to brag on Facebook about how wonderful our life is or what wonderful thing someone did for us?

Judging . . . Do we judge others by their dress, the way they manage their children, the car they drive, their participation or lack there of?


If you notice all of these things start in the heart and mind, so we must renew our minds and arm ourselves DAILY through prayer and Bible study, filling our hearts and minds with things eternal.


My prayer for you is that you will make daily time for God filling your heart and mind with things of eternal significance.

Fall Retreat Planning Meeting

I'm excited to say we had a great representation of the women of Salem at our planning meeting for the Fall Women's Retreat. Go ahead and be planning to join us for an exciting weekend October 29th-30th at the Charlie Elliott Conference Center in Mansfield, Georgia. The registration fee will be $99/person which includes retreat materials, lodging and food. This will be a time of fellowship, friendship, relationship and fun! We will be offering a ONE TIME ONLY Early Bird Registration at the "Get Acquainted" Social on March 25th. If you register and submit a $25 deposit at the social, your registration fee will only be $75 . . . a $24 savings!