The Coolidge examiner. [volume] (Coolidge, Ariz.) 1930-current, 1938-03-17
Improved 0 SUNDAY
Uniform oo-oO
= lie SSON =
BY REV. HAROLD L. LUNDQUIST.
Dean of the Moody Bible Institute
of Chicago.
@ Western Newspaper Union.
Lesson for March 20
KEEPING THE BODY STRONG

LESSON TEXT-Mark $3.50; Judg.
I3:12-14: l Cor 3:16,17: Rom. 1912.
GOLDEN TEXT-NoW therefore be-
ware. 1 pray thee. and drink not wine
nor strong drink. and eat not any I'M
clean thing.-Judges 1874.
PRIMARY TOPIC-The Body God
Gave Us.
JUNIOR TOPIC-For Jesus Sake.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR
TOPIC-What Liquor, Drugs, and To-
bacco Do to Health.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT
TOPIC - How Intemperance Affects
Health.
The universe Of God is perfectly
organized in every respect. Beings
that function in the spirit realm are
spirit beings, not subject to the linn
itations Of the physical world. We
who dwell and serve IN the phys
ical world are equipped with phys
ical bodies which are ideal ipstru-
ments for our present existence.
With all their shortcomings and
frailties, however. our bodies are
indeed marvellous machines, intri-
cate and delicate, yet unbelievably
hardy and durable. They are
gift from God, and it is our express
responsibility to glorify God in our
bodies q Cor. 500. This means
that we must do everything in our
power to make our bodies well If
they are sick, to keep them well,
and to use them for God No fol-
lower of Christ can either care
lessly or willfully do that which may
or will injure or lessen the efficiency
Of his body.
1. How to Have a Strong Body.
1t is obvious that not every one
has equal physical strength and
health. In some measure this is by
divine providence or at least by
Gods permissive will. and those Of
us who find ourselves thus limited
do well to count on his grace for
patience to use what we have for
His glory. But not one Of us wants
to yield hopelessly TO our inability.
Rather we will do our best to over
come ii. We want to know
/. How to cure weakness Mark
6:53-56).
God alone can heal the sick. Even
in our day when science has made
such strides in the healing art. we
note that the most successful rem
edy or system Of treatment is the
one that clears the way for what
men call nature, but we know to be
God, to work. Jesus healed the
multitudes in the land Of Gennes-
aret; He heals in America.
2. How to prevent weakness
(Judg. l3:12-l4.
The mother of Samson, who was
to be a Nazarite, was to drink no
wine and TO observe careful dietary
regulations before he was born.
That is the time to prevent weak
ness in the body Of man, before
he is born One wonders what is
to be the harvest in our modern
times with liquor-drinking, Gig
arette-smoking mothers as well as
fathers. The next generation is
starting out with a serious handi-
cap.
Note also that if it is bad FOR
man to have such poisons in his
veins before he is born, surely it is
poor judgment to put them in after
he comes to the age where he con-
trolls his own life. We need to
watch our diets, and we have much
valuable help on that point. We
also need to give serious attention
to the use of narcotics. 1t may
surprise some to know that the
term narcotics includes not only
drugs and alcoholic beverages, but
also tobacco, and such common
things as tea and coffee.
Other abuse of the body, such as
overwork, neglect of rest, ETC., may
well be mentioned. The besetting
sin of some Christian workers is the
destruction of their bodies, the very
temple of the Holy Ghost, by over
work.
III. How to Use Strong Body.
Unfortunate as it is to observe
that some who would serve the Lord
have to struggle with the weakness
of the body. it is far sadder to
note that all too often those who
have strong bodies forget to use
that strength for God. Our Scrip
ture portions give US two excellent
guiding principles. Our bodies
should be
/. Kept for God Il Cor. 3:16, 10.
These verses refer to the body of
the Christian, for only of him can it
be said that his body is the temple
of the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Spirit is a person, the
third person of the blessed Trinity.
He comes to dwell within the soul
of the Christian Immediately upon
his being regenerated, thus making
his body the temple of the Holy
Ghost. A clear grasp of that truth
solves the problem of what we
should do with and for our bodies.
We must keep them well and clean.
We dare not defile them in any way.
The body of the Christian is kept
for God.
2. Yielded to God (Rom. 1911, p.
1t is a high and noble sacrifice to