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 TEMPLE
OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
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By Bro. Pete Lapid
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In
1 Corinthians 6:19, St. Paul tells us “Do you not know
that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, given by
God?” And he reminds us in Galatians 5:22-23,
“The fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control.”
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Whatever we may think or say, St. Paul is telling the truth! And
yet if I honestly look at myself, hmmn… I just wonder. Am I
really living as a temple of the Holy Spirit? Do I have these
nine fruits in my life? Do I have…
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LOVE
- But why am I disgusted or at times even hate that colleague in
the office. And yet JESUS tells me in Matthew 22:39, “Love
your neighbor as you love yourself.” (Ouch!) And in Luke
6:27, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless
those who curse you, pray for those who mistrust you.” (Double
ouch!!)
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JOY
- Someone said, “Christians must be full of joy.” But why do I
look unhappy a lot of times? Even if I know that it takes more
muscles to frown than to smile! Why am I anxious and worried
about many things, like Martha in Luke’s Gospel? And so JESUS says
to me in Matthew Chapter 6, “Do not worry about anything, your
Heavenly Father knows what you need even before you ask Him.”
And also, “Do not worry
about tomorrow, tomorrow will take care of itself.”
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PEACE
- I am no different from many other people, I am also searching
for peace. Peace of mind and peace of heart. Peace in all areas
of my life. Yet why is it so elusive? So JESUS reminds me in
John 14:27 of the kind of peace I should be looking for,
“Peace I leave with you; My
peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.”
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PATIENCE
- How can I be patient with the office staff or even the maid who
is slow in understanding instructions? Yet JESUS teaches me to be
patient in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in the Gospel of
Matthew Chapter 18.
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KINDNESS
- How can I be kind to someone who is unkind to me? But JESUS
tells me in Matthew 25:40, “Whatever you did for one of these
least brothers of Mine, you did for Me.” And He also asks me
to show kindness to everyone, with no exceptions, in Matthew
25:45, “What you did not do
for one of these least ones, you did not do for Me.”
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GENEROSITY
- I have my own needs and my income is just enough for me. How can
I be generous to others? Yet JESUS challenges me, “Give and
gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together,
shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap”
(Luke 6:38).
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FAITHFULNESS
– How can I continue serving Him when everything seems not to be
in order and falling apart? Yet JESUS desires me to reach that
point when He can say to me, “Well done, My good and faithful
servant… Come, share your Master’s joy” (Matthew 25:21).
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GENTLENESS
- How can I bite my tongue when everything within me wants to
fight back at someone who says bad things about me? But JESUS
confronts me, “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For
as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which
you measure will be measured out to you” (Matthew 7:1-2).
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SELF-CONTROL
- How can I use my mouth in praying and worshipping God and yet
use the same in speaking ill about other people? Lastly, JESUS
reminds me, “It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles a
person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one”
(Matthew 15:11).
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Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thru this reflection, I realized that I have been
living a sinful life. Please forgive me, Lord. Have mercy on me.
Change me and bring me to a real conversion. Lead me and guide me
until I become a true temple of the Holy Spirit. Amen!
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