January 3: Purchased

Scripture Lesson: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

January 3^rd is an important date in New York Yankee history. In 1920 a deal was finalized between the Boston Red Sox and Yankees for the Yankees to purchase Babe Ruth for $125,000, while loaning Red Sox owner Harry Frazee $300,000 to finance Broadway shows. Baseball history would have been very different if Ruth had remained with Boston. Also, on this date in 1973, a group headed by Tampa ship builder George Steinbrenner purchased the Yankees from CBS. The histories of the Yankees and baseball were changed dramatically by these two purchases.

Paul reminded the Corinthians, and reminds us today that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Corinthian church had a problem with immorality. Paul was reminding them that they were not their own, for they were bought for a price. With that purchase by God, they could not live any way they chose to live. The lesson today is for us to realize we are not our own, for we also were bought with a price. God paid the price for our sins by sending Jesus to this world to die for you and me. As believers, we accept that Jesus’ death on the cross paid the price for our sins and mistakes. With God paying that price for us, we also must realize we have a responsibility to live for Him each day. For our bodies to be the temple of the Holy Spirit means the Holy Spirit lives within us. We must honor God in the way we live and the things we do each day.

1. What does it mean to honor God in the way we live?

2. Spend a few moments and reflect on the price God paid for our sins and mistakes.

3. How can I honor God today?

We were indeed purchased by God and paid for with the life of His Son. As the old hymn says, “ Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.” Let us honor God daily by living for Him.