In the recesses of my mind there are such fond memories of that little country church where I visited the altar as a boy.  That church building still stands today and holds services each Sunday.  It is filled with the memories of hundreds of men and women who came into that house to worship God each Sunday morning and night, as well as a mid-week service on Wednesday night, something in itself is rare these days.

Church buildings range from super small to mega churches.  For me, the most amazing place in the sanctuary is the altar.  It is there that people come to pray and spend time bowing before God.  They come to praise.  They come to worship.  They come to seek God's face as well as His hand.  They come to surrender.  They come to acknowledge they need a Savior.

Here on our Three Rivers Campus near the conference rooms in plant 1, we have a chapel for our employees and their families to visit.  Four weddings have now taken place there.  Employees who may be overwhelmed by the cares of this world may visit there anytime throughout the day or night for a few moments before returning to their workplace, refreshed and moving forward. 

You can visit this chapel by visiting the Armstrong webpage under the headings of "About" then "Faith In The Workplace."  

Our chapel, like so many church buildings have a special feeling as you walk through its doors.  They are inviting and comforting.  There is an anointing in our chapel.  You can feel the presence of God there and you will either be drawn closer to God or want to run the other way due to His holiness.  It is beautiful and we are so blessed to have this chapel right here in the middle of our workplace.

But, this chapel, as well as any other church building, is not "the temple of God."  The church building is not the church.  The church building is where the church, those who truly believe, gather to worship. 

The believers and true disciples of Christ are the true temple of God.  Just hear what the apostle Paul told the Corinthian believers about the temple.  *"Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"  And again, *"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?"

With this in mind, that our body is the temple of God and His Holy Spirit, I ask you these questions to consider?  "Would you sit in your church building, with your pastor or priest sitting next to you, and open up a can of beer?  Would you light up a cigarette in the sanctuary?  Would you cuss like a drunken sailor?  Would you party like its 1969? Would you do anything that would be a disgrace to that sanctuary and the holiness of God?"

I think I know your answer?  If you would not do it in the church building, would you do it in the true temple of God?

We are the temple of God and should be living as such.  That same anointing that one may feel when they enter the sanctuary should be felt by those with whom we meet.  We should be giving the *fragrance of Christ as we impart that sweet anointing to those we meet.  We should walk with this in mind: *it is Christ in us, the hope of glory. 

We may be the only Jesus people see until they stand before Jesus Christ as their judge.  What a shame it will be if the first thing they say is, "I wish I had seen Jesus in the eyes of those who are suppose to be His temple." 

(Scripture references:  1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 2:15; Colossians 1:27)