Be strong & courageous and do
the work.
Do not be afraid or discouraged,
for the Lord God is with you.
He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for
the service of the temple of the Lord is finished. 1 Chr. 28:20
Where is God’s temple (or dwelling) today? Metaphorically, in the Believer.
1 Cor. 3:16-17 Don’t you know that you yourselves
are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?... God’s temple is sacred,
and you are that temple.
1 Cor. 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple
of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, Whom you received from God?
What is “the work (s)”? Obedience to His promptings in and through all we
do. (Col. 1:29)
God tells us in Eph. 2:10 and Matt. 5:16 that we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works, that He prepared in advance
for us to do… And to let our light shine before men, so they will see our good works
and glorify God.
“Works”
means our business, employment, undertaking, deed, anything accomplished by
hand, art, industry or mind.
Jesus
example:
The Father gave
me these works (my teachings and my miracles) to accomplish, and they
prove that He sent me… I brought glory to You here on earth by completing the
work You gave me to do. Jn. 5:36; Jn. 17:4
How is the work to be completed? In
obedience, through His wisdom and strength.
Jesus’
example:
Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray (Lk.
5:16).
Here, Jesus received His “work instructions” (as
well as renewal and strength to continue carrying out God’s plan).
Rather
than doing our own idea of labor for the Lord, let’s pray and ask Jesus to
direct our work/service, and the renewal and strength to obediently carry “it”
to completion.
When is “the work for the service of God’s temple” to be finished? When we are with Christ.
God, who began
the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished
on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Phil. 1:6
"And
behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every
one according to his work. Rev. 22:12
Time is short. May our lives faithfully
carry out His work this week by allowing Him to work in and through us!
Much love,
Shaun and Betsy
