God Has A Place For Us In His House And In His Courts

"This is what The Lord Almighty says: 'If you will walk in My ways and keep My requirements, then you will govern My house and have charge of My courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here." Zechariah 3:7 (NIV)

The prophet Zechariah tole the people that Israel would be restored and that there would be a place for His people to serve Him, if they would walk in His ways and keep His requirements.

The same applies to us today, if we walk the walk and follow His word, God has a place for us to serve Him now here on earth and later on in heaven.

Let Us Do Better At Giving God Glory Honor And Respect

"A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due Me? If I am a master, where is the respect due Me?" says The Lord Almighty." Malachi 1:6 (NIV)

The prophet Malachi was chastising the priests for not giving God their bests during their sacrifices. They were sacrificing wounded, diseased, and crippled animals upon the altar instead of animals without spot or blemish. Malachi told them that God was not pleased with them.

The prophet was directing these comments and questions to the priests. However, they also can be applied to us today. We do not show God the honor and respect that is due to Him. We don't give God our best. We don't keep His commandments. We don't follow His word in our daily lives. We don't read and study His word daily as we should. We don't pray and thank Him enough. We don't or talk like He is in our hearts. We don't tell others about Him or what He has done for us. We don't act like everyday is a day of thanksgiving and not just worship time on Sunday. We say that we love Him, let us try to let our actions match our words more with each passing day.

The Suffering Of Christ Predicted

"He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:3-5 (NIV)

More than 400 years beforehand, the prophet Isaiah predicted the rejection and suffering that Jesus Christ would endure during His earthly ministry. Isaiah stated that Jesus would be pierced and physically abused for our iniquities and transgressions, and that by His wounds we would be healed.

The physical suffering that Jesus would endure as payment for our sins so that we might be saved, was predicted by the prophet Isaiah and later verified by the apostles Matthew, Mark, and John, and by Luke, the physician and close companion of the apostle Paul. We ought to thank Jesus The Christ everyday for His role in our redemption and salvation.

Do You Know Who Jesus The Christ Really Is?

"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of The Majesty in heaven. So He became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, 'You are My Son; today I have become Your Father'? Or again, 'I will be His Father, and He will be My Son'? 6 And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, He says, 'Let all God's angels worship Him.' In speaking of the angels He says, 'He makes His angels winds, His servants flames of fire.' 8 But about The Son He says, 'Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has set You above Your companions by anointing You with the oil of joy." He also says, 'In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But You remain the same, and Your years will never end.' To which of the angels did God ever say, 'Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet'? Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" Hebrews 1:1-14 (NIV)

This unknown author of the Books of Hebrews provides a brief description of who Jesus The Christ really is. While the description is not comprehensive, complete, or exhaustive, it presents His relationship to God, His involvement in the creation of the universe, the power of His word, His purification of our sins, His position in heaven, His relationship to the angels, His love of righteousness, His hatred of wickedness, and His eternal nature.

No one knows all about Jesus The Christ. The little that we know is that which is revealed to us in His Holy Word. However, if you do not know Him, or if you want a brief description of exactly who He is, then you should read chapter one of the Book of Hebrews. It briefly describes His relationship to God, to us, to the angles, and His involvement in the creation and maintenance of the universe. What an awesome God we serve.

We Have All We Need But We Need To Use It

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:3-8 (NIV)

Simon Peter, the Apostle of Christ, writing to the Gentile Christians in the area of Asia Minor directly, and to all Christians indirectly, to instruct them in how to defend themselves against the false teachers. The believer cannot be indifferent but must make maximum effort escape the dangers of sin and false doctrine. They must exercise their Christian characteristics to accomplish spiritual growth in order to be effective and productive in their Christian walk and work.

Good Christian behavior does not happen by accident, it requires a conscience effort. God has given us all that we need to do His will. However, we must choose to exercise these gifts, and make an active effort to behave in a Christ-like manner. According to John MacArthur, "We add to those by our diligent devotion to personal righteousness." Knowing what is right and not doing it, is a sin of omission.

We Are Children Of God

"And now, dear children, continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of Him." 1 John 2:28-29 (NIV)

The Apostle John is encouraging the believers to keep the faith and conduct themselves in a Christ-like manner, so that when Christ returns they will have nothing to be ashamed of.

We need to understand that we are children of God and, as children of God, we need to behave like we belong to Him. We are in this world but not of this world. We are just travelling through here on our way to our heavenly home. Let us not get so caught up in things along the journey that we lose sight our destination.

Work As If You Were Working For The Lord

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from The Lord as a reward. It is The Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism." Colossians 3:23-25 (NIV)

The Apostle Paul told the people that they should do their best at whatever they do, as if they were working for The Lord. His point was that ultimately they were serving The Lord.

As believers we know that non-believers will make judgements about all Christians based upon what they see in our behavior. Therefore, all of our daily activities can be viewed as kingdom building activities. So, we should always do our best at whatever we are doing, because we are a reflection of Him. In the end, He will be the one to reward us.