Devotion

Theme: How Well are You Building Your Temple?
Text:  Ezra 4:1-5

4 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the Lord God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” 4 Then  the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, 5 and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Beloved in the Lord, if the days of Ezra, they suffered persecutions in trying to rebuild  the temple of God. In our dispensation, there's a greater temple to build which is our body/soul which is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16). As the Spirit of God resides in us, we need to build our tent well to avoid destruction which will lead to the perishing of our souls. We will identify some key things that hinder us from building our temple well.

If our adversaries, the devil and his agents detect you're building your temple through effective devotion and study of the Bible, doing good, proclaiming the Gospel, holding onto your faith amongst others they try to prevent you from accomplishing This purpose. Do not fret for their temptations will only strengthen you as the Lord will provide a way of escape (James 1:2-4, 1 Corinthians 10:12-13).

Be mindful of the kind of offers you easily give in to. The adversaries of Judah and Benjamin were not there to help build the temple but to discourage those building it. They can only achieve this successfully when they are permitted to join in the building. Dear beloved in Christ Jesus, you are at liberty in all things but not all things are profitable (1 Corinthians 6:12 & 10:23). What is being used to lure you into sin? That ugly thing will be packaged nicely just to entice you. Do not fall for it. You need to ask God before you accept any offer blindly. As Zerubbabel and the rest of the leaders of the fathers' houses of Israel denied them access, their true nature manifested. Time will expose your adversaries but be alert not to fall prey to their diabolic schemes.

The building of your temple will be challenged but if you trust God, He will deliver you from them all.

Prayer:  My body is Your dwelling place Holy Spirit. Let Your light continually shine in me and may my temple be built firmly in Christ Jesus my Solid Rock. So that, when challenges come my way, my temple cannot be destroyed in Jesus name. AMEN!