Final Say

     Who has the final say at your home?  Is it the husband, the wife, or the children?  To be honest, no one really likes to be told what to do.  However, Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." 
     Being meek does not mean being a doormat for others, but, in Biblical terms, it means "strength under control."  Maybe it could even mean letting God be your strength and letting your desires be God's desire.  It could mean yielding to the request of others although we may not really want to do that.  Even Jesus was willing to let His Father have the final say when, in the Garden, Jesus said, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me, yet not my will, but yours be done."
     So do we let God have the final say in our deeds, words, and actions.  Do we apply God's final say in our lives?

Building The Temple

     In the bible study I am doing in Zephaniah and Haggai, I learned what type of people God prefers and how he wants His temple rebuilt, as well as the consequences of not building His temple.  Haggai 1:9 LBV "You hope for much but get so little.  And when you bring it home, I blow it away -- it doesn't last at all. Why? Because my Temple lies in ruins and you don't care.  Your only concern is your own fine home." 
     The study directs us to 1 Corinthians 3:16, "Don't you realize that all of you together are the house of God, and that the Spirit of God lives among you in His house?"  
     Yet when God takes out his judgment this what He says in Zephaniah 3:11b-12, "...I will remove all your proud and arrogant men from among you; there will be no pride or haughtiness on my holy mountain.  Those who are left will be the poor and the humble, and they will trust in the name of the Lord." 
    My take from the study is that God wants us to build temples of God into our daily lives.  We are to live together in love and harmony, and we are to steer away from prideful ways, becoming humble and meek. 

      Build My Temple

Build my temple, I say;
Do not let it lie in disarray.
Build it strong,
  turning your sorrow into song.
For when my anger will burn,
  each will get what his deeds do earn.
It is time!
Build my temple-
  not with the tallest steeple,
  but with faith-filled people.
Give it splendor with the humble and meek;
  that's who I will seek.
Turn to me, your God;
  plant my Words under your feet, your sod.
Build the house of the Lord;
  only then will you be restored.
Wake up!
Find favor with your God above;
  let me quiet you with my love.
It is time!
Build my temple with faith-filled people.
Listen to what I speak-
  give it splendor with the humble and the meek.
                                             Mary Crisp Jameson