Today's encouragement comes from Ezra 5:11b, where we find these words:
"We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel [Solo-mon] built and completed."Here, in a nutshell, is the individual Christian's, and the entire church's pur-pose for living. While the devil and his comrades spend all their time on earth seeking to tear down the "temple,” Christ’s true church—God's people spend all their time seeking to build it up.
The work has already been "built and completed" (see above) in Jesus’ body—through His atoning death and glorious resurrection. Our mission, in co-laboring with God, is in "rebuilding," viz. extolling before all the creation, the beauties and glories of Jesus and His bride.
[Puritan quote of the day: "Sound repentance begins in the love of God and ends in the hatred of sin.” —Thomas Watson, in, "The Doctrine of Repent-ance"]
