9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. 10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. 16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.
2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come for the LORD's house to be built.’”
3 ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? 4 But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD. ‘Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the LORD Almighty.
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
18 “But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 19 Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. 20 May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place.
“Truth must enter into the soul, penetrate and saturate it, or else it is of no value. Doctrines held as a matter of creed are like bread in the hand, which ministers no nourishment to the frame, but doctrine accepted by the heart, is as food digested, which, by assimilation, sustains and builds up the body.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“Never dread any consequence resulting from absolute obedience to His command. Never fear the rough waters ahead, which through their proud contempt impede your progress. God is greater than the roar of raging water and the mighty waves of the sea. ‘The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever’ (Psalm 29:10). A storm is simply the hem of His robe, the sign of His coming, and the evidence of His presence. Dare to trust Him! Dare to follow Him! Then discover that the forces that blocked your progress and threatened your life become at His command the very materials He uses to build your street of freedom.” F. B. Meyer
“For us to grow in maturity, it's not enough to just read God's Word. We need to obey it and put it into practice. Much as an athlete builds physical muscles through repetition and conditioning, we build spiritual muscles by learning, obeying, and living God's Word. Sound Bible study transforms our lives by training our minds and hearts. Bible literacy protects us from error and increases our love for God himself. By giving us His Word and His Spirit, God has given us everything we need for spiritual maturity. Failure to grow is always our choice, never God's. What are we doing today to help us grow and mature as Christians?” Donna Evans
“No matter how elaborate, comfortable, or accommodating a house might be, if God is not in the labor, the whole structure is empty and meaningless. This has an even deeper application when we recognize it is one thing to build the structure of a house, but quite another to build the spirit of a home. Of what value is a palace without peace? A home is a place of rest, security, warmth, and joy. Many people today lack such a place because the Lord is not there.” Dr. J. D. Watson
“We don’t normally like being on the bottom. It’s just not the position we generally pick. It goes against our flesh. Yet, in the Bible’s economy you stoop to rise, you lower and God elevates. Therefore, rock bottom appears the perfect place to simply look up and the perfect time to begin building upon the solid foundation of the Rock of Christ. Often stripped of our dearest Delilah’s we are not too dissimilar to the returning prodigal. We have nothing but our will to bring – do we really ever have anything else? And Jesus says tenderly, ‘Come’. On Him you can depend. On Him you can count. On Him you can trust. He turns away no one. He will never let the righteous fall or blow away for that matter. His grip is firm and secure. Much akin to a young mother grabbing her two-year-old in busy traffic and yet so infinitely more. He dearly loves His children and He always causes them to stand because He is faithful and able to cause us to stand – no matter what wind blows.” BHY
“The whole quest for what-is-missing often reminds me of the original couple in the Garden who just could not abide the idea there was one tree that remained off-limits. It’s the backdrop, I think, to every one of my inclinations to fixate on what I don’t have—rather, than what I’ve been given. Relationships suffer from this grasping discontent. We build best when we build out from the solid places. In some strange way, your strengths as a couple buttress the shaky parts you may never master.” Paula Rinehart
“All work is sacred work for the child of the King. There is to be no difference between the secular and the sacred. The believer brings the glory of God and the sweet aroma of Jesus to every job – every encounter - working wholeheartedly as unto the Lord – not for man - through the achieving power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. All jobs from motherhood to medical to janitorial to legal to businessman to student to server to whatever – makes no difference the “what” rather the motivation behind why we do what we do which is to bring God all glory. It is His desire for us to work and take care of His world – just as He told Adam before the fall – and bring the Good News to others in our spheres through both our actions and words. This is for our ultimate good btw, satisfying both heart and soul. We live our lives for an audience of One and our goal is to hear a ‘well done good and faithful servant.’” BHY