REQUIREMENTS FOR GOOD STANDING

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘If you will walk in obedience to me 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 3:6-7

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Am I in good standing with God?

Perhaps it’s a question any of us would want to know, unless of course we don’t care and that would be a very foolish notion.

So how could we find the answer?

Well, we could ask God ourselves, coming before Him in prayer and asking Him to assess our lives, exposing the bad and complimenting the good.

Or, we could look at today’s verses from the third chapter of Zechariah and see what God had to say to His people who had just returned from a lengthy exile in Babylon. Look again at these words here:

The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘If you will walk in obedience to me 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 3:6-7

You’ll recall from yesterday’s devotion that the name “Joshua” was referring to the Israelites as a whole within the context of this prophet’s fourth vision as God promised to cleanse His people from their sins and dress them in clean garments.

In other words, God’s people had been renewed and stood before the Lord in a state of redemption.

How would they stay in that state? How would they have to live to ensure they remained in God’s good standing?

The Lord gave them the requirements within today’s scripture passage and those requirements were very fundamental in nature. For all the Israelites needed to do is “walk in obedience” to His ways and keep themselves aligned with requirements, with His will, word, and way.

If the people did this, then the Lord promised they would be given the privilege to govern His house and be in charge of His courts before adding they would gain a place of standing with Him and among whomever He placed them with.

The bottom line is that the Lord blesses those who stay true to Him and place His desires ahead of their own, desires that will always result in someone walking away from sin as they travel the path of righteousness.

The people of Israel had not done a very good job of doing this in the past, angering God and leading Him to imposing harsh punishment in response to their willful and willing disobedience. They had chosen the world over the Lord who made the world and that was not going to have a positive outcome for the Israelites for the Lord will not be opposed by anyone.

Hindsight being twenty-twenty, the Israelites would be able to see the stark contrast and comparison of their behavior and God’s reaction to that behavior.

Obey Him and all was good as God blessed their compliance with His favor.  

Disobey Him and consequences would follow as God punished their wickedness.

Here’s the thing about all this:

Nothing has changed regarding God’s requirements to be in good standing with Him. Nothing.

Obey Him, strictly following His word, will, and way, and you can expect to live in His favor and the blessings that come with it.

Disobey Him and you can expect He will correct you in ways intended to teach you obedience and respect for Him, the Lord God Almighty who is your Maker and Master.

Given these truths, only one question remains:

Which way of living are you going to choose?

The answer will determine whether or not you meet the Lord’s requirements for good standing.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
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