God comes FIRST!
I just finished memorizing Haggai chapter 1. Actually, I just finished RE memorizing, because in 2002 I memorized the whole book! (don't be too impressed, it's only 2 chapters!). In 2002 I was mentoring a group of 45 students for an entire year, and as a group, we decided to memorize the obscure book of Haggai with the belief that it represented what God wanted to do in us, and the people He would use us to touch throughout that year.
The verse that is familiar to most people from that book is about the "glory of this present house" being "greater than that of the former house." But actually, what stood out to me most about this book, was the focus on putting God first. The book of Haggai takes off in 520 BC with a message from God, delivered by His prophet Haggai. A little history; the Jews, whose temple had been destroyed by, and who had been taken captive by Babylon, (II Kings 25:9) had returned to Jerusalem and had been instructed to rebuild the temple of the Lord. The rebuilding process had begun in 530 BC under Zerubbabel (governor of Judah) and Jeshua (the high priest), but was never completed due to great opposition from surrounding countries (see Ezra chapters 3 and 4). In 520, God sends Haggai to encourage and rally His people to go back to work on His temple. Haggai also brings a message of rebuke to God's people. He points out that the people are working really hard; attaining stuff, eating, drinking, earning money, buying clothes; but it is never enough. And then He tells us why they have "planted much, but have harvested little." (Haggai 1:6) The answer is simple, convicting and very true today, "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house." (Haggai 1: 9)
Have you ever wondered if it is possible to slow down the crazy pace of your life? If you are in school, you just can't imagine surviving on less sleep or having more work to do. If you are married and working, you just realized that the work never diminished and now you have a house and spouse to take care of, not to mention dinners to cook! And then there are babies! And you thought you were sleep deprived in school! You dream of the days when your kids are older and you can "get out more." Oh wow, and then you start living in your car, shuttling them from birthday party to sports practice to study groups. It never ends! Add to all of that family commitments, vacations, hobbies, or volunteer work, and it feels that there is no time for CHURCH! There is a very serious warning found in these verses in Haggai....when we don't put God and His House first, He doesn't bless all the other stuff we do! (see verses 10-11, dew represents blessing in Scripture) We can spend so much time building our own houses, that we miss the promise in Haggai that many of us are familiar with...."I will fill this house with glory...the glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house." Putting God first is required to see these blessings and promises!
As we run headlong into the holidays, I think it is a fitting time for a reminder; God comes first. We have spent the past couple of months studying the fruit of the Spirit, and the common thread woven through our studies of attributes (or fruit) like love, joy, peace and patience is that it really isn't about acquiring these attributes, it is about pursuing Jesus and surrendering ourselves to the Holy Spirit. In fact, I believe that the fruit of the Spirit result in direct proportion to our surrender, and to surrender we must be willing to obey. After the stinging rebuke by the Lord through the prophet Haggai, Scripture says that "the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God." It is only after obedience, that God blessed His people; with His presence and with His power. In our pursuit of being more like Jesus, we need to spend time with Him. "We need to surrender to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to plant seeds of spiritual (and eternal) fruit in us that ripen and mature as we grow. And the result? We bear spiritual fruit that is more effective as a witness for Jesus than any sermon we could ever preach." (from lesson one) Ultimately, it is the Holy Spirit who makes it possible for us to live beyond ourselves, (from lesson 3) but it takes a choice on our part. We have to choose to put God first, to fight our schedules, and all of the urgent things screaming for our attention, and make time for Jesus. This month, make it a priority to put God first, you won't regret it, and you will be amazed at how God blesses all the other stuff you do.
For further study & until we meet again:
Catch up! Take some time over this next 6 weeks or so and catch up on what you have missed. Read, study and post what you are learning! I want to see posts from your "led by the spirit" moments, the effects of your love for the unlovable, the ways that God is teaching you peace and joy and how you are learning patience through circumstances and through mercy and forgiveness. Post something over the next 6 weeks!
Read the book of Haggai. Record your observations.
For those who are motivated, MEMORIZE Haggai! You can do it! Take a few minutes out of the busy-ness and meditate on Scripture!
For those who would like more background on Haggai, read also the books of Ezra and Zechariah (Haggai's contempories).
Sonya and I are proud of you all, and blessed by what you have posted so far. Though we are taking a break from posting reading assignments and devotionals, we are NOT taking a break from Jesus. Resist the urge to let your schedule control you!
We will re-convene in January. Until then, count your blessings, love your family and PUT GOD FIRST!
The verse that is familiar to most people from that book is about the "glory of this present house" being "greater than that of the former house." But actually, what stood out to me most about this book, was the focus on putting God first. The book of Haggai takes off in 520 BC with a message from God, delivered by His prophet Haggai. A little history; the Jews, whose temple had been destroyed by, and who had been taken captive by Babylon, (II Kings 25:9) had returned to Jerusalem and had been instructed to rebuild the temple of the Lord. The rebuilding process had begun in 530 BC under Zerubbabel (governor of Judah) and Jeshua (the high priest), but was never completed due to great opposition from surrounding countries (see Ezra chapters 3 and 4). In 520, God sends Haggai to encourage and rally His people to go back to work on His temple. Haggai also brings a message of rebuke to God's people. He points out that the people are working really hard; attaining stuff, eating, drinking, earning money, buying clothes; but it is never enough. And then He tells us why they have "planted much, but have harvested little." (Haggai 1:6) The answer is simple, convicting and very true today, "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house." (Haggai 1: 9)
Have you ever wondered if it is possible to slow down the crazy pace of your life? If you are in school, you just can't imagine surviving on less sleep or having more work to do. If you are married and working, you just realized that the work never diminished and now you have a house and spouse to take care of, not to mention dinners to cook! And then there are babies! And you thought you were sleep deprived in school! You dream of the days when your kids are older and you can "get out more." Oh wow, and then you start living in your car, shuttling them from birthday party to sports practice to study groups. It never ends! Add to all of that family commitments, vacations, hobbies, or volunteer work, and it feels that there is no time for CHURCH! There is a very serious warning found in these verses in Haggai....when we don't put God and His House first, He doesn't bless all the other stuff we do! (see verses 10-11, dew represents blessing in Scripture) We can spend so much time building our own houses, that we miss the promise in Haggai that many of us are familiar with...."I will fill this house with glory...the glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house." Putting God first is required to see these blessings and promises!
As we run headlong into the holidays, I think it is a fitting time for a reminder; God comes first. We have spent the past couple of months studying the fruit of the Spirit, and the common thread woven through our studies of attributes (or fruit) like love, joy, peace and patience is that it really isn't about acquiring these attributes, it is about pursuing Jesus and surrendering ourselves to the Holy Spirit. In fact, I believe that the fruit of the Spirit result in direct proportion to our surrender, and to surrender we must be willing to obey. After the stinging rebuke by the Lord through the prophet Haggai, Scripture says that "the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God." It is only after obedience, that God blessed His people; with His presence and with His power. In our pursuit of being more like Jesus, we need to spend time with Him. "We need to surrender to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to plant seeds of spiritual (and eternal) fruit in us that ripen and mature as we grow. And the result? We bear spiritual fruit that is more effective as a witness for Jesus than any sermon we could ever preach." (from lesson one) Ultimately, it is the Holy Spirit who makes it possible for us to live beyond ourselves, (from lesson 3) but it takes a choice on our part. We have to choose to put God first, to fight our schedules, and all of the urgent things screaming for our attention, and make time for Jesus. This month, make it a priority to put God first, you won't regret it, and you will be amazed at how God blesses all the other stuff you do.
For further study & until we meet again:
Catch up! Take some time over this next 6 weeks or so and catch up on what you have missed. Read, study and post what you are learning! I want to see posts from your "led by the spirit" moments, the effects of your love for the unlovable, the ways that God is teaching you peace and joy and how you are learning patience through circumstances and through mercy and forgiveness. Post something over the next 6 weeks!
Read the book of Haggai. Record your observations.
For those who are motivated, MEMORIZE Haggai! You can do it! Take a few minutes out of the busy-ness and meditate on Scripture!
For those who would like more background on Haggai, read also the books of Ezra and Zechariah (Haggai's contempories).
Sonya and I are proud of you all, and blessed by what you have posted so far. Though we are taking a break from posting reading assignments and devotionals, we are NOT taking a break from Jesus. Resist the urge to let your schedule control you!
We will re-convene in January. Until then, count your blessings, love your family and PUT GOD FIRST!
posted by Di Beals | 1:23 PM
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