May the peace and joy of Jesus be with you.
Haggai the prophet ministered 2500 years ago and his word is pertinent for our time. He prophesied to those who returned to the promised land to rebuild the temple. The people had delayed for too long in building the temple saying: “ The time has not yet come,“ but they had the time and energy to build luxurious homes for themselves.
This priority of building the temple was delayed for 18 years and hardships, bad harvests and inflation ate into their lives, they could not make ends meet, everything had gone wrong and Haggai calls them to consider their ways, to give careful thought to their ways, he challenges their thinking:
“You live in luxury homes while my house lies in ruins!“ He calls them to join the dots and realise all this has happened because they stopped building the temple!
He calls them to engage in God's work and the leaders and people respond in obedience .
The message is not about buildings but about the Lord’s work having the highest priority in our lives.
The New Testament calls us “to seek first the kingdom of God“ with the promise that “all these things will be added to us.“
The challenge of Haggai is for us to put GOD FIRST not our comforts, families, business or any other thing that challenges our highest priority, THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST!
We have this assurance that as we go and make disciples in obedience to His commission He assures us saying:
“I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS.“
I encourage you to learn the grace of giving as you apply this word to your giving:
1. Prayerfully establish what the Lord wants you to give.
2. Do you not be coerced or manipulated into giving.
3. May your giving flow out of a heart of peace and joy knowing that God loves a cheerful giver.
As we make the Lord our highest priority let us be assured that HIS kingdom economics will flow into our lives and more than sustain us during these difficult days.
Yours in His strong grace,
Patrick
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