But when the hindrance was removed they said… verse 2 - "O well, there's plenty of time yet! How foolish we are, for God's commands are always for our good, and none of His commands are burdensome (1 John 5:3)! Give careful thought to the fleeting emptiness of consumerism.
Isaiah helps us to understand the Spirit's constant presence during the Exodus. Last year, I preached a series of sermons from Zechariah, and I'll not revisit him today; but I'd like to focus on what Haggai had to say. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored, " says the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty says: "In a little while, I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I want the Lord Jesus to head up our Youth Ministry, grabbing the heart of our students and turning them into a generation of world-changers for Him. Encourage the people of God to think deeply of their ways--why work so much? Haggai is regarded as the first postexilic prophet, joined soon after by Zechariah. For us, the church is the body of Christ—the believers themselves (1 Corinthians 12:27). That is the point Haggai made centuries ago when he explained that meat set apart for sacrifice to God could not make other food holy by coming in contact with it (Hag 2:12). Give Careful Thought | Joni and Friends. You put on layer after layer of clothes, but you can't get warm. The prophet Haggai was called by God to address the Jewish exiles; those individuals who had passionately left everything—every comfort—and faced unknown fears to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. It is abominably wicked, I grant you, but still it is natural because of the downward tendency of our depraved hearts. Brenton Septuagint Translation. They are dealing with an active resistance to building the temple and so the work has stopped.
He could not move without spreading defilement on all sides. FUTURE things are hidden from us. Take a good, hard look at your life. It is always futile to judge the value of God-appointed tasks by the appearance of the hour in which they are done. Haggai called the people of God to give careful thought to their ways. When He decides to shake things up, it is done. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it. Original hebrew meaning of give careful thought to your ways to save. If the Holy Spirit will work among us, we will rejoice in the Lord and glory in the name of our God. The Book of Haggai is a reminder of the problems the people of God faced at this time, how the people courageously trusted in God, and how God provided for their needs. But notice what God called a drought on because he wanted you to see that it was just some scientific explanation. His name was Thomas Kane.
Whether he makes us think too much or too little of our work, it is all the same so long as he can get us away from it. Above all, breathe the prayer that He would help you right now to look to the Lord Jesus Christ, for there is life in a look at the Crucified One; there is life at this moment for you. Is it time for us to be living in our paneled houses while the work of the Lord remains desolate? Now God says he wants the people to think. The way of obedience is the way of blessing. Some depend on their achievements. When things in life get in the way and draw you away spiritually from the will of God, He will do whatever it takes to bring you close to Him. That is to build the Heavenly Jerusalem Temple. R. De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Original hebrew meaning of give careful thought to your ways quotes. Please feel free to leave any comments or questions about this post in the comments section below. Let me say several things about that. Have you ever locked your keys inside your car? "Be strong… be strong … be strong" (Haggai 2:4).
Once Haggai confronted them, they turned back to God. Here's what the Lord was saying: You are rebuilding this temple, but you think that it will never match the glory that belonged to the Temple of Solomon. The people of the remnant weren't devoting their resources to the work of God or to the House of the Lord; they were spending everything on themselves. There could not have been many persons left who had seen Solomon's temple. He wants to use us to change the world, and I'm so thankful to be able to invest in God's kingdom through the ministry of here and around the world. You put on clothes but never get warm. Some people are financially blessed so as to be generous in the Lord's work. This burning signified that sin was very hateful to God, that be could not bear to have it where his people lived. As we can now see, the book of Haggai is the story of a turning point in the spiritual life of God's people. He incites them to the building. Perhaps he argued that the interest on one talent could never come to much and would never be noticed side by side with the result of five or ten talents, and he might as well bring nothing at all to his Lord as bring so little. Original hebrew meaning of give careful thought to your ways will. But not fully faithful. God is trying to wake us up when we are not putting first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. In his book Turning Points, historian Mark Noll has identified a dozen "decisive moments in the history of Christianity. "
What converts were added to the church! Fellow believers, all that we do is little for our God, far too little for Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. Work for God's pleasure and God's honor. This proves that they had become weak. We hoped for many conversions, and lo! This Haggai passage is therefore both messianic and eschatological. The monthly publication is filled with money-saving ideas such as vacuuming furnace filters and reusing them, and using shredded newspaper for cat litter. How can we find courage? Study 10 HAGGAI: A CALL TO SELF-EXAMINATION. In other words, we are to honor—to worship—God. We cannot build like Solomon; therefore, let us not build at all. In today's reading, Haggai reminds the people of the importance of purity in obeying the word of the Lord. By comparison, the abandoned work looked pitiful. We almost never find the time for God on our own accord.
Here note, first, that common things are polluted by men of unclean nature. He was a prince of Judah, the grandson of King Jehoiachin who had been taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:8-16). To a previous generation, CBS newscaster Walter Cronkite was an authoritative voice. Young's Literal Translation. They had been returned to their homeland by their faithful God... and yet they had not paid heed to their priorities and responsibilities to the Lord. In the second year of their return, the foundation for a new temple was laid, but then construction halted due to Samaritan harassment, political shifts in the empire, and the people's own spiritual apathy. Haggai told the people of Israel, who assumed they were holy because of their godly heritage, that they had become defiled because of their disobedience (Hag 2:14). That's where I'd like for us to turn today for our Scripture reading. In verse 12 we read that the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord and the message from Haggai the prophet. Now there is nothing wrong with having a nice home that is in order. The people had been dragging their feet with the Lord's work, they had evidently been withholding their tithes and fund offerings, and they were using their money for their own purposes, to put nicepaneling in their own houses and to build up their own portfolios. During the most recent Super Bowl between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts, college football star Tim Tebow of the University of Florida played a starring role—not in the game, but in an advertisement aired during the game. Give Careful Thought to Your Ways. God's message to His people through Haggai is a good example of this.