Thinking Ahead!

Greetings!

Haggai 2: 15-17 “‘Think back. Before you set out to lay the first foundation stones for the rebuilding of my Temple, how did it go with you? Isn’t it true that your foot-dragging, halfhearted efforts at rebuilding the Temple of God were reflected in a sluggish, halfway return on your crops…I hit you with drought and blight and hail. Everything you were doing got hit. But it didn’t seem to faze you. You continued to ignore me.’ God’s Decree. 18-19 ‘Now think ahead from this same date… Think ahead from when the Temple rebuilding was launched. Has anything in your fields…failed to flourish? From now on you can count on a blessing.'” (Message Bible)

In 1980, Ronald Reagan ran for president against the incumbent, Jimmy Carter. I’ll never forget how Jimmy Carter seemed to be winning the debate in terms of articulating his argument. But Ronald Reagan made one statement that pretty much ended the debate: “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” At that time, we had a double digit (12%) interest rate, hostages in Iran, athletes not allowed to participate in the Olympics held in Russia, and a litany of other things that made people not feel good about how things were going.

Think ahead! How different will your life be after this consecration? How different will the Temple of your body be, and what will you do with it starting on Monday, April 18th? How different will your home be and the spirit that dwells in your home? Will the depression be gone? The laziness? The anxiety? The tension and anger?

Will you be better off now than you were 21 days ago?

Bishop Brian C. Greene