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...
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A Place of Wholiness!

Greetings! Haggai 2: 9 “‘This Temple is going to end up far better than it started out, a glorious beginning but an even more glorious finish: a place in which I will hand out wholeness and holiness.’ Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.” (Message Bible) As I was getting out of my car one Sunday, I saw a man passing the church while riding on his bicycle. What caught my attention was that he took his right hand off of the handle bar and gave the four point sign of the cross on his body. He realized that there is something different about a church building. It is a holy place! But how often do we forget that the church should be a place that God uses to make people whole! The church must be used by God to bring people mental and physical wellness. It must be a place that enlarges and fills the emptiness that’s found in so many people in these days of uncertainty. It’s our mission to restore lives that have been broken by the consequences of sin. And when God uses our hands as His instruments for healing the fractures in people’s lives, only He will get the credit for the results. Let’s keep in mind that God is not simply building a holy place but He is also building a place that provides wholeness (Matthew 14:35...
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Now’s the Time Make a Bold Move!

Greetings! Haggai 2: 5 “‘Yes, get to work! For I am with you.’ The God-of-the-Angel-Armies is speaking! ‘Put into action the word I covenanted with you when you left Egypt. I’m living and breathing among you right now. Don’t be timid. Don’t hold back.'” (The Message) The word “timid” means hesitant, slow to act, reluctant, apprehensive or modest. Some antonyms (opposite meanings) include: audacious, shameless, adventuresome, or not afraid of (anything). In Luke 11:5-8, Jesus spoke a parable about a man who “shamelessly” went to his friend’s house in order to ask for bread. However, it was at a time that was way too late to be making such a request, even if it was a very good friend. Bottom line? It was a bold move! Once this 21 day consecration is completed, what bold move will you make that you were once too hesitant, apprehensive, or modest to make? You must no longer hold back! It’s time to do something audacious for God. Be adventuresome! As Pastor Chandler stated at our conference on April 7th, let there be no shame in our game (Hebrews...
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Get to Work!

Greetings! Haggai 2: 4-5 “‘So get to work, Zerubbabel!’-God is speaking. “‘Get to work, Joshua son of Jehozadak-high priest!’ “‘Get to work, all you people!’-God is speaking”. (Message Bible) We praise God for the wonderful prophetic conference that convened at our church over the weekend. Through His prophets, God said some wonderful things to us as individuals and as a church as a whole. And having experienced this, we can only imagine how encouraged the nation of Judah was when Haggai prophesied to the people the words “I am with you!” from the Lord. Unfortunately, God had to add another word of instruction from His prophet. And we would do well to follow this instruction as well. These three simple words will determine how quickly God’s promises will occur. And what are they? GET TO WORK! The word get means: go after it, realize, have it done, reap, come into possession, don’t quit, don’t lose, don’t give up, grasp (what God is saying). So let’s grasp within our hearts what the Lord has prophesied to us and get to work! Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. Thomas A. Edison Hard work always pay off; mere talk (prophecy) puts on bread on the table. Proverbs 14:234...
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Inspired (Part 2)

Greetings! Haggai 1: 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord… said to the people, “I am with you, declares the Lord.” 14 The Lord inspired them to rebuild his house. (God’s Word Translation) Please enjoy the following inspirational quotes over the weekend, and may the Lord inspire you to rebuild your life, your home, and His Church: Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere. — Anonymous We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. — Aristotle Motivation will almost always beat mere talent. — Norman R. Augustine Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. — James Baldwin Be like a postage stamp. Stick to one thing until you get there. — Josh Billings Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility. — Dietrich Bonhoeffer Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones.– Phillip Brooks In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. — Albert Einstein It is never too late to be what you might have been. — George Eliot Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. — Ralph Waldo Emerson Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. — Ralph Waldo Emerson Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.– Henry Ford He that would have the fruit must climb the tree. — Thomas Fuller, M.D. Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them to become what they are capable of being. — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing that you will make one. — Ellen Hubbard Keep your face to the sunshine (Psalm 84:11) and you cannot see the shadow (Psalm 23:5). — Helen Keller There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why… I dream of things that never were, and ask why not? — Robert Francis Kennedy Whatever you are, be a good one. — Abraham Lincoln It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get back up. — Vince Lombardi We are not in a position in which we have nothing to...
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Inspired

Greetings! Haggai 1: 12 Then…the faithful few who returned from Babylon obeyed the Lord their God. They also obeyed the words of the prophet Haggai because the Lord their God had sent him… 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord… said to the people, “I am with you, declares the Lord.” 14 The Lord inspired them to rebuild his house. (God’s Word Translation) We all need inspiration from time to time. The word inspire is derived from the Latin word “in” meaning “into” and “spiro” which means: to breathe, to blow, to exhale, and to be favorable. There are numerous occasions in the Scriptures where we see God inspiring by breathing into man. In Genesis 2:7, God breathes into man and he becomes a living being. Alive. Jesus breathes into His disciples and they receive the life giving power of the Holy Spirit (John 20:22). However, one of the more intriguing Scriptures is found in Ezekiel chapter 37. Here we find God’s solution to bringing life to dead circumstances is for Ezekiel, whose name in Hebrew means: The One who God will Strengthen, to prophesy. He is to ask the wind (Holy Spirit) to breathe so that the army of God can arise and accomplish God’s purposes in the earth. The Bible teaches us that there are three houses in which God desires to live: Our church (Exodus 25:8), our homes (Joshua 24:15), and our physical bodies (1 Corinthians 3:16). Tonight begins our Prophetic Conference. May God use His prophets this weekend to inspire us to build all three of His...
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