Mi Casa, Tu Casa
Greetings! Haggai 1: 3 Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin? (NIV Bible) While growing up, I spent alot of time with my grandmother. Her house was amazing! She had the finest china and exquisite dining room furniture. She was the first person I knew who had wood paneled walls when paneling first was in style. My grandmother was also the first person I knew to have a color television. I remember seeing her turning the corner of our street with shopping bags from Lord & Taylor in her hand. I remember her mink stole with the actual heads of the minks on it. I know, yuck! But remember this was forty five years ago. No PETA back then. And when Christmas came? My grandmother gave such gracious gifts to all of her grandchildren that I was convinced that Grandma was rich. That was until one day while I was a teenager. Grandma had retired by then and we used to spend many more days in conversation. She no longer spoke to me like I was a little boy. She spoke to me like the man I was growing into. For some reason, grandma told me how much she earned in her weekly pay check. To say I was shocked was an understatement. How in this world could she have so much but earn so little? That’s the moment when I learned one of the most valuable lessons in my entire life. I’ve seen it in my grandmother’s life and many other seniors whose lives I’ve been privileged to observe over many decades (not years). And here’s the lesson: The Lord basically says, “You take care of My House, I’ll take care of Your House!” It’s as simple as...
read moreProcrastination
Greetings! Haggai 1: 2 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: “The people procrastinate. They say this isn’t the right time to rebuild my Temple, the Temple of God.” (Message Bible) One of the most damaging phrases we can live by is “I’ll do it tomorrow.” In other words, we procrastinate. Procrastination is derived from two Latin words: pro = for the benefit of and crastinus = of tomorrow. It also means to defer, put off doing, drag one’s feet, hesitate, let slide, retard, stall, pause, suspend, and make take longer. Far too often we put off into the future that which we should do today. The Scriptures seem to weigh heavily on the present: NOW is the accepted time for Salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2); NOW faith is … (Hebrews 11:1); TODAY if you would hear God’s voice don’t harden your heart (Psalm 95:7-8). And yet, we procrastinate by putting off on tomorrow that which should be done on the day that the Lord has made (Psalm 118:24). Along with the Scriptures, I would like to encourage you with a few quotes from individuals who accomplished much with their lives: “Putting off an easy thing makes it hard. Putting off a hard thing makes it impossible.” ~ George Claude Lorimer “Tomorrow is the day when idlers work, and fools reform.” ~ Edward Young “The greatest amount of wasted time is the time not getting started.” ~ Dawson Trotman “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. “Even if you’re on the right track – you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” ~ Will Rogers “A year from now you may wish you had started today.” ~ Karen Lamb “Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried.” ~ Author Unknown Let’s allow this consecration to become the resurrection of missed opportunities. (Joel...
read moreThe Approach
Greetings! It’s been said that if a person does something for 21 days straight, it becomes a habit. I want to assist you in developing the habit of reading God’s Word daily. Haggai is a book in the Bible that contains only two chapters totaling 38 verses. I want to challenge you to read the book of Haggai every day during our consecration. That’s right! Read the entire Book of Haggai every day! Now in order to help you get the most out of this exercise and at the same time not be bored out of your mind, I want to make one suggestion: Go to www.biblegateway.com/ and read the Book of Haggai in a different version of the Bible every day. This will keep the time you spend reading and studying with the Lord fresh and interesting. The name “Haggai” means: to hold a feast or to celebrate. The word “celebrate” is derived from a Latin word which means: to announce, to escort, to honor, to observe, to practice, to worship. Just from his name alone, we see that Haggai was a worshiper. He understood what it took not only to escort people into the Presence of God, but also to escort the Presence of God into a place. As you meditate and ponder the life of Haggai while reading his book, keep in mind that you are reading a story not from the view point of a worrier but from the perspective of a worshiper. And this is the only perspective that works when we are presented with challenges that are far beyond our abilities to...
read moreThe Book of Haggai
Greetings! As we begin our 21 day consecration, I invite you to meditate on a small book in the Old Testament entitled “Haggai”. He was a prophet whose written ministry of two chapters only covers approximately four months. But wow, what an important four months those were! It was Haggai who the Lord used to accelerate the building of God’s Temple which had laid dormant for approximately 16 years. Has God given you plans and dreams which have laid dormant for months, maybe even years? Though it was written in 520B.C., I believe this book still speaks to us today. At some point in our lives, we all need encouragement! Come join me starting tomorrow for the next 19 days as we journey through this book of God’s first post-exilic prophet. It may be small in its’ number of verses (38), but it is large in its ability to energize for your heart....
read moreDay 16: Quiet, Please!
My soul, wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him. (Psalm 63:5, Amplified Bible) “The heart and soul of the Christian is learning to hear God’s voice and then developing the courage to do what He asks us to do…Busyness is akin to something the Bible calls worldliness – getting caught up with society’s agenda, objectives and activities to the neglect of walking with God.” (Page 119) These somewhat biting words are located in the 11th Chapter of Bill Hybel’s Book Too Busy Not To Pray. The chapter is entitled Slowing Down to Pray. We cannot learn to listen for God’s voice until we’ve learned to discipline our souls (minds, emotions, and wills) to wait on the Lord. This involves quieting oneself and keeping silent in the presence of God. And this is the manner in which we get to really know who God is (Psalm 46:10). No, this may not be exciting! But at this point in our walk with God, we are not looking for excitement. We are looking for transformation which only can occur when we move out of our world and into...
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