Think It Over

Haggai - A prophet brings a message from God to rebuild the temple. A challenge to think your life over. What is important in your life? What have you done to serve God?

"Take a good, hard look at your life.
Think it over.
You have spent a lot of money,
but you haven't much to show for it.
You keep filling your plates,
but you never get filled up.
You keep drinking and drinking and drinking,
but you're always thirsty.
You put on layer after layer of clothes,
but you can't get warm.
And the people who work for you,
what are they getting out of it?
Not much—
a leaky, rusted-out bucket, that's what.

7That's why God-of-the-Angel-Armies said:

"Take a good, hard look at your life.
Think it over."

8-9Then God said:

"Here's what I want you to do:
Climb into the hills and cut some timber.
Bring it down and rebuild the Temple.
Do it just for me. Honor me.
You've had great ambitions for yourselves,
but nothing has come of it.
The little you have brought to my Temple
I've blown away—there was nothing to it.

The message of God is to do work for God. Whatever little I did - did not last. There is always more to do. My life needs to be constant life for God. Constant work for God in whatever I do. Reflect on your life. What have I done for God? Not out of duty, or a way to earn anything - because I can't. Only as a way of my expression of my gratitude and love towards Him.

God's In Charge, Not You! Enjoy it!

King Solomon in Ecclesiastes discusses the meaning of life. He says:

After looking at the way things are on this earth, here's what I've decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that's about it. That's the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what's given and delighting in the work. It's God's gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. It's useless to brood over how long we might live. Ecc 5:18-20

Basically what we are to do is to love God and do as we please. Because when we love God we will do what pleases Him as well.

Life is supposed to be fun! Enjoy it! It is a gift from God!

Love God and do as you please.

God, help me to love You and to please You!

Fear God and Wait for Him

Psalm 128-130 "All you who fear God, how blessed you are!How happily you walk on his smooth straight road!(...) Enjoy the blessing."

Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. We often fear the wrong thing. We often fear the enemy and not the Creator who controls everything.

"Help God - the bottom has fallen out of my life! Master, hear my cry for help! Listen hard! Open your ears! Listen to my cries for mercy."

God, heal my wife. Please.

"I pray to God - my life a prayer - and wait for what He'll say and do."

God I pray for your direction.

Wait for God.

A Lesson from Kings of Israel

2 Chronicles 33 - 36 reminds me of the consequences of rebellion towards God. There it talks about 7 kings of Israel. Some walked with God and some were considered "evil kings" in God's opinion.

King Manasseh started that way. He was an evil king. "But Menasseh led Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem off the beaten path into practices of evil exceeding even the evil of the pagan nations that God had earlier destroyed."

Manasseh was captured into slavery to Babylon. Here is the cool part: "Now that he was in trouble he went to his knees in prayer asking for help - total repentance before the God of his ancestors. He prayed, God was touched; God listened and brought him back to Jerusalem as king." Isn't that cool! God shows us that He is in total control. He listens when we surrender in total repentance to HIM. I know. He did that to me before many times. Thank you God! You are awesome.

Do you know that God can be touched by our prayers? He was touched by the prayer of Manasseh. He can be touched by my prayer. Wow.

Another cool king was king Josiah. After finding God's Word written in a an old book, he read it publicly to the entire nation. "The King solemnly committed himself to the covenant: to follow God believingly and obediently; to follow his instructions, heart and soul, on what to believe and do; to confirm with his life the entire covenant, all that was written in the book."

God thank you for these reminders of how you respond to a repentant heart. Help me to follow you believingly and obediently with my heart and soul.

Thank you for Jesus!

A place to meet with God

I am trying a new thing today. I am thinking about combining my quiet time with God with blogging. We will see how it will work. I love doing both but often I fail in each.