great message today...

We had a guest speaker at church today and He said some very insightful things and gave a great message. Robin spoke on a passage from the Old Testament:
Read Haggai 1:2-11

Robin pointed that we as followers of Jesus we tend to focus primarily on the New Testament. However, God's word in the Old Testament, while yes different in presentation, still has much applicable meaning to our lives today. God wouldn't speak or take action just for the heck of it, He tells us things in His Word, Old or New, for a specific reason and purpose. That was a great reminder.

The background for this passage in Haggai is important to understand. The brief summary: under King Solomon, the nation of Israel was prosperous and doing very well. The Temple that was constructed during Solomon's rule contained the actual living Spirit of God, and the nation of Israel made that their primary focus and found their identity in that, thus the prosperous and joyous times together as a nation.

After the nation's downfall and subsequent exile in which the people had become too complacent and lost their focus on what was primarily most important, the time had come back around to build the Temple again. This is what this passage in Haggai refers to. There is an emphasis on building the temple for God anew, and making Him the center of all. Verse 1:6 is particularly applicable to today's life and society. It is extremely similar to Matthew 6:25. As the verse in Haggai, there is a similar answer to what we should be doing: Matthew 6:33.

Today, we, even as believers, are more focused on building things for ourselves, whether it be fame, money, possesions, rather than building things for God. And this passage in Haggai encourages us to think about our current state as a result...verse 7 says "Consider how you have fared." Robin pointed out that we all too often don't really stop. Stop completely and examine.

For our life's primary focus, are we building a Temple for God in our lives, which will result in true prosperity, joy and wealth, or are we building temples for ourselves?