Haggai 1:14 NKJV
“So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God,”
The people of Israel had long stopped the work of rebuilding the temple of God. They had given up when faced with opposition and in turn began to work on their own houses. All the while the Lords house layed in ruins.
The previous verses tell us about what the Lord observed stating,
Haggai 1:2-6 NKJV
“Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, saying: This people says, The time has not come, the time that the Lords house should be built. Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins? Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways! You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”
They were putting off what God had called them to do and instead used their time and resources to please themselves.
How easily we can be just like the Israelites. I am sure if you searched your heart you might find some way to apply these verses, and don’t worry you won’t be alone in doing so.
I just realized that there is a temptation for me to build my own house and not work on the Lord’s. In becoming a Missionary I will be entering the quote “official” ministry. The temptation for me is to try to build a reputation for myself, instead of working to build Jesus’ reputation. With blogging there is the added temptation of wanting people to read your stuff and think of how great of a writer you are and you want to build your following. In this, I have fallen short. I have been trying to build both my own house and the Lord’s house. But it needs to be all about the Lord’s house.
Our hearts are so sneaky and deceitfully wicked aren’t they?
I have to confess I want to promote myself at times; I shouldn’t but part of me does. This is pride though, and it doesn’t belong.
So what can I do? I can repent. Isn’t that such a beautiful word? Repent. We don’t have to be afraid of that word. Being able to repent is a gift from God, and He only shows us what is in our hearts so that we can repent and be more like Him. This ‘showing us what is in our heart’ is called conviction, and unlike condemnation, it shows us our wrong then draws us closer to Jesus to let Him fix it.
I want to promote Jesus from here on out, to build His house and expand His Kingdom. I want this blog to no longer be about me, instead about Jesus and what He is doing in me and through me. All of Him and none of me. Like John the Baptist said in reference to Jesus in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”.
I encourage you to let God search your heart. Are you building for yourself or for God? Are you trying to do both and losing focus on which is more important? Repent. No, don’t read that word with the usual angry tone that it carries. Instead let it be to you a soft flutter to your heart, a heart beat that beckons you closer to the heart of Jesus.
Psalm 139:23-24 NKJV
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”
©2012, Matthew Camphuis all rights reserved.
