The Stings of Life

Thursday January 8, 2015

A 71 year old woman was outside her home when a swarm of killer (Africanised) bees began stinging her. Neighbours called fire fighters who rushed to rescue - only to find the woman covered in a "suit of bees". A blanket was thrown over her and she was carried into a neighbour´s house. Surprisingly, she survived more than 1000 stings!

A remnant of Judah had returned to Jerusalem from captivity in Babylon, only to be stung by the words and actions of the local pagan residents (Nehemiah 4:1-3). Once full of excitement and ready to rebuild the temple and the rest of the city, these Hebrews were now depressed and in a state of apathy. That´s when the prophet Haggai provided a fourfold message for them :

- Do the Work : Haggai told them to give up their creature comforts and restore the temple and city for God´s glory (Haggai 1:1-15)

- Cling to  God´s promises : The people could rest in the fact that God had not forgotten or abandoned them (2:1-9)

- Pursue purity : God desired that they continue to follow His law and to be holy as He is holy (vv. 10-19; Leviticus 11:44-45).

- Know that God rules : God reaffirmed that the line of kings leading to the Messiah and the kingdom he would usher in was intact and could not be broken (Haggai 2:20-23).

The sings of life can cause us to get bogged down in spiritual apathy. Perhaps you´re working for a difficult boss or have a family challenge that simply won´t go away. Whatever the issues are, remember this : God calls us to passionately serve Him as we rest in His promises. Pursue God and His rules, even as you find hope in the fact that He rules! - Tom Felten

Read
Haggai 1:1-13
In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest :
This is what the Lord Almighty says : "These people say, 'The time has not yet come for the Lord´s house to be built.' "
Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?"
Now this is what the Lord Almighty says : "Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."
This is what the Lord Almighty says : "Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored," says the Lord. "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the Lord Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house. Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands."
Then Zerubbable son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord.
Then Haggai, the Lord´s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: "I am with you," declares the Lord.

Matthew 24:12-14
Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Question to Ponder
What has caused you to experience spiritual apathy?
What can help you to regain your passion for following and serving Him?

**Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Dec 2014 - Feb 2015 issue