KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Chapters: The Book of Haggai
Message: Giving God First Place
Hello My Friend,
The Book of Haggai contains two chapters, the author is Haggai and it was written to the Jews who had returned to Jerusalem from Babylon after being in captivity for seventy years, the timeline is approximately 520 BC. The purpose of the book was to inspire Israel to have a new zeal for God and make the leaders aware of their responsibility to rebuild the Temple of worship. What we are to learn from the book is that God demands first place in our lives. “Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.” – Haggai 1:8.
I was watching a business seminar the other day and it hit me as to why I have not been getting as many clients lately, you have to target people that are interested in what you offer rather than just throw anything out there, hoping it will stick to someone. Then I wondered if I was doing the same thing with God, just doing anything in hopes that something would stick. Now, God does pay attention to everything we do, and if He does not get first place, we are going to struggle. Haggai was among the first of the exiles to return from Babylon under the leadership of Zerubbabel, who was the governor and Joshua, the high priest to rebuild the temple. God sent Haggai to speak to Zerubbabel and Joshua because they stopped rebuilding the temple and building their own homes.
“Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD’S house should be built. Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.” – Haggai 1:2-7.
“This people say,” Here was what was going on, they faced some opposition when they started to rebuild the temple, so rather than push through it they stopped and began rebuilding their lives only the harder they worked the less they received. Let me tell you, we do not need seminars to teach us things that God already has the answers to. Did you know that even doing His work we can set Him aside? It happens more than you think, which was in my case. We cannot set God’s work aside because we are dealing with things in our lives, what we really need to be doing is making God the head of everything we do, work, home, play, and His work.
“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” – Matthew 6:31-34.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God,” Our main purpose in serving God really is not being obedient to Him, that comes as we put Him first anyway, it is so that others can see Christ in us. God’s main purpose for giving us skills and talents and placing us right in the middle of the world is so that we can bring others to Him. If at any time we start to stray away from that purpose God will place some opposition in our lives to get us back to doing what we are supposed to be doing. After Haggai spoke to Zerubbabel and Joshua, they immediately got back to work on the temple.
“Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the LORD. Then spake Haggai the LORD’S messenger in the LORD’S message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the LORD. And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,” – Haggai 1:12-14.
“Then spake Haggai the LORD’S messenger” Since Jesus is not here in the flesh, we are His voice, we are to send His message into our world. I admit that I do not always let His light shine upon me in front of others as I ought to. Why? Because it is easy to let circumstances hinder us from being the voice that we are supposed to be for Christ. I know for a fact that when I get back to doing what God purposed for me to do that He blesses me more, and He does the same for all. That is why we need to put God first in all that we do in the first place, if we His messengers speak His message He promises to always be with us in all we do.
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” – Matthew 28:18-20.
If we take no care in the work of God we cannot expect God to take care of our interests, especially in the ministry He employs us with. If we give God our whole heart He will get first place in our lives, this will enable us not only to do His work without wavering, but also do what we like at the same time. Through Haggai, God reminds His people that He is still with them, and has never forgotten the covenant He made with them.
“According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.” – Haggai 2:5-9.
“The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former,” The temple they were about to build would not be as glorious in appearance as the first one that Solomon built, but it would be filled with the glory of God, something much more precious. The shaking of nations will take place during the great Tribulation, which will be followed by Christ coming in all His glory. Something incredible happens when we make God first place, He becomes our strength to not only do His work, but our own and prosper from all of it. Jesus Christ is the desire of all nations, for in Him shall all the families of the earth come and be blessed with the best He has to offer.
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” – Psalm 1:1-3.
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for the reminder of Your amazing promise to always be with us You have purposed every one of Your people to work for You in some way so that we can bring others to Your Son. As life starts to overwhelm us it is easy to set You aside in order to try to overcome them, and of course that brings more problems instead of solutions. Lord, Help us to make and keep You first place in our lives so that we can find the solutions to our problems and not become so overwhelmed that we lose sight of You. Give us Your power, strength, wisdom, and guidance to do the work You called us to do, and open our hearts so that we can do it with all our heart all the time. In Jesus’ name, amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: http://imfollowingjesus.com/follow-Jesus.html
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Missed A Message: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I’m Following Jesus: http://imfollowingjesus.com/index.html
Like I’m Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength
Copyright © 2016 I’m Following Jesus, All rights reserved.