“The glory of the latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts,‘And in this place I will give peace,” says the LORD of hosts.-Haggai 2:9
‘The glory of the latter house is much greater than the former one.
It was never in the structure, but the Builder, Himself—
And nothing will remain forever if it’s not made new again…
-My Epic; Ashes
It was never in the structure, but the Builder, Himself—
And nothing will remain forever if it’s not made new again…
-My Epic; Ashes
At home group tonight, we read through the book of Haggai. As we read, I was reminded of the song above.
In the beginning of the book, the temple of God is lying in ruins and the people are saying, “It’s still not time to rebuild the house of God.”
God speaks through Haggai and says [probablynot verbatim],
“Oh really? So it’s time for you to live in your comfortable, finished houses, while God’s house lies in ruins? Consider your ways!
You have begun many works, but completed very little. You eat, but aren’t filled. You drink, but your thirst is never quenched. You clothe yourselves, but you’re not warm. And you who work and earn money never seem to earn enough. It’s as if your pockets have holes in them and your wallets are empty”
In the beginning of the book, the temple of God is lying in ruins and the people are saying, “It’s still not time to rebuild the house of God.”
God speaks through Haggai and says [
“Oh really? So it’s time for you to live in your comfortable, finished houses, while God’s house lies in ruins? Consider your ways!
You have begun many works, but completed very little. You eat, but aren’t filled. You drink, but your thirst is never quenched. You clothe yourselves, but you’re not warm. And you who work and earn money never seem to earn enough. It’s as if your pockets have holes in them and your wallets are empty”
Then God proceeds to tell them what to do in order to rebuild His temple. He tells them, time and again, that HE is with them.
That now is the time to work, and He is withthem.
That now is the time to work, and He is withthem.
Amazing.
He declares that He will fill the temple with glory. Then He says, “The glory of the latter temple shall be greater than the first.”God’s temple had been lying in ruins for years, and instead of telling the people, “You’re all worthless & lazy, and I’m completely done dealing with your indifference”, He allows them to be part of rebuilding His temple.
That resonates so powerfully and clearly in my own heart. How many times do I focus on the work? On the project? On the idea? On the plans? But the point is not the structure– what I can attempt to build up and accomplish in my own life– but the focus is the BUILDER Himself! Jesus Christ is called the Cornerstone of our faith… The very foundation. He– God Almighty– is also known as the Builder, the Potter, the Creator, the Author.
His very identity speaks of creating. Of newness. Of LIFE. Of purpose.
All of those titles are ones that allude to creating and completing projects. Builders make houses. Potters make vessels. Authors write books. Houses that are individual and different. Vessels of clay that bear intricacies and details different from the rest. Books that contain stories and characters unlike any other.
TOTAL SIDENOTE:
I think it’s so beautiful that even people who have not yet accepted the salvation of Christ desire professions in areas where God FIRST described His own character. How many architects and artists and authors are in the world today? Our very bodies scream of the evidence of a Creator, and people who still don’t choose to follow God are living out professions that the Bible tells us are God-inspired. Bearing His image and His characteristics.
I think it’s so beautiful that even people who have not yet accepted the salvation of Christ desire professions in areas where God FIRST described His own character. How many architects and artists and authors are in the world today? Our very bodies scream of the evidence of a Creator, and people who still don’t choose to follow God are living out professions that the Bible tells us are God-inspired. Bearing His image and His characteristics.
But I digress. The point is, I was so convicted tonight as we read this book. I can so easily build up my own life, my own plans, and my own goals. I think I’m clever and that I’ve got it all figured out. Yet how many times am I exactly like the people in this story?
Starting goals that I never finish [sowing much, but bringing in little]? Being dissatisfied with what I have, as if I were drinking water that never quenches my thirst? Earning a paycheck, but feeling that it’s never enough?
Starting goals that I never finish [sowing much, but bringing in little]? Being dissatisfied with what I have, as if I were drinking water that never quenches my thirst? Earning a paycheck, but feeling that it’s never enough?
Do I truly experience the beauty and worth of Christ?
Are my eyes fixed on Him, or are they fixed on the passing pleasures of life and the cares of this world?
Last year was brutal for me. I went through incredibly difficult experiences, month after month after month.
I was brought completely to the end of myself, and to the end of the little strength I was trying to pretend I had.
I was exhausted from trying to act like everything was okay, and like life was easy.
Are my eyes fixed on Him, or are they fixed on the passing pleasures of life and the cares of this world?
Last year was brutal for me. I went through incredibly difficult experiences, month after month after month.
I was brought completely to the end of myself, and to the end of the little strength I was trying to pretend I had.
I was exhausted from trying to act like everything was okay, and like life was easy.
I just BROKE. Wholly and completely, with nothing held back. And, you know what? When God brought me to the end of myself, I crumbled, but I fell directly into His hands. I was so terrified of letting my guard down, because I had been hurt so long, and so deeply.
But God is safety. He is truth, He is joy, He is hope, and He is life everlasting. In being afraid to be broken before Him, it was like being afraid of an imaginary monster. God is the Creator of all things, and He is the Giver of good gifts… of LIFE and eternal life.
But God is safety. He is truth, He is joy, He is hope, and He is life everlasting. In being afraid to be broken before Him, it was like being afraid of an imaginary monster. God is the Creator of all things, and He is the Giver of good gifts… of LIFE and eternal life.
He proved to me– so perfectly– that He is my Savior. And that being completely real and open with Him is the safest I can ever be… Being vulnerable before the Lord is an act of great strength, not of weakness. But my mind and perspectives can be so skewed that my thinking becomes completely backward.
“Nothing will remain forever if it’s not made new again.”
That was so true of my life. I needed healing. I needed restoration. I needed to learn to trust again. And I needed to let my walls down.
If God had not broken my pride and caused me to fall on my face before Him, I would have been utterly destroyed.
By pain, heartache, regret, and depression.
If God had not broken my pride and caused me to fall on my face before Him, I would have been utterly destroyed.
By pain, heartache, regret, and depression.
God is the Author and Perfector. He is in the business of restoring, repairing, and rebuilding. The glory of the latter house— Jesus— is much greater than the first one. God used men’s hands to build His temple which was lying in ruins, but then He completely superceded that temple by sending Jesus Christ into this world. The things which were lying in shambles were restored.
Jesus clears away those things which only stand in the way, while also breathing life into those dead parts that need to be resurrected.
So often, I can try to walk around reviving things that God has put to death: My own desire for control, my fear of being transparent, my need for having a back up plan at all times, to fall back on in case things don’t turn out the way I’d hoped.
I try and try with all my might to bring those things back into existence, when God has clearly put them to rest for a very clear purpose.
I try and try with all my might to bring those things back into existence, when God has clearly put them to rest for a very clear purpose.
I have come to the point lately [and by lately, I mean two days ago] where I’m asking God to uproot and clear away all the things that are keeping me from thriving in life with Him. After God worked so powerfully in my life last year, it was like being in love all over again.
“First Love” and enjoyment and excitement and constant thankfulness. It was like I didn’t have to dig deep at all to be content in Christ, because I was so glad that He had answered my prayers in ways too wonderful for words.
“First Love” and enjoyment and excitement and constant thankfulness. It was like I didn’t have to dig deep at all to be content in Christ, because I was so glad that He had answered my prayers in ways too wonderful for words.
But then comes life.
And with life often comes complacency.
And I was still in love with Him, only it was without constant warm fuzzies and giddiness.
It just became very normal. And mundane. And there have been many mornings when I just snooze my alarm until the last possible minute, instead of waking up early to spend time with Him.
The blogs become few and far between.
I love God, and I enjoy spending time with Him when I do, but it becomes hard because I don’t always FEEL like it.
And with life often comes complacency.
And I was still in love with Him, only it was without constant warm fuzzies and giddiness.
It just became very normal. And mundane. And there have been many mornings when I just snooze my alarm until the last possible minute, instead of waking up early to spend time with Him.
The blogs become few and far between.
I love God, and I enjoy spending time with Him when I do, but it becomes hard because I don’t always FEEL like it.
I know a relationship with Christ is about faith and commitment, and not about emotions… But still, I feel terrible asking God, “Help me to love You more.” He has given me every reason to love Him, plus a million more. I should not feel like He has to give me reasons to love Him. It should come naturally. And easily.
But it doesn’t. Not always. Sometimes that “feeling” is very natural and effortless. But what God has been speaking over me, time and again, is simply to spend time with Him. To study His word, and therefore His character. To fix my gaze on Jesus, and to set my mind of things above, NOT on things of this earth.
A.W. Tozer said, “Once the seeking heart finds God in personal experience, there will be no problem about loving Him. To know Him is to love Him, and to know Him better is to love Him more.”
I find that to be completely true. Instead of feeling like “a bad Christian” when I have those feelings of boredom and complacency, I must realize that I’m not held to standards of legalism. I’m also not expected to stuff those feelings away, pretend they don’t exist, and make it seem as though I never have an off-day or days when I feel spiritually lazy.
The key is not to STAY there. To not just resign myself over to those feelings, or make excuses for myself, or say, “Oh, this is natural. I don’t feel like reading my Bible… So I’m not going to until I feel like it.”
If we lived our lives waiting for the right FEELINGS to come along and propel us into action, we would never move.
We would never live.
If we lived our lives waiting for the right FEELINGS to come along and propel us into action, we would never move.
We would never live.
The point is to focus on Jesus. To be honest with Him; to be real. Sometimes I do just tell Him, “You know what? I don’t feel like being submissive today. So please help me to see You; and please change my heart. Convict me where I need it. And make my heart tender.”
Jesus knows me. The Bible says to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.
But it doesn’t say to work FOR our salvation.
Salvation is a gift that was given freely to us by Christ. He fulfilled the law, and brought relationship along with it. We are already saved, and now it is just our responsibility to allow godly discipline to shape us so that we can experience what it is to be like Christ, to know Him, to honor Him, and to reflect His image as we ENJOY Him.
But it doesn’t say to work FOR our salvation.
Salvation is a gift that was given freely to us by Christ. He fulfilled the law, and brought relationship along with it. We are already saved, and now it is just our responsibility to allow godly discipline to shape us so that we can experience what it is to be like Christ, to know Him, to honor Him, and to reflect His image as we ENJOY Him.
Luckily, praying for humility and brokenness and conviction are prayers God ALWAYS seems to answer— because He knows that the more we are humbled, the more we become like Christ. When we are broken and brought to the end of our strength, we can identify with Christ. And when we are convicted, God can use that opportunity to show us the error of our thinking and flood us with His truth.
With His mind. With His perspective.
With His mind. With His perspective.
And His thoughts are always higher; always better.
The glory of Christ [the latter temple spoken of in Haggai] is far greater than any glory we can place in other things– even good, Christian things. Jesus is higher than our opinions. His glory is greater than our perspectives. His beauty is better than our churchy habits. In His presence, and in the pursuit of Him, Jesus gives peace.
What more could we ask for?
To just sit, and to read His word [even if you don't feel like it!], to talk with Him, and to reflect on His character and on His perfectly loving heart…
They are the best ways to see His glory, to appreciate Him, and to worship Him for His great love. He is worthy.
They are the best ways to see His glory, to appreciate Him, and to worship Him for His great love. He is worthy.
He not only fulfills our needs, quenches our thirst, and clothes our bodies… He satisfies our souls, and He is the very answer we are always looking for. In seeking worth, in seeking acceptance, in seeking appreciation, in seeking to be content and satisfied with what we already have— Jesus is the answer. He is theonly answer.
If we’d take a minute to stop and to seek Him, we wouldn’t ever forget that fact.
Jesus, help me to never overlook Your worth. You deserve ALL the glory, ALL the honor, and every corner of my entire life.
You are worthy.
You are worthy.
1 comment:
So Good! It's so crazy how were nearly always going through the same thing, or at least VERY simmilar life circumstances, which usually end up being the same spiritual lessons. I cant wait to be in Colorado to grow in these experiences with you and the body of believers!
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