a thought......

so i've parked myself in the book of haggai recently. there is a lot to learn from this book despite its size. to sum it up and make my point.....

the people of israel are living in jerusalem after the destruction. God wanted them to re-build the temple and they didn't do it. they built these pretty houses for themselves, they didn't make sacrifices, they were basically living by how they felt. well, stuff started going wrong. there was famine and all the other old testement regulars. so God sends haggai to tell the people that they need to stop screwing around and re-build the temple. the people repent. and all is well...almost....

that's the basic summary. seems like a simple little story....well not quite....

the people were hesitant to follow through on what God wanted them to do. they did what they wanted and became lazy and wasteful. they proclaimed with their lips they loved God but their lives said otherwise.

this penetrated my heart because it is the current state of the american church. we talk about being on fire but our lives exist in a bubble. we think we have a choice when it comes to being obedient and in a sense we do but when we don't....things fall apart..life becomes....

chaos

white noise

we think that by believing our lives will be perfect and that's all there is to it. the book of haggai uses this phrase and only this phrase "God will be with you". he didn't say the famine would end. he didn't say things are going to get better...He said..."I am with you."

the truth is God doesn't promise us anything in His covenant other than that. He sent Jesus.

is the american church really willing to let that be enough? no matter what. there are no guarentees on anything else. just Him. are we willing to let Jesus be enough. no promise of marraige. no promise of a job. just Him.

are we really ready?

am i.....

ready?