“Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?” – Haggai 1:4

During the time that the book of Haggai was written, God had rescued his people from exile and brought them back to the Promised Land. When they arrived, he gave them the command to rebuild his temple. They started off strong. However, after a while they forgot about what God had told them to do and everyone got preoccupied with their own business. God’s house still lay in ruins while everyone was busy building their own house. So, God sent the prophet Haggai to warn them that their work would continue to be unfruitful as long as they put their own desires over God’s commands. They would continue to be frustrated in their pursuit of happiness as long as their house took priority over God’s house. Thankfully, the people listened to the prophet! God’s house was rebuilt, and the people thrived.

1 Corinthians 3:16 tells us that we are now the temple of God. His Holy Spirit dwells in the believer. But even though we do not have the temple of the Old Testament, that does not mean that God’s house can be ignored. We still need to make his house a priority over our own pleasures. How do we do this? By investing in the Church – and by Church, I mean the people of God today. What does this look like? You can mentor a younger believer, you can help someone in need, you can serve at your local church, and you can give financially. Just like the people of Haggai’s time, your work will be unfruitful and unsatisfying unless God’s work comes first. Pray today and ask him how you can serve in the building up of his modern temple – his people.

Heavenly Father and Almighty God, show us how we can serve Your Kingdom by building up Your temple. We know that You gave Your one and only Son to make us a temple for Your Holy Spirit. Let us have that same heart of sacrifice for the people of God around us.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Shane Cannon