What are you Building?
This past week I shared about how we get distracted and do not focus our energy and time on the things that would draw us closer to God. We are often focused on pursuits that will only benefit us, but does not develop our relationship with God and often in kind our relationships with others. We get focused on good things and miss the best things because we do not pull together with the focus that will open the floodgates of blessings.
Abraham was promised a great nation would come from him. He was told things by God, but was tested to see if he would follow God who had promised. He was told to sacrifice the VERY son he was promised. He was challenged to be completely focused on obedience and the priorities that he was to have to make it through. Of course, in the end, God gave him an acceptable sacrifice in place of his son, but he had to show his willingness and trust.Aaron Adams shares the following regarding the story of Abraham from his study of Matt Redman’s “Undivided Worshiper:”
“Abraham´s dedication to his Lord would not be divided, even when those questions, those ´distractions´ were good, noble, even Godly. God had spoken and Abraham must obey. “The Undivided Worshipper is a person of simplicity. A person of simple devotion to God. The ringing of a mobile phone. The beeping of a Blackberry. The pain of life´s trials. The agony of sacrifice. None of these - nothing - will deter them from that first commandment: ´And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.´ Their love is undivided because they have been washed over by the ultimate expression of a love undivided- God´s own Son, sacrificed on a hill outside Jerusalem. ´Obedient to death. Even death on a cross´. (Phil 2:8). Simple, undivided obedience.”
Haggai shares how the nation of Israel after returning from exile got distracted from building the house of God and instead focused on their desires for fine things and ignored their spiritual needs a they became focused on their own stuff. In the passage it becomes obvious that God is displeased as he intentionally thwarts their drive to do these things. He makes their efforts frustrating until they finally decide that they need to refocus their energy and complete the task from which they had been distracted. They come to their senses and finally complete the construction because they realize that God will continue to frustrate them until they do what they have been tasked to do.
This week are you getting frustrated because you seem to be distracted from the priorities that you follow? Are you not getting ahead in life but working your life to death? Perhaps today is the day to see if you need to reorder your priorities so that you can experience the fullest of blessing that you can. This week I invite you to refocus on building God’s house in your life.
Abraham was promised a great nation would come from him. He was told things by God, but was tested to see if he would follow God who had promised. He was told to sacrifice the VERY son he was promised. He was challenged to be completely focused on obedience and the priorities that he was to have to make it through. Of course, in the end, God gave him an acceptable sacrifice in place of his son, but he had to show his willingness and trust.Aaron Adams shares the following regarding the story of Abraham from his study of Matt Redman’s “Undivided Worshiper:”
“Abraham´s dedication to his Lord would not be divided, even when those questions, those ´distractions´ were good, noble, even Godly. God had spoken and Abraham must obey. “The Undivided Worshipper is a person of simplicity. A person of simple devotion to God. The ringing of a mobile phone. The beeping of a Blackberry. The pain of life´s trials. The agony of sacrifice. None of these - nothing - will deter them from that first commandment: ´And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.´ Their love is undivided because they have been washed over by the ultimate expression of a love undivided- God´s own Son, sacrificed on a hill outside Jerusalem. ´Obedient to death. Even death on a cross´. (Phil 2:8). Simple, undivided obedience.”
Haggai shares how the nation of Israel after returning from exile got distracted from building the house of God and instead focused on their desires for fine things and ignored their spiritual needs a they became focused on their own stuff. In the passage it becomes obvious that God is displeased as he intentionally thwarts their drive to do these things. He makes their efforts frustrating until they finally decide that they need to refocus their energy and complete the task from which they had been distracted. They come to their senses and finally complete the construction because they realize that God will continue to frustrate them until they do what they have been tasked to do.
This week are you getting frustrated because you seem to be distracted from the priorities that you follow? Are you not getting ahead in life but working your life to death? Perhaps today is the day to see if you need to reorder your priorities so that you can experience the fullest of blessing that you can. This week I invite you to refocus on building God’s house in your life.
posted by Covenant of the Cross at
9:01 PM
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