The Lord Almighty says, “Give careful thought to your ways”…My house remains in ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.                        Haggai 1:8-9

This was a word about the temple needing to be rebuilt.  All of God’s Word is useful and beneficial to us today.  So how does a plea from the Lord, through a prophet of old, to a people passed over from exile about a building in Israel have any relevance to me today?

It’s just astounding.  Even in little books of such specific prophecy, there is truth and beauty and meaning and conviction for me.  There is encouragement and a piercing sword of Truth.

There is still a building that needs to go up.  The temple was built under Zerubbabel and eventually burned down by the Romans.  That temple awaits it’s rebuilding again.

But at some point we have to see that not all buildings needing construction require brick and mortar.

As Americans, we tend to abide rather closely to the reality that the dog to get fed is the one that barks the loudest.  You may have no dog, but I’d almost guarantee that you answer dogs all day long.  I often can’t take the time to think about what I NEED to do next because what I HAVE to do next is nipping at my heels too closely; the paper is due, the practice is starting, the dinner is uncooked, the boss is waiting, the baby is crying, the phone is ringing, bark, bark, bark.

We don’t have to give too much thought to our ways because it’s so easy to follow the way of the dog.  Feed the dog that barks the loudest.  Repeat.

God said to think about your ways, make decisions based on diligent consideration and wisdom.

He followed that command–which is repeated twice in three verses, by the way. He knew we wouldn’t get it the first time!–with another.

Build my house.

Don’t miss this.  God is not calling you to join a movement, He is not asking you to petition for the Jews to get back the Temple Mount, He isn’t asking you to donate your resources for the construction of a building built by human hands.  There is one building that has been eons under construction.

Build my church.

Here’s the church, here’s the steeple, open the doors, and here are the people. Which part is the church?

We all know the answer.  Every kid with hands knows the answer.

So go build the church.

And God pushes harder.  Each of you is busy with his own house. Busy cleaning it, busy buying things for it, busy showing it off, busy working to keep the bank from taking it back, busy, busy, busy.

You’re building the wrong house.

I don’t even know how to start a whole new career–from mere dwelling builder to master carpenter of an eternal housing of the God of all Creation, but I think maybe I’ll give some careful thought to how to make that switch today.

BARK, BARk, Bark, bark…

Quiet temporal dogs, I’m thinking.