(WJBP ~ I’ll tell you what that means towards the end of this message….memorize them…)
Last month I had an online student loan I thought I paid off. A week later when I logged in to make sure everything was recorded properly, I discovered 26¢ left on the loan. I spent five minutes cursing the system ~ then I entered 26¢ to pay off the loan. RED FLAG: “you must enter a minimum of $1.00….” uh-oh. So I try entering a $1.00. READ FLAG: “That’s more than the amount you owe.” …
How often do you feel like no matter what you do you can’t win? ~ some people withdraw and don’t want to come out of the house, others get angry, some find ways to escape to a different world, a happy place, resign themselves to a compromised life.
Last month I had an online student loan I thought I paid off. A week later when I logged in to make sure everything was recorded properly, I discovered 26¢ left on the loan. I spent five minutes cursing the system ~ then I entered 26¢ to pay off the loan. RED FLAG: “you must enter a minimum of $1.00….” uh-oh. So I try entering a $1.00. READ FLAG: “That’s more than the amount you owe.” …
How often do you feel like no matter what you do you can’t win? ~ some people withdraw and don’t want to come out of the house, others get angry, some find ways to escape to a different world, a happy place, resign themselves to a compromised life.
Get out of the rut. Herschel Wiley used to talk about life in Missouri when he was a kid. Cars were new. The roads were dirt. Long ruts formed from country to town so that you barely needed to steer the car; once you were in the rut, it took a lot of work to get out. Isn’t that the way it is with life….stuck in a rut. The problem is the unhealthy patterns.
The people in Haggai’s day were in a long rut… they were the first generation back in the land of Israel, most of them having been born while captive in Babylon. After 60 years of captivity, the Persians rose to power and gave the Jews permission to return to their homeland. The glorious temple was in ruins. The people perhaps wanted to rebuild the temple, but they had other priorities, their own homes, resurrecting the fields for harvest, all good ideas, but now 16-18 years later, the temple is still in ruins while the people live in a bit of luxury in their “paneled” houses the Bible says, and life seems hollow, not quite enough money, like putting coins in purses with holes. The people are in a rut, not sure how to get out of it, you gotta enter a dollar, but you don’t owe that much…stuck in a rut. The feeling of being defeated with no way out… I’m told that if your mirror gets a crack in it on your bathroom wall, if you don’t get a new mirror within six months, the odds of getting a new one are slim, you get used to your own brokenness, you don’t even see the crack anymore.
Don’t accept a defeatist attitude. We keep unhealthy patterns, afraid to apply for a new job, go back to school, the risks, most significant of all, we are afraid to open ourselves to the Spirit of God to change us and mold us. Let God shake up your life (like an etch-a-sketch) a new beginning. Reject a defeatist attitude. The Lord is calling you to get started again, to be renewed by the power of his spirit and refreshed in the glory of God… Do not accept defeat. Get out of the rut…
#1: “give careful thought to your ways…” Over and over and over again Haggai uses this little phrase: give careful though… this isn’t just about theory, as far as I can tell it means practical… “careful thought to your ways” Your patterns, not how you feel, not your philosophy of life, but the patterns of your life, your ruts, your daily living…. I cannot tell you how many people tell me about the unhappy life they have, the patterns, the temporary fixes to give momentary pleasure but long term pain and guilt… and months later, years later, I am still hearing the same stories, the same patterns… give careful thought…. Are you going to do something or not…. You’ll drive yourself nuts if all you ever do is think about it… you gotta move on….
#2: Take action: Hag. 1:8a… You reject a defeatist attitude by actually going out and buying a new mirror when it’s broken, talk talk talk is not enough… go into the mountains Haggai says… follow through… How often people hear the words, they know what they need to do, but they get afraid to take that first step… I guarantee that if God is saying to you get your act together and turn your life over to me, the answer is NEVER some day. NOW is always the time to take action… There are a ton of silly sayings about procrastination: “One of these days I'm going to get help for my procrastination problem.” Mark Twain said, "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow." Homer Simpson: "If something's hard to do, then what's the point?!" Perhaps you can relate to another person: "If it weren't for the last minute, I wouldn't get anything done." We make jokes, but when putting off what we know we need to do becomes a way of life, it is no joke, it is defeating, depressing…
It’s interesting what Haggai does not say to do: he doesn’t say to the people, let’s see if we can get some government funding and then rebuild the temple, he doesn’t say let’s fight a war against the Persians for complete emancipation. He simply acknowledges where the people are right now and says, “let’s go forward.” How often we wait for the perfect conditions: “as soon as I find the perfect church that understands me and is my style, I’ll get involved and get closer to God.” “As soon as the other person in my life changes then I’ll respond…” God does not say wait for perfect condition then get out of the rut, now is the time to take action. Do not accept a defeatist attitude….
#3.. Don’t overlook this wonderful motivating truth in Hag. 1:8b… the Lord says, “so I might take pleasure…” The natural question when we think about finding meaning and purpose in life: “what would give me pleasure, what do I value.” The question has its place. If you are planning a birthday party for a three year old you are not likely to think about taking her to the casino for a night at the slot machines. A three year old would find no pleasure in such an activity. There is nothing wrong with the desire to enjoy our lives. But the irony is that the first question should not be about what would be best for you, if you want to put your house in order in your relationship with Jesus Christ, the first question is, what would bring the Lord pleasure. That’s a different question. The irony is that the Lord’s vision for us is always greater than what we can imagine…. When we please the Lord, that is what gives us purpose and identity! That’s the way it works with other people, too. Don’t you gain great pleasure in honoring the important people in your life?
Sometime I wonder why Sally married me. When I first met her, I must have been a dope for a date. I had to learn to overcome my own personality: we’d talk about what movie we wanted to see, for example, and my response: “I don’t care, whatever you want…” like the vultures in Disney’s Jungle book, “What do you wanta do,” “I don’t know, what do you wanna do?” I had to learn to have an opinion so Sally could have a way of pleasing me with something I would enjoy” yet at first, I denied her that opportunity… Pleasing God sets you up to be removed from a defeatist attitude, because you will find NOTHING more satisfying in life… Jesus Christ knows what is best for us. Why would God be so pleased to have the temple rebuilt? Not because of the temple itself, but because of what the temple represents: the desire of the people to commune with God. God will be pleased to see you become sober, deliberate, thoughtful, healthy… take action to get your house in order. God delights in seeing his people take steps to become near to him… What will please God is a life orienting question, in everything you do, to ask, is this pleasing to God….
#4: rejecting a defeatist attitude: take responsibility for your own decisions and the consequences. The Lord has given you a mind so that you can decide to make choices that will please God or please yourself. Your life will be hollow if you do not include God. Believing in God is a matter of the heart, yet what you believe is reflected in the decisions you make… READ Hag. 1:9-10… You thought working hard and earning a lot of money would bring you happiness and satisfaction, but it turned out not to be enough…. Haggai is making much the same point Solomon makes in Ecc. 2:1, 4-11 READ. Let go and let God… That’s all Haggai is saying. For some reason we always seem to need to try it our way first. Until we finally reach the bottom and look up and see that there is another way to find meaning and purpose. This goes back to the first point I made: consider carefully your ways, the practical choices you make, the daily decisions…
Embracing God is always comes with a second wind, trying it our way and realizing that our way is hollow… Try and figure out what will give us pleasure, but it is empty… I remember meeting with a family, three grown children an elderly mother died… The son, I think he’d been married and divorced a couple times, spoke such wise words, “Our mother wasn’t perfect, but she was a good mother. If we messed up our lives, it wasn’t our mother’s fault, it was our own choices.” I’ve always loved that testimony. The way forward is to embrace Jesus Christ and to make decisions that will lead you to embrace Christ.
Reject a defeatist attitude, the feeling that no matter what you do you cannot win, you cannot find peace and satisfaction ~ It’s time to get out of the rut. Herschel used to say that when two cars did meet each other headed in opposite direction of the rut, they could do it to pass, it just took effort….
1. Give careful thought to the choices you make.
2. Take action, the choice is not complete until you actually get dressed and go out the door and apply for the job or join the small group or volunteer or clean the house or get involved in the church activities or simply engage with friends again, whatever it is…
3. Ask if God is pleased with your actions. Years ago the phrase took the world by storm, WWJD ~ What would Jesus do. Not a bad question, but I have a few problems with it….. a better question: what were the initials I told you to memorize? ~ WJBP, Will Jesus Be Pleased?...
4. It’s your choice. The Lord gives us a measure of choice. Try to find meaning and purpose by taking actions into your own hands, or live for God.
Yesterday morning I got an e-mail when I woke up. I had already written the first part of this message about owing 26¢ and not being able to pay it off because 26¢ was too little but a dollar was too much. I’d e-mailed the loan company asking what to do. “Congratualations” the e-mail said yesterday morning. “Your loan is now complete.” They wiped out the last 26¢. Complete. Over. A was so happy I went and woke up Sally to tell her! Carefully make choices that are pleasing to God, and you will find satisfaction. You will be amazed at how everything will work out. WJBP. (What’s it stand for?) [Will Jesus Be Pleased]
The people in Haggai’s day were in a long rut… they were the first generation back in the land of Israel, most of them having been born while captive in Babylon. After 60 years of captivity, the Persians rose to power and gave the Jews permission to return to their homeland. The glorious temple was in ruins. The people perhaps wanted to rebuild the temple, but they had other priorities, their own homes, resurrecting the fields for harvest, all good ideas, but now 16-18 years later, the temple is still in ruins while the people live in a bit of luxury in their “paneled” houses the Bible says, and life seems hollow, not quite enough money, like putting coins in purses with holes. The people are in a rut, not sure how to get out of it, you gotta enter a dollar, but you don’t owe that much…stuck in a rut. The feeling of being defeated with no way out… I’m told that if your mirror gets a crack in it on your bathroom wall, if you don’t get a new mirror within six months, the odds of getting a new one are slim, you get used to your own brokenness, you don’t even see the crack anymore.
Don’t accept a defeatist attitude. We keep unhealthy patterns, afraid to apply for a new job, go back to school, the risks, most significant of all, we are afraid to open ourselves to the Spirit of God to change us and mold us. Let God shake up your life (like an etch-a-sketch) a new beginning. Reject a defeatist attitude. The Lord is calling you to get started again, to be renewed by the power of his spirit and refreshed in the glory of God… Do not accept defeat. Get out of the rut…
#1: “give careful thought to your ways…” Over and over and over again Haggai uses this little phrase: give careful though… this isn’t just about theory, as far as I can tell it means practical… “careful thought to your ways” Your patterns, not how you feel, not your philosophy of life, but the patterns of your life, your ruts, your daily living…. I cannot tell you how many people tell me about the unhappy life they have, the patterns, the temporary fixes to give momentary pleasure but long term pain and guilt… and months later, years later, I am still hearing the same stories, the same patterns… give careful thought…. Are you going to do something or not…. You’ll drive yourself nuts if all you ever do is think about it… you gotta move on….
#2: Take action: Hag. 1:8a… You reject a defeatist attitude by actually going out and buying a new mirror when it’s broken, talk talk talk is not enough… go into the mountains Haggai says… follow through… How often people hear the words, they know what they need to do, but they get afraid to take that first step… I guarantee that if God is saying to you get your act together and turn your life over to me, the answer is NEVER some day. NOW is always the time to take action… There are a ton of silly sayings about procrastination: “One of these days I'm going to get help for my procrastination problem.” Mark Twain said, "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow." Homer Simpson: "If something's hard to do, then what's the point?!" Perhaps you can relate to another person: "If it weren't for the last minute, I wouldn't get anything done." We make jokes, but when putting off what we know we need to do becomes a way of life, it is no joke, it is defeating, depressing…
It’s interesting what Haggai does not say to do: he doesn’t say to the people, let’s see if we can get some government funding and then rebuild the temple, he doesn’t say let’s fight a war against the Persians for complete emancipation. He simply acknowledges where the people are right now and says, “let’s go forward.” How often we wait for the perfect conditions: “as soon as I find the perfect church that understands me and is my style, I’ll get involved and get closer to God.” “As soon as the other person in my life changes then I’ll respond…” God does not say wait for perfect condition then get out of the rut, now is the time to take action. Do not accept a defeatist attitude….
#3.. Don’t overlook this wonderful motivating truth in Hag. 1:8b… the Lord says, “so I might take pleasure…” The natural question when we think about finding meaning and purpose in life: “what would give me pleasure, what do I value.” The question has its place. If you are planning a birthday party for a three year old you are not likely to think about taking her to the casino for a night at the slot machines. A three year old would find no pleasure in such an activity. There is nothing wrong with the desire to enjoy our lives. But the irony is that the first question should not be about what would be best for you, if you want to put your house in order in your relationship with Jesus Christ, the first question is, what would bring the Lord pleasure. That’s a different question. The irony is that the Lord’s vision for us is always greater than what we can imagine…. When we please the Lord, that is what gives us purpose and identity! That’s the way it works with other people, too. Don’t you gain great pleasure in honoring the important people in your life?
Sometime I wonder why Sally married me. When I first met her, I must have been a dope for a date. I had to learn to overcome my own personality: we’d talk about what movie we wanted to see, for example, and my response: “I don’t care, whatever you want…” like the vultures in Disney’s Jungle book, “What do you wanta do,” “I don’t know, what do you wanna do?” I had to learn to have an opinion so Sally could have a way of pleasing me with something I would enjoy” yet at first, I denied her that opportunity… Pleasing God sets you up to be removed from a defeatist attitude, because you will find NOTHING more satisfying in life… Jesus Christ knows what is best for us. Why would God be so pleased to have the temple rebuilt? Not because of the temple itself, but because of what the temple represents: the desire of the people to commune with God. God will be pleased to see you become sober, deliberate, thoughtful, healthy… take action to get your house in order. God delights in seeing his people take steps to become near to him… What will please God is a life orienting question, in everything you do, to ask, is this pleasing to God….
#4: rejecting a defeatist attitude: take responsibility for your own decisions and the consequences. The Lord has given you a mind so that you can decide to make choices that will please God or please yourself. Your life will be hollow if you do not include God. Believing in God is a matter of the heart, yet what you believe is reflected in the decisions you make… READ Hag. 1:9-10… You thought working hard and earning a lot of money would bring you happiness and satisfaction, but it turned out not to be enough…. Haggai is making much the same point Solomon makes in Ecc. 2:1, 4-11 READ. Let go and let God… That’s all Haggai is saying. For some reason we always seem to need to try it our way first. Until we finally reach the bottom and look up and see that there is another way to find meaning and purpose. This goes back to the first point I made: consider carefully your ways, the practical choices you make, the daily decisions…
Embracing God is always comes with a second wind, trying it our way and realizing that our way is hollow… Try and figure out what will give us pleasure, but it is empty… I remember meeting with a family, three grown children an elderly mother died… The son, I think he’d been married and divorced a couple times, spoke such wise words, “Our mother wasn’t perfect, but she was a good mother. If we messed up our lives, it wasn’t our mother’s fault, it was our own choices.” I’ve always loved that testimony. The way forward is to embrace Jesus Christ and to make decisions that will lead you to embrace Christ.
Reject a defeatist attitude, the feeling that no matter what you do you cannot win, you cannot find peace and satisfaction ~ It’s time to get out of the rut. Herschel used to say that when two cars did meet each other headed in opposite direction of the rut, they could do it to pass, it just took effort….
1. Give careful thought to the choices you make.
2. Take action, the choice is not complete until you actually get dressed and go out the door and apply for the job or join the small group or volunteer or clean the house or get involved in the church activities or simply engage with friends again, whatever it is…
3. Ask if God is pleased with your actions. Years ago the phrase took the world by storm, WWJD ~ What would Jesus do. Not a bad question, but I have a few problems with it….. a better question: what were the initials I told you to memorize? ~ WJBP, Will Jesus Be Pleased?...
4. It’s your choice. The Lord gives us a measure of choice. Try to find meaning and purpose by taking actions into your own hands, or live for God.
Yesterday morning I got an e-mail when I woke up. I had already written the first part of this message about owing 26¢ and not being able to pay it off because 26¢ was too little but a dollar was too much. I’d e-mailed the loan company asking what to do. “Congratualations” the e-mail said yesterday morning. “Your loan is now complete.” They wiped out the last 26¢. Complete. Over. A was so happy I went and woke up Sally to tell her! Carefully make choices that are pleasing to God, and you will find satisfaction. You will be amazed at how everything will work out. WJBP. (What’s it stand for?) [Will Jesus Be Pleased]
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