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House

Home. It’s where we come back to at the end of the day. It’s where you hang your hat. It’s where you leave the rest of the world behind and rest. That’s not a bad thing, but…

What if you go home and ignore the needs that must be met? What if the world is being neglected because everyone is hiding out at home?

That’s the start of what’s going on in Israel when the Jews are allowed to return to their homeland. Their focus and their priorities become crystal clear to God. When a prophet named Haggai jumps on the scene, it’s been 16 years and the Jews have only managed to build their own homes.

God asks the question that shouldn’t have had to be asked. ‘What about ME?’ (Gulp)

The people were building and tidying up their own houses and left God’s house a pile of rubble. What’s up with that? That’s what God wants to know. It’s not that He needs shelter from, well, from anything.

But it does say something about a people who were chosen by God that they just haven’t gotten around to building His Temple. This once proud nation had a Temple so glorious that people travelled the world over just to see it. It says something about a group of people who had been banished from their land for, among other reasons, a lack of focus on God.

God begins to clarify a few things for His chosen nation. It leads to action on their parts. The people respond with obedience. But what about us?

Are we in a similar situation today? Have we come home to focus on ourselves at the peril of letting our priorities fall out of whack? Are we in need of a messenger to come point out the obvious? If we don’t see God in action, maybe it’s because we haven’t taken care of Job #1.

Jesus said as much when He encouraged followers to let dead people bury dead people and leave families wondering where the faithful have gone (Luke 9:57-60). Followers of God have to always remember that priorities begin with God. We all have expectations for our time. It’s time we realized that God has expectations as well.

Are you ready to re-focus and re-prioritize? Are you ready to come back to your first love? Are you ready, or will you stay at home?

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