CONSIDER YOUR WAYS

“Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: consider your ways” (Hag. 1:5 NKJV).

Few people today take the time to seriously consider their ways. However, there need to be serious pondering in regard to our priorities when it comes to God and His work. Our verse is a command from God to do some serious thinking about our ways. Thus, we want to note four areas to consider – our duties, devotion, deportment, and destiny.

Consider your duties – Failure to build the Temple was a failure of doing their duty and so Israel was rebuked by the prophet Haggai. They were not idle; they were very busy, but busy with their own duties. It is very easy for us to get busy with many other activities but neglect our duty in the process. Duty, however, must come first.

Consider your devotion - Failure to build the Temple the place of worship showed a lack of devotion for God. We need to consider how we are doing in our devotion to God. How are we doing in our Bible study and prayer life and Christian service? Is our devotion to God declining or improving?

Consider your deportment - Failure to build the Temple was disobedience and this kind of behavior was unacceptable to God. They were not obeying His commands. The lifestyles of many folks today are popular with society but are totally unscriptural. We need to consider our deportment. Is it according to the commands of God, or does it reflect more the corrupt culture around us?

Consider your destiny - The future of the Israelites depended on their considering their ways and correcting them. In this case it meant to get busy with the Temple. If they failed to build the Temple, their future would be grim (Hag. 1:9-11). Folks need to consider their destiny, especially their eternal destiny. Few think about their eternal future and how their present lifestyle will affect it. The greatest tragedy in life would be to enter eternity unprepared. So, consider your destiny. Where will you spend eternity?

(Adapted from Butler’s Daily Bible Reading 3)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Your life as a Christian should make non-believers question their disbelief in God!”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906 – 1945)

German Lutheran Pastor and Theologian

Word Study

Entrust

In 2 Tim. 2:23 we read, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also!” (NASB).

Entrust is the Greek word paratíthēmi (παρατίθημι =par-at-ith'-ay-mee). It is made up of two words: “para” which means beside, and “tithēmi” which means to set, to place. Thus, the word means to place beside or set before. In classical Greek paratíthēmi means something set alongside, set before, or give someone something in trust. In the Septuagint, paratíthēmi means serve, set forth as a law, and to entrust something to someone. In the New Testament, paratíthēmi carries the idea of placing something before someone as in serving food. It was also used of giving someone something in trust and so to deposit with another. It conveys the picture of a precious treasure being deposited as a trust into the hands of other persons. Those entrusted with the message of the gospel must be faithful, reliable and trustworthy servants who will not swerve aside because of fear or favor, and who will not compromise with the spirit of the age in which we live.

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea” (Psalm 46:2 KJV).

Did You Know…

According to Psalm 113, the name of the LORD is to be praised from sunrise to sunset (Psalms 113:3).

Bible Quiz

The dry bones which came to life in Ezekiel 37 symbolizes the restoration of what people?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: Whom did John describe as “an Advocate with the Father?” The Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1).

Names For the Lord Jesus in the Bible

“DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS”

"And I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory, says the LORD of hosts!” (Hag. 2:7 NKJV).

1. Meaning – DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS means sunrise and speaks of the Lord Jesus as the coming of the One desired by all nations.

2. Insights – Some interpreters translate “Desire of all nations” as a compound noun: “the desirable things of the nations,” that is, their treasures. And so, when Messiah comes to reign, the treasures of the nations will be brought to Him and will be used for His glory. However, in both Jewish and Christian tradition, the phrase “the Desire of all nations” has been generally interpreted as a messianic title for the Lord Jesus Christ. He will become the desire of all nations though He is certainly not their desire today. The nations of the world inwardly desire what the Lord Jesus Christ alone can give, whether they recognize this spiritual yearning or not.

Did You Know – Christian History

Thomas Coke was born September 9, 1747, in Brecon, Wales. He was the first Methodist bishop.

Coke, who was only 5-foot-1-inch tall and prone to being overweight, attended Jesus College, Oxford, graduating Bachelor of Arts, then Master of Arts in 1770, and Doctor of Civil Law in 1775. On returning to Brecon, he served as mayor in 1772. In 1776 Coke met John Wesley, becoming one of his closest assistants.

For several years, Wesley had tried to persuade the Church of England to ordain Methodist bishops. His requests met with rejection. Events in America, however forced his hand. After the Revolutionary War, the Anglican Church in Virginia had virtually collapsed, and the Methodists had nowhere to go. After searching Scripture and historical precedent, Wesley concluded that presbyters like himself had authority to ordain bishops. With the aid of Rev. James Creighton and two newly ordained elders, he did just that. In September 1784, Wesley secretly ordained Coke as superintendent of the Methodist Church in the American colonies with power to ordain other superintendents in the new world.

On November 3, 1784, Coke landed in New York. On November 14th, Coke met with Francis Asbury, and confided his mission to him and a few others. They all agreed that a conference should be held. A date in December at Baltimore was set. At the Baltimore conference both Asbury and Coke were elected as co-bishops and shared power in America. However, most of the work rested with Asbury, because Coke crossed and re crossed the Atlantic eighteen times in connection with missionary endeavors and became leader of the British church after Wesley died. Wesley called Coke “the flea” because he seemed always to be hopping around on his missions.

Coke achieved the purpose for which he had come to the United States: to establish a legitimate authority to head the American Methodists. He was still working for Christ when he died in 1814 during a voyage to India where he hoped to set up a mission. He died with a smile on his lips serving his Lord.

A Little Humor

The story is told of two men riding a tandem bicycle up a steep hill. After much effort, they finally made it to the top of the hill. The front rider said, “That was a tough ride.” To which the second rider replied, “Sure was, and if I hadn’t kept the brake on, we might have slipped backwards.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“If a man could work his way into heaven, he would brag himself into hell!”