We need to be people of FAITH.  Here is an acronym to remember what FAITH means to us.  Are you a person of FAITH?

Psalm 23, written by David around 2,900 years ago, is as true today for us as it was for David when he wrote it.  When you read it, pay attention to the pronouns "I" and "my".  Because Jehovah is my Shepherd, I don't need anything.  He is my care-giver, right now and always.  It's a personal relationship with me.  We do not want for anything as long as we have God.  We are like sheep and tend to wander off,  not sensing danger.  Sheep have no weapons or physical defenses.  They must be in the care of the shepherd.  As our good shepherd, the Lord gives us rest and living water.  He leads us to righteousness for Him.  In our greatest fears, we are not alone.  With God, we have goodness and mercy, not evil.  We will always live in God's house when we trust Him and obey Him, as we learn through the scriptures.  And, even better, we were given His Son, Jesus Christ, to seal our relationship with the Lord.  Praise God!  Travel light with the Lord as your Shepherd.

Matthew 3:16-4:11 . . .Temptation? . . . Wait A Minute!  By reading Matthew 3:16-17 before verses 4:1-11 you get context for the events that Jesus experienced right after His baptism by John the Baptist.  By understanding these verses of scripture, we can better understand our own moments of temptation and how to deal with them.  Jesus gives us the perfect example of how to deal with temptation in Chapter 4, Verses 4, 7, and 10.  It seems like every time that we feel confident in our relationship with God, the devil will do his best to put his snare in our way.  The "tempter" will seek us when we are feeling good and that can be when we are actually weak.  We tend to try and meet a God-given need in an un-Godly way.  We may try to manipulate or use God to meet our own agenda.  We may take a short cut and do a right thing in the wrong way.  Friends, we don't take temptation as seriously as we should.  Sin is not just about the moment, but your future is under consideration.  Every time you sin you damage your accountability to God.  Ask yourself:  Can God be trusted to meet my needs: can God empower me to say "No"; and, can God take care of me?  Yes!  How do you fight temptation with God's power?  Three things you must say, "Temptation you will not take 1) my future, 2) my family, nor 3) my faith!"

Finishing Haggai 2:20-23 . . . The book of Haggai tells us of God's promise to His people . . . put simply as Look Up, Look In, Look Forward!  Even as we, today, experience a time when it seems that people have given God's Kingdom a back seat to their own desires, God spoke through the prophet, Haggai, to remind His people that He keeps His promises.  As He did in times past, God can raise up and take down any kingdom that He chooses.  They know what He did in Egypt.  They know His covenant with David and how He chose Moses and Jonah to do His work.  Now, He is choosing Zerubabel to be the leader of His people.  It all leads to the future that God has planned, and it will all lead up to the coming of Jesus Christ.  God is still shaking things up today.  Do you have unconfessed sins?  God will be with us if we are doing His Kingdom work.  Think about what's coming in the future and keep your eyes on Jesus.

In Haggai 2:10-19, God once again speaks through Haggai to His people.  He asks the priests if something that is holy can make the unholy "holy".  The priests say, "No."  Then, He asks if something unholy can make something holy "unholy".  They say, "Yes."  This is God's way of showing them that when they turn away from Him they become unholy.  If they turn to Him, they will be blessed.  It is also His way of making a point.  Sin is contagious.  Unrighteous people can destroy the righteous people.  Just because someone close to you remains righteous, you cannot receive salvation through their righteousness.  Salvation is not inherited.  It must be individually earned through a personal relationship with God.  He will answer your prayer for your own salvation and a request to be closer to Him.  You must be the salt and light of the world, setting a good example for others.  Remember . . . Look up! when you are discouraged, and Look in! to see yourself as you really are. Consider your ways!

Finding encouragement in our discouragement . . . LOOK UP!  In Haggai 2:1-9 God speaks through the prophet about the re-building of the temple, asking them to compare their building to the structure of 70 years earlier.  They are discouraged and so the Lord speaks again, telling them they need to be strong.  God tells them that He is present with them as He was at the time of the Exodus from Egypt.  He reminds them that the Holy Spirit was with them then and is with them now.  This is a reminder for us that the Spirit of God was with mankind as early as in Genesis 1:2.  He tells them that He will shake the heavens, the earth, and the nations.  The desire of all nations shall come, He will fill this house with glory, and He will give peace . . . a foretelling of the eventual coming of Jesus Christ.  Are you feeling discouraged?  LOOK UP!  God is your encourager!

NOTE:  There are many verses in the Bible where we are told that God's presence is always with us:  

Matthew 28:18-20, I Corintians 11:23-25, Acts 2:38-39, Rom. 8:37-39, Phil. 4:6-7 and 4:18-19.  

Haggai 1:1-15 . . . The book of Haggai is the second smallest book in the Bible, only 2 chapters.  But, the message given by the Lord to the prophet, Haggai, is huge.  In Chapter 1, verses 5 and 7, the Lord's message to the people is strong, "Consider your ways."  The priorities of God's people have deteriorated to misplaced priorities, filling up their lives with "stuff" and yet still being empty.  These were God-fearing people, and yet, the Lord decided to stir them up through the prophet.  Haggai gives them God's message that they should check their misplaced priorities and rebuild the House of the Lord.  When they began to do God's work as directed, the Lord said, "I am with you."  They woke up, listened to God's word, and obeyed.   The House of the Lord lives in you.  Where are your priorities?  What does God want to do through you?

In Luke 19:11-27 Jesus tells the parable in which a nobleman went to receive a kingdom in a far country. He gave money to several servants with instructions to do his business while he was away.  When he returned after receiving his kingdom, he had the servants report on how much they had gained by trading.  Those who made gains were rewarded while those who did not do his business well were not, and even were punished.  Jesus tells this to remind his followers that they are expected to be about his business when he is gone, so that when he returns they will have made gains for his kingdom.  As his followers, we must do his business, knowing that he will return and we will be judged at that time.   Even as a child, Jesus remained in Jerusalem being "about his Father's business" when Mary and Joseph thought he had left Jerusalem with them.  Jesus Christ has expectations for his followers.  We must "do his business" until he returns.

In Matthew 11:25-30 Jesus tells us that we should become like children.  We should depend on Christ, trust Him, and be called by Him to God.  Jesus Christ has the Father's authority to call us to God.  We must humble ourselves to learn from Jesus.  He tells us to come to Him, all who are heavy laden, and He will give us rest.  When we take up the yoke with Jesus we will find rest and become part of the community of Christ-believers.  While the troubles and temptations of life weigh us down, Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:30, "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Rest is found in Jesus Christ.

In the last verse of the prayer that Jesus gives us, Matthew 6:13, we are admitting our dependence on God.  When we pray, God is the audience.  Do not pray with the intention of attention.  Rather, pray intelligently and thoughtfullly.  Only God can lead us from our brokenness.  You cannot follow God if you are self-righteous.  We live in a world of temptations, trying to evade it in our daily lives.  We do not get holy by what we do, but by who we follow.  We need to try to look more like Jesus.  He has already won our battle over evil.  We don't get holy and then come to Jesus, but we come to Jesus and then get holy.  Remove the mask of hypocracy when you pray and admit your dependence on God.  AMEN!!