This Present House!

‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty.” (Haggai 2:9 NIV)

Though the prophet was speaking to the priests who wanted to rebuild the temple, what He prophesied was not just about a physical building, but building the Body of Christ.

Are we not the temple where the Holy Spirit dwells? Are we not supposed to be consecrated and worthy of His presence in our lives?

For those who think that Old Testament scriptures are "literally" just for that era, I encourage you to look again and not just see what is said regarding the Law, but for those who are living according to the grace shown us so we might know how to honor our bodies in reverence of Him.

In previous versus of Scriptures, the prophet tells the priests that God owns all the silver and gold and He hears the cries of the nations and the nations will receive what they desire--peace in the land. But we cannot have peace in the land until we have peace in our spirits and peace overflows from within to without--into homes, communities, and then the nations.

What we must do now is clean house--clean our spiritual house and rid it of all debris--thoughts that grieve Holy Spirit and cause us not to hear Him. We must rid of ourselves of hatred and biases that do nothing to bring people into a right relationship with God. And being the catalyst--to steering people into receptivity of God's mercy and grace, is what we're really supposed to be building--not the physical edifices that bring glory to us--but the spiritual edifices that bring glory to God.

What about us--right now? Are we ready to see the glory of this present house--in our spiritual temples--be filled beyond our imaginations with God's goodness and His peace?

As long as we harbor bitterness and resentment, unforgiveness and grudges against others, His peace cannot abide within and if there is no peace within, there will be no peace without. Let's clean house--leaving only room for the glory of the Lord to fill it and then know peace!