Haggai 1:13–15 ‘They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God…’ (v 14b)
What is the very first spiritual gift mentioned in the Bible? We might think prophecy or teaching or maybe performing miracles?
You may not think of Bezalel, who is given the gift of craftsmanship to build the tabernacle!
It is of course vitally important that word-based gifts are utilised in the Church but, in the prophecy of Haggai, the word to rebuild the temple had already been given.
The people needed to be prepared to execute the command. We read how the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, Joshua and the whole people to come to work on the House the Lord.
And this is true of so much of Christian ministry. Take a look at many of the activities in your local church.
For a start, someone has to clean the building so that attendees are not distracted by dirt or litter or dirty crockery.
Someone has ensured that the items in the church function so that you can hear who speaks and sings and the technology enables any audio-visual communication to be smooth.
If food is involved, someone has cooked it or bought it and put it on display, and any crockery used will no doubt need to be washed up.
You won’t often have a warm fuzzy feeling when you engage in such activities, but they are a vital part of the ministry.
If this is your work, sense God’s smile on you and, if this isn’t your work, make sure you value those whose work behind the scenes to enable so much good to happen.
A Prayer To Make:
‘Thank You, God, for those who make a church happen behind the scenes. May they feel valued by us and know that they are loved by You. Amen.’
An Action To Take:
Are there things that need doing in the church that you could assist with and volunteer for?
Scripture To Consider:
Exod. 31:1–10; Neh. 3:1–32; Rom. 12:3–8; 1 Thess. 2:7–12
SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER:
AN ACTION TO TAKE:
A PRAYER TO MAKE:
