December 20

Haggai 1:1-2:23, Revelation 11:1-19, Psalm 139:1-24, Proverbs 30:15-16

Pray: Lord, most of us reading this devotion live in reasonable comfort. If we had three meals yesterday and slept in our own bed, then we are considered better off than nearly 85% of the world’s population. We especially think of the words from Luke 2 this time of year “…and laid him in a manger for there was no room for them in the inn”.  In Haggai you came to dwell in a house built with human hands but in Luke 2 You Yourself came to dwell in a human body, so we could dwell with You forever. We are grateful.

Read: Haggai speaks clearly God’s frustrations when the Lord points out that the people are living in luxury while the house of God lies in ruins. While it is true that God doesn’t need nor truly dwell strictly in any human dwelling, but the Lord does, “Inhabit the praises of his people”. God will come and dwell among His people when they seek to dwell with Him through worship, praise, or in our hurt God draws close if we call upon His name.

Edify: Here in Psalm 139 we find what John Wesley called, “The Hound of Heaven” when referring to the Holy Spirit. When we were in our mother’s womb God was there knitting us together. If we climb to the highest mountain the Holy Spirit is there, if we descend into the valley, God is there. We cannot outrun God nor escape the far-reaching arm of God’s radical love. Let that just settle in for a few minutes. God pursues you because He values you. 

Practice: The wisdom literature speaks volumes here in just a few lines, “There are three things that are never satisfied—no, four that never say, “Enough!”: 16 the grave, the barren womb, the thirsty desert, the blazing fire.”  So here we find strong life application teaching as God’s Word reminds us that in the Christmas story we find that the world suffers from a thirst which cannot be satisfied---there is never enough. But, the birth of Christ fulfills the unmet expectations and dryness which people feel deep within them. There is a place in your heart and my heart that only Jesus can fill. A thirst that only Jesus can quench as He told the woman at the well in John 4, “But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again.” In other words, “I am enough.” Jesus is more than enough. Right?