Author: Sowmya Gali

Creative writer, homeschooling mother, amateur gardener, geeky geographer, and a hungry Bible student.

Misplaced Priorities

~ Sowmya Gali

Haggai 1: 5 – 9

5. Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways!

6. “You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”

7. Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways!

8. “Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord.

9. “You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?” declares the Lord of hosts, “Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house.

It is common all across the cultures of this world that a person should get a good and decent education, have a career, marry, build a house, raise a family and settle down. A person who doesn’t follow this set-in-stone formula is considered a rebel, a person who might end up lonely and miserable. One generation strives to make their lives better so that their next generation might enjoy the fruit of the previous generation. Passing on the inheritance of a good and decent life is considered a virtuous endeavor. We consider that it is a very normal thing to do. Faith in God is still in the picture but somewhere in a corner.

During the rebuilding of the second temple, in the second-year reign of Darius, God’s Word came to Haggai. The work on the temple came to a standstill. The people who returned to Jerusalem for the sole purpose of rebuilding the temple, set aside their temple rebuilding duties and were rebuilding their own houses. Thereby, they were neglecting the rebuilding the House of God. God was greatly disappointed with these people for neglecting their sole purpose in returning to Jerusalem.

Therefore, God warns them that if they continue to neglect their rebuilding duties, He will bring losses to the people involved. Whatever effort they would put in, and try to be successful, they will continue to suffer loss. When Darius gave permission for a few to return to Jerusalem, the sole purpose was to rebuild the temple of God which lay in ruins but not rebuild their own dilapidated homes. Their misplaced priorities brought them more ruin. Their prayers were returning to them void. All their efforts into building their own homes brought about distress and discord among the remnant. Their priority should have been to rebuild the House of God. Instead, rebuilding their homes became a priority. They neglected the House of God.

In the New Testament, Jesus asked us to seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness and all the other things will be added to us (Matthew 6: 33). Jesus meant that we should prioritize God’s Kingdom and not our own lives. When we place God first, His Kingdom first, His Church first, then we will prosper in all our ways. How are we building His temple today? Are we prioritizing in our lives and hearts to building the Church? How are we preparing the Bride of Christ for the Bridegroom?

In addition to Christ’s command, the Apostles also warned us to be busy about building God’s Kingdom, adding more souls to the Kingdom, spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. James challenges us to show our faithfulness to God and His Kingdom by our works (James 2: 18). If we truly love God, we will take care of the orphan and the widow. That is how we will build the Kingdom, one soul at a time. When we make God our priority, then building God’s Kingdom, His body of believers, and His Church would become our priority. When our priorities are placed in a right fashion, then we will see prosperity in all aspects of life. Instead of building our lives, we must strive to build His Kingdom.

Today, when we see all our efforts bringing naught, we must realize where our priorities lie. If we change the course and stick to the path of God, then we will be able to see the progress not only in God’s Kingdom but also in our own lives. When we are busy with Kingdom building duties, God will enable us to live in houses which we didn’t build. He will enable us to eat food that we didn’t labor to grow. And drink wine from the vineyard which we didn’t plant (Joshua 24: 13). We don’t have to worry about our next generation, because they have watched us prioritizing God and His Kingdom. They have seen God’s blessings in our lives. That will inspire them to prioritize building God’s Kingdom in their generation.

Beloved, let us prioritize building God’s Kingdom. Let us be busy about building His Kingdom by taking care of the needy amongst us. Let us be busy in preaching the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Let us keep ourselves busy with the tasks entrusted us.

Altars in Life

~ Sowmya Gali

Genesis 8: 20

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

Psalm 51: 10-12, 17

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit… The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

An altar is a hallowed place where we commune with God. A holy ground, where we confess, pray and interact with our Lord. It can both be a physical and a mental place. In ancient days, people built altars to remind themselves of the times when God spoke to them. Genesis 8 records the first altar ever built by a man. Noah, his family and all animals when they came out of the ark, Noah built an altar and sacrificed all clean animals to the Lord. His heart must have been overwhelmed by God’s preservation of his family and a new world that God is charging him to take care of.

Abraham built altars whenever God spoke to Him. He offered his son Isaac on the altar he built on Mount Moriah. God saw his heart and instead of Isaac, He provided him with a ram. Abraham returned home with confidence that on the mountain of God, He provides. Isaac too built altars everywhere he sojourned. Jacob wrestled with God and built an altar to commemorate the blessing and promise he received. Job sacrificed regularly on the altar seeking God’s forgiveness if perchance he or his children may have sinned. David, who worshipped God at every chance he got, desired to have a permanent altar where he could worship the Lord in all grandeur. Daniel, in exile in Babylon couldn’t build an altar but he went on his knees, opened his window towards Jerusalem, and prayed to God Almighty.

As time went on, we see that the physical, individual altars disappearing. Man’s heart became the altar. It is not the physical structure that is important but the heart of man that is important. When Jesus Christ came into the world, He did not offer any sacrifices on any altar. For He Himself became the sacrifice. He condemned anyone who sacrificed on the altar if he didn’t mean it in his heart. He wanted men to focus on the condition of their hearts rather than the rituals of their lives. Those who believe in Lord Jesus Christ, their hearts are now altars. Jesus echoed the cry of David. God is more pleased in a broken and contrite heart than burnt offerings.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5: 3). A person who acknowledges that he is sinful, needs God to redeem him, lives each day for the Lord and His Kingdom, and remains devoted to God is a living, walking altar. Jesus Christ taught us that no matter where we are in life, if we seek the Lord with all our hearts, minds, bodies and strength, we will find Him. There, right there is the altar where God reaches down to us to be with us and commune with us. The altar is our heart – a beloved place of our Lord where He loves to dwell and speak with us. Only two sacrifices are required on this altar: blood of Christ, which He already shed and a broken and contrite heart to receive Him.

Jesus Christ paved the way for us to enter the Holiest of Holies by sprinkling His blood, and tearing open the curtain. Our altars can be physical structures which we may have built in our homes but it is the heart that our Lord seeks. Each day, when we go on our bended knees, it is the altar. In every activity, in every circumstance, when we seek the Lord, when we think of Him, that is the altar that we’ve built. While commuting, while cleaning the house, while chopping vegetables, while gardening, etc., when our hearts and minds are occupied by Him, there our altars are – altars of thanksgiving, praise, worship, and supplication. Because, that is the place God communes with His own. Build altars in your heart and they will be the God’s meeting places in your life.