10 On December 18 of the second year of King Darius’s reign, the Lord sent this message to the prophet Haggai:
11 “This is what the Lord
of Heaven’s Armies says. Ask the priests this question about the law:
12 ‘If one of you is carrying some meat from a holy sacrifice
in his robes and his robe happens to brush against some bread or stew, wine or
olive oil, or any other kind of food, will it also become holy?’”
The priests replied,
“No.”
13 Then Haggai asked, “If someone becomes ceremonially unclean
by touching a dead person and then touches any of these foods, will the food be
defiled?”
And the priests
answered, “Yes.”
14 Then Haggai responded, “That is how it is with this people
and this nation, says the Lord.
Everything they do and everything they offer is defiled by their sin. 15 Look
at what was happening to you before you began to lay the foundation of the Lord’s Temple.
18 “Think
about this eighteenth day of December, the day when the foundation of the Lord’s Temple
was laid. Think carefully. 19 I am giving you
a promise now while the seed is still in the barn. You have not yet harvested
your grain, and your grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have
not yet produced their crops. But from this day onward I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:10-15, 18-19 NLT)
God
cares not just what you do, but how you do it.
You can’t transmit purity, but you can transmit
filth.
See Haggai 2: 10-14 above
Don’t
be fooled: “Bad friends will ruin good habits.” (1 Corinthians 15:33,
ERV)
While
you can’t transmit purity to others, it can be transmitted to you.
See Haggai 2: 12-15 above
But if we own up to
our sins, God shows that He is faithful and just by forgiving us of our sins
and purifying us from the pollution of all the bad things we have done. (1 John 1:9, VOICE)
With
the purity of Jesus comes the promise of blessing.
See Haggai 2: 18-19 above
A thief comes to steal and kill and destroy. But I
came to give life—life in all its fullness. (John 10:10 ICB)
“I follow three rules: Do the right thing, do the best you can, and
always show people you care.” (Lou
Holtz)[i]
[i] Inspired by the sermon “Do It Right: Facing the
Unfinished, “(installment three) Sunday July 7, 2019,
Pastor Dave Jansen, CenterPoint Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH.
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