Hag 1:2-11
2 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD's house should be built.
3 Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying,
4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?
5 Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.
6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.
8 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.
9 Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.
10 Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.
11 And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.

Here Israel has just been freed from captivity, they return to their city and find it utterly destroyed. So they begin the re-building process, which was fine and rebuilding was Gods will! But the Bible notes one problem with what they did.
Instead of first building the Lords temple again. They spend their time worrying about their house and their personal gain.
And the Lord becomes angry with them, for he had just delivered them from captivity and has brought them back to their land. And yet instead of showing thankfulness and building his house first, they first began to worry and try to build there own comfort spot first! And in the midst of their excitement to be free, they failed to make a dwelling place for the spirit of the Lord.

The Lord tells them to consider their ways, and begans to let them know that as long as they are putting their house, their life, their stuff first. He is not going to bless them! He ask them the question: "You wonder why when you build something up I blow upon it? Because my house lies in waste, and yet you run into your own houses"

Ever wonder why sometimes it seems like God is not listening? Or you can't seem to get that prayer answered? Or wonder why God hasn't blessed you with the finances you need? Why it seems a struggle sometimes to make it?
Could it be that its because God is not coming first in our life? Could it be that our flesh desires are coming first? God doesn't want part of us, he wants all of us! He wants to be our only God. He doesn't want anything to take his place in our lives. He is a jealous God!

Let us frequently examine our lives, see how much time we really give to God. Is he really first before our entertainment? Does

he come before our strive for personal gain? Is he more important then our social status? Do we really find enough time to pray and create him a dwelling place in our lives?
Matt 8:20
And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

He said these things (Foxes, Birds) have dwelling place, but I don't even have a place to lay my head!!
I dont want Jesus coming to me to find rest, and when he looks at my life can't even find a place to lay his head. I don't want to get my life so busy, and get so worried about personal gain, and the cares of this world that I forget to make a dwelling place for the spirit of God to rest!
I don't want to make dwelling places for other trivial things in my life, but fail to make him a place to dwell.
How can we expect him to bless us and  lead us, when we don't make room for him to dwell in our lives?

He made it clear to Israel that if they wanted him in their midst, they must create him a dwelling place first, and then he would bless their house.
Did not he say in Matt 6:31-33
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

He said seek FIRST the kingdom of God, and all these things (your worries, your financial need, your job, your school, etc..) he will add them to you, or take care of them for you and bless you!

Stop worrying about how the money you need will come, stop trying to fix your situation on your own. But instead build the Lords house in your life and let him take care of the rest! As long as we try to run our lives by ourselves, he said it would be like earning wages and putting it into a bag with holes in it. But when he is put first, he takes care of us!

He started us out writing our life story. The BIble says he is the author and finisher of our faith! The problem is too many times we try to take the pen out of his hand and write our life ourselves. And when we do we get our lives so tangled and messed up! But we need to put the pen back in his hand, and let him write the story of our life for us. Don't sweat the small stuff! We got a God bigger then us to take care of it, but we have to put him before everything else!

Lord let your prescence always find a dwelling place, a place of rest in my life!

I wonder if I could encourage those who read this to take a moment and examine themselves, and their lives. An ask yourself, "Is God really put first in my life? Have I made him a place of rest in my busy life?"

Are you feeling bound? Depressed? Life is a struggle it seems? Build his house first, find places of prayer, make him a dwelling place in your daily life. Because the Bible says where the Spirit of the Lord is, there IS LIBERTY!!