“Now give careful thought to this from this day on…” (Haggai 2:15, NIV)
For nineteen years now, Monday through Friday, I’ve given much thought to golf, to how it is played, where it is played, why it is played, and to who is playing it, be they tour professionals or struggling beginners. Every which way, I’ve read about golf and written about golf. Every which way, I’ve thought about golf.
Here’s more: You have been thinking together with me. With us. Some of you have told me that the Links Daily Devotional is part of what starts your morning every day. I field a lot of the thank you emails you send to our writers. It’s all humbling and encouraging. It reminds me of the responsibility we have in communicating the words of God in Scripture so they have extra meaning to you, whether golf is on your schedule for that day or not.
These were people who had let their minds wander, and their actions followed.Our relationship with Jesus must be made up of so much more than thought. Jesus said we are to love him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This is the greatest of all commandments. It is also the most complete of all commandments. We don’t give only a piece of ourselves to Jesus; we give him all.
But let’s focus on the mind today, on thinking. Let’s ask ourselves whether we are giving the careful thought we should to the lives we are given in Christ.
Haggai’s short run of messages from the Lord follows a classic prophetic pattern: Consider the way you’ve been living and consider the way you should live.
In Haggai’s time, the people of God were living for themselves, playing Chip and Joanna with their own homes while letting the house of the Lord go to ruin. Now, we know that “the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands” (Acts 7:48), but neither did God fail to notice the people’s inattention to what should have been their top priority. These were people who had let their minds wander, and their actions followed.
But God is merciful. Though his people were defiled and though they hardly recognized what was right anymore, he prepared to bless them. He asked just one thing of them: Think. Think carefully. Think about the way your life is playing out. Do you see how you are struggling? Well, of course you’re struggling. You’ve made worship of me secondary.
Friends, we may be New Testament people, but Old Testament teachings still cry out to us. Jesus is our king, the lover of our souls. So we have all the more reason to give careful thought to how we are living before him. Consider it this day and every day. Love the Lord your God with all your mind.
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Jeff Hopper
October 7, 2019
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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