God is calling His people to come up higher.

        In the book of Haggai, God asked the returned exiles why they were living in luxurious homes, while His house lay in ruins. God told them that because they were not rebuilding the temple, although they planted much, they harvested little. They ate, but weren’t satisfied. They drank, but were still thirsty. They wore clothes, but were cold. Their wages disappeared as if they were putting their money into pockets with holes.

        Then God told His people to go up higher – “’...to go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lord’” (Haggai 1:8 NLT).
God is telling us as believers to go up higher in the advancement of His Kingdom.

       The apostle Paul wrote, “...but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own” (Philippians 3:12 AMPC).

       Like the apostle Paul, God has given each one of us a specific calling and the anointing to fulfill that call. “For by the grace [of God] given to me I say to everyone of you not to think more highly of himself [and of his importance and ability] than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has apportioned to each a degree of faith [and a purpose designed for service]” (Romans 12:3 AMP).

       The captain of a ship cannot steer a vessel tied to the dock. Likewise, God cannot direct us if we refuse to step out in faith. Jesus said, “Don’t you have a saying, ‘Four more months and then the harvest?’ Well, what I say to you is: open your eyes and look at the fields! They’re already ripe for harvest!” (John 4:35 CJB).

          Some may declare, “we’re not ready.” Were the believers ready on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell on them and approximately three thousand souls put their faith in Jesus as their Saviour? No, they weren’t prepared. But empowered by the Holy Spirit, they learned as they went. The same is true today because our God never changes.

            Across North America and around the world, God is softening hearts. We must not miss this opportunity. As believers, we need to ask God to show us our part as one of the harvesters, and then be obedient. He has made us for such a time as this.
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            Let’s share the good news of the Gospel with love, discernment, and compassion. And let us not forget the battle has already been won, “..for the One who is living in you is far greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4 TPT). May we obey God’s command to go up higher to extend His kingdom for His glory.

            “Therefore, you are to store up these words of mine in your heart and in your very being. Tie them on your hand as a sign; put them at the front of a headband around your forehead...” (Deuteronomy 11:18 CJB).

            When my husband and I were in Jerusalem, both in 2010 and 2019, we saw Orthodox Jewish men wearing small, black leather boxes called tefillin on their foreheads and non-dominant arms. Also known as phylacteries, they contain scrolls of parchment with the writing of specific passages from the Torah (first five books of the Hebrew Bible). These Jewish men are obeying God’s command in Deuteronomy 11:18.

            Thinking about this brought a question to my mind. When the storms of life hit, what is the first thing I do? Do I run to God’s Word, or do I try to figure things out myself? Each of us needs to spend some time answering those questions.

            One of the goals of Satan for the believer is to dislodge us from the Word of God. He’s been doing it since the Garden of Eden. “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1 NKJV).

        If the evil one can plant seeds of doubt in our mind about the veracity of God, while whispering lies at the same time, and we succumb, he wins. When satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus always answered, “It is written” and quoted from God’s Word.

            So, though we may not wear phylacteries, let’s carry God’s Word deep in our spirits.

            When the world distracts and confuses, let God’s Word shout louder

            “We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ” ( 2 Corinthians 10:5 MSG).

            When we’re overwhelmed, let His Word focus us.

            “For wherever I am, though far away at the ends of the earth, I will cry to you for help. When my heart is faint and overwhelmed, lead me to the mighty, towering Rock of safety” (Psalm 61:2 TLB).

            When faced with weighty decisions, let His Word lead the way.

            “I will teach you and tell you the way to go and how to get there; I will give you good counsel, and I will watch over you” (Psalm 32:8 VOICE).

            Dear God, our prayer is that You imprint Your Word deep into our innermost beings.