Take the FIRST STEP!

In the book of the Prophet Haggai in Chapter 2, we hear Haggai speak the Words that came to him from The Lord. God was asking 2 questions of the priests (1) Is holiness contagious? Can holiness be transferred from one thing to another? The priests answered, "No". (2) Can uncleanness, the opposite of holiness, be contagious? Can someone who is ritually unclean contaminate things that are holy? "Yes", the priests answered.

God told the people that they knew that since the Temple had been destroyed and not rebuilt, that the Temple had become contaminated and so had the people. Therefore, because the people were defiled, then so would their sacrifice be defiled.

However, in verses 15, 18, 19b...three times the Prophet Haggai announced that "from this day forward" things would be different. You see, something changed, the people took the "First Step" and the foundation stone, the cornerstone of the Temple was laid and as part of the ceremony, the Temple was rededicated, cleansing it from defilement, making it a functional holy space again.

The last sentence in verse 19, The Lord says this, "FROM THIS DAY ON I WILL BLESS YOU."

Despite our sin in this life, God still responds favorably to our "First Step" in the right direction. Throughout the Bible we see people that when they looked beyond their own selfish concerns, God jumped at the chance to reestablish a relationship with His chosen people.

Think about this...God is and has always been ready to jump at the chance to reestablish relationship with you...we just need to take the FIRST STEP!