Building God's house

Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? -- Haggai 1:4

Haggai the prophet confronted the people of Judah, after they returned from the Babylonian captivity, to remember God's house. They had spent their money and efforts to rebuild their own houses, but they left off doing God's work.

Let us consider that for our lives. Do we spend our time on our own houses, or do we seek to build God's house? What is God's house today? I think primarily, it is building the Kingdom of God. That is His house now. This was the subject of our Sunday School lesson this past week, and as I was studying it in preparation for the class, I was battling questions of my own. I was worrying about my finances and the future, and I got a gentle reminder from God to focus on building His house, and He will take care of me.

So, it's back to the work God has called me to do. I want to share with you a need we have. Please pray for Pastor Raffy Begafria and Shiloh Bible Baptist Church Tampilisan, Zamboanga del Norte. Right now, the church building has a roof and some columns, but nothing in between. The church needs walls, ceiling and flooring, and they want to build a parsonage. The church is meeting there in the partially built building, but they would like to have a completed building.

Now, our brothers and sisters in this part of the Philippines are praying for this work to be completed in time for their church anniversary, which is May 25. As we have said before, the church anniversaries are important outreach times. The day is marked by fellowship, food, guest preachers and evangelism.

The costs for the completion of the church building is 75,000 Philippine pesos, and the church is also praying for an additional 20,000 pesos for expenses related to the anniversary itself. In total, those expenses (95,000 Philippine pesos) are just under $2,200. The exchange rate varies, but as of this writing, the total was 2,192.88. So, we'll call it $2,200.

Please, folks, we ask you to join with us in praying for this need. This need is timely, because the anniversary service is just more than a month away. But we know God answers prayer, and we trust Him to meet this need.

If you feel led to do more than pray, we are so grateful to say, Love in Action Ministries is joining with us again to help us raise the funds. For those of you who forgot, Love in Action Ministries is a ministry to homeless people in Dothan, Ala. We are so thankful they are willing to collect the funds for us as we seek God to build our ministry. We at Homegrown Harvesters are not able to give tax receipts, but Love in Action Ministries is able to do so.

So, if you feel led to give to this need, please contact Love in Action Ministries . When you give, make sure to designate the funds for the Philippines. If you don't feel like looking at the website, here's the contact info:

Love In Action International Ministries, Inc.
P.O. Box 85
Dothan, AL 36302
334-494-4995
info@loveinactionministries.com

We say thank you again to Love in Action Ministries , and we encourage you to consider helping them out in their ministry as well. Please pray for their ministry to the "least of these." May God hear our prayers and answer out of His abundant grace!