I didn't go to my lectures today, choosing to stay home and work on my CPU project instead. I think I'm almost finished with it, but I'll need to test it a lot more before the deadline next wednesday. In the evening we had small group from 8:30 to about 9:40, then the other guys went to the RSF to play volleyball.

I didn't go because I have a lot of work I need to get done, but then I couldn't find anyone to study with, so I think I'm going to go to bed and catch up on some sleep. It's 10:09pm.

The photos today are of the simple dinner Joseph and I ate this evening before small group. We had rice, chinese cabbage, and egg.

Devotion time questions:

Haggai 2

How does God encourage the remnants, as some of them may have been discouraged by what the new temple looked like compared to the temple built during Solomon’s reign?

God tells them that though the new temple may look like nothing compared to the old one, his Spirit remains with them and they should not fear. He promises that the glory of the new temple will be greater than the glory of the previous one.

What does this say regarding what God values?

It shows even more that it isn't materialistic actions like sacrifices, gold, temples, or other physical things that God desires from us, but our hearts. It would have been worse for the people had the new temple was more impressive than the old, but their hearts were farther from God.

In what ways am I overly impressed with things that human efforts can accomplish rather than God’s ability and his resources to fill his house with glory, whether that house is my life or the church?

An example I can think of is how sometimes I concentrate too much on how good a worship team and am impressed with how well their playing the praise, and get distracted from the actual praise.

In Confessions Augustine writes, "whenever it happens that I am more moved by the singing than by the thing that is sung, I admit that I have grievously sinned, and then I should wish rather to have not heard the singing."

When I am tempted to mourn the loss of the “former glory” of some work of God, what should be my response?

Reflect back on his glory and now on the glory of material things. Though the things of this world may lose their glory, his glory in unchanging.

Reflect on Jesus, “the desired of all nations,” the glory of God that came to be with us, and the peace that he came to grant.

Thoughts omitted here.

What would have been the lesson the people of Jerusalem learned from the fact that blessings stopped leaking away from the day that the foundations of the temple were laid?

When they sought their own blessings, they were left wanting, but when they put God first, blessings were abundantly given to them.

In what ways is it still true that blessings flow into my life through the body of Christ?

Thoughts omitted here.