Cindy Collier

How do you forgive when there is no remorseful apology because the person feels they have done nothing wrong? How do you forgive if you see no change in the person’s behavior and the hurt continues repeatedly, or if the pain they caused is so deep that it alters your ability to trust? Forgiveness is hard.

Worship can be defined as “the reverence or adoration that one shows toward something or someone; holding a person or object in high esteem; or giving a person or an object a place of importance or honor.” There are hundreds of scriptures in the Bible that speak about worship and provide guidance as to both who and how to worship.

It is a Biblical mandate that we worship God and Him alone. It is an act that is designed not only to bring honor to Him who deserves honor, but also to bring a spirit of obedience and submission to the worshippers.

But why do we worship, what exactly is worship and how do we worship on a day-to-day basis? Because this topic is important to God and is the reason that we were created, the Scripture provides us a great deal of information on the subject.

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The book of Haggai is a small two-chapter book of lessons. It is the story of how a sovereign God dealt with a people who allowed outside forces to turn their focus from the task that He had given them to do. It is a call to action. 

The book is included in the books of the Minor Prophets, and even though Haggai is contained in the Old Testament, it is filled with takeaway lessons that we can apply to our everyday lives. The book is about: 

- Hearing from God 

- Obeying God completely

- Keeping the focus on the job that God has given you to do even with discouragement from others

- Staying the course while putting your selfish desires behind your calling 

- Taking back what the enemy has destroyed

- Looking back at your history to remind yourself of God’s sovereign power over your life

- Being encouraged that God is full of grace and mercy and will wait patiently as we consider our sinful ways and return to Him.

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1 Samuel 1:27 says, “I prayed for this child and the Lord granted what I asked of Him.” Hannah yearned for a child; she prayed desperately that God would take notice of her and answer her prayer. And God did. He blessed her with a child who would become a spiritual leader in the nation of Israel. But, it does not always turn out like this; sometimes the prayer for a child is not answered like you want. 

To a young couple that is just starting out life together, having a baby is a joy and a big spiritual responsibility. But, what about that couple facing infertility? What about the one who has faith in God to answer prayer, but who is losing hope in the chance to have a child of their own? The book of 1 Samuel tells us the story of Hannah and her struggle with infertility. Let's take a deeper look at the meaning of this Bible verse and how it can bring us hope.

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A covenant is an agreement that involves obligations. It is a conditional promise or a promise with responsibilities. An example of this is: if you do this then I’ll do this or if you listen to me and do what I tell you to, then I will help you. 

Stop, look at me and listen! If you will just do what I say then I can help you! 

I must have said those words fifteen times and she was just not listening. It was like wrestling a wild beast to get the burweed stickers out of the fur of my dog, Chloe’s ears. If you have longhaired animals that like to run around outside, you know what I mean. When the burweed is in season, the stickers get matted in the fur of animals and can be very painful and difficult to pull out. For both of us. I tried to put limits on where she walked, I leashed her on a long lead and warned her not to get in the area where the burweed was flourishing but she did not listen and obey my instructions. Apparently she thought she knew best. 

After about the 14th time of telling her to stop, God finally whacked me on the head and said: “Cindy, I am trying to teach you a lesson here. Do you know how many times I have told you the same thing-to just stop, pay attention, listen, and obey my instructions and you will be okay?”

Uh-oh. Well, God…probably quite a few.

There are several major covenant agreements contained in the Bible – major promises from God to man. These covenants include the Noahic covenant, Mosaic covenant, Abrahamic covenant, Davidic covenant and the New Covenant. 

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