“The old gray mare, she ain’t what she used to be, ain’t what she used to be, ain’t what she use to be, the old gray mare, she ain’t what she used to be, many long years ago.”    The old gray mare is an old folk song penned around 1843, based upon the performance of the horse Lady Suffolk.

Well, no disrespect, but none us “ain’t what we use to be,” physically speaking that is.   That can be very discouraging too, if we look at our lives only in the physical sense, but the bible encourages us to “do not lose heart.  Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day…for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal!” (cf. 2 Corinthians 4: 16-18)

Praise the Lord, through the new birth (via repentance and faith in Jesus Christ) we have a glorious present and even more glorious future!

The prophet Haggai was trying to get God’s people to realize this.  They had once seen the magnificence of Solomon’s temple, which had been destroyed and the present temple “wasn’t what it use to be.”  But what brought glory to the temple, past, present and future, was not the physical but the Presence of Christ!   What is the state of God’s house?  - glorious if Christ’s presence is there!  What is the state of your house (God’s temple)? - glorious if Christ is in you!  What is your future state? - glorious, because Christ will be there!  - “ Christ in you, the hope of glory!” 

(cf Colossians 1:27)

In His Service,

Pastor Rodney

inCHRISTalone