Dr Paul Allen

Who was Haggai? Haggai 1:1–2:23 Little is known of Haggai other than he was a prophet raised up by God shortly after the remnant returned from Babylon under Zerubbabel, the account of which is recorded in Ezra. Haggai was obviously a man in touch with God and was therefore entrusted with divine communication for the people of his day. His ministry came with power, and arrested his generation, seeing them stirred-up to make adjustments. At the time of the return, great optimism for better days existed among the people of God. The quest for prosperity had resulted in a number of industrial initiatives being taken, which occupied the time and energy of the people but brought dismal results. In all of these material disappointments the people failed to take time to consider the reasons for this lack of success.  At this point Haggai is introduced on the scene and speaks with the ultimate authority; ‘thus saith the Lord of Hosts; Consider your ways’. The reason for all their labours bei...

From time to time over the centuries some Christians have taught, sometimes with tragic consequences, that a truly spiritual person never gets discouraged. To be cast down is, by definition, to be 'unspiritual.' Unless we are well-grounded in Scripture, it is very easy for us to be overwhelmed, confused, and even more discouraged by such teaching. This teaching certainly seems logical: if the gospel saves us, it must save us from discouragement! It also appears to be wonderfully spiritual. After all, are we not 'more than conquerors through him who loved us' ( Rom .  8:37 )? But this is not biblical logic, nor is it true spirituality . The gospel saves us from death, not by removing death, but by helping us to face it in the power of Christ 's victory and thus to overcome it. So, too, with sin. And similarly with discouragement. Faith in Christ does not remove all of the causes of discouragement; rather, it enables us to overcome them. We may experie...