Jesus knew that His presence could be with each one of His followers in a spiritual sense forever. Sometimes it would be more real than others. But they were to stay awake and to look for Him everywhere, knowing that He was there, even if they could not see Him.

Many Christians today have had that experience. They have listened to a message, in church, and suddenly been struck by their guilt, realising why there was something wrong in their lives. Maybe not enough funds for their needs, maybe sickness or confusion about some serious decision, maybe a relationship problem.

We get the picture that The Almighty Lord does not do things by halves. It seems to me, that in these verses He is like a furious parent who decides to withdraw ALL privileges from a wayward child. Many of us have experienced that ourselves or with our own children.

No-one wants to be told that the mess the world is in is our fault! We much prefer to be told that we will be blessed. That God will do things for us personally and all will be well. But sometimes God must go to extremes to get our attention.

Deep in our hearts, most of us know we should put God first in everything, but how many of us really do that? Many of us spend a time in prayer, then rush into our daily activities without giving Him a second thought! He would appreciate more attention than that!

God gave very clear instructions here, they were not to take the wood from any nearby trees, maybe there were not too many nearby, but to go up high and take the stronger timber that had already withstood the weather, and would be better for the construction of His house.

This is a repeat of the verse we read yesterday. It is a repeat because God was making His point. He did not want people to forget it. He was not having a bad day and had not really meant what He had said, which happens to many of us.

The Israelites had been settled for about 16 years and were very happy to be finished with living in exile. At their return they had begun to rebuild the temple, but then had become distracted by their own needs, and not got round to finishing the house for The Lord.

Today many are thinking we should not be building huge churches, but having much smaller ones in homes. Or using other buildings such as schools or community rooms. In many parts of the world, church is an open air event in a clearing in the forest, or in a park.

The thing that strikes me in these verses is not the timing, so much as the fact God was listening and hearing! A good thing for us all to remember! He overhears all our conversations! According to Hebrews 4:12 He knows, and judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart!