Question: How do you respond when the Lord tells you to do something?
Well, I can imagine the thoughts that are going through most of your minds: “You do it, of course!”

Ah, but is that really the case? Or, do we often just make excuses, perhaps stalling, or attempting to deny that it was indeed the Lord who had spoken?
In the days following the captivity into Babylon, in fulfillment of a prophecy of Isaiah, there came a decree for the children of Israel to return to their land and to build the Lord’s house, the temple. Having been destroyed during the siege, this center of Jehovah worship was to be rebuilt with money from the empire, and to have restored to it all the rites and rituals of worship given to Moses by the Lord on Mt. Sinai.

This restoration project was undertaken with great enthusiasm - for a while. After approximately 16 years, however, it was abandoned. Using the prophet Haggai as His mouthpiece, the Lord addressed this situation:

“Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.”’ Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Consider your ways! You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages earns wages to put into a bag with holes.’” (Haggai 1:2,5-6 NKJV)

The people had a genuine problem. There apparently wasn’t enough food, drink, or clothing available. Their hard labors were not yielding the basic necessities of life, and thus in a spirit of apparent frustration they seem to cry through the passage, “Not now! Maybe later, when the opportunity is better suited, then we’ll build!”

God does not deny their circumstances. Indeed, He credits the people with correct observations. However, in verse 9 He exposes the people’s incorrect interpretation of their current experience (emphasis mine):

“‘You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?’ Says the Lord of hosts. ‘Because of my house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house.’”
Put very bluntly, God Himself was the source of their problems. Why? Because the people were not doing what He had commanded them to do. When the people forsook the Lord’s work in favor of meeting their own perceived needs, it was He that insured those needs were never satisfied.
Though this passage does not come right out and say so, I believe it is very safe and consistent with Scripture to add that if the people would choose to pursue what the Lord had called them to do, He in turn would care for these other concerns like food and clothing. Their problem wasn’t their circumstances, but their lack of faith, manifested in their lack of obedience.
Though the specifics vary with each individual, God’s command through the Great Commission to “build His house” is common to all His children. And yet, how often do we judge our readiness and opportunity to obey by the circumstances of life? Legitimate concerns of our families, jobs, finances, and time cause us to cry out with the Israelites, “I want to obey, but I cannot right now.” We therefore wait for a more “opportune” time, a time which may never come.

All the while, the Lord is calling for us to step out in faith and obedience, not taking our situation into account. Sounds unreasonable, doesn’t it? Almost irrational? From one perspective, perhaps. But let me go back to the opening question: what do you do when the Lord speaks to you?

Perhaps you have been feeling the tug of the Lord to do something, say something, or go somewhere. Perhaps, though, you have been looking around and saying to yourself that there’s no way that you can do it now, for there are other, more immediate and pressing needs to be met first.
Have you ever thought that it might just be the Lord, blowing your livelihood away? Waiting for that faith-full step of obedience?

The bottom line, therefore, is that we must all seek the Lord, and rest in His will, even if we can’t see how it will all come together.

May the Lord grant us all the grace to be quick in our obedience, “building His house”, and slow in our making of excuses.

In His Service,
Stephen Tecklenberg
President

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Goals & Objectives

For obvious reasons, one question that I get asked repeatedly as I travel around is “What is Eagle’s Nest Ministries?”.

In giving my answer, I typically will say that the best way to describe Eagle’s Nest is to describe our long-term vision which we believe the Lord has given us for the ministry.

The primary objective that has been on our hearts has been to establish a Christian Training Center: a one or two year, post-high school level Bible school. Our ultimate desire is that students would grow in their personal walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. As a means to that end we desire to provide a solid Biblical education in an atmosphere conducive to learning, combined with opportunities for application such as short-term mission work both at home and abroad.

We recognize of course that such an undertaking will only be possible as the Lord gives strength and wisdom to do so. Therefore we are making this a matter of concerted prayer, asking the Lord to reveal His specific will, and to enable us to move forward by faith when the time comes.

If God should lay it on your heart to pray with us about this vision, we would greatly appreciate it, and would be happy to keep you updated on progress that is being made.

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Ministry Report

Great Lakes Seminar Tour - On August 31, Steve Tecklenberg, Justin Glick, Brad Powell, Justin Shive, and Tim Morgan began the month-long tour of Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana with the Institute for Creation Research. Over 3000 people were reached in 26 different locations.

The featured speaker for the tour was Mr. Bill Hoesch, a research geologist at ICR. His two main presentations, “The Six Trade Secrets of Science”, and “Mount St. Helens: Evidence for Catastrophe”, posed a strong challenge to the traditional, evolutionary theories of origins so prevalent in our society today, and elicited responses ranging from scoffing by a few to enthusiasm by many.

In addition to the normal duties of overseeing administrative matters, the Eagle’s Nest crew was also given the privilege of conducting a children’s workshop at the Chinese Bible Church in Farmington Hills, MI. Using an Old West motif, they got the approximately 40 young people involved in a “Treasure Hunt for Truth”, discovering along the way little nuggets from science and history that pointed to faith in God’s Word. The children evidenced a great interest in learning, and were a joy to teach.