Malachi 3:7 Devotional Scripture - A Rich Relationship With God

From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes

and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,

says the Lord of hosts. But you say, “How shall we return?”  

Malachi 3:7

 

God’s respond to their question by saying, “Quit cheating me out of the tithes and offerings that are due to me” (Malachi 3:8b).  It is interesting that God chose to connect their returning to Him to their giving. The reason why He did that is because God knows that our heart is connected to our checkbook.  All throughout the book of Malachi, God is showing His people that their actions reveal their true heart towards Him and their lack of giving was no exception.

 In Luke 12:15, Jesus warns us to guard ourselves against every kind of greed because life is not measured by our possessions.  He knows that if we have the mindset, “Lord, if I only had a little bit more than I would be satisfied” we are treading on dangerous ground.

 

Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth

but not have a rich relationship with God.

 Luke 12:21

 

God is all about relationships. Your relationship with God and others is more important and more valuable than all of the possessions you could possibly store up for yourself.  Greed is something that will never be satisfied. It will continue to drive you harder, harder, until it destroys those things that are important.

Everything we have belongs to God, and when we give to Him, we are only giving Him what is already His.  He promises to meet all our needs and He wants us to trust Him in that. In Malachi 3:10,  God promises  that if we give to Him what is rightfully His, He will "open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it."  He said, “Test me on this and see if I won’t do this for you.”

Malachi 3:14-15 Devotional Scripture - What To Do When The Wicked Prosper

In Malachi 3 God accuses his people of saying terrible things about Him.  God tells them,

You have said, “What’s the use of serving God? What have we gained

by obeying his commands or by trying to show the

Lord of Heaven’s Armies that we are sorry for our sins?”

 Malachi 3:14-15

It was a spiritually dark time for Israel - the priests were drenched in corruption and wickedness seemed to be prospering. God’s people saw the prosperity of wicked and felt as though it was useless to serve God as long as those who didn't serve Him seemed to have it so good. When they saw the wicked rewarded and the righteous suffer, it made them think that God had forgotten their good. But in this chapter, Malachi promises that God will remember those who remain faithful to Him.

The day is coming when everything that is wrong will be made right. When Jesus returns and rules on this earth, evil will be quickly punished and this judgment will last for eternity. But there is great hope and great reward waiting for those who have believed on Jesus. Malachi 4:2 says that when we see the final resolution of all things we will be so happy that we will jump around like calves let out of a pasture.

We have a few cows on our property.  They summer in our field and winter at my parent’s place.  In the winter, when the cows are released into the field, they leap with joy because they are so happy to be at their winter home.  When they come back to our house in the summer they do the same thing. They always look so carefree and joyful leaping around our field.

When Jesus returns, that is what it is going to be like for those of us that have put our trust in the Lord.  The Lord will be like the warmth of the sun that brings healing, joy and wholeness. That is the truth that we need to focus on when we are tempted to believe the lie that the wicked are prospering and the godly are suffering. Jesus is coming back and when He does we will look at his judgments and say together, “True and righteous are Your judgments, God,” as we leap with joy as calves let out of the pasture.

Malachi 2:2 Devotional Scripture- Take God's Word To Heart

If you will not hear, and if you will not take it to heart,

to give glory to My name,” Says the LORD of hosts,

 “I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings.

Yes, I have cursed them already, because you do not take it to heart.

 Malachi 2:2

 During the days of Malachi, the priests and the people did not give honor to God’s name by living godly lives.  They would not hear the word of God and take it to heart so they were going to miss out on God’s blessings.  One of the blessings God promised them was a life of peace. God’s word was designed to protect us, to bless us and to make us flourish.  It teaches us what is true and it correct us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

This week I have been meditating on Rom. 13:8 and how I owe a debt of love to others.  Since I have experience God’s great love and grace towards me, I am to love others with that same unconditional, self-sacrificing love that I have received from God. I have also been meditating on 1 Cor. 6:19-20 which reminds me that I am not my own, I was bought for a price. At the cross, I see the high price which Jesus willingly paid to bear my sins. Because my body does not belong to me I don’t get to decide what I want to do with my time and energy. 

Since these verses have been mulling around in my mind, I found myself responding differently to situations that have come up in my life. An acquaintance of mine wanted me to help their family with an administration issue they were dealing with in their business.  My first gut reaction was, “Ugh, I don’t have time for this.” But then God immediately corrected my wrong thinking by bringing to my mind these scriptures that I have been meditating on. Who am I to decide what I do or do not do with my time and the gifts God has given me.  I am not my own.  I was bought for price.  I am here to do the Lord’s bidding and not my own. 

In correcting my thinking, in being transformed by the renewing of my mind, I was blessed.  I have peace in my heart rather than being irritated that someone is requiring my time and I am looking forward to loving on them and blessing them. As we become more grounded and rooted in the Word we receive God’s peace.  It is in our best interest to incline our ear to hear God’s word and take it to heart.

 

Romans 13:8 Devotional Scripture - Owe Nothing But Love

Owe no one anything, except to love each other,

for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 

Romans 13:8 

The one debt that is always outstanding is the obligation to love. The word used for love is agape, which signifies a deep, unselfish, love.  It means to love unconditionally and sacrificially as God Himself loves us. The reason why we have incurred this debt is because we ourselves have received God’s gracious love.  All of us are debtors to God’s grace.  As He has shown us love, we need to extend love to those around us.

This kind of love that we are talking about, this kind of debt that we owe has got to be something that God enables us to do. Man in his flesh cannot do it. We cannot muster up this kind of love in our own strength.  Rather, we pay this debt out of the limitless overflow of God’s love toward us.  It’s only after we have come to knows Jesus Christ that we have the capacity to deny ourselves and to love others as we should.  And it is only through His Spirit that we are able to love someone with this type of love.

In this passage, Paul echoes Jesus’ words as recorded in Matthew 22:37-40.

 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul,

and with all your mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  

And the second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.

 

We owed a debt we could not pay. Jesus paid a debt He did not owe. The fact that we are commanded to love indicates that it is something we can choose to do. Granted, it’s a lifelong growth process and we often fail to love as we ought. But love should be our diligent focus and over time there should be progress.

 

Malachi 1:6-7a Devotional Scripture - Are We Bringing God our Leftovers That Cost us Nothing?

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says to the priests: “A son honors his father, and a servant respects his master. If I am your father and master, where are the honor and respect I deserve? You have shown contempt for my name! “But you ask, ‘How have we ever shown contempt for your name?’⁷ “You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar."

Malachi 1:6-7a

The people and the priests disgraced God and His altar by offering defiled food to Him and animals that were blind, lame, or sick.  God rebuked them for neglecting the worship of Him and failing to live according to His will. Their relationship to God had become inconsequential.  Their worship was no longer from heartfelt adoration; instead it was a burden. By offering defiled and despised sacrifices they were saying, “How far can I get with my relationship with God without having to go all the way?” They wanted to do just enough to make sure their family was safe, their job was secure and a wall of protection was up around them but nothing more. They were obeying God but they really weren’t really obeying him.  What they brought to God was the leftovers that cost them little to nothing.

 If we give God only our leftover time, money, and energy, we repeat the same sin as these worshipers who didn’t want to bring anything valuable to God.  What we give God reflects our true attitude toward him. Our worship reflects what we believe about God.  Our obedience to God shows how much we value our relationship with Him.

We tend to believe that following God is supposed to make life easy and more comfortable but often that is not the case. Often, it takes hard work to live by God’s high standards.  But, if God is who He says He is than serving God is  more important to us that anything else, because we know that what we must give up is of little importance compared to what we gain – eternal life with God.

 

Malachi 1:2 Devotional Scripture - How Have You Loved Us, LORD?

“I have loved you,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, 'In what way have You loved us?' "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" declares the Lord. "."Yet I have loved Jacob."

Malachi 1:2

Malachi is the last word of the Old Testament and he is the last prophet of the Old Testament. The last message from God starts by declaring His love for His people.  Our translation of the word “love” does not do justice to the meaning of this Hebrew verb. The idea is "I have loved you in the past, I love you in the present and will continue to love you forever more." His love is an act of pure grace, not dependent on anything we have done. Israel was facing some tough circumstances. In view of their circumstances they replied to God’s declaration of love saying, "How have You loved us?" 

The implication of their question is that they deserved much better treatment than they had received. Instead of acknowledging God’s kindness and the grace that He has bestowed on them, they challenge God to produce proof of his love in a material sense. They forgot about his past kindness, as if they were so few, so small, and unworthy of taking notice.  All they remembered was the bad things that had happened. They had taken the blessings they had received for granted to such a degree that they questioned whether God had ever loved them.

None of us deserve God's love. God is perfect, and even in our best moments we still struggle with sin. And yet, He loves us so much that He sent His own Son to die for our sins. God loves us because he made us and he chose us.  Never assume God does not love you because of your circumstances. That is what the Israelites did in this passage.

Their example should be sober reminder to all who have enjoyed God’s blessings. Everything good and perfect in our lives is a gift coming down to us from God our Father. It is so easy to switch from an attitude of thanksgiving to “What have you done for me lately? Or, “If you loved me, you would give me this or that, God.” According to Malachi, the remedy to our questioning God’s love is to count our blessing one by one and give thanks to God for each one.

 

Genesis 25 Devotional Scripture - Esau Sold His Birthright For a Bowl of Soup

Gen. 25 tells the story of Jacob and Esau and how Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of soup. As the firstborn, Esau was entitled to a double portion of his father's possessions.  But Esau was tired, worn out and famished. The immediate pleasure of life was all that mattered to him. He reacted on impulse without a second thought of how it would affect his future.  Esau preferred the gratification of his physical appetite to spiritual blessings so he sold his priceless birthright for a bowl of soup.  Esau showed that he valued his life far above his inheritance. As believers our spiritual birthright is our right to inherit the kingdom of God.
 

 God has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.” Ephesians 1:3

 We are his adopted sons and daughters (Eph. 1:5).  He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding (Eph. 1:8).  We have been “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Eph. 1:13). As a believer in Christ that is your birthright.

People usually only sell something when they value something else more.

 

 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Matthew 6:21

 

Esau did not place a high-enough value on the birthright, so he sold it for nothing. God warns us in Hebrews 12:16 not to be like Esau and sell our birthright as cheaply as Esau sold his birthright.  Our birthright is valuable. We must think beyond the pleasures of the moment.  We must give up any sinful habits that have crept into our lives.  If we do not value our birthright more than anything in this world, than we will find ourselves selling it for our own equivalent of a bowl of soup.  

2 Peter 3 Devotional Scripture - What Kind Of People Ought You Be?

In 2 Peter 3, Peter cautions us to never forget Judgement Day–both its impact and its nearness.  Paul wrote the church to remind them to cling to the Word of God because mockers will come in the last days. These mockers, having rejected the knowledge of God follow their own passions with total disregard of any impending judgment.

Their primary scoff has to do with the coming of Christ. Their attitude is, “Where is the promise of His coming? You Christians have been telling us that God is going to intervene in history, punish the wicked, and destroy the earth.  There is no evidence that God ever has intervened in history; why should we believe that He ever will? Therefore, we can live as we please.”   The scoffers deliberately ignore one fact—the flood. God did intervene at one time in the affairs of men, and the specific purpose of His intervention was to punish wickedness. God judged the world in the flood of Noah, and the world is scheduled for judgment again when Christ returns. God has promised to end the history of ungodly men with judgment.

 

But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 

2 Peter 3:7

In view of what is in store for the world, Peter asks the church, "What kind of people ought you to be?"

Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found in Him in peace, without spot and blameless.

2 Peter 3:14

 

Knowing that we shall soon stand before God should create within us a desire to be without spot and blameless, that is, to be morally clean.  It should make us zealous to be found in a state of peace, not strife.  We should like our lives seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.  When Jesus Christ returns let us be found living as we are going to live during the Kingdom Age, holy to the Lord.

Zechariah 13:7 Devotional Scripture - Awake, O sword, against my shepherd

“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,” declares the Lord of hosts.  Zechariah 13:7

It is God the Father Himself who calls for the Shepherd (Jesus) to be struck.  The suffering of Jesus was ordained by God. God is the one that gave the command to strike the Shepherd. The last thing you’d expect would be that God would strike His own son, but that is exactly what happened. Make no mistake; Jesus was not a victim of circumstance or at the mercy of political or military power.  At any time He could have asked for and been sent more than twelve legions of angels.  But that would not have satisfied the divine plan. The Scriptures predicting of His betrayal, suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection had to be fulfilled.  The Father and the Son worked together at the cross to fulfill the Scriptures.

  

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, came to rescue His sheep. It was out of love that He allowed Himself to be taken and beaten. It was out of love He allowed Himself to be nailed to that cross. It was out of love that, on the third day He arose from the grave and ascended into Heaven.  And it will be out of love when Jesus comes back to receive all of His children to be with Him in Heaven.  

Out of love, God did not rouse his sword against YOU - He did it against His Son as payment for our sins. The deal is done. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus we’re now able to stand in God’s presence clean without blemish and without shame.