One summer I spent a month in Bolivia, living with missionaries at a fledgling Bible school. Different jobs awaited me each day. Sometimes I cooked, cleaned, or did laundry. But every day I worked on construction projects. I loved learning all of the different tasks (okay, not the laundry!). One day, a pair of missionaries from another religion came to the school to tell us about their beliefs and to challenge ours. The thought of answering their questions intimidated me. I put my head down and kept working while a friend talked with them. I remember thinking, “I’m glad I don’t have to do that job!”
The prophet Malachi also had a task most would not envy. His job was to speak to Judah about their complacency and sin. Who wouldn’t love to do that?! Judah had returned from exile, and although they were back in their homeland they had begun to separate themselves from God. They openly questioned His love for them (Malachi 1:2), only to show their own waning affection by offering sacrifices that dishonored Him (Malachi 1:6-10). They were supposed to represent God’s love to the world. Instead, they were lazy and corrupt.
Today’s passage is an unhappy one. It explains how Judah dishonored God and broke their covenant relationship with Him. But these verses contain a truth about God that offers us hope: He’s committed to being known and worshiped in every nation (Malachi 1:11).
God wants a relationship with all people: “God our Savior . . . wants everyone to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:3-4). Though we often hear of violence and war around the world, and though we’re likely to meet others who will challenge our faith, we can give our worries to God. Malachi reminds us that one day He will indeed be worshiped by every nation.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Luke 2:21-39
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My friend in Bolivia returned from the conversation smiling, glad to have shared his love for Jesus with the visitors. I learned something from him that day. Read 1 Peter 3:15 and consider how you would talk with someone about Christ.
Next:
What gives you encouragement to share your faith with others? What fears or concerns about doing so will you bring to Him today?
Gary Shultz on June 11, 2017 at 6:16 am
Hi Andy: What gives me encouragement to share my faith, is the great satisfaction and joy I have to be a child of God. Like the people in the passage today, you cannot have a active growing relationship with God and give Him unworthy parts of your life and materials. I had to get over that, as I learned how great our God is, and to allow His hand to touch anything I have. To respond to God by shoving trash His way is a sure sign your heart is just going through the motions. I would also bet to say there is not much worth sharing from a life that views God so cheaply. I am concerned when I talk to others about how I represent God. I’m concerned that often the response is negative and have I repelled the person in the other direction. I am concerned that I will not present God in the way that I should. I don’t think saying nothing is the proper response either. So, we send a prayer for help wisdom and proper timing. Thanks Andy
remembered on June 11, 2017 at 8:48 am
Dear Brother Andy, Brothers and Sisters. I so very much appreciate your expressed desire to love and serve God. Your many comments and references to His faithfulness, and trustworthiness are truly inspiring. I certainly agree with the comment that “…one day He (God) will indeed be worshiped by every nation“.
You are undoubtedly acquainted with the following phrases of the “swearing in” of of a Witness in a Court of Law:
“Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give?
Oath: Do you solemnly (swear/affirm) that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, (so help you God/under pains and penalties of perjury)?
We can trust what has been written by the prophets, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God:
Revelation 14:7 is a clarion call for mankind to “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and WORSHIP HIM THAT MADE HEAVEN, AND EARTH, AND THE SEA, AND THE FOUNTAINS OF WATERS.”, and at the end of Creation, the Son of God, “by whom also (the Father) made the worlds” Hebrews 12:1, says in the 10 Commandments He spoke with His mouth on Mt. Sinai during the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt, saying that He shows “mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”
Had there been a change of the rest that remains for the children of God, “For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works….then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. Hebrews 4:8-10
In Matthew 12:8, and Luke 6:5, two disciples state that , “the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.” Jesus Christ worshiped our heavenly Father on the Seventh Day of the week, and rested in the grave . “went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. 53 And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. 54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on. 55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. 56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment. “…Joseph…of Arimathaea…went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. 53 And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. 54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on. 55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. 56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.”
Since Christ “rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.”, and nowhere in Scripture, by the Holy Ghost “moving” on “holy men of old”[(see 2 Peter 1:20, 21), “…no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”] is there ANY reference whatever to God changing the Sabbath to the first day in honor of the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
The prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah 66:22, 23 states that:
“…AS THE NEW HEAVENS AND THE NEW EARTH, WHICH I SHALL MAKE, SHALL REMAIN BEFORE ME, SAITH THE LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and FROM ONE SABBATH TO ANOTHER, SHALL ALL FLESH COME TO WORSHIP BEFORE ME, SAITH THE LORD.”.
vincenteb on June 11, 2017 at 5:34 pm
Lord God of all the earth the heavens and even the pit of hell Father this word is for me and it hurts me because ive let go and ive served myself and i have dishonored you by my sexual immortality ive did things deservi g of immidiate death Lord i dont deserve to live Lord i dont deserve to live Lord i dont deserve to live Lord i dont deserve to live I cant go on without your grace being made know and promised strength that you will receive me the moment i praise you with my last breath let the last breath i take be a powerful praise that would shake the earth beneath me!
remembered on June 12, 2017 at 9:00 am
Dear Vincenteb,
“…(God)…made (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; THAT we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
“…God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:19
“The Sincere Rescued From Deceptions—The means by which we can overcome the wicked one is that by which Christ overcame—the power of the Word. God does not control our minds without our consent; but if we desire to know and to do His will, His promises are ours: “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” “If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching.” Through faith in these promises, every man may be delivered from the snares of error and the control of sin.
Every man is free to choose what power he will have to rule over him. None have fallen so low, none are so vile, but that they can find deliverance in Christ. The demoniac, in place of prayer, could utter only the words of Satan; yet the heart’s unspoken appeal was heard. No cry from a soul in need, though it fail of utterance in words, will be unheeded. Those who will consent to enter into covenant relation with the God of heaven are not left to the power of Satan or to the infirmity of their own nature. They are invited by the Saviour, “Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me.” The spirits of darkness will battle for the soul once under their dominion, but angels of God will contend for that soul with prevailing power.” The Desire of Ages, 258, 259 (1898).
“…brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” Ephesians 6:10-18
James 4:5-10
Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Remember that you do not work alone. Ministering angels unite in service with every truehearted son and daughter of God. And Christ is the restorer. The Great Physician Himself stands beside His faithful workers, saying to the repentant soul, “Child, thy sins be forgiven thee.” Mark 2:5, A.R.V. margin.
Many are the outcasts who will grasp the hope set before them in the gospel and will enter the kingdom of heaven, while others who were blessed with great opportunities and great light which they did not improve will be left in outer darkness.
The victims of evil habit must be aroused to the necessity of making an effort for themselves. Others may put forth the most earnest endeavor to uplift them, the grace of God may be freely offered, Christ may entreat, His angels may minister; but all will be in vain unless they themselves are roused to fight the battle in their own behalf.
The last words of David to Solomon, then a young man, and soon to receive the crown of Israel, were, “Be … strong, … and show thyself a man.” 1 Kings 2:2. To every child of humanity, the candidate for an immortal crown, are these words of inspiration spoken, “Be … strong, … and show thyself a man.”
The self-indulgent must be led to see and feel that great moral renovation is necessary if they would be men. God calls upon them to arouse and in the strength of Christ win back the God-given manhood that has been sacrificed through sinful indulgence.
Feeling the terrible power of temptation, the drawing of desire that leads to indulgence, many a man cries in despair, “I cannot resist evil.” Tell him that he can, that he must resist. He may have been overcome again and again, but it need not be always thus. He is weak in moral power, controlled by the habits of a life of sin. His promises and resolutions are like ropes of sand. The knowledge of his broken promises and forfeited pledges weakens his confidence in his own sincerity and causes him to feel that God cannot accept him or work with his efforts. But he need not despair.
Those who put their trust in Christ are not to be enslaved by any hereditary or cultivated habit or tendency. Instead of being held in bondage to the lower nature, they are to rule every appetite and passion. God has not left us to battle with evil in our own finite strength. Whatever may be our inherited or cultivated tendencies to wrong, we can overcome through the power that He is ready to impart. The Ministry of Healing 174-176