EXPAND TO READ: MALACHI 3 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 14): Sadly, I must admit I’ve given into conversations like this and likely at times even said similar words myself. You say here that those who have spoken against You have said things like “it is useless to serve God” or like “what have we gained by keeping His requirements?” I am not proud to admit that I have said these things as well or been involved in conversations that were speaking the same things towards You without rebuking those speaking it. Please forgive me for my disobedience and immaturity, Father. Forgive me for giving into the enemy and the world on these matters. I know that a follower doesn’t always reap what they sow in this life, but our rewards in heaven are greater than we could ever imagine. It’s really easy to see myself as a follower putting in a bunch of work in line with what You want me to do but not receiving a commensurate reward and getting disappointed. Fortunately, You bring grace and joy to my heart no matter what happens in this life. Help me to be better at fully embracing You into my heart, Father, so that when I do things I do them because I love You not because I expect to receive something in return. Your grace over all the sins I’ve committed in my life is sufficient.
PROMISE (verse 1): The promise here is the ultimate promise You’ve made in my opinion. The promise of Your Messenger—Jesus. You promise us that You will be sending Him (at this point in the Old Testament). You promise us a “messenger.” It doesn’t say a king, a world defeater, or a ruler of any kind at this point in time. It quite simply says a messenger. What am I supposed to do with a messenger? Something that I have been quite horrible at doing in my life, yet something so simple—LISTEN! When a messenger comes I am to listen. Sounds quite simple, so I appreciate You keeping things simple for me, Father, but I know this is a struggle of mine, so please help me to become better at doing something as simple as listening, so I can fully receive this promise and the message that comes with it.
ATTITUDE (verse 15): I have been quite arrogant and done many “wicked” things throughout my life, Father. I don’t say this to be proud of it, I share this to ensure that I know I am being fully open with You about the things that I feel You have been revealing to me. Here You talk about the world thinks the arrogant are fortunate and that those who commit wickedness prosper. Sadly, this has become extremely true, even nowadays. The wealthy are the most arrogant out there not because wealth brings arrogance, but because it seems that you have no choice but to be arrogant to even become financially wealthy in today’s society. Help me to cleanse myself of this arrogance, Father, so that I can stay on the line of pride, confidence, and humility instead of delving back into my fleshly desire of wicked and harsh arrogance.
COMMAND (verse 10): Your command here is quite simple, yet most of Your followers, including myself, have struggled to truly be consistent at this throughout our lives. Your command is to always bring a tenth. Have I truly been committed to giving to Your kingdom throughout my life since coming to faith? I’d say yes, because I have a giving heart, but with a follow-up question: Have I truly been committed to giving a minimum of a tenth to Your kingdom? Unfortunately, I have not. I do commit a lot of time to Your ministry and I do have a routine tithe that goes to my church along with many other donations to faith-based organizations, but I am not sure if I can truly say that I am a minimum of a tenth in my giving as You have commanded in this verse. As I transition from being Active Duty military to being retired, Father, please help me to go into this new career and new path in my life with You as my focus. Help me to better balance my finances and time so that I may be able and willing at all times to truly give a tenth of all that I am to You, Father.
EXAMPLE (verse 7-10): I really love the question & answer session You are doing here because You are really giving them clear examples of things they have failed at in their faith. You aren’t saying any of this to completely disgrace or demean them, but to rescue them. I am guessing that they do not truly see what they are doing wrong, just as I had been stuck for many, many years in my marriage and life in general. By giving them practical and eye-opening responses as You did here, they can truly understand exactly what they have been doing wrong for so long, which has changed bit-by-bit throughout the generations. Help me, Father. Help me to embrace the answers to the questions I ask just as much, if not more, than I’ve embraced the wrong I’ve been living in for so long. Help me to be good with whatever Your response is to any of my questions, even if I feel convicted or attacked from Your response. I know that Your wisdom, teaching, and convictions towards me are for my good, so I must be better at accepting the criticism and commands from You at all times instead of when I pick-and-choose to do so.
*DAILY NOTE: Thank You for today’s great message, Father. Malachi’s chapters are so short, but I get so much out of them. I did not expect to receive so much out of this very short book, yet here You are proving me wrong yet again. When will I stop being surprised and amazed when You prove me wrong in various ways, Father? Probably never, I know. Just like a son towards his father, the father must always be willing to give advice know that the son will not always accept it. Thank You for today’s conversation and message, Father. Although the final chapter of Malachi is EXTREMELY short, I felt it in my heart to stop with chapter 3 today, so I look forward to seeing how powerful Your message can be in such a short message tomorrow morning, Father.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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