Monthly Archives: November 2023

Abiding, Allegiance, Bible, Choices, God's Will, Loyalty, Obedience, Scripture

TURNING FROM THE WAY

MALACHI 2:8

“‘But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by the instruction; you have ruined the covenant of Levi,’ says the LORD of armies.”

Call me a nerd, but I like the Star Wars movies and the spinoff shows. One of the most recent spinoffs is “The Mandalorian.” The main character is basically an inter-galactic bounty hunter. I don’t have space here to go too deep into the plot and subplots of the show, but I wanted to mention part of his creed which is spoken at least once every episode. It is “This is the Way.” This creed guides his decisions and actions. He must maintain this “way.”

The priests of Israel have turned from “the way.” God says so right there in today’s verse. And their turning away has “caused many to stumble.” This goes directly against what we saw in the previous two verses (verses 6-7). God says they have “ruined the covenant.” That’s a pretty heavy charge against them. God does not make false charges, so we know this was true. We also know He is a covenant keeping God.

APPLICATION

One of my biggest fears as a Children’s Pastor was that I would do something to cause one of the children under my watch to stumble. Jesus said it well, didn’t He? In Luke 17:2 He said, “‘It is better for him if a millstone is hung around his neck and he is thrown into the sea, than that he may cause one of these little ones to sin.’” I don’t know about you, but I am sure I couldn’t swim with a millstone around my neck.

We have such a high responsibility as believers to lead others toward Jesus, not away. Most of us are so careful with what we do, but we do not always watch what we say as carefully. One little word could cause someone to shun a life with Christ. They are looking for something different in us, a life that is not perfect but is different.

May I encourage you to say “This is the way” as you live each day with Christ? Make your way a holy way. Make your way one that reflects Jesus. Make your way His way. If you do that, you will draw others to Jesus. They will see you as different and want to find out how to get what you have. Keep the Way.

Show me Your Way each and every day, Lord. I want to lead others in it.

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Allegiance, Bible, Calling, Commands, Decisions, Following, God's Will, Messages, Scripture

GOD’S MESSENGER

MALACHI 2:7

“‘For the lips of a priest should maintain knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD of armies.’”

I surrendered to full-time ministry at seventeen-years-old. Shortly after my salvation I heard God’s call on my life. I have to say that I didn’t really understand what that meant. Here I was a teenager who has given his life to serve the Lord wherever He may lead. Through all these years (I’m in my 45th year of service) I have never doubted His calling. It hasn’t always been easy, but I have always been one of His messengers.

In part two of my memory passage (Malachi 2:6-7), the Lord reminds the priest of two other responsibilities – that his lips should preserve knowledge and that people should come to them for instruction. Why? Because they are His messengers, sent according to His direction to lead the people of Israel. That was a weighty role and one not taken lightly.

APPLICATION

2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” The Greek word for “ambassadors” there means a trusted and respected ambassador who is authorized to speak as God’s emissary. So, we are given this responsibility as believers in Christ.

Therein lies the rub. Did you see what that word meant? It said an ambassador is to be a “trusted and respected” person. That’s where so many of us fall short. We don’t live our lives worthy of this calling. We don’t live trusted and respected lives. We don’t represent our God as we should with our lives, so our messages fall short.

I try to make sure my life is reflective of the Gospel every day. Do I always succeed? To be honest – no. Some days I fall short. I am not as Christlike as I should be. But I know my talk is only as affective as my walk. The same is true of you. Be God’s messenger. Be worthy of His calling.

I am honored to be Your messenger, Lord. Help me walk worthy of that calling.

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Abiding, Bible, Calling, Commands, Following, Justice, Peace, Scripture

THE ROLE OF PRIESTS

MALACHI 2:6

“‘True instruction was in his mouth and injustice was not found on his lips; he walked with Me in peace and justice, and he turned many back from wrongdoing.’”

When I read today’s verse, I said, “Hey, I know that verse.” Malachi 2:6-7 is one of the passages we memorize as leaders with our ministry, Every Man A Warrior. In fact, this passage was one of the very ones my boss drilled me on over and over. I have pondered this passage many times, so I am thrilled to share my thoughts with you.

The Lord is still speaking in today’s verse. He is reminding the priests of their roles. They were to have true instruction in their mouth. Nothing false should come forth. They were to ensure no words of injustice should fall from their lips. They were to walk in peace and justice, and most importantly, turn many from their sins.

APPLICATION

Did you know that these duties apply to every believer? Wait a minute, Carl. We aren’t priests. Oh no? God calls you that. You are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). Take a look at those expectations I just listed for the priests. Which of those would not apply to you? Speaking truth? Walking in peace and justice? Turning others from sin?

We all have the responsibility to do these things. God has given us an incredible opportunity in each of these. When someone comes to you for advice, where do you turn? There is only one true source – His Word. Point them there. When asked your opinion on a matter, make sure you are speaking justly according to His Word. Getting along with others in your daily walk is critical. And by all means, share Jesus with the lost.

We are truly God’s priests today. We have a holy calling to uphold. What a privilege it is to be given these opportunities. Allow the Lord to use you this week. Do your best to fulfill your duties as His priest in the world today.

You have given me a holy calling, Lord. I take it up freely.

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Belief, Bible, Covenant, Fear, Love, Reverence, Scripture

WHAT FEAR

MALACHI 2:5

“‘My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him as an object of reverence; so he revered Me and was in awe of My name.’”

There have only been a few times in my life when I was truly fearful. One of those times was on a very wet, muddy road up a mountain in Kenya. Another time was when I faced my first stem cell transplant. During both of those times I did not doubt the Lord or His presence, but for a fleeting second or two I began to rely on my own strength and not His.

The Lord reminds the priests that His covenant with Levi (specifically Aaron) was “one of life and peace.” It was everlasting. Then the Lord uses three different words that could be translated as “fear.” “Reverence” is mora which refers to a deed that should be feared. “Revered” is yare which means to be afraid, to hold in awe. And finally, “awe” is chathath, which gives us the picture of being prostrate on the ground. Do you think the Lord meant to say something about fear here?

APPLICATION

Fear still applies to us as believers, but not in a scary kind of way. No, our fear of the Lord rests in the love of Christ. Listen to these words in Isaiah 8:13. “Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself, and let Him be your fear and let Him be your dread.” Proverbs 13:13 says, “He who feareth the Lord will be rewarded.” And I love Ecclesiasticus 1:11. “The fear of the Lord is honor and glory and gladness and a crown of rejoicing.”

What is your fear based in? Do you fear life and all the uncertainties it brings, or do you fear the Lord and trust His protection and guidance? When we have that spiritually healthy fear of the Lord, we are able to rest in His goodness. If things are not going the way we want them to, we can still reverence Him and fear His name.

God does not want us to be scared of Him. That is not the kind of fear He is talking about. But He does want us to have a high regard for Him and His commands. He wants us to trust Him. He wants us to believe He will do what He says. Do you fear Him that way? Try it this week. As you pray, tell Him how much you honor and trust Him. Then let your reverence build.

Father, I fear Your name and hold You in the highest reverence and praise.

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Accountability, Allies, Belief, Bible, Covenant, Coveting, God's Will, Ransom, Sacrifice, Salvation, Scripture

HIS COVENANT CONTINUES

MALACHI 2:4

“‘Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, so that My covenant may continue with Levi,’ says the LORD of armies.”

Covenants can be made and broken. Marriage is a covenant between two people who pledge to remain with each other for life. If they are both believers (which is preferrable, by they way), this covenant is made before God. He makes it binding in His eyes, only to be broken in death. As a partner in this covenant, God will never break it. He has covenanted with both the man and the wife to help them sustain this covenant together.

God’s covenant He refers to here in today’s verse was specifically with the tribe of Levi, whom He chose to be the priest for Israel. He has been addressing their behaviors and lack of following Him over the last several verses. God desired this covenant to continue through their sons to show His faithfulness to them. God knows this priestly line will be replaced one day with the Messiah who comes from the tribe of Judah. But that is for another day. Right now, He is concerned with showing them His desire to keep this covenant strong.

APPLICATION

God’s covenant with us, of course, is through Jesus. He gave Him as not only the sacrificial lamb to cover all our sins but also as our High Priest. He fulfilled the Law. He is Lord of the Sabbath. Look at Hebrews 8:6. “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, to the extent that He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.”

What are those better promises? What is this better covenant? Christ died once for all men. No more goats, lambs, oxen, turtle doves, etc. or needed. No more blood is necessary to cover the price of our sins. Once we accept the sacrificial death of Jesus and recognize Him as Lord and Savior, that new covenant is sealed between us and God. His Holy Spirit seals us in.

Are you in covenant with Him today? If not, now is the time. He wants His covenant to continue through you. His Son died for you and wants to be your High Priest. This new covenant is forever. It is eternal. It will never end. You cannot break it once you enter into it, and He never will. Come on in.

Father, I praise You for my eternal covenant with You through Jesus Christ, the final sacrifice.

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Bible, Cleansing, Confession, Defiled, Forgiveness, Repentance, Scripture

NOW THAT WILL STINK

MALACHI 2:3

“‘Behold, I am going to rebuke your descendants, and I will spread dung on your faces, the dung of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it.’”

My uncle Hugh Lee was a pig farmer. He used to say you could eat everything on a pig except the squeal. He even meant the intestines which we know what is used for. To clean those was a smelly mess because you had to get rid of the fecal matter, the dung, before you washed them and cooked them. I have smelled a lot of these cooking. Let me tell you – I am not sure they got that clean.

The Lord tells the priests that He is going to take that fecal matter, the dung from the offerings, and spread it on their faces. This word for “dung” is used these two times in Malachi and the only other five times in reference to the instructions for making the sacrifices. So, these priests knew exactly what the Lord was talking about. Dung – stinky!

APPLICATION

I hate to ask if you have anything stinky in your life. Maybe you are hiding a secret sin that is starting to smell a little. Others are noticing. Your spouse may be questioning you. Your friends notice a change in you. Listen – sin stinks. It will come to light, sooner the later.

Moses told the tribes that wanted to stay on the west side of the Jordan in Numbers 32:23, “But if you do not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure that your sin will find you out.” When we sin, it is always against the Lord. I am reminded of Psalm 51:3-4a. “3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight;”

Those sins, my sins, need to be cleaned out. So does yours. We all have those stinky things in our lives that need to be confessed. Join me today and bow before the Lord. Ask His forgiveness. Accept the cleansing that comes and watch that smell disappear.

Thank You, Lord, for cleansing me from all my sin. That cleansing comes with a disinfectant. Praise You!

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Accountability, Belief, Bible, Curses, Emotions, God's Will, Heart, Knowledge, Scripture

I KNOW YOUR HEART

MALACHI 2:2

“‘If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name,’ says the LORD of armies, ‘then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart.’”

Unfortunately, I have had the bad experience of trying to help an employee in their work but knowing that they would not change. I had one employee in South Carolina like that. I gave her multiple opportunities to correct her behavior. Each time she promised to change, but I knew in my gut she wouldn’t. In the end I had to terminate her employment, never a fun thing.

The Lord begins verse 2 by warning the priests what will happen if they don’t listen and take to heart to give Him honor. But look how He ends that verse. He says, “because you are not taking it to heart.” The Lord knew them. He knew their heart. He knew they would not turn from their ways. So, the curse would come, and they would pay the price.

APPLICATION

1 Kings 8:39 tells us, “then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and render to each according to all his ways, whose heart You know, for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men,” God knows our hearts as well as He knew the hearts of those rebellious priests in Malachi’s day. Actually, we are not much different.

Wow, that’s kind of harsh, Carl. Harsh, but true. We settle for the blemished offerings instead of offering God our best. We whine and complain about things if they don’t go our way. How are we any different if we don’t trust God’s heart. That’s the key, isn’t it? We have to trust His heart to lead us and guide us.

That can be a challenge sometime. God can lead us to do something that we do not want to do. Or He may lead us to just wait. That’s even harder. Proverbs 21:2 reminds us, “Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts.” Don’t trust your ways, trust God’s. It’s always right.

O God, I praise You for knowing all things, including my heart.

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Accountability, Bible, Calling, Commands, God's Will, Holiness, Integrity, Judgment, Scripture

YOUR TURN

MALACHI 2:1

“‘And now, this commandment is for you, the priests.’”

Hearing the words that it is now your turn can be either delightful or terrifying. When the dentist says, “Okay, Mr. Willis, it’s your turn” I am a little terrified. I don’t like to go to the dentist. That’s nothing personal against the dentist. I just don’t like people in my mouth with power tools. And that whirring sound – now that is truly terrifying.

So, as we begin chapter two of Malachi, God is giving the priest a heads up. He says, “And now, it’s your turn, priests.” Actually, He says He has a commandment for them. We will see in the coming days what that is. (Hint, hint – it’s not good). Now, what is a commandment? Here, the better word would be “decree.” Listen up, priests.

APPLICATION

What is the Lord saying to us in this verse? Do you want to know what I found for me? God is calling me to attention. He is telling me to listen up, to pay attention, to do what He says. I know I am not a priest in the Old Testament sense of the word, but I  am a priest according to His word.

I Peter 2:9-10 calls us that. “9 But you are A CHOSEN PEOPLE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR GOD’S OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.”

Are you listening, priests? Are you obeying all He has commanded? Are you leading well? Each of those is an important question that we must answer ourselves. If you are a believer, God has called you into His priesthood. Priests lead others to worship. Will you do that?

Father, I am blown away by your mercy. You have chosen me to be Your priest. Use me, Lord.

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Agreement, Attitude, Betrayal, Bible, Covenant, Deceit, Defiled, Offering, Scripture

THE OLE SWITCHAROO

MALACHI 1:14

“‘But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King,’ says the LORD of armies, ‘and My name is feared among the nations.’”

I bet you have never done that, have you? You promised one thing, and at the last minute you switched it out for something of lesser quality. No, you wouldn’t do that, I am sure. But a lot of people do. There are a lot of swindlers out there. They will take you for a nickle. You had better watch out.

The Lord accuses the people of being swindlers. They switched out the appropriate sacrificial animal for one that was blemished. The Lord was outraged. He says, “I am a great King.” He deserves the best. He required the best. Nothing less would be accepted by Him.

ACCEPTABLE

Are you playing switcharoo with God? You promise one thing and deliver another. You say, “Oh God, I promise…” You fill in the blank. But then you get out of your predicament and decide to just go halfway with your promise. Something is better than nothing, right? Wrong! God demands your all, nothing less.

Deuteronomy 15:21 still applies to our offerings to God. “But if it has any blemish, if it is lame or blind or has any serious blemish whatever, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your God.” God still demands our best.

Psalm 96:4 tells us this about our God. “For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.”  So, why are you offering God less? Why are you promising one thing but giving another? Whatever you vow to Him, give it. God will surely bless that. Be true to God. He is always true to you.

Father, I promise to give as I have promised. I promised you all of me. That is what I give.

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Bible, Blessing, Humility, Obedience, Scripture, Service, Submission, Works

THIS IS TOO MUCH WORK

MALACHI 1:13

“‘You also say, “See, how tiresome it is!” And you view it as trivial,’ says the LORD of armies, ‘and you bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I accept it from your hand?’ says the LORD.”

I was blessed (yes, I said blessed) as a pre-teen and teenager to have some employers that were very demanding. I worked in the fields harvesting crops. I washed more cars than I could ever count at Walter Pollock and Sons. I hauled furniture for The Hand Trading company. All of these were very physically demanding. There were times I thought the work was too much. But I knew what my bosses expected, so I dug in and finished.

The Lord is accusing the priests in today’s verse of just whining and complaining. Truly, their work must have been tiring. They had to sacrifice all those animals, handle the blood and guts, burn it correctly and dispose of the ashes correctly. In Leviticus, God had laid out detailed instructions for offerings, and He expected the priests to follow them to the letter of the law.

APPLICATION

What is the “work” the Lord has called you to? Maybe you are called to serve full-time in ministry. You may be a doctor or lawyer. Perhaps you are a housewife and mom, struggling to manage the daily grind. Whatever it is, you can do this with the power of God in your life.

Are works necessary for a believer. Well James says this in James 2:20. “But are you willing to acknowledge, you foolish person, that faith without works is useless?” You really need to read more than just this one verse to understand what James in talking about. But obviously, he is telling us we need to do our work.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15, “12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13 each one’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each one’s work. 14 If   anyone’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only so as through fire.” Your work isn’t too much. Enjoy it for Jesus.

Father, give me the strength to work for You and show joy in the process.

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