Thoughts on Malachi

As a church we are walking through the book of Malachi this summer. I have read it before, we never examined to fully integrate and adjust my life to its truth. What a great little book. Here are some highlights and things I learned in chapter 1.

• The Priests
  

The religious leaders had allowed things in regard to worship to really fall apart. While they were still going through the motions of worship and the sacrifices, they were not doing them as God had instructed. They were offering garbage as a sacrifice and calling it okay. A question for us all: Where are you and I offering garbage to God in our worship and calling it okay? Will we do something about it?

• The Love of God and Loving God
  

We so often ask God, "Do you love me"? We usually ask this when things are not going our way, because if God really loves us then He would see that things go our way. You know, we are the most important thing to him? Do you ever wonder why we so seldom, if ever, ask God the question, "Do we love you, God"? "Is it clear to you God that we love you authentically"? Furthermore, we get mad at Him when we haven't loved Him nor obeyed Him and He is not blessing us. Do you find it as interesting as I do that the Father loved us so much to send us Jesus and to see His one and only Son brutally murdered and we have the gall to ask, "God, do you love me"? He has made it clear. We are so messed up!

• Mediocrity at the Top of Spiritual Leadership

The priests allowed the sacrifices that were garbage and since they did not take serious God's Word, the people eventually did not take God's Word serious either. Mediocrity at the top will drift down, but a passion for holiness will lift the people up to the standard. The problem in the church as a whole today is that we don't value the character of the ministers more than we care enough that they can perform and get it done or that they have a winsome personality. Further proof how we do not get what he is about and what he values. Also, I think that some spiritual leaders do not keep the bar of the truth set high because people complain, talk behind your back, and are simply not wanting to follow God. We as spiritual leaders cannot lower the bar even if it means that it makes you unpopular.

• God does not Accept Mediocrity

As much as it may make us feel good to ignore what God says about the issues of our life in His Word, we need to remember that He does not ignore us when we ignore Him. If our worship is just an afterthought, then we are not offering God our best.


I love that the word of God is still absolutely relevant to our time today after thousands of years. It is further proof that God's Word is eternal.