with meditations by my mother, Poetess Gertrude Sanborn
September 30
Matthew
1:1--Matthew 4:20
TRUTH: A NECESSARY ATTRIBUTE!
Malachi 3:10
"Prove me now
herewith, saith the LORD of hosts. . ."
AS WE READ THE BOOK OF MALACHI, WE
ARE STRUCK WITH THE BEAUTY OF THE COMPOSITION, AND HIS
USE OF WORDS. MALACHI WAS A "WORD SMITH"! "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." (I Peter 1:21)
Malachi spoke after HAGGAI’S and
ZECHARIAH’S prophecies ceased. For some reason, Nehemiah
was not there.
Nothing much is known about the
personal life of MALACHI except his name means "MY
MESSENGER." And he was. MALACHI proclaimed hard
sayings. One hundred years had passed since those
who heard him had returned from their seventy-year
Chaldean captivity. A Persian governor was their ruler.
The TEMPLE had been rebuilt. The worship of the LORD God
was a ritual with little-to-no-meaning to many. Their
sacrifices were poor and their incense was offered to
anybody and to anything.
We should realized that after Malachi
put down his pen, no more prophetic words were spoken
until the birth of the LORD JESUS CHRIST (Matthew
2:1-2). That time is known as the 400 silent years!
MALACHI SPOKE FOR TRUTH, AGAINST
DIVORCE, AND ENCOURAGED TITHING.
TRUTH IS A NECESSARY ATTRIBUTE FOR
THE BELIEVER(Matthew 19:18). The old Testament priests
were to have the "law of truth" in their mouths!
(Malachi 2:6) The born-again believer is in a"royal
priesthood," too! (I Peter 2:9)
Today in this "post modernism"
age, people practice their own "truth." Even those who
name the name of Christ "lie" and say it is
"truth." Their "truth" may not be your
"truth"! Someone can tell a lie with a straight
face-–because it is her " truth." It may be as
false as a counterfeit bill, but she says it is
true–even if it isn’t! Thou shalt not bear false
witness against thy neighbor! (Exodus 20:16) is
still in the Bible!
The LORD hates divorce (Malachi
2:14-17)! Have you ever wondered why? It behooves us to
see "divorce" from God’s eyes. I believe God’s
distaste for "putting away"is because Israel,
in the Old Testament, was His "wife." Israel had
committed "spiritual" adultery" with other gods
over and over again. GOD HATED IT!
In the New Testament, "saved
people"are the "BRIDE OF CHRIST." A marriage
between a man and a woman is a picture of the union that
Jesus Christ had with His "bride" (Ephesians
5:22-33). That "oneness" can never be broken. A
Christian cannot lose his or her salvation! When there
is a "divorce," the "holy union"is broken!
The perfect picture of Jesus Christ and His Bride is
marred. Did you ever realize that your marriage pictures
the spiritual union the believer has with the
Lord Jesus Christ? When a divorce occurs that
"picture" is marred. GOD HATES DIVORCE!
WILL A MAN ROB GOD? That
surprising question was asked to those who "claim"
to love God! (Malachi 3:8) What pretense some have,
as to their love for HIM. As long as it does not touch
our pocket books, we love Him. We would not take a gun
and point it at God, demanding money from his treasury.
Yet, God says we have done so. How? In tithes and
offerings!
It is amazing to me, how some church
goers can attend church regularly and never put anything
in the offering box. Yet, they enjoy the services. They
ask for special prayer. They share their lives with the
pastor and fellow-members. Why--in lean times,
they ask for " help." Their car is broken, or their rent
is due. Yet, when God blesses them financially, they are
irregular in "giving."
In truth they are robbing God! If He
was displeased with the Israelites lack of "giving"
in MALACHI’S time, how much more is He displeased with
us today in this "age of grace"? GOD CHALLENGES
US TO PROVE HIM!
He promises to "OPEN THE WINDOWS
OF HEAVEN WITH UNEXPLAINED BLESSINGS!
THE TRUTH IS, GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL
GIVER! (II Corinthians 9:7)
ARE YOU ONE? (ysw)
"GOD
FOR ME"
(Job 23:6, II
Corinthians 12:9)
Will He plead
against me? No, He will put strength in me!
God is for us in
all He allows.
Whatever He
allows is all right–always.
What strength is
needed for what He allows.
HE PROVIDES.
The Lessons we
must learn in our problems and trials is that
HIS GRACE IS
SUFFICIENT.
In trials don’t
ask, "WHY?"
Ask ‘WHAT ARE
YOU DOING, LORD?"
(ggs)
And Sarah
heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he
said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly
return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo,
Sarah thy wife shall have a son. (Genesis 18:10)
AN IMPORTANT CONFERENCE:
Make plans now to attend the 33rd annual meeting of the Dean Burgon Society.
The theme of this years conference is the four hundred anniversary of the King
James Bible. The date for the meeting is July 27-28, 2011. The place
is Collingswood, New Jersey. This is a meeting you do not want to miss.
Please arrange your schedule to be there in person. To view the 2010
conference please follow this link: http://www.deanburgonsociety.org/Videos/dbs2010.htm
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