Focus
Stop and thank God for being present with you today. Ask for God’s guidance as you hear God’s voice through scripture and the writer.
Read
6 For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, have not perished. 7 Ever since the days of your ancestors you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, “How shall we return?”
Do Not Rob God
8 Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, “How are we robbing you?” In your tithes and offerings! 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me—the whole nation of you! 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. 11 I will rebuke the locust for you, so that it will not destroy the produce of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not be barren, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all nations will count you happy, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.
13 You have spoken harsh words against me, says the Lord. Yet you say, “How have we spoken against you?” 14 You have said, “It is vain to serve God. What do we profit by keeping his command or by going about as mourners before the Lord of hosts?
Reflect
The fight of complacency is a real one in the church today as it was for Judah in Malachi’s day! We become complacent! Then, we do not give God our absolute best just leftovers in our time, talents, and monetary gifts!
The people of Judah were giving God blemished sacrifices, and the spiritual leaders were approving of these blemished sacrifices. So not only were the people complacent, but the spiritual leaders were as well! Oh my, what a scary place to be in! As a spiritual leader, one of my prayers is that I will not become complacent and just go through the motions. I do not want to be the one who is misleading the flock that God has entrusted me!
God told Judah through His messenger, Malachi, that they had a serious issue and they had not even realized it! “From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statues and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How are we robbing thee?’ In your tithes and offerings.” Malachi 3:7-8.
The thought of robbing God does not always cross our minds. We think that we are just busy and trying to keep our heads above water. The secret to keeping our heads above water is returning to God with our hearts set on Him! When we do this, we will give God our absolute best in all things, and we will stop robbing Him!
God truly deserves our best in every area of our lives! Let us ask ourselves today, “Am I truly giving God my absolute best or am I robbing Him?”
Pray
LORD of hosts, please set our hearts on fire for You! For if you grant us this request, our whole beings will want to give you what You deserve…THE VERY BEST! In Jesus name, Amen!
Go with God!
