King
James Bible Daily Devotion – Learning
Scripture One Day At A Time
Date: Tuesday,
September 29, 2015
Chapters: The Book
of Malachi https://imfollowingjesus.com/Bible-Reading-272.html
Message
Title: Loving
God Wholeheartedly

Hello My Friend,

The
Book of Malachi is the thirty-ninth book of the Old Testament/Bible,
the final book of the Old Testament, and contains four chapters. The
author of the book is Malachi and it was written to Israel. The
timeline for these events took place approximately between 440BC and
410BC. The purpose of the book was to call Israel to repentance and
return to righteousness in order to restore the nation, calling great
emphasis on the Levites. What we are to learn from the book is, it is
not enough to turn to God, we must turn to Him wholeheartedly. “If
ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory
unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon
you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them
already, because ye do not lay it to heart.” -
Malachi 2:2.

Many people want God in their lives, the
problem is they are not willing to do what is necessary to make Him a
part of their lives. Malachi was the last of the
Old Testament prophets, he would be the last prophet for over four hundred years. When the Jews in
Babylon chose to return to Jerusalem they were not expecting a
disaster, but that's exactly what they got, a city in ruins and under great corruption. They begin
questioning God's judgment, but through
Malachi, God tells them exactly why the
city is in such a mess and why He is angry with them.

“Who
is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither
do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in
you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at
your hand. For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of
the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every
place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for
my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.
But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is
polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible. Ye
said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it,
saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the
lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this
of your hand? saith the LORD. But cursed be the deceiver, which hath
in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a
corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my
name is dreadful among the heathen.” - Malachi 1:10-14.

Ye
brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick.
Here's the situation, if a person wanted to be clean of their sins
and pardoned for them, they were to bring, unblemished animals, this
means they were not to have any cuts on their skin, no broken bones
or sickness in them. These people were bringing sacrifices that were
blemished, they wanted God in their lives, but were not willing to
come to Him wholeheartedly. This is the same as a person who goes to
church, pays tithes, volunteers, even becomes part of a church, but
never receives Christ. We are blemished, stained, broken, full of
sin, we cannot go before God unless we come to Him wholeheartedly.
Christ makes us blemish free, He allows us to be able to stand before
God, but unless we come to Him wholeheartedly He cannot. “For
God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that
the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not
condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he
hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
- John 3:17,18.

He that believeth on
him is not condemned, those of us who are saved do not have
anything to worry about with our salvation. Those who serve Him in
His church are truly blessed, and pretty good at showing God that
they are faithful to Him and love Him with all their heart. As much
as we would like to admit that we are one hundred percent
wholehearted toward God, the truth is, we are not. Let's face it,
life happens and as long as it does our heart is not always going to
be completely on God, and when that happens we can expect affliction
from God. This happens to both laymen and servants of God. Now, not
only were the laymen complaining about God, so were the priests, God
calls them out and tells them why He was angry with them.

“For
the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law
at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. But ye
are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the
law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.
Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the
people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial
in the law. Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say,
Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil
is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or,
Where is the God of judgment?” - Malachi 2:7-9,17.

For
the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law
at his mouth. Those who serve God in and out of His church as
pastors, missionaries, teachers, or even laymen are to be godly
examples. Their lips should be knowledgeable in the things of God and
the should seek to know and teach them everywhere we go. Every
one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, church
leaders who disregard God's Word and condone corruptible actions in
the church face severe judgment from God. Everything is not good in
the sight of God, we must never condone sinful behavior in our
churches, it will cause great confusion. “If
any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most
by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. But if there be
no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak
to himself, and to God. For God is not the author of confusion, but
of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” - 1Corinthians
14:27,28,33.

The Jews enjoyed all the same privileges and
advantages, there were many of very different characters, some very
good and others very bad, some plainly appeared to be the children of
God and others discovered to be the children of the devil (under his
control) himself. Those who are God's kids are written in His book
and shown as they fear, respect and honor Him. God knows who are His,
even if they had gotten away from Him, He will bring all His kids to
that realization and will also teach them to know the difference
between a true preacher and one that is lying. Through Malachi, God
reveals the book of remembrance.

“Ye
have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we
have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before
the LORD of hosts? And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that
work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even
delivered. Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another:
and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was
written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought
upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in
that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man
spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and
discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that
serveth God and him that serveth him not.” - Malachi
3:14-18.

People look to men and women who know God for
guidance and direction, but when they are not reading and following
God's Word themselves all they are doing is deceiving those who are
truly trying to live for God. Heads up to those religions who use
other books as God's Word, if churches do not encourage you to read
the Bible or read from the Bible themselves in the church service
then they are deceiving you. A good sign that you are not hearing the
true Word of God is how they preach the Gospel (the death burial and
resurrection for the remission of sin). No one written in the book of
remembrance also known as the book of life will be saved from
judgment. This is even found in

“For,
behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the
proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day
that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it
shall leave them neither root nor branch. But
unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with
healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of
the stall. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the
coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And
he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart
of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth
with a curse.” - Malachi
4:1,2,5,6.

Today's Prayer:
God, We can live in such a way that our limitations define us and
guide us in all that we think, do, and say to the point that we feel
like prisoners. Or we can recognize our true freedom when You
accomplish Your will in our lives as when we humbly serve You. The
constraints we place on ourselves can be lifted by the power of Your
Holy Spirit as we wholeheartedly devote ourselves to You and Your
service. In Jesus' name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am
praying for you,
Christina

Subscribe To Our Devotions:
https://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Do
You Know For Sure You Are Going To Heaven?:
https://godsprice.com/
Visit I'm Following Jesus:
https://imfollowingjesus.com/index.html
Like I'm Following Jesus On
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength
Copyright
© 2015 I'm Following Jesus, All rights reserved.