Good day to all on this GLORIOUS Sunday in October. Waine and I are in Thomaston and just as the kids say "chillin'". Aleron is a Board Certified Internist--Praise God! We found out last week that he passed his Internal Medicine Boards. God is good all the time and His GRACE and MERCY abound. Waine and I are so very proud of him. We are now praying that God will bring a Christian woman into his life so that we can enjoy his children much like we enjoy our other grandchildren. Please continue to keep Waine and I in your prayers.
I am continuing my journey in Malachi 2 verses 1 - 17, "And now, you priests, this warning is for you. If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor My Name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me. Because of you I will rebuke your descendants; I will smear on your faces the dung from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it. And you will know that I have sent you this warning so that my covenant with Levi may continue, says the Lord Almighty. “My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin. “For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth. But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi,” says the Lord Almighty. So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law. Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another? Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves by marrying women who worship a foreign god. As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord remove him from the tents of Jacob—even though he brings an offering to the Lord Almighty. Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because He no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the one God made you? You belong to Him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth. “The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,”says the Lord Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful. You have wearied the Lord with your words. "How have we wearied Him?” you ask. By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased with them” or “Where is the God of justice?” Amen and may the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.
Clearly the Lord is not happy with these priests. Instead of preaching the Word of God these guys are busy pumping themselves up and spreading false doctrine. They were preaching untrue doctrine and causing the Jews to stumble. Instead of preaching the Truth of God, they instead were preaching their own brand of truth. God was so upset He cursed the lot of them and their descendants but DID NOT break His covenant with the people of Israel. God always keeps His covenants--He is the one thing you can count on and as you exercise your faith by acting on His promises the Blessings come down, press down and multiplied. Not because of any ACTS that we might do. God doesn't look at our behavior--He looks a our hearts. He doesn't banish us from the Kingdom because we fail. Our failures can actually exalt Him because it is usually though our failure that we realize the Love of God in a very real and personal sense.
To all of us Teachers of the Word. We are held to a higher standard. If you feel like you have the anointing to teach the Word of God, pay special attention to your heart and motivation. If there is no forgiveness in you; if you have false pride; if you are puffed up in your own aggrandizement this particular passage is for you. We are to be humble and let the love of God shine through so that others may come to know Him and to experience His love for them. We are to minimize ourselves and glorify the God of the Ages. The God that made a covenant with mankind and has kept that covenant even when we sinned. To know Him is to Love Him. To love Him is to Serve Him. To serve Him is to love you.
Have a Great week. Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. May he Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
Stephanie
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