Can You Do It?

image courtesy of crosscards

Malachi spoke to the Israelites concerning their putting God last in their lives, or not at all!

Chapter 1 can be summarized by saying that our time, our talents (giftings) and our treasure (money or material goods) belong to God.  And He deserves the best of those things!

The people were not giving God the purest offerings.  They were leaving those for themselves.  God deserves our very best!

God deserves time with us.....He created us to be in fellowship....communion...with Him!   The way we do this looks a little different for each person.  Today it might be spending time in prayer...talking with Him.  It might be reading His Word and meditating on it and then sharing what you have gleaned from it with another person who needs to be encouraged, or comforted, or advised.

It means worshiping Him with a pure heart.

God also deserves our talents.  Using our giftings to help others is a way of glorifying the Lord!

God deserves our treasure.....Malachi speaks of this later, towards the end of the book, regarding our tithes.  We are to bring our first fruits to the Lord for His purposes.  We do this today by tithing 10% to our local church.  Of course,  generous giving  is one of the Fruits of the Spirit....when we give, we are blessed!  Sometimes, you might not have enough money from your paycheck after tithing to give to another ministry or organization.  But you can give of your time....by serving in a children's Sunday school class, by serving in the cafe, by volunteering to be a greeter, or usher, or intercessor. Maybe you are called to work with teens....maybe you are called to lead a small group.  Whatever it is, God will get the glory!

Much of Chapter 2 is about the marriage covenant.  God took marriage very seriously and instituted it to be a covenant that is not easily broken. He told the Israelites, through Malachi, that it is sacred!

The vows that we speak at a marriage alter are not to be taken lightly!

God demonstrated His own faithfulness of His covenant promises to Abraham and the Israelites and this shows us the importance of keeping our promises to each other.

God delights in us when we remain faithful to our marriage partner! He delights in us when we love each other. He delights in us when we raise our children to be devoted to Him.

(please note:  If you are in an abusive relationship, your first priority is to keep you and your children safe...I am not speaking of abuse at this time in this post...this is just meant to be a summary of what chapter 2 in Malachi is about)

Will you heed the warnings from Malachi and purpose in your heart to use your time, talents and treasures for the Lord and His plans?  

And will you love and honor your spouse and keep the vows of your marriage covenant?

Let's walk boldly forward.......

......By God's grace  and Christ's Strength, we can do this!

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