A Question of Love Malachi 1:1-5

 

 

 

 

Malachi 1:1-5King James Version (KJV)

1 The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.² I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob,³ And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.⁴ Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever.⁵ And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel.

As we begin this journey of the Questions and Answers found in the Book of Malachi we start with the Question of Love. For they asked the Lord “Wherein hast thou loved us?”

First we see Love Declared

Love Declared v.2a.

• “I have loved you, saith the LORD.”              
• The LORD starts His conversation with Israel with an declaration of His love for His people. He tells them of His desire of closeness and intimacy with them as a husband would have for his wife. But even with this emphatic declaration they still deny His love.  

Love Denied v.2b.

• “Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us?”
• Israel’s response to God’s declaration of love is How, in what way, have you loved us? What a question to ask the Lord. I love the Lord’s response.  

Love Defined vv. 2c-5

• “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? Saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob.”
• Ouch! Hey guys, you remember Jacob, you know the guy that deceived his father to steal his brother’s blessing and birthright? Yea, Jacob, who was a swindler, self-serving, rebellious rascal. The guy that I wrestled with and knocked out his hip and changed his name to Israel. So now he is not the Jacob the swindler but Israel whom God strives. If I had not loved him; you would not exist.    

Where are the Children?

One of our Senior Saints sings a song called “where are the children?”. I want to stand up and yell “they’re at home with their parents, they’re at the lake with their parents, they’re at the game with their parents, they are somewhere with their parents! It is not a matter of where are the children as much as it is a matter of where are the parents!

Parents, if we believe the Gospel of the Lord Jesus and we believe His Word is true and that there is a Heaven and there is a Hell and that Jesus is coming again and that one must be Born again in order to see the kingdom of heaven, should we not be very concerned over our children’s spiritual well being as well as our own?

Ask yourself, when is the last time we went to church as a family? When is the last time we prayed as a family? When is the last time we read the Bible as a family?

These questions are for me as well. Some of them it has been awhile. Will you commit with me, and Most importantly to God, that we will do better when it comes to living the Gospel with our families?

Deuteronomy 6:4-9Modern English Version (MEV)

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God. The Lord is one! ⁵ And you shall love the Lordyour God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶ These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be in your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Hebrews 10:23-25Modern English Version (MEV)

²³ Let us firmly hold the profession of our faith without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how to spur one another to love and to good works.²⁵ Let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but let us exhort one another, especially as you see the Day approaching.

Question and Answer

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite parts of a Bible Conference is the question and Answer segment. This is a time when people get to ask questions that arose while the speaker was preaching and gives the speaker an opportunity to answer.

The Old Testament book of Malachi is, to me, a Q&A. There are questions throughout the book and God answers them.

Chapter 1:1-5 is a Question on Love

Chapter 1:6-2:9 is a Question on Honor

Chapter 2:10-16 is a Question on Marriage

Chapter 2:17-3:6 is a Question on Justice

Chapter 3:7-12 is a Question on Repentance

Chapter 3:13-4:6 is a Question on Spoken Words

Over the next few weeks we will ask these questions and see God’s answers. But until then, here are some scriptures on seeking God

Deuteronomy 4:29 ESV 

But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Proverbs 8:17 ESV 

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.

Jeremiah 29:12-14 ESV 

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

Matthew 7:7-8 ESV 

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Lamentations 3:25 ESV 

The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

Isaiah 55:6-7 ESV 

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Jeremiah 29:13 ESV 

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Psalm 34:10 ESV / 117 helpful votes

The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV 

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Psalm 40:16 ESV 

But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the Lord!”

 

Like if you love Jesus ignore if you love the Devil

“This people honors me with their Facebook Likes but their heart is far from me.” Matthew 15:8 SMV (Social Media Version)

There are over 500 Million Facebook users and apparently there are a lot of Christians on facebook and I know this because they “LIKE” Jesus; Literally they like Jesus, they share Jesus and they type amen for Jesus. I don’t mind people doing this but my issue is when facebook memes are the only means of Liking,Sharing and Amening Jesus. The Gospel of Jesus is to affect every area of our lives including but now limited to Facebook. If you were asked to prove you are a Christian how would you respond? Would you refer them to your Facebook page and say see I Like Jesus? If people were to look closely to your page and go through every post would they find un-Christ like things posted and shared and liked? Being a Christian is more than just saying you’re a Christian. Jesus changes everything.

Romans 12:9-21English Standard Version (ESV)

Marks of the True Christian

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,[a] serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.[b] Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it[c] to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

John 14:15 ESV

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Luke 6:46 ESV

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

Matthew 7:21 ESV

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

James 1:22 ESV

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

1 Samuel 15:22 ESV

And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

John 14:21 ESV

Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

Hebrews 5:9 ESV

And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

John 14:23 ESV

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

Ephesians 5:1-11 ESV

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. …

Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Galatians 5:14 ESV

For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

1 John 5:1-21 ESV

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? …

The Walmart Cashier :( :)

It was my little girls 5th birthday and we only had 1 gift to go to make her birthday wonderful. So my wife and I run into Walmart, down the girly isle, pick up the Disney Barbie Doll of Aurora (AKA Sleeping Beauty). We rush to the check out line and there is a guy in front of us that has a buggy full and a lady in front of him who is almost done. The man sees that we only have one item and lets us go in front of him that lady is done and loaded up her stuff. It is our turn, we will be out of here in no time at all……but wait what is happening? The Clerk starts to refill the Lazy-Susan of plastic bags and when she does she sets the bags on top of our 1 Item. she has a terrible look on her face and when a fellow employee says something to her she just gives a nasty look. I look at my wife and we both roll our eyes, we can’t believe what is going on. So how will we respond to this situation? Do we let her attitude ruin ours?   Well I look right at her and making eye contact, with a great big smile and the cheeriest tone in my being I say Hi! how are you doing today!? The anger runs off her face and with a smile she says, good, how are you? Next thing she is asking about the doll if we had a birthday girl and wishing us a great day.

Why to I share this story? Because we so often let people dictate how we will feel and respond to situations, when we can be the ones to influence others. We also need to encourage one another. We do not know what others are going through and it may be that they just need someone with a smile to say Hi.

Ephesians 4:29

King James Version (KJV)

29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Empty Kindle Box/Empty Christianity

The UPS man came to the door and handed my wife a little black box. On the box it says Amazon, Kindle Paperwhite. The box is sealed and even taped all around. I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to open and start using my new toy but I had to wait because it was Wednesday night and I had church. When I got home the first thing I did was to grab the box cut the tape and pull the tab and open the box to reveal….wait for it……NOTHING! The  box was empty even though all signs showed that it would have a kindle in it, it was still empty.

This made me think of the many of people out there that say they are a Christian and by all outward signs they show to be a Christian but when you look deeper beyond the outward to the inward you find that they are not Christians at all but are faults converts.

Matthew 7:21-23

²¹ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

²² Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

²³ And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Don’t Judge a Book by It’s Cover or A Car by It’s Body

Three Weeks ago my wife tells me she would like to get a Mini-Van. So I get online and start a search of local Car dealerships to see what is out there. I came across a 2004 Nissan Quest. It looked fantastic from the pics but I am no amateur, I have seen the commercials, I check out the CARFAX. Well everything looked good on carfax so we go and look at the van first hand. Let me tell you this van has it all! You ask for it, it has it. We drive it and like it but there where some little things like one of the power sliding doors not working and the battery needing replaced. So I tell them I would like those things fixed and they say yes and we drive off with the Van.

I start noticing a puddle under the van and the puddle gets bigger and bigger. I take the van to my mechanic and he tells me that the Oil Pan is leaking the oil cool line is leaking, the power-steering line is leaking  and the right front axle needs replaced and that he didn’t want to touch it. l was crushed I should have had it checked out before I bought it but I was too caught up in the looks of the outside to take a look on the inside.

This had me thinking about the Scriptures and How God doesn’t judge a man from his outward appearance  but from the inward substance…

1 Samuel 16:7

King James Version (KJV)

⁷ But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

This was on my mind and I wanted to share. Oh and by the way, I called the dealership and they are fixing all the leaks and replacing the axle and I am only going to be out $120.00. Praise the Lord!

Deliverance from Fear

I have noticed that people (me) have a tendency for fear. I realize that this is due to the fall of man, after Adam had eaten of the fruit and sin entered into the world.  ^“And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid…”Genesis 3:10. I have in times past ask God to deliver me from the things that I fear. But just recently I have seen the way that the psalmist prays for deliverance.  Psalm 34: 4 “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 64:1 “Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy” Did you see it?  The Psalmist did not pray necessarily for the deliverance from the things or people that he is afraid of but to be delivered from his FEAR of the things. If we are delivered from fear then it matters not what people may say or do against us. The same situation  may be there but we will lose no sleep over it because we have no fear of it. Pray today that the LORD will deliver you from your fear.

Anonymous Hurting Pastor

I have a twitter account and I follow a lot of Anonymous pastor/preacher satire tweeters.  What I am noticing is that some of  them are real pastors who are going through a lot. They are men who are being hurt in the one place that should be a safe haven and by the people who should be peace makers.

Being a Pastor and can be a very lonely profession when one is heartbroken and hurting. A lot of pastors have no one in whom they can place their confidence. They have no friends in the church, they love and minister to the people,  but they just don’t have those close friendships because they don’t want to be hurt. They don’t confide in other pastors because they don’t want to be seen as week or failing at being a pastor.

You may say that is what his wife is for, to be the help and support for her husband during the hard times, but many pastors leave their wives in the dark about their pain. They do so to protect their wives because they don’t what her to become a victim or to have hard feelings toward members of the church.

So what do they do?

Well some bottle it up inside and try to hide the pain.

Others sit down on a Monday morning and update their resume

And then their are those who take  to the internet and social media to vent and share their hurts  in an anonymous, and many times a funny way.

If your are a member of a church I want to encourage you to pray for your pastor and try to be a friend to him and his family. Now this may take sometime. There are pastors out there that have been hurt very badly and are leery of opening themselves up. They still need to know that you care and that you are not their enemy.

Romans 12:10-13

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁰ Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹² Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. ¹³ Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Failure to Communicate/Communicating Failure

When I was a teenager I worked for ACE Hardware of Bloomfield, New Mexico, I hated that job but that’s a post for another day. One day a man came in, walked straight up to me and said, “boy, what we have here a a failure to communicate.”. He then asked if I had ever seen Cool Hand Luke and that I needed to rent it and watch it.

A failure to communicate, that line has stuck with me for over 18 years. I usually answer my self with, “I communicate failure quite well.”.

It seems to me, that most, NOT ALL, but most Christians today are  doing just that; communicating failure.

How?

By failing to communicate the Gospel (Evangelism)

By failing to communicate with God (Prayer)

By failing to allow God to communicate with us ( Private Bible Study/Corporate Worship and Bible Study)

Christianity is not about Failure it’s about Freedom. It’s not about being a Victim but about being a Victor. It’s not about Losing  but Living.

 

Stop Living a life of failure and live a life to the Glory of God Alone. “Soli Deo Gloria”