I’m going to do something a bit different today, well, not that different I suppose. Let’s say I’m going to write about something a little bit different. About a week ago I was struggling with what to read next in the Bible since I finished 1 Samuel. While praying about it and looking through different book descriptions, God led me to the book of Malachi. Weird right? Well not really. I read the short description at the front of my Bible, and it talked about what God has laid on my heart for a couple years now: a dead church.
When I say the book of Malachi, it’s probably one of those books that not many of us have actually studied, or read for that matter. You hear about it today when Pastors talk about divorce (chapter 2) and tithing (chapter 3), for those are a few main points in this short book of only 4 chapters. But you rarely hear about chapters 1 and 4, and I think, chapter 1 especially, has the most important lesson of all. Let’s look at the text. Malachi 1:7-9 (NLT):
(7) “’You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar. Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the sacrifices?’
“You defile them by saying the altar of the LORD deserves no respect. (8) When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!’ says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
(9) ‘Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you! But when you bring that kind of offering, why should he show you any favor at all?’ asks the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.”
Wow-right? I mean, God is clearly upset in this passage. Why? We see in verses 7-8 that the people of Edom, (who this was written about), has defiled the altar of the LORD as it deserves no respect. God goes on to say that they have shown this by sacrifices such as blind and diseased animals. God required Edom, and anyone really, to sacrifice their best offerings to the LORD. This would mean the best animal that they owned. It’s easy to give up something that doesn’t mean a lot to you or wouldn’t do you much good, but giving up your best to God was a bit tougher, something the Edomites couldn’t seem to do.
This passage is very, very relevant to our current lives, and should really cause us to take a double take at how we are living our lives, and how we are worshipping God. The church today, in most cases (not all-so don’t get upset about it if this isn’t your church), are spiritually dead. Take a look around you at churches, what do you see? We see adults on Facebook in church, we see the teenager who would rather be in bed- or in fact just rolled out of bed. We hear a beat we can clap to in a worship song, but no one starts clapping. What is wrong with American churches today? It’s not that we don’t have great Pastors or professional musicians, it’s that our heart isn’t right. Think for a moment, why do you go to church? Is it because your family makes you go? Is it because it’s something to do? Is it because you’ll see your friends? Is it something that you check off your to-do list? Or is it because you want to go and fully worship God for who He is, and learn more about Him so you’re spiritual walk with Him will grow? I pray that all reading this can honestly say that the last is true.
God deserves everything we are because of everything He is. God is perfect. Before you and I were ever born, before this world even came to be, God existed. Nothing has happened that hasn’t gone through His fingers. He even sent us His only Son, Jesus, to live a perfect life, only to die on a cross to forgive our sins, so we could have a relationship with Him. Then God rose Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day, and thus giving you and me victory over the grave, and the opportunity to have eternal life with Him if we would just believe. This is only a glimpse at who God is, and when you read the Bible, you’ll see how much more great and powerful and loving our God really is. This being said, God is worthy to be worshipped with our everyday lives. What does this look like? Here are a couple scenarios:
1. Our Actual Sunday Worship
For those of you who know me or have read about me on my “About Me” page, you know that I want to be a Worship Leader. God has put an extreme passion in my heart for worship. The American church, as stated before, is dead in their worship. Psalm 149:3 (NIV) says: “Let them praise his name with dancing.” Dancing? Yes dancing. Dancing is a way to express joy, praise, and thankfulness to God, and is a Biblical form of worship. Psalm 47:1 says “Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.” Here is another example of worship, clapping your hands, as fore mentioned. Later in verse 6 it says, “Sing praise to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.” That’s pretty self-explanatory, and really when we think of worship that’s what normally comes to mind. But be careful when singing that you’re singing from the heart, and not just words. That’s empty worship, and God is not worthy of that. Other Scripture references raising your hands and praising God, and bowing before God.
2. Our Everyday Life Worship
A lot of people think of singing and music when they hear worship, and for a long time, I did too. But worship is really giving God our all. When we go to school how are we acting? When we go into the work field, how are we acting? Philippians 2:14 says do not complain. Ephesians 4:29 talks about saying things that build people up, not tear people down. The Bible condemns lying, gossip and lust. How are you doing in those things? How am I doing in those things? Our lives can speak volumes about the God we serve. We are called to be different than those who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savoir. There’s a song by Thousand Foot Krutch that says “when people say they don’t believe, I hope that they see You in me.” That should be our prayer. That our lives would reflect the God we serve. Another way of worshipping God with all that we are is making Him the decision-maker in our lives. Pray before doing something, and wait for God to respond. This can be hard, especially when His will may be different from your way.
God is worthy of nothing less than all that we are, and will not stand for empty, half-hearted worship. If you’ve been away from the Lord, you’re not too far gone, God wants a relationship with you! Later in Malachi Gods says in chapter 3 verse 7: “Return to me, and I will return to you.” That’s a promise! If you want to return to God today but don’t know what to do, contact a Christian you know, or a local church. Also, feel free to contact me via the “Contact Me” page. (What you write will not be published, but I’ll see it and be able to get in contact with you). Please don’t wait! For those of you who are complete worshippers, we see later in Malachi that those who do worship and fear Him-He has great plans for! Malachi 3:17-18 and Malachi 4:2 (parenthesis mine):
(17) “’They will be mine,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘in the day when I make up my treasured possession, I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. (18) And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.’” (4:2) “’But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness (a new dawn rising) will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. ‘”
God promises good for those who love and obey Him. Go and worship Him today!
As always, thanks for reading! You can always connect with me on the “Contact Me” page or via twitter: @stephaniejtay. All glory to God who is worthy.
When I say the book of Malachi, it’s probably one of those books that not many of us have actually studied, or read for that matter. You hear about it today when Pastors talk about divorce (chapter 2) and tithing (chapter 3), for those are a few main points in this short book of only 4 chapters. But you rarely hear about chapters 1 and 4, and I think, chapter 1 especially, has the most important lesson of all. Let’s look at the text. Malachi 1:7-9 (NLT):
(7) “’You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar. Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the sacrifices?’
“You defile them by saying the altar of the LORD deserves no respect. (8) When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!’ says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
(9) ‘Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you! But when you bring that kind of offering, why should he show you any favor at all?’ asks the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.”
Wow-right? I mean, God is clearly upset in this passage. Why? We see in verses 7-8 that the people of Edom, (who this was written about), has defiled the altar of the LORD as it deserves no respect. God goes on to say that they have shown this by sacrifices such as blind and diseased animals. God required Edom, and anyone really, to sacrifice their best offerings to the LORD. This would mean the best animal that they owned. It’s easy to give up something that doesn’t mean a lot to you or wouldn’t do you much good, but giving up your best to God was a bit tougher, something the Edomites couldn’t seem to do.
This passage is very, very relevant to our current lives, and should really cause us to take a double take at how we are living our lives, and how we are worshipping God. The church today, in most cases (not all-so don’t get upset about it if this isn’t your church), are spiritually dead. Take a look around you at churches, what do you see? We see adults on Facebook in church, we see the teenager who would rather be in bed- or in fact just rolled out of bed. We hear a beat we can clap to in a worship song, but no one starts clapping. What is wrong with American churches today? It’s not that we don’t have great Pastors or professional musicians, it’s that our heart isn’t right. Think for a moment, why do you go to church? Is it because your family makes you go? Is it because it’s something to do? Is it because you’ll see your friends? Is it something that you check off your to-do list? Or is it because you want to go and fully worship God for who He is, and learn more about Him so you’re spiritual walk with Him will grow? I pray that all reading this can honestly say that the last is true.
God deserves everything we are because of everything He is. God is perfect. Before you and I were ever born, before this world even came to be, God existed. Nothing has happened that hasn’t gone through His fingers. He even sent us His only Son, Jesus, to live a perfect life, only to die on a cross to forgive our sins, so we could have a relationship with Him. Then God rose Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day, and thus giving you and me victory over the grave, and the opportunity to have eternal life with Him if we would just believe. This is only a glimpse at who God is, and when you read the Bible, you’ll see how much more great and powerful and loving our God really is. This being said, God is worthy to be worshipped with our everyday lives. What does this look like? Here are a couple scenarios:
1. Our Actual Sunday Worship
For those of you who know me or have read about me on my “About Me” page, you know that I want to be a Worship Leader. God has put an extreme passion in my heart for worship. The American church, as stated before, is dead in their worship. Psalm 149:3 (NIV) says: “Let them praise his name with dancing.” Dancing? Yes dancing. Dancing is a way to express joy, praise, and thankfulness to God, and is a Biblical form of worship. Psalm 47:1 says “Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.” Here is another example of worship, clapping your hands, as fore mentioned. Later in verse 6 it says, “Sing praise to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.” That’s pretty self-explanatory, and really when we think of worship that’s what normally comes to mind. But be careful when singing that you’re singing from the heart, and not just words. That’s empty worship, and God is not worthy of that. Other Scripture references raising your hands and praising God, and bowing before God.
2. Our Everyday Life Worship
A lot of people think of singing and music when they hear worship, and for a long time, I did too. But worship is really giving God our all. When we go to school how are we acting? When we go into the work field, how are we acting? Philippians 2:14 says do not complain. Ephesians 4:29 talks about saying things that build people up, not tear people down. The Bible condemns lying, gossip and lust. How are you doing in those things? How am I doing in those things? Our lives can speak volumes about the God we serve. We are called to be different than those who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savoir. There’s a song by Thousand Foot Krutch that says “when people say they don’t believe, I hope that they see You in me.” That should be our prayer. That our lives would reflect the God we serve. Another way of worshipping God with all that we are is making Him the decision-maker in our lives. Pray before doing something, and wait for God to respond. This can be hard, especially when His will may be different from your way.
God is worthy of nothing less than all that we are, and will not stand for empty, half-hearted worship. If you’ve been away from the Lord, you’re not too far gone, God wants a relationship with you! Later in Malachi Gods says in chapter 3 verse 7: “Return to me, and I will return to you.” That’s a promise! If you want to return to God today but don’t know what to do, contact a Christian you know, or a local church. Also, feel free to contact me via the “Contact Me” page. (What you write will not be published, but I’ll see it and be able to get in contact with you). Please don’t wait! For those of you who are complete worshippers, we see later in Malachi that those who do worship and fear Him-He has great plans for! Malachi 3:17-18 and Malachi 4:2 (parenthesis mine):
(17) “’They will be mine,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘in the day when I make up my treasured possession, I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. (18) And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.’” (4:2) “’But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness (a new dawn rising) will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. ‘”
God promises good for those who love and obey Him. Go and worship Him today!
As always, thanks for reading! You can always connect with me on the “Contact Me” page or via twitter: @stephaniejtay. All glory to God who is worthy.