Malachi 3:1-15 English Standard Version

1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

13 “Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? 15 And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”

I wanted a passage that indicates God does not change. I got more than I bargained for. I could extract only the passage I want but in doing so I would be inserting my will before God’s will.

Before we discuss my concerns read His Word and let His Word speak to you according to His will, not my one.

Maybe, God willing, we can talk about me tomorrow.

Psalm 40:2

He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.

Psalm 32:1

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

Insurance policies reimburses you for loss but does not replace the loss. Money cannot replace what we have lost.

Matthew 16:25

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Try telling that to anyone who has not repented of their sins. They don’t get it. Granted it does take a little explaining, but trust me, it is worth it.

Life insurance only provides funds to our beneficiaries. We don’t buy it for ourselves. What kind of coverage are we looking for in this life with Christ?

I am going to be frankly honest with everyone based on my personal experience. When I placed my faith in Christ I had no idea what I was doing. I was only concerned about the life I was leading. If someone is drowning do they reject the first lifeguard that comes along? I don’t think so.

We who were on the road to destruction just wanted to get off and find a different path. It is a different path but where does it lead? The only thing I cared about at that moment was getting off the path to destruction. I was grateful but in those early moments I didn’t care where I was going. I felt safe for the first time in my life. What should come next was no longer a matter of me making those choices. I needed to explore this rock that provided firm footing.

Galatians 4:19

my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!

I heard this but I had no idea how Dhrist could be formed in me. Then it dawned on me that Paul was speaking about being born again. How was it that reading one passage led me to seek understanding from another passage? Was there some agent of change at work in me that I was not aware of yet? This is not how I lived my life before, this was new.

John 3:7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

John 5:28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice

Wow, I was spiritually dead and now I am alive and I can hear Him.