Many Christians are familiar with God’s words in verse 7 of today’s reading: “Return to Me, and I will return to you.” When Malachi delivered this message to Israel, they seemed ignorant of the fact that they had left the Lord. Throughout the book, God made statements about their poor spiritual condition, and they always responded by asking how they had offended Him.
In this passage, God accuses them of robbing Him by withholding the tithes and offerings required by the Law to support the Levites and priests. God viewed their persistent disobedience to His commands as theft because they were keeping for themselves what belonged to Him. If we consider all that the Lord has given us, we must ask ourselves whether we’re robbing Him in any way. Consider these examples:
- God has given us life and determined the number of our days (Psalm 139:16). Yet some of us claim that we don’t have time to read the Bible or pray. We may be busy, but it’s our responsibility to prioritize time with the Lord in the 24 hours He has allotted to us each day.
- Our Father has also given us abilities, talents, and spiritual gifts, yet we oftentimes reserve their use for our career or hobby rather than for serving Him.
- God is the one who has given us the ability to work and earn an income, and all He asks of us is the first portion.
Is there anything of the Lord’s that you’ve been keeping for yourself? With an obedient and grateful heart, you can joyfully give back to Him a fraction of whatever He has given you.
“Let your conscience be your guide” is a well-known expression, but one that isn’t necessarily good advice. That’s because your moral compass is only as reliable as the principles you’ve learned. It will be a dependable safeguard through your life if you store up biblical instruction. But using false ideologies from popular culture to program your conscience will set you up for moral failure.
Our heavenly Father has given each person a conscience as a gift intended to be a tool of the Holy Spirit—our one true Guide. As such, it is designed to protect you from going astray. Your conscience is most trustworthy when the following seven statements are true of you:
- Jesus Christ is your Savior and Lord.
- The Bible is the basis for your conduct.
- You have a strong desire to obey God.
- You make decisions prayerfully.
- Your conscience sounds the alarm when you consider a wrong direction.
- You feel guilty when you disobey.
- You feel compelled to repent of your transgression.
A trustworthy conscience reacts immediately to disobedience. There is no making excuses over whether or not something may have been wrong.
To develop a reliable inner compass, read and apply Scripture so God’s principles will override any false or corrupted programming. Then, with the Holy Spirit’s guidance, your conscience will alert and protect you. Ask God to make it an effective tool for leading you.
Who hasn’t listened to the news and wondered, What’s going on in the world? The evil and social decline in our present culture is something we couldn’t imagine even a few decades ago. What we are seeing today is the inevitable result of a society that has denied the existence of God. As a result, many have been given over to a depraved mind and sinful pursuits.
As our Creator, God is the only one who can truly satisfy our heart. When people reject Him, they will seek alternative ways to fill the emptiness within them. But when they turn to something or someone other than God to give meaning to their life, the result is idolatry. From there, they quickly step into immorality in an attempt to gratify their desires but eventually discover that they still feel empty.
Scripture clearly warns that idolatry and immorality incur divine wrath. God’s punishment of those who suppress the truth and reject Him is accomplished through His withdrawal. He turns them over to be guided and ruled by a depraved mind and degrading passions. Basically, He pulls away and lets their sin control them. There is no worse penalty than to have the Creator turn away.
Knowing what awaits those who reject God should cause us who know and love Him to respond with wholehearted devotion, faithful obedience, and overwhelming gratitude for our salvation. Sometimes we can’t truly appreciate what we have until we see the horror of the alternative. Our loving God and Savior is truly worthy of all our worship.
Have you ever wondered why some very intelligent people live successfully by the world’s standards yet are unable to comprehend the most important truths about God? Although mankind was created to acknowledge the Lord and share a relationship with Him, many people deny His existence.
God has made knowledge about Himself evident to every person and has revealed His attributes and divine nature through His creation. However, many people choose to suppress this reality because it interferes with their preferred lifestyle. Instead, they chase false philosophies that are usually mixed with just enough truth to seem believable. Yet any “truth” crafted by man is foolishness, and those who have willfully rejected divine revelation won’t be able to see their error no matter how much evidence has been provided.
All the denial and atheistic arguments in the world will not change what is reality—namely, that God is the Creator, and He made mankind to love, obey, and honor Him. To resist is to choose a life of darkness and deception, which begins a downward slide ending in a hardened heart and eternal separation from a loving Father.
But God continues to invite people to believe the truth and come to Him. This is the only way to receive the gospel, which is able to save souls. In Psalm 34:8, David calls out, “O taste and see that the Lord is good.” And for those who have accepted His revelations, the Lord is indeed better than all this world has to offer.
Bible stories aren’t just interesting accounts of ancient people and events; they contain critical principles that apply to us all. For example, King Solomon’s life helps us see the progression of compromise and its disastrous results. Solomon began his kingship with devotion to God and righteous priorities (1 Kings 3:5-9). So what happened to change his desires and direction?
“King Solomon loved many foreign women” (1 Kings 11:1). Although this was an accepted practice for kings of that era, God had instructed His people not to intermarry with other nations (1 Kings 11:2) and had specifically prohibited Israel’s kings from taking multiple wives (Deut. 17:17).
“His wives turned his heart away after other gods” (1 Kings 11:4). Instead of holding fast to the Lord in love and devotion, Solomon let his wives lead him toward foreign deities.
“Solomon went after [their gods]” (1 Kings 11:5). At first he merely allowed his wives to worship their gods, but soon he was joining them in idolatry.
“The Lord said to Solomon, … ‘I will surely tear the kingdom from you’” (1 Kings 11:11). Because the king ignored reproof and continued to disobey, Israel experienced a civil war that divided the nation.
Compromise begins when we ignore God’s instructions and follow the world’s practices. Then we start loving people, activities, or things more than we love God and soon find ourselves pursuing what He has forbidden. If we don’t heed His discipline, we’re in danger of losing what He intended for our lives. But if we refuse to compromise, we’ll remain devoted to Him.
