ODJ: contempt
February 21, 2012
“Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies (v.8).
READ: Malachi 1:6-14
Here are some things people might say to excuse themselves from worshiping and serving God: “I’m tired.”
“I feel unappreciated.”
“I don’t want to do it.”
Would we use such excuses with our employers? Hmm . . . I doubt it. So why is it that we dare to use them with God? That was exactly God’s question to His people in Malachi 1:6-14.
The Israelites were dishonouring God’s name by bringing defiled sacrifices to Him. They were supposed to bring their best, but they were choosing to present their worst—animals that were diseased and not whole (vv.7-8). By giving Him worthless offerings and ignoring His laws concerning acceptable animal sacrifices (Leviticus 22:17-25; Deuteronomy 15:21), they showed how little they thought of Him.
So God said, “Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” (Malachi 1:8). Here the Lord gives us a valuable test to determine how well we’re going about our service to Him: Are we trying to present to God the things we wouldn’t dare present to a human leader?
One Bible teacher pointedly questions: “How can we possibly have less respect for the King of kings than we do for the political powers who are appointed by Him?” God is not only the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, He’s also our Father and Master. We’re to love and honour Him. As we read the Lord’s message to Israel of old, we should ask ourselves: Are we giving God our leftover time and energy—our second best? Or our best?
“A son honours his father, and a servant respects his master. If I am your Father and Master, where are the honour and respect I deserve?” (v.6).
Is God saying this to you today? —Poh Fang Chia
In what way could you be showing contempt to God today? What does it mean for you to offer Him your best?
Tweet This
Share on Facebook
Digg This
Save to delicious
Stumble it
RSS FeedRelated
ODJ: roaches are forever
February 12, 2012 In keeping with Your magnificent, unfailing love, please pardon the sins of this people (v.19). READ: Numbers 14:10-44 For a small donation to the Wildlife Conservation Society, you can name a Madagascar hissing cockroach after someone you love. This fundraising event targets sweethearts who want to pay tribute to the long standing nature [...]
ODJ: What Do You Worship?
May 24, 2012 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused (v.21). READ: Romans 1:18-32 Whether it’s a supernatural being . . . science, money, wisdom, [...]
ODJ: dying to live
June 23, 2011 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh. . . . We want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life (2 Corinthians 5:4). READ: Romans 8:15-30 How’s your dad?” a colleague asked me. “Struggling to die,” I replied. My [...]
ODJ: spiritual unity
August 20, 2010 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace (v.3). READ: Ephesians 4:1-6 Segregating ourselves along ethnic and social lines is a common human practice. We’re simply more comfortable around “our kind” of people, and we tend to keep our distance from those who seem different from [...]
Christian Courses
Day Of Discovery
Discover The Word
Discovery Series
Help For My Life
My Utmost For His Highest
Our Daily Bread
Our Daily Journey
RBC Ministries
WarungSateKaMu
Manasociety
雅米
wow, spoken right through my heart. av been giving God my worst…….
thank you. needed to hear this
Honestly what could happen today is that I could end up playing games and watching videos when I should spend time on what’s for both work and God. By this I mean spending the majority of time doing so, as opposed to the minority.
To me, giving the best is to give the first of what I have to give: time, energy, resources– the most effort and investment into what is for God. That is the best.
i just cried after reading this..Indeed, THE LORD deserves our BEST.. our lives are even not enough to be considered as BEST.. If we can honor our parents and our employers, why is it so hard for us to give GOD the honor and respect that HE just so deserves???
Let us not be confident about GOD’s goodness in our lives…
NOW is the TIME to CHOOSE the LORD above all, later may never come…