The Last Word

We all like to get it.  So maybe Malachi was a happy guy.  Or maybe he was completely unaware that the message he conveyed to Israel contained the last words God would speak to His people for more than four-hundred years.  There were a couple of clues:  "See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me… I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes." (Mal 3:1 & 4:5)  But I doubt anyone could have anticipated just what it would be like for God to go silent for four centuries.

I've often wondered what Israel's spiritual life was like as those years rolled by.  Did anyone give the lack of a word from the Lord a second thought?  Did the culture simply roll slowly downhill toward a society where God was no longer missed?  It seems there were a few watching and waiting (Simeon & Anna in Luke 2, for example), but did people in general simply get used to not hearing from God?

If so, how sad!  I have seen the slow slide at times in my life when I've neglected God's Word.  I've even seen it some this year when I got so busy that I didn't stay plugged into the Minor Prophets as deeply as I planned.  And if my spiritual walk can slip that easily when, in general, I do spend a good amount of time in God's Word, imagine what it would be like to go a whole lifetime… a whole generation… several generations… with no word from the Lord!

I'm not much on New Year's resolutions.  I know myself too well!  But wrapping up the Minor Prophet of the Month Club staring into the 400 Silent Years, I'm motivated to come up with a similar project for myself in 2013.  I'm not sure exactly what it will be yet… I do have 8 hours until January 1!  But I do know this… I don't want God to be silent in my life!  I have His Word, and I'm going to read it, meditate on it, pray about it and try to live it.  How about you?

Q & A

The ability to anticipate questions and be ready with appropriate answers is an important skill in many areas of life – job interviews, sales pitches, parenting, etc.  The prophet Malachi seemed to have a knack for it.  In just three chapters, he used the "I know what you're gonna ask" technique eight times.  So I got to thinking, What would God say if we asked the same questions today?  I'm no prophet, but here are a few of my best guesses…

Q#1 - How have You loved us? (1:2)

The question seems to deserve an answer like, "Are you serious?"  But there are times when the love of God seems distant at best.  Israel had been through some of those times (due, in large, part to her own sins) but rather than blow off the question, God answered with, "Remember Jacob and Esau."  God has chosen Israel from among al the nations to be His special people; and, despite centuries of rebellion, God has protected and preserved them, even to this day.  He loves them.

With so much evil in our world, including the persecution and suffering of many believers around the world, the same question is often asked today.  But God's love is still evident.  At the individual level, just like Jacob and Esau, God has chosen each and every believer and will preserve them all until His return.  On the larger scale, God's love is evident in so many ways despite the darkness of evil around us.  For an example, take three minutes to watch http://youtu.be/BZrb45SeJXE, especially the comments beginning around the 2:09 mark.

Qs#2&3 - How have we shown contempt for Your name? (1:6)  How have we defiled You? (1:7)

As I pointed out in my last post, Israel had failed to "bring her A-game" in worship.  God took this personally and challenged them, "When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" (1:8)

Contempt for God's name is so prevalent in our culture we've probably just grown used to it and might all ask the same questions.  In addition to my thoughts in that last post, I'll just jump on one little soapbox here… OMG!  Could we please eradicate the expression those letters stand for from our habits of speech?  I find it highly offensive and I believe God does, too.  Ok, moving on…

Q#4 - Why [do You not listen to us]? (2:14)

God gives a straight up answer to this one: "Because you don't take the sanctity of marriage seriously."  There is no cultural gap of application here.  Divorce rates continuing to hover around 50% for first marriages (even among believers) and society is seeking to completely redefine this most sacred of all human institutions.  As I watch even my close friends suffer through heart-wrenching family break-ups, I weep and pray…  and hope God is still listening.

Q#5 - How have we wearied [You]? (2:17)

God doesn't get tired, right?  Well, according to Malachi, He gets tired of hearing people justify bad behavior and complain when He doesn't serve up justice according to their standards.  Eventually, we're going to wear out His patience. (3:1-5)  True justice is coming, "But who can endure the day of His coming? Who can stand when He appears?" (3:2)

I think the words of Jude apply: "Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life… show mercy, mixed with fear… To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy, to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen."

Q#8 - What have we said against You? (3:13)

According to Malachi, the offending verbiage was, "It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty?"  Not many of us dare to say it out loud, but I suspect most of us have had the thought cross our minds.  "What good is it?"  "Why do I try so hard to serve God?"  We even find ourselves envious of the wicked like Asaph in Psalm 73.

Before we speak rashly against the Lord, let's remember the promise at the end of Malachi: "You will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not."  Even if we don't see it now, as the old song says, "It will be worth it all."

Qs#6&7 - How are we to return? (3:7)  How do we rob You? (3:8)

Ah, finally a good question!  And yes, I switched the order of the final inquiries so I could end on a positive note!

In Israel's case, the path home led by the collection box.  The Law required each citizen to give a tithe of various resources at the temple to support the work of the priests.  In return for this simple act of obedience, God promised abundance.  But the people had decided they would rather keep their ten percent than trust God for His blessing.  The result? "You are under a curse – the whole nation of you – because you are robbing me." (3:9)

How do WE return?  Well, a lot could and probably should be said about tithing in our churches today.  Times are tough.  But is that an excuse to withhold from God what He expects us to give in support of the ministries we benefit from?  Is it better to play it safe and pretend we can manage our money better than God can?

I say we, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse..." because God says, "Test me in this and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." (3:10)

Any questions?

You'd Better Bring Your A-Game

Last Sunday was our church's annual Christmas Program.  Yes, that is the biggest reason I'm just now getting around to posting something this month!  It also happens to be the latest addition to my file of proof that a bad dress rehearsal leads to a good performance.  In this case, a terrible dress rehearsal led to a great performance… but not without a little intervention.

In a bit of "good cop, bad cop," the producer (me) gave our teenage cast a pep talk… right after the director (not me) read them the riot act.  Despite our contrast in styles, the message was clear and singular: "Tomorrow is the real thing.  You'd better bring your A-game."  And they did, but that's another story.

My point is that, for a few moments on Saturday, I felt like the prophet Malachi.  At the time of his ministry, Israel had fallen into the habit of giving God less than their best in worship.  "When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?" says the LORD.  "Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord." (Mal 1:13-14)

Now I'm not one to say that unless it's Broadway, Hollywood or Nashville, it's not good enough for God.  You work with who and what the Lord provides.  But I do take pretty seriously biblical admonitions like, "Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise." (Psa 33:3)  (BTW, that's the KJV… did you notice it says "LOUD"?)  God deserves our very best, whether that's music, finances, teaching or just living like true followers of Jesus.

And He takes it seriously, too.  "Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands." (Mal 1:10)  The thought that God would rather everyone stay home on a Sunday morning than show up to offer halfhearted worship is rather sobering.  I wonder if He's ever said that about my church?  about my ministry?  about me?

Reading on into chapter two doesn't exactly relieve the pressure as Malachi goes all bad cop on the priests.  "If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name," says the LORD Almighty, "I will send a curse upon you." (Mal 2:2)  The tone of worship is set by the leaders of worship, and people rarely rise above the level to which they are led.  So let's set the bar high.  Let's set our hearts to honor His name.  Let's bring Him the best we have to offer.  Simply put, let's bring our A-game to church!

The WHY? Game

Have you ever played "The WHY? Game"?  It only requires two players… an adult and a kid.  The adult says something.  The kid says, "Why?"  The adult answers with a reason.  The kid says, "Why?"  This goes on indefinitely until the adult says, "BECAUSE I SAID SO!  GAME OVER!"

There's another form of "The WHY? Game" that requires a human and God.  In this version, the human says or does something that seems like the right thing to say or do.  And God says, "Why?"  However, unlike the child who wants to see how long he can make the game last, God wants a final answer and will often back us into a corner until we produce an honest one.  What He's really after is a clear confession of our motivation.

That's what He was after in Zechariah 7:5-6 – "Ask all the people of the land and the priests, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?  And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?'"  The "past seventy years" refers to the time of Israel's captivity in Babylon.  It's clear that, while in the pagan land, some of God's people continued to observe certain religious traditions of Judaism.  Now that they were returning to their homeland, God asked them, "Why did you do that?"

The right answer would seem to be, "We did it to honor You, Lord, even among the pagans."  And while many of the exiles may have sincerely felt that way, God knew that the ultimate motivation was not worship, but self-preservation.  "If we do this, maybe God will finally let us go home."

How easy it is to do the right things for reasons that aren't necessarily wrong… but also aren't necessarily pure or best.  How many of us serve God – "professionally" or "volunteer" – because it's what's expected of us?  because we get joy from it?  because we want to experience God's blessings?  because, because, because…  These may not all be bad reasons.  But I think they all leave us one answer short of satisfactorily completing God's version of "The WHY? Game."

When I can truly say, "Lord, I did (this or that) FOR YOU… because I love You… because You're worthy… because Your glory is the desire of my heart," then I'm a step farther down the right track.  It's almost impossible to do anything with completely pure and selfless motivation.  But that's what God wants from us.  So don't stop asking "Why? until you're as close to the final answer as you can get!

Glory Days

I listened this morning to sports talk guys Mike & Mike discuss the "aging" defenses of the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens - a label earned by having rosters with several players "in their 30s."  (Insert "I feel old" comment here.)


Accepting the relativity of the term "old" as applied to sports, it stands to reason that teams see a drop-off in performance as stars pass their prime.  The question becomes, "What do we do about it?"  Some will capitalize on the veterans' wisdom and experience by turning them into mentors for younger players.  Some will drop the dead weight, clear some salary cap space and reload with rookie talent.  One thing you'll never see, at least on a winning team, is a bunch of guys sitting around saying, "Woe is us.  We were so much better a few years ago.  I guess those days are over."

Haggai warned the people of Israel about just such a defeatist attitude as they neared the completion of their temple rebuilding project.  "Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes?" (Haggai 2:3)  Without a doubt, this reconstructed house of worship couldn't hold a candle to the splendor of Solomon's temple.  It would have been easy for those who invested time, energy and money to be discouraged and wonder whether it was all worth it.  So God sent this word: "Be strong, all you people of the land… Work, for I am with you… according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt.  My Spirit remains in your midst.  Fear not." (Haggai 2:4-5)

The presence of God among His people and the work of His Spirit in their midst has always been more important than the tangible trappings of ministry.  The new temple may have been small and plain in comparison to the glorious structure that preceded it.  But the fact that they had built it, in obedience to God, meant that His blessings were already beginning to be poured out on them abundantly.  Haggai also challenged the people to look forward to a day when. "'The treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD of hosts…  'The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former'."  (Haggai 2:7-9)

We all go through seasons of life where we're tempted to look back wistfully at the "glory days."  We don't seem to be reaching as many people, having as great an impact or feeling as much joy as before.  In those times, it's especially important to remember that God is with us, and as we obey, His Spirit is at work – whether we see it or not.  Sports teams, temples, ministries and individual lives all go through "rebuilding phases."  If you're in one now, cling to the promises of God's presence and His return.  He has so much more in store for us than we can see now.

Where's My Hand Sanitizer?

"Don't touch that!"  "Do you have any idea where that's been?"  "Go wash your hands!"  I'm not a germaphobe… I just have a four-year-old son!  So lines like that are fairly common in my family.

Too bad it doesn't work the other way.  "Hey, you just washed your hands.  Go grab that slice of pizza out of the trash so it's clean to eat."  Yeah, I know… sounds ludicrous… and a little gross.  But it proves the same point Haggai was making to the when he asked the priests of his day, "'If a person carries consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, oil or other food, does it become consecrated?'' The priests answered, 'No.'  Then Haggai said, 'If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?' 'Yes,' the priests replied, 'it becomes defiled'." (Haggai 2:12-13)

As much as we'd like to be able to sanitize the world around us with a touch, it's just doesn't work that way.  So we carry our little bottles of antibacterial gel and try to keep our kids away from the yucky stuff.  The same is true in the spiritual realm.  While the sanctified life of a believer can certainly have a positive impact on the world, we can't eradicate all the sin in a room just by walking in.  To the contrary, it's much more likely that the "dirt" of our surroundings will rub off on us.  It's not as much a matter of proximity (Jesus Himself ate in homes of "tax collectors & sinners") as it is a matter of proclivity.  Can we walk in the midst of temptation and avoid our natural tendency to stick our hands in the dirt?  Or, as the old saying goes, can we be "in the world but not of it"?

For the people to whom Haggai spoke, the consequences went even further than personal pollution.  As they allowed the world around them to infect them, they discovered that, like a contagious disease, their own defilement continued to be passed along.  "'So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,' declares the LORD. 'Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled… I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail'." (Haggai 2:14, 17)

That's a scary thought… that God Himself may oppose the work I try to do, even in His name, if my life is not "clean" before Him.  "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress AND to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:27)   So I'm going to pause and, as Haggai advised, "give careful thought to my ways" as I seek to serve the Lord… and perhaps apply a little "spiritual hand sanitizer" of confession and repentance as necessary.

It's All About the Follow Through

I'm a proud soccer dad.  My daughter's team just won their league tournament, and they did it the hard way.  It was a double elimination bracket, and they lost their first game of the day.  But then they gutted out five straight wins, including two in a row over a well-rested team that had only played two games before the final round.  Our kids were exhausted, but they didn't give up… and it paid off.  I give a lot of credit to their coach, Lenny, who is always preaching "follow-thru."  "Kick though the ball!"  "Run all the way to the net!"  "Never give up on a play!"  "Go till the final whistle!"

I think the prophet Haggai was bit like coach Lenny.  He arrived on the scene in Jerusalem in the middle of a stalled project.  His message was simple: "Get your priorities straight, and get the job done."  Many of the Jews formerly exiled to Babylon had returned to their homeland and begun rebuilding the temple.  But after several years, all they had to show was a foundation and an altar.

Haggai called the people to "give careful thought" to the situation (1:5, 1:7, 2:15, 2:18) and understand that their procrastination was not only disappointing to God but also a symptom of a deeper problem – failure to maintain proper priorities.  Their focus had shifted to the comforts of life rather than commitment to the Lord.  As a result, they failed to follow through and were missing out on the many blessings God wanted to pour out on them (1:3-11).

Sometimes I'm amazed at how easily I'm persuaded to procrastinate and how often I fail to follow through in my relationship to God and ministry for Him.  It doesn't even take exhaustion and blisters (see soccer reference!) or opposition and persecution (see Ezra chapter 4).  It just takes a turn of the head toward my own personal comfort and convenience.  Next thing I know, I'm jogging instead of sprinting, pulling up short on my runs to the goal, and missing out on the potential celebration of "scoring and winning" for the Lord.

So let's suck it up, listen to coach Haggai, get our priorities straight, and follow through for God!  GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLL!!!