Bible Prophecy and Inspiration

Malachi 1:6-8 – ⁶ “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the LORD Almighty. “It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name.

“But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’

⁷ “You place defiled food on my altar.

“But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’

“By saying that the LORD’s table is contemptible. ⁸ 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?” says the LORD Almighty.

When I read the scripture I’m reminded that our God doesn’t appreciate scraps.  There was an effort in the above scriptures, but they were offering the lowest of what they had.

It’s like the Lord walking up to your dinner table, there’s a huge meal, and you sit him to the side and pull out the cold leftovers in the fridge that is just a little out dated.

Your attitude may be, hey I made an effort here.  There was no ignoring the Lord, however, you know by the example that it would be sad and not a good thing.  The one who gives us life is coming to us and we give him our …..scraps.

Proverbs 3:9 – ⁹ Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;

Genesis 4:1-6 –  ¹ Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.” ² Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. ³ In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. ⁴ But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, ⁵ but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.
So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

⁶ Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry?  Why is your face downcast? ⁷ If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”

Cain was giving an offering, but he wasn’t going all out.  Abel was giving the fat portions or the first born.  It was probably the best he had.  We all know what happened next.  Sin was crouching and Cain killed Abel.  Sin keeps us from giving our best to the Lord.

We need to give God our best not scraps.  It matters very much.

Exodus 32:1-5 –¹ When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who
brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”  ² Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” ³ So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”  ⁵ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.” ⁶ So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and
got up to indulge in revelry.

God had just brought the Israelites out of Egypt.  By this time no one had seen such great miracles before and no one since has seen the vast number of them in a short time period of time.  Yet the stiff necked people were quick to forget the Lord God that brought them out of Egypt and referred to them as His
people.

What happened?

I believe they got idle.  They were free, Moses was gone for quite awhile and they didn’t know what to do with themselves.  Fresh out of slavery and the Egyptians served many idols.

How Aaron so quickly turned is another amazing story of how even those closest are prone to falling on their faces when it comes to correctly living for the Lord.  These stories are throughout the Bible and actually give us hope.  Men trying to serve the Lord have never made an impossible example to live up too.  It’s what makes the Bible Unique.

When we are walking on the path and seeking God on a regular basis, we have a tendency to be walking closer to Him.  Once we get bored and look elsewhere, get idle, we tend to wander off the path.

Idleness is a bad thing.  We need to constantly stay linked into the Holy Spirit or the batteries run down.  We get amnesia on things we should be doing.  Once we start trying to please the flesh it hungers for more and never fulfills.

Seek the Lord and leave the golden calf alone.  In the spectrum of eternity it’s a no brainer.

Does the title make you excited?

Who are you living for?  What are you living for?

Philippians 3:12-14 – ¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Sometimes we forget the obvious bible verses we have heard many of times growing up.

Genesis 19:26- ²⁶ But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

It wasn’t like she was looking at the sun.  She desired what God had destroyed even after He allowed her to be saved out of it.  Forget what is behind and move forward toward the goal.

Luke 9:62 –⁶² Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Looking back when we need to be looking forward.  When we are pressing for the worldly goal and not the heavenly goal, we’re not heading in the right direction.

What you did for the Lord yesterday is part of the prize waiting for you later.  What you did for your kingdom on this earth is paid in full.  It’s lost forever.

You’re one day closer to eternity, how will you spend today?

2 Corinthians 5:1-10 – ¹ Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. ² Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, ³ because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴ For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

⁶ Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. ⁷ We live by faith, not by sight. ⁸ We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹ So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. ¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Incredible verses.  Read them again.

It’s how were supposed to live.  This body is going to grow older and die.  It’s inevitable.

We need to make it our goal everyday to please Him!  If we made it our goal to read the Bible, learn it, and try to please the Lord, we would be heading in the right direction in our walk.

Just like verse ten says were going to receive what’s due to each one of us, good or bad.  That doesn’t sound like a God that really just wants you to find salvation and they just do what your heart desires.  That sounds like a God that wants you to find Him and then when you do, serve Him with your life, don’t serve yourself.

Psalm 73:2-3 – ² But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
   I had nearly lost my foothold.
³ For I envied the arrogant
   when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

 This verse reminds of today as much as it has ever applied.  It’s hard for many to look at people with a lot of wealth and worldly success and not want to chase after that.  It’s the American mantra.  However the New Testament is full of warnings of this very thing.  It’s normal in our fallen human nature to want the best for ourselves, rather than worry about others.

 It’s a trust issue with the Lord.  That’s why he indicates to us to trust in Him.  Our Lord doesn’t like taking second place and our actions, time, and constant dreaming on what we want to do in the future spells out where our heart is.  Not the lip service we try to make ourselves believe or others around us.  When the Lord is not first, whatever is becomes your God.

 Most of us get off on tangents and have to get back in line.  That is why it is so important to stay linked in to the Word of God.  Think of the Holy Spirit like a flame.  The more oxygen, the better it burns.  When there is no oxygen it eventually dies down and goes out.

 For me it’s pretty easy to visually see.  I’ve watched the rich and I’ve watch those who sacrifice this worldly life to serve God.  When applying the Word of God to the both of them it’s a no brainer how the Word is coming to life regarding both.