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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
As we begin a new month I wonder what significant things these next 30 days will hold for each of us, and how far into the future we each will remember the events we experience this month?
As I write this today, I happen to be in the home of a friend, looking out at the ocean. It’s a windy day. The waves are rolling and boats are straining at their anchors. Do you know this powerful statement found in Hebrews 6:19 “We have this hope as an ANCHOR for the soul, firm and secure…” So my friends, look back over your life… what have you trusted as your strong, SOUL ANCHORS when life gets turbulent?
This week we’re in the Old Testament letter of Malachi. Listen to what God said through this little known prophet: “I the LORD do not change. So you…are not destroyed. For since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from My decrees and have not kept them. RETURN TO ME and I will return to you, says the LORD Almighty.” (Malachi 3:6,7)
Do you see three powerful ‘life anchors’ for God’s people, which Malachi proclaimed?
First… The LORD and His truths are unchanging in an ever changing world in which we live!
Second… God is always ready to welcome us back from our drifting away from Him,
Third… His name “The LORD Almighty” (Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of the Heavenly Hosts), is a strong, reliable name of God, which reminds us of His Commander in Chief authority over all the angels, who are ready to do HIS bidding, especially here on earth!
Last week hurricane Laura blasted ashore after several days of being tracked by storm chasers and satellite photography. A phrase often used by weather reporters, as such powerful storms approach landfall is, ‘conditions here are deteriorating‘. Would that statement be true of the society where you live?
Consider this description of the moral and ethical path of humanity as evidenced in history everywhere, since the days of Adam and Eve:
“Drift leads to Doubt,
which leads to being Drawn away from God,
which leads to Dabbling in the culture of the darkness,
which leads to being Deceived by the evil powers of the darkness,
which leads to Resisting the loving conviction of the Holy Spirit,
which leads to Refusal to Repent,
which leads to Rejection of God and God’s truth,
which results in society chaos and personal despair.”
Now, you may want to re-read that, slowly, step by step, and ask yourself…is this the downward spiral path, into self-destruction, that you see in your society?
This is what was happening in Malachi’s day, about 430bc, and why God said to His drifting people: “Return to ME and I will return to you.” If this is also happening in our day, then I ask you, what have been the leadership responses of your society as “conditions are deteriorating”? Who in your society is calling us to recognize the true problem causing the deterioration? What do you believe the problem is? The problem my friends, is a deeply rooted, personal and societal heart problem called evil, and we are born with it, it’s our sin nature.
The ONLY effective antidote is Confess, Repent and Return!
Confess means… I agree with God and HIS truthful diagnosis.
Repent means… I reject the evil in me which I once embraced.
Return means… I turn my life focus to God and His truth. He points me to Jesus and His rescue of me from the evil that enslaves me. The Holy Spirit of God heals me from the damage and cleanses me from the dark stains of the evil in my life. I then return to living the fulfilling, purposeful, contented life God has designed and makes possible for me, as I ‘walk with Jesus’.
God’s message through Malachi was intended for God’s people who had drifted far away from God and were living lives of disregard for God, God’s truth, and God’s commandments. Therefore their lives and families were dysfunctional, and in their society ‘conditions were deteriorating’ again. Oh it wasn’t the first time, in fact this is the history of Israel, just as it is the history of where you life, and if we’re all honest, it’s our story too! Could God could have ignored it and let them self-destruct? Evil destroys doesn’t it?
Or God could have destroyed them Himself, but instead He sent Malachi to tell them He was ready to help them, if they would “Return to Me.” Malachi was the last in a long line of prophets who did the same over several centuries, calling God’s people back to God. Sometimes they listened and took action, and God responded with His help. Sometimes they ignored the prophets and God responded with His discipline or judgment.
Here’s an important God truth: In every society in our world, in every generation, when ‘conditions are deteriorating’ God PURSUES drifting, skeptical people, especially those who once had a spiritual interest or even a relationship of trust with Him! If you are a parent or grandparent, you understand this love response, if you’ve watched your kids or grandkids follow a path of self-destruction. His great love for His human creation motivates God to pursue us. That’s the wonder of John 3:16 …“For God so loved the world that HE sent His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.”
So I have these questions for all of us today, and I urge you to find a quiet place to ponder and respond, as the winds blow, the storms rage:
1. What are the reliable ANCHORS which hold your life from being blown by the winds of change and public opinion, and save you from crashing on the rocks of life failure?
2. How do you recognize spiritual, moral and ethical drift in yourself? Have you drifted from when your life was at its best? WHY? What’s causing your drift and how far down in the self-destructive spiral have you drifted? What’s next if you don’t drop anchor and stop your drift?
3. How has God pursued you in your past? Is He pursuing you now, beckoning you to return to Him? What do you see He’d like to do in your life to restore you to perhaps the best place you’ve ever been in your relationship with Jesus? And what if you say no…and keep drifting?
Here’s a song, my friends, that will help you reflect and hopefully respond to what God is speaking into your heart right now:
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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