Uselessly Kindling Fire on the Altar

Uselessly Kindling Fire on The Altar

Malachi 1:10 (ESV) 10 Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand.

Sometimes, in order to understand something more clearly, we must define what is its opposite. In other words, to understand what something is, we must first understand what it is not. I want to please God in my life as his child, as a husband and father and as a pastor and friend. I have made it my purpose in life to do so, and to live my life in such a way that it makes Him smile. It is amazing, however, how mindlessly I sometimes operate in pursuit of that goal. There are times when I am 'tuned in' to what God is doing and I am able to join Him. There are other times, or even periods of time, LONG PERIODS OF TIME, when I seem to uselessly kindle fire on the altar. If I want to undertand what it means to PLEASE GOD it is helpful to know what does not please him. That answer is found in Malachi 1.

God is holding me accountable to present the best that I and his people have to offer. That's what you give in sacrifices. God's words in Malachi 1 to the priests who were responsible for offering up the sacrifices of themselves and the people was that they were giving, and accepting at the hand of the people, offerings that were less than their best. In response to these offerings, God says to the priests, "I am not pleased with you, nor will I accept an offering from you."

What DOESN'T PLEASE GOD? When I don't love him enough to give my best. In that case, God says I am uselessly kindling fire on the altar. God's blazing condemnation of the priests also contained a plea from the very heart of God: "Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain!". In other words, God would rather someone 'lock the door of the church' than have us give less than our best in church. He would rather we 'not preach' than to preach a polluted gospel! What it seems God is saying is, "Stop wasting your time and mine! I will not accept any more 'leftovers'! Maybe if I stop listening you will start!"

Every Monday night we meet for prayer at the church. Thus far, there have been a few very faithful folks who have experienced just how awesome it is to simply come to God in a time of prayer and to draw more closely to Him. I suppose it could be considered "a sacrifice", since they are giving up time from something else. It is a very small sacrifice and the benefits far, far, far outweigh any "sacrifice" that may be involved. I invite you to join us. We pray, sing and I share a short devotion. Mostly, we pray. Come and experience it for yourself.

I desire, more than anything else, to please Him. In order to do so, I must give my best. I must also require 'the best' from the hand of the people. To that end, let me challenge you: GIVE GOD YOUR BEST, NOT "THE REST"! Saturday, we have an opportunity to learn from Jeremy Horn. Give God your best. Sunday we will meet at God's house to worship. Give God your best. We will have the opportunity to serve others through ministry, and thereby serve God. Give your best. Every day, I have the opportunity to live life God's way. That means if I'm mad at another Christian, I need to forgive. God isn't going to accept an offering at the hand of an angry servant.

Father,
I confess that I have settled for second place. I have let my attitude become one of 'That's good enough'. Please forgive me! And please forgive the sins of the people for offering less than the best. Please be patient with us. Please let us see how awesome you really are, and how deserving you really are of our best. And please give me the courage to accept nothing less.