Tag: Digging in Deeper

Digging in Deeper: 1 Corinthians 9:24-25

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“Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize. Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown.”‬ ‭(CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

In 2001 a movie came out called Rat Race. It was an ensemble film featuring a host of famous comedians and was essentially a retitled remake of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World from 1963. The movie is about a group of greedy gamblers who get suckered into a casino owner’s personal game of getting them to hilariously race across the country to see which of them can make it to a locker filled with money first. The plot is basically one slapstick moment after another, but there is a basic life lesson to it. It hyperbolically reminds us how foolish it is to make the acquiring of wealth our sole pursuit. How often, though, do we find life imitating art?

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Digging in Deeper: Malachi 3:18

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“So you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.”‬ ‭(CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

We left things yesterday in an uncomfortable place. Israel in the days of Malachi was in an uncomfortable place. When the people of God are asking whether or not it is really worthwhile to be the people of God, things aren’t good. And for us who seek to follow Jesus today, even knowing what we know from the Scriptures, we sometimes wonder the same thing. Today we get a resolution of sorts. It may not be all we think we want, but it is what God gives and so let’s talk about why it should be enough.

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Morning Musing: Malachi 3:10

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“‘Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house. Test me in this way,’ says the Lord of Armies. ‘See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the things we see people being instructed not to do several times in various places in the Scriptures is to test God. We are not to hinge our devotion or obedience to Him on his doing something we want Him to do. He is not at our beck and call. He is God and we are not. In light of this, seeing Him actually command the people to test Him on something here should cause us to sit up and take notice. Well, sit up, and let’s take notice.

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Digging in Deeper: Malachi 3:5

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“‘I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the hired worker, the widow, and the fatherless; and against those who deny justice to the resident alien. They do not fear me,’ says the Lord of Armies.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

What kinds of things beat near to the heart of God? That’s a much bigger question than it might sound at first hearing. At least, it’s a much bigger question if it matters to you at all to care about the same kinds of things God cares about. It is certainly a subject that has been the focus of much tension in the church over the years. Whole religious movements within the church have been built around one person or another’s idea of what matters most to God. Well, while that question doesn’t have anything like a quick, easy answer, verses like this one in Malachi give us a pretty good clue of at least one thing that really matters to Him.

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Digging in Deeper: Malachi 2:16

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“‘If he hates and divorces his wife,’ says the Lord God of Israel, ‘he covers his garment with injustice,’ says the Lord of Armies. Therefore, watch yourselves carefully, and do not act treacherously.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

There aren’t many subjects more uncomfortable to deal with in the Scriptures than the various teachings on divorce contained within them. And yet, given just how important marriage is to our own lives, to our culture as a whole, and to God Himself, whether or not to end it and when and what comes next is something we have to deal with. We have to be able to find that place where theological truth and pastoral reality come together to bring God the glory He deserves and us the joy He intends for us to have. This verse does not by any means solve all the difficulties here, but it does offer an important contribution to our understanding of God’s thoughts on the matter. Let’s talk about it together.

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