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Would God Curse His Treasured Possession?

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But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9

Scripture calls you a priest of God, dear one. Do you think of yourself that way? Do you even know what it means?

Peter’s words in our opening scripture echo God’s to Moses in Exodus 19:5-6.

“’Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

From the beginning, God has sought to create for Himself a kingdom of priests. Perhaps you noticed the contingency mentioned in verse 5. If. We tend to treat God’s promises as though they’re all automatic. I think God would like us to notice our role in bringing them to fruition.

…if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples.

 I can’t help thinking of God’s words over Jesus on the mount of transfiguration.

And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” Luke 9:35

Throughout scripture, God promises blessing to those who listen to Him. And Jesus came as the Word made flesh, calling all people to follow Him. Those truths leave me struggling to understand how so many professing Christians believe we can ignore God’s Word and still expect His blessing,

We shout grace as our justification.  We’re taught that God treasures and loves us regardless of how we behave. We are, after all, His royal priesthood, saved by grace.

But God declared this message to His priests in Malachi 2.

“And now, O priests, this command is for you. If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. Verses 1-2

I’m guessing those verses might make you a little uncomfortable. We don’t want to picture our God of grace cursing the blessings of His own people. And yet, there it is in black and white. God disciplines His children who refuse to listen to Him. When we reject His Word, we reject His blessing.

Dear one, we cannot separate the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Right here in the book of Malachi, God confirms His unchanging nature.

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 3:6-7

God’s blessing departs from His people when we cease to honor and obey His Word. But He also promises that whenever we repent and return to Him, the blessing that flows from Him will return to us.

Like in the days of Malachi, God calls us to return to the sanctity of our covenant with Him. He describes that covenant with His original priest, Levi, in Malachi 2:5-6.

My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name.  True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.

Behold the true priest of the Word, dear one. Humbled by the awe of God, he fears Him and lives his life according to His Word. Life and peace follow him, because God is near. God’s Word is in his mouth and on his tongue, and he turns many from their sin.

Do those words describe you, dear one? Do the Father’s eyes rest upon you with joy because your life reveals your position in His kingdom of priests?

For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. Verse 7

Blessing flows to the one who hears the Word of the Lord and follows.

Lord, empower us to live worthy of the calling we have received. You have consecrated us, sanctified us, and set us apart for your kingdom purpose. Forgive us for living for ourselves instead of for You. Ignite Your Word in our hearts and give us the faith to live by it, turning many from iniquity. May we stand in awe of You, living lives that reveal Your glory.

Dear Father, raise Your kingdom of priests.

A Distinct Salvation

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The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:8 ESV

The world keeps changing.

And society continues to redefine itself right along with it. Yet in the midst of our continually evolving world, one thing remains constant.

“I the Lord do not change.” Malachi 3:6

As much as you and I may feel inclined to redefine God to suit who we want Him to be, He doesn’t change. And scripture is clear. Though everything else may fade away, His Word will endure. Eventually, it will prove itself true, and no one will be able to deny it.

So you and I have a choice to make, dear one. Will we draw near to God, stand on His Word, and reap the blessings of the faithful? Or will we allow society to redefine our beliefs and suffer the consequences?

That’s right. Turning our backs on God’s Word will bring consequences. Always. They may not be immediate, but they always come. That’s why Jesus told the deceiver,

“It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4

Did you catch that, dear one? Jesus said every word. If you and I want to really live, we need to trust what God says.

You see, whether or not it’s presently popular to believe it, God’s Word remains true. Infallible. Flawless. And not just the convenient parts or the scriptures that suit our agendas. It’s all true.

The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. Psalm 119:160, emphasis mine

Partial truth deceives, dear one. We need the whole of it. And that’s what has brought us so much trouble. We’ve tried to pick and choose.

We grab hold of scriptures that celebrate grace while neglecting God’s call to holiness. Or we attack with the law as if it’s a weapon, ignoring Jesus’ plea to love even our enemies.

Beloved, our selective application of scripture places us on very dangerous ground. Ignorance of what God really says doesn’t qualify as an excuse to avoid His judgments.

And that’s what’s coming, dear one, for those who continue to exchange the truth of God for the enemy’s lies.

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness … Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight! … Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people, and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them, and the mountains quaked. Isaiah 5:20-21, 25, emphasis mine

In days when our society turns from God in increasing measure, it’s imperative that we, His people, turn toward Him with even greater fervor. You see, if we don’t allow God to reveal His truth to us, we will find ourselves easily convinced by the lie.

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. 2 Peter 3:17-18, emphasis mine

There is only one way to avoid being caught in the tide that’s coming, dear one. We need to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He alone holds the standard of truth by which we will all be judged. And He alone provides the power meet it.

Jesus holds the standard of truth by which we will be judged. And He alone provides the power meet it. Click To Tweet

Let Psalm 119:10 be the prayer of our hearts.

With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!

You and I need to seek the truth, beloved, and Jesus is the truth (John 14:6). For too long we’ve allowed others to tell us what truth is. We need to open our Bibles and permit the Teacher Himself to write His Word upon our hearts. As we trust Him, aligning our beliefs and lives with what He reveals, we ensure our deliverance.

You see, a consistent theme reveals itself throughout the Word of God.

The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. 2 Peter 2:9-10

A distinction is about to be made.

“They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. Malachi 3:17-18, emphasis mine

Beloved, you and I can’t expect people who don’t follow Christ to act like people who do. But we also can’t allow them to carry us away from truth with the futility of their thinking.

The Word of God must be our standard. We must not let our culture dictate what’s acceptable and what isn’t. God alone has that right.

But when we stand with Him in truth, dear one, you can be sure He will also stand with us.

The Sacred Portion

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Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! 1 Chronicles 16:29

Last week we looked at God’s desire to be first in our lives. He deserves first place, beloved. After all, you and I wouldn’t even be here without Him. He gives life and provides every good thing.

I think you’ll find that He will never agree to be second.

And He has established by His Word that those who honor Him first will walk in the bounty of His blessing.

Is He first in your life, dear one? Does your life center around Him and His purpose?

Perhaps you’re wondering how to put God first. It’s simple, really. We put God first when we honor and trust His Word.

When you and I seek to know and understand God’s heart through His Word and choose to live by the principles He reveals, we begin to live by faith. And faith, dear one, opens the door to His marvelous grace.

Today we’ll focus on one particular principle woven throughout scripture: the sacred portion.

Let’s begin by establishing a truth I pray you already know.

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. Psalm 24:1

As the Creator of all things, everything belongs to God. Yet He chose to do something remarkable.

The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man. Psalm 115:16

God created a world by the breath of His mouth, and then gave it to the people He formed from the dust of its surface. He handed us authority (Genesis 1:26), allowing us to choose whether we’d walk with Him and live in His promises, or whether we would discover the hardship of life lived apart from Him.

He desperately longs for us to choose fellowship with Him and trust His Word. He wants our believing lives to become evidence of His truth. And one way He ordained that we can honor Him is by returning the sacred portion to Him.

You see, although He has given His creation to man, He has set aside a portion of everything for Himself. He allows us to live on His provision and enjoy it, but He has set apart the first of everything His hand brings forth and marked it as holy.

The sacred portion belongs to Him, dear one.

And He promises that if we will offer Him the first of everything, He will bless all the rest for our use.

Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. Proverbs 3:9-10

God has also claimed the first of everything born.

“You shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb.” Exodus 13:12

Mary and Joseph honored this decree when they brought Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord” Luke 2:22-23).

Ezekiel 44:30 reveals the benefit of living by this principle.

And the first of all the firstfruits of all kinds, and every offering of all kinds from all your offerings, shall belong to the priests. You shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, that a blessing may rest on your house.

God promises His people that if we will honor Him by returning to Him the first of all He provides, He will bless the rest.

You may be tempted to argue that these principles were a part of Jewish law that we are no longer bound to. I would challenge that thinking by pointing out that this principle shows up long before Israel or its laws had been established. We only need to venture into the fourth chapter of Genesis to find it.

Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. Genesis 4:2-5

I used to wonder why God seemed to regard Cain unfairly. I mean, if Cain worked the ground, isn’t it only right that his offering would come from its fruit?

Then God showed me the principle of the first.

You see, Cain brought an offering of some fruit to God in the course of time. Abel brought from the firstborn and the best portions.

Abel returned to God what was rightfully His, honoring Him with his first and best. Cain took the best for himself and offered to God what was left over. Abel received the blessing of God. Cain did not.

Perhaps we should consider God’s words in Malachi 3:6.

“For I the Lord do not change.”

You might be interested to read the context of that declaration.

“Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” Malachi 3:8-10

God’s challenge is simple. Return to God what is His, and ours will be blessed. Take from what belongs to Him, and He will remove His blessing from what is ours.

You and I are not bound to the law, dear one. But we are bound by the principles God has declared in His Word. And He has declared that the first of everything is sacred and His.

Will you trust God by returning the holy portion, full of faith that He will provide more?

Then you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, . . . Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people. Deuteronomy 26:13a, 15a