Turn To Him Wholeheartedly

“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” - Psalm 119:18. Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 Today's Chapters: Book of Malachi  Message Title: Turn To Him Wholeheartedly  Hello My Friend, The Book of Malachi is the thirty-ninth book of the Old Testament/Bible, the final book of the Old Testament, and contains four chapters. The author of the book is Malachi and it was written to Israel. The timeline for these events took place approximately between 440BC and 410BC. The purpose of the book was to call Israel to repentance and return to righteousness in order to restore the nation, calling great emphasis on the Levites. What we are to learn from the book is that it is not enough to turn to God,we must turn to Him wholeheartedly. “If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.” - Malachi 2:2. Malachi was the last of the Old Testament prophets, he speaks clearly of Jesus, and encourages God's people to repent. Through Malachi, God addresses those who have been complaining and questioning Him of His judgment. “I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever. And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel. For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.” - Malachi 1:2-5,11. The problem here was that the people were relying on false religion to tell them who God was and how He wanted them to live instead of learning from God Himself. Now, God is seen as someone who is evil and only picks certain kind of people to be His people. Does this all seem a little familiar to you? It drives me nuts when people say, “I'm Catholic” or “I'm Jehovah's Witness” or “I'm a Jew”. Religion gets us nowhere with God! He is begging all to realize that the only religion we need is the Gospel. He does not care what color or nationality we are, He cares that we believe in His Son, andthat we accept Him, and trust only in Him to save us. “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” - 1 John 5:13. Now, God has something to say to the leaders of the church, those who were using His name for their own financial gain, but were not teaching the truth or using the money they were getting for the church. “If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts. Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.” - Malachi 2:2,5-9. People look to men and women who they think know God for guidance and direction, but when they are not reading and following God's Word themselves all they are doing is deceiving those who are truly trying to live for God. Heads up to religions who use other books as God's Word, if churches do not encourage you to read the Bible or read from the Bible themselves in the church service then they are deceiving you. “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” - 1 Thessalonians 2:13. If we as Christians are not living our lives as the example that God wants us to be you can imagine why so many people reject Christ and think that it is no different than living their lives the way they are living now. We are representatives of Christ, do not be ashamed of it, embrace it, true freedom comes when we wholeheartedly serve Him. “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.” - 1 John 2:28,29.  Today's Prayer: God, We can live in such a way that our limitations define us and guide us in all that we think, do, and say to the point that we feel like prisoners. Lord, we can recognize our true freedom when You accomplish Your will in our lives when we humbly serve You. The constraints we place on ourselves can be lifted by the power of Your Holy Spirit as we give You all that we are and wholeheartedly devote ourselves to You. In Jesus' name. Amen.  God Bless You, I am praying for you, Christina Are You 100% Sure That You Are Going To Heaven? Visit: God's Price Like Us On Facebook: I'm Following Jesus ©2014 I'm Following Jesus