Malachi 1:8
“And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor!
Would he be pleased with you?
Would he accept you favorably?
Says the Lord of hosts.”
Years ago, I heard a story of a farmer whose cow, after a long and arduous labor, gave birth to twins. He ran into the farmhouse to give the news to his wife, who reminded him of the goodness of God and encouraged him to give one of the calves to the Lord. He agreed immediately, but took some time to make the decision as to which calf would be his and which one would belong to the Lord. After a few weeks, one of the young cows fell ill and the faithful farmer spent the night caring for it. Early the next morning the farmer entered the house and was met by his wife who asked what happened. With a voice filled with sorrow he responded, “The Lord’s calf died.”
When it comes to giving, we often follow the example of the farmer. We pass on to the Lord what we no longer need. The church I first attended had a ministry to Mexico and would collect items to be taken down and given to the needy. Before the items were delivered, it was always necessary to go through the boxes and bags and filter out the “dead cows.” It was astonishing how often boxes would be filled with torn clothing or single shoes. It is almost as though, it was easier for some people to drop stuff at the church, than to take it to the dump, where it belonged. We have all heard the phrase, “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” Perhaps we should learn a similar phrase, “one man’s junk is sometimes junk.”
When it comes to giving to the Lord, we should’nt just give what we do not want or need. We should give our best. I have been blessed over the years, to see so many people at our church give of their time, talents and treasures, to further the Kingdom of God. Remember you cannot take it with you, but you can send it on ahead. One of the greatest ways to store up treasures in heaven, is to invest in the work of the Lord.
Pastor Jim
Before becoming the Pastor of Calvary Chapel Vero Beach, I spent eight years teaching in the classroom. The first five years I taught in middle school and the final three in high school. Those years proved to be both a wonderful experience and an excellent training ground for raising my own children. My first year was interesting to say the least. I was 23 years old and newly married. I had little experience dealing with preteens, except for the fact that I had been one. My approach in the classroom could have been called the “whose your buddy” method. I attempted to be the cool teacher, who never gave out detentions, office referrals, or parent contacts. The result was chaos. After a few months, I spoke with an aunt who had been in education for years. When I asked for her secret to order in the classroom, she explained that she did not have disciplinary problems, because she had a standard the students understood and she stuck to. Soon after, I observed another teacher who clearly stated the classroom standards and kept to them. When a student misbehaved, she did not become emotional, losing her cool and raising her voice, she simply pointed out that he was breaking the rules, and disciplined accordingly. Those experiences transformed my ability to instruct the children. Instead of spending all my time, energy, and prayer life, dealing with discipline, I was able to teach.
When faced with decisions, it is not uncommon to be counseled to follow your heart. Solomon suggests that doing so is a very bad idea. He calls it folly. I can think of three reasons why it is foolish to follow your heart.
Zechariah wrote over 400 years before Christ, and yet, he refers to the cross.
A few years ago, the Frito-Lay Corporation ran an ad for their potato chips with the slogan, “Bet you can’t eat just one.” The concept was simple, their chips were so good, so addicting, that once you tasted one, you would keep eating until the bag was empty. In this verse, Solomon points out, sin is like that. The word he uses for hell is Sheol, and can mean the grave. He is declaring, just as death is never satisfied, so desire for sin will never be satisfied by sinning. Often, when we are facing greater than normal temptation toward sin, we think one more look, touch or taste will satisfy the craving. What we find is, the desire comes back with greater force after it has been fed.
Zechariah referred to the coming Messiah as the cornerstone. A cornerstone is the stone which forms the base of a building. It supports the weight of the adjoining walls and is the set stone necessary to plum the rest of the building. If that stone is unstable, or too weak to support the weight of the structure, the building itself will collapse. If that stone is out of square, the entire building will be crooked. Every builder understood the importance of the cornerstone. Zechariah was not the only writer to refer to the Messiah as the cornerstone. Isaiah put it this way,
Sometimes, determining what God wants us to do can be quite difficult. We can have opposing principles, which can be found in the pages of the Word, applied to the same situation. That is the case with the advice Solomon is providing here. On the one hand, it is folly to attempt to correct a foolish man. Since his thinking is irrational, it is impossible to rationalize with him. The conversation becomes nothing more than a vain argument. On the other hand, if he is not corrected, he will continue on the same path with no hope of escape. When faced with these encounters, we are forced to make a split second decision, seeking God’s best for the situation. Many times we walk away having a much longer conversation with ourselves than we did with the other person; talking out all the things we should have said. Allow me to give just a few tips.
The people in Zechariah’s day were beginning to realize their lifestyle was unacceptable to God. They concluded, the solution to unrighteous living was to fast on certain days. Prior to implementing their new religious program, they approached the prophet for guidance. He declared what they really needed to do was obey the Word of The Lord.
Jim Gallagher 