So I feel like we have made it past another monumental step in our blogging relationship: Blog #2! I just want to take a moment and say that I am extremely proud of what I have accomplished here today (Yes, that was suppose to make you think of this Donald Trump) and that would be I have actually followed through and committed to this thing!
Today we finally handed in our last assignment for the prophets. We went book by book from the earliest prophet (Amos) all the way to the latest prophet (Malachi). The words that Malachi spoke were the last ones to Israel for 450 years and I think that are very practical to us today as well. The people that Malachi spoke to were Israelites that had returned from their exile in Babylon and had crushed expectations of what Jerusalem was suppose to be like; so they just blamed God for everything, even though they didn't even take the time to get to know him. They were people with the attitude that at least I'm giving God something ... he should at least be happy with that! As I am writing I have come to the conclusion that Malachi is my favorite prophet because he is addressing these people and these people sound pretty familiar to me. Think about it for a second ... Doesn't that sound pretty similar to the American Church at times? I'm not saying everyone, but there is a group of people that blame God because they are following him and their expectations are shattered. So they just kind of go through the motions and throw him a bone every now and then, and finally when he stands up to say something about it we respond with "Hey God! I have no idea what your talking about! I haven't wronged you at all!"
I just really like Malachi because to me it seems like a very practical book and it really spoke into where I am in life right now. The book really encouraged me because it showed the importance of what we are doing here at Emmaus School of Biblical Studies. It speaks into a time where the people don’t know who God is and what his character is like and because of this their worldview and view of God is totally misdirected. For me at least, this shows how important this school is because it increases our knowledge of those two things. This year my worldview has been rocked because of the increase of the knowledge of who really God is and what his character really looks like. It has really helped me see the way that God has made this world to work.
There are section in the book that really made me think and had a great impact on my thinking was where is said, the people who respected God came together and the Lord took note of it and listened (Malachi 3:16). This really impacted me because it showed me that God does notice when we come together to talk about him, to worship him and when we meditate on his word. It shows that he is listening to what we are saying because he cares. He cares about if our hearts are engaged in our worship of him or if it just a religious practice. This really made me stop and think because there are times when I will be doing one of those things and I will just start thinking if God is hearing what I am saying. This answers that question for me and not one does it answer it, but it shows that he is taking note and he claims me for himself (Malachi 3:17). This is something that I really struggle with and I am pumped to find out that God does listen when we gather and I want to be more confident in the truth that he hears me.
I just want to encourage you to read Malachi as well and just take the time to let God speak to you through what Malachi is saying. I know that you probably aren't in the same situation as some of these people, but there are principles that he gives that can change us if we let him. (If you do want to read Malachi and want some background info on what is going on, please email me @ todd.d.livingston@gmail.com and I'll send you some stuff ... seriously I will!)
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