Happy New Year!
Malachi 3:16-18 KJV [16] Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. [17] And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. [18] Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
- The Lord hears believers gathering, encouraging each other and praying together. It might seem odd that we see this in Malachi but The Israelites experienced more than one episode of judgements. God was continually sending prophets and priests to warn them, to steer them away from being like all the other nations. He wanted them to stay away from worshiping other gods because that always led to destruction. Yet, even when they strayed so far that annihilation was imminent the Lord spared a remnant. (Jeremiah 31:7 KJV 7] For thus saith the Lord ; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.) He does this because He remembers His covenants with Abraham, Moses and David. Even though the majority have turned their backs on God, there is always a few who have stayed true. God wants to remember them. Do you want to be remembered, treasured by God? If you do, then you must be willing to stand apart from the world. (Romans 1:1 KJV Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,). You must be willing to do the right thing even if you are alone doing it. You must be willing to look for others doing the right things and walk with them, encourage them and pray with them.
- The Lord will bring judgement but believers make the difference as to when this period of mercy will end and judgement must come. (Genesis 18:26 KJV And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.) Abraham is negotiating for a wicked city but God promises to hold judgement if the city meets the condition. The Lord will not wait until their is no remnant of believers. He may remove them before judgement but His mercy is fierce. Over and over, in the Old Testament, we can read how the Israelites were brought back from near extinction. Even when they were so far from God that they were eating their children. All they needed to do was stop choosing death and call out to God. God called Abraham out from the Chaldeans to be His. Only by Abraham’s obedience was the Hebrew nation born. Remember that HE created us in His image. No other creation can match this. Satan will try to destroy us, transform us into his own but he will not be successful because, even he was created by God and he does not have God’s power and authority. If we join Satan against God, we seal our fate but the Lord doesn’t just let us go. He sent Jesus so we could understand how much He loves us. So we could have an example to follow, that shows us how we can live with Him in peace, for an eternity that begins now.
- The Lord values His believers, He will spare us. It is very important to remember that the God of Noah wants a relationship with every human being. HE talks to all of us, the question is are we listening? Are we obedient? Our first step of obedience is deciding if we will accept God’s salvation, through Jesus Christ. Our second step is to proclaim that belief out loud and through baptism. The Bible then instructs us to speak often with others who believe, to hold God in reverence for HE is holy, and to think on God and all HE is doing. (Romans 10:9 KJV That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.) The Lord has a book of remembrance! Imagine it is like a photo album. That’s right! He wants to remember! This is God’s humor. HE doesn’t need a book of remembrance, HE is God beginning to end! I believe HE wants us to know how important we are to Him. He is keeping track of our sufferings, our trails and the attacks we are enduring from the enemy. Do you think that Job was suffering alone? I know that God was watching as Satan proceeded to make Job’s life miserable so he would forsake God. He didn’t and God has his name in the book of remembrance. God wants to rub Satan’s nose in our obedience. Malachi says it right, God will spare us like a father who protects and spares his children.
As we enter this new year, let us remember that God sees us and hears us. He is longing to have fellowship with each of us. He considers us to be HIS precious jewels. We must pray for our friends and neighbors. We should burn with excitement to tell them the good news of Jesus. Instead of praying for the rapture, look out and see all the souls that have, yet, to understand that Jesus died for them. This is the heart of God, it must be ours, too!
Mickey Kyler
