Camp Devotions - Day Ten

 Malachi 1:6-14 (NASB)

⁶  " 'A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?' says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, 'How have we despised Your name?'
⁷  "You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, 'How have we defiled You?' In that you say, 'The table of the LORD is to be despised.'
⁸  "But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?" says the LORD of hosts.
⁹  "But now will you not entreat God's favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?" says the LORD of hosts.
¹⁰  "Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD of hosts, "nor will I accept an offering from you.
¹¹  "For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations," says the LORD of hosts.
¹²  "But you are profaning it, in that you say, 'The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.'
¹³  "You also say, 'My, how tiresome it is!' And you disdainfully sniff at it," says the LORD of hosts, "and you bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand?" says the LORD.
¹⁴  "But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King," says the LORD of hosts, "and My name is feared among the nations."

God is a great King. Greater than we know. He deserves great devotion, great worship, great sacrifice, great service, and great offerings. The temptation is to cut corners. Take short cuts. Give God less than our best. God is not pleased with anything less than our absolute best. 

In this passage, the priests were taking blemished lambs and offering them to God. God said the priests despised Him with such actions.  They defiled and polluted the whole offering by presenting to God the blind, lame, and sick for their sacrifices. God confronted them telling them they would not even offer such things to a governor much less to Him. 

Do we do the same things? When we enter the house of worship, but go through the motions instead of really engaging our hearts and minds in praise and adoration? What about when we give offerings? Do we reach deep in our pockets and give cheerfully or begrudgingly? Do we offer God tip money or our tithes as acts of worship? What about our service to Him? Do we do second rate service by offering less than our best preparation? Do we sing from rote memory mindlessly voicing the words without ever contemplating who we are singing to? What about our prayers? Our Bible reading and study? Our fulfilling commitments? Our evangelistic efforts? In these things are we guilty of offering God the polluted?

Let's be honest. It takes great effort to offer God the best. It also costs. Sacrifice is required. Why go through all that effort? I can think of two reasons off the top of my head. God is a great God. He deserves the very best we can offer Him. Not lame, lukewarm, half-hearted service and worship. The second reason is that when we needed salvation, God gave His best. He sent His very own sinless Son to suffer on the cross so we could be saved. Such great sacrifice on His part deserves great service and sacrifice on our part. 

There is no price too great to pay in service for Him who suffered for our redemption. He has the right to ask us to do anything, at any time and to go anywhere. He deserves our yes no matter what He asks of us, where it leads, how much is costs, or how much we may have to suffer in the process of obedience. We sin when we hold back, offer second rate service, shoddy sacrifices, and putrid petitions. Even when it comes to praying for God to send revival. How many are dialed in, passionately pleading for God to rend the heavens and come down in power? Are there masses genuinely repenting of known sin and offering contrite confessions? It is easier to just go through the motions. It is easier to offer less than our best. We serve a great God. Greater than we know. Offer things to Him that honor and please Him. 

• Honestly assess what you have offered God lately? Are you giving God your best? If not, what will you do going forward?
• List reasons you consider God a great God for what He has done for you.
• Repent of the areas where you have offered Him defiled offerings. 
• Commit to offer Him your best preparation in advance of revival.