Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Don't rob God


“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me! But you say, ‘in what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings” - Malachi 3:8


         Do not rob God of what is rightfully His. This is kind of a trick statement considering that means everything in this life. The Lord has given us all that we have- your house, your things, your spirit, your soul, your everything. He hand crafted these things and gave them to you- yet we try to claim them as our own and rob Him of the glory. 
Robbing God sounds kind of impossible- what does that even mean? In the time of Malachi, the Israelites did it by withholding their tithes and animal offerings. Today, we don't sacrifice burnt animal offerings, however we are called to live as sacrifices to the Lord. My life is to be an offering for the Almighty God. I may be tithing literally all of my money, however I may still be robbing God of so much. How? Because its been His all along. He has bought us back from the grips of death and He has paid the highest price for us- The blood of Jesus. I belong to Jesus. All that I am is HIS yet I try and withhold and rob God. We try to take our lives out of the best place they could possibly be- the palm of HIS hand. All I do, say, and am is to be an offering and sacrifice so that He may gain glory. My being is rightfully His, yet I try to hold onto it as if it were mine to begin with. And then, ridiculously, I ask God “in what way have I robbed you?” just as these Israelites did. It is only when we fear the Lord and rightfully give Him what is His- which is everything- He will then claim us as His own. 

“They shall be Mine.” says the Lord of hosts, “On the day I will make them My jewels” - Malachi 3:17