Malachi 2:17
“You have wearied
the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied
him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of
the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God
of justice?”
God has
been and still will be faithful to give us a warning about what is
coming. He sent the prophet Isaiah to proclaim this truth. Isaiah
5:20, “Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put
bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” The apostle Paul comes many
generations later with this word in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, “But understand this, that in the
last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of
self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents,
ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control,
brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of
pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but
denying its power. Avoid such people.”
I believe we are living in the
generation the Bible is referring to. But, for the grace of God, I am that
person. As a younger man, I was such a person, all I had to do was look
in the mirror, and I saw that man. But God sent people into my life to
teach me not to desire the empty promises of man, but to seek God. I came
to the Father with nothing but a sinful life of pride and arrogance and Jesus
gave me life to the full. The Puritans often prayed this prayer and so do
I. It is a prayer of Assurance that begins like this; “Almighty God, I am loved with
everlasting love, clothed in eternal righteousness, my peace flowing like a
river, my joy and triumph unutterable, my soul lively with a knowledge of
salvation, my sense of justification unclouded.” (Page 92 The Valley of Vision)
Have you spent time with your
mirror, the one that looks into your soul, if not today can be your day to
examine yourself, all it requires is a willing heart to be all that God has for
you; it is all good?
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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