Sunday, July 31, 2011

July 31, 2011 | John Bayles | The First Dispute: God's Love For His People (Malachi 1:1-5)



"How have you loved us?" The narrowness, the foolishness, the sinfulness of this statement by the nation of Israel. This opening dispute by God's messenger with His holy people is filled with a deep forgetfulness of God's essential nature and His expressed character - God is love! Malachi is filled with a burden ( the oracle) of being the instrument of correction to the nation. They have lost their way, they have sinned, but mostly they have forgotten what God's choice of them has made them to be. They must be reminded as we too must be reminded that they were not chosen because they were worthy of love, but God's choice of them made them unique in the eyes of God and one another. This is a deep lesson to remember. If God never does a single thing for us again, we would already be recipients of a grace that is beyond anything we could ask or imagine. Let us pray that we will continually be people of thanks and praise to the one who first loved us.

2 comments:

  1. ArmandoJuly 31, 2011 at 4:29 PM

    It was a great sermon we hope to visit the church again.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pastor John BaylesAugust 3, 2011 at 12:46 PM

    Thanks Armando. Enjoyed meeting you and the family. Malachi is written as if for today. Glad your investigating joining me in the journey.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)