Malachi 1:6-8
6. A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honor? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?

7. Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible.

8. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts.

Malachi had a strong, blunt message for Israel. They had fallen headlong into the pit of apathy. They did not care about God the way they should have. They were keeping the best of everything for themselves and giving God the leftovers. If something wasn't any good or wasn't wanted anyways, their attitude was, "Oh, we'll give it as a sacrifice to God." Their actions spoke volumes as to what place God really had in their lives, and God was not pleased.

Malachi pointed out that they wouldn't dare offer something like that to their governor because it would not be accepted. They put anything and everything before God, and then they expected God to be pleased and grateful with whatever they chose to give Him. They were concerned more with the world than with God. This is what God meant when He said they were offering "polluted bread" on the altar.

Now, fast-forward to the present time. Examine the attitudes of Christians today. Look at how many people treat God, church, etc. We are guilty of the same thing that Malachi confronted Israel about. We always seem to have something else that we "gotta have" or "gotta do". If we have any time or resources left over, then we'll give some to the Lord. In short, we are also often guilty of offering "polluted bread".

Is God getting your best? Is God getting your "firstfruits"? Where does God rank on your priority list? He deserves the first part and the best part of what we have and who we are. He is worthy of first place on our priority list. Let's get rid of the "polluted bread" and renew a commitment in our hearts to give the Lord that which is His due. Only then will he be pleased with us.

Awesome thoughts here, Pastor Chad. It amazes me that you can preach a whole sermon in one post, something that would take some preachers an hour to do... :)

Chicky, I've always heard that it takes a better preacher to preach a good short sermon than a lenghty one.

Our Pastor Chadley never fails to inspire me with his wisdom.

Thanks again, Chadley!

Lorraine, I've got just enough "preacher" in me that I can make it into an hour-long sermon if you want! :lol:

Seriously, thank y'all for your kind words.

OH MY! Deliver us!

:rollinglaughing:

and some of us gladdly says go ahead pastor Chad and do as God Leads you to do. You and have 1 ,2,3,4, or how ever many hours you want... after all time belongs to GOD ALONE