Lena's Journalin' to Malachi 3 Watch out - It's red HOT

Ya, know what? You don’t HAVE to read this today. If you’re too busy I totally understand. Have a great day anyway. I love you, Lena (just a messenger of God).

Who is the sent messenger of God in your life? Be careful, it could be so obvious that you just might miss it. Messengers are those that God uses in our lives to prepare us for a final judgment day. That could be anyone from a preacher to an in-law!
Seriously. The less regard we give to the voice of God in any form He deems, the less we will have the grace to truly hear His voice. Our prayer should be, “However You deem best to speak to me about anything, Lord, do it Your way , in any way You will to.”
We look for Him to come in a visible form, we look for Him to “appear” to us personally. All the while He has shown up in many a form even up until this time, yet we may not have esteemed or recognized Him!
This is serious, because if we cannot recognize Him speaking to us in our in-law or boss or spouse, etc. we may not know Him when He does come and appear, and because we chose not to listen in the form He chose to speak, He may have to say to us, “I did not know you, for you never listened to Me when I sent messengers to prepare the way for Me to really come to You. See I could not come to you in a visible form until you believed in Me invisibly, for I am truly known as I Am by faith, only by faith. Faith brings out of the invisible realm that which appears. Light be and light was!”
Who will be able to endure or stand or face Him, when He comes? Those who believe in Him, those who follow His voice faithfully, those who are becoming as He is, those who see and live eternally. Their treasures are not of the earth, they go after what and who He treasures, that is what they live for. Fire will come and purify or test all that has been done, only the eternal and lasting works, deeds, truths, and lives will be kept in the “end”.
At that time every person and every deed done will come into the burning of His great light. Better to be exposed and tried severely now than face an eternal judgment then. Every person sent to us here as a messenger is of the grace of God, especially if they are hard taskmasters, for they prepare us for that day if our spirits are open to receive their correction and in humility give of our lives for their souls.
Those who step on others for their own gain or popularity or exaltation, causing others to serve them, will be severely judged. The bottom line is they did not fear Him enough to serve and love Him His way. They had other gods before Him, the god of self was the biggest one.
Rather than condemning those who treat us wrongly now, we ought to be praying for their souls to be saved, for we will not be able to bear it when we see what they get, if we did not pray to God for mercy on them.
Scorning decrees and failing to obey God has a very heavy sentence. We all feel so much grace, that we excuse ourselves into the exercise of our free wills as we desire to be directed. The deal is, God will allow us to choose our own ways. Do you understand what that means? That means I can choose to be eternally separated from God and He’ll go ahead and allow me to make that choice! I can walk away from His presence now, disobey His will, any and everyday and He will allow me to! The only way to be made right again, is to turn from the ways I feel are right, to turn my will around, and re-follow His, His way. That’s the only way home.
The biggest deception is that I think I’m ok living my own way. I still feel loved by and drawn by God, so I excuse death invitations as options.
Have I given my whole life to God and His work in the earth?
Really, how often do I join in with the activities of a church body in order to become equipped to do ministry in my home, church and community? Of the meetings I attend or assemble in, how much of what I hear taught do I take home for further study, so that I make sure I understood what was presented in order to make a plan to do what was taught as soon as possible? When was the last time I asked the ones teaching me what they meant or to explain it further so I could really apply it to my home life, my life on the job, and in all of my earthly relationships?
Do I debate the words given me through others by God? Do I always question what is served me on the spiritual platters at church services?
When was the last time I asked anyone at church what I could become a part of there, and how I can serve the house in the vision God has given them to carry out into our community? Or do I just decide on my own what ministry I’d like to do and go out and do it alone without any initiation from the body? What practical help do I give at my church? Like housework kind of stuff? When asked to do something, do I stay till the end and do the best I can above my own abilities? Or do I let other do it and stay to make sure it’s done, I mean It IS their job, right? I have other things I have to do.
Remember God will let me be excused, he won’t make me stay, neither will the messenger who asked me to help. I can do whatever I want and give as much as I can, or decide to.
Do I go serve in soup kitchens, but won’t serve in the nursery? Or do I serve in the nursery, but make my family serve me at home?
We’re talking about giving up of our whole lives to God here. Not a part, but a whole.
When was the last time I told anyone in my family or church where I am planning to go, or what I am planning to do and why? Being open to and ready to hear correction and maybe even alter or change my plans?
Do I just make plans and check in with people about it, to let them know, or am I willing to let them speak into my life of a better way to do something? Do my leaders find out where I am after I’ve gone there, or when I come back? Do they hear of my plans second hand? If they do you have no relationship, no communion with them at all. You are your own person an entity entirely to yourself. When I live that way, I’m living for myself, I am my own master, and I have no fear of God. This is the bottom line. Hard as it may be to hear, it will save your soul, if you are wiling to change.
WHAT does this have to do with tithes and offerings? Aren’t we talking about money here?
WHAT are we offering money for? Why money anyway, and why does God seem to want to get in to my pocketbook, isn’t that my stash? I mean I work hard for it and I’ve spent my life and time to get it, and it is the reward for the hard labor I do and time I am away from my family….
Aha, Yes, there we go, we’re THERE now.
Where?
Right where we can really talk about the tithe and offerings!
If God cannot talk to you about money, what can He talk to you about? Money is all about life and how we choose to spend it. If God touching your money offends you, maybe you have not given your life over to Him yet.
Salvation does not happen by just saying some magical prayers. Nope it is evidenced by the confessed actions of our new lifestyle. We make huge changes which speak of a new citizenship, a new governor, surrender to God. Salvation comes through surrender to God, in all areas of life! He gave His life, so I give mine in return, as a visible proof of my faith. I respond to the work I believe was done on the cross for me. If I do not change I do not believe!
It is definitely a test of your true faith in Him. Be made aware, this IS a test! A test to see if you put your money in the same place you put the confession of your faith. We say, “Jesus, You are Lord”, do we show it by giving of the very core of our life’s work, by offering God only a mere requested portion of what already belongs to Him?
The tithe is given by faith. It never adds up, ever, never has, never will. Don’t try to add it up, just give it. How much is it? 10 %. That’s it. The tithe is 10%, given to your local church. Anything else is an offering. You give to United Way or send money to missions, those are not a part of the 10%. They are above and beyond that, and are called - offerings.
When we give a tithe we are telling God and our community, that we trust who we do not see with what we do not see. We fear God enough to honor Him and obey Him and give Him what represents a hard earned life’s reward. What we could keep to ourselves, we choose to give over to His management, however He deems it to be used. Once we give it, it is gone, we do not need to know even how it is used, for it is not a bargaining tool, it is a gift of life, it is an action of faith in Him, not in the men here who received it.
Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. Luke 17:33
Whenever we do not, or will not tithe, we say we cannot trust God. We will find that we cannot make ends meet, and what we do make gets poured into pockets with holes. Nothing ever adds up then either. In fact it is all consuming, being consumed, for we are consumers by nature, and we’ve not given our lives to God.
We are Not trying God on for size, to see if His ways will workout for us. Man, we are following after His ways forever. Once we are joined to Him, it is for life here and life eternally. Thank God. I wouldn’t want to spend eternity with anyone else.
Those who feared the Lord act this way, live this way, whether things are working well for them or not, they give their life to and for Him, even if pain or temporary suffering enter in. remember the enemy hates those who look like God!
He’s not going down without a fight. His goal is to steal your souls right out of God’s heart. If he can keep you trying God out for size, and them deceive you about God’s character or love or power or whatever, he may have you where he wants you, but if you give your whole life over to God by faith, no matter what the earthly outcome, he can’t touch your soul. There is one who can touch the body but CANNOT have the soul! If the souls really and truly decides.
God does not need to perform for me at all, ever, but He does. Isn’t THAT amazing? The principles of His word activated by me and made alive and becoming one with me, enact blessing, automatically.
Yes He IS!