Malachi was a sad book, wasn’t it? First we hear God’s charges against Judah – they had offered defiled animals for sacrifice – not perfect ones. They intermarried with the gentiles around them and were pulled to other gods, they robbed God by withholding the tithe, and they had said that it was futile to serve God. But in spite of all of this – still God gives promise of the Messiah. The 5th verse in Malachi 4 was interesting – I wonder if the Elijah that was referred to was John the Baptist – or when Elijah comes during the last of the Great Tribulation.
We got started into Job – a great book of faith and perseverance.
Acts 7:54-56 are verses that give me great comfort. Stephen is about to be martyred for the faith and Jesus reveals Himself to him in all His glory. It makes me believe that at the time of our deaths – particularly under circumstances such as this – Jesus comes to us to guide us through the door of life and into His presence forever.
There is so much richness in Acts – so many things to just ponder over. But here is something that stood out for me this week. The last thing that Jesus said before he ascended was “Go into the world….” But the church is staying pretty centered in Jerusalem. After the stoning of Stephan a great persecution arose against the church and scattered it. Because it was now scattered, Saul/Paul had to go to Damascus in order to kill off some more Christians. On the road to Damascus, Saul/Paul had an up-close and personal encounter with Jesus – and we know the rest of Paul’s story. If Stephen had not been martyred, if the church had not been scattered, Saul/Paul would not have been on that road and we would not have his incredible writings. satan’s intentions were to use both events to bring harm to Jesus’ Church – but our mighty God turned it around for great good.
This week’s readings:
Sonday, Oct 22…....Job 11-12; Acts 15-16
Monday, Oct 23…... Job 13-14; Acts 17-18
Tuesday, Oct 24….. Job 15; Acts 19-20
Wed. Oct 25…...… Job 16; Acts 21-23
Thurs, Oct 26…..…Job 17; Acts 24-26
Friday, Oct 27…… Job 18; Psalm 114; Acts 27-28
Sat. Oct 28……...…Job 19; Mark 1-2