Malachi is the last book of the minor prophets. In this book the Lord asked questions and answered them through His prophet. Malachi 1:6 is an example for us. It says, “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence?…”

To fear the Lord is to honor, worship, hold Him in high esteem, and to exalt Him above all. One of my favorite verses about the fear of the Lord is Proverbs 9:10. It says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Of course satan has a roadblock and strategic ways to pull us off course through the fear of man. My working definition for the fear of man is: anything that eclipses the Lord.

The Lord uses our trials, hardships, and adversities to refine and purify our faith. He exposes the dross of the fear of man that undermines and weakens our faith. Malachi 3:3 says, “He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering of righteousness.”

Malachi 3:16 is an amazing verse. There is no other verse like it in the Bible. It reveals a unique fruit of the fear of the Lord. It says, “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name.” When our conversations are filled with awe and reverence of the Lord, He is listening! They are written in a book!

Verse 17 says, “They shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, on the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.”

Here is another. Malachi 4:2 says, “But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings…” The Amplified finishes the verse, “…and you shall go forth and gambol like calves (released) from the stall and leap for joy.” Gambol means to run and jump about playfully. Walking in the fear of the Lord will bear much fruit for His glory.

Zechariah’s prophecy came two months after Haggai’s. According to the note in my Bible, he used ‘the Lord of hosts’ 53 times.

His first words were to return to the Lord. Why? Zechariah 1:2 says that the Lord was angry at their fathers. Verse 3-4 says, “…Return to Me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you…Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached…Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds. But they did not hear nor heed Me…”

Since all actions are first thoughts, it is good to remember Matthew 15:19. It says, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts…” Thoughts of rebellion lead to disobedience. Entertaining thoughts against another will lead to a hard heart of unforgiveness. We ‘return’ by confessing our sinful thoughts and actions.

Zechariah had multiple visions. In each one he was asked what he saw. When he didn’t know, the answer was given to him. Zechariah 7:11 revealed the profile of the disobedient. Let us take warning. It says, “But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear.”

Heed means to listen with an inclined ear. It displays an eagerness. Isaiah 43:19 is a verse I visit often. In the Amplified it says, “Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will you not give HEED to it?…”

Think right now about what just happened in our nation. Zechariah 8:17 says, “Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor; and no not love a FALSE oath. For all these are things I hate, says the Lord.”

Zechariah 12:10 says, “…they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.” The Lord is doing a new thing. Let us heed it and unite our prayers for revival in our nation and in the world. Let us call out, ‘Return to the Lord and He will return to you.’

Does disobedience have a motive? Yes. We put SELF above God. We act with arrogance and pride. We believe we know what is best and act it out.

Let’s go back to Jonah. He ran from the presence of the Lord. Why? He didn’t want to do what God had sent him to do. The Assyrians were enemies. His actions made his motive visual. He disobeyed God’s word by going his own way.

The folks in Haggai’s day had disobeyed the Lord. He had commissioned them to rebuild the temple. Their actions revealed a motive of SELF above God. They served themselves by fixing up their own houses.

We sin when we push for our own way. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 says, “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” What has He called us to? 2 Timothy 1:9 says, “Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.”

That brings up another verse in my mind. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

How could we be so arrogant to think that we would know how to navigate through works that were prepared for us? Those works are part of God’s orchestrated purpose for our lives.

The Lord uses our trials, adversities, and hardships to conform our motives so that they direct our thoughts and actions into His perfect plan for our lives. Hebrews 4:12 Amplified spoke of His word as, “…penetrating…exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.”

All thoughts originate from our motives. No wonder David asked the Lord to search his heart. Psalm 26:2 says, “Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my mind and my heart.” Let us make David’s prayer our own. Psalm 51:10 says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Pure motives will direct our actions into ways that glorify the Lord.

The Lord spoke through Haggai to bring His people out of complacency and into His fullness. First, He had to reveal to the leaders what they were not hearing. The people were saying that it was not time, but God was saying it was time.

Four times the Lord told them to consider. Consider means to ponder, or think about something, and to mull it over in your mind. Haggai 1:5 says, “Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways!” He highlighted their lack: they sowed much but brought in little, they ate but did not have enough, they drank but were not filled, they clothed themselves but were not warm, and they earned wages, but they put it in a bag with holes.

Verse 9-11 revealed the consequences of their complacency. Verse 9 says, “…Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house.” It was the Lord who withheld from them. The Lord used Haggai’s word to stir up the people. Verse 12 says that they obeyed the voice of the Lord and feared His presence. It was the Lord who stirred them up to do the work. The Hebrew word for stirred means: to arouse, awaken, excite, raise up, to incite, to open one’s eyes. I believe the Lord is using our present national circumstances to STIR up His people.

Haggai 2:5-6 says, “…so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear! For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and the dry land.” Why did He do that? Verse 7 says, “And I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory, says the Lord of hosts.”

Verse 17 says that He was the One who struck them with lack because they did not turn to Him. Verse 19 is a very probing question which says, “Is the seed still in the barn?…” This is the time for world evangelism, that a mighty harvest will be brought into His Kingdom. Do not be complacent. We must cry out together; united in prayer for worldwide revival.

14 times Haggai used the words, ‘the Lord of hosts’ to express who was speaking to them. Hosts have several meanings. One is the armies of Israel. It reminded me of Joshua 5:13-14. Joshua asked the Man, “…Are You for us or for our adversaries? So He said, No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord…” We have One Commander. We are in a holy season. Let us walk in humility so we have the grace we need to fight on our knees!

Zephaniah wrote his prophecy during the rule of king Josiah. Let me remind you that Josiah took the throne when he was eight years old. 2 Chronicles 34:3 says that he began to seek the Lord. He also destroyed all the idols in the land. When he heard the reading of the law he tore his clothes. Why? He heard about God’s great wrath that was coming. Verse 27 says that he humbled his heart and wept before the Lord. Need I say that we should follow suit because of our present situation?

Zephaniah 3:2 described the fruit of their rebellion: did not obey His voice; did not receive correction; did not trust in the Lord; did not draw near to God. It is time to check our own hearts. Let us make sure we have no heart-idols that usurp the Lord’s place; don’t listen to man’s words but to see God through His word; don’t grumble and complain.

We are created for relationship with the Lord. That never changes. The deeper we go in intimate communion with Him, the more our heart will be free of any sin-traps that would block wholehearted worship.

Zephaniah 3:8 says, “Therefore wait for Me, says the Lord, until the day I rise up for plunder; My determination is to gather the nations to My assembly of kingdoms, to pour on them My indignation, all My fierce anger; all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy.” Though this was speaking about the Day of the Lord, it reveals to us God’s heart against the wicked and their deeds. Let us continue to pray for a mighty in-sweeping of souls into His Kingdom~worldwide revival!

Verse 16 says, “The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Let us worship the One and only True God with pure hearts.

I love the way Habakkuk processes his circumstances with the Lord. He asked questions that pertained to his national situation. As I read this yesterday I thought of our own. Habakkuk 1:3 says, “Why do You show me iniquity, and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; there is strife, and contention arises.”

Look at how the Lord answered his first set of questions. I encourage you to lay it up in your heart for our time. Verse 5 says, “Look among the nations and watch–be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you.”

Watch what he did after he asked his next question. Habakkuk 2:1 says, “I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when corrected.” Years ago I incorporated this at the beginning of my quiet time. I ask the Lord questions and then wait to see how He will answer me.

Verse 2 says, “Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.” I encourage you to journal. Make it your spiritual workbook. When the Lord gives me insights through my daily reading, I write them down in my journal. Then I share them with you and others.

In Habakkuk 3:17 he rehearsed all the effects of his dire straits, yet declared powerful endurance-words which we also can put into practice. Verse 18 says, “YET I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

I love verse 19 in the Amplified. It says, “The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk (not stand still in terror, but to walk) and make (spiritual) progress upon my high places (or trouble, suffering, or responsibility)!”

Our responsibility right now is to strengthen our faith to shape what we see, rejoice in our salvation, and pray for our nation and those who oppose God and His ways. He is and will remain Lord Over All!

The Lord asked Amos multiple times, ‘What do you see?’ and then He would explain. Micah 6:6 says, “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the High God?…” Then he asked about several things.

Verse 8 says, “He has SHOWN you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord the require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

The point the Lord was making through His prophet Micah was that it was not their external offerings that pleased Him. When the Lord has our heart, then we will do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before Him.

Micah 7:18 says, “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy.”

When we ‘see’ what the Lord requires of us and walk in it, then others will ‘see’ Him through us. Authentic followers of Jesus forgive those who hurt them, who despitefully use them, and who are unjust.

Nahum 2:1 is our stance to help us diligently guard our heart. It says, “He who scatters has come up before your face. Man the fort! Watch the road! Strengthen your flanks! Fortify your power mightily.” Remember Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteousness run to it and are safe.”

I want to start this post with a new song. Yesterday morning I was scrambling eggs and praying for R country. This new song bubbled up.

Keep your eyes on the eternal. Don’t let what you see shape your faith. Let your faith shape what you see. For I dwell in you and you dwell in Me. They don’t know because they’re blinded by ego and conceit. I’m coming with a vengeance in recompense today. Still your heart. Watch your thoughts. Keep your eyes on Me

I had to look up recompense. It means to make amends to (someone) for loss suffered; compensate. It reminded me of the verse in Romans 12:19 which says, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

Do you know why Jonah ran in disobedience? Nineveh was the capitol of the Assyrian Empire – enemies of the Hebrews. Yet when Jonah proclaimed God’s message, they believed God and repented. Jonah 3:10 said, “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.”

God prepared every situation in Jonah’s disobedience. Each one was an orchestrated process of God to bring course correction to His servant. No one escapes God’s mercy. He died for all that all might be saved simply by believing. I encourage you to continue to pray for R county and for worldwide revival.

Obadiah verse 15 says, “For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; as you have done, it shall be done to you; your reprisal shall return upon your own head.” Think about this verse in our national-present.

We had a children’s chorus that went like this: God told Jonah to go down to Nineveh, that old wicked town but Jonah didn’t want to go where he was sent. Until a big fish came along to show old Jonah he was wrong, and after that ordeal he changed his mind and went. When God tells you what to do you’d better do it, you better do it (repeat). It doesn’t pay to disobey that’s all there’s to it. Like old Jonah you’ll find out the hard hard way.

Jonah found out that no matter how much he tried to avoid what God wanted him to do, he found himself in futile activity. It is much like a hamster in a wheel. You get nowhere. Disobedience is a dead-end that blocks spiritual growth. When a believer disobeys the Lord, shame and guilt crowd in. Why? We know in our heart that we are wrong but still seek ways to hide.

What did Jonah do? He hid. Jonah 1:3 says, “…and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” Verse 4 says, “But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea…” Verse 5 said that the seasoned mariners were afraid, yet Jonah was fast asleep.

In verse 9 Jonah told them that he feared the Lord who made the heavens, the sea, and the dry land. His words were right in theory but his practice belied his words. His message and messenger did not match.
We can learn a valuable lesson from Jonah. Our witness is only authentic when our words and actions match. I love Franklin Graham’s statement about his father. He said that he was the same in the pulpit as he was at home.

How are you behind hidden doors? Does heart-integrity mark your words and actions? Proverbs 12:17 says, “He who speaks truth declares righteousness, but a false witness, deceit.” 1 John 1:9 says that when we confess our sins, the Lord is faithful to forgive us. The rest of the verse says, “…and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.” Disobedience is sin that blocks our fellowship with the Lord.

When Jonah sought to run from the Lord, he found out how creative the Lord was to bring his hidden reason for disobedience to the surface. So He will do the same for each of us. That is a glorious truth! Even in our self-deceptive ways, the Lord will perfect our way to lead us back to His perfect way.

The other day, when I was typing my post about lies. I had another verse come into my mind. I couldn’t find it right then so kept on going. When I began reading Amos – there it was!

Amos 2:4 says, “…because they have despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept His commandments. Their lies LED them astray, lies which their fathers followed.” Generational lies bind us in the present.

Matthew 15:8-9 says, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” Beware that what you believe is only the gospel truth from God’s word and not something passed down to you from generational lies.

Amos is a book of judgments spoken by a prophet. Did they heed what he was speaking? No. 2 Chronicles 20:20 says, “…Believe in the Lord your God and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” Amos 3:7 says, “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.”

Fives times in Amos 4 the Lord used the words, “…yet you have not returned to Me.” He allowed adversity, yet in their adversity they did not seek Him. Two times in Amos 5 the Lord said, ‘Seek Me and live.’ It is the same word for us today.

In Amos 8:11 the Lord said that the day of famine was coming. It was not of bread or water but of hearing the words of the Lord. Without our daily bread and water from His word we will languish in spiritual dearth.

Our nation is in a time of shaking. Amos 9:9 says of Israel but it applies to us right now. “…I will…sift..as grain is sifted in a sieve; yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground.” Let Paul’s words echo in your heart.2 Corinthians 4:8-9 says, “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”

Let us pray for the key players who are upholding God’s word and His desire for our nation. Let us be the example of 2 Corinthians 3:14 in our words and actions. “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.”