12/01 – Malachi 3:1-7 – Christian Humility
December 1, 2019
Old Testament: Malachi 3:1-7
“I am going to send my messenger and he will clear the way ahead of me. Then the Lord you are looking for will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the promise will come. He is the one you want,” says the Lord of Armies.
Who will be able to endure the day he comes? Who will be able to survive on the day he appears? He is like a purifying fire and like a cleansing soap. He will act like a refiner and a purifier of silver. He will purify priests and teachers and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will bring acceptable offerings to the Lord. The offerings from Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the past, as in years long ago.
I will come to judge you. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers, lying witnesses, and those who cheat workers out of their wages and oppress widows and orphans. I will also testify against those who deprive foreigners of their rights. None of them fear me,” says the Lord of Armies.
I, the Lord, never change. That is why you descendants of Jacob have not yet been destroyed. Since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my laws and have not followed them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Armies.
Epistle Reading: Philippians 1:2-11
Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are yours!
I thank my God for all the memories I have of you. Every time I pray for all of you, I do it with joy. I can do this because of the partnership we have had with you in the Good News from the first day you believed until now. I am convinced that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it through to completion on the day of Christ Jesus.
You have a special place in my heart. So it’s right for me to think this way about all of you. All of you are my partners. Together we share God’s favor, whether I am in prison or defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. God is my witness that, with all the compassion of Christ Jesus, I long to see every one of you.
I pray that your love will continue to grow because of your knowledge and insight. That way you will be able to determine what is best, and be pure and blameless until the day of Christ. Jesus Christ will fill your lives with everything that God’s approval produces. Your lives will then bring glory and praise to God.
Gospel Reading: Luke 3:1-14
It was the fifteenth year in the reign of the Emperor Tiberius. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea. Herod ruled Galilee, and his brother Philip ruled Iturea {i-TOUR-ee-ah} and Trachonitis {track-on-EYE-tis}. Lysanias {lie-SAN-ee-us}was the ruler of Abilene {ab-il-EEN}. It was at the time when Annas {AN-us} and Caiaphas {k-EYE-i-fas} were chief priests that God spoke to John, son of Zechariah, in the desert.
John traveled throughout the region around the Jordan River. He told people about a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As the prophet Isaiah wrote, “A voice cries out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way for the Lord! Make his paths straight! Every valley will be filled. Every mountain and hill will be leveled. The crooked ways will be made straight. The rough roads will be made smooth. All people will see the salvation that God gives.’”
Crowds of people were coming to be baptized by John. He would say to them, “You poisonous snakes! Who showed you how to flee from God’s coming anger? Do those things that prove that you have turned to God and have changed the way you think and act. Don’t say, ‘Abraham is our ancestor.’ I guarantee that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones. The ax is now ready to cut the roots of the trees. Any tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire.”
The crowds asked him, “What should we do?”
He answered them, “Whoever has two shirts should share with the person who doesn’t have any. Whoever has food should share it too.”
Some tax collectors came to be baptized. They asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”
He told them, “Don’t collect more money than you are ordered to collect.”
Some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He told them, “Be satisfied with your pay, and never use threats or blackmail to get money from anyone.”
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