I have robbed God.

Today’s Scripture: Malachi 3:8, NKJV- “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.”

Can we have a little talk? In Malachi 3:16 we are instructed that “those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard.” (NIV) The LORD knows, and we know that we have robbed Him in one way or another. Whether through our lack of tithing or offerings of our gifts, we have robbed our LORD.

If you have not, this conversation may not be for you. I know that I have robbed God and yet I know full well that I am also one of God’s treasured possessions as we are also told in Malachi 3:17. How can that be? Because the LORD says in Malachi 3:17 “On the day when I act,” says the LORD Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him.”

Thankfully in Malachi 3:7, our LORD almighty states “Return to me, and I will return to you.” I am also thankful that God never changes who He is even in light of who we are. As Malachi 3:6 reminds us “I the LORD do not change. So, you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.”

Although we have deserved to be destroyed, what is required of us for God to spare us? We must serve Him. How do we serve Him? We give Him what we have. Just as a parent recognizes when a child is giving their best, God knows when we are giving our best. As Malachi 3:18 states, we can all “see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.” (NIV)

Very few of us have given God our best. We squeeze Him into our busy lives instead of squeezing our lives into serving God. Fortunately, God knows us better than we know ourselves. I love the promise of Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (NKJV)

God made us, nothing we have done has surprised Him. Yet, here we are, with a simple call to serve God and to live out the good works we were created to do in Christ Jesus. Christ came as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Our robberies are forgiven so let us focus on loving and serving.

From today on we can love and serve God and all others. We are God’s precious jewels, and we can serve Him out of our gratitude for His forgiveness and love for us. As Malachi 3:10 instructs and challenges us, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”

Go ahead and test the LORD Almighty. Let us give Him His tithe as He calls each of us. We know we have tested Him with our robberies so let us test Him with our gifts of gratitude to Him. We know what is required of us. Let us be generous in all our ways and live as His children.

What are you giving God today?

Today’s Prayer: Almighty God, thank You for not destroying us. Forgive me LORD for robbing You. I am praying now to fear only You and to serve you with all my tithes and offerings. Help me LORD to serve You as You desire and to give You all that I have so that You will be glorified and Your people will be fed. In the name of Jesus Christ who died for our sins, we do pray. Amen.