May 25- Malachi 1:11

THE VERSE

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.
~Malachi 1:11

THE THOUGHT

At this very moment, all around the world, the worship of Jesus is being stolen. Idols—some made from gold and stone, others from the idol factory of the human heart—are usurping the crown our King deserves, robbing our Savior’s worship and enslaving their worshippers. Across Asia, billions are bowing down before golden statues that can neither hear nor speak, offering damning prayers to gods that can neither see nor save. In cities around the world, people are selling their souls—created in the likeness of the Creator—to the corporate ladder. Driven by their idols of success like slaves before a whip, they are consumed with an ambition that will bankrupt them. In your neighborhood, the Creator is being robbed of His rightful praise as men and women burn the incense of their time on America’s great altar, entertainment. And in your own heart, which was created and redeemed to shout the worth of God to a watching universe, secret idols divert passion away from the Lord to lower pursuits. The greatest tragedy of humanity is not its genocides or disasters or atrocities or lies or crimes; no, these are but symptoms of the true tragedy: the wholesale theft of glory on a global scale.

But God’s eternal purpose stands: He will make His Son famous from the rising of the sun to its setting. Even now, at this very moment, the rule of sin is being undone. Light is breaking across China, where millions of believers are singing the Savior’s praise in defiance of their government. In cities around the world, people are laying down their lives to make Jesus known in the slums and projects and brothels and high rises. In your town, followers of Christ are rising up to renounce the American dream and live their lives in abandonment to God’s greater vision.

From the rising of the sun to its setting, His name will be great among the nations. Will you join Him?

THE PRAYER

Dear God, I want to see You made much of in this world. Stir me up and send me out to make You known, whether it be to my neighbors or around the world. Where You send me I will go, where You lead me I will follow.

EXTENDED READING

Malachi 3:7-12
Isaiah 44:6-17
Revelation 7:9-12

THE QUOTE

“Till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet.” ~Thomas Watson