"Come!
... Come! ... Come! ... Come!" (Revelation 6:1,3,5,7). The invitation
is clear. We are to come to the Lord. How are we to come to Him? If we
are to learn how we are to come to Him, we should learn also how we are
not to come to Him. Malachi 1 stresses that we are not to come to Him
with blemished sacrifices. Bringing such sacrifices shows contempt for
the Name of the Lord (Malachi 1:6-9). We are not to show contempt for
"the Lord's table" (Malachi 1:7). We are not to say of the Lord's table,
"It is defiled." We are not to say of the food of the Lord's table,
"It is contemptible." We are not come to the Lord's table, saying,
"What a burden!" (Malachi 1:12). This is no way to come to the Lord. We
are to come with "pure offerings", acknowledging the greatness of the
Lord's Name (Malachi 1:11). He is the "great King" whose "Name is to be
feared among the nations" (Malachi 1:14). The invitation comes from
"the Lamb" (Revelation 6:1,3,5,7). Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God. He
is the pure Sacrifice. He has been slain for us. He is the foundation
of our worship. He is the basis on which we come to God the Father.
When we cry to God, "O Lord ... Listen to my cry for mercy" (Psalm
143:1), we come to Him in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. When we
plead His "faithfulness and righteousness" (Psalm 143:1), our attention
is fixed on the Cross of Christ. There, God's faithfulness and
righteousness are revealed to us. When, in our morning meditation, we
pray, "Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have
put my trust in You" (Psalm 143:8), we are looking, in faith, to the
Christ of Calvary from whom blessing flows to us. When we pray, "In
Your unfailing love, silence my enemies; destroy all my foes, for I am
your servant" (Psalm 143:12), we are seeking God's forgiveness and new
life and are committing ourselves to be His servants.
There is to be prayer from “every one who lives in the land” (Joel 1:14). It is to be personal prayer - “O Lord, I cry to You for help!” (Joel 1:19). These two belong together - prayer for the nation and personal prayer. This is expressed so well in the words: “O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee. Send a revival. Start the work in me.” We hear the words, “Return to the Lord, your God” (Joel 2:13). They are followed by some wonderful words about the character of God - “He is merciful and compassionate, patient and always ready to forgive and to change His plans about disaster” (Joel 2:13). How do we know that God is like this? We look at what He has done for us - “Be glad and rejoice. The Lord has done great things!” (Joel 2:21). Looking at all that the Lord has done for us, we trust His promise: “Whoever calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2:32). This salvation is more than forgiveness for past sins. It’s more than the future glory of being in God’s ev...
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