What happens when faithfulness falters? Malachi confronts the people of Israel about their unfaithfulness to God and to one another. Their compromised worship and broken relationships reveal the deeper issue: hearts that have drifted from God’s covenant. This message explores how we, too, can fall into patterns of half-hearted devotion and relational betrayal. Yet God’s call to faithfulness invites us to realign our hearts, honor our commitments, and experience His blessing. Through this passage, we’ll discover what it means to guard our spirits and live as covenant keepers in a world that often disregards sacred promises.
The Danger of Dead Religion
Jesus enters Jerusalem a few days before His crucifixion and examines the spiritual condition of the people. What He finds is a nation bustling with outward displays of religious activity, but beneath the surface, there is nothing but dead religion. He curses a fruitless fig tree as a sign of judgement against them, and then He throws the corrupt money changers out of the Temple for defiling His Father’s house. If Jesus were to examine our lives today, would He see a cold, dead heart beneath the outward religious appearance, or would He find fruit growing for His glory?
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