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When my children were younger, I thought I should be a little more “fitness conscious” so their father would live longer. I actually had a running program going where every morning I would run around the block 20 times, until my son moved the block. Then I wasn’t able to do that anymore.
I have a friend who is a real dedicated jogger, but otherwise normal. My friend Brian is a serious runner—always must go faster, must go farther, must get a better time. He’s really committed to it. One day he was going out for his usual jog, pushing hard like he usually did, and he came back home and started writing some checks to pay bills. His wife noticed he was not able to write his address properly, and she noticed that he was reversing some words. She thought, “This is strange.” She said, “I think we’d better check this out.”
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Malachi 2:13 says, “Look, another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears.” These are folks that are coming forward. They’re coming to the altar. They are dedicating and re-dedicating their lives. They seem to be seeking spiritual improvement. “You weep and wail because God no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands” (Malachi 2:13). You’re doing all this spiritual stuff and God isn’t accepting it—a huge religious waste of time. They’re wasting their time though they’re doing all the right things. Here’s one of the reasons.
“You ask ‘why’?” (Malachi 2:14) We’re offering sacrifices and we’re trying to worship, and we’re doing the right things. Surprising answer. He doesn’t say it’s because you’re not having devotions. He doesn’t say it’s because you’re not praying. What is it? “It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are His. And why one? Because He was seeking Godly offspring. So guard yourself and your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. ‘I hate divorce’ says the Lord God of Israel, ‘and I hate a man’s covering himself with violence as well as with his garment,’ says the Lord Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit and do not break faith” (Malachi 2:14-16).
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