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Day 272 was September the 29th. Don't be such

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an ostrich. Our thoughts today are from Malachi

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chapter 1 verse 5. Great is the Lord, even beyond

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the borders of Israel. First, the big picture

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surrounding this verse. Whilst the order of many

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Old Testament books is confusing or uncertain,

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there is little doubt that Malachi is the last

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one. His name probably means my messenger. Up

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to a century has passed since his fellow prophets,

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Haggai and Zechariah, have ministered to the

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people of God after their return from exile in

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Babylonia. The faces had changed, but the old

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problems of corrupt priests, neglected tithes

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and offerings, as well as intermarriage with

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pagan wives, were as widespread as ever. Malachi

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is the last prophet before a long period of prophetic

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silence, which lasted 400 years. John the Baptist

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would eventually break the silence, but not for

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a long, long time. And now today's action step.

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In ancient times, gods were very localized, and

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each nation had its own, and often more than

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one. The revolutionary idea that there could

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be a God who is above all gods and worthy of

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praise by everyone was a radical thought introduced

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by the nation of the Jews, as they declared their

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God to be unique and superior to all others.

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Sadly, even then, they wandered away in the vain

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hope of finding a God more to their liking. It

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was a futile, unrealistic quest if God truly

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is God. Just by burying your head in the sand

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or looking the other way does not make the one

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true God disappear. That was true in ancient

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times and is just as true today. Malachi urges

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his fellow Jews to stop neglecting their God

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and looking at inferior deities elsewhere. God

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is God whether we acknowledge him or not. The

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problem today is that many believe that if enough

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of the atheistic TV and press, aided and abetted

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by some liberal theologians, ridicule Christianity,

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then God will no longer exist. What an absurd

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idea! Live today in the knowledge that God is

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God over all, even over those who deny he even

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exists.