Reconciled!

Reconciled

‭Malachi 4:5-6 NIV‬

[5] “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. [6] He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”

The great and dreadful day of the Lord is coming. This is not a statement to be doubted or feared if one is ready for it, but it will come as a surprise to everyone, because no one knows the day or the hour when the Lord will return. For some, it would be a sudden taking away in rapture, while for others, it would be physical death that will lead to eternity. Whichever happens, God warns ahead of time that there is a right preparation for His day.  As was laid out in yesterday's devotion, God does not judge without first warning, and as we see in the verses above, He sends his prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day comes. 

Who is the prophet Elijah? As at the time Malachi was written, Elijah was already dead, but there is one who comes in the Spirit and Power of God, and who, like Elijah, challenges the rot of our times and seeks to draw the hearts of men back to God. You get the identity of this person, as you read Luke 1:16-17 NIV‬: [16] He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. [17] And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”. This was the assignment of John at the time; do I know my own assignment?

As I live in this present generation, what is my role in drawing the hearts of men back to God? It also appears that the first step in drawing men to God is in reconciling sons to fathers and fathers to sons. How can anyone seek God the right way if there is the seed of bitterness or malice in the heart? How can God move mightily in a place where there is strife, envy or hatred? The ministry of reconciliation is best done by someone who has seen the benefits and rewards of reconciliation and knows that God moves best where there is peace. God is not the author of confusion, and He can best operate in an environment where He has been given the power to control and influence.

Is my heart and life such places where God is able to control and influence? Like Elijah of the old and John the Baptist of the new testaments, can God count on me to be His eyes, ears, lips, feet and heart in this present generation where He has placed me? There is no doubt that the Lord returns soon, and that is evident from the integrity of His Word which cannot be found to be false. God is going to judge the earth, but there is hope for all who respond the right way to the warnings of God. Before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes, I strive to be a blessing to the generation I am a part of. May lives be glad that I crossed their paths. What of you? God's time of favour is here.