Malachi 4:1-2a (NRSV)
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Chapter 4See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. Verse 2But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.
Devotion
“Ari Changer, change, Ari Changer, change, Ari Changer, change.” Kofi, one of our classmates during examinations, was reciting incantations from a local jujuman. Instead of studying, Kofi was running around. As the day of reckoning approached, he consulted a medium to help him pass his examinations.
Likewise, politicians line up at prayer camps as elections approach when they should have honored their previous campaign promises instead.
The prophet Malachi is reminding us that “See, the day is coming, burning like an oven.” For the unprepared, they will be as stubble in the fir. But those who revere God will find healing.
This admonition is not only about the hereafter but also the here and now. So let us watch and pray, whatever our circumstances, for we do not know the day or the hour when the master will return and ask us to give an account of our stewardship.
Prayer
Lord, teach us to number our days so that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Amen.