Malachi and the Church

Malachi, the last of the three postexilic prophets, appears on the scene about 100 years after the return of the Jewish exiles from their 70 years of Babylonian captivity.  His concern isn't about getting the temple restored, since Haggai and Zechariah had looked after that much earlier.  Malachi's concern was for the people - that they get their lives restored into right living with God.  The people had become morally lax in their daily living and indifferent towards worshiping God and he urgently tells them to return to God.   The prophet is God's voice to them.   In response to their query:
                                  "But how do we return?"

            God answers: "Begin by being honest." 3:8

Several of my favorite verses in this 4-chapter Book are:

"Then those whose lives honoured GOD got together and talked it over. 

GOD saw what they were doing and listened in. 

A book was opened in God's presence and minutes were taken of the meeting, 

with the names of the GOD-fearers written down,

all the names of those who honored GOD's name."  3:16

"The sun of righteousness will dawn on those who honor my name,

healing radiating from its wings" 4:3

St. Isaac's Cathedral in Moscow is huge and magnificent, topped off with a massive dome.  When we toured the inside of this place we were really impressed  with the gorgeous emerald green malachite columns inside the building.  It remains largely a tourist attraction and museum although a section is set apart for some kind of services. 

We were able to climb up to the first ring encircling the outside of the dome from where we could overlook the city.

Now, like in Malachi's day, the church buildings are repaired but what about the people...what about us?

The prophets throughout have spoken, actually thundered most of the time it seems, about the importance of getting our lives straightened around and the importance of preparing ourselves for the coming of the Lord.  Malachi closes off the Old Testament by referring back to Moses in order for us not to forget what God has done for us and then ahead to Elijah the prophet who will come to clear the way for the Big Day of GOD.

Four hundred years later God sent one final prophet known as John the Baptist to prepare the way for the promised Messiah.  John is identified by Jesus (Matthew 17:10-13)  as the Elijah promised in Malachi 4:5

Zechariah and the Church

Zechariah shared the task, along with his contemporary Haggai, of mobilizing the people in rebuilding the temple.  But he did more.  According to Mr. Peterson in his introduction to this Book in The Message:

"Zechariah was a major factor in recovering the magnificence from the ruins of a degrading exile.  Zechariah reinvigorated their imaginations with his visions and messages...(his) enigmatic visions, working at multiple levels, and his poetically charged messages are at work still, like time capsules in the lives of God's people, continuing to release insight and hope and clarity for the people whom God is using to work out his purposes in a world that has no language for God and the purposes of God."

"I know their pain and will make them good as new.  

They'll get a fresh start, as if nothing had ever happened. 

And why?  Because I am their very own GOD, 

I'll do what needs to be done for them." 10:6

(Pictured above is the Kazan Cathedral-1801-11- in St. Petersburg, Russia scanned from a postcard of the site we visited:

"The cathedral was named after the "miracle-making" icon of Our Lady of Kazan, which the church housed till the early 1930s. The Bolsheviks closed the cathedral for services in 1929, and from 1932 it housed the collections of the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism, which displayed numerous pieces of religious art and served anti-religious propaganda purposes. A couple of years ago regular services were resumed in the cathedral, though it still shares the premises with the museum, from whose name the word "atheism" has now been omitted.

Location: 2, Nevsky Prospekt, Kazanskaya Square"

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/virtual-tour/kazan-cathedral.asp)

     Wow, wouldn't it be terrific if these splendid churches which have been restored to their former beauty,  would now flourish with people who have similarly been restored in their inner being and set free?

Haggai and the Church

"Then...the people with them listened, 

really listened, 

to the voice of their GOD.  

When GOD sent the prophet Haggai to them,

they paid attention to him.  

In listening to Haggai, they honored GOD." 

Haggai 1:12

It seems that the prophet Haggai was commissioned by God to encourage the people to rebuild the temple after their return from captivity.  This must have been a daunting task but the key verse I cited to begin with is so wonderful - that the people listened, really  listened and did it.  Wow, tons of room for improvement for me in this area.

This rebuilt temple must have been a much simpler design than the original.  I reflected on the churches I've been a part of and their design.  We had simple churches.  Not long ago I took some pictures of the three churches here in Abbotsford that have been such an important part of my life:

This is the church my family attended when we first moved to Abbotsford more than fifty years ago.  This building, although the front was improved much later, was almost completed when we arrived.  The small wooden building which housed the congregation at that time was off to one side of this property.  This is also the church where Al and I were married 44 years ago.

The South Abbotsford Church:

Al and I attended here for twelve years with our children when we moved to Abbotsford from the Surrey/Delta area in 1979.  This building was made a number of years after we left but the location remains the same.

Northview Church where we've attended since 1991.

Back to Haggai:

"Yes, get to work!  For I am with you. 

The GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies is speaking! 

Put into action the word I covenanted with you when you left Egypt. 

I'm living and breathing among you right now.  

Don't be timid. 

Don't hold back."

Haggai 2:5

Zephaniah

The last few postings have unintentionally become rather dual tracked: showing churches we've seen or visited and sharing something from my daily Scripture reading.  Let's see how they'll mesh today.

The above photo is of the Cathedral in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. This is an enormous edifice.  When we first saw it at night all lit up, we were thrilled with the spectacular sight.  This cathedral, as in many other places in Mexico, is the heart of the city, as the Temple was the heart of Jerusalem during the times of the Old Testament kings.  

When we stepped inside this beautiful church that evening, completely full of people intently listening to a priest's message, we soon realized to our amazement that there was no live speaker on the dais.  The congregants were receiving a recorded message.

 Zephaniah too, was speaking and recording messages in Jerusalem as a warning to the people to leave their wicked ways.  Idolatry was rampant and that God was going to do something about it, is what Zephaniah prophesies.

A few key verses for me:

"Seek GOD, all you quietly disciplined people who live by GOD's justice.  Seek GOD's right ways.  Seek a quiet and disciplined life.   Perhaps you'll be hidden on the Day of GOD's anger." 

Zephaniah 2:3

Earlier in the Intro to this Book Mr. Peterson writes:

 "...the prophets step in and interrupt us, insisting,

'Everything you do or think or feel has to do with God.  

Every person you meet has to do with God.' 

We live in a vast world of interconnectedness, 

and the connections have consequences, 

either in things or in people - 

and all the consequences come together in God.  

The biblical phrase for the coming together of the consequences

is Judgment Day. 

We can't be reminded too often or too forcefully of this reckoning. 

Zephaniah's voice in the choir of prophets  

sustains the intensity, 

the urgency."

But Zephaniah (3:17*) concludes with a glorious promise from God: that God has not finished with His people and that after the exile is complete God will use the  faithful ones to resettle the land:

"The LORD your God is with you, 

he is mighty to save. 

He will take great delight in you, 

he will quiet you with his love, 

he will rejoice over you with singing,"  

*this verse from NIV

Comfort and Hope

"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, 

as the waters cover the sea."  

Habakkuk 2:14 NIV

Today it's the little Book of Habakkuk-little but deep in content, that was my reading in The Message by Eugene Peterson.  I really find The Message refreshing and informative although I always have my NIV and other references on hand for easy cross referencing.  Interestingly, today on "Listen Up" with Lorna Dueck, she showed a clip of an interview she had with Mr. Peterson.  Apparently it's the only interview for tv that this amazing man has ever done.  I caught part of his comment - "...just read the Bible as a novel and let God's Word flow into you as you read"- just love that.  That's how I try to read it and it works.  There are so many riveting stories always containing the thread of  God's plan, that of "rescuing us all", skillfully interwoven throughout.  A great heroic epic - and it's true!

Mr. Peterson includes great intros to each Book of the Bible.  Here's a few paragraphs I've highlighted in regards to the prophet Habakkuk:

"Living by faith is a bewildering venture.  We rarely know what's coming next, and not many things turn out the way we anticipate.  It is natural to assume that since I am God's chosen and beloved, I will get favorable treatment from the God who favors me so extravagantly.  It is not unreasonable to expect that from the time that I become his follower, I will be exempt from dead ends, muddy detours, and cruel treatment from the travelers I meet daily who are walking the other direction.  That God-followers don't get preferential treatment in life always comes as a surprise.  But it's also a surprise to find that there are a few men and women within the Bible who show up alongside us at such moments...

...But this prophet companion (Habakkuk) who stands at our side does something even more important: He waits and he listens.  It is in his waiting and listening - which then turns into his praying - that he found himself inhabiting the large world of God's sovereignty.  Only there did he eventually realize that the believing-in-God life, the steady trusting-in-God life, is the full life, the only real life.  Habakkuk started out exactly where we start out with our puzzled complaints and God-accusations, but he didn't stay there.  He ended up in a world, along with us, where every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good."

Those paragraphs are so reassuring, so comforting, so full of hope.

Habakkuk, a prophet to Judah, lived in the 7th century BC, before the destruction of the magnificent temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587 BC .  No doubt he will have offered sacrifices and worshiped here before God's judgment fell on His people at that time.

My upbringing was in simple church buildings.  Thinking about the great diversity of church structures and the hardships that often occured as a result of raising up these impressive structures, can be dismaying.   And yet I hope it also signals the workings of the inner desire within the human heart to give our very best, our very most and our very finest to God, not as a means of gaining our rescue but as an offering of gratitude and thanksgiving to our God who has given us life.

 

 While in Moscow I got a good shot of St. Basil's church which was right across the street from our enormous hotel.  I was thrilled that my photo scanned so well just now and that I was able to enhance it somewhat using i-photo.  I had planned on only including the scanned postcard picture below that I bought while there:

 

 All the beautiful churches in Russia were desecrated from 1919 and on.  It was not until the end of the 20th century that registered services could be conducted.  Most of these churches remain secular today and serve as museums.

A Refuge

"The LORD is good; 

a refuge in times of trouble. 

He cares for those who trust in him..." 

Nahum 1:7

This Scripture has sustained me over many years.  A colleague of mine first brought it to my attention and encouraged me with it when I returned to teaching, more than two dozen years ago by now, after a fourteen year hiatus from teaching.  The re-entry was a difficult time for me but God placed BJ in my sphere of work for just that time, I'm sure.

So over the years as I have read through the Bible systematically by reading a number of chapters a day, I have come to love the Scriptures savouring the blessings. Today as I once more read the little Book of Nahum I was reminded of God's faithfulness and goodness to me.  Oh I need these reminders, again and again and again!

  Although I don't understand everything, I think I can safely say that I'm always uplifted and encouraged after reading the Scriptures.  The over-arching theme comes through loud and clear: "God is in charge and He is in control and He has a plan and He is good".

For my regular Bible reading I don't follow a guide, I just start at the beginning and follow  through.  Over the last few years I've added a little twist to this routine.  When I begin again with the Book of Genesis I also add one Psalm for that day.  This way I get to have a special Psalm for 150 days of the year, and by breaking up Psalm 119 into several sections, it having 176 verses I extend those special "Psalm Days".   When that is done I read through the other Books of Poetry and Wisdom -Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and The Song of Solomon in this way too, one chapter a day along with the regular reading.  

 Proverbs having thirty-one chapters, I choose to read that Book in a month where there are thirty-one days, one for each day of that month.  This adds great variety and interest to my daily reading, especially when I come to a book like Leviticus, foundational as it is, I find it difficult.

The Bible is God's Word for all of us here on earth.  It is alive and active(Hebrews 4:12) and as relevant today as it was when Jesus Himself first read from the scrolls while in the Synagogue of His home church in Nazareth.  (Luke 4:16-21)

Thinking about synagogues and churches led me to review in my mind and through pictures some of the many churches we have seen over the years.  Church buildings at times are used as places for physical refuge but they also represent a place for spiritual refuge or sanctuary.  A church seems to indicate a God-presence, but does it always?

A few years ago Al and I had the opportunity to spend almost four weeks in Russia - most of it in St. Petersburg where we volunteered at SPCU- St. Petersburg Christian University.  On the weekends we visited many historical and beautiful sites.  There were many churches, architectural wonders, one more magnificent than the other.  This was before I had a digital camera and although my photo of the "Church-on-the-Spilt Blood" (1883-1907) is quite good I opted to scan these postcards: 

Although we did not enter the church shown in the right photo, the intricacies and details of this magnificent building were stunning.  We were told its beauty was on the outside not within.  The fascinating origin of this church and why it was given this name can be found at the following link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Savior_on_Blood

The picture to the left shows some of the cathedral of "Saints Peter and Paul", the first landmark in St. Petersburg (1712-1733).  It houses the remains of almost all the Russian Tsars beginning with Peter the Great and ending with Nicholas ll.  It was closed during the Russian Revolution and turned into a museum.   Today it is still officially a museum but religious services resumed in 2000.  It was in one of the great halls, with remarkable accoustics, that we heard the most ethereal a cappella singing from a group of four men in long monk-like robes.

 God, thankfully, is not restricted to being in a specific building nor is He impressed with ornate architecture, gilt and marble columns.  He does not see as we do.   We look at the outside but God looks deeper, He looks at the heart.  Yes, I agree with Nahum of old:

"The LORD is good; 

a refuge in times of trouble. 

He cares for those who trust in him..." 

Early Spring

 

It's exciting to see early signs of  spring everywhere.  The heather is just coming into its own...

 ...and the forsythia has its own flamboyant beauty.

Near the end of January each year, I check the bare forsythia branches and break off a few to take indoors.  They're quite attractive in their simplicity in a jar or vase of water on their own.  Within 7-10 days the delicate yellow flowers appear...and stay for a couple of weeks.  How can that be?  How do they know to burst into bloom without roots of nurturing mother tree?

 

 This sweet little primrose surprised me as it came to life from last year's treasures, after I left it in a protected planter, out of the rain.  As I checked out the yard today the mini daffodils beckoned as did the periwinkle-blue grape hyacinths.  To my surprise the buds on the camelia bush were thick and showing color.

But even at this hour, nine o'clock at night, there are signs of spring.  A chorus of frogs is serenading our whole neighborhood from the green space across the street.  It's such a phenomenal concert.

Another delightful surprise greeted my eyes as I pulled the curtains last night.  There rising in all its splendour was the full moon of February making its grand appearance on the last day of the month - spectacular.  

I am thankful for these sensory pleasures, so prevalent and so natural and so beautiful.  There is so much beauty and so much to learn from these ordinary, yet really most extraordinary things.