Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 5,324
Malachi 1:10 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)
“Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would no longer kindle useless fires on My altar! I take no pleasure in you,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.”
Shut the Temple Doors!
This is Old Covenant when the temple of God was a physical building that people went to. Today the temple of God is us, the people of God by faith in Jesus Christ. We are the temple, the church, the body of Christ. And, as the body of Christ, the church, we gather together mostly in physical locations, although some of us gather on the internet for fellowship with the body of Christ here because we are not finding it in any physical locations and/or because God sent us to the internet to interact with his people here.
I believe God is saying the same thing today about the gatherings of the church in various locations, that those doors would be shut because so many of them are kindling useless fires on his altar, i.e. they are worshipping God in vain with superficial forms of worship and praise to him. For God would rather the doors of the gatherings of the church be shut than for us to offer up to God empty forms of worship of him, which may stir the emotions, but which do not produce changed hearts, minds, and lives for Jesus Christ.
Revelation 2:4-5,7 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)
“4But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love. 5Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place…
“7He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God.”
Have You Forsaken Your First Love?
This passage of Scripture, as a whole, is not all relevant to the subject at hand, but this section of it is, so this is what I will focus on here. And this is Christ speaking to the church. So, what does he mean by saying to the church, the body of Christ in a particular location, that they have abandoned (forsaken) their first love? What is the meaning of the word “love”? It is agape love which prefers what God prefers, which chooses his choices, and which obeys them in his power. So it is morally pure, honest, and faithful.
God is love. Jesus is love. So love is preferring God/Jesus, making him number one, in first place in our lives. It is putting him and his commands and his teachings and his callings on our lives in first place above all else. And love is also preferring what God prefers, and obeying his commands. For we can go through all the motions and the rituals of religious practice but sill neglect and abandon our first love, neglecting to put God and his will and his purpose for our lives in first place above all else. He must have preeminence.
Religious Rituals and Practices
So, how does this relate to kindling useless fires on his altar? I believe it has to do with going through the routines and rituals of religious practice but without Christ truly being Lord (Master/Owner) of our lives. We can sing all sorts of “praise and worship” songs, and call that worshipping God, but if God does not have first place in our lives, if he does not have top priority, and if our lives are not fully surrendered to him, to doing his will, to obeying his commands, then it is not biblical worship of God. It is all in vanity.
Therefore, singing songs of worship of God in a gathering of the church in something called a “worship service” does not automatically translate to someone worshipping God. For worship of God is not just in words spoken or sung, but it is in denying self, dying to sin, and obeying our Lord in daily practice, and us no longer living as slaves to sin, by his grace and in his power. True worship of God produces changed hearts, minds, and lives for Jesus Christ, and we should always be in an attitude of worship of God.
What is Biblical Worship of God?
So, if you are of the mindset that going to a building called “church” once a week, on a Sunday morning, sitting in rows with other people, and then singing along with the “songs of worship,” some or many of which are very watered down, that this is what constitutes genuine worship of God, then you have been ill informed. For true worship of God involves us denying self, dying to sin, and walking in obedience to our Lord, in life practice, and putting Christ in first place in our lives, including singing songs of worship.
Therefore, if you have just been going through the routine of what is called “worship” but God/Christ is not first place in your life, and you are still living life for your own selfish desires, doing what pleases your flesh and not what pleases God, as a matter of life practice, then this is a call of God for you to repent (turn from your sin) and live the life that God has for you to live for his glory. Cease from your selfish and sinful desires and now commit your life to following the Lord in obedience wherever he may lead you now.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
Kindling Useless Fires on God’s Altar
An Original Work / July 19, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Lord, Move Me
An Original Work / October 16, 2011
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Be my desire, my heart set on fire,
Lord, move me to worship You only, I pray.
Fill with Your Spirit, my heart overflow.
Lord, may I long for You; Your word to know.
Teach me to walk with You, Lord, in Your power,
And may I serve You, Lord, right now in this hour.
Lord, how I want to obey You forever.
Help me to hear You, Lord, so I will not stray.
Teach me to love You; adore You always.
Envelope me, Lord, with Your grace today.
Meet me in my need, and show me Your mercy.
Forgive me for all things, as I humbly pray.
Counsel me, lead me, direct me, and guide me,
So I follow You, Lord, where’er You lead now.
I love to hear You speak Your words to me.
I am so grateful that You set me free.
Wash me, and cleanse me, and make me like You, Lord,
And I will live with You for eternity.
“Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would no longer kindle useless fires on My altar! I take no pleasure in you,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.”
Shut the Temple Doors!
This is Old Covenant when the temple of God was a physical building that people went to. Today the temple of God is us, the people of God by faith in Jesus Christ. We are the temple, the church, the body of Christ. And, as the body of Christ, the church, we gather together mostly in physical locations, although some of us gather on the internet for fellowship with the body of Christ here because we are not finding it in any physical locations and/or because God sent us to the internet to interact with his people here.
I believe God is saying the same thing today about the gatherings of the church in various locations, that those doors would be shut because so many of them are kindling useless fires on his altar, i.e. they are worshipping God in vain with superficial forms of worship and praise to him. For God would rather the doors of the gatherings of the church be shut than for us to offer up to God empty forms of worship of him, which may stir the emotions, but which do not produce changed hearts, minds, and lives for Jesus Christ.
Revelation 2:4-5,7 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)
“4But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love. 5Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place…
“7He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God.”
Have You Forsaken Your First Love?
This passage of Scripture, as a whole, is not all relevant to the subject at hand, but this section of it is, so this is what I will focus on here. And this is Christ speaking to the church. So, what does he mean by saying to the church, the body of Christ in a particular location, that they have abandoned (forsaken) their first love? What is the meaning of the word “love”? It is agape love which prefers what God prefers, which chooses his choices, and which obeys them in his power. So it is morally pure, honest, and faithful.
God is love. Jesus is love. So love is preferring God/Jesus, making him number one, in first place in our lives. It is putting him and his commands and his teachings and his callings on our lives in first place above all else. And love is also preferring what God prefers, and obeying his commands. For we can go through all the motions and the rituals of religious practice but sill neglect and abandon our first love, neglecting to put God and his will and his purpose for our lives in first place above all else. He must have preeminence.
Religious Rituals and Practices
So, how does this relate to kindling useless fires on his altar? I believe it has to do with going through the routines and rituals of religious practice but without Christ truly being Lord (Master/Owner) of our lives. We can sing all sorts of “praise and worship” songs, and call that worshipping God, but if God does not have first place in our lives, if he does not have top priority, and if our lives are not fully surrendered to him, to doing his will, to obeying his commands, then it is not biblical worship of God. It is all in vanity.
Therefore, singing songs of worship of God in a gathering of the church in something called a “worship service” does not automatically translate to someone worshipping God. For worship of God is not just in words spoken or sung, but it is in denying self, dying to sin, and obeying our Lord in daily practice, and us no longer living as slaves to sin, by his grace and in his power. True worship of God produces changed hearts, minds, and lives for Jesus Christ, and we should always be in an attitude of worship of God.
What is Biblical Worship of God?
So, if you are of the mindset that going to a building called “church” once a week, on a Sunday morning, sitting in rows with other people, and then singing along with the “songs of worship,” some or many of which are very watered down, that this is what constitutes genuine worship of God, then you have been ill informed. For true worship of God involves us denying self, dying to sin, and walking in obedience to our Lord, in life practice, and putting Christ in first place in our lives, including singing songs of worship.
Therefore, if you have just been going through the routine of what is called “worship” but God/Christ is not first place in your life, and you are still living life for your own selfish desires, doing what pleases your flesh and not what pleases God, as a matter of life practice, then this is a call of God for you to repent (turn from your sin) and live the life that God has for you to live for his glory. Cease from your selfish and sinful desires and now commit your life to following the Lord in obedience wherever he may lead you now.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
Kindling Useless Fires on God’s Altar
An Original Work / July 19, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Lord, Move Me
An Original Work / October 16, 2011
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Be my desire, my heart set on fire,
Lord, move me to worship You only, I pray.
Fill with Your Spirit, my heart overflow.
Lord, may I long for You; Your word to know.
Teach me to walk with You, Lord, in Your power,
And may I serve You, Lord, right now in this hour.
Lord, how I want to obey You forever.
Help me to hear You, Lord, so I will not stray.
Teach me to love You; adore You always.
Envelope me, Lord, with Your grace today.
Meet me in my need, and show me Your mercy.
Forgive me for all things, as I humbly pray.
Counsel me, lead me, direct me, and guide me,
So I follow You, Lord, where’er You lead now.
I love to hear You speak Your words to me.
I am so grateful that You set me free.
Wash me, and cleanse me, and make me like You, Lord,
And I will live with You for eternity.
