The other morning in my quiet time the Lord allowed me to listen in on a conversation that He had with His people over 2000 years ago (Malachi chapter 1). I would like to paraphrase some of it here… (Please note – words in blue are the Lord speaking, words in green are the people speaking.)
“I have loved you”
“In what way have you loved us?”
“Didn’t I choose Jacob for intimate fellowship and reject Esau? Don’t I still want to have an intimate relationship with you? Am I not still making sure that Esau’s descendants don’t prosper?”
“A son honors his father and a servant respects his master. If I am your father then where is my honor? If I am your master, where is my respect? Why do you despise my name?”
“How have we despised your name?”
“By offering me defiled gifts.”
“How have we defiled you?”
“By not delighting in my table; By offering the blind, the lame, the sick. Why don’t you go to your governor and offer him the food that you don’t want, the blind, lame, sick animals that you are going to cull from your herd anyway. Do you think he will be favorably impressed with you and accept your gift?”
“Is there anyone of you who would dare to be bold enough to just go and shut the temple doors so that you will quit offering me vain sacrifices in which I have no pleasure or delight?”
“My name will be great among the Gentiles, in every place, from where the sun rises to where it sets incense will be offered to me, and pure offerings, for My name will be great among all nations!”
“But you profane my name, you are weary of my table, of offering sacrifices; you are dishonest planning to offer one thing but then bringing blemished gifts.”
“I AM a Great King!”
I was greatly affected by this conversation. God is still the Great King! He still expects us to bring sacrifices and offerings. No, he does not want goats, lambs, cows, or even fruits. But there are many sacrifices of worship that are mentioned in both the Old and New Testament. I wonder, is the table of the Lord ever wearisome to me/us? God forbid that we would be careless or disinterested when it comes to worshiping Him!
What do you think, what are some of the sacrifices that we are to bring? How do we avoid bringing lame, blind, sick, defiled offerings to the Lord? He is a Great King!
Sutherland Stories 
One of the offerings we are to bring is praise from our hearts. The times it is a true sacrifice is when we give Him praise in the midst of trouble, uncertainty, weakness or sorrow. This is something I have to remember, that praise in the sunshine is good and right, but God is most glorified when I praise Him in the storm and darkness. And when I stop to think of God and who He is, the storm does not seem so terrible, and the darkness is banished by His Light. And praise fills my heart again! Thanks for sharing that passsage. God truly is a Great King!
Amen..!!
I think when i come with “my” agenda and my ‘good deeds’ it is a “stench and lame and sick”. Isn’t it an interesting paradox that it is only as we recognize our own lameness, sickness and blindness that we can truly ‘worship’? God is magnified in my weakness and glorified in my brokenness…