Church devotion: A War of Wills - Revelation 16:9

Revelation 16:9           They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.

            The sixteenth chapter of Revelation always scares me. It’s a part of the Bible that I don’t want to read and I sometimes wish that the Apostle John had never received such a vision. It reveals the wrath of God in a terrifying way, as well as the rebellious spirit of man. On one side, you have God meting out punishments on a sinful world; on the other, you have sinful man remaining defiant to the end. It’s a war of wills; the sadness is that humanity has no chance of ever winning.

            Some people reject this imagery and refuse to believe in a God who would cause such pain, distress, and torment upon humanity. They do not wish to worship such a wicked, tyrannical deity. They think that this is noble and worthy of humankind, however they are falling into the very position of stubbornness and defiance that is actually described here! Those who suffer the terrible wrath of God defiantly refuse to repent or glorify God. Isn't that the very same thing?

            This is why this particular chapter scares me. John was being very candid and absolutely clear about God’s power, judgment, and wrath. We post-modern Christians discard his descriptions far too easily; we cast aside these images as religious science fiction with no place in the real world. That’s exactly the point of this frightening chapter – as long as we remain sinful, we are separated from God; so long as we remain defiant, we are in danger of being damned.

            Maybe you wanted to read a light, heart-warming, and cozy devotional today. There are plenty of them to be found all over the internet. Truth, however, is a rare commodity. When I read the scriptures, I ask myself “What does this mean?” I try not to fall into the self-serving trap of asking, “What can I make it mean for me today?” God’s Word is meant to challenge our human delusions by confronting us with Divine Truth. Being a Christian is never easy, which is why the symbol of our faith is a cross and not a couch.

Questions for personal reflection

Where are my delusions confronted by God’s reality? Am I willing to accept His Truth in order to repent and glorify God?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, we want to live faithful lives but sometimes our misguided ways and misperceptions of Your reality differ from Your will. Help us to be more in tune with Your understanding about our lives and keep us from becoming obstinate or defiant. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you have any comments or questions about today’s message, please send him an email to Traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s Christ icons. It’s based on an ancient Syriac drawing of Jesus. You can view a larger version here: Christ Icon.

Church Meeting Devotions: Changing the Outcome - Revelation 9:20-21

Revelation 9:20-21     The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood--idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

 

When I read the Book of Revelation, I find some parts of it very sad. Today’s chosen verses make me feel that way because, according to John the Visionary, even after the terrible plagues and destruction that falls upon the Earth during the Time of Judgment, people will not repent or change their ways.

You would think that after losing a third of the planet’s population that people would wake up to reality and change their ways; instead they defiantly follow their own sinful ways and foolish paths. In Revelation, Christ’s Return is imminent and God’s wrath is being poured out upon the Earth, but humankind still persists in doing its own thing. In the Last Days idolatry, hedonism, immorality and dishonesty still abound. The human condition still wallows in its own misery despite what God is doing. It’s a last act of free will defiance and lifestyle libertinism. God is powerless to change the proud, stubborn hard-heartedness of sinful, stupid people.

That’s why I find reading Revelation so sad. Even when faced with the ultimate truth and End of Time reality, people are dooming themselves to damnation because they think that they know and are better than God. They tolerate all forms of wickedness and expect God to accept their ways. They brazenly ignore His warnings and reject any signs of Christ’s Return. They glorify themselves and end up in Hell because they do nothing to change their lives.

Yesterday, after Hurricane Irene had passed through the Eastern Seaboard, the Director of FEMA was asked if all of the warnings, evacuations and preparations had been unnecessary. The Director brilliantly answered, “You can’t change the outcome if you’re not ready.” In other words, without any preparations, more lives would have been lost.

My work as a preacher is to try to get people prepared for the End of Days. It gets harder every year because people are becoming more obsessed with their own lifestyle choices rather than choosing what God wants. Community tolerance has replaced Christ’s Teaching. Living for today has overcome looking for God. And getting our own way is more desirable to us instead of following The Way. As a sinful society, we are now more distant from God and more unready for Christ’s Return than we ever have been, despite having the scriptures and the truth of Christ’s Teaching available to us at any second of the night or day.

When Judgment comes, we will only have Christ to thank or ourselves to blame. The final destination for our everlasting souls will depend upon how much we’re willing to change and how ready we will be.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, the Bible gives us many strong warnings to repent of our sinful choices, to change our godless ways, and to prepare ourselves for Your Return. Sadly many of us will not heed Your uncompromising words and will fool ourselves into Hell. Our pride will make us push back against any challenge to our ways. Our love of self will set us adrift from Your salvation. Forgive our foolishness, O Lord, and reclaim our souls before it is too late. In Your Holy Name, we fearfully and faithfully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is presently the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to ask any questions or make any comments about today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is John’s latest simple digital glass drawing from the Book of Psalms. It features a verse from Psalm 108. If you would like to view a larger version of the picture, please click on the following link: http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6183/6081117737_388de7259d_b.jpg