6/20/2023

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“Then I saw another angel flying in midair. This angel had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. In a loud voice it was declared, ‘Fear God and give Him glory. The hour of His judgment has come. Worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.’” (Revelation 14.6-7)

“‘No,’ he said, ‘if you pull the weeds now, you might uproot the wheat with them. Let them both grow together until the harvest. At that time, I will tell the harvesters to first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’” (Matthew 13.29-30)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Whatever God does it is with the sense and purpose of expressing right worship. It is not a worship of self (man or God) but the worship of God (by humanity and all of creation.) When Jesus taught the disciples “how to” pray, He did so addressing the framework of worship which should lead, guide and direct our words to God and our actions as well. In all things, God who is in the midst of us must be known as the “center of our being.” All things belong to God. He is the author of the concepts of creation. He is the maker of all that is created. He is the judge of all things in maintaining the vital harmony which allows life to flourish. Jesus teaches us of God as a vinedresser, shepherd, manager, farmer and a harvester. Jesus demonstrates the priority of “being like the Father.” In His desire to show authentic love, He abides by God’s will. God’s will is to enhance and empower the “person” we are as we have been created in His image. We dare not confuse what the world has created as its image of life with that of God’s image. We live in a world broken by the sin-festation born in the virus of self-centeredness. When Jesus declared “I have come to serve and not be served,” He was speaking against the plague of self-centeredness which was pretending to be in control of the world (the people who dwell on earth.) We are created to be “other-centered.” Even God’s love and His desire to love is “other-centered.” It is His motivation to “Be and to Become.” It is the essence of what is, what was and what will truly be from start to finish. This ought to be the nature and character of our worship. We worship God be teaching others what worship is like in and through our lives. It is not about rules, regulations, policies and procedures. It is about the essence of “He is our God and we are His people.” Here in chapter 14, that distinction is made definitively to show the complete “control” which God exercises in order to renew, revive, reconcile and relay life as it was meant to be. What is life meant to be? “Jesus prayed: Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” What is God’s Will? “The Covenant declared: Serve the Lord with gladness. Him only shall you serve.” It defines the parameter of authentic life and living. There are those who do and will. There are those who don’t and won’t. After for a season, there will be those who might but don’t yet. They could but haven’t. They are thinking about it but haven’t fully committed one way or another.

In the rest of this chapter, we are given the images of thinning out the thicket so that what might be can be. Who is thinned out? Well, verses 9-11 speak of those who “worship the Beast.” They do not worship God. They may not even have a desire to worship the Beast but they have no desire to worship God. In a world of limited options, their choices are clear. If you don’t have a desire to worship God, then you are a worshipper of the Beast. You may ask, “What if they wanted to worship something else?” What else is there? The very concept of worship is a decision to choose. There is no worship-less existence. We cannot worship nothing. What we may worship might amount to nothing. But, we cannot worship nothing. This is the essence of the saying “The love of money is the root of evil.” It does not mean that the love of money is the absolute evil. It defines the pursuit of money for one’s own sake and welfare as the essense of being rooted in evil. Money happened to be the context of that particular teaching. It could as easily be “fame, power, sex, drugs, any sport or just fill in the blank with your choice.” The choice of something, anything, that isn’t directly God, is rooted in evil (the anti-thesis of God.) Their fate is revealed in verses 17-20 concerning the “grapes of wrath” and the winepress. Those who have made their choice against God are gathered in. They are ready for being harvested. While they believe the fruit of their labor will be a fine wine, it will not. Their “life blood” will be spilled out as deep as five feet and as much of an area as that of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and into the desert.

In verses 14-16, we read of a harvest which resembles that of wheat. One who has the appearance of “the son of man,” takes a sickle and gathers in the harvest. It is gathered into the storehouses of God. Remember when Jesus turned the disciples’ eyes to see “the fields are white with harvest but there are not enough harvesters.” It was a challenge to them to become the harvesters and bring in the first fruits of what He had already sown in His teaching, preaching and ministry. It was a harvest of righteousness. And we see in the verses preceding this harvest (12-13) a pointing out to those who patiently endure the tribulation of the Beast who threatens any and all who will not worship it. Even if they were to lose their lives for the sake of “keeping the faith,” their lives would be like seeds scattered on the ground which God would turn into a mighty harvest. Yes, the weeds of wickedness may continue to grow but the good seed will not be overcome. It will be harvested and brought in to the glory of God.

That leaves “the rest of us.” To the audiences of the seven churches of Asia Minor there had to be little doubt of their course of action. It had already been defined and now punctuated with “be hot or cold but not lukewarm.” It is similar to the challenge of Jesus to Judas of Kerioth, “What you have chosen to do, do so now and quickly!” Either we are committed or we are not. If we think there is some middle ground, it will be a slippery slope and shrinking sand. The time is coming, fast approaching, when the choice will have to be made. There is still time just as there is still hope to be “one who will worship and serve the Lord God.” But, the window is showing “the close of the Age.” The Spirit may be willing but “the body” must decide.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY:

You are our God and we shall be Your people in spirit and in truth. Continue to dwell among us. Let the revelation by Your Holy Spirit inspire us to greater service in a more refined identity. We do not live as ourselves for ourselves. Rather, we live in Christ as He lives in us. We declare it with all the elders and angels in Heaven, saying “Holy, holy, holy is He who was and is and is to come.” In Jesus’ name we live, serve and pray. AMEN.