Friday, November
17, 2017
“Look, I will come as
unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all
who are watching for me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to
walk around naked and ashamed.” And the
demonic spirits gathered all the rulers and their armies to a place with the
Hebrew name Armageddon. Then
the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. And a mighty shout came from the throne in the
Temple, saying, “It is finished!” Then
the thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed. And a great earthquake struck—the worst since
people were placed on the earth. The
great city of Babylon split into three sections, and the cities of many nations
fell into heaps of rubble. So God
remembered all of Babylon’s sins, and he made her drink the cup that was filled
with the wine of his fierce wrath. And
every island disappeared, and all the mountains were leveled. There was a terrible hailstorm, and
hailstones weighing as much as seventy-five pounds fell from the sky onto
the people below. They cursed God
because of the terrible plague of the hailstorm. Revelation 16:15-21(NLT)
It
is impossible for me to read through Revelation’s end-time scenarios,
judgments, bowls of wrath and stinging scorpions without thinking of how the
world sees the threat of such coming retribution for ignoring or flatly trying
to dismiss God, the Creator and sustainer of all life. Simply put, mention the end of the world and
twenty-first century culture writes you off as a fringe lunatic nutcase! The Psalmist understood that:
Day and night I have
only tears for food,
while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, “Where is this God of yours?”
while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, “Where is this God of yours?”
Psalm 42:3(NLT)
The
world (and so many in the church) might roll an eye at the mention of
Armageddon, (the final battle where Satan and his follower’s rebellion is finally
called to a halt with a single word from Christ).
Skeptics
scoff and mock at what they consider a naïve or antiquated, literalist view
like the second coming, rapture of the church, or even an actual devil. At the same time it’s interesting how much
attention there is when you talk about it.
You don’t have to get far into the conversation about Armageddon to
watch the sweat beads form on the brows of people who wish the whole thing
would just go away.
Call
it a somewhat perverted sense of humor, but it is that very attitude of the
world’s rejection of God’s sovereign rule over the universe, which proclaims we
are moving towards Armageddon, that compels me to preach on the subject enough
to start a fuss!
It
may be an unpleasant topic, even for some Christians who prefer the nursery to
the battlefield, but that’s exactly the point.
If you believe in God at all these days, you’re in a battle – and it’s
not a battle over who gets to play with the best toys; it is a battle for the
souls of human beings. It may not be a
pretty sight to deal with, but it’s better to settle some things here and now,
than to deal with Hell later!
For You
Today
The
last several day’s devotions have been a little on the heavy side with sin,
injustice and the end of the world.
These are heavy times in which we live.
And unbelievers will always taunt believers with the sarcastic
question: where is this God you worship?
You
chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!
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