Today’s Podcast
Today’s Scriptures
Today’s Bible reading plans include:
Ready – Revelation 15
Set – Revelation 15-16
Go! – Revelation 15-18
Revelation 15
1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing: seven messengers with seven plagues—plagues that marked the end. With these the wrath of God reached its end.
2 And then I saw something like a sea made of glass mixed with fire flashing through it. Those who had been victorious over the beast, its image, and the number of its name were standing on the sea of glass, holding the harps of God in their hands. 3 As they stand and play their harps, they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.
Victors: Great and amazing are Your works,
Lord God, the All Powerful.
Right and true are Your ways,
King of all nations.
4 Who will not fear You, Lord?
Who will not glorify Your name?
Because You alone are holy,
all the nations will come
and worship before You,
For Your righteous judgments have been revealed.
5 After I had taken all this in, I looked again; and the inner part of the tabernacle of witness opened in heaven. 6 Out of the temple came seven messengers, clothed in pure linen, bright and shining, their chests clad in a golden sash, carrying seven plagues. 7 Then one of the four living creatures stepped over to give to the seven messengers seven golden bowls brimming with the wrath of God who lives throughout the ages. 8 The temple was full of the smoke billowing from the magnificent glory of God and from His power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven messengers accomplished their God-ordained end.
Today’s Devotional
From today’s background scripture God might say:
Let Me remind you again of the song the victors will sing as they stand on the sea of glass before the throne.
Great and amazing are Your works,
Lord God, the All Powerful.
Right and true are Your ways,
King of all nations.
Who will not fear You, Lord?
Who will not glorify Your name?
Because You alone are holy,
all the nations will come
and worship before You,
For Your righteous judgments have been revealed.
Right in the middle of that song you will find two questions. Who will not fear you, Lord? Who will not glorify your name? The answer is – no one. All the nations and every individual of all the nations will fear and worship Me.
But there are two kinds of fear. Everyone will experience one of those two types depending on whether you follow My precepts. The first type of fear is reserved for those who have not follow My ways. That type of fear and trembling comes because of fear of punishment. It equates to the horror of what will befall those damned to eternal punishment. Those who choose their own path choose eternal separation from Me. They choose to face the horror of eternity alone with no support, no love, no light, nothing. They will face eternity absorbed by the horror of complete isolation from their only source of hope, Me.
Think of the synonyms associated with this type of fear, the definition most people think about when they consider the word fear: dread, fright, alarm, panic, terror, trepidation. All negative terms that evoke that fight or fright reflex in you, except when you face My wrath, there will be no fight for I will already be victorious over evil and there will be no flight for there will be no escape from My wrath. There will be only the horror of what is to come forever for those who choose their own path.
But for those who choose to follow Me, there is another kind of fear. Seldom to you hear about that definition today, but My word uses the term “fear God” often. So what does it mean for those who follow Me? For that group, you do not fear punishment and the wrath those who follow their own way do. So what does it mean to fear Me? It means to tremble in awe and reverence.
Let Me give you a simple example. Suppose you had an opportunity to meet the president or the queen face to face. They are ordinary people, but have positions of great political power. You would probably put on your best clothes, make sure your hair is just right, brush your teeth and eat a breath mint or two before your appointment. As his or her staff members check you through the security measures, bring you to the outer offices and begin to move you through the spacial rooms toward your appointment, you probably begin to get a few butterflies. You may tremble a little thinking about the coming meeting. Your tongue might get a little thick and your palms a little sweaty and your fingers a little clumsy as the appointed time approaches. Maybe when you step forward to introduce yourself, you have a hard time getting your words straight because you’re in the presence of one of the most powerful political figures in the world.
That’s the fear My word talks about. Awe and reverence. But now imagine yourself entering the presence, not of a powerful political figure, but the presence of the Creator. The One who performed the miracle that gives you life. The One who put the universe and all its physics in place to hold everything together so you can enjoy the spendor of this vast universe. Imagine yourself coming into the presence of the One who truly holds the power of life and death. The One who cannot be bound by time because I am eternal. Can you begin to understand what fearing Me is all about, now?
Can you begin to understand what it means to enjoy the privelege of coming into My throne room in prayer? Do you understand the awe that comes from My loving you enough to walk in flesh for you? Do you begin to connect with that feeling of fear I want you to have when you come into My presence? I don’t want My followers to experience the negative side of fear, I want you to know and experience the awe and wonder and reverence of entering My presence. Fearing Me is the beginning of wisdom.
Remember, as the song of the redeemed says, everyone will fear Me. Which definition will you choose to embrace? Follow your own way and you will experience the fright, terror, and panic that comes as a part of My wrath. Follow Me and you can tremble with awe and reverence in My presence. You get to choose the path you will take.
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