For All to See

Distracted drivers are dangerous.

It doesn't matter what the distraction is. If you are looking at something other than the road, you're looking at the wrong thing! This isn't a write-out to cell phone users and text fiends of the road, however. This is a confession of sorts. I have come close from being distracted before, close to hitting something. Actually, just as I was thinking about something I had to do one day, I rear-ended someone. No damage, but I felt pretty stupid. Just a few months ago, I got nailed by a nurse who had a rough day in the ICU at the hospital.

Distracted driving takes many forms. Have you ever driven through Orlando and looked up to see the sky writers? I don't know of anything much more distracting than that. Those letters get written out slowly, so you keep looking up from time to time to see what's being written. Years ago, it was just an advertisement for "Rosie's." But as you're driving, that's a pretty big distraction! Yes, I've come close from looking at that stuff!

Sky writers are doing a pretty good job of getting your attention, though. There is nothing more visible than a word or two in big letters in the middle of the blue sky for hundreds of thousands to see at the same time.

It makes me think about a passage I'm preaching on this weekend… Revelation 14:6-7. "Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

This is a message that has to be seen by all. It's sky writing on steroids. It's not just to be seen, but heard by everyone. Imagine if those airplanes with the wispy letters trailing behind them also had bullhorns that you could hear on the ground (OK, that would be kind of scary). But it's not an advertisement hawking a product or a service or a restaurant in town. It's the most important news the world could possibly hear.

It's the gospel.

"Fear God." Is this to be afraid of or in awe of? Depends on who you are allied with. To be with God is to be in awe. To be away from Him is to be afraid of. The word can mean either thing, actually.

"Give Him glory." Shine the light on God. Illuminate Him. The most important attention in the most important message is to that which we place on God.

"The hour of His judgment…" The word for judgment is "krisis" in the Greek. It means to separate right from wrong, to set things right. It is related to "justice." This is a great word for God's people. In the Bible, God's justice and judgments are seen as a great thing to His people, something to be happy about.

"Worship." Literally, this means to "kiss the hand of," or "bow down to," or "pay homage to." Why?
"… who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water." Because He is Creator!

Strangely enough, and not coincidentally I think, this kind of language that John uses is a bit familiar.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."

OK, I don't want to get lost in this, but John was writing to some of the first Christian churches in existence. They were scattered about throughout the Roman Empire. Many in the church were Jews who would have known the Scriptures, which to them would correlate to what we call the Old Testament today. This was a church that, when they got together, they were under some serious risk. Christianity was considered a threat to the Empire. One of their distinguishing marks was when they gathered. Now, earlier in the New Testament (Acts especially), we get the impression they gathered every day. Later, Paul would tell them to set aside an offering on the first day of the week so that when got there it would be ready, but that wasn't telling them anything about their worship gatherings that I can see (1 Corinthians 16:1-2). Acts 20 talks about the disciples coming together to break bread on the first day… still not addressing any change in their worship practices (Jews were used to gathering on the Sabbath for worship and study in the synagogues). Acts 17 shows Paul getting together in a synagogue with Jews on three consecutive Sabbaths to reason with them about the truth of Jesus. I can only assume from all of what I see that followers of Jesus celebrated Jesus every day and fellowshipped with each other, including the first day, but that they were still used to keeping the Sabbath holy as a day of worship. I can only assume that the church was still doing this when John wrote The Revelation of Jesus Christ to them. I can only assume that to do so was to put themselves at risk. I can only assume that if John had directly mentioned Sabbath in Revelation 14:7, he might as well have told the Empire when they could find the largest concentration of Christians to persecute.

Again, not wanting to miss the forest for the trees… but worship is a pretty big tree! Worship is not something we really have the right to just make up our own paradigm for in every respect. Worship is based in Biblical principle. When we do it. What we do. To some degree at least, how we do it. We read and teach the Word. We sing. We lift up God and His greatness and love, especially as it is seen in Jesus. We exhort and admonish in love. We give testimony. In the Bible, it is even appropriate to speak in tongues (if there's an interpreter and if it's done in an orderly manner).

Most importantly, we do this because of Him. He created everything we need for existence itself. He created us in His image. Jesus died for us, the righteous lamb who takes away our sins. He rose again, showing the way for another resurrection day. Even now, He is seen by the Father, covering the sins of those who have taken on the garment of His righteousness.

What makes you most in awe of God today?

How can you put the spotlight on Him (and not yourself), highlighting what makes you so in awe of Him?

In your personal life, how can you venerate (worship) God today?

When you gather, what can you do (yourself and as a group) to worship God with gusto and enthusiasm? In spirit and in truth?

What difference does this angel's message make to you?

Not Finished, Yet Complete

It's always that one fork.

You know what it's like to get everything in the kitchen clean, put away, and you're just about to get out of there when you see it. The fork. It's still dirty. The dishwasher is full and started, the dishwater is drained, but that fork!

What do you do? Do you leave it for the next washing? Put a whole bunch of soap onto it and wash it off? Stop the dishwasher and jam it in there where it really doesn't fit? Look around to see if anyone's watching, runs it off, dry it aggressively, and throw it back into the drawer (ew!)?

When I start the job, when I determine to get something done, I hate to find something that reminds me that I'm not done yet (especially when I thought I was).

Paul is determined to leave nothing incomplete. OK, I know that may seem a lame comparison. The stakes are much higher with the Church. But if there was one left incomplete that could have been complete, Paul would have a hard time with that.

As I read and considered Ephesian 3:14-19, I was struck by a man who did not want anything left incomplete. The passage is a revealing to the Church what Paul is praying for them about.

There is context. Ephesians 3:1-13 tells us what Paul is thinking about ("When I think of all this…" in verse 14). This tells us two things (in summary): (1) God's plan to extend grace to all, Jew and Gentile; (2) God's purpose to use the church to reveal His plan and wisdom… grace to all, and His accessibility in Christ.

Then, in verse 14-19, the desire is for the plan and purpose to be complete. If you go back to John 10:10, you'll read what I like to call Jesus' personal mission statement: "My purpose is to give them (My sheep) a rich and satisfying life" (NLT). Other versions say "life to the fullest." Paul, in Ephesians 3:19, writes, "Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life."

And what is completeness?

(1) Grow in God's love. Paul writes his wish, that "Your roots will grow down into God's love." Roots allow trees to grow and to stand against all kinds of weather. Roots bring nourishment from soil and water. Roots anchor the tree in the soil. The soil has to carry quality of nourishment and be solid itself. Lots of trees topple if the topsoil they are anchored in slide away.

To grow in anything other than the love of God is to grow into sloppy, shoddy soil. One of the big messages of the three angels has to do with who you worship… who your roots are growing in, as it were. If your roots are growing high, wide, deep, and long in His love, you are going to be solid… complete. If your roots grow in anything that diverts your attention from God's love, even things that appear to be good and worthy and "Godly," you're bound for a fall.

(2) Understand the dimensions of God's love. Paul is pretty clear that no one can completely understand the love itself, but we can understand its dimension--heigh, depth, length, width--the solid soil for our roots.

It's more than what feels good. It's what makes us live to the fullest. It's seeing God's love in the entirety of Scripture, even those things that seem boring, that seem cruel, that seems difficult (or even legalistic on the surface). God's love is in all of it, and it's in everything He created.

(3) Experience God's love. It's the first time you give yourself over entirely to Christ. It's the first time you get a glimpse of His sacrifice. It's the first time you lead someone to Christ. It's the first time you understand His love in the midst of the most trying of circumstances (see: Paul in prison, John on Patmos, the Church in persecution that sticks it out anyway…). Are you able to experience the love of God in Christ in anything? Do you look for it at all times and in all circumstances?

God's love is for all! His grace is for all! And all can grow, understand the dimensions of, and experience God's love!

How is this real in life? (This is where chiming in with discussion can really help someone, by the way.)

How do you picture God?

If you know rejection and pain in your relationships, how can you come to understand God's love in a personal way?

If you know injustice at work, how can you grow your roots in God's love?

If you know bullying at school, how can experience God's love? If it's your child being bullied, how can you help your child experience God's love in a personal way? OK, let's make that one tougher yet… how can you help the bully experience God's love?

What do you pay attention to (or worship) in your life? The difficulty, or God's love? The rules, or the love the rules are there for? Are you paying attention to anything but the cross?

Praying today that you grow, understand (as best you can), and experience the great love of God in Christ today!