A Big Wedding Party

-



Scripture

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
(Revelation 22:17 NASB)

Observation

We come to the close John's Revelation and we find ourselves at a wedding party. The Groom, Christ, and his Bride, the Church, are united together in the new heaven and the new earth. And they are still inviting those who haven't joined in -- to join in. God is patient, He doesn't want anyone to miss out on what He has to offer. And he offers that best drink possible at the party -- and he says it's all for free. You see, He has already paid for it. You just have to come and join in.

Application

Today is New Year's Eve. All around the world people are throwing parties. Friends will gather together to talk, reminisce, play games -- watch games, etc. It will be a great time of simply gathering and enjoying fellowship with one another. We love parties.
God loves parties too and He's inviting us to His party.

But today I'm concerned about the lack of response. Why do there seem to be fewer and fewer who are responding to the invitation? What challenges me is that God's invitation hasn't changed, and if His invitation hasn't changed, what makes the difference? Could it be us, those that make up the Church who have changed?

Almost every day I receive e-mails from companies that want to sell me something that will help a church evangelize and get the word out to more people. The reality is that we shouldn't need any type of fancy marketing plan to get the word out. If every person who is passionate about Jesus Christ would simply share that good news with everyone that they touch -- it would change the world. If every follower of Christ were excited about going to the wedding party -- they would want to invite others.

Maybe we should reevaluate our passion for the Groom. When a young person falls in love they want the world to know. They practically feel as if their heart were bursting from their chest. Where is our passion? In this New Year, may we again seek the face of God and ask Him to reignite the fire of passion about loving God, serving God and inviting others to the party! Personally, I don't want anyone to miss out on the Big Wedding Party!

Prayer

Lord, please ignite that passion to love and serve You in me. Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take Off Your Ornaments

-
Scripture: Ex. 33:4 ¶ When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. Ex. 33:5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Ex. 33:6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Observation: The people had sinned before God by making and worshiping the golden calf!  They had taken their golden jewelry — the earrings and other items they had gotten from the Egyptians and used them to create an idol.  Now, in an act of humility and repentance they were to take off all of their jewelry and ornaments.  It was a time of mourning over their sin and it included intentional action on the part of the Israelites.  Application: We don’t do all that well with humility and repentance!  It seems that we live in a ti...
Read more

Does God Value Boys More than Girls?

-
Scripture: Lev. 12:1 ¶ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Lev. 12:2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ¶ If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. Lev. 12:3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Lev. 12:4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. Lev. 12:5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days. Lev. 12:6 ¶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Lev. 12:7 He shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement on her ...
Read more

On Grief and A Flute Player

-
Scripture: Matt. 9:23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, Matt. 9:24 he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Matt. 9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. Matt. 9:26 And the report of this spread throughout that district. Observation: This is a simple story which we have heard or read numerous times. Jesus heals the little girl and the people rejoice. But at the moment in which he arrives at the home he encounters the professional mourners. These are the flute players, the ones who have come to make a great noise about the child’s death. It is the flute player that testifies to the fact that she is truly dead. Also, flutes were generally employed when it came to the death of a child. The whole community would therefore understand that it is a child who has died in this home. The flute player is doing the job they have ...
Read more