December 29

Tomorrow, Wednesday night, is our celebration and kick-off dinner... RSVP if you are planning on attending. 7:00 pm at my house.

Revelation 13
What is the purpose of your life? This question is the fundamental issue in the book of Revelation. Presbyterians in their catechism ask the question this way, “What is the chief end of man?” The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. So why does God desire our worship? An even more sinister question is this, “What type of God has to be told a 1000 times a day how great he is?” Does God have some inferiority issues and we are the solution to his need?

Have you ever noticed that when you have done something that fills you with great joy - a book you read, a place you visited, a movie you saw, or something you did - it is natural for you to tell your friends that they ought to read that book or visit that place or see that movie? People instinctively praise whatever they enjoy. Well, worship is the spontaneous overflow of our enjoyment of God. To glorify God we must enjoy him, and when we enjoy him we glorify him.
Worship is not for HIM but for us. We were created for worship and we will not satisfy the deepest ache and longing in our hearts until we have enjoyed our God.

In Revelation 13 we deal with a counterfeit worship. A great cosmic battle will take place in the future and at the heart of that battle lies the question of worship. Who will receive our worship? We are already locked in this battle now. But in the future this issue will become dangerously obvious. Make no mistake about it; the outcome has already been determined for this battle. That was determined at the cross when Jesus triumphed over the forces of evil. God will not lose this war but we must make certain we not forfeit our opportunity to win the battle for our hearts and the hearts of this generation.

That is why the Bible Reading Journey is so critical. Each day we must determine who will receive our worship. If we don’t worship, Satan has won. Here is evidence that worship is the fundamental issue in the final battle:
Verse 4 ... Men worshiped the dragon.... and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?”
Verse 5 ... The beast utters proud words and blasphemies..... he does this against the true God.
Verse 6 ...He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and this dwelling place.
Verse 8 ... All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
Verse 12 .... and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast.
Verse 13 ... he calls down fire from heave to deceive the people and cause them to worship.
Verse 15 ... if you don’t worship the beast’s idol you will be killed.

So how many minutes will you give today to the enjoyment and worship of the true God?
We have been given 24 hours to invest in whatever way we choose. Take time right now and enjoy and worship your God. There is nothing more important than that!