Revelation 18: All the ships' captains and passengers, the sailors and
all others who earn their living on the sea, stood a long way off, 18 and
cried out as they saw the smoke from the flames that consumed her: “There never
has been another city like this great city!” 19 They
threw dust on their heads, they cried and mourned, saying, “How terrible! How
awful for the great city! She is the city where all who have ships sailing the
seas became rich on her wealth! And in one hour she has lost everything!”
20 Be
glad, heaven, because of her destruction! Be glad, God's people and the
apostles and prophets! For God has condemned her for what she did to you!
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As the teacher separated the thug from the rest of the
class, I felt relieved. It seemed like she allowed the thug to torment us
forever without doing something about it. Before she left with the thug to go
to the principal’s office, she gave a warning. “Do not celebrate, because this
could be you.”
- She put a damper on my celebration.
- I wanted to get excited because justice had finally been served.
- I was told to hold back on my celebration, which was kind of a letdown.
John, the disciple JESUS loved, saw world trade and ocean
travel come to an end. The great city that made it possible for goods to be
sold around the world, and for luxury cruises to make people rich, had come to
an end. This was the final piece of demolition that GOD put in place.
My Observations:
- Wealth without GOD can lead to my destruction.
- Luxury without GOD can cause me to move further away from hear HIM and seeing HIM.
- One day, the rich, powerful and arrogant leaders will mourn over the fall that GOD has planned.
Wealth is a touchy subject that can cause highly charged
conversations. I mean, one person preaches prosperity, the other preaches
poverty, in terms of being close to GOD. JESUS said “Foxes have holes and birds
have nests, but the SON of man does not have a place to lay HIS head” while HE
walked on earth. HE owned everything, yet chose to be the poorest among HIS
people.
To HIM, worldly wealth was not a thing to be obtained
because HE owned it all anyway. But what was HE after? HE wanted to save all
HIS humans HE created, from destruction. One day, JESUS will judge the world
for stealing people away from following HIM. I gladly seek HIS kingdom, which
are the lost people HE wants me to find.
Challenge
- Does the writer give a sense of urgency?
- Have you ever wanted to be rich or follow those who are?
- What is GOD’s plan for your life and why do you think HE has you where you are today?
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