Revelation 18 (The Message)
11-17"The traders will cry and carry on because the bottom dropped out of business, no more market for their goods: gold, silver, precious gems, pearls; fabrics of fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet; perfumed wood and vessels of ivory, precious woods, bronze, iron, and marble; cinnamon and spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; wine and oil, flour and wheat; cattle, sheep, horses, and chariots. And slaves—their terrible traffic in human lives.
Everything you've lived for, gone!
All delicate and delectable luxury, lost!
Not a scrap, not a thread to be found!
What do you live for? Do you have some special keepsake or little treasure that you can't live without? Do you have some special trinket that holds a place of honor in your house? Stephanie and I went up to Shipshewana his past weekend. We wandered around several of the little shops. One of the most fascinating was the antique dealer. I love shows like American Pickers and Antique Road Show. It is amazing to me how many little trinkets we think are really valuable. My mom used to have this set of mixing bowls that nested in each other. They were different colors and glass. I saw a set at the antique shop worth $60. I couldn't believe it. Stephanie said her mom had the same set. I will guarantee that my mom didn't pay $60 for them back in the early 60's. Somehow, they have lived long enough to be worth something. I saw some pretty cool stuff (junk to some). They had everything in this place. Antique toys, guns, glassware, tools, clothes, books, furniture. You name it, they had it. The coolest thing I saw was a HUGE Moose Head! It would look great in my garage! Stephanie said no. The price was a little high, $3500.00. I think I could have negotiated a lower price. LOL! If you think about it, we all need to look around our house right now and try to figure out what's going to be worth something. Then we should save it for a very long time. It could be worth big bucks some day.
But, eventually all of this stuff will be gone. All of our goods, gold, silver, precious gems, pearls, fabrics, antiques, electronics and all material things will be gone. God's even going to destroy that Moose Head! No Lord, Not the Moose Head! How else do you think God can get our attention? Have you ever tried to pull a kid away from his favorite TV show or his favorite XBox game. They are often mesmerized by them. The house could burn down all around them and they wouldn't notice until the TV got destroyed. We are just like that. We have so much stuff in our lives. We have so many things that are precious to us. Many of these items mean more than our relationship with God. So, can you blame our creator? He has to destroy everything so we have one more chance to change. If he takes everything our of our line of sight, maybe we will focus on him. It's really a shame that it has to go to that extreme. But, you have to agree, he really doesn't have a choice. I may not own a giant Moose Head, but I own a lot of stuff that may seem valuable to me. To God, it just gets in the way of our relationship. Sorry Lord!
Dear Lord, Please forgive me for putting my STUFF ahead of you. Forgive me for "worshipping" those things instead of you. You are the creator of all things. We should put the creator in front of the created! You are an awesome and gracious God. I will worship you! Amen!
Everything you've lived for, gone!
All delicate and delectable luxury, lost!
Not a scrap, not a thread to be found!
What do you live for? Do you have some special keepsake or little treasure that you can't live without? Do you have some special trinket that holds a place of honor in your house? Stephanie and I went up to Shipshewana his past weekend. We wandered around several of the little shops. One of the most fascinating was the antique dealer. I love shows like American Pickers and Antique Road Show. It is amazing to me how many little trinkets we think are really valuable. My mom used to have this set of mixing bowls that nested in each other. They were different colors and glass. I saw a set at the antique shop worth $60. I couldn't believe it. Stephanie said her mom had the same set. I will guarantee that my mom didn't pay $60 for them back in the early 60's. Somehow, they have lived long enough to be worth something. I saw some pretty cool stuff (junk to some). They had everything in this place. Antique toys, guns, glassware, tools, clothes, books, furniture. You name it, they had it. The coolest thing I saw was a HUGE Moose Head! It would look great in my garage! Stephanie said no. The price was a little high, $3500.00. I think I could have negotiated a lower price. LOL! If you think about it, we all need to look around our house right now and try to figure out what's going to be worth something. Then we should save it for a very long time. It could be worth big bucks some day.
But, eventually all of this stuff will be gone. All of our goods, gold, silver, precious gems, pearls, fabrics, antiques, electronics and all material things will be gone. God's even going to destroy that Moose Head! No Lord, Not the Moose Head! How else do you think God can get our attention? Have you ever tried to pull a kid away from his favorite TV show or his favorite XBox game. They are often mesmerized by them. The house could burn down all around them and they wouldn't notice until the TV got destroyed. We are just like that. We have so much stuff in our lives. We have so many things that are precious to us. Many of these items mean more than our relationship with God. So, can you blame our creator? He has to destroy everything so we have one more chance to change. If he takes everything our of our line of sight, maybe we will focus on him. It's really a shame that it has to go to that extreme. But, you have to agree, he really doesn't have a choice. I may not own a giant Moose Head, but I own a lot of stuff that may seem valuable to me. To God, it just gets in the way of our relationship. Sorry Lord!
Dear Lord, Please forgive me for putting my STUFF ahead of you. Forgive me for "worshipping" those things instead of you. You are the creator of all things. We should put the creator in front of the created! You are an awesome and gracious God. I will worship you! Amen!
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