And the angel swung his sickle into the earth and gathered the grapes of the earth and threw them into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And they were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out from the winepress up to the horses' bridles for about 1,600 stadia. Rev. 14:19, 20.
It was my first day in ministry. The personal witness mentor of the church organization that had hired me offered to spend the day with me. Not having a high degree of confidence in how to approach people, I was delighted to accept. He suggested that he would take the lead at first in showing me how to knock on doors and engage the people in conversation. We would be distributing health magazines the first day.
The magazine he brought that day had information about the dangers of smoking. On the cover were two pictures, one of a healthy lung and the other of a lung seriously corroded by decades of smoking. When a person came to the door, he would show them the front of the magazine and ask, "Do you smoke?" If the person did, he would point to the pictures and say, "Here is a healthy lung, and here is a smoker's lung." The people we visited would invariably react with horror and disgust. They eagerly accepted the free magazine.
The next week I returned with him to follow up the visits. Every person who had accepted the magazine had quit smoking! The view of the pictures and the accompanying text had motivated them to drastic action. Most of them thanked us profusely for drawing this information to their attention. They were confident that our visit had led them to increased control over their decisions and choices.
I kept visiting the homes and bringing more magazine on various subjects. But a surprising thing happened a couple weeks later. All the people who had quit smoking sheepishly admitted that they had started up again about two weeks after the initial contact. Evidently fear is a powerful motivator, but its effect seems to last only about two weeks!
The image of the winepress in this text is truly horrific. John seems determined to scare anyone sitting of the fence of indecision into radical obedience to Christ. The lines are clearly drawn, the wicked will be destroyed, and those who are wise will choose Christ now and reorder their lives now. Fear as a motivator is powerful--but it doesn't last. If reading Revelation has motivated you to a changed life, don't hesitate or make a halfhearted decision. You need to go all out while the motivation lasts. By committing yourself fully to Christ and reorienting your life, new habits may form, and you may break through the wall of weakness when the fear wears off. "Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts" (Heb. 3:8, NIV).
Lord, help me not to shy away from drastic action today.
It was my first day in ministry. The personal witness mentor of the church organization that had hired me offered to spend the day with me. Not having a high degree of confidence in how to approach people, I was delighted to accept. He suggested that he would take the lead at first in showing me how to knock on doors and engage the people in conversation. We would be distributing health magazines the first day.
The magazine he brought that day had information about the dangers of smoking. On the cover were two pictures, one of a healthy lung and the other of a lung seriously corroded by decades of smoking. When a person came to the door, he would show them the front of the magazine and ask, "Do you smoke?" If the person did, he would point to the pictures and say, "Here is a healthy lung, and here is a smoker's lung." The people we visited would invariably react with horror and disgust. They eagerly accepted the free magazine.
The next week I returned with him to follow up the visits. Every person who had accepted the magazine had quit smoking! The view of the pictures and the accompanying text had motivated them to drastic action. Most of them thanked us profusely for drawing this information to their attention. They were confident that our visit had led them to increased control over their decisions and choices.
I kept visiting the homes and bringing more magazine on various subjects. But a surprising thing happened a couple weeks later. All the people who had quit smoking sheepishly admitted that they had started up again about two weeks after the initial contact. Evidently fear is a powerful motivator, but its effect seems to last only about two weeks!
The image of the winepress in this text is truly horrific. John seems determined to scare anyone sitting of the fence of indecision into radical obedience to Christ. The lines are clearly drawn, the wicked will be destroyed, and those who are wise will choose Christ now and reorder their lives now. Fear as a motivator is powerful--but it doesn't last. If reading Revelation has motivated you to a changed life, don't hesitate or make a halfhearted decision. You need to go all out while the motivation lasts. By committing yourself fully to Christ and reorienting your life, new habits may form, and you may break through the wall of weakness when the fear wears off. "Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts" (Heb. 3:8, NIV).
Lord, help me not to shy away from drastic action today.
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