(A) 20 August

Many congregations in their ‘church camp’ focused on the Book of Revelation. There are many, from the study, expressing their fear of persecution and pain in the last days, when faced with tribulations. But perhaps the greatest fear is to be found ‘wanting’ when we believers stand before the judgment seat of Christ and to discover that our names are not written in “the book of life”.

“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him”. (Luke 12:4-6)
“I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever publicly disowns me will be disowned before the angels of God.

Surely, here the Lord Jesus is sounding the warnings of ‘apostasy’ for the believers! ‘Apostasy’ is denying Christianity voluntarily or involuntarily. Judas Iscariot denied the Lord, voluntarily, even though the evil one was urging him, and his own values were contrary to genuine discipleship. But one can also commit apostasy involuntarily, under duress, under persecution, compromising loyalty to God for the sake of self, family, and other ‘idols’ in one’s life. And this would be prominent in the last days, as revealed in the book of Revelation.

It is interesting to note that the passage that follows the above in Luke 12 is that of the parable of the rich fool, and many are familiar with it.
But note verses 20-21:
But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” “This is how it will be with those who store up things for themselves but are not rich towards God.”
Certainly, wealth, material riches, greed, worries about life and security in what we have – and contrasted with being ‘poor towards God’ – these would contribute to the temptation to compromise our loyalty to God, particularly when all these that we treasure are threatened in the face of persecution and opposition to our faith.

But we need to go on to look at verses from verse 35 onwards. Here Jesus focused on the need to be watchful as servants of the master. The Lord said in verse 40: :You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
Replying to the queries of Peter, the Lord Jesus said, “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” (vv. 47-48)

Here the warning is of the awful danger of those who neglect the duties of their calling. The language which our Lord Jesus uses about slothful and unfaithful servants is particularly severe. Few places in the Gospels contain such stront expressions as this. It is a vain delusion to suppose that the gospel speaks nothing but ‘smooth things’. The same loving Savior who holds out mercy to the uttermost to the penitent and believing, never shrinks from holding up the judgments of God against those who despise His counsel. Let no man deceive us on this subject – there is a hell for such a one as continues on still in his wickedness, no less than a heaven for the believer in Jesus. There is such a thing as the “wrath of the Lamb” (Rev. 6:16).

Let us strive so to live that whenever the heavenly Master comes we may be found ready to receive Him. Let us watch our hearts with a godly jealousy, and beware of the least symptom of unreadiness for the Lord’s appearing.
Especially let us beware of any rising disposition to lower our standard of Christian holiness, to dislike persons who are more spiritually minded than ourselves, and to conform to the world. The moment we detect such a disposition in our hearts we may be sure that our souls are in great peril.

If we, as disciples, start to relax, to assume that because we are Jesus’ followers all will be well, then we will find things will come upon us before we are ready. Jesus knows that the time cannot be far off. In this text, Jesus was probably seeking the immediate disciples to be ready for his ‘crucifixion’, but as in multiple fulfilment of prophecies (eg. destruction of the temple and the end times prophesied in Matt. 24), Jesus was also telling Christians to be ready for the day of the Lord.
To those who are given much, probably referring to evangelists, teachers, pastors and theologians alike, the responsibility is great and the Master expects to find them busy at their tasks faithfully. Otherwise, there would be grave consequences for them. But the call to be ready and watchful applies to all Christians and it is still the call to be faithful and responsible, not to allow slothfulness, complacency to cause us to be indifferent, thinking that the coming of the Lord is still far off.

(B) 22 August

“Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you long for the day of the Lord: That day will be darkness, not light. …..Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light – pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness? I hate, I despise your religious festivals; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them….Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps; But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! (Amos 5:18,21,22-24).

As I was meditating on “the day of the Lord” from Luke 12, in my regular bible reading of the OT, I was reading the book of Amos – then I came across the same phrase ” the day of the Lord”, and immediately, I saw the parallel truths the Lord allows me to consider.

Amos was taking care of sheep when God called him to prophesy; and in the above passage, he was addressing the northern kingdom Israel, warning her of impending judgment and destruction. The call to repentance is central in the message; imagine God rejecting the religious celebrations, supposedly worship of God; and God also rejecting the singing and music associated with these assemblies. God’s call was for the people to establish justice and righteousness. God was in fact rejecting formal religion – all the externalities that supposedly point to worship of God and rejoicing in Him are meaningless without a real and true relationship with Him and without the ‘evidence’ of truly being God’s people! Israel was hypocritical; her worship was contaminated by pagan elements and idol-worship.
The call is to repent or face judgment: and we know that Israel was defeated by Assyria and sent into exile beyond Damascus – there was no repentance on her part.

As stated, we see parallels in the address to Israel by Amos and the address to God’s people by the Lord Jesus in Luke 12. Jesus was condemning the hypocrisy of the people (particularly the Pharisees); He was calling for loyalty, watchfulness and repentance (for those who are slothful, indifferent, hypocritical and ‘asleep’) before the day of the Lord. He also referred to judgment, and for those who are given much, much would be required and they would receive greater blows for failing in their responsibilities and stewardship. The day of the Lord for those who are unrepentant would not be ‘light’ but ‘darkness’. As in the days of Amos, God Himself would be against His people; He would punish them and judge them harshly if they fail to hearken to His warnings and repent!

Christians are called to a life of habitual repentance, as a discipline integral to healthy holy living. The first of Luther’s ninety-five theses declared, “Where our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, “Repent” (Matty.4:17), He willed that the whole life of believers should be one of repentance.”
Habitual repentance does not mean that it becomes automatic and mechanical, as our table manners and driving habits are. It cannot. Every act of repentance is a separate and distinct moral effort, perhaps a major and costly one. Repentance is never a pleasure. Always, in more senses than one, it is a pain, and will continue so as long as life lasts. When we speak of habitual repentance, we have in mind the forming and retaining of a conscious habit of repenting as often as we need to – though that, of course, means every day of our lives.

God’s purpose in our creation, as in our new creation, is that we should be holy. Therefore, moral casualness and unconcern as to whether or not we please God is in itself supremely evil. No expression of creativity, heroism, or nice-guy behaviour can cancel God’s displeasure at being disregarded in this way.
God searches our hearts as well as weighing our actions. For this reason, guilt for sin extends to deficiencies in our motives and our purposes, as well as in our performance. God observes and assesses our reasons for action as thoroughly as he does the actions themselves. In one sense, indeed, he focuses more attention on the heart – the thinking, reacting, desiring, decision-making core and centre of our being – then he does on the deeds done, for it is by what goes on in our hearts that we are most truly known to him.

God is good and gracious to all his creatures, and he has so loved the world as to give his only Son to suffer on the cross for our salvation.
Active thanksgiving that expresses thankfulness of heart is the only proper response; in fact, this is one of God’s permanent requirements. Our unthankfulness and unlove toward him are as culpable in his sight as are any forms of untruthfulness and unrighteousness in dealing with our fellow humans.
Do we realise that when we complain constantly against God for negative circumstances in our lives and we indulge in self-righteousness and self-pity, we are in fact being unthankful and ungrateful toward God? And this is as bad as being untruthful and unrighteous in our dealing with our neighbour! Note the complaint of God against his people from the prophecies of Amos and other prophets – it came to a point that their worship, their coming together, their songs, and praises, and ‘sacrifices’ were an abomination to God, and He hated them. Are we in the ‘same boat’ as those in the days of Amos? When God looks at our hearts during times of worship, prayer, singing, is He thoroughly grieved and disappointed?

God promises pardon and restores all who repent of their sin. Because sin, both of omission and of commission, in motive, aim, thought, desire, wish, and fantasy even if not in outward action, is a daily event in Christians’ lives, regular repentance is an abiding necessity. Do not resort to rationalisation and seek to excuse ourselves with every ‘desperate reason’ we find our hands on; God is not fooled and God despises hypocrisy and a hardening of the hearts. Before the day of the Lord, when ‘things and people will get from bad to worse’, let us come daily before the Lord God and ensure that we right what is wrong in our hearts, and cry out to Him to restore us and to enable us to persevere in truth and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives.
We know sincerely and honestly that “all is not well with God’s people and the church”. Let us hearken to God’s call to repent, to restore what is pleasing to Him and to be a people who truly reflect the high calling of the Lord God!