Revelation 19:10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”

Some translations close the quotation after “Worship God,” but the Japanese agrees with the NIV here in closing it at the end of the verse, though it gives a footnote indicating that is debatable. Such details aside, this is an important statement on the part of the angel. In our broken, foolish humanity, we tend to worship whatever is massively impressive to us. That’s the whole basis of what are called “animistic” religions, such as Shinto in Japan. The problem is, as the angel said, that we aren’t to worship created things, but rather the Creator. That even applies to angels, and my wife, who has seen several, testifies that they are VERY impressive! Here, it wasn’t the appearance of the angel, but rather that he said, “These are the very words of God,” that prompted John to start to worship him. Even in Christian circles, those who consistently speak out what God is saying are sometimes treated with a veneration that borders on worship. Like the angel said, we aren’t to do that! The flip side is that the angel put all who consistently testify of Jesus on his level. That’s pretty exalted territory! We aren’t angels, as we regularly make obvious, but we are equally servants of God, and we must not forget it. We are extremely prone to either over-estimate ourselves or under-estimate ourselves. Either is dangerous. We need to see ourselves as God sees us, and we seldom do that very well. As Jesus said clearly, we can do nothing apart from Him. (John 15:5) However, in Him we can do anything at all, if He desires it. There are all sorts of stories of “miraculous” things being done in the moment by those who serve God. If God wants us to do something, He will enable us to do it, period. That applies to feats of superhuman strength, such as a middle-school girl lifting a car off of her father, which has happened, to people being moved instantaneously from one place to another, such as happened to Philip in Acts 8:40. Such things should never prompt us to worship the person involved, but rather cause us to give praise and thanks to the One who made it possible. And, we need to remember that He might do it with us, the next time!

I have been involved in miracles a few times, and the Lord has spoken through me more times than even I am aware of, but I am deeply aware of my own humanity. I’m grateful that God has blessed (cursed?) me with “the pun disease,” because it helps people see me, past the things God does through me. I have had more than enough of an inflated view of myself, but I can never have a high enough view of my Creator, Savior, and Lord. I am to worship Him alone, to a degree that those who admire me will likewise worship Him. He alone is worthy of all worship, honor and praise, as this whole chapter of Revelation says. I am to rejoice in the privilege of being His worshiper, His servant, for His glory alone.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the truly blessed time here yesterday. Thank You for the clear message You spoke through Sister Atsumi, and for the delightful time we had practicing for the Gospel music festival later this month. Thank You that You indeed use all who are committed to You, and that that includes this congregation. May we accomplish all that You desire of us, on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!