Deflector Dish

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your comrades who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Revelation 19:9-10)

[I want to start off and say that I am sorry I did not post a devotion last Tuesday.  I know a number of you really enjoy checking in everyday.  I think what happened was that the busyness of Lent got the best of me last week...which is no excuse.  I am also sorry that I am so late posting this today.  Please forgive me.]

In any case…here we go…

I am a big Star Trek fan.  I am not as bad as I used to be, but I still enjoy watching the episodes and the movies.  About 10 years ago I was really into Star Trek (probably border line of being called a full-blown Trekkie).  One of the books I had was a technical manual to the Enterprise (the star ship in Star Trek…for you non-Trekkies).  This manual told you the ins and outs of the Enterprise.  I knew how everything worked, where it was and the purpose of various systems on board.  Sick…I know…but I am better now

One particular piece of equipment on the Enterprise is a device called the deflector dish.  This dish can be used for a number of things.  But one of its main uses is to deflect space debris away from the Enterprise when it is traveling through space.  You definitely would not want to hit a little rock while traveling at warp speed (traveling at the speed of light).  So the deflector dish acts somewhat as a shield for the ship….deflecting stuff away.

In the Revelation text, John hears this amazing announcement and falls down to worship the angel, but the angel says “Don’t do it…I am only the messenger…worship God.”  That angel (or anyone for that matter) could easily receive that praise and say, “You’re welcome”, but that is not where the praise belongs.

Has anyone every thanked you for doing something nice?  Has anyone ever “sung your praises” for an accomplishment? Has anyone ever thanked you for leading a great Bible study, preaching a great sermon, delivering a moving prayer, showing God’s love?  When we hear such praise it is oh so tempting to say “thank you” and receive such praise.  But we are only the messengers.  We are only the instruments that God uses.  And because of this we need to use our “deflector dishes”.  When people start singing your praises and thanking you, consider the reply, “Praise be to God!”…deflecting the praise to the one who truly deserves it.  Because after all…without God we are nothing.  Without God we can do nothing.  Without God…well…you get the point.  Praise be to God!

Let us pray…God of grace and love, you are amazing.  When I think about you I am blown away that you would use a person such as me to proclaim your Word.  As Martin Luther would say, “I am so unworthy of this office”, I am so unworthy to be even called a child of God.  But I thank for the work and wonders you do through me and all people.  I thank you for the love shown to me through others.  I thank you and praise your holy name.  In Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.