Bad Luck Or Holy Scolding?

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  Certain hard things we face are due to persecution and are part of our life as a follower of Jesus.  Matt 10:22, “And you will be hated by all for my Name’s sake.  But He who endures to the end will be saved”.

 

But there are other hard things; things that are consequences for poor decisions and “bad form” that are in place to get us to course “correct” when we leave the highway of Holiness.

 

The Holy Spirit speaks an important truth for me today, “The consequences for rebellion of My commands were set when the commands were given.  There is a difference between My forgiveness of the sin and abatement of consequences”.

 

That is a very important key in the understanding of the truth: sin bears a consequence in our temporal lives even after salvation.  For the believer in Jesus, ultimate forgiveness is not at issue, but the consequences for bad actions and disobedience of the Lord’s commands will come to bear. 

 

The Word of God is a living entity, meaning it speaks to us as a current source of wisdom every bit as it did to the ancients in their day and time in history.  The issue of obedience to the Lord is as old as time itself.

 

In the beginning one rule was in place to test the will and obedience of the original pair; Adam and his wife Eve. The violation and consequence of their rebellion has impacted humanity ever since but was merely symbolic of what all of us do with our free will.  

 

After the one rule was violated, then came the Ten Commandments and then the myriad of Levitical Laws which only underscored the fact that human nature is rebellious and not capable of perfect obedience to Holiness.

 

Then came Jesus the Savior who fulfilled the Law and re-established the purpose and simplicity of the original one rule:  To love the Lord God with all our hearts, with all our souls and with all our strength. (Deut. 6:5).  Love for the rule Giver is the motivation for obedience to any rule established by any beloved in our lives:  To love is to obey the desire, if not the “rule” of the beloved.

 

When asked a question by a “lawyer” of His day, Jesus gave the Pharisees (and us) the great commandment of the “Law”.  Matt. 10:27, “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind; this is the first and greatest commandment”.

 

As a believer in Christ and one who has inherited His eternal legacy, I am expected to operate under a different law called the “law of love”.  The Holy Spirit who dwells within me sets the commands that I am to follow on a day-to-day, sometimes minute-to-minute basis.  If I love Him, I will follow and  obey His commands.  “Go here” and “avoid there”.  “Do this” or “let go of that”, all make for lessons in holiness that require loving obedience and show the world my love for my Lord.

 

Compromise interrupts obedience and for that, there is this thing called “consequences”.  Consequences will follow the breaking of God’s laws or disregarding the commands that were set up to keep us in peace and alignment with His love and will.

 

The world is spiraling out of control and unfortunately our love, our faith and our obedience to the Lord is being tested for compromise. 

 

True confession that in my own life and during times of personal rebellion, I can say that the consequences for my dis-obedience have been progressive.  No big hammer falls out of the sky to knock sense into my head or heart but slowly the heat (consequences) of the sin makes denial and justification impossible.

 

I was raised in legalism and thought that the moment I did something unacceptable to God I would grow a green wart on the end of my nose for all to see and I would be ashamed.  At my first real biff (in my own opinion) the green wart did not appear so I assumed that my violation was not that big of a deal.

 

However, to the contrary of that assumption, I was just being given all the rope I need to hang my rebellious self and the noose kept getting tighter and tighter until I was so choked up by my suffocating sin that I could barely function.

 

God’s mercy in the consequences is not that I can skate past them but rather that once I get convicted and repent the Lord walks with me through them. Sanctification is a process that exposes the sin but doesn’t permit us to remain in it. 

 

It seems that in the major issues of my life, rebellion has finally and mostly been over ruled, but the opportunity to compromise Holiness can come in the small seemingly non-earthshaking choices I make every day that violate the law of love:

 

Judgments beyond my “Pay grade” as to another person’s heart or salvation status.

 

Unforgiveness that hardens my heart unless the other guy asks for it.

 

Limited grace in a long trial that fosters anger.

 

Deep fears that over-rule the promises I have been given by the Sovereign Promise Maker and Keeper.

 

The list goes on but the point of the Holy One today is well taken: Consequences for rebellion and disrespectful disobedience to the Holy mandates of my Lord were set when the commandments and the laws were given. 

 

Personally and as the corporate Body of Christ, God does not and will not “wink” at rebellion.  Consequences will come and not be abated.  Repentance provides that our relationship with Holiness is restored and the Lord will walk with us through to the end of what our rebellion began.

 

In God’s economy and Divine order there is no such thing as bad luck.  But if we, as His people are walking in rebellion, there is sure to come a Holy scolding.

 

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?  

   

Revelation of the Tribulation

 The Holy Spirit calls to me on this beautiful spring morning.  Sunday of the week, and the day we gather to celebrate and remember the resurrection of our Savior.  We celebrate because His glorious recorded resurrection will be ours someday.  

Jesus remained here on earth for many days after His bodily resurrection to assure us that He is alive and well and that after a time, He will return to rule and reign as scripture foretold and we must always look forward to that day. We got a glimpse of His glorified body as a delightful preview of our own future one.

My Holy Counselor knows my thoughts and the way my analytical mind works.  These deep thought cause me to wonder, with some apprehension  "How long until we see you again Lord?"  Then, He speaks comfort into my wrestles for understanding:

"I know you are looking for answers to deep questions about the time of the tribulation and the signs you see all around you.  You cannot know the date and time but I will say, that you must look to the past to understand the future."

Yesterday I was reading in Revelation.  Today the Holy One refers me to the OT and the account of the flood.  The flood of Noah's time was a cataclysmic Divine judgement over lands, people, and creatures large and small. Revelation tells us the final judgement is coming. 

To understand the future, I am to look to the past.  Our Sovereign Creator works in cycles of lessons designed to help us know Him and His ways. He operates according to precedents established in the OT.  All the miracles Jesus performed were things God had established and worked through His servants in the OT.  When Jesus left planet earth, He told us we could do the same. That is subject matter for another day so back to Genesis and the flood. 

What triggered the flood?  What did our Creator see and say before a complete water purging of His created world, while yet providing one man and his family to re-populate and tend to whatever survived it?  

Genesis 6:5-8,

Adonai saw that the people on earth were very wicked, that all the imaginations of their hearts were always of evil only. Adonai regretted  that He had made humankind on earth and it grieved His heart.....  

We read that a man named Noah found favor BUT.... then came the flood.

Thereafter, when people re-populated the earth and were again doing wickedly and united in their independence from Adonai, the Tower of Babel was brought low and Adonai confused their speech. At this time, there were many people who carried the legacy of Noah and the One True God of all creation, so wide-scale destruction was not employed by Adonai.

However, targeted destruction was utilized by Adonai as we read about in the account of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Genesis 18:23,  The God of Abraham, Adonai, said to Abraham, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so serious I will now go down and see whether their deeds warrant the outcry that has reached Me; if not I will know,"   Most know the end of the Biblical account; the sin of the citizens and the meteoric blast reigning down fire and brimstone, that turned the place into ashes. 

Thousands of years later, and after Adonai sent His Son to save humanity from the good justice of Holiness, mankind still chooses to do evil.  Despite the many warning shots across the bow of our independent corporate ship, that speak of pending judgement on wickedness, we can still see the evil all around us today, Revelation 9 says this about the "future" to John who got the vision, but now as I read, it seems like the culture we live in today:

Revelation 9:20-21, "The rest of mankind who were not killed by the plagues (fire smoke and sulfur) EVEN THEN did not turn from what they had made with their own hands---they DID NOT STOP worshiping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood which cannot see or hear or walk.  NOR DID THEY TURN from their murdering, their involvement with the occult and with drugs (pharmacia), their sexual immorality or their stealing."

Looking around, there can be no doubt that we are in a world of God-defined evil people, doing great harm to themselves and others.  We cannot know for sure if this is a cycle of warnings as has happened over history OR if this is the cycle that will end with the return of our King? Regardless, wisdom dictates that we pay attention to our lives and not grow weary in waiting.  

For those who may not realize that one definition of "Tribulation" translates as "pressure" and can be understood as the pressure (on believers) to conform to a godless world.  Pressure, tribulation in our lives as believers is happening as we speak so it is vital that we stand firm.

Revelation 11:18.

"The nations raged

But now Your rage has come,

the time for the dead to be judged,

the time for rewarding your servants the prophets

and your Holy people,

those who stand in awe of your name,

both small and great.

It is also the time for destroying 

those who destroy the earth."

For those who choose to continue to do evil, there is a day on the calendar when Adonai the One true God will act according to His word and His precedents.  LOVE WARNS!

And, for those who desire to escape the judgement to come, know this about our merciful Sovereign Creator:  He expects failure as He knows our frame, and that is why He sent His Son to pay the price we could not pay and live to tell abut it.  Sin (evil) lies within all humanity, and evil brings a penalty. That penalty is the shedding of innocent blood or death as we know it.  

The penalty has no redemption unless the blood shed is innocent.  If we pay our own debt we die forever because our blood is tainted.  Only Holy Blood can resurrect, and redeem us from the debt according to God's plan. That said, the Blood of Jesus has already been shed for us and His Blood is Holy, innocent, pure.  But in our God-ordained free will, it is required that we choose the sacrifice in our own behalf.  

To choose the Righteous, God given sacrifice, we must acknowledge that we are not it. We confess our hopeless sin status, acknowledge Jesus as our chosen Savior with gratitude and move on in trust to live in a personal relationship under His ruling authority.  Our sin is atoned for and we are able to enjoy all the blessings of eternity in a paradise designed by the One who created us for fellowship with Himself. 

In the meantime, here on earth, as we await our transport into His Presence, we can enjoy the most incredible love relationship with the One who holds us and our future in His trustworthy hands. I cherish the gift of His word and the peace that comes from understanding His ways.   The Revelation of the Tribulation is the Grand finale of the plan of God that will be brought to completion, the Good News, as He proclaimed it to His servants the prophets.

Even in the uncertainty of our times and the mystery of His Ways, the celebration of our Lord's resurrection brings such a comfort.  With that ever before us, we can look into the Revelation of the tribulation without fear as we stand in awe of His Holy Name.

The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?