A Deadly Game of Chance

I have learned a few things this past week. First of all I have learned I have to stop blaming myself when others fail to comprehend the holiness of God. If they acknowledge it but fail to apply it, it isn't my fault! It is as it has always been. Jesus didn't win them all and neither will I. And whether I approach the lukewarm with the tenderness of the Spirit or the thunderous warning of the Spirit, it is nonetheless the same Spirit and the pleading or the warning could be the individual's last call...

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a Holy and Righteous God who cannot find your name written in the Book of Life. And in the day of His judgment, there will be none from this earth who can say, "I never heard..."

Some will defend their views defiantly that there are different interpretations of the Bible and that it even contradicts itself. It is not easy to combat this lie with those that are content to believe it is all confusion. To them it is a valid reason (or excuse) to play it safe and just be a nice guy around town. When I say to them, "But you can receive this Word as the literal truth," they look at me like I am an idiot in lipstick. They are not aware that they are poor and naked of the Heaven-spun robes of a Heavenly relationship...

In this group there are those that do not want a relationship with the Father. Such intimacy frightens them, they feel inadequate, unworthy, inferior. They have not yet gained the assurance that, if they were truly saved, they were made the righteousness of God through faith in Christ Jesus. It made them a new creature. Behold, the old things passed away and all things became new. Yet they are afraid of messing up, offending, and perhaps running into more accountability than they can handle. "What I don't know," they say, "can't hurt me."

The little children have more faith...

There are others who just plain don't want the Father to get too close. A close relationship with the Father might expose their weaknesses and their hidden sins. They may have to change their lifestyle when - right now - they may be sitting in the back row but they are doing just fine. These folk have reserved the bigger part of their heart for this world and given only a small portion to Christ.

And Jesus warns us, except we die to self, to the pride and desires of this world, unless we come to Him with our whole heart to walk with Him alone, we cannot be His disciple. What these stragglers in the faith are really saying is: "I don't have time to read my Bible. Anyway, its boring. Its old. That was then and this is now. I'm a Christian, I go to church and I've been baptized. That's enough! At least that's what my pastor says..."

Well, honey, I must tell you - and your pastor - "it is most definitely not enough." You must try to read the Word. Truly try! As you make the genuine effort the Holy Spirit will open those scriptures to you and show you how alive they are. You will build a relationship with the Word and the Holy Spirit that God always meant for you to have. Don't wait any longer - don't give your eternity over to chance. Tell that lying devil he can't keep you ignorant any longer of the blessings God has for you.

You will surely seek the Lord with fear and trembling when you realize that your snubbing of His Word is in itself a warning sign that you are not right with God. If you were truly saved, if you truly loved God - you would be gorging on His Word, drinking in His truth, and sharing the God of the Bible with all those you know and meet. You would have a burden for others, a need to see them saved. You would have a desire for fellowship and you would be a joyous witness of God's excellent goodness. You would be an honorable servant bringing in the sheaves. There would be no doubt in your own heart or in the minds of others that you are indeed a child redeemed for the glory of the Most High God.

I will fight to the teeth over the validity of this Book of books. It took the Holy Spirit little more than four thousand years to write it, selecting holy vessels from each generation to write down all that He dictated. Through four thousand years of generation after generation, war after war, building memories and histories and miracles, one upon another, those words, teeming with the Spirit of the Holy Ghost and the very presence of the Living God, were recorded in the beginning for the Israelites, then blessing the believing Gentiles as well and, in time, the saints of the New Testament Church that Christ built.

It was so from the beginning. God had planned a complete salvation for the Jews and Gentiles alike. He chose the Jews to be His people (Christ would be born of the Jews) but He loved them all equally and desired that none should perish. But He would not impose His will on any man. He would not force a man to accept Him as Lord or to obey Him. A man hears and follows his heart and it is from within the heart a man comes to Christ. It is with humility and thanksgiving that he obeys and becomes a faithful son.

So let me caution you again, God is Holy. He will not overlook our stubborn ways forever. And the consequences of our choices are always painful. Yes, God forgives our sins, when we confess them with the shame and sorrow He looks for in a broken heart, but we still reap the consequences of the disobediences we have sown.

What we so often fail to fully grasp is that every commandment God has given is for our own well being. It is BECAUSE He loves us so much and wants His best for us. And they are for our physical well being as well as our spiritual. There are wise virgins and there are foolish virgins, and if you don't have any oil in your lamps - with extra oil for the journey - you better run fast to the supplier...

I have learned there are sheep that have a tendency to be a bit liberal in their views. They may not wholly approve of the policies that embrace prayerlessness in public places, the surrender of Godly freedoms, cohabitation of unwed couples, abortions, homosexuality, and gay marriages, but they don't disapprove either. Their philosophy is, "live and let live." They do not warn those that do support such policies and they believe we should be tolerant of their choices. In other words, let everyone do what seems right in their own eyes. Do you remember when the Israel of Old did that - and what happened to him???

When we wink at God's broken laws in this world it is written down in Heaven that we have willfully compromised the holiness of God. For the sake of not offending, political correctness or fear of retaliation and humiliation, we did not warn the sinner. In that moment we were ashamed to name the name of Jesus or invoke the Word of God. The danger is - if they die in their sin - we will have their blood on our hands.

All too often we have lost our salt, we have no flavor. We are bland and tasteless as a Christian. It is our call, we can accept the way of the world and dismiss all that God is, or we can accept the ways of God and dismiss all that the world is. In this choosing, let us remember that God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. There is no adapting to today's decadent world and getting a free pass with God. With God there is no, "that was then and this is now."

I am responsible to give you the truth. I cannot give you watered down mushy sweet messages that will placate you because these would never convict you or draw you to Jesus. Your soul is too important to God - and to me - to play games of chance with your eternity.

I will plead with you, I will weep with you, I will pray with you, but I will not humor you nor will I give you a free pass and tell you God understands. You see, there can be no tolerance for wickedness. There can be no tolerance for evil in the House of God or in the congregation of the saints. Nor in the hearts and minds of the true believers. Those that tolerate the ways of this world love and obey the will of the creation more than they love and obey the will of the Creator...

And the First Commandment is: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

Today is for repentance, cleansing, salvation and a new walk with God. And it is for entering into, and honoring daily, the holiness of Christ. The fulfillment of the days of this world are closing in rapidly, so be very wise and choose well...

Joan Krempel
July 22, 2010
joan@joankrempelministries.com