Bad News
There is something about human nature that desires to hear the best possible news. We generally don't like facing the truth of our situation if there is even a shred of evidence of something less harsh possibly being true! Ironically, my assignment from heaven mirrors my career assignment. In both spheres my job has been to tell people what they don't want to hear.
I have been an environmental consultant delivering bad news for 18 years. At first I hated this aspect of my job. For the first 5 years I became so stressed out by the consequences of what I was finding and having to relay to my clients. Everything that happens underground is expensive...sometimes super expensive...so me finding a potential problem was often met with hostility! I am "wired" to smile and get along with people...not cause problems...why would God lead me to such a tough assignment?!
What I see now is that the lessons in human nature I have received are invaluable for a time of intensity. Over the years, I have come to realize a few things:
1. I didn't make the mess underground, I was asked to simply find it. I am not responsible for any more then identifying the problem and the least painful way to address it. However, MOST people get angry with the messenger. Once I got used to it, I (mostly) got over it.
2. People are willing to believe wildly irrational things if believing the true thing is going to cost them. Samantha almost always ends up laughing if she hears me having an initial consultation over the phone with a potential client. I have learned to be very blunt. I have heard every rationalization for why a problem couldn't possibly be a problem, and I know how to answer the crazy rationalizations. It is humorous to hear the crazy constructs people create in their minds to make problems that are obvious "go way" so they can dismiss them. Most people would laugh, too, if they could hear themselves.
3. I have witnessed MANY people jeopardize everything they have spent a lifetime working for just because they were unwilling to believe some bad news. It is tragic to watch this happen. I witnessed one guy slowly lose an entire life savings and a successful business, even though I, and many others, warned him in advance.
3. People that receive truth in advance, even if it is costly, often find the solution is much less painful than they imagined. I have never lost a client that decided to believe me and face a problem head-on. Many have come back on the next issue appreciating honest truth that actually helps them avoid worse trouble.
Right now, in world history, a bad situation is barreling down at all of mankind. The solution is wholehearted agreement with Jesus about getting ready for His return. It will cost all worldly comfort, by God's design!
To live in this generation is the greatest blessing for natural-bodied believers ever, but it also carries HUGE responsibility. Most believers in western culture...those with the most resources and ability to change world history permanently and fill Jesus' kingdom with people...don't want to hear any news that will cost them much comfort. They know being a Christian isn't supposed to be entirely comfortable (because of the VAST amount of Biblical information) but they have very set limits about what they are willing to let it cost them. Many people will SEARCH the Bible for one verse that makes them feel comfortable staying where they are, rather than believing the tens of passages that warn to the contrary. This is human nature, but believers are filled with the Spirit of God and are supposed to be somewhat "super" human! I don't want to look for verses that make me comfortable...I want to search for verses that excite me into wholehearted abandon for God and His plans!
Jesus said the cost for not getting ready for His return could be your very salvation:
Matthew 25:1-13 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘ No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
All 10 are saved...they are all together watching for the groom. 5 got ready, and 5 didn't. 5 got in, and 5 didn't. 5 had enough oil to make it through the long night, and 5 didn't. This same sentiment is relayed in no less than 4 other passages/parables that i can recall just sitting here. This IS THE MESSAGE of Jesus regarding the last generation to live without Him on earth...YET many will ignore this teaching because they have settled their hearts on a logical construct called "eternal security." Once saved, always saved.
Salvation is like a lifeline...a rescue rope from heaven. Anyone is invited to grab onto that rope and climb it to safety. Jesus is the "gate" to salvation, but He is also the "way." Jesus said this:
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
You grab onto the rescue rope by choosing to let Jesus' death be the payment for your sins, and turning from a life of disobedience to follow Jesus in the way He lived. This is the "way" you climb the rope nearer and nearer to Him...the place of safety.
Imagine a moving cruise ship you just fell off of. The captain throws you a line and you grab on. If you just hang onto the rope, you are essentially trying to water ski, instead of pulling yourself into the boat. This is ok when the ocean is calm...might even be a little fun...
But, the truth of the time you live in is that a STORM IS COMING! The waves are getting massive, water skiing is a RECIPE for letting go of the rope!
Jesus said the rope is so strong, it will never break:
John 10:27-29 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
The rescue line cannot break, but you CAN LET GO. The sheep Jesus is describing are actively participating with the shepherd...they are following Him...climbing the rope...walking the narrow way.
God has chosen a relationship with mankind based on love. Love REQUIRES...always...a choice to reject love...to say no...to quit. Otherwise you are not in love. The rope will never break, but you can always let go...for love to exist this must always be an option. It is a relationship, not a cage...or a magic incantation...you don't say the magic words of a prayer and are done...Jesus is a "gate" and "a way."
Jesus said there is a time of trouble coming in the last 7 years that calls for endurance. Not getting ready will result in many letting go of the rope. It WILL NEVER break, and if you are actively climbing it to safety you ARE eternally secure. BUT, if you are water skiing right now, wake up!
Matthew 24:9-13 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
If you let go, and trade your trust in Jesus for the man-based plan, signified by accepting the mark of the antichrist, the ship moves on without you:
Hebrews 6:4-6 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
Revelation 14:9-12 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
I have been an environmental consultant delivering bad news for 18 years. At first I hated this aspect of my job. For the first 5 years I became so stressed out by the consequences of what I was finding and having to relay to my clients. Everything that happens underground is expensive...sometimes super expensive...so me finding a potential problem was often met with hostility! I am "wired" to smile and get along with people...not cause problems...why would God lead me to such a tough assignment?!
What I see now is that the lessons in human nature I have received are invaluable for a time of intensity. Over the years, I have come to realize a few things:
1. I didn't make the mess underground, I was asked to simply find it. I am not responsible for any more then identifying the problem and the least painful way to address it. However, MOST people get angry with the messenger. Once I got used to it, I (mostly) got over it.
2. People are willing to believe wildly irrational things if believing the true thing is going to cost them. Samantha almost always ends up laughing if she hears me having an initial consultation over the phone with a potential client. I have learned to be very blunt. I have heard every rationalization for why a problem couldn't possibly be a problem, and I know how to answer the crazy rationalizations. It is humorous to hear the crazy constructs people create in their minds to make problems that are obvious "go way" so they can dismiss them. Most people would laugh, too, if they could hear themselves.
3. I have witnessed MANY people jeopardize everything they have spent a lifetime working for just because they were unwilling to believe some bad news. It is tragic to watch this happen. I witnessed one guy slowly lose an entire life savings and a successful business, even though I, and many others, warned him in advance.
3. People that receive truth in advance, even if it is costly, often find the solution is much less painful than they imagined. I have never lost a client that decided to believe me and face a problem head-on. Many have come back on the next issue appreciating honest truth that actually helps them avoid worse trouble.
Right now, in world history, a bad situation is barreling down at all of mankind. The solution is wholehearted agreement with Jesus about getting ready for His return. It will cost all worldly comfort, by God's design!
To live in this generation is the greatest blessing for natural-bodied believers ever, but it also carries HUGE responsibility. Most believers in western culture...those with the most resources and ability to change world history permanently and fill Jesus' kingdom with people...don't want to hear any news that will cost them much comfort. They know being a Christian isn't supposed to be entirely comfortable (because of the VAST amount of Biblical information) but they have very set limits about what they are willing to let it cost them. Many people will SEARCH the Bible for one verse that makes them feel comfortable staying where they are, rather than believing the tens of passages that warn to the contrary. This is human nature, but believers are filled with the Spirit of God and are supposed to be somewhat "super" human! I don't want to look for verses that make me comfortable...I want to search for verses that excite me into wholehearted abandon for God and His plans!
Jesus said the cost for not getting ready for His return could be your very salvation:
Matthew 25:1-13 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘ No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
All 10 are saved...they are all together watching for the groom. 5 got ready, and 5 didn't. 5 got in, and 5 didn't. 5 had enough oil to make it through the long night, and 5 didn't. This same sentiment is relayed in no less than 4 other passages/parables that i can recall just sitting here. This IS THE MESSAGE of Jesus regarding the last generation to live without Him on earth...YET many will ignore this teaching because they have settled their hearts on a logical construct called "eternal security." Once saved, always saved.
Salvation is like a lifeline...a rescue rope from heaven. Anyone is invited to grab onto that rope and climb it to safety. Jesus is the "gate" to salvation, but He is also the "way." Jesus said this:
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
You grab onto the rescue rope by choosing to let Jesus' death be the payment for your sins, and turning from a life of disobedience to follow Jesus in the way He lived. This is the "way" you climb the rope nearer and nearer to Him...the place of safety.
Imagine a moving cruise ship you just fell off of. The captain throws you a line and you grab on. If you just hang onto the rope, you are essentially trying to water ski, instead of pulling yourself into the boat. This is ok when the ocean is calm...might even be a little fun...
But, the truth of the time you live in is that a STORM IS COMING! The waves are getting massive, water skiing is a RECIPE for letting go of the rope!
Jesus said the rope is so strong, it will never break:
John 10:27-29 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
The rescue line cannot break, but you CAN LET GO. The sheep Jesus is describing are actively participating with the shepherd...they are following Him...climbing the rope...walking the narrow way.
God has chosen a relationship with mankind based on love. Love REQUIRES...always...a choice to reject love...to say no...to quit. Otherwise you are not in love. The rope will never break, but you can always let go...for love to exist this must always be an option. It is a relationship, not a cage...or a magic incantation...you don't say the magic words of a prayer and are done...Jesus is a "gate" and "a way."
Jesus said there is a time of trouble coming in the last 7 years that calls for endurance. Not getting ready will result in many letting go of the rope. It WILL NEVER break, and if you are actively climbing it to safety you ARE eternally secure. BUT, if you are water skiing right now, wake up!
Matthew 24:9-13 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
If you let go, and trade your trust in Jesus for the man-based plan, signified by accepting the mark of the antichrist, the ship moves on without you:
Hebrews 6:4-6 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
Revelation 14:9-12 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
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