There’s a story by an unknown author that has a very special meaning. One day, a pastor asked an older farmer, decked out in bib overalls, to say grace for the morning breakfast. The farmer began with, “Lord, I hate buttermilk.” The visiting pastor opened an eye to glance at the farmer, wondering where this was going. The farmer next said even louder, “Lord, I hate lard.” At this point, the pastor got concerned. Without any hesitation, the farmer said, “Lord, you know I don’t care for raw white flour.” The pastor looked around the room and noticed several people were feeling uncomfortable. Then, the farmer said, “But Lord, when you mix them all together and bake them, I do love the fresh, warm biscuits they make.
“So Lord, when things come up that we don’t like, when life gets hard, when we don’t understand what You’re saying to us, help us to just relax and wait until You’re done mixing. It will probably be even better than biscuits; Amen.” (ESV- all emphasis mine)
The story ends by stating that within that prayer, there is great wisdom for all when it comes to complicated situations like we are experiencing in this world today. So, stay strong because our Lord is “mixing” several things that we don’t really care for, but something even better is going to come when He is done with it. Amen.
It’s a rather lengthy story, but taking into account all the disturbing changes taking place today, it fits in well. Evil is coming out of the closet more rapidly every day. All that our Father called abominations are being turned into today’s standards.
The part for true believers that is most disturbing is to be called “haters” just because we choose not to join in and accept what our Father’s Holy Word has told us is sin. Sadly, from all the end-of-this-age prophecies we’ve been told about, it will not be getting any better.
Our Jesus told us to love all of our brothers and sisters, and we do so for the sake of their eternal souls. We do not want to see anyone cast into the lake of fire. However, that does not mean we have to like what they do or even like them as a person. Jesus loved all the religious leaders of His day, even though they gave Him the most problems. There were occasions when He flat-out told them they were destined for the outer darkness if they did not change their ways.
John 13:34-35; “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Going to John 15:18-19, Jesus speaks as if He were here right now giving us instructions for today’s attitudes; “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of this world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
An example of the “woes” that our Savior told the religious leaders to their faces is found in Matthew 23. Just going to verses 23-24, we read, “Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!”
Jesus stated in John 10:9, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and go in and out and find pasture.” John 10:16 says that everyone who will receive and accept Him will be a part of His precious flock; “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one Shepherd.” The “this fold” refers to the Jewish people, and the “other sheep” are the rest of the world.
There are those who will say they’ve sinned so badly that Jesus would never forgive and accept them. First, God knew that we all would sin, as given in Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, and Romans 6:23. All sin, no matter how great or small, is the same to the Father – unacceptable. Without Jesus, a soul’s destination will be the lake of fire, or hell.
However, all who follow the simple steps of the ABCs of Salvation in Romans 10:9-13 will be forgiven. Starting in verse 9, “because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth [or mind of a person who is mute], one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says that everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all who call on Him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Our Father is not taken by surprise by anything that has, is, or will happen on this earth. The issue is the unbelief of the majority of the people (Matthew 7:13-14). Through Paul, the Father tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.”
All is in place today for the next chapter in Earth’s life cycle. That will be the 7-year tribulation, followed by the Millennial Reign of our Savior physically on this earth. All who are currently true believers and have received and accepted Jesus as their Savior will not have to worry about going through the most terrible seven years this earth will ever face. We’re told in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, and Revelation 3:10 that believers will not go through that time of wrath.
Of course, there are “scoffers,” as we’re told about in 2 Peter 3:3-4, that try to ridicule believers into believing that Jesus will not be coming back, and that it’s just a myth. They’re not looking at time the same way our Father does, as our 24-hour days were made for us, and He is not bound by earthly time as we are. His sending Jesus to gather the believers in the Rapture is certain; the timing is His.
Two verses, 2 Peter 3:8-9; “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
Today would not be too early to call out to our Savior to forgive you and to add you to His precious flock. What if you are the one that the Father is waiting for that will signal the start of the Rapture? Also, if the Rapture were to take place today, would you not want to be ready to go?
When the Trumpet of God sounds, and there’s a shout from an archangel, it will be too late to call out to be saved and Raptured. To miss the call will be to enter the tribulation. As stated in 1 Corinthians 15:52, it will happen “in the twinkling of an eye.” To review the Rapture process, go to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. If you have received and accepted Jesus as your Savior, you will not have any worries about missing the call. Awake or asleep, you’ll be there.
As I’ve said many times, God will force no one to be saved but will accept all who truly call out to His Son for their Salvation. Your eternity – Your choice. Make it a winning decision today.
Ahava Olin! (Love Everlasting!)