A Special Christmas Message from Pastor Roland
December 2012 Update: Read Pastor Roland's comments on the Mayan December 21 prophesy
The following is a reprint of one of Roland's classic blog posts from the past.
My Dear Friends,
What the Good Lord intends to happen will happen when He wants it to, not just because someone says so. I will briefly discuss this topic on my radio program Sunday May 22. I personally am going about my life and not changing what I do. I am writing a book about about marriage and courtship and it will be ready in a month. I have my work to do.
I have my thoughts about this whole topic of the rapture. It is not my place to say much. But I can make a couple of comments. Listen now to Pastor Roland's Sunday Radio Sermon where he mentions this topic.
The other day I picked a book off my shelf written 300 years ago by a wonderful lady named Madame Guyon. She speaks of "the resurrection of the soul" in the life a person who is being drawn to God and repented and reformed. It's a lovely idea, and she reminds us that religion is about the relationship between a soul and its Maker.
In the life of the person who turns from sin toward God, there is a resurrection of the soul. Prior to that time, the person is dead in their sins. As God draws the person to Him, the Light pierces the darkness, and a change of mind and heart occur, which we call repentance. Then begins a process of reformation, regeneration, rebirth, and renewal.
Also, you will recall that when Christ died, it is said the the graves opened up and saints who had fallen asleep awoke and were seen walking around.
Do I believe that there will be times of trouble and a final reckoning? Yes I do. But I am not given to predictions, even about the weather.
I have to say that many people must be fed milk, as Paul said, and are not ready for meat. Too much is made of "being saved" and getting to Heaven. They are missing the point.
The point is to be a decent human being, to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. The point is to love principle and do what is right. "Let not your right hand know what your left and is doing." Do what is right expecting no reward. Then you may receive a reward, and this not of yourself, but by the grace of God.
There is much I could say on this topic, but my point here is that there is a mystery and marvel to this life. I am awe struck at how great God is and yet how He attends with loving kindness to the delicate care of the souls of those who love Him. I am grateful and overjoyed to know that He gently but diligently pursues those who have salvation in their future, but are now still in the process of making a mess of their lives and who are suffering oppression.
Every time you are mean or unfair to someone, every time you are impatient with your kids, every time you drop your kids off at some school of strangers, and in your heart you feel bad--know that it is conscience, which is from God, making you aware in your heart without words of your error and calling you to be sorry and have a change of heart. And yes, He will forgive you. (But first you have to admit your wrong and be sorry before conscience). It is written that God will not despise a contrite heart. Then joy will return and you will be free, by grace, to make some positive changes in your life. Not because I say so, but because it is so for the reborn child of God.
Some things can be known, but it is my impression that our Creator makes things known on a need to know basis.
Every lady who has ever taken a self defense course is told to trust her gut. This is good advice. When you are walking at night from an evening class, and all of a sudden you get a strong sense to go to your car on the main well lit street instead of taking the short cut through the alley like you usually do. Trust your gut. Who knows what you might have encountered in the ally.
I believe that these wordless hunches are from God. He somehow wordlessly makes us know something to warn us of danger, or other times to nudge us in the right direction.
These hunches or wordless intuitions are on a need to know basis. I am sure there are bad people hiding in alleys all over the place. But if I were to know of all these, it would be a terrible burden to know. I would have to do something with this knowledge. Therefore it is better not to know.
While we are on the subject of intuition, let me also say this. In each of our lives, I believe that the Good Lord does ever so gently make us aware of things we could be doing better. The first revelations for any of us individually, are usually negative ones. All of a sudden we realize, for example, that we are being impatient with our child. Or we realize that we hated our dad.
Like I have always said, God does not care if you spill some coffee on the carpet or if you miss the golf putt. He does not care if you break a teacup or forget to do your homework. But He does care if you resent someone, are mean to them, or confuse your kids. He does care if you gossip about someone.
How do we know that He cares? Because of our conscience. Sometimes after we have been resentful toward someone, for example, we feel bad. Somehow we know wordlessly in our heart that we were wrong. Conscience is our closest link to God.
Which way your spiritual journey will go depends upon such very small but significant moments. If you harden your heart, make an excuse, or brush it under the carpet, you are ignoring and turning your back on the still small voice. If you acknowledge the truth, and bear the short pain of seeing your wrong without trying to do anything about it, you grow. You also change--for the better.
It took Moses 40 years of being a shepherd out in the country before he was ready for God to use him. So don't try to change all at once. Just go about your life and watch for those little realizations. They are from God.
Live the good life. Husbands--love your wives. Wives--love your husbands. Children, do not resent your parents. Parents, be patient with your children. Be honest, fair, brave and kind. Be not boastful. Be not quick to judge. Make allowances for others.
