“You Just Had to Go Do It… Didn’t You?”

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

Well Mama always said, “A hard head makes a soft-behind.” You made a decision and now you must accept its consequences. Stop your crying! You went and found out that what they said was true….“Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and will cost you far more than you want to pay.” Sinful choices… severe consequences! God’s message is simple. If you do not lay down your idols and repent of your sin, He has no other choice than to allow you to be consumed (perish) with those He directs His judgment towards; spiritually as well as physically. Listen, there is a time of divine ultimatum when we must make a decision to remain in our sin or repent and follow God in holiness and purity. The angels in Genesis 19:15 “hastened” Lot to get his family together and get out. Time was up! Yet in verse sixteen, Lot lingered (question, hesitate, was reluctant) He may, as many of us, still think we have plenty of time. But Romans 13: 11-14 says, “This is all the more urgent, for you to know how late it is; time is running out!” Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Paul challenges his readers to “Understand the present time.” Do you know what time it is? It’s time to wake up! Why? Because salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The long night is fading away, the sun is peeking over the eastern horizon, and Jesus is coming soon!

I want you to know that in Genesis chapter 13 a division occurred between the herdsman Abraham and Lot. Abraham took Lot to the mountain top to see all the lands round about them. He told Lot, “You choose your direction. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right.”Abraham had a mission to accomplish. He was looking for a city whose builder and maker was God. He had to separate himself from those who had not put their whole heart into the journey. As Lot surveyed the territory, he was drawn to the Jordan valley for his sheep, yet pitched his tent toward Sodom. He describes this as “the valley of the Lord” yet it was full of slime pits, homosexuality, violence, murder and every sin imaginable. Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom because his heart was there and it would soon cost him dearly. He was saved, but because his heart was not fully surrendered to the Lord he sacrificed his sons, daughters, daughters-in-law and his wife to Sodom. He entered into an incestuous relationship with his two remaining daughters that produced the heads of two pagans, God hating tribes. What a testimony! But Lot was not too different than many in the church of today. Some have an attitude of so-what if I sin, this is a time of grace. God doesn’t judge sin the same way as He did in the Old Testament. I want you to know that the truth in both the Old and New Testaments will ring in our ears throughout eternity. The wages of sin is death! Get your heart out of Sodom! God is drawing a line in these last days. Those who refuse to heed the warnings will, like Lot, probably sacrifice the things that mean the most to them. Maybe their own soul as well. As the judgment of the Lord increases on our country and persecution towards the Church intensifies, those who are not fully persuaded like Abraham will not make it. They will not believe that a loving God would cut them off. Some believe that all their shouting, praising, dancing and tongue talking somehow pacify a holy God as they continue to compromise with the god of this world. Wrong!

In Luke 17:31-32, Jesus tells us that when he returns we must be ready and willing to forsake everything or we will miss Him. He confirms it with, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Although she accepted the mercy of the Lord to save her life, her heart remained in Sodom. She was told, “Don’t look back.” When she did she was turned into a pillar of salt. God is drawing a line in His Body in preparation for His return. On one side of the line will be those who have forsaken everything in order to follow Him. On the other side of the line are those who will not take the warning seriously. They will no doubt perish. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance 2Peter 3:9. The Bible makes it very clear: Backsliding is an evil, bitter thing – and it has awful consequences! “Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee…” Jeremiah 2:19.   For every action there is a reaction, and for every choice there is a consequence.  May the examples of such men like Lot and David…Teach us the importance of making Wise Choices!

Author: Lou Coleman