Crispy Critters or
"Well Done" are My Good and Faithful Servants

Did you realize that God said that one of the tribes of the nation of Israel was half-baked! He said, "Ephraim is a cake not turned" Hosea 7:8. What did He mean by that? Do you know what he means by that? If you don't, how do you know He is not saying the same thing about you? Read on and let's see if we can shed some light on this matter.

God wrote in a letter to us, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." This is God's number one wish for us. Note though, that while He wants us to have material prosperity and good health, He tells us that these are dependent upon the condition of our soul: "as thy soul prospereth." So, what does God mean by a prosperous soul? He tells us this: "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Romans 8:29). A prosperous soul is one that is just like Jesus.

So how do we go about getting a prosperous soul? Jesus summed it up with this command: "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness." What does that mean? Well, another related scripture puts it this way: "let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith" Hebrews 12:1,2. So, being conformed to the image of Christ is a process in which we have been assigned responsibilities by God. Furthermore, as we run this race of faith, this passage reminds us to keep our focus upon Jesus, because God never intends for us to run this race alone.

But what if we don't lay aside the sin? What if we don't keep our focus upon the Lord? What if we try to sit down instead of continuing on in the race? Is God going to let us get away with that? No, as the passage continues, we find this: "My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth" Hebrews 12:5,6. Notice that this does not say: with whom the Lord is ANGRY He chastens. God chastens those whom He LOVES. And my friend, that means You.

How does God chasten us? Partly, by using circumstances in our lives. The scripture uses fire to describe these experiences. Most believers do not realize how much importance has been assigned by God to the role of fire in the growth and development of His children. Jesus promised, "You shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire." However, many people have the mistaken notion that becoming a Christian means the end of their earthly problems. They believe that the Christian life is one that is supposed to be characterized by the absence of trials. This is exactly backwards from God's plan.

It is ironic that many people get saved out of fear of the fire of Hell. They think getting saved is like buying an eternal fire insurance policy. Instead of fire insurance, becoming a Christian means fire assurance: you are assured of having fire in your life from then on in one way or another. This is a major source of frustration for many of God's people, because they have different priorities than God. This is one reason why so many prayers seem to go unanswered or ignored. They pray for God to remove the very thing that He has ordained for their benefit.

Now, to explain God's use of half-baked: At the time, God was trying to heal His people, but they would not let Him. They did not turn to Him when the trials came, hence they, as a cake not turned, became burned on one side. They were crispy critters. The only way to avoid being half-baked is to turn to God when the heat is on, that is, when we find ourselves in the midst of a fiery trial. Satan, of course, will try to meddle in the process by tempting us to avoid the trial, or to attempt to put out the fire. There are many ways that people use to try to quench the fire, to find relief from the heat: TV, alcohol, abuse of prescription medications, running from situations, divorce, job hopping, church hopping, shopping, moving are some ways people have of trying to avoid facing the truth. This is how God's people responded, and God said they were half-baked. They wouldn't turn to Him and be healed.

Notice that God's motivation in sending fire is for the benefit of His children. The chastening is "for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness" Hebrews 12:10. It is not punishment. God chastens us because He loves us and not because He is angry with us. If we respond properly, then we enjoy the benefits: "afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby" Hebrews 12:11.

Is every trial we experience chastening from God? Certainly not. God's bride will be purified: which bride we are. "Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction" Isaiah 48:10. The Apostle Paul described his trials and sufferings as "that I may know Him and the fellowship of His sufferings." Paul knew that through suffering he was learning more about Jesus and becoming more like Him. And God wants us to know that the trials in our lives are meant to bring us closer to Him and to make us become more like Him. Rather than being half-baked, God wants His servants to be well done. <

"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy" 1 Peter 4:12,13.

"For our God is a consuming fire" Hebrews 12:29.