[HOME] When driving, a “school zone” is a place we slow down. It is also a place of learning. In life, we often go through “school zones”, situations that come into our life to teach us to be more like Jesus. Often these are times of difficulty, loss or pressure. We are wise if we slow down as we proceed through these times.
We would like to rush ahead, go faster, get it over with but life lessons are not just about learning facts, they have to do with shaping character and that is not a quick process. If we hurry through the lesson, not allowing the situation to fully conform us to the character of Christ, we will have to repeat it later. Continue reading →
I have friends from a variety of theological persuasions – hyper-Calvinists to Open Theologists, Cessationists to wild Pentecostals, some sprinkle babies while others only dunk adults, even a smattering of Universalists and some too eclectic and weird to even label have crept into my circle of amigos. Of course, a midst all these extremes, I am the only “balanced” one. Ha!
The point is that when these folks talk about adversity they adamantly disagree on its source. Some claim God is so “sovereign” He is always behind the troubles in our life. Some believe He occasionally brings it to purify us. Some are repulsed by that idea and say He only “allows” it. Some say all problems are “from the devil” and God is only a God of blessing. Of course the happiest ones don’t even think about it.
My personal stance? I have my opinions (which by the way, are balanced and correct) but basically I just try to deal with trouble as it comes and merrily skip through life trusting God will take care of me regardless the source of my woes. It works for me.
But in this passage in Mark we do see a couple of interesting things. Continue reading →
QUESTION: “If God created the devil and put the tree in the garden to tempt man, isn’t God responsible for the evil in the world? Furthermore, if God can stop all the evil and doesn’t, isn’t He then doubly guilty?”
ANSWER:
Sounds like a pretty open and shut case against God. This is a tough issue for a short answer but let’s see what we can discover God is guilty of.
When God made man he was faced with a choice. If He made man incapable of rejecting God, incapable of choosing evil, then man would also be incapable of truly loving God or others. Love can never be forced. Love demands options. For man to be capable of truly loving it was essential that man also be able to truly not love and even hate. Of course, God knew man would choose this selfish route and it would bring great evil into the world. Then why did God go ahead and make man knowing the problems He would cause? Continue reading →
Colossians 3:23, 24
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
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So whatever I do, in my marriage, in my work, in my relationships, gassing up the car, taking out the garbage, changing a diaper, mowing the lawn – whatsoever I do I am to do it for the Lord. I am to do it enthusiastically, with a joyful heart because I am working for Jesus. If I do this I can be assured I will receive the “reward of the inheritance.”
Do you ever wonder why Biblical writers use so many words? “The reward of the inheritance”? Which is it, a reward or an inheritance? I work for a reward but an inheritance comes my way because of a relationship. Continue reading →
Revelation 13:7
(The beast) was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. …
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The fact that you are reading this indicates we survived the Mayan “end of the world” December 21. That’s nice but it doesn’t mean an apocalyptic end is not coming. This passage warns us one is coming. But doesn’t this passage seem strange to you?
Biblically we know any power originates in God so whatever power the beast has ultimately comes from God. The beast is given power, from God, to conquer God’s people. Lord, I see a few reasons You would do this but it still confuses me that these folks, who have your Word and all its wonderful promises of overcoming Satan, are going to be conquered. That seems strange to me.
Then I think of Mary. Gabriel appears telling her she will become pregnant by the Holy Spirit – a story folks are not likely to believe. (Luke 1) You could have had Gabriel tell the whole town or tell her parents so at least they would believe her story. Instead, you do it privately and let her bare the ridicule that certainly accompanied such a fantastic story. I can see some reasons You would do that but it still seems strange to me. Continue reading →
Matthew 2:16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.
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I can’t even begin to fathom the grief caused by this act carried out by Herod in an attempt to kill the child, Jesus. As a nation we are mourning the death of the “babies” senselessly slaughtered at Newtown, CT. Imagine every boy under the age of two in an entire city and the surrounding area brutally butchered with no police to intervene. In fact, this act of brutality was carried out by the law enforcement officials.
We are in a war where radical Muslims claim God is on their side. In America we pray for God to bless our troops and believe God is on our side. Does God choose sides and if so, whose side is He on?
We gain insight into the answer in Joshua 5:13-14. Joshua is preparing to lead Israel in battle against Jericho. Joshua sees “a man” standing with sword drawn and he asks him, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” This “man” turns out to be an angel, or most probably, a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
God had commanded the Israelites to go in and conquer the land to punish the inhabitants of it for their continued wicked ways. He had promised the Israelites that He would give them victory. If anybody could ever say, “God is on our side”, these would be the people who could make that claim. Yet, the “man” gives a very curious answer, “Neither”.
Neither? He wasn’t for them or for their enemies? He goes on to explain, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” In other words, He was saying, “I am on God’s side. The real question is, ‘Are you on God’s side or on the side of His enemies?’” God is always on His own side, accomplishing His purposes. It is man who must choose which side He will be on, the side of right or the side of wrong?
Is there a “right” side in war? Certainly there is, God’s side. It is God who established what is right and what is wrong. God is always on the side of good. That means He is opposed to those who are proud, perpetrate injustice or do not show mercy (Micah 6:8). He is opposed to those who shed innocent blood and devise wicked plans (Proverbs 6:17). He supports liberty for mankind (Isaiah 61:1; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Leviticus 25:10). The Bible lists many things He is opposed to and many things He is in favor of. The nation that goes to war to accomplish a godly purpose has chosen to be on God’s side.
We need to recognize too that God has often provoked nations to go to war to accomplish His purpose. Israel invaded the Promised Land to accomplish God’s punishment upon those nations that had repeatedly rejected Him. (They had heard the message. Melchizedek is an example of one prophet God had sent among the gentile nations in that area.) Throughout the book of Judges, and elsewhere, God provoked the nations surrounding Israel to attack them to chastise them for their rebellion. Ultimately Israel and Judah were conquered by the Assyrians and the Babylonians as part of God’s plan to purge Israel of her idolatry. We have solid Biblical reasons to believe God still provokes nations to go to war to accomplish His will.
Is God on the side of the Muslims? Is God on the side of the Jews? Is God on America’s side? God is on His side and actively accomplishing His purpose here on earth. Therefore, it is up to man to choose which side he will fight on. Will we side with God in bringing about the good He plans for mankind or will we fight against God for our own selfish ends?
____________________ Proverbs 21:30-31 There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.
The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord.
QUESTION:
“If God created the devil and put the tree in the garden to tempt man, isn’t God responsible for the evil in the world? Furthermore, if God can stop all the evil and doesn’t, isn’t He then doubly responsible for it?”
ANSWER:
Sounds like a pretty open and shut case against God. This is a tough issue for a short answer but let’s see what we can discover God is guilty of.
When God made man he was faced with a choice. If He made man incapable of rejecting God, incapable of choosing evil, then man would also be incapable of truly loving God or others. Love can never be forced. Love demands options. For man to be capable of truly loving it was essential that man also be able to truly not love and even hate. Of course, God knew man would choose this selfish route and it would bring great evil into the world. Then why did God go ahead and make man knowing the problems He would cause?
IT IS NOT ABOUT MAN
This world is not primarily about man, rather all creation is about bringing glory to God. How much does it demonstrate God’s love to love only the lovable? Not much. God instead chose to demonstrate His great love and mercy by loving a creature totally unworthy of His love.
Furthermore, to demonstrate His unfathomable love God chose to humbly suffer the anguish, the pain, the grief, the loss of being rejected by His own creation. He chose to suffer the sacrifice of His own Son. He chose to give man liberty to destroy Himself and destroy with sin all of God’s glorious creation. He did this to demonstrate His love for us without regard to our response to that love. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 What a God!
UNLOVING OR IMPOTENT
Critics would say the existence of evil proves God is either unloving or impotent. How can He be loving and allow so much injustice when He could stop it with a single word? If He cannot stop it then He is impotent and no real God at all. But we see that, far from proving the non-existence of God, evil exists in the world precisely because God is good. Goodness and Love demanded man be created with the option to invite evil into the world. And because God is all-powerful He runs no risk of evil ultimately triumphing.
Furthermore, we must remember that God also chose to share in this suffering that man’s poor decisions would create. He did not approach this world of pain as a pristine visitor to a concentration camp who stands aloof and observes the wretched victims from a safe distance. He dove in, clothed Himself in flesh and drank deeply of the same agonies, rejections and grief known only to the most miserable among us. He voluntarily embraced more suffering than most of us will ever have nightmares about enduring. He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. (Isaiah 53:3)
A QUESTION OF DEGREES
But why doesn’t God stop men such as Hitler, Stalin, Mao, these evil mass murders? Ultimately He does and ultimately they pay the price for their crimes against God and humanity. None of those men are still on a rampage today though new villains regularly take the place of fallen ones. But to criticize God for injustice in these situations is like reading half way through a novel and criticizing the author for not resolving the conflict. Until the last page of Time’s novel is completed, we dare not cast accusations as to what justice or injustice has been done.
Furthermore, if God did choose to intervene and stop such evil, where would we, in our wisdom, be content with Him drawing the line? Should he strike down every murderer or only after they have killed a set number? Who among us would be all-knowing enough to determine that number? The number would likely be “one” if the victim is a person we know and love.
What about rapists and child molesters, drug dealers and modern day slave traders? Would it be just to allow them to continue in their evil when he stops murderers? If He stops them, then is He to allow thieves and liars to continue hurting people? And if He is to stop all thieves and liars, where would that leave each of us. I don’t believe there would be one of us who could say, “I have never told even a tiny, ‘white’ lie nor taken anything, no matter how small, that did not belong to me.” If we are not content with where God has chosen to draw the line and with His timetable of justice, then who among us is wise enough to instruct Him as to where He should draw the line?
PUNISHMENT BASED ON FOREKNOWLEDGE?
Furthermore, should he punish man based upon what God knows a man is going to do? “I know Hitler will slaughter 6 million Jews and Mao will kill more than Hitler and Stalin combined (some estimates say 70 million Chinese) so to prevent that I will bring them to justice before they harm anyone? And can that be called justice, to punish before an offense? Obviously not. Justice demands each person be allowed to fill their cup of iniquity so when they stand before God they have no grounds to declare Him unfair or unjust in His judgment.
As counterintuitive as it may seem, it is God’s goodness and God’s justice that demand evil have a period of free reign on earth. It is precisely because God is good that there is evil on earth. Yes, God is guilty. Guilty of love in the first degree.
________________________ 2 Thessalonians 1:6-8
God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
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When driving, a “school zone” is a place we slow down. It is also a place of learning. In life, we often go through “school zones”, situations that come into our life to teach us to be more like Jesus. Often these are times of difficulty, loss or pressure. We are wise if we slow down as we proceed through these times.
