Simeon Says…

We have all read or heard the Christmas story in one version or another. However, in all of the versions did you miss the story of Simeon. It’s in Luke, Chapter Two, right after the story of the Angels and the Shepherds. Maybe it’s forgotten because it takes place eight days after the actual birth. The wise men actually came days after Jesus was born but it’s part of the Christmas Story. So why is Simeon forgotten? It shouldn’t be and it still holds a very good message for us and gives us some insight into why Jesus came. Here is the story of Simeon from Luke 2:25-35:

²⁵ And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷ So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, ²⁸ he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:
²⁹ “ Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
      According to Your word;
³⁰ For my eyes have seen Your salvation
³¹ Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
³² A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
      And the glory of Your people Israel.”
³³ And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against ³⁵ (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

We read that Simeon was a just and devout man. Simeon was just, he observed the laws of God, and he was upright, righteous. He was also devout,  he was careful to understand  the presence and claims of God and he was reverent to God. Simeon had a relationship with God, he had a true heart of love for God. When we enter into that type of relationship with God it changes us. We begin to do what God wants out of love, because we want to, not because we have too. We begin to care about others, like Simeon caring about Mary, Joseph and a baby.

Because of the relationship he had with God, he was able to hear the Holy Spirit, God, speak to him. When the Holy Spirit told him that he would not see death until after he had seen the Christ, the Messiah, and when the Holy Spirit told him to go to the Temple to see the child, Simeon knew and trusted God. Simeon had faith in what God told him and knew that the things God told him would come to pass. When we are able to have faith in God, we are able to trust God, then we truly love God. We become a part of God’s family.

When Simeon sees the baby, he takes him in his arms and he blessed God. In this instance to bless God is to praise God. Simeon praised God because just like the Spirit had told him he was seeing Jesus, he was holding Jesus and now God was going to let Simeon go in peace. Simeon was praising God because of what God had said. God had said Simeon would see Jesus, the he would see the Messiah, and it had come to pass. Simeon was holding Jesus in his arms. Simeon was a friend of God and now he was a friend of Jesus.

Simeon continues by saying that his eyes were seeing God’s salvation. Simeon said that he was seeing the one that God was sending to be our savior. The one who would be the glory of Israel, who would separate the good from the bad, and offer those who accepted the salvation a new life. To the Gentiles, to the rest of the world, truth. The truth that could bring us into the revelation of what the Savior could do for us. The Savior’s forgiveness, His love, and His acceptance into God’s family. Simeon could now have peace, his heart could be filled with peace knowing that the salvation had come to the world. That God would offer forgiveness to everyone and save them from the bondage that this world places us in.

Simeon goes on then to bless Joseph and Mary. He tells Mary that many will accept the Gift that God brought into the world. He also tells Mary that many will reject God’s gift. That Jesus would be a sign, He would perform miracles, He would tell us the truth, to which many would speak against, denying the Gift, rejecting Jesus and all He has to offer. That Jesus would be pierced, which He was at the Crucifixion, but that she would also be pierced with the pain which a mother feels for their child, and also for the fact that many would discount the story of a virgin birth and the whole message of the Good News, the Gift, that Mary brought to the world.

So Simeon says in this story that we should accept the gifts that became available to us over two thousand years ago.. The gifts that only a Savior can bring:

• The gift of faith, which is a love for God in our heart.
• The gift of friendship, which is a love others
• The gift of peace, experience a full life and have a heart filled with serenity
• The gift of family, embrace the family that God offers us and the family he has placed us with here on earth, no matter the circumstance
• The gift of forgiveness, the healing and restoring power of forgiveness, the forgiveness that comes from God and the forgiveness we can offer others

Have you accepted the Gift? Have you accepted Jesus and the salvation He offers? It’s really very simple, just believe that Jesus came to save us and trust Him and what He tells us. That He came to forgive us, that He died for us and that He arose and is alive. He is alive, He is with the Father God, where He watches over us and waits to help with the struggles of our life. We only have to ask Him for His help.

Merry Christmas to all! May we all find love and peace this Christmas.

The Greatest Gift

The Greatest Gift

It’s only a few days until Christmas. As we are running hurriedly around finishing up our last minute Christmas preparations take a minute and ask yourself a couple of real quick questions. Have you fed the hungry? Did you give a drink to the thirsty? Have you done anything to help the homeless? Did you provide gloves, or a scarf, of a coat to someone in need? Have you comforted the sick? Did you go and visit anyone to just share a moment and let them know you care? It is so easy to get caught up in all the hustle and bustle of the season that we forget that a simple little task can make a world of difference to even a stranger. Yes, a simple task.

Like a donation to the food bank. Look around and you’ll be surprised how easy it can be. Many grocery stores have boxes or bins set up for donations. The food banks get really stressed and run very low this time of year.

Donate an hour or two to your local mission helping with Christmas dinner preparations. Your local mission, depending on the size of city you live in, can feed hundreds to thousands on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and they can use all the help they can get.

Go through your closet and pull out your old coats, pants, shirts, shoes, gloves, scarves and take them to your local mission. They always have a need for clothes, as does the Salvation Army, and many others agencies in your area.

Take an hour and go to a nursing home and volunteer to in any way you can for the holiday. You can read, sing or play for them. The seniors enjoy it and sometimes it can mean the world for a man or woman without a local family.

All of the above can be done with very little or no money and very little time. The reward you receive in return will be much more than you can imagine. Sometimes the best gift you can receive is the blessing that you receive by blessing someone else.

As Jesus said in Matthew 25:

34 …‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ³⁵ for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

Be blessed! True giving is not limited to money and material items. It includes giving time to those in need, volunteering at the mission or homeless shelter, delivering meals to the hungry, going through your closets and drawers and sharing that which is so desperately needed.

We all think about the needy, the hungry, the less fortunate and the homeless, but we should be ashamed if that’s all we do. Christmas is not the only time of the year to give of ourselves and our blessings, but it is a good time to start.

So what is the greatest Christmas gift? The giving of yourself, your blessings and your love to those in need. The same way that God sent His son into the world on that Christmas 2000 plus years ago, because He loved us, we need to share love with all those around us. We need to share the Greatest Gift!

Something to Think About This Christmas

I want to share something to think about this Christmas. As I use Facebook on a daily basis I seen many posts that others make urging others to help with this or that, or to support a FB cause. It makes me wonder how many people actually get involved or if they just post for appearance. This one came across this morning and I reposted.

As posted on Facebook:

"Every Christmas you always hear people saying what they want and bought. Well this is what I want. I want people who are sick with no cure to be able to be cured. I want children with no families to be adopted. I want people to never have to worry about food and shelter & heat. Now, lets see how many people actually care and bother to re-post this."

My question is are we making a difference? Are we helping? How many drop their change in the Salvation Army red kettles as they head out of the store? How many donate to the American Cancer Society? MDA? When is the last time you stopped and helped a homeless person with food or shelter? How many have adopted?

I realize that we can’t do it all but should we not try? In my family, which has been truly blessed, we have adopted, sent packages to the Philippines, participated in Operation Christmas Child, sponsored children in World Vision, donated for water wells, clothing and shoes through World Vision and Samaritan’s Purse. Helped out in the Mission. Gave gifts to the under privileged children in the local schools. Always drop our change in the Red Kettle. Give money to the homeless when we see the need. As well as participate in toy runs, benefit rides, benefit concerts, etc.

I am not claiming to have done this all my self, and it doesn’t really matter who did what or who gave how much. This is done by our family, that being my wife’s parents, her sister and brothers, and my wife and I. We all share in the giving and the blessings it brings.

This Christmas, I ask that you examine your heart and participate in the giving. That’s what it is all about, giving. The blessings we receive from a smile by a child, an elderly person or a homeless person can warm your heart and your soul. The memories of some of the blessings can provide a lasting gift. A Merry Christmas from a Red Kettle bell ringer as you drop even a quarter or a couple of dimes in, may put a smile on our face but it will most certainly put a smile on an unknown face somewhere in our community.

I really pray this Christmas that we all participate in the giving and the receiving. The giving and receiving of love. The same love that God showed us over two thousand years ago when He gave us His gift. The gift of His son, Jesus. So that those who accept that gift, may have a real life, a life of hope, a life of peace, a life of abundance.

Making Amends and Forgiveness

 

As we work through our recovery we must keep in mind that we must always seek God’s direction in the things we do. We claimed to have turned our will over to God, so we must continually seek His will. As it says in the BB on page 85, ‘How can I best serve Thee – Thy will (not mine) be done’. When we come to Step Eight and Nine the Good Book (the Bible) has lots of directions for us on making amends. Since we should be using both the BB and GB in our lives and in seeking God’s direction for our lives let’s look at Matthew 18:21-35 and see what light it can shed on preparing and making amends.

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, when my fellow believer sins against me, how many times must I forgive him? Should I forgive him as many as seven times?"  ²² Jesus answered, "I tell you, you must forgive him more than seven times. You must forgive him even if he wrongs you seventy times seven.²³ "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who decided to collect the money his servants owed him. ²⁴ When the king began to collect his money, a servant who owed him several million dollars was brought to him. ²⁵ But the servant did not have enough money to pay his master, the king. So the master ordered that everything the servant owned should be sold, even the servant’s wife and children. Then the money would be used to pay the king what the servant owed. ²⁶ "But the servant fell on his knees and begged, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’ ²⁷ The master felt sorry for his servant and told him he did not have to pay it back. Then he let the servant go free. ²⁸ "Later, that same servant found another servant who owed him a few dollars. The servant grabbed him around the neck and said, ‘Pay me the money you owe me!’ ²⁹ "The other servant fell on his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’ ³⁰ "But the first servant refused to be patient. He threw the other servant into prison until he could pay everything he owed. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very sorry. So they went and told their master all that had happened. ³² "Then the master called his servant in and said, ‘You evil servant! Because you begged me to forget what you owed, I told you that you did not have to pay anything. ³³ You should have showed mercy to that other servant, just as I showed mercy to you.’ ³⁴ The master was very angry and put the servant in prison to be punished until he could pay everything he owed. ³⁵ "This king did what my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."

The first thing we see here is Peter asking Jesus how many times should we forgive a brother or a sister, ‘seven times?’ Jesus states that seven times is not enough. Jesus tells us seven times seventy, or 490 times. Is 490 some magical number? No, Jesus is just making the point that we should forgive anyone as many times as is necessary. Just hold on to that thought and we’ll come back to it later on.

Jesus then goes on to tell a story of forgiveness and mercy. He tells of a king that decides he is going to collect all the money owed to him by his servants. As he starts going through his kingdom and settling the  debts that he is owed he comes across one who owes millions. The king orders that he, his wife, his kids and all he owns be sold to resolve the debt he owes.

Now, I would like to ask, what would you do in this situation? Would you accept what was coming? I am sure that everyone of us would try to work out an agreement. We would beg for more time and promise to re-pay the entire debt, even though we knew in the back of our mind that we could never re-pay all that we owed. The story says the man also dropped to his knees and begged. This man humbled himself to his king, and ask to for the king to forgive him of his debt. Yes, he asked the king to forgive the debt, as both the servant and the king were well aware that ALL the money could never be re-paid.

The king now has a decision to make. Does he tell the servant to give him a couple of days to think about it? No, he had compassion on the servant and told him he didn’t have to pay the money back. The king forgave the servants debt. He showed the servant forgiveness and let him go free. The servant now had his freedom, he was no longer in bondage, the king had set him free.

This is how God responds to us when we confess our wrongs to Him. He responds with compassion and forgives us. We sometimes think we have to fix our wrong doings before God will forgive us. The Bible tells us in John 3 that God did not send Jesus into this world to condemn us but that we might receive His forgiveness and have a real, everlasting relationship with Him.

Being free, the former servant now runs into another of the kings servants. This servant owes the man a few dollars. The man grabs the servant by the throat and demands the money owed him. The servant does the same thing the man did when confronted by the king, he falls to his knees and begs the man to be patient with him and he will repay all owes. The man is having nothing to do with his plee for patience and has him thrown into prison until he could repay his debt.

Is that anyway for a person to act towards another? He was just shown mercy for the same type of transgression but cannot find it in his heart to do the same for his brother. This is typical of the self-serving, self-centered nature of man. Man always is looking out for himself, wanting what is rightfully owed him, and willing to go to any lengths to get it.

I really think, and this is coming from me, that most of us, most of the time are more concerned for ourselves than we are the other person. The world in which we live is always telling us that we need to look out for ourselves. We are in control of our own life and our own destiny. We need to invest in ourselves. Then we are told to be careful. Everyone is out to get us or to take advantage of us. We are taught, sometimes from a very young age to not trust anyone. It’s no wonder that we a so ‘I’ focused.

We must come to realize that we need to think of others before we think of ourselves. We need to look at our brother and see what his needs and wants are. We need to place our brother before us. When someone asks for mercy, like the servants above, we need to be quick to forgive. We don’t say, ‘Let me think about it.’ It just need to forgive. If we need time to think about it then we will get back into ourselves. When we get back into ourselves, we will come up with all kinds of reasons, that we justify in our minds, of why we should not forgive.

The king catches wind of what the first servant had done and he calls him on the carpet. The king, now angry says, how could you? I forgave you of  much and you could not even forgive your brother a few dollars. You self-centered, miserable, evil man. I will have you thrown in prison until you repay everything you owe.

There are consequences to everything we do. We make our choices and then we live by the consequences. When we do harm to others, even when we upset others, we can hurt our relationships with others. Sometimes the hurts can last a life time. It can seem that we have been alienated for life. That we are placed in a cell, away from the estranged brother, in a prison of our own making. That is why it is so important to show our brother mercy, compassion and forgiveness.

As stated in the last sentence of the passage: "This king did what my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart." Jesus is emphasizing the point of forgiveness, that forgiveness is very important. I think Jesus in Matthew says is well:

²³ Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.       Matthew 5:23-24

We can not make amends to others until we have forgiven them for any harm they have caused us. We have to forgive them. In many, if not all cases, it is the resentment that has caused the damage in our relationships with others. Really, if we were not resentful of something they did to us would we really be asking for forgiveness. In every case there is a reason for our resentment. We resent the fact our spouse poured the booze out, dumped the pills down the toilet, took the kids and left. We resent our boss, because we did not get the raise we think we deserved, we didn’t get the promotion, we got fire. We resent the fact that our best friend always took the car keys, that they wouldn’t stay at the party longer, that they deserted us when we continued down the path of self-destruction and we would no longer listen to our reason. Behind every broken relationship we can find resentment.

Step Eight of the Twelve Steps tells us we were ready to make amends to everyone we had harmed. Step Eight is about us forgiving them and asking God to forgive us for the resentment and the harm we have done to them. It is becoming willing to make amends. The Big Book, on page 77 states when we go to make amends; ‘We go to him in a helpful and forgiving spirit…’ A forgiving spirit means we have forgiven the other person and God has forgiven us for the past hard feelings. We have forgiven the resentment we have held and we are ready to set things straight with him.

Step Nine states we make direct amends whenever possible. Amends is asking forgiveness and granting forgiveness to others. Amends is setting things straight and making restitution  when necessary. We need to admit when we are wrong. We need to forgive the other person, to show the other person mercy. We need to ask for forgiveness when we are wrong. We need to ask for our own well being and because God has asked us to do it.

In the beginning of the Jesus stated:

You must forgive him even if he wrongs you seventy times seven.

This is Step 10 and 11 in action. Jesus used ‘seventy times seven’ to mean that we should forgive as many times as needed. Step 10 says we must continue to take a personal moral inventory, as many times as needed, and when we are wrong to promptly admit it. We are to ask forgiveness to God and to the other person. We are to forgive them at the same time.

Step 11 says we seek God through prayer and meditation, seeking God’s will and His knowledge to carry His will out in our lives. God will directs us to those we need to make amends to. We just need to pray for Him to show us. As it says in the Big Book on page  85,  ‘Everyday is a day in when we must carry the vision of God’s will into all our activities. “How can I best serve Thee — Your will (not mine), be done.”’

It is hoped that this will help others as they practice the principles of the 12 Steps. Please feel free to post your comments and open a discussion on your thoughts on what has been presented.

12 Steps in 7 Words

I have been Studying the roots of the Twelve Steps and the ideas behind the Steps. I ran across the following the other night when I was examining ties between Alcoholics Anonymous of the 1930s and the Oxford Group. In particular I was reading about the influence Dwight L. Moody had over Frank Buchman, the Oxford Group founder. Moody had referenced the 32nd Psalm and described it using seven words: Conviction, Confession, Forgiveness, Prayer, Protection, Guidance, Joy. Those seven words fall right in line with Buchman’s Oxford Group language of the Five C’s – Confidence, Confession, Conviction, Conversion and Conservation.

Samuel Shoemaker who Bill W. referred to as a co-founder of AA also referenced the Five Cs in his writings. Sam would not deny it when Bill W. said he was a co-founder, he would however give credit to God and the Oxford Group. Could the Five C’s have had an influence on the Twelve Steps or perhaps Moody’s Seven Words that are used to describe the 32nd Psalm.

Let’s look at the 32nd Psalm and then the correlation I see between the seven words Moody used to describe the Psalm and the Twelve Steps.

Here is the text of the 32nd Psalm:

¹ Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
² Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,
         And in whose spirit there is no deceit.
³ When I kept silent, my bones grew old
         Through my groaning all the day long.
⁴ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
         My vitality was turned into the drought of summer.  Selah  
⁵ I acknowledged my sin to You,
         And my iniquity I have not hidden.
         I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
         And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.  Selah  
⁶ For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You
         In a time when You may be found;
         Surely in a flood of great waters
         They shall not come near him.
⁷ You are my hiding place;
         You shall preserve me from trouble;
         You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.  Selah  
⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
         I will guide you with My eye.
⁹ Do not be like the horse or like the mule,
Which have no understanding,
         Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,
         Else they will not come near you.
¹⁰ Many sorrows shall be to the wicked;
         But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him.
¹¹ Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous;
         And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Let’s begin by looking at verses 3 and 4 where I see Steps 1 and 2. In verse 3 we see a person who is dejected, who is broken, who I think we can say is at the end of his rope. Why else would he be silent, with his bones aching and groaning all day long. He has lost all sanity. He is powerless and his life has become unmanageable.

Verse 4 shows that he is aware of someone else’s presence, that God has had His hand upon him. He is coming under Conviction, the reality of his selfishness and self-centeredness . He is coming to realize that a power greater than himself has been with him and as we shall see in the next verse he calls on his Higher Power to restore his sanity.

In order to turn our will and our life over to the care of God we need to work through a series of principles, or steps if you will. These steps encompass more than just Step Three. If we look at the BB and we look at the way the steps were worked in the late 30s/early 40s, we find that when we turn our will over to God, we do it with a prayer but that prayer does not end with an amen (see BB. pg. 63, para. 2). The prayer is concluded when we complete Step Seven, when we go through Confession, when we ask God to remove all our defects of character (BB. pg. 76, para. 2). Then we must also do Steps Eight and Nine to complete the asking for Forgiveness. We must have our relationship with others right before we can approach God on getting our relationship right with Him.

In Matthew 6:14-15 it tells us we must forgive others before God will forgive us:

¹⁴ “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

We can not make amends to others until we have forgiven them for any harm they have caused us. Yes, we have to forgive them. In many cases it is the resentment that has caused the damage in our relationships with others. Therefore we must forgive them for whatever reason we are resentful towards them. Once Steps Three through Nine have been completed then we have acknowledge our sin, our defects of character and shortcomings to ourselves and God. Once we have confessed all to our Higher Power we have done what is described in verse 5 of the Psalm.

Verses 6 through 8 are Steps Ten through Twelve. They instruct us to pray and to get our direction from God. We can only get direction that comes with Prayer and meditation, meditating on the Big Book and the Good Book. We must pray and ask God for direction. We must also take a daily inventory and ask God for His forgiveness when it’s required. We must continue to practice the principles in all our affairs, which only come through God’s instruction and Guidance.

So, what do we get for all this? We get verses 1, 2, 10 and 11. We get blessings and Protection. We receive God’s mercy. We get to be glad and rejoice because our Higher Power has delivered us from a sorry state of ‘I’, from a state of powerlessness. He has made us upright in heart and righteous, and because of all He has done for us we can shout for Joy.

The only thing left out of the passage is the warning in verse 9. God tells us not to be like the beast with no understanding, which must be harnessed. He tells us that the wicked shall have many sorrows. So, stand strong in the seven words: Conviction, Confession, Forgiveness, Prayer, Protection, Guidance, Joy.  Then you will have found true serenity. You will have true peace and happiness. You will have a life with the true Higher Power, with our God, our Creator.

The 11th of November

Never Forget the Vet

It’s Veteran’s Day! Do you know how Veteran’s Day came into existence? Have you ever heard of Armistice Day? Do you know how they are related or the difference between the two? How long have we been celebrating Veteran’s Day? Has it always been November 11th?

World War I involved 35 countries and lasted five years, from 1914 to 1918. The five years claimed many, many lives and many people believed it would be the very last war. When the fighting stopped, leaders of several the countries involved signed an agreement to stop all fighting on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month. The agreement to halt all fighting, in other words a truce, is known as an Armistice.

Veteran’s Day was originally known as Armistice Day. In the early 1950s people started calling Armistice Day, Veteran’s Day. It was a way that people all across America could say thanks to Veterans and remember those who gave their lives to preserve freedom. In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill proclaiming November 11th of each year Veteran’s Day.

In 1968 the date was changed so that Veteran’s Day was to be observed on the fourth Monday of October. People protested, stating that November 11th had historical significance. After ten years of protesting, Congress returned the day of observance to it’s original date of November 11th.

There you have a little history of Veteran’s Day. Veteran’s Day is still the day set aside for all American’s to remember all those who have fought and lost their lives for America. It is also the day to thank a Vet for his service to our great country. Also, remember those who are actively serving today in our Military.

But, why should we only observe all this on November 11th? We should be grateful everyday for those who gave all, for those who have served America in the Armed Forces, and for those who are currently serving  for our country. Attend a Veteran’s Day parade, service or observance today and shake the hand of a Vet and tell him thank you. Tell a family that you know who has lost a loved one fighting for America that you appreciate their sacrifice and the sacrifice of the one they lost. Hug a soldier if you see one today. Then extend that same acknowledgement everyday of the year.

God Bless Our Troops! God Bless America!

Who’s Fault Is It? – Part IV

 

God is Love! So, where is God as we go through the suffering that we have to endure in this life? He is where He always is, right there with us. He has told us ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’ (Heb 13:5). He also said He would send us help, a counselor (John 14,15,16), to guide us through life on this earth, and help us to overcome the evil that exists. God is our protector, our trust, He strengthens us during suffering and He is our saving grace through our hope and faith in Him (1 Cor 13:7).

I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing I could have done to change what happened to me. I started making a change of lifestyle and two months later I experience a series of small strokes. Whether I had or hadn’t started the diet, exercise and healthier living, the result would have been the same.

There is no getting around the fact that evil exists in the world and there is a force that interferes with our personal lives. Some call the force Satan, others Lucifer, and still others the devil. Whatever you want to call the force, it is real and it or he causes our suffering. Especially when we are trying to good, when we are seeking what God wants us to do, when we are fulfilling our God given purpose, the evil one is right there doing everything he can to stop us.

That is exactly the reason that I experienced the recent series of events in my life. In a matter of weeks, everything was thrown at me to try and get my focus off my God given purpose. It took a little bit for me, with my wife’s help, to see the attacks against me for what they really were, and for me to re-focus my  resolve to do the good that God had planned for my life.

Some of you who read this will agree and some will disagree. I just want to say that that everyone believes in something. I believe that things don’t just happen by chance. Everything happens according to a divine plan. The same way that man cannot create anything without a plan, God had to have a plan to create the heavens and the earth. How can something come to exist from nothing. There has to be a superior mind, with a plan or plans to make anything exist. Just like the superior minds of the ‘rocket scientists’ who put man on the moon, the superior mind of God put the moon up in the heavens for man to strive for.

God loves us, and God is always here with us, every time we go through trials or tribulations. If you want a glimpse of what God is like, what Jesus is like, get a copy of ‘The Shack’. Read about the suffering of a small child, the child’s family, and a father who went searching for the truth to his daughter’s death. What the father found was a loving, caring, Father God. Don’t take my word for it. Get the book and read it, but as you read it put any pre-c0ncieved notions of God aside. If you are a church going person, put everything you have been taught aside while you read ‘The Shack’, and let God reveal to you the parts that He wants you to understand, and the parts He wants you to forget.

If you have read ‘The Shack’ or once you do read it, please feel free to post your comments about the book below. Feel free to post your comments about my take on suffering and how you perceive suffering and why we suffer.

Who’s Fault Is It? – Part III

 

Let’s look at where suffering comes from. Is it a result of our own sin, the result of the sin of others or can we say we experience suffering as a result of a fallen world. Maybe suffering is a result of all three. Maybe all three can be blamed for why bad things happen to good people.

First, let’s examine suffering we experience as a result of our own sin. Suffering, sometimes, is the inevitable consequence of breaking God’s commandments. There are physical laws of nature such as the one that says if you put your hand in fire you will get burned. The pain of the burn acts as a warning when we exercise the wrong choice concerning fire. God has created a world based upon moral foundations, or moral laws, and there is a natural connection between sin and it’s consequences. If a person abuses drugs, addiction will be the consequence. If a person drinks excessively they may eventually suffer the consequences of alcoholism. If a person drinks and then climbs behind the wheel of a car, gets in an accident and injures them self, the injuries are a consequence of the person’s choice or we might say they are the consequence of the person’s sin. Similarly, selfishness, greed, lust, arrogance, and bad temper often lead to broken relationships and unhappiness that once again can be citied as consequences of our actions.

I think that what some call God’s punishment is a law of nature that God created. God gave us a free will, and we have the right to make our own choice, and as a result of our choice we experience the consequences. When we make a bad choice we suffer a bad consequence. It is just a fact of life, a rule of nature, a way God has created to let us know when our free will is violating what He wills for us.

Now let’s look at suffering as a result of other’s sin. First, it is important to note that not all suffering is a direct result of our sin. Much of the suffering in this world can be contributed to the sins of others. Look at global and community disasters. So much suffering is caused by war and in most cases it is the result of human sin. In many countries the suffering experienced is starvation which is the unequal distribution of the world’s resources or some other human sin. It is easy to see how individual suffering is often caused by others and sin such as – murder, adultery, theft, sexual abuse, unloving parents, reckless or drunken driving, slander, unkindness, or selfishness or self-centeredness. Some estimate that it could be as much as ninety-five percent of the world’s suffering can be accounted for by the sin’s of others.

Looking at the previous two reasons for suffering that leaves a very small portion that can be attributed to the fact that we live in a fallen world; a world in which all creation has been affected by the sin of man. It is a result of the original sin of man, the sin of Adam and Eve, that suffering (thorns and thistles) entered the world (Genesis 3:18). Ever since that first sin ‘the creation has been subjected to frustration’ (Romans 8:20). Natural disasters are a result of a disorder in creation. The freedom that God gave to man does not always the answer as to why a particular individual or nation is subjected to suffering, but it does help us to explain the origin of suffering. All suffering is the result of sin, either directly as a result of my own sin, or as a result of some other person’s sin, or indirectly, as a result of living in a fallen world.

Suffering is a result of evil, of sin, in this world. Bad things happen to good people as a result of evil, of sin.

If, as they say, God is love, where is God ….

(To Be Continued)

Who’s Fault Is It? – Part II

 

Seems as though there is a quest to find the spiritual aspect of life. We can see it all around us. People are searching for a meaning and purpose, their looking for answers about life after death, they are trying to determine if God exists or not. There has been a trend in movies in recent years that prove our interest in the spiritual aspects of life. Movies like ‘Ambition to Meaning’, ‘Ghost’, and the upcoming ‘Hereafter’. Movies about God, from the comical ‘Oh God’ and ‘Bruce Almighty’ to the more serious and recent ‘Letters to God’. All of this points to the many that are looking once again toward religion and faith in God. However, in all of this searching for something spiritual, the issue of suffering is one of the common objections to religion and faith in God.

We are constantly confronted by suffering. Suffering on a global scale, signified by natural disasters, famines, floods and war. Suffering on a local level such as coal mines accidents, plane crashes, industrial plant accidents and the likes. Then we have suffering 0n a personal/individual level that affects us all: sickness, handicaps, broken relationships, loneliness, depression, persecution, injustice and poverty. The list doesn’t end there; suffering can take on many forms and no human being is immune from it.

Let’s look at suffering from a spiritual perspective. In order to do that we must consider God, the Bible and Creation. Suffering was not a part of God’s original created order. In the beginning, Genesis 1&2, there was no suffering before man rebelled against God. There will be no suffering after the new heaven and the new earth are created, as described in Revelation 21. Suffering only entered the world because Adam and Eve rebelled against God. When they rebelled against God they sinned, sin entered the world. Many theologians have said that all suffering is a result of sin, either directly or indirectly. If we take this to be a true statement then we have to ask, why did God allow sin to enter His created world and our world?

God allowed sin to enter into the world and our lives because He loves us and wants us to have control of our lives, He gave us a free will! Love is not love if it is forced; it can only be love if there is a real choice. God has given everyone one of us a choice and the freedom to love or not love. Given this freedom, this choice, men and women from the beginning have chosen to rebel against God and God commandments. The result has been suffering.

CS Lewis had this to say about suffering;

‘It would, no doubt, have been possible for God to remove by miracle the results of the first sin ever committed by a human being; but this would not have been much good unless He was prepared to remove the results of the second sin, and of the third, and so on forever. If the miracles ceased, then sooner or later we might have reached our present lamentable situation: if they did not, then a world thus continually under propped and corrected by Divine interference, would have been a world in which nothing important ever depended on human choice, and in which choice itself would soon cease from the certainty that one of the apparent alternatives before you would lead to no results and was there- fore not really an alternative.’

Suffering as a result of…   our CHOICE, others CHOICE, the WORLD…

(To Be Continued)

Who’s Fault Is It? – Part I

 

As I reflect back on the events of the last couple of months and try to figure out why I am going through all the tests the doctors have been putting me through, I start to blame myself. I blame my self for not listening to the doctor a year ago. I blame myself for not having the MRI done a year ago. I blame myself for not quitting smoking earlier in my life, especially since I had been told what it could do to my health.

I have come to the conclusion that it was not my fault and it probably would have happened no matter what I had done in the past. I have come to realize that there are forces in this world that we have no control over. Why do people get cancer? Why are kids and young people taken from us so young? Why do bad things happen to good people?

As I tried to answer the questions as they pertain to my particular situation and started searching myself and my beliefs it led me on a journey of trying to answer the question as to why bad things happen to good people. It took me on a personal journey of looking at life, my life, and why things happen the way they do. I started questioning my life and why if I was making things different, if I was making a life style change as my doctor suggested, why did one of the very things I was trying to avoid actually happen.

I was trying to avoid a heart attack or a stroke. After lowering my cholesterol 24 points, from 204 to 180, I experienced a TIA (mini-stroke). It just didn’t make any sense to me. Naturally I blamed myself for not following what the doctor had advised me a year earlier. So it was all my fault, or so I thought. It was then that I was reminded by my wife of the powers in this universe that work against us and try to defeat us, even to the point of death.

Please read along as I try to explain why suffering happens and why bad things happen to good people…

(To Be Continued)