Life Lessons

Why do Bad things Happen to Good People?

Leave a comment

                                  Why do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

    A good friend of ours was ill for a couple of weeks and in the end she went to the doctor when her breathing became difficult. After numerous tests, she was told that she had an aggressive type of lung cancer. Needless to say this left everyone who knew her in a state of shock. “Why her?” people were asking, “She did so much good around the place!!”    People often ask this question….it just seems that life isn’t fair!! We do the best we can and then things go wrong for us! I got to thinking about this age-old question and then thought about a man in the Bible whose name was Job (pronounced Jobe). He was a good man who always did the best he could and then he lost everything. But reading this story  will give us a picture of why this happened which will help us to see things differently and put them in a wider picture when things go wrong for us too.    Let’s turn to the book of Job in the Bible and see what it says about him….

  In chapter one, verse one, we read….”there was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was perfect and upright, one who feared (respected and reverenced) God and who hated evil.” So we see that Job always did his best and as we read down the chapter, we see the things that he did for himself and for his family. Let’s turn it into a story……

   One day, God’s team of angels came to report to Him. God noticed a shiny, glistening, sneaky looking one among them who  didn’t usually come, and recognised him instantly. “Where have you come from, Satan?” He asked. “I’ve been walking up and down all over the place,” Satan replied shiftily. “Have you seen any person as good as My servant Job is?”, God asked, “No-one else is as good in the whole world as he is….he loves Me and hates everything evil! He makes me an offering every day, not only for himself but also for his family.” “Ho”, sneered Satan looking at God, ” No wonder he is so good! You look after him on every side, and have given him all he’s got! I bet if you took it all away from him it’d be a different story! He would curse You to Your face if that happened!!”     God knew His man, and He knew He could trust Job to do the right thing. “OK,” He said to Satan, “We’ll see. I’m allowing you to take away everything that he has. I know he will stand firm for Me.”  Satan chuckled gleefully. ” I’ll make him sorry for following God’s ways. I can beat him!”    So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD…..

So you can see that more goes on behind the scenes, than we know about, and next time we will see what happened.

Adult Testimonies

A Word in Season….

Leave a comment

         Our friend Harold had worked for many years in the prison service, and he had many stories to tell of opportunities taken to share the good news of God’s love and grace.

      But before he went into the prison service, he was working at selling life insurance. As he was going on his rounds in a certain area, he heard of a family who was wanting to take out life insurance on some of their family members. He decided to make them a call and see if he could help in this way at all. When he knocked on the door, a lady answered it and she appeared to be in tears. “I’m awfully sorry,” Harold said, “I seem to have come at a bad time. I’ll come back another day.” “No, no”, she said, “I really need someone to talk to.”

And so the story came out. Her marriage had just broken up, she said, and her husband had taken the two older girls, leaving her with two young sons. Harold listened sympathetically for a while, and said, “Well, there’s not much I can do to help, but do you have a Bible in the house?” “Yes, there is one here,” she said, “It belongs to one of the boys,” and she went off to get it.     Harold took it, and showed her one or two verses. After he had been talking for a while, she said that she had been going to church for over twenty-one years and never realised that she needed to have personal dealings with God. She could see now what she had been missing out on. Harold was not one to ever miss an opportunity, so he asked her if she would like to pray the sinner’s prayer of confession of sin. She was glad to do this and became a new person in spite of her continuing bad circumstances.

   Harold lost touch with her after that, and eighteen years later, two women came into the prison where he was working as a guard, to visit an inmate. Harold immediately recognised the older lady as this same person.     He reminded her of this occasion and asked her how things had been with her over the intervening years. Her face lit up, and she told him how she was still continuing in the faith, and that one of her boys was now serving as a Youth Pastor in a church in Australia.

This story bears out the verse that says….. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning…Psalm 30:5b

Morning Musings

Who is in Your Boat?

Leave a comment

       I was reading this morning, that well-known story of the disciples of Jesus caught in a storm as they rowed across the large lake of Galilee. It wasn’t that they had deliberately gone out in bad weather, they had gone in obedience to their Master’s instruction….He had told them to go, He knew very well what was going to happen on this trip, and He wanted them to learn another lesson of Himself. It wasn’t that they were ignorant of the conditions on the Sea either, as they were seasoned sailors and fishermen.    After darkness had fallen, the wind suddenly got up and they found themselves battling against it as they rowed with all their might to get to the shelter of the other side. Then one of them saw a figure out on the water, seemingly walking on the waves. They cried out in fear, saying it must be a ghost and then they heard the voice of their Teacher saying , “Don’t be afraid, it is I”.      Peter, true to form, (he was always the first to speak) said, “Lord, if it is really You, tell me to come to You on the water!” “Come on then”, Jesus replied, and Peter clambered out of the boat, and found that he was indeed able to walk on the top of the waves. He took a few steps towards Jesus, and then looked around at the boisterous waves. It was too much for his faith, and he became very frightened and began to sink. Jesus stretched out His hand and pulled him into the boat with Him, saying “Oh, you of little faith, shy did you doubt Me?”      The other disciples had been watching all this happen and then when Jesus and Peter were back in the boat, the wind had suddenly died down, and immediately they were miraculously where they were going to on the other side.     The disciples were amazed and speechless. “Truly, You are the Son of God!” they exclaimed. When they admitted this, they found they had reached their destination! What a wonderful picture for us when we go through troubles and trials….if we realise that God is with us in theses trials, so we will find the resolution to it all….maybe not straight away, but eventually.

When God tells you to do something, He will be with you all the way and there is no need to be  afraid…. when He takes you to it, He will see you through it!

Random Devotional Thoughts

How Do You Stack up?

Leave a comment

     We had a baptismal service at our church this morning when four young people were baptised. Each of them gave very clear testimonies as to why they wanted to be baptised, and how they had come to know the Lord for themselves. To them God was not just a force “up there”, but He was personally their Father in Heaven.

    How many people say the Lord’s prayer today starting with “Our Father which art in Heaven”, and they don’t know God as their Father at all! We wouldn’t dream of approaching just any man out there, and calling him “Father”  and asking Him to supply our daily food. Not only that, but how many people think, or want, to go to heaven when they die without even thinking what they will find when they get there! Heaven is God’s home, and as such is holy and pure, without a single jarring note, and full of the praise of God. How could anyone who can’t praise God here on earth, think they are going to be able to do this in heaven? Yet so many people think this without even realising what the implication of being in heaven is! Let’s hope you aren’t one of these, and that you make sure that God is indeed, your Father! You might be wondering how you can do this….it is very simple, just ask Him and tell Him you are sorry for the things that you have done wrong ! When He sees that you really mean what you say, He will become your Heavenly Father, and you will have the right to call Him this….”Our Father!”

Random Devotional Thoughts

Hiding God’s Word.

Leave a comment

    Our grandchildren have grown and are now having problems which we can’t help taking on our own shoulders as we watch them flounder along making the same mistakes that we once made. Now we are brought up with a round turn by health problems which we didn’t foresee, and we find that we have new needs. We have to downsize; things we once did with ease, now take all day. Then when we come to the next big-0 birthday, we realise that there is very little time left, and maybe no quality time at that. Our minds are not as clear as they used to be, and it is an effort to think of the future and spiritual things.

   For those of us who have endeavoured to follow the Lord during our life time, we have a foundation of knowing the Scriptures and can draw on these from our memory bank for the times of weakness. Our Lord says that His Holy Spirit will bring these things to our remembrance in our times of need, but there has to be something there in the first place for Him to work with.

    So while we have the energy, let’s make sure we store up God’s Word in our hearts against the time that we may not be able to get “fresh manna” due to illness and bodily weakness. Let’s remember that He has promised He will be always with us, and as we go through the door, He is the only One who can go through with us. Let’s get to know Him better and seek to live for Him in every way, and we will come to that door with full confidence and anticipation of what lies beyond!

                                         ***   ***   ***

Random Devotional Thoughts

More Snippets from Ezekiel

Leave a comment

      I wrote last time about a vision Ezekiel had seen, and  continued reading through his writings. I was intrigued by the following thoughts from the first part of verse seven of chapter forty-three which says… And He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever.”     It is amazing to think that God’s desire has always been to live among His people. There are many pictures in this vision that are applicable to us as believers. We are told that we are the temple of the Living God as a body of believers on earth at this time…..

     God’s one great desire is that people follow him with all their heart, and mind and soul (Matthew 22:36-38). Since we see that the sacrifice for our sin has been met by Jesus Christ and that the Holy Spirit of God is now living within us, does this then let us off the hook of having to offer any further sacrifices? Can we just take this free salvation and then live our lives how we want to? No, most definitely not! What then are we expected to do?

    The first offering to give to God is to give our own selves to Him and to live for Him in a way that is honouring to Him. We are not to give way to things like bad temper, immoral living of any sort, dishonesty in  business deals or in private life, or in using bad language.. (Romans 12:1; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)    We are to have a humble attitude before God, and not demand things just because He has promised them….it may not be right for us at this time! (Psalm 51:17)    Then we are to give Him the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving. It is so easy to complain about people and things….it just comes naturally right from childhood to say, “Not my fault, I didn’t do it!” It is a real sacrifice to have to put these complaining thoughts to one side and find something positive to say instead!  ( Psalm 107:22; Hebrews 13:15)    We are to be helpful and kind, to do good to others, and not try to be the top dog, but take the lower place. But on the other hand, we must also be ready to step forward and do our bit….it’s just as bad to say we aren’t good enough when something needs doing !  (Hebrews 13:16, and Philippians 4:18)  

    Believers are part of a holy priesthood to God by reason of our salvation, and as such, we are obligated to do the sacrifices of giving praise, living a holy life and sharing what we have with others.  (1 Peter 2:5)

God has given His only Son, We must take the work that’s done, Giving back the praise He’s due, Is what He wants us to do.

***  ***  ***

Daily Devotionals

Ezekiel’s Writings

Leave a comment

Ezekiel 1:1-28                   

     Ezekiel the priest was in the land of the Babylonians, and it seems that he was meditating on the things of God as he was by the river of Kebar. Suddenly he was aware of an enormous cloud, a windstorm with lightning flashing through it coming  from the northerly direction….

    Ezekiel now tried to describe the indescribable for his readers, as he watched this cloud getting closer and closer. He could see that there were living beings in this cloud, they were sort of like human beings, and yet they were different. They gleamed with a great light from within and they had wings as well as hands and legs. They were able to move quickly like flashes of lightning, and they all moved in unison having wheels within wheels, and as they moved they made a sound like that of a rushing stream.

    As we read this description in the context of modern inventions, we can almost imagine what Ezekiel was seeing was some sort of heavenly machine….was it some sort of helicopter or drone that he saw?  It was definitely a vision from God, and Ezekiel now saw that there was a Great Being there and he could hear a Voice speaking to him. But the overall impression that he got, was one of tremendous light, and a brilliant rainbow which dazzled him so much that he threw himself face downwards on the ground.

   For others who have seen a vision from God, there is always this great light, and we have Paul’s description of his experience on the road to Damascus. He too, fell face downwards onto the ground in the face of this great light, while the men with him saw the light and heard a voice but couldn’t pick what was being said. Paul though, was in no doubt as to what was said and Who was speaking to him, and he was blinded by this intense light for three days (Acts 9:3-9)

   We hear of people today say in their ignorance and unbelief of Who God really is, that they are going to say this or that to God if they ever see Him, but they do not realise that they will be totally speechless in that day. They will see what they really are in the light of God’s holiness and purity, and will know His justice and that they will get what they deserve.

    Ezekiel heard a voice speaking to him and he was ready to listen, just as Paul too listened to what God had to tell him. We don’t have these visions today, but we DO have God’s Word in our hands which clearly tells us the way of salvation….all we have to do is to humble ourselves to listen and obey what He tells us to do. We don’t have to WORK for our salvation because Jesus Christ has done it all, but we DO have to humble ourselves to accept what He has done.

God’s men of old heard God’s word, And wrote down what they heard, We must follow what we read, Obey it all and take good heed.

Random Devotional Thoughts

Do you Have a Loose Connection?

Leave a comment

      I heard a story the other day about a man whose car had a flat battery. This was in the days when a car could be started by cranking it, so he got out the crank and started to wind the motor but it still wouldn’t start. So he lifted the bonnet (hood) of the car and poked around having a good look at the motor. Then he found the problem….there was a loose cable connection. He joined it up, wound the crank handle again and the motor shot into life. “Ah!! ” he thought, “so THAT was the problem!”

     This is just like our prayer life. There are many times when we feel as though God is far away and not hearing our prayers. The trouble is a loose connection between us and God, and it is not until we join the connection that the power of God flows back into our life. Let’s look at some of these loose connections that can cut our fellowship with God.     One of these is having a right relationship with our spouse or other members of our families. This is one of the main causes of a broken connection, and we are told that husbands in particular, are to treat their wives right or their prayers will be hindered  (1 Peter 3:7 ).  Another one is having a bad attitude towards others, and unconfessed sin….King David said, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me!” (Psalm 66:18 ) Having a wrong attitude to our money….it is not our own, but only what God has given us, so it is only reasonable to give Him His share of it. Habitual and continuous disobedience will block our communion with God. Cherished continual sin in our hearts…..is there something that we know displeases the Lord but we don’t want to give it up? This is a loose connection cutting the communication between us and God. The prophet Isaiah said, “Your sins have come between you and God like a thick cloud!”   (Isaiah 52:1)

   So after thinking about these things, let’s fix these loose connections in our life, and have our communion with God restored again.

See what God has to say to YOU.