God Allows Adversities—Because He Loves

God Molds Us With His Mighty Hands

God allows hardships in our lives so we can (1) grow closer to Him (2) grow in faith (3) comfort others.

(1)- 1 Peter 4:19- So then, those who suffer according to God’s Will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

Acts 14:22- Strengthen the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

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If we are suffering, commit to the Lord. Draw close to him. There is a reason for the anguish. Study God’s Word. Pray continually. God will reveal through his Holy Spirit, in time, why we are going through the storm. He will hold us tight in the palm of His mighty hand as the storm surrounds us and swirls around us.

One of the possibilities for the storm is, we are being tested by Satan. A testing is when Satan stands before the throne of God in heaven and petitions God to test a person. He has studied us and finds us with unrighteousness. God allows the testing to purify us; we are refined by fire.

For more information on testing, I invite everyone to read my article: The Full Armor Of God—Wear It! https://bestill876095733.wordpress.com/2018/03/14/the-full-armor-of-god-wear-it/

Not every storm is from Satan. This is a broken world. Bad things happen to good people all the time; a bad medical report, family issues, work relationship problems, financial hardships. All these problems can lead to horrible consequences, sometimes at the best we can do.

These catastrophes in our lives will rip us apart—tear or families into pieces. Our best solution is to turn to our heavenly Father for comfort and guidance and ride out the hurricane. As the winds of disaster blow in our lives, rest in the palms of His mighty hands. Ride out the storm in His strength. If we rely on his strength, we will survive the storm.

2 Corinthians 12: 10- That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Ephesians 6:10- Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

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(2)- Grow in Faith- When God allows a storm into our lives, it can be for many reasons. Many of these reasons are not for us to understand.

Isaiah 55:8-9- “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9- As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

All things are in God’s control; he owns the entire world. When the Lord allows a catastrophic event into our lives, it can be difficult to think of him as good and loving. How could a God who loves his people allow bad things to happen to good people?—especially when he has the power so stop the hurricane.

We must consider that this is a broken world; full of sin. Bad things happen all around us, all the time. Sometimes, God rescues us from the disaster, and in his wisdom, sometimes he does not. He allows us to go through the event even though he loves us with a deep love that is beyond our understanding.  The question is, where is our focus?

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2 Timothy 3:16- All scripture is God –breathed and is useful for teaching, reproofing, for correcting and training in righteousness.

2 Peter 1: 20- 21-Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 21- For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes God’s reason for allowing us to go through a storm is to drive us upward toward Him, in our faith. The Lord, through the Holy Spirit, will call us to read His Word with a passion, perhaps like never before. Through the reading of the bible, the Holy Spirit will reveal God’s truths to us that we never understood before. The scriptures will take on new meaning; they will become alive to us.

God will use the horrific event to reveal new truths about himself to us through his Word and allow an increased pouring out of His Holy Spirit upon us. (This may be accompanied by excessive crying or weeping)

God grows our faith in spurts like this. He might use a storm as the event to grow us.

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(3)- Teach us to comfort others. It is difficult to feel mercy toward someone else’s pain if we have not been through pain ourselves. Pain is a universal bond. The pain does not have to be the same but sometimes it is the same or often times relatable. God allows his children to go through pain, to help others who are suffering; that is only one reason.

Romans 8:17-18- Now if we are children, then we are heir –heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his suffering in order that we may also share in his glory. 18- I consider that our present sufferings are not worthy comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

We are called to share in Christ suffering; we also will share in his glory, if we remain faithful to him to the end.

Therefore, since we as Christians are called to share in Christ’ sufferings, in all pain, we must run our race, no matter what the Lord has called us to do. Encourage one another in our pain.

If we are not sure what our race is, pray and ask the Lord for his wisdom as to what our purpose is. He will reveal our purpose for us in His good time. Wisdom is waiting for the Lord while remaining in the faith.  By remaining in the faith, we pray, read our bible, and attend church; walk in the Lord.

One part of running our race is comforting others who are in pain. We should be quick with comfort and compassion—but withholding judgement. Since we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, none of us has the right to judge—no matter what a person’s pain.

For more information on running your race, I invite everyone to read my article:

Run Your Race For Jesus https://bestill876095733.wordpress.com/2018/03/06/run-your-race-for-jesus/

Be like Christ and give comfort to others.

John 15:9- As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
God’s love gives us the ability to love, if we are abiding in his love.

John 14:15- “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”
If we truly love the Lord Jesus, we will be eager to follow his commandments; we will pick up our cross and follow him.

1 John 3:11- This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

If we say, we love Jesus, then we must love one another. If we call ourselves Christians—Christs’ followers, we are required to love as he loves us. To love with agape love isn’t humanly possible; loving unconditionally is a trait that is given to us from the Father, through his Holy Spirit. Pray that God will give you, as I do, a heart that loves with agape love (Deep and unconditional love) of the Father in heaven.

For more on God’s agape love, I invite all to read my article: God’s Agape Love, Displayed For All To See
https://bestill876095733.wordpress.com/2018/03/30/gods-agape-love-displayed-for-all-to-see/

Let’s all pray for Christ’s love (agape love) toward everyone and give comfort and love to all who hurt,

Gary The Tested

 

Jesus Healed Us On The Cross

Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and through the Lord makes his life a guilt offering.

1 Corinthians 15:3- 4 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the twelve.

Matthew 3:16 -17 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17- And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

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By His Wounds We Are Healed- Jesus deserves so much more than a thank you for what He did for us. He truly deserves our worship, praise, and admiration. The goal of our lives should be to live a life modeled after Him.

When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, He who had no sin became sin. Jesus took upon his shoulders the sins of all mankind – freely. It was the Fathers will.

 (Luke 24:39 – Look at my hands and my feet. It is myself? Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”)

The disciples saw His nail scars. In heaven, Jesus retains the wounds from His crucifixion on His resurrected body; the nail scared hands and feet, the scares from the crown of thorns, the wounds on his arms and back and sides from the Roman metal flagrum(cat of nine tails). I believe God kept the scars on Jesus’s resurrected body for all eternity so we believers who are there will never forget what he did for us.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.

Jesus bought our way into heaven. He paid our price. We could not get to heaven on our own.
(Romans 3:23) He took our punishment for every sin, every person on earth ever committed, and ever will commit. The price has been paid. Your price has been paid. He took your beating. He was crucified on that terrible cross for you and me and died. He went to hell instead of you and me. On the third day God raised him out of hell and the grave and into his resurrected body.

Let us never forget what Jesus did for you and me and everyone.

John 3:16-For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

To become saved you must believe that Jesus did this for you. And accept Jesus’s free gift of salvation. Sincerely, with a repetitive heart, pray the Believer’s Prayer above this article. Pray it several times. Jesus will save you. He will give you eternal life.

As believers, we also will receive a resurrected body. Ours will be perfect, without blemish. Do you want Jesus? To live throughout eternity with a perfect, resurrected body in heaven with the Lord?     

Don’t wait. Seek the Lord while He may be found. Pray the Believer’s Prayer and repent of your sins as a child before the Lord.

May the Lord Jesus Christ burden your heart for His salvation,

Gary The Tested

Wisdom Comes From The Lord

Have you ever felt your decision making ability was lacking? I sure have. If I’m being honest, many times in life I’ve struggled with a difficult decision. No doubt everyone’s discerning skills can use work.

Job 32: 8 – But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.

Discernment comes from the Lord – wisdom – seeing from God’s perspective.

1 Kings 3: 7 – 13. 7- Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out duties. 8- Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9- So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours? 10- The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11- So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and this and not for long life of wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12- I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will their ever be. 13- Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for – both riches and honor – so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.

The Lord wants His people to develop spiritual discernment to guard against deception. Go to Him in prayer and ask for wisdom that he gives freely to those who ask.

God Bless,

Gary

Waiting For The Sunrise - A Novel About Prayer

Dear Readers,  

     My novel, Waiting For The Sunrise, is a tale of how God sometimes reacts to prayer - admittedly not always. This is a story about the Flanagan family and their struggles.
     Beth and Tim are parents of Mitch and Amber. They are

A Waterfall on Chickamauga Lake in Tennessee

expecting their third child. Tim is involved in an affair and Beth has medical issues due to her pregnancy. Their life begins to crash- partially due to Tim's alcoholism. Beth's parents, Ben and Edna Casey, along with the Casey's church, become involved in their lives. 
     See how God answers a host of church member's prayers. This novel is staged in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains of Eastern Tennessee as a harsh winter fast approaches.
     To download this novel on Kindle, click on the waterfall or the book cover on the side panel of this blog.

     God's Blessings, 
     Shepard Cross

The Jesus Papers – Book Review

Dear Readers,

Do you like conspiracy theory books?  Today I read, The Jesus Papers; by author Michael Baigent. This is a very provocative book that is similar to Dan Brown’s; The Da Vinci Code. It’s written from a historian perspective rather than a novel format.

The book begins with the introduction; May 28, 1291, The Holy Land: Acre, the Crusader Kingdom’s last port city, lay in ruins. The Arab armies of Khalil al-Ashraf, the young Sultan of Egypt, had first besieged and then attacked the city. The last capitol of the Christian Kingdom was finished. This was a battle between The Marshal of the Templars and the Sultan.

Michael Baigent gives the Templars credit for introducing the power of money over the sword by means of checks and safe financial transfers from city to city and country to country. They helped open a space for the middle class-according to Michael.

He and Richard Leigh wrote Holy Blood, Holy Grail. They believe in an important bloodline, a dynasty; that of the Jewish royal lineage, the line of David. They believe the line of David lives in Southern France; a descendant from the marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The wedding at Cana was Jesus and Mary’s wedding. When Jesus turned the water into wine, they were Mr. and Mrs. Christs—according to Michael and Leigh.

In Chapter one Michael writes, during his twenty-year search, he believed when Jesus was crucified, he either had a child by his wife or she was pregnant.

He also writes, both kings and high priests were anointed and were thus a meshiha, a messiah.  In fact, he writes, from as early as the second century B.C. the term “messiah” was used to name a legitimate king of Israel, one of the royal line of David, who was expected to appear and to rule. According to the Gospels, through his Father, Jesus was of the Line of David; through his mother, he was of the line of Aaron the high priest.

Michael restates several times in this book; in his book Holy Blood, Holy Grail, the wedding at Cana was Jesus and Mary’s wedding. He believes at the crucifixion, Mary already had Jesus’ baby or was pregnant with Jesus’ baby. He claims; if Jesus was unmarried and celibate, Paul would have told us. He admits there is no proof to support his allegation; only circumstantial evidence. He cites the 1977 publication, Nag Hammadi; the Gospel of Philip. Also The Gospel of Mary as his evidence.

His book centers around the concept; The Church is at pains to conceal secrets about Jesus. One incident he cites; Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey. He believes Matthew’s account is filled with cover-ups. He explains his theories in detail.

Michael Baigent also questions Jesus’ death on the cross. In this book, he analyses details in the bible and cross references them with his own understanding of history. He believes God’s Word is impregnated with cover-ups—thus the cover text; Exposing the Greatest Cover-Up in History.

He believes the Church is covering up Jesus’ life on Earth and offers no solid proof to support his claims.

To be fair, I reread John 2: 1-11-NIV; Jesus Changes Water to Wine. “On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, They have no more wine.”

“Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”

His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Nearby stood six, stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. 

I believe God’s Word is flawless and perfect—without cover-up; and to be followed as written—not manipulated or twisted.  I disagree with Michael Baigent or anyone else’s theory that the wedding in Cana was a wedding between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. And that Mary was either pregnant or had Jesus’ child before the crucifixion.

I also disagree with Michael’s conclusion that if Jesus was unmarried and celibate, Paul would have told us. Because something isn’t stated, doesn’t presume it to be non-factual.

In my opinion, Dan Brown’s novel, The Da Vinci Code, was entertaining fiction about the same fantasy hypothesis. I read the book and watched the movie. I’m a big Tom Hanks fan. Michael Baigent’s novel, The Jesus Papers, is about the same topic while also fiction; but, without the writing skills. 

As Christians, it’s imperative that we believe the Bible is flawless, perfect, and without cover-ups. After all, it is God’s Holy Word. Could it be anything else?

May good fortune guide your path,

J.A. Ireland

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A Bible Story – David; Saul; and Jealousy

   Dear Faith Readers,

   Being a life-long scripture reader, God's Word has helped me to understand many trials. However, by understanding my plights, that hasn’t always made me feel better. Often times the increased anxiety of wisdom is equally painful.

   Just like today, in many of my favorite bible passages, the character in the story goes through horrific trials. Knowing that my biblical brothers and sisters suffered for their faith doesn’t always help me to feel better.

A Bible Story - David and Saul

   You probably think I’m referring to  Job.  His testing is considered by many to be the harshest in the history of mankind.  I don’t know if that's true or not since testings go on every day in God’s kingdom. I have read about many testings. I have also endured many of my own testings – some more severe than others.

   I'm referring to the trials that David endured. If you recall, Saul and his armies had been pursuing him  for some time. Saul’s goal was to kill David. In the cave, David had an opportunity to kill Saul and spared his life; he crept behind him.

   Have you ever known someone who is truly gifted? That was David. He was gifted in music, in appearance, and in battle skills. Everything about him displayed God’s favor. Were all of those gifts and recognition easy for him to live with? David would have been the first person to say no. These gifts caused jealousy. His gifts also caused him to sin.

   God speaks about jealousy in Exodus 20:17, You shall not covet…

   In 1 Samuel 18.6,7; When the men returned home after battle, the women sang the praises about and to David for slaying ten times as many Philistines as Saul. Saul burned with jealousy. In Vs. 10, God put an evil spirit into Saul. I believe just like with Saul, God uses evil spirits for his work today. If  someone is jealous, that is an invitation for trouble – an open door for temptation.

   It can be very difficult to accept that someone  simply has more gifts. It is important to accept that fact and don’t fall into jealous temptation. That was true in David’s time and it’s true in our time. It will be true in the future. Jealousy is a dangerous temptation. Follow God's Word and make the personal decision to avoid the trap.

   In Christ's Service,

   Shepard Cross

 

The Greatest Prayer – Book Review

Christian Readers,

Recently I spent an afternoon reading John Dominic Crossan’s book, The Greatest Prayer. Let me start by saying; John has a real appreciation for linguistics, parallelisms, and rhetorical effects. He spends a great deal of the book describing his views and analogies on how the Lord’s Prayer was written using these metaphorical techniques.

The Lord’s Prayer, according to John, is Christianity’s greatest prayer. He believes the Lord’s Prayer is one; a prayer from the heart of Judaism on the lips of Christianity for the conscience of the world. Two; a radical manifesto and a hymn of hope for all humanity in languages addressed to all the earth.  

He feels the Lord’s Prayer was written using synonymous and crescendo parallelisms.

John asks the question, If the “Our Father” is prayed by God’s Spirit within and through us, to whom and for what is that prayer uttered? Are we praying for God’s intervention, or is God praying for our collaboration? If Paul can summarize the entire prayer in its opening cry, “Abba, the Father!” how is the rest of that prayer contained in its inaugural address?  

He feels Matthew’s version of the Lord’s Prayer is a well-crafted, carefully organized, and poetically structured hymn—poetic parallelism. The primary and fundamental name of God is a verbal paradox just as the burned-but-not-burned bush is a visual one.  In effect, John states, “My name is the unnamable one.”

John Crossan describes Daniels vision of the kingdom of God coming down from heaven to earth as a eschatological vision. He describes it as God’s Great Divine Cleanup of the World; worldwide peace, banquet, and equality.

He believes this divine cleanup does not begin, cannot continue, and will not conclude without our divinely empowered participation and transcendentally driven collaboration. He also believes it will be nonviolent.

Why is God’s Will more difficult for us than God’s name or kingdom? John writes, God’s Will is an anthropomorphic or human word.

In the chapter; Your Will Be Done on Earth, John sights, 1938 Hitler’s Nazi Germany and the holocaust, Dr. Martin Luther King JR’s assassination, and the execution of Jesus. These are examples of catastrophic events that he asks how it could have been God’s Will. As Christians, we understand that Jesus’ crucifixion was God’s Will. He asks, how could other cataclysmic events be God’s Will as well? John offers no hypothesis for this question after posing it.

He also states, the question is not whether God will forgive this or that sin, but whether there is anything God will not forgive, even-or especially-our lack of human forgiveness.

John Dominic Crossan’s book, The Greatest Prayer, was interesting to read. He believes strongly in the topic with a love for linguistics.

He raised the timeless question; how can a loving God allow such evil in this world as the holocaust, assassinations, etc.  Sadly, he raised the question without offering his opinion of a possible answer.

If you have a heart for Bible analysis, like I do, and can allow for John’s frequency of linguistics, parallelisms, and rhetorical effects, his book will probably be at least somewhat interesting for you. I will admit to skimming through many redundant areas; John tends to overstate his points.

 Blessings,

Shepard Cross

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