why

June 26, 2015

“No Pain, No Gain”

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2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.–James 1:2-5 NIV

​Why do Christians have to endure trials and persecutions?​ I suppose people have been asking this question since the first century. The disciples never quite understood why Jesus had to suffer and die until after the Resurrection. God does not allow us to go through suffering so that He will know where we are on our journey, He allows it so that we will know. He allows it so that our “I can” will turn into “No, I can’t but God can”. “No pain, no gain” applies to spiritual growth as well as physical. Would understanding the “why” really make the pain any less real or painful?  I am sure that since Jesus was in on the plan of redemption, He understood the why, but that didn’t keep Him from asking His Father if there might not be another way. As he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. 

42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”–Matt. 26:42 NIV

​It is not a sin to wonder or to question “why?”. It is only a sin when we take it to the point of being disobedient. ​We need to pray for wisdom, but when we pray for wisdom, we need to understand that acquiring wisdom requires experiencing a lot of things and some of them will be painful.

23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.–Luke 9:23 NIV

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November 7, 2014

Why?

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

1 Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did). 3 So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. 4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.”8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. 9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”—John 4:1-9 (NLT)
​Jesus​ didn’t need this woman or anyone else to draw the water for Him. He needed a point of contact with her, so He asked her for water. She, being a Samaritan was definitely surprised that a Jewish stranger would speak to her at all. But Jesus knows how to reach each one of us. Although she was totally unaware of it at the time, Jesus had a plan for her. He “needed” her to evangelize a whole town. Isn’t it strange that His disciples were already in town, why couldn’t they evangelize the town? Because Jesus had a plan for this woman to be His witness for this town. When God calls us to witness to someone, do we ask “why”? There are hundreds of churches with pastors and teachers, why can’t they do the witnessing? Because God loves us and He has a plan for each of us to be a part of His work here on earth. Jesus doesn’t “need” us anymore than He needed this woman, but His plan includes each of us. Don’t cripple the Church body by refusing to do your part.
Post 11-07-14

June 26, 2014

Why, Lord, Why?

God is waiting to show you the way.

God is waiting to show you the way.

10 But you, Timothy, certainly know what I teach, and how I live, and what my purpose in life is. You know my faith, my patience, my love, and my endurance. 11 You know how much persecution and suffering I have endured. You know all about how I was persecuted in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra—but the Lord rescued me from all of it. 12 Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.13 But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived..–2 Timothy 3:10​-​13 (NLT)
​We hear it almost every day. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do good things happen to bad people? Truth is that good and bad things happen to good and bad people. Is God still in charge? Why does God allow these seemingly paradoxical things to happen? Of course, God is still in charge and yes He does allow bad things to happen in good people’s lives. We can look at Job and see that this is true. God knows where we are spiritually at all times. I believe that God allows tests in our lives so that we can know where we are spiritually. The one thing we can know for sure and hang onto is this: Whatever God allows in our lives is for our benefit. Our experiences are how we learn and grow. We can be assured that God will not allow any temptation that we can not overcome and He always provides a way of escape.
​T​he temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.​–​1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)​
​God sends rain on the just and the unjust. It is not​ our business to determine who gets what, when or why they get it or don’t get it . Earthly stuff is temporary, we are to work to lay up rewards in heaven. The rest is God’s business and He always takes care of His business.
12 The wicked plot against the godly;​ they snarl at them in defiance.
13 But the Lord just laughs, for he sees their day of judgment coming
–Psalm 37:12,13 (NLT)
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