Tag: Simply Said

Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

Job 2:3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”

Some people believe that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people.  They believe in the Law of Cause and Effect. But then why do bad things happen to good people? The book of Job in the Bible is a story about just that; bad things happening to a good person. I will be honest with you, the first two times I read the book of Job I was weary from what I perceived as constant complaining and wallowing from Job. But the third time I read it, I used a Study Bible and it helped me understand what was really going on.

Job was a man of faith, patience, and endurance. He was known as a generous and caring person and he was very wealthy. Then Job lost his possessions, his health, and his children. Job’s friends gathered around him wanting to help comfort him. But they wrongly assumed his suffering was a result of some awful sin Job had committed. They proceeded to try to convince Job to admit that he had sinned so that it would end his suffering, i.e. cause and effect.

Job was a patient man and he argued with his friends that they were wrong, that he had not done anything to deserve this suffering. But in the end, what broke Job’s patience was not the suffering, it was not knowing WHY he suffered. When God finally spoke, he did not offer Job an answer. Instead he drove home the point that it is better to know God than to know the answer.

God is beyond our comprehension and we cannot know why he allows each instance of suffering to come into our lives. Our part is simply to remain faithful. Job finally learned that when he had nothing else left, he had God, and that was enough.

Knowing God is better than knowing answers

Heavenly Father, when we are suffering, help us to remain faithful to you and to remember that knowing you is better than having all the answers. Amen

Unbelief

Acts 16:31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.”

I heard something this week while I was listening to old sermons on my way to and from work and I have a burden on my heart to share it with you.  I had never heard it put quite this way before and for some reason it really made sense to me. To summarize it said you will not go to hell because of your sins. You will go to hell because of your unbelief. What do I mean by unbelief? Well to put is simply, if you do not believe that Jesus is the son of God who died on the cross and rose again to cleanse you from your sins then you will go to hell. No matter how “good” of a person you are. You must believe.

Salvation is that easy. Just believe. You do not need to DO anything because we have been saved by GRACE alone. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

You see sin separates us from God. In order to remove that separation, God sent his son Jesus to DO what was necessary to fix that. He died on the cross and rose again to make you righteous before God. So now all you have to do is believe and you will be saved. To believe, you have to have faith and Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”

Your faith is increased by hearing God’s word. So, if you are a Christian, a believer, a follower of Jesus, you need to be IN THE WORD. Take time every day to read the Bible or listen to the Bible or watch video sermons about the Bible. Talk to God. Tell him about your thoughts, ideas, worries and accomplishments. Make him a part of your everyday life. Then tell others. Their faith will increase by hearing the Word of God too.

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your son to save me from my sins. Give me faith to believe, courage to share, and grace to be saved. Amen.

Grow Stronger

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

The Bradford Pear Tree is a beautiful fast-growing tree, but it is very weak. It can grow up to up to 15 feet in a little as 5 years.  The average tree only grows about 8-9 feet in 5 years. The tree itself provides shade very quickly but its average lifespan is only 20 years. Most trees live a minimum of 50 years but many live much much longer.

So why I am giving you a horticulture lesson about trees? Because I recently had to cut one down in my backyard that fell apart during a thunderstorm.  Three years ago, I had to cut down another Bradford Pear Tree from my front yard that did the same thing. This got me thinking, why is this happening? Why do these trees keep doing this? I was told that many builders will plant Bradford Pear Trees because they grow so fast and provide shade quickly for the home buyer. But when these trees come down, they could fall on the home and cause significant damage and the cost to remove them is not cheap either. So obviously, faster does not always mean better. Waiting a few more years for a different tree to grow taller and stronger would have been better.

Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Waiting for God is not easy. Sometimes we many think that he has forgotten about us or does not care. But God often uses the waiting to strengthen us. Just like a tree that takes longer to grow grows stronger, our faith grows stronger when we wait on the Lord.

Habakkuk 2:3 (NLT) says, “If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take time. It will not be delayed.” God has a plan and He will work it out in His perfect timing. Trust God even when you do not understand the waiting. Believe me, God’s plan is worth waiting for.

Lord, please give me patience to wait on your perfect plan. You know what is best I trust in you. Amen.

Are You Ready To Give Forgiveness?

Matthew 6:14-15 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Forgiveness is easy to say but hard to do. It is in our sinful nature to hold a grudge against someone who has done you wrong or to want revenge for something that has been done to you, your family, or your friends. Sometimes we feel like if we forgive someone, we are letting them off the hook for what they have done to us.

But that is not true. Holding onto the anger, shame and feelings of revenge are not hurting the person that hurt you. They are weighing you down. They are stealing your joy. If you hang on tightly to those feelings, you are not releasing them to God to handle. If your hand is tightly closed in a fist around bitterness, how will you be able to reach out and take ahold of the peace God offers? Ephesians 4:31-32 says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

The fact of the matter is that you are a sinner too. Our perfect God sent his son, Jesus, to die on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven. If God can forgive us for all our sins, you can forgive one person for their sins. It is easy to ask God for forgiveness, but difficult to give it to others. I know this from firsthand experience. But if you pray about, like Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer (forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us) then our heavenly Father that loves us will grant us forgiveness and help us to forgive.

Lord, thank you for dying on the cross so that our sins are forgiven. Please help us to grant forgiveness to those that have sinned against us. Amen.