The Big “Why”

Posted on by korgrocker

“The first terror is past, but look, two more terrors are coming!”
Revelation‬ ‭9:12‬ ‭NLT

We floated the question in a previous blog post, “Why does God allow disasters to happen?” The implication in the question is that God isn’t all-powerful. Or God doesn’t really care about us. But nothing is further from the truth. The root cause of all the bad things that happen on this planet is sin. The natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and so on, are the effects of sin on God’s perfect creation. In Romans 8:19-22 the Apostle Paul wrote, “For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time“.  I sometimes look around me during my morning prayer walks and try and imagine what all the trees, the flowers and greenery, the wild raspberries and strawberries, will look like when the curse of sin has been removed. I’m sure Heaven is going to be one big Wow!

Because of sin, the world is now in the grip of the devil. Jesus made this clear, as we read in John 14:30, “I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the ruler of this world approaches. He has no power over me“. However, the devil will not always have control of the earth – in 2 Corinthians 4:4 we read “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God“. One day the current “age” will come to an end, and that is what we are seeing in the End Time vision in Revelation. 

God can certainly intervene in the affairs of mankind and our earthly home. We probably don’t know the extent to which God has already intervened, reducing or even stopping certain events. However, we don’t know why God doesn’t do more to stop the catastrophes. God allows people to behave in wicked ways because He has allowed us free choice. He didn’t create robotic human beings, with a pre-defined behaviour acceptable to God, programmed in accordance with His perfect and holy laws. And in the same way perhaps He allows creation to groan along, taking its natural, sin-blighted, course. But what we do know is that often good things happen as a consequence of natural and man-made disasters. For example, the Kindertransport initiative was instrumental in saving many Jewish children from the horrors of the Holocaust. The aid response to the 2004 tsunami totalled an unprecedented $6.25 Billion. At a time of a natural disaster there is something within mankind that wants to help those who are less fortunate. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them“. 

But we can’t leave this dilemma of why we experience natural and man-made disasters without adding the concept of eternity. God deliberately chose to send a solution to the woes of the world in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. Not to sort out or prevent disasters, but instead, to offer mankind an escape route out of a sinful and wicked world into His wonderful presence. God’s love and compassion knows no bounds. His mercy endures eternally (Lamentations 3:22). While we continue to live our earthly lives, God is always available to encourage and help, to pick us up when we fall, and forgive our sinful lapses. And one day He will welcome us into our eternal home. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “…….I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” So today, if there is anyone reading this who wants to know more about our wonderful Saviour, Jesus, and how He, and He only, can show us the way to spend eternity with Him in Heaven, please get in touch.

Dear Father God. We thank You that there is a time to come when we will be with You in Heaven. We pray for Your strength to help us hold firm in our faith to the end. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Trust In The Lord

Posted on by korgrocker

“Don’t worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong. For like grass, they soon fade away. Like spring flowers, they soon wither.
Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37:1-4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In Psalm 37, David picks up again his thoughts about wicked people, and in the process he contrasts their behaviour with that of God’s people. Again and again in this Psalm he points out what “the wicked” are doing wrong and how their lives will end, and then provides a contrast of how Godly people live their lives, adding in words of advice where appropriate. The dichotomy between the two types of people is stark and extreme and it is clear that Godless lives will not end well.

The instruction, “Trust in the Lord and do good” acts as a doorway into a gold mine of instructions, thoughts and behaviours. Just reading this inscription above the door knocker will be ineffective on its own; the door has to be opened and the nuggets within removed, consumed, and acted upon, to provide all that is necessary for life in communion with our Heavenly Father. And a relationship develops with God, so close that “Trust” becomes second nature.

The Psalmist also encourages God’s people to “do good”. Two words almost hidden and overlooked after the impact and boldness of “Trust in the Lord”. But nevertheless an important part of life as a Christian is to do good deeds to and for those around us in our communities and families. Galatians 6:10 reads, “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone…”. And there are many other similar encouragements spattered throughout Holy Scriptures.

The end result of living our lives God’s way though, is clear. Safety and prosperity will result. There is always a tendency to interpret the word “prosperity” from a financial perspective. But it’s so much more than that. Think about the riches of being healthy – mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Think about being blessed by the richness of having a loving family. And of course we mustn’t overlook the prosperity God’s people will find in their ultimate spiritual home.

We can’t leave these verses without considering the last few words. As we delight ourselves in the Lord, and align our hearts, our thoughts, with those of Him, we will find that any worldly materialistic desires will be eclipsed by what really matters. God-values such as love, compassion, mercy, grace, righteousness and so on will infuse our ways of life and waking thoughts. And we don’t worship a stingy God – He will pour out bountifully all we need. 

Psalm 37. Essential reading for everyone. We ignore or disregard these verses at our peril.

Taste

Posted on by korgrocker

“Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him!” Psalms‬ ‭34:8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Tasting is one of our five physical senses. Touch, sight, hearing, smelling and tasting. And they will all, or in part, interrelate to help us build a picture, an image or thought in our minds, of whatever we are encountering in our daily natural life. We have spiritual senses too, but, sadly, in most people, these remain largely undeveloped, forgotten or ignored. Our verse today seems ridiculous when viewed from a natural perspective because people fail to understand or appreciate that there are spiritual senses that parallel our natural ones, and consequently they will reject the possibility of a spiritual world because the application of our natural, physical senses will not find it. And so, most people will reject any thought of God out of hand, without ever having undertaken a spiritual ‘taste’ test, without even considering that He even exists. 

The Psalmist, David, knew better and his life was lived in both the physical and spiritual realms. To him they weren’t two separate worlds, but one integrated whole. And his relationship with God never faltered because his natural/spiritual combo was so real to him. He could say, with total confidence, that God is good and by keeping close to Him, he will experience a joy unknown to natural man. In this verse David encourages us to try the God taste test. To switch for a moment from the natural to the spiritual. And as we come to God, openly and honestly, we will experience something incredible. We will find that God is good, and we too will find amazing joy in His presence.