A Lack of Knowledge

In this time in our country, we are all looking for answers. This is a time when we can easily be miss-led. All the proven fake new, inaccurate numbers and politicians trying to make ground on people’s misery can be daunting, to say the least.

Have faith, don’t give up yet … I’ve got a message of truth for you and some instruction, that if you follow it, will help and even change your life.

Read on, don’t go surfing now, you may be about to change your life.

When you get through reading and studying this let us know what you thought and tell us if it helped …

Psalm 119:98-100

Sometimes the grind of low enthusiasm results from not having sufficient knowledge to address life’s difficulties. While additional training in management or finances or parenting or vocational skills can certainly help, all knowledge must be built upon a foundation of spiritual wisdom. In verses, 98–100 of Psalm 119, the composer speaks of the superiority of the Word over three sources of truth held in high esteem by the world.

1. The Word makes us wiser than our enemies.

Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,
For they are ever mine. (Psalm 119:98)

The world places great importance on knowledge gained from experience. In this case, the songwriter mentions experience in dealing with our enemies. But he says that the one who has a grasp of the Word is wiser than his enemies. Sometimes difficult people can drag our enthusiasm down. Divine wisdom will help us rise above the negative effects of people who drag us down.

2. The Word gives us more insight than all our teachers.

I have more insight than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation. (Psalm 119:99)

The world also emphasizes the importance of getting knowledge from education. While additional knowledge in a field of study or training in a particular skill never hurts, the Lord says that the one who knows the Word possesses more insight than his educators. What good is an Ivy League education in business or law if you don’t know how to live wisely? What help is a vocational certification if moral foolishness leads you astray?

3. The Word causes us to have more understanding than the aged.

I understand more than the aged,
Because I have observed Your precepts. (Psalm 119:100)

I wholeheartedly encourage respect for older people. I’m becoming one of them! Yet I have noticed that age doesn’t necessarily lead to understanding. On the contrary, I have observed many old fools and have learned from many young sages. Verse 100 declares that one who obeys God’s Word gains more understanding than many years without the benefit of the Scriptures. In Job 32:8–9, we find a similar observation:

But it is a spirit in man,
And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.
The abundant in years may not be wise,
Nor may elders understand justice.

Knowledge and application of the written truths of the Word will better equip us for life than the combined advantages of hard-knock experiences, dedicated teachers, and even decades of living. The Scriptures provide more than mere knowledge. From the Bible, we receive insight. Insight translates to effectiveness. Effectiveness leads to success. Success builds confidence. And confidence inspires enthusiasm.

God wants all His children to succeed, He loves us so much and I’m sure, beyond a doubt, that includes you.

First, have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? That’s a must and it’s simple … If you want Jesus in your heart just go to Romans 10:9-10 and follow those easy to follow instructions and then start your new life.

Now, if you notice on the side of our home page there’s a box that says The Roman Road, click on that and spend some time studying what’s there … if you have any questions feel free to contact me, I’d be happy to help any way I can.

Be blessed my brothers and sisters until we together again KEEP LOOKING UP!!

My prayer for you: 

Lord Jesus,

We come to you with praise on our lips and love in our hearts. We need you Lord and ask your forgiveness for our sins.

We need an end to this racial conflict, we are all one, “ALL LIVES MATTER”, none should be lost in violence.

Lord, I pray the ones causing this chaos will be brought to light and a just punishment be administered. Lord reveal the corrupt politicians using this time of strife to benefit themselves rather than helping our country.

Father God, protect our president and give him GODLY wisdom to lead our country.

Protect our first responders and military.

Lord, we need a cure for this virus sooner than later and sick to be healed. Isaiah 53:5  says; By your stripes, we are healed and I claim that in Jesus’s name for all who are sick and in need of your touch.

We thank You for it and all you do, giving you praise and glory.

In Jesus precious name we pray

Amen

Is God At Work?

In this time of stress and strife with COVID 19, rioting and all the panic going on in our country probably one of the most asked questions, whether verbally or in our mind is; Where’s God, is God at work?

I know God is daily working in each one of our lives and is directing our paths, it’s our choice whether we choose to follow Him or go our own way … rejecting Him.

Unfortunately the politically correct has attempted to take God out of America and go their own way … How’s that been working for us?

We, as Christians need to, now more than ever put this scripture into action before it’s too late (2 Chronicles 7:14). 

Trust me He is working, maybe not the way we want, but then again, have you talked to Him lately giving Him praise and petitioning Him for your needs?(Mark 11:24)

Let’s confirm His working by looking in the word… 

John5:16-19 ¹⁶ For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. ¹⁷ But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”

Throughout the Bible, we observe God at work in people’s lives. Sometimes He acts in dramatic fashion, as in parting the Red Sea to allow the Israelites to escape the Egyptian army. At other times it may appear as if He’s not taking any action. Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that their brother needed His help, but Christ delayed before traveling to their home (John 11:3-6 ³ So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” ⁴ But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” ⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.).

Our Father has given us the Holy Spirit to help us recognize His presence and handiwork. The Spirit cultivates spiritual discernment in us so we can understand when and where He’s at work.

In addition to spiritual discernment, we must develop patience because the Lord operates according to His timetable, not ours. After being promised numerous descendants, Abrahan had to wait until he and Sarah were beyond childbearing years before she conceived. Impatience can cause us to take matters into our own hands and make mistakes.

The Lord’s efforts can bring delight, as was the case when Hannah bore a child (1 Samuel 1:27 For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him. 1 Samuel 2:1 Then Hannah prayed and said,

“My heart exults in the Lord;
My horn is exalted in the Lord,
My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Your salvation.).

His plan can also lead through painful times, which was Joseph’s experience. Before the Lord elevated him to a position of authority to help his family, Joseph was sold into slavery and unjustly imprisoned.

Remember in John 5:16-19, Jesus told the disciples that His Father was always at work and so was He.  We will be encouraged and strengthened in our faith when we recognize the ways in which God is operating. These glimpses of His handiwork will motivate us to stay the course and help us maintain a godly perspective on life.

I hope this has helped you better understand how God works. Remember free will enters into how much God will do …

We have choices, Have you chose Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10), or are you going to continue winging it on your own?

choosing to be a believer now is a wise choice because you WILL meet God sooner or later.

We have a free will who we vote into power … how do you like congress?

We have a free will to wear a mask … don’t wear one and take your chances.

We have a free will to abort a baby … It’s murder, Do you think God’s happy?

I can go on and on about free will choices but I think you get the picture, all choices have an outcome, good or bad.

I pray you make the right choice, be blessed until we talk again.

My prayer for you: 

Heavenly Father,

We come to you asking forgiveness of our sins and ask for strength to do better as we grow in You.

We pray for the unsaved and the ones being misled by false gods and idol worshipers.

Lord, we lift up the sick, the heartbroken, and pray for peace in our land and throughout the world.

Jesus, we pray for our president and others that are in power, we pray they will lead by your guidance.

We thank You and give You all the praise and glory …

In Jesus name

Amen

I Wonder Why Bad Things Happen to Good People

Romans 8:28-39 …²⁸ And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

“I wonder why bad things happen to good people. I wonder why my prayers go unanswered. I wonder about God’s will for my life.” Have you ever wondered about these things? I know I have! I don’t believe we are Christians very long before these wonders begin to creep into our minds.

However, many of us are often reluctant to admit that we wonder about such things-that we have doubts and questions about our faith. We are afraid we will be accused of not trusting God enough or that we’ll be looked upon as some heretic. And this is tragic, for sometimes there is more faith in wondering, doubting, and questioning than there is in blind acceptance. In fact, every strong Christian I know reached a deeper place of faith after going through a “dark night of the soul.”

So, I am going to examine some common wonders of faith, and I want to see where these wonders take us. So hear this message with an honest heart and attitude of prayer, and I believe you will find your faith enriched and strengthened. 

Now as COVID 19 runs rampant in our land and some of our friends and loved ones are struck that question, why does bad things happen to good people, certainly comes to the forefront. When a bible believing Christian is infected with it and hospitalized we wonder why … one partial answer is free will, even Christians make bad choices sometimes. 

I think of one of my very best friends laying in a hospital bed as I write this message. He’s a God-loving, bible preaching man serving the Lord with all his heart and soul, but there he is fighting for his life … I haven’t the answer, I just spend endless hours praying and believing the Lord will heal him.

Bruce is a part of this ministry and is starting to show some improvement, the ventilator was at 100{c834e07adaeba66f308946f41fe459f7d1074b7e393db9448fd4e4c7159f6d24} and as of last night, they dropped it to 75{c834e07adaeba66f308946f41fe459f7d1074b7e393db9448fd4e4c7159f6d24}. That’s very good news … the goal is 20{c834e07adaeba66f308946f41fe459f7d1074b7e393db9448fd4e4c7159f6d24}. Keep praying!

I know a lot of churches are closed and that’s a tragedy, but we can still come together in prayer and by spending time on sites like this and joining in with appropriate comments.

As we look back on the tragedy of 9/11, and this virus sweeping across this land and of course, all the rioting in our nation, I believe it is very appropriate to ask: “I wonder why bad things happen to good people?” Certainly, this was a burning question in the hearts and minds of all of us as we experienced the horror of that day starting with 9/11. Churches were flooded with people asking this question. Counselors were overbooked with clients asking this question. People all over the world were praying this question: Why do bad things happen to good people? 9/11 shattered many people’s naïve illusions about how the world is supposed to operate.

We don’t live life very long before many of our illusions are shattered. “Why do the innocent suffer and the wicked prosper?” “Why does God allow evil and suffering?” “If God is great and good, why is there suffering?” Another way it is put is: “If God can’t stop suffering, then he is not great. If he can, then he is not good.” In the study of theology, this wonder is called “the theodicy question.” And it’s been asked since the very beginning.

In fact, it is a frequent question in the Bible. The Psalms ask it. Job asks it. Lamentations is full of it. The prophet Jeremiah questions God about it: Why do the wicked prosper and the innocent suffer? Why do bad things happen to good people?

So we ought to take a lesson from the biblical writers who cry out with this same burning question. And that lesson is that if we are going to be intimate and personal with God, we need to give him all that we have inside of us, even our deepest complaints and questions. Don’t worry! God is big enough to handle them.

Now at this point, you may be asking, “It may be some consolation that the Bible asks the theodicy question, but do you have an answer for it?” No, I don’t. I don’t know why bad things happen to good people. I am just as mystified by it as everyone else.

The simple fact is that the Bible asks the question, but it never answers it. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God.” This side of heaven we will never know why bad things happen to good people.

Now there is an incomplete response to this question. It is free will. Because God wants us to love him because we choose to love him, we have free will. It is a great gift. But there is a negative side to it. People can use their free will to do evil things and cause much pain and suffering. Several years ago, certain people chose to take their free will, get into an airplane, and crash into a building.

But free will is an incomplete response to our question today because it does not address things like natural disasters and diseases, those things that human beings do not cause to happen. The truth is that we live in a sinful world that runs amuck, and bad things happen to both the innocent and the guilty.

However, as Christians, we have the hope that one day Christ will come in glory and all of our questions will be answered and all of the great mysteries will be solved and all of our confusion will turn into clarity. So get your list of questions ready for that day. I know I’ve got mine. And the question at the top of my list will be, “Why did bad things happen to good people?”

You know what Mother Teresa said? She said, “When I die, God will have a lot of answering to do.” And Billy Graham once said, “When I die and go to heaven, I will spend the first 100 years just asking God questions.” We can look forward to doing the same thing.

But, until that great day comes, we still have to cope with life in all of its suffering and tragedy. We still have to deal with the bad and unfair circumstances of life. So I want to offer some things that have helped me as I have struggled with the question of why bad things happen to good people. My prayer is that they will help you, too.

The first bit of help I offer is simply this: Do not allow the question of bad things happening to good people to make you cynical. It’s fair and healthy to ask this question and struggle with it, but I have seen too many people hang on to it way too long, like a protest, and remain stuck in their faith, or stop believing in God altogether. I have also seen people use it as an excuse. Some people feel that as long as they wear a badge of prideful agnosticism, they will not have to deal with the truth of God in their lives.

Don’t allow unfair pain and suffering to harden your heart. A good way to protect yourself from cynicism is to reflect on the insightful words of Harry Emerson Fosdick. He said this: “Goodness is a far greater problem for the atheist than evil is for the believer.” Instead of focusing on the evil and suffering in the world, look at all the goodness that abounds in our world. Where does that goodness come from? It can only come from a loving God who cares for us. Allow the goodness in the world to lead you back to the goodness of God.

The goodness of God can help us overcome anything, which leads me to offer another bit of help as we grapple with the question of why bad things happen to good people. And this bit of help comes in the form of a question: What happens to good people when bad things happen to them? This is a question that the Bible does answer. This is what our scripture lesson for today is all about. Did you hear all of the words Paul used to describe the assumed pain and suffering of life: hardship, persecution, distress, nakedness, peril, the sword? The apostle Paul and the early Christians were very much in touch with unfair suffering. But what did Paul say happens to Christians when bad things happen to them? Not only did he say that we will never be separated from God’s love, but in Romans 8:28 Paul says something truly remarkable: “All things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

This means that evil and pain is never the will of God, but God can take evil and pain and use it for good. Over and over again in life we see this. When evil attacks with pain, God uses it to build character. When evil shows resistance, God uses it to build strength. When evil cripples with tragedy, God finds a way to victory. When evil destroys with death, God restores life. God is in the transforming business. God can turn our trouble into triumph!

One of the greatest examples of God turning rough times into glory is the story of Joseph in Genesis. Joseph was the favored son, and his brothers were jealous. So in a jealous rage, they beat him and sold him into slavery as a youth. Through an amazing turn of events, as Joseph grew older, his abilities impressed the authorities of Egypt and the Pharaoh made him second in command in Egypt.

Now he had the power to get revenge on his brothers. But he didn’t. Instead, he forgave them. His brothers approached him, scared to death, and Joseph said, “Don’t be afraid. Am I God? I can’t judge you. What you did was meant to hurt me, but God used it for good. I have strength and character, and now I have the power to save and provide for the people of Israel.” At that moment, Joseph knew that God had taken something very ugly and made it beautiful.

H.G. Spafford had the same experience. In 1873, his wife and four children sailed from New York to France on an ocean liner. Mr. Spafford was unable to make the voyage with his family because of business commitments in Chicago. He told them goodbye, promising to meet them in France in a few weeks.

At two o’clock on the morning of November 22, 1873, when the luxury liner was several days out, it was hit by another liner. Within two hours, the ship sank. Nine days later when the survivors landed at Wales, Mrs. Spafford cabled her husband these two words, “Saved alone.” They had lost all 4 of their daughters. When he received her message, he quickly booked passage on a ship to Europe to join his wife. On the way over, the captain called him into his cabin and said, “I believe we are now passing over the place where your family’s liner went down.”

Well, that night in the mid-Atlantic, filled with much pain and sorrow, Mr. Spafford wrote five stanzas, the first of which contained these lines: “When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll, Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul!” And these words have been a part of one of the most popular hymns in the church today. Little did Mr. Spafford know that his words would give comfort to so many people. God turned his scar into a star.

We can’t control the fact that bad things will happen to us. They just do, and one day we will find out why. But the one thing we can control is how we respond to the bad things that happen to us. We can get bitter or better! We can stay angry at life and at God and never move on, or we can give our pain to God and allow him to do something beautiful with it. Then we’ll be able to say with confidence:

I will be untouched in the midst of fire 
I will stand firm in the midst of a storm 
I will not crack in the midst of chaos 
I will not lose heart when the world is torn

I will not fear when the heat blazes 
I will not fret when drought comes 
I will bear fruit in the midst of all of it 
I will march to a different drum

I will discover victory in tragedy 
I will trust in El Shaddai 
I will laugh in the face of death 
I will wave evil and pain goodbye.

Always keep looking up and keep praying, God does care about each one of us and His word says; He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

Be blessed, my precious friends until the next time we talk … Dusty

My prayer for you:

Dear Lord, 

How fragile we are without you, I pray for strength and healing for my brothers and sisters.

I ask forgiveness for our sins and for mercy. We don’t know how or when you will touch and heal our land but your word says to pray and believe and our prayers will be answered, so I choose to trust in you Lord. I let Psalm 23 run through my mind when I need a boost to lift my spirit.

I thank you Lord for always being there and leading us through the valleys.

 I would like to close my prayer with a quote from Mr.Spafford;
“When peace like a river attendeth my way. When sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, It is well; It is well with my soul.”

Amen.