WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE PART 5 of 8

WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

PART 5 of 8

TO TEACH US OBEDIENCE 

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

   Let us hear from the Apostle Paul from the twelfth chapter of Hebrews:

5)  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him:

6)  For whom the Lord loves He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives.

7)  If ye endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chastens not?

8)  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

9)  Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence:  shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

10)  For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness.

11)  Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous:  nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.  King James Version (KJV), Public Domain

COMMENTARY

   These days, parents are severely discouraged from correcting their children with corporal punishment but God says that is exactly what you are to do!  Do you realize that God chastens and scourges His own sons? 

   God's kingdom is paradoxal.  Take the case of King David in the Old Testament:  Kings in his day had the power and freedom to do as they wanted without accountability.  However, when King David was called out for covetousness, adultery, murder, and lying, he was chastened by God.  Not as an unbeliever, but as God's child, to make him think twice before he found himself in that sort of situation again.  The best part of that was that was that the Prophet Nathan TOLD King David what his punishment would be for his sins.  For an unbeliever, it would have been death.  God did not dis-own David, but also did not want him to repeat his mistakes.  Being a representative of God's kingdom bears responsibility.  We are to live a life set apart from the world, that we might be identified with The Kingdom.

   We learn respect for our Heavenly Father Who is holy.  He cannot look upon sin.  One day soon, we will live with Him in paradise, so we need to be trained on how to conduct ourselves now.

   Then, take note of what we receive because of the chastening:  the peaceable fruit of righteousness!  This results in a closer walk with Jesus and who doesn't want that?  The Holy Spirit moves us better.  We grow closer to our Heavenly Father.

   Psalms  119 :71 states, 67) Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept Thy Word.  71) It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.  KJV

What about you?  Do you know that you learn more in the valley than on the mountain?  Adversity, even in this world, can strengthen you.  How much more can chastisement prepare us as children of The Most High God?   If you have not accepted Jesus as your personal Savior and been born into His family, click here to learn how to take care of that:  https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html.

If this ministry is a blessing to you, please pray that God uses our efforts for His Kingdom.  You are encouraged to leave us a message to tell us how we are making a difference in your life.  Please also share this post on your favorite social media.  Thank you so much for allowing us into your life.

WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE PART 4 OF 8

WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

PART 4 OF 8

TO REVEAL TO US WHAT WE REALLY LOVE

GENESIS 22: 1,2

By Otto Adolph Stemler (1872–1953) 

 

   1) And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham:  and he said, Behold, here I am.

   2) And He said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

COMMENTARY

   When your best friend calls you on the phone, you are quick to answer.  When they are a trusted and true friend with your best interest at heart, but this call asks you to sacrifice for them, do you hesitate?  An example is that they ask you to go into debt for them, or take their children to raise as your own but don't give a time limit.  How do you answer?  God had proven a trusted and true friend to Abraham, so he was quick to answer.  He had asked Abraham to do things that were uncomfortable, but had always proven to be a blessing to Abraham.

   Following the story of Abraham, have you not read that God told him for nine years that he would have a son?  When he was 99 years old, God told him that his seed would be as many as the dust of the earth.  Read all about His promise to Abraham about his seed beginning in Genesis 12.)

  Then, in chapter 21, Abraham's first born son that he had with his wife's Egyptian bondwoman was sent away from him: 

9) And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.

10) Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.

11) And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.

12) And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

   God had repeated so many times to Abraham that Isaac would be the seed of promise.    Now, God was asking Abraham to kill his own son, who he loved with every fiber of his being.  Since God had proven to Abraham that he could trust Him, Abraham did not hesitate to comply with His latest request.  Abraham had no other history about what God would do except his own personal experiences.  Beginning with Abraham, we learn about God and how to trust Him.

   We go through trials and temptations with things or people we love with every fiber of our beings.  Have you buried your family member?  Have you lost all of your priceless possessions that can never be replaced?  How did you respond?  Here, God is showing Abraham that he loved God more than anything/anyone He has created.  He is also showing Abraham how much he trusts God's Word.  Let us also believe that God is able, no matter what He allows into our lives.   Keep your eyes on Jesus and you will not stumble.

   When asked to give up the one/one thing you love, how will you respond?  My Mama always said that if you love something or someone too much, you will lose them.  Wise words, for sure.   You don't want to place anyone or anything above your love for God.

   What about you?  Are you one of Abraham's seed (a child of faith)?  Have you accepted the life-saving gift of salvation?  Click here to learn more:  https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html

If this ministry is a blessing to you, please pray that God uses us to reach those who are earnestly seeking Him and to give a deeper understanding of who He is.  If you were blessed by this post, please share it on your favorite social media and drop us a comment.  We enjoy hearing from you.  Thank you and God bless you.

WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE PART 3 of 8

 WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

PART 3 OF 8

3) to call us to our heavenly hope

romans 5: 3-5 2 corinthians 4: 17, 18

   Let us begin this segment with some heavenly hall of famers:  How many people do you know with chronic diseases which are fatal? When my sister received a diagnosis of cancer, she went totally in with Jesus. She praised Him constantly, she witnessed, she attended regular church gatherings, etc. I had a friend who I had known since she was in elementary school. She had a chronic, debilitating disease that had no cure. She was chair bound when I first met her, then she became bedbound. She was forever witnessing about her faith in Jesus. She was leading others to faith. I have also known people who were swallowed up with depression when they received their diagnosis and focused on their circumstance rather than our LORD.

   Bad things happen to good people to grow our heavenly hope. If things were good and uneventful in our lives, how would we be able to exercise our faith in our destination....heaven? We would be enjoying this life and, I dare say, never give a second thought to where we are going. But, when we face trials and tribulations, when we struggle with unfavorable circumstances, we focus our hearts on our citizenship in heaven and praise God no matter what we face. We have this explained by the Apostle Paul in Romans 5: 

 "1)Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2) By Whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3) And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulations works patience; 4) And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5) And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost Which is given unto us."

 Tribulations work patience. We don't live in an instant gratification world when our citizenship is in heaven. We trust God to work things out in His good time, and for His glory.  We keep our eyes on Jesus, not our circumstance.  We pray and wait upon Him, trusting His wisdom and looking for our assignment during our trial. We witness, we don't faint, we sing His praises, we hold His banner high. Patience is uncomfortable. I compare it to when we are raising children, we patiently wait for them to accomplish their goals rather than just blowing through and performing their tasks for them. We wait patiently on God to accomplish His goals in our lives.  We don't always know what God's plan is for our tribulations, but we pray and praise Him until we see His glory in it.

 At the end of our tribulation, we take a deep sigh of relief and praise Him even more. We gain experience the more times He brings us through. It is always a bonus when we see the results of the work He has done during that time. The experience helps to lessen our anxiety and our fear the next time we are faced with trials. My facebook post from June 2017: "the miserable night turned into a miserable day. 'ever been there? consider what Jesus went through the days before His crucifixion. suddenly the miserable day is beautiful. praising Jesus for His sacrifice. He got the cross, I got paradise! woohoo for me!" 

  Consider this as you enter into your trials and tribulations:  The battle belongs to The LORD.  Our home is in heaven, so what ever happens in this world does not affect us as it affects those without Him.  There is nothing here for us, even people!  When our names are written in The Lamb's Book of Life, we will be reunited with our loved ones.  We must learn to show God's love to others while we wait to be called home.  Furthermore, since the battle belongs to The LORD, He is able to take the victory!  Amen?  So, the battle is already won, no matter how we see it through earthly eyes.  Consider what the Apostles endured with Jesus on the cross.  They had to adjust their vision, also, to heavenly eyes, rather than earthly eyes.

   The day is coming quickly when events on earth are going to turn badly:  disease, pestilence, starvation, civil unrest, etc.  Rejoice now in your trials and tribulations and gain this heavenly hope, that you may be able to bear anything until we are called home.

Is your name written in The Lamb's Book of Life?  There is peace and assurance in knowing God is in control of your life and that NOTHING can touch you unless He allows it.   Click here for information on how to receive this peace:  https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html.

If this post has been a blessing to you, please pray that God uses our efforts to reach those who are seeking to know Him better, to grow their relationship with Him.  You are encouraged to leave us a comment to let us know how we are doing.  We love to hear from you.

Also, if this post is a blessing to you, you are invited to share it with your friends on your favorite social media.  Thank you and God bless you.