Why worship a God who allows horrible things?

Q: "Why worship a God who allows horrible things, like a child being raped?"

our A: I have a close relative who was raped as a child.

Believe me....I am intimately familiar with all of the ways that sexual abuse damages people. I truly understand your rage.

However, it is not God's fault that people choose to take the good he has created and corrupt it. It is not his fault that fathers molest their daughters or that mothers verbally abuse their sons.

We human beings are pretty much free to do as we choose.

How should we feel about the fact that God doesn't prevent other people from doing evil to us?

How should we feel about the fact that God doesn't prevent us from doing evil to other people?

We might wish that God established a set of boundaries, beyond which people would be punished. We might suggest that God kill any man who molests a child.

Well then, how about the producers of child porn that might have helped motivate the man to molest the child? Would it be right if maybe God killed them too?

Ok, what should God do with, say, people who are verbally abusive?

Words wound deeply. If you ask a room full of counselors which causes more damage to people, in total - verbal or sexual abuse - I bet most of them will say verbal abuse takes a heavier toll. There's certainly a lot more of it being done.

It seems pretty apparent to me we get to do what we choose to do. And I don't see how we can be angry at God for letting us do that.

Hasn’t God revealed to us how to best live our lives?

Is it not true that if everyone followed the 10 Commandments, no child would ever be raped or molested?

Is it not true that if everyone followed the 10 commandments, nothing would ever be stolen, no spouse would be betrayed, no one's son or daughter would be murdered?

Rather than control us, God gives us freedom. God does not interfere with anyone's choices. Rather he assures us that all will someday answer for what they have done and that justice will be administered. Judgment will be based on the guidelines given.

The problem is, being told how to live well, is insufficient. Even God says that.

Telling a child molester that it's wrong to molest children is not news to him. God says we need something deeper. Internal guidance, yes. But even more. Internal power to want to do what is right. That is what God can provide.

Jesus said, "I came that they might have life, and have it more abundantly."¹Not free-from-trouble lives. But where we can live in relationship with the God who created us and loves us. He offers to guide us and help us.

God is asking us to go through life with him. To know him. And like a friend we highly admire, to be counseled by him.

WHAT TO DO WITH LONELINESS

Instead of hiding those empty feelings, here’s what to do with loneliness…

By Ashleyne Seitz

I’ve felt lonely while sitting in my car at a stoplight, radio blasting and windows rolled down. I’ve felt it in a crowded room, surrounded by laughter and friends. I’ve felt it in the middle of the night, both in my dreams and when I wake up suddenly in the dark.

Loneliness. It’s a familiar feeling for all of us.

Feelings of loneliness can turn into fear of loneliness. And fear of loneliness can turn into avoidance of loneliness. And then eventually you’re sending 1,000 texts a day, drowning your feelings in alcohol or video games, or hooking up with people you don’t even know—all because you don’t want to be alone in the world for even a few minutes. Or maybe you do the opposite—shut yourself in your room and ignore the world entirely to avoid being connected to people. Once you feel lonely, it’s nearly impossible to get out of your loneliness, because you are…alone.

A proverb says, “Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can fully share its joy.” (Proverbs 14:10) We are each fundamentally separated from all other humans, and although we can understand each other to a certain extent, we will still feel that separation. No one fully understands what it’s like to be you. Regardless of how you react to it, loneliness can be a big, painful problem for all of us.

What causes lonleliness?

Ever wonder what we were made for? The Bible explains that God wired us for connection, for community. Often we idealize romantic relationships and even friendships, thinking that if we only found the right person, we’d never be lonely again. But loneliness can be found even in happily married men and women. Not only were we wired for connection with other humans, we were wired for connection with God. Even wealth, achievement, and honor are not enough to keep us from loneliness. Pop culture is full of examples; rampant divorce, suicide, and drug use litter the landscape of Hollywood. There are also stories in the Bible that talk both about people who had it all and still felt lonely and about people who had nothing but found what they needed by approaching God.

Solomon was a king of Israel to whom God granted immense wisdom. And he literally had it all: huge piles of gold, a giant palace, and hundreds of wives and concubines. You’d think Solomon would have been the most content man on earth! But he wrote a book about how pointless life is: “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 2:11) You can hear his loneliness and desperation in that statement!

In comparison, one day when Jesus was walking through a town, he was met by a man with leprosy. Lepers were ten times more scary then than now; people were terrified of catching it. Lepers were outcasts and rejects, often abandoned by friends and family to beg on street corners just to have something to eat. Picture this particular leper sitting in the dust and dirt, ignored by everyone who passed by. He had no one to turn to and not a penny to his name. He got up, walked up to Jesus, fell on his knees in the street, and asked to be made clean. Jesus touched the leper - a person who had likely not been touched by another human being in years - and healed him. The now socially-acceptable man was ecstatic and went around telling everyone about it, although Jesus had instructed him otherwise. His life suddenly had joy and meaning, despite the fact that he still had nothing and no one. What changed this former outcast’s world so entirely? Just one brief interaction with Jesus.

We weren’t made to be lonely

We were made to have a relationship with God.

It’s the one thing that can bring us out of our loneliness, because it’s the connection we were made to have. That one interaction with Jesus, who is God, brought meaning, comfort and joy to the life of that leper, while all the jewels, gold, and women in the world didn’t bring meaning to Solomon’s life. Having a personal relationship with God changes everything; it is the answer to our loneliness problem.

That said, does having a relationship with God protect us from feelings of loneliness for the rest of our lives? No. Simply put, the system is broken. It’s a complicated story you can learn more about here, but our world is a damaged place. We are separated from God by our sin, our desire to live apart from God. In this world, we cannot experience life the way it was meant to be, without loneliness or evil or sorrow or fear.

So now what?

Despite the fact loneliness is a reality of being human with no immediate cure, there are two things that can help in the here and now:

Community: how to deal with loneliness

Because we were created for connection, a big part of dealing with loneliness is to be in community. No friend will save you from being lonely ever again, but when you have people around you who care about you for who you are (not for your body, skills, money, or ability to hold alcohol) it can help you see you are not really alone.

In fact, science backs this up: the more friends you have and the more connected you are, the better your health. All you have to do is Google “Health Benefits of Friendship.” Brene Brown, a researcher and expert on human interaction, explains it this way: “I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.” Sharing your life with people who love you helps you to see outside your own perspective and bring meaning to your life that you can remember in lonely moments.

Someone who understands your loneliness

Sometimes it’s hard to understand how believing in a God that you can’t see could possibly help you feel less lonely on a Friday night. But the Bible says God will never abandon his children, and he is near to all who call on his name. God loves you and desires relationship with you. He wants you to come to him when you are lonely!

Not only that, he understands. When Jesus was going through the worst hours of his life and about to be crucified, his friends abandoned him and even pretended they didn’t know him. Jesus knows what it is like to be a lonely human. The Bible says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18) What would it feel like to know in your deepest moment of loneliness, you are not alone? The God who made you is with you and will never leave you!

You can have that

The sin that separated us from living in a world without loneliness is what keeps us from God now. No matter how good you are or how hard you try, you cannot overcome that separation. God sent Jesus to earth in order to restore our relationship with him - the Bible says that Jesus came to bind up the brokenhearted. Jesus, the perfect son of God, died for your sins so that you could be clean like the leper; you are no longer an outcast or a reject but a child of God. Tim Keller, a pastor and author, said this about how God views us: “The only eyes in the universe that can see you to the bottom, love you to the skies.” God sees your worst moments and loves you all the same; he wants you to come to him.

Would you like to start a relationship with God and let him help you in your moments of loneliness? You can do that right now by believing him and accepting him into your life through prayer, which is simply talking to God. God knows you and your heart, so the words don’t matter as much as the attitude in which you say them. Here’s a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Thank you for being with me and for saying that you will never leave me. Please help me to feel your presence.

INSPIRING QUOTABLE QUOTES

§   “The Faith that will shut the lions’ mouth must be more than the pious hope that they will not bite”

§  “You cannot SLEEP ON Delilah’s LAPS and expect to WAKE UP in Abraham’s  BOSOM”

§   Talent and culture are GIFTS of God but when these LEAD you away from Him, they become a TRAP

§  FAMILIARITY with sin will cause it to seem less PERILOUS

§  When you ASPIRE to ACQUIRE a DESIRE do not RETIRE when you PERSPIRE but RE-FIRE! And when the enemies CONSPIRE, you have MESSIAH who makes all their DESIRES to EXPIRE and BACKFIRE! so...stand fast in the faith….be strong(1 Cor 16:13)

§  The HUMBLE never looks for the APPLAUSE of men

§  Every individual HAS in them the seed to be GREAT but only FEW water theirs

§  Get men to PRAY and they will QUIT sinning.

§  To get a RAISE you must learn to PRAISE

How can a loving God send people to hell?

Q: "I'm trying to understand how God who is love can send people to be in hell. What's the thought behind going to hell?"

our A: Here are some things to consider:

(1) God has given all people enough evidence to know that he exists.

• "...What may be known about God is plain to them [people], because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities -- his eternal power and divine nature -- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."¹
• "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."²

(2) Nonetheless, some people choose not to know him.

• "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator."³
• "The fool has said in his heart, 'there is no God.'"⁴
• "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way."⁵

(3) People have been given free will. They can seek God and begin a relationship with him, or reject God. Whatever people choose, their decision continues after they die.

Eternal life is life with God, eternally. And Jesus was clear that eternal life is gained by believing in him. It is a relationship with God that is unending.

• “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”⁶
• “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life…”⁷
• “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.”⁸

God wants all people to know him. However, the Bible also reveals that God does not force people to choose him. He allows people to reject him. God is love, but God allows people to reject his love, and to remain separated from him. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." ⁹ To find out how to begin a relationship with God and receive eternal life, please see: Knowing God Personally.

►	I have a question or comment...
►	How to know God...

(1) Romans 1:19,20
(2) Psalms 19:1
(3) Romans 1:25
(4) Psalms 14:1
(5) Isaiah 53:6
(6) John 3:16
(7) John 3:36
(8) John 11:25
(9) John 5:24

Q: "I would like to learn more about the end of times, like things dealing with the rapture."

What will happen at the end of the world?

our A: Thanks for your question. The end times are a very important subject in the Bible. They are addressed in many of the Old Testament prophetic books (Isaiah through Malachi). In the New Testament, the primary passages on the end times are Matthew 24:4-44, Mark 13:5-33, Luke 17:20-37, Luke 21:8-36, 1Thessalonians 4:14-5:3, 2Thessalonians 1:6-2:12, 2Peter 3:3-12, and the Book of Revelation.

Regarding when the world will end, Jesus said that no one would know the year or the hour.

A summary of Jesus' words in Matthew 24 shows that the end times will involve the following:

• wars and rumors of wars
• nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom
• famines and earthquakes
• false prophets coming in Jesus' name
• many people being deceived by false prophets
• false prophets performing signs and wonders
• persecution of true believers
• people's love of God decreasing
• the gospel preached in the whole world
• the "abomination of desolation" (a world leader who makes himself out to be God)
• great tribulation
• alterations in the sun, moon, stars
• Jesus' true followers gathered to Him
• Jesus' return
• Jesus' judgment of people on earth

Regarding the "rapture," the event where Christ's true followers are caught up to meet him in the air, some main texts for that are: Matthew 24:31, Mark 13:27, 1Corinthians 15:51-52, 1Thessalonians 4:16-17, and 2Thessalonians 2:1-4.

Also, it should be pointed out how the last days will be characterized. We are told:

"There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God." (2Timothy 3:1-4)

The end times basically hinge on the return of Jesus Christ and His judgment of humanity and the world. Therefore, actually knowing him is the most important thing to understand about the end times. If you would like to learn more on this subject, see Knowing God Personally or begin your investigation by reading the Bible section called "John".

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►	How to know God.

Life After Death

THEN

Life now. Life then. Life after death?

Today you're in college. Somewhere between the ages of 18 and 24. But what about Tomorrow?

You graduate. You get a job. You get married. You have children. You go through a few more jobs. You buy a house. Okay, THEN what?

You go to soccer games for your kids. You try to be a good parent and spouse. You watch your children go to the prom. Even though Yesterday they were wearing diapers. You do and say the things your parents did and said, even though you vowed you never would.

You have a mid-life crisis or two. Your children graduate from college. You become a grandparent. Someone calls you grandma or grandpa. You live out your life in leisure, drawing income from a retirement fund. You take walks in the morning. You work in the garden. You read the newspaper. You watch TV. You talk to your children and grandchildren on the phone. You travel.

Okay, THEN what?

Well, then, someday, you die. If you are fortunate, you live a relatively long life. Seventy to 90 years. If you don't get taken away prematurely by cancer or a car accident. But always, eventually, you die. Death is the Tomorrow that awaits us all, the inevitable Then that none of us can escape.

But is that it? Is there anything more?

Someday you'll be just a corpse. They'll bury your body in the ground. Or burn your body and put your ashes in an urn. The big question is, Will I cease after that? Will there still be a conscious ME somewhere? Is there really life after death?

In truth, we probably all hope there is something that comes after. Maybe in the smallest recesses of our minds, we are planning on it.

What are we planning on? A life after death of some sort. Some call it paradise. Some call it heaven. Some also talk of hell.

Another thought that many people possess throughout life, often subconsciously, is: I'm a basically good person. Therefore, I will get to go to heaven someday.

Is that how it works?

Many people think they are "good enough" for heaven. It's an assumption we make. If we haven't robbed a bank, or murdered anyone, or cheated on our taxes, we think we're just the kind of folk God is looking for to populate his home. By golly, we are good enough.

At heaven's box office, we bought our ticket by being basically good people all throughout our lives.

But what if that thinking is incorrect? THEN what? What a thing to have been wrong about! What a misfire!

If you think you're good enough for heaven, there are two things to consider:

(1) If heaven is a place of perfection¹, how can anyone be good enough?

Most of us would say we have a "skeleton in the closet." At least one. Something we hope no one ever finds out about us. A mistake in our past. A poor decision. A moment of weakness or stupidity that we'd rather not think about.

That's the extreme. But there are many other more common things we don't really want others to know or notice about us. It might be the "little white lies" we tell. Or how we talk behind someone's back. Or how we copy other people's homework. Or the unkind words we say to people. Or the unkind thoughts we have about people.

Much more than a one-time regrettable event, our lives, if we closely scrutinize them, show a pattern of wrongdoing. We often don't do what we believe to be right. And we often do what we believe is wrong.

All of us, even people whom we would call basically good, are also basically selfish and basically very imperfect.²

Everything we do is seen by God.³ So that means there's no fooling him. He's perfectly aware of all the good we haven't done (and yet could have), as well as all the bad we've done. He even knows all of our thoughts and all of our motives.

Here's the second thing to consider if we think we're "good enough" for heaven: (2) Is it possible to be a basically good person and still have rejected God?

Consider Ralph. He's a "good" person. He was ethical in his job. He never stole even a paper clip. He was a faithful father and husband. He provided for his children. He made sacrifices for them and for his wife (whom he never cheated on). He even gave money to many charities throughout his life.

But Ralph, though good in some sense, never "let God in." Many times in his life, Ralph sensed God's desire to come into his life. It was as if God were knocking on the door of Ralph's heart. But Ralph never opened that door. He always came up with some excuse not to. Ironically, one of the recurring excuses was, I've been a good person all my life. I will go to heaven.

Ralph wanted to go to heaven. Everyone does. But in reality, Ralph didn't want to know God. And he didn't stop to analyze the huge implications of that decision (the decision to keep God out).

Think about it. Heaven is God's home. If Ralph didn't want to know God during his life on Earth, why would Ralph want to know God in an afterlife? In other words, what Ralph didn't calculate is how much he would LOATHE heaven.

Heaven is a place where God is very present. It's likely that every aspect of heaven will remind one of God, constantly. What a horrible place for Ralph!

Ralph always assumed heaven would be a place of ultimate comfort. But he never considered how ultimately uncomfortable it would be for him, since he didn't want to know God or have a relationship with God. For Ralph, heaven would not be heaven, but rather a type of hell.

Would you let someone into your home even if you knew they didn't want to have anything to do with you? If you knew that everywhere they turned, they'd be reminded of you?

Many people are like Ralph. They want heaven, but they don't want God. And they don't realize that, under those circumstances, heaven would be an awful place to be.

Maybe the truth of the matter is that heaven is for people who know they're not good enough to be there -- but who nonetheless want to be there solely because God is there. They want to know God and be with him forever. The life-after-death prize isn't heaven, but rather its Primary Occupant.

Do you want to know God? Do you want to learn how to become "good enough" for heaven? See Knowing God Personally.

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►	How to know God...

(1) "Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful." (Revelation 21:27)
(2) "No one is good -- except God alone." (Luke 18:19); more: Isaiah 53:6, Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, James 2:10
(3) "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:13); more: Matthew 10:26, 1Corinthians 4:5

Is there really a heaven?

What is heaven like? Is there really a heaven?

Q: "Is there really a heaven? What is heaven like and where is it?"

our A: Yes, there really is a heaven.

What most people call "heaven" is actually an eternal city which the Bible calls the "new Jerusalem."¹ It will be spectacular. As a sampling, here is what heaven will look like.

A river, clear as crystal, will flow from the throne of God and of the Lamb [Jesus] down the middle of the city. On each side of the river there will be a tree of life, yielding twelve kinds of fruit every month. The streets will be pure gold, like transparent glass. The walls of the city will be adorned with every kind of jewel, emerald, onyx, amethyst, topaz, etc. There will be no need for a sun or moon, and no need for a temple or church. The presence of the Lord will be its light.²

However, the real beauty of heaven is this:

"Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away...I am making everything new."³

Heaven belongs to Jesus. He created it. "For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible...all things were created through him and for him."⁴

Though Jesus initially came to the earth as a Savior, he will one day sit as Judge. All people will experience a bodily resurrection from the dead, and all will appear before the judgment seat of Christ.⁵

So it might be helpful to see what Jesus said about how a person gets to heaven.

Many people think it's by living a commendable life, or at least trying to avoid extreme sins like murder.

Yet here's what Jesus said about getting to heaven. "...unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." The scribes and Pharisees were the admired religious models. They were the good people, the "holy" people!

Jesus reaffirmed what the prophet Isaish said. No one is deserving of heaven. No one is good enough. That's not how we get to heaven. It is why Jesus came...so that we could have eternal life.

And here is how. Heaven is given to all who will believe in Jesus. "everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."⁶

When we begin a relationship with Jesus, it is a relationship that lasts eternally. Our names are written in his book of life. Jesus said, "whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life."⁷

Regarding heaven, it's our decision now whether to respond to Jesus and accept his gift of eternal life.

Jesus said, "For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."⁸

We're told in Scripture that in heaven there will be a multitude of people from every tribe, language, people and nation who will have eternal life because of their faith in Jesus.

What does it mean to believe in him?

It does not mean merely believing things about Jesus. There is a difference between your believing that Barack Obama was president of the United States in 2013, versus knowing him personally. In the same way, you might believe Jesus is God, without ever having him in your life.

Here is how you can believe in him and be sure that you have eternal life. Please see Beyond Blind Faith.

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(1) Revelation 21:2
(2) Revelation 21 and 22
(3) Revelation 21:3-5
(4) Colossians 1:16
(5) Revelation 20:11-13
(6) John 3:16,17
(7) John 5:24
(8) John 6:40