Great Editorial by Don Batten in Creation magazine Vol 44, No.4. I have extracted segments for this post but get the magazine you will be blessed by the content.
God creates life; Satan works to destroy life like he did at the beginning with the first humans, Adam and Eve. Jesus said of Satan to the Scribes and Pharisees:
“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.“John 8:44
Should we be surprised then that when nations turn their back on God they reap a harvest of death and misery? Whenever Israel abandoned God and followed after false Gods, they ended up with death and bondage. They did so many times (see Judges and Kings) with the same result. Can countries that were based on Christian values and laws expect to avoid the same consequences if they turn their back on God? No! Of course not! Western nations like my own country Australia, America, and most of Europe have abandoned God aided by the grand lie of evolution promoted by the educational establishment that we no longer need God.
We see it in the developing culture of death in these nations:
Unrestricted abortion even up to full term
Euthanasia (voluntary assisted suicide)
Family can be whatever you want. Children do not need a father and mother committed to a lifelong marriage.
Indoctrinating children with gender-bending ideology, creating confusion, disaffection with life, and suicidal urges.
Extremist ‘deep green’ ideology identifies humans as a plague on the earth that need to be culled.
The world needs to know that there is only one answer to this world’s problems and that is Jesus.
“I am the way the truth and the life” John 14:6 and “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy, I came that they might have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10
Satan’s grand lie is that God is withholding all of the good things of life from us and makes us miserable with rules and regulations:
Marriage is only for a man and a woman.
You are what God made you a male or female and there is no choice in the matter.
Life is sacred; abortion is murder and euthanasia is suicide.
Christians: our job is to make Jesus’ Good News known, that is the Great Commission.
If Godexists and Hecreated all things, it brings incredible responsibility upon the life of every man, woman, and child. Every individual under the sun has the responsibility to not only acknowledge their Creator but to give Him thanks for this magnificent universe. Moreover, they have an obligation to order their life around their Creator’s desires rather than their own—and this is the point where the bristling starts to happen. If God exists and He is the Creator of all things, this needs to inform the whole of one’s life. One must not only acknowledge Him as Creator and give Him thanks but we must live according to His rules. Every aspect of our lives must come under total surrender to the One who is the Author of life—and the one who rejects God surely does so on the basis of their desire to reject His authority.
It is all good and fine if there is a Creator who doesn’t impose His will upon the masses of His creation. However, the Creator has already judged the whole world on one previous occasion with a worldwide flood with only eight survivors. Moreover, His Word warns us that He intends to eventually destroy this fallen world with fire but beforehand there is Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom. He will rule and reign on this earth with resurrected and transformed believers for one thousand years. Check out, http://www.millennialkingdom.net
Atheists and agnostics for that matter stand on borrowed ground. They eat and drink borrowed food. They breathe in borrowed air and ultimately—live on borrowed time. They can no more diminish God’s glory and authority than if they were to try and blot out the light of the sun by standing before it. This is why many tend to go the route of dismissal of God’s existence to conceal their hatred of God, yet in the end, it will prove just as fruitless as an open hatred of God.
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me… I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:1,6
Remember our Creator has gone to exceptional lengths to make Himself and the condition of the Cosmos (spiritual and physical) known to mankind and to enable us to get back into a right relationship with Him. Can we ask any more of God than He sends His Son to pay the price for our rebellion against Him and then to send the Holy Spirit to indwell the believer’s spirit to enable us to live the Christian life?
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23
“If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but He sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.” John 8:42-45
At the end of all days, every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord. There is no hope for the one who dies under the consuming wrath of God, but just as there remains no hope for those who do not believe in Christ prior to their death, there will be no lingering skepticism. There will be no doubt. There will be no unbelief. All will believe and will either go away to eternal death or eternal life. Which do you choose?
Like Elijah, we need to take the words/tasks God gives us by the Holy Spirit seriously. Note: If Elijah did not give the people of Israel the warnings that God gave him to give them, then “that wicked person will die for his iniquity,but his blood I will require at your hand.”
Note: He will die for his iniquity not be tortured in hell for eternity. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23.“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.” John 3:16. “For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:13“The truly righteous man attains life, but He who pursues evil goes tohis death.”Proverbs 11:19
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them a warning from me. If I say to the wicked, You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.” Ezekiel 3:17-18
God held the O.T prophets accountable for doing what He asked of them. Likewise, He holds us accountable as well to do the “good works” He has called us to do.
As I pointed out in my recent post Powerless Prayeras we yield to God’s mercy and walk closely with him, our ideas are changed. We jettison old ways of thinking, as healthier, more life-giving inspiration arises in His company, and as our minds are renewed, we become more attuned to Him and to His will. Only then, in our closeness with God, where His good, pleasing and perfect will is known, can we pray effectively and minister effectively.
‘Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.’Romans 12:1-2
Who are the people God is asking you to serve and bring to them the Gospel message? He has chosen to partner with us in this; we are His hands and feet in the world, and He works through us, as He did through the O.T prophets such as Elijah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah.
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.“Ephesians 2:10
Does God have anything different to say to rich Christians?
“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.They are to do good, to berich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future (in the Millennial Kingdom), so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” 1 Timothy 6:18-19
available on Amazon as a trade paperback or ebook
Preface for the book
The Bible is full of fulfilled prophesy which is a testimony of its divine inspiration and inerrancy. It is estimated that as much as 75% of the 2,500 prophesies in the Bible have already been fulfilled, and most of those yet to happen are “last days/end time” events.
How many churches today are preparing their congregations for Jesus’ second coming? Do you realise that there are more prophecies about Jesus’ second coming than His first? The Pharisees and Sadducees did not get it with His first coming, and the church is not getting it, with His second coming, maybe in your lifetime.
“For this reason, you also must beready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.” Matt. 24:44
Equipped with the knowledge of the Bible’s “last days” prophecies, we will see many of these events unfold in our time. We will look at these unfolding “end times” events in the last chapter, Discerning the Times. It is an exciting time for a Christian who is prepared to live eternal now. For both, the unbeliever and believer alike “great tribulation” is ahead, but the discerning believer understands the times and is prepared.
I would like this book to help equip Christians to fulfill God’s assignment for them in these last days. You will only be able to do that, if you are aware of the times we are in, submit to the indwelling Holy Spirit, have total confidence in God’s Word, and are able to defend it to an unbelieving church, atheists, and agnostics.
We get one life. The apostle Paul could not have said it more clearly: everything we give ourselves to will be judged in the fire of Jesus’ coming. Everything. If it is not yoked to eternity, it will burn up. We will not take it with us. But if it is yoked to eternity—if we labour in such a way that we build, establish, encourage a love for and allegiance to Jesus in people’s hearts—it is gold that will not only survive the fire, it will shine forever.
Evolution has been one of Satan’s most successful strategies to undermine God’s church. He has attacked the foundational book of the Bible, GENESIS. It is the book of beginnings. It teaches real history about God’s initial perfect creation. It is foundational to most of church doctrine.
It teaches important truths: God exists outside of His Creation; His Creation includes a supernatural realm as well as a natural realm. God created angels that inhabit the supernatural realm and can enter the natural realm. Rebellion against God occurred first in the supernatural realm with Lucifer. The prophet Isaiah gives a snapshot of our supernatural enemy. “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the Morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ Isaiah 14:12-14
God reveals that Lucifer, now known as Satan, was successful in deceiving one-third of the angels God had created to serve Him. They, now known as demons, serve Satan in his diabolical plan to deceive all mankind so they will suffer the same fate as Satan and his rebellious angels to be cast into the “Lake of Fire”
Genesis is truly foundational, teaching origins and thetrue history of this world: 1. Creation event, 2. Male and Female Roles, 3. Marriage, 4. The Fall, 5. Sin, 6. Death, 7. Suffering, 8. God judged the world with Noah’s Flood, 9. Confusion of Languages at Babel that established the nations of today, 10. God establishes the nation Israel for His purposes. Its prophesied reestablishment as a nation in 1948 is central to God’s end-times plan.
Genesis is foundational to the most important event in all of history – JESUS OUR SAVIOUR enters our world, achieves victory over Satan, and provides the way for man to be born again, of the HOLY SPIRIT into a renewed relationship with our Heavenly Father.
“For He (our Heavenly Father) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21
JESUS established the church and gave us His Word (BIBLE) to preach the GOSPEL to all the world. His Word also tells us how history ends: it is wonderful for those who repent and accept HIS gift of eternal life but tragic for those that reject it. Their fate is punishment in the Lake of Fire and the second death.
To help better equip you for the years ahead, I have four primary goals.
1. Provide evidence that God exists, and that life is absurd without God.
2. Demonstrate the BIBLE is God’s inspired WORD. Therefore, an accurate historical document from Genesis to Revelation.
3. Show Christians what can be achieved, if they listen to, and obey the Holy Spirit. He indwells all believers. Our body is the “temple of the Holy Spirit”.
Jesus said, if we listen and obey His instructions, we can truly do what He did on the earth and even more. The Holy Spirit’s role is to convey Jesus’s instructions. John 14:12. As the prophesied “last days” events unfold, this will be essential, if we are to be used by God to bring in the “end times” harvest.
4. Promote unity within the body of Christ as we are one body, one family in Christ. Jesus is head of the church. This unity will be essential in the last days. Jesus told us there will be a great falling away (apostasy) as persecution of Christians escalates. The church in the last days will look more like the early church described in the Book of Acts and the church in China during the reign of Mao. For that matter, also like the persecuted church today, in Syria, Iraq, Iran, Egypt and other Middle Eastern and African countries ruled by Islam.
“And I (Jesus) do not pray for these alone, but for those also who shall believe on Me through their word, thatthey may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. John 17:20, 21
We need diversity within the body of Christ, but Jesus said unity is essential. Why? “So, the world may believe that You have sent Me.”
When the Church moves in unity, it is not addition; it is the power of multiplication that is evident.
Sadly, the Roman Catholic church and many of the denominational churches no longer believe or teach the word of God accurately. As a result, it is powerless. The great falling away is already upon us.
As the Biblical worldview is totally opposed to the satanically inspired worldview of billions of years, the website shows the latest scientific evidence that supports the Bible’s Creation account and the latest archaeological and historical evidence that supports the historicity (6,000 years) and authority of the Bible. Much of this information is extracted from the website creation.com which I think is a must-view for all Christians who want to be equipped to defend the Biblical worldview.
Testimonies are powerful witness tools. You will read testimonies of changed lives, particularly PhD scientists who have realised evolution is a failed theory and at least embraced Intelligent Design and therefore a Creator. Decide which testimonies you can use and memorise them.
I include the philosophical arguments for God: Ontological, Cosmological, Teleological, Moral arguments (the existence of Objective Moral Values), and the argument from probability that life could not form by natural processes, e.g. Fred Hoyle, famous British mathematician and astronomer said “the probability of the formation of just one of the many proteins on which life depends is comparable to that of a solar system packed full of blind people randomly shuffling Rubik’s cubes all arriving at the solution at the same time” which of course is absurd.
The book’s content is sourced from many origins but only from recognized authorities. When scientific articles are quoted, they are from scientists that have the highest qualifications from prestigious universities.
The book is based on the website, http://www.livingeternal.net, which I set up in December 2012 and as of May 2020, I have just uploaded post one thousand two hundred and twenty-five.
This site will keep you up to date on end-time events as they relate to Biblical prophecy.
Those in Christ should never fear death. The love of God continues from temporal life through to eternal life.
“The church is the only society in the world that never loses any of its members, even by death.” John Blanchard
“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” Psalms 116:15
The death of God’s people is safeguarded, watched over, protected, and secured. Much as we safeguard something highly valuable, so God safeguards His people when they die. As Jesus protected His disciples in life, so God protects them in death.
“While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” John 17:12
“For He delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence He redeems their life, and precious is their blood in His sight.” Psalms 72:12-14
When the wrath of God is poured out on an unrepentant world we are told that the lost will seek death but it will elude them.
“And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.” Revelation 9:6
If you are an unbeliever and you are reading this post I hope you will repent of your rejection of God and His values and seek to know what Jesus Christ has accomplished for you when He died on the Cross over 2000 years ago. He died to pay the penalty for your sins so that you might inherit eternal life and not fear death.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” John 3:16-18
Let us look at a few Scriptures relating to life on God’s earth. This first Scripture makes it clear that God knows each one of us before we were born and He knows how we will live out our days.
“Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” Psalms 139:16
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”Psalms 90:12
David asked God to teach Him. We need to have prayer filled lives and teachable hearts. Note: David wanted a heart of wisdom.
“For if, because of one man’s (Adam) trespass, death reigned through that one man , much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17
There is only one way we can reign in this life. It is when we receive through Jesus Christ the abundance of grace (Holy Spirit) and the free gift of righteousness.
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” Philippians 1:21-23
It really does come down to how much do we treasure our Lord Jesus Christ. Do we treasure Him above all life’s earthly pleasures? Note the two life options for Christians: fruitful labour for Jesus on this earth which Paul obviously enjoyed or to depart and be with Jesus Christ which he acknowledged was the better option.
“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:27
We all face death but how different is the fate of those that reject God’s offer of eternal life through His Son. Judgement, the Lake of Fire, punishment and eternal death. Unbelievers should be fearful of the fate that awaits them after death. If they knew perhaps some would repent. Let us do our best to reach as many as God brings across our path with the Gospel of Christ.
“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” 2 Corinthians 5:1-5
Social media was saturated with a beautiful video featuring a former prima ballerina in a wheelchair. In this viral clip Marta C. González Saldaña, who has Alzheimer’s, was filmed listening to music from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.Remarkably, when Saldaña hears the music she is able to remember and relive the choreography of the ballet she once performed. Seated in her wheelchair at a senior residential facility in Spain, she moves her arms to the music with a look of pure joy on her face.
The video, which was shared by numerous celebrities, intersperses footage of Saldaña with a young ballerina dancing on a stage. Although their ease of movement is somewhat juxtaposed, both women display the same passion for dancing. When Dan Walker, a British TV presenter shared the story, he said: “It shows the power of music and is a beautiful reminder that there is a person behind the disease.“
We seem to inherently know there is more to a person than the surface-level brokenness we initially see at the beginning of this video. And I think this deep truth finds a home within the biblical world view expressed in the verse from 2 Corinthians 5:1-5.
“Sin came into the world, through one man (Adam) and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” Romans 5:12
God’s love conquers all: “For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17
We may not like this crucial truth about God and sin, but we live in a universe that has been corrupted by the effects of the curse placed upon creation by God the Creator, due to the disobedience of the first man, Adam. Death is an intrusion upon God’s creation due to sin.
Satan, the Prince of this world, has blinded the world to the reality of this truth with the lie of EVOLUTION and there is no God. The truth of Noah’s worldwide flood and God’s judgement of mankind has also been removed from history with the lie of EVOLUTION.
In Genesis 1:31 God’s word tells us, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” In the Genesis creation narrative, we see the Hebrew word for good used six times, and then the author summarises the entirety of creation by using a term for “very good”, to drive home the point that no evil or death is found anywhere in all of creation! Here, we find a major theological truth; you cannot have death before the fall of Adam!
What amazing love, God the Father sent His son, Jesus, to pay the penalty of our sin so that we can be restored into a right relationship with our Him, but only if we are prepared to acknowledge and repent of our sin and accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. If we do, God the Father then sends the Holy Spirit to indwell every believer to be comforter, counsellor and teacher so we are capable of living the Christian life.
Jesus reversed the curse by his perfect obedience, taking upon himself the due penalty of sin, which is death, for all who believe in him. Jesus faced the ultimate fiery trial of death, and he was the only man who didn’t deserve it, as he was perfectly obedient to the Father and totally righteous, without sin. This is grace in fullness, and amazing love!
“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19. Christianity is the only basis for true love, trust and compassion. The Bible tells us that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9. Once believers are saved by grace from sin, the process of sanctification occurs, the Holy Spirit takes control of our hearts, and we die to the flesh and are reborn by the Spirit of God. We are now able to fully understand what love is. We are able, though not perfectly, to have compassion, and serve others out of gratitude for what Christ has done for us. This is why we can heed the command of Christ in Matthew 5:44–45 to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.”
People who claim to be atheists, to be consistent with their beliefs, would have a nihilistic worldview. They could never truly know the love or compassion imparted by the Spirit of God. What took place recently at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas , when a church family gathered in a small church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, was massacred by Devin Patrick Kelley, is a horrible tragedy performed by someone who was living out his worldview.
It is evident from the current fallen state of the human race, that we do not live on a planet that resembles paradise, where harmony exists and where death is absent. This is because two people, Adam and Eve decided to disobey God, even after all that God had provided for them, an awesome home (Earth), a beautiful garden with abundant food, the ability to procreate and have dominion over it all.
People alive today have the same choice as Adam and Eve that is to obey God or reject Him and face the consequences of separation from God, only this time forever, with no second chance.
Jesus , the Son of God , gave Himself as a sacrifice for the payment of sin, not just for Adam and Eve, but for the sins of everyone who ever lived. We, therefore, have a choice to repent of our sin (disobedience) and accept Jesus offer of a new life with Him as Lord and Saviour or stay separated from God forever.
Today, instead of just one fallen angel deceiving two people, we have Satan and his demonic forces as well as two billion people who are against Jesus and deny God. There are global media corporations, government schools and universities that promote the theory of evolution and mock religion. Despite this seeming overwhelming force against God the choice is still the same, it’s a choice of heaven or hell, whether you believe it or not.
The stakes are high because we all face judgment and then eternity in a new heaven and earth with your Creator God or eternity in hell without Him.
Russell Wolfe is a producer for the recent hit GOD’S NOT DEAD and many other Christian movies. Recently diagnosed with ALS, Russell took to Facebook to contribute to spreading awareness and raising money for scientific research of this incurable disease – ALS also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease,
Regarding the Ice Bucket Challenge, Russell told Movieguide®, “So few people even know of the disease or even know what it is. I think it’s done a great job at raising awareness for that, but I felt that it was particularly good to link it to the fact that God’s not dead, mainly because I have faith that I’m healed, and I’ll receive that manifestation of that healing. Maybe there are some people I can encourage along the way.”
Encourage people he did. Within a week, his Ice Bucket Challenge had been shared over 34,000 times and over 3,000 comments flooded in with encouragement, prayers and others with ALS stories.
Moved by the huge response to the video, Russell said, “One thing that speaks specifically to me is the outpouring of people and their prayers. I’m so grateful for that. I’m actually taken back by how much it was shared, and how many people have included me in their prayers.”
When the news of his terminal diagnosis was revealed to him, Russell said his doctor was more surprised than he was because of Russell’s demeanor.
“I was so calm in reaction to the news,” Russell explained. “I’ve been through a lot of storms in my life, and God has certainly delivered me from each one. When I’ve had things that have happened that are bad, at the time, they might have seemed disastrous, but God has turned each and every one of them around so that in retrospect, I can look back at those, and I’m thankful that they happened, and I don’t feel any different about this. So when he gave me the news, I just looked at it as an opportunity to stand in my faith, and now we’ll just see how God uses this for his Glory.”
Romans 8:28 is a special encouragement to Russell, because God’s work and plan for his life is already so apparent.
“A part of the movie [GOD’S NOT DEAD] is sort of ironic, not only that I play the doctor that was delivering terminal news, and then I received that [same news] thereafter, but the letter that was in the movie that Kevin Sorbo read.
When we had the script, I felt that there needed to be a bridge between him being a solid atheist, and then converting to a Christian on the screen. So, I felt that while he was sitting in his office, he could pull out a letter from his mother. So, I wrote that letter. The idea behind that was, what would I tell my kids if I knew I was going to die at a young age? That letter that’s in the movie, I wrote it in that perspective. Again, the irony of writing that letter, and then getting a terminal diagnosis expresses the way I felt at that time and feel now knowing that I have this diagnosis.”
With his health deteriorating, Russell is still full of encouragement, faith and hope.
As he says, his message “is that God didn’t give this [ALS] to us. God didn’t give me ALS. I believe we live in a fallen world, and as such, bad things happen to good people. . . . What I do believe is that God can take any of those bad things and turn them into good. My message is to keep your faith. God is good all the time. He will turn things that are bad to the good. So, look for the hope in that.”
Pray for Russell Wolfe, his family and the thousands of others that suffer from ALS. Pray for physical healing through miracles and scientific advances through medicine, but especially, pray for a spiritual healing for all those who don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
edited article by Ben Kayser Managing Editor, Movie Guide
The only truly satisfying answer to the existence of death and suffering is found in God’s word. Pain, suffering and death are intruders into God’s creation and He has already provided a way out with the promise of eternal life.
The BIBLE tells of the creation of a once-good world, in which death and suffering are not “natural” at all, but are intruders. They occur because of humanity’s rebellion against its maker (Genesis 3). But if fossils formed over millions of years, which so many Christians just blithely accept as “fact”, then that wipes out The Fall as an answer to evil, especially “natural evil”. The fossils show the existence of things like death, bloodshed and suffering. So if these were there millions of years ago, they must have been there before man and hence before sin. This is the rock against which old-age compromises inevitably founder. This is also the reason why the age of things is not some obscure academic debate that Christians can put in the “too-hard-for-now” basket. Because it strikes to the heart of the hugest questions of all in relation to the nature of God, sin, evil, death; questions at the very core of Christian belief (or reasons given for no belief, for that matter).
When we try, however inadequately, to see things from God’s viewpoint rather than our own, things become quite different. There is suddenly nothing unfair about the deaths of any one of us, no matter what the circumstances.
God is the sovereign Judge who is totallyholy (1John 1:5). It is impossible to overstate His utter abhorrence of even the slightest sin. He is our Creator, He establishes the rules for our existence. Just as He destroyed almost all of mankind with Noah’s Flood which incidentally buried the myriad of dead things found in rocks all over the world (fossils); we know from His Word that He will eventually wind up the history of this fallen world and there will be a new heaven and new earth.
“and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away.” Revelation 21:4
Thank goodness God is merciful and loving (2 Peter 3:9), and long-suffering. In the most profound display of mercy and grace imaginable, He stepped into our shoes as a man, JESUS CHRIST, God the Son. He came to suffer and die so that God’s righteous anger against sin could be appeased and the penalty paid for those who place their trust in Him and receive His free gift—forgiveness of their sin and admission into God’s family—by faith.
There are daily reminders of His Curse on all creation all around us. When they are punctuated by horrifically sad concentrated bursts such as recent disasters, we are doubly reminded of the awfulness of sin. Does knowing the answers to the “big picture” make us callous to suffering? Far from it: we are moved even more by compassion, just as the Lord Jesus was when He lived among us. Because of Jesus, Christians—those who take the Bible as the Word of God, and know Jesus Christ as the Creator incarnate—are at the forefront of digging into their pockets to help alleviate suffering.
“If (since) Christ is God and died for me, then nothing I can do in obedience to Him can ever be too much”. paraphrase C.T.Studd.
For more information check out article by Dr Jonathan Sarfati, “Why would a loving God allow death and suffering?” on http://www.creation.com.
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LIVING ETERNAL NOW 