Weeds in the Garden Tells Us Everything:

This evening I was sitting outside of church before evening service reading my Bible. (The Evidence Bible, compiled by Ray Comfort) Studying the question on “Why does God allow suffering in the world?” Pastor Comfort suggest studying the soil for a moment. I was outside so I did. As he had stated, “There you will find weeds.” Weeds seem to grow everywhere. Even though you pull them out by the roots they still grow back again. No one plants them. No one cares for them making sure they receive enough water. They just appear. They grow up in the cracks of sidewalks and the streets we drive on. As Brother Ray puts it, “They are a curse.” Why?

And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.” Gen 3:17-19 (NLT)

Did you see it? Look at the words “the ground is cursed because of you.” We over look it. I never gave it that much thought. Yet, it is the key to the problems of the world.

Pastor Comfort goes on in the lesson noting that we are constantly subject to hurricanes, earth quakes, tsunamis, tornadoes and other what we call natural disasters. According to scripture there is nothing natural about them. Sin entered the world and we and all the earth was cursed. Am I reading it wrong? I do not think so. It makes sense.

Weeds are a curse. Disasters are a curse. Diseases are a curse. Again Brother Ray points out sin and suffering cannot be separated. The Bible tells us that God cursed the Earth because of Adam's transgression. What is Sin?

….for sin is the transgression of the law 1 John 3:4 (KJV)

Therefore we should be reaching out to God instead of pointing the finger at Him accusing Him of wrong doing. Scripture tells us who the real accuser is in Job 1:6, 2:1 and in Zec 3:1 in the New Living Translation of the Bible. Check it out for yourself.

Next time you see a weed in your garden, in your lawn or growing out of the crack of a sidewalk it is a reminder of what is wrong in the world. Sin and suffering cannot be separated.

Evil in the World

Why Does God Allow Evil in the World?

In lieu of the upcoming date of the attack of 9/11 where nearly 3,000 lost their lives in a brutal attack of evil. A question we as Christians face and must be able to answer is why if God is such a loving God would allow evil in this world?

God allows evil in the world as a demonstration of His grace and love for us. What? D. C. are you out of your mind? Only we could be so bold and so ignorant to think that we deserve to live in a world without evil when in fact we are the evil.

No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one. Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies. Snake venom drips from their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. They rush to commit murder. Destruction and misery always follow them. They don’t know where to find peace. They have no fear of God at all.”
Romans 3:11-18 (NLT)

If God was to make this world without evil He would have to first start by eliminating us. Does the name Noah ring a bell? That was our second chance. What did we do with it? We blew it. Again we have taken God's own creation and turned it into a battle field. We have become very efficient in killing one-another. We have reached a point with enough nuclear weapons to kill every man, woman, child and every blade of grass around the world six times over. Six times over.

Each day that we are allowed to live is a blessing, a gift and a demonstration of God's grace and love. We do not deserve it.

Noah was our second chance. Jesus is our last chance. There again showing us God's grace and patience. Not very often do we see a fellow human being ever giving another a second chance let alone a third. It is our lack of forgiveness that demonstrates our sinful nature. I would be the first to admit that I am guilty.

...For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.
Matt 5:45 (NLT)

Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery. Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”
Heb 13:4-6 (NLT)

Team up, Set-up and get into the fight. <><

Witness Reaction Program Step Two: God’s Word

In step one we learned to communicate with God. Get in touch with Him at a moment’s notice. Now we are in tune with God. Let us move forward in getting to know Him through His word. This is step two of the Witness Reaction Program.

If my wife wrote to me 66 love letters and I did not read them or chose to just read some that interest me. What would you think my wife would believe of me? Yes, she would still love me but would she know my heart is in the right place? So it is with the word of God.
The Bible is a gift. Pastor Rick Warren author of the book The Purpose Driven Life says, “I have been a follower of Christ Jesus for over 40 years. Each time I read the Bible. God reveals to me something new each time.”

and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God Eph 6:17 (KJV)

When I was around 8 years old I went to visit my Uncle’s family in southern California. They insisted I attend church with them. I was excited about it. You see I had never been to church. I was not raised in the church. With my two cousins we went to Sunday School. Each of us was handed a Bible. Then asked to turn to chapter and verse. I had never seen a Bible before. I had no idea where to turn to. So I sat there quiet. The rest of the kids caught on very quickly that I was new to all this. Then proceeded to laugh at me. The Sunday School teacher as I recall did nothing but ignore me. At that moment the Bible represented nothing but pain and humiliation to me. I still hear the laughter in my head each time I walk into Sunday School. By age 18 if you had asked me what the 10 commandments were I would have said it was that movie they play around Easter. By my early 20’s my attitude was that I had no time for God and He had no time for me. I was mean to Christians. If one tried to show me the ABC’s of salvation with their Bible. I would lash out at them nearly to the point that I would take their Bible and want to beat them with it.

Now I carry with me my pocket Bible nearly all the time. You will often find me carrying a Bible wherever I go. My testimony is another entire story. Someday I will post it.

Jesus changed my life. It is through God’s Word we learn about Him about His son. Through the Holy Spirit we learn our purpose in serving Him.

Again D.C. I read my daily devotion and attend Sunday School. I do not have time for much more. I say, make the time. You will cherish it in time. When I was first saved one of the elders of my church took it upon him to guide me through a series of bible lessons through the Navpress. He himself was part of the Navigators. Through these series of lessons a foundation of truth was built. There are the key words: Foundation of Truth.

Even at Sunday School your teacher has very limited time to present, encourage and teach how to apply the scriptures to every-day life. Many churches offer discipleship-training classes. There with others you learn from a very focused study on particular books of the Bible and scriptures. At our church many members are involved with Bible study groups that have members from several other churches meeting at individual’s homes during the week.

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
2 Tim 3:16 (NLT)

The above verse spells it out for us all. The second step in the Witness Reaction Program is God’s Word.