God in effect – God in affect Part 2

In the previous installment, God in effect – God in affect Part 1, I shared some thoughts on the idea that bad things happen because God doesn’t always intervene.  That’s not entirely accurate though.  Bad things don’t necessarily happen because God doesn’t intervene, they happen as a result (consequence) of the really bad things happening.. sin.

I’m going to take a step back today, by refreshing on two pivotal points in the history of the physical and spiritual worlds, hopefully tying these ideas together more tightly with the original thought of why bad things happen in the next installment.

IN THE PHYSICAL
Going back to Genesis and the Fall of Man, we could ask, “Where was God when Eve was being tempted by the serpent?  Why didn’t the Lord step in and crush the serpent before he even tempted Eve?”  A problem with this train of thought is that it leaves room to attempt to dodge the responsibility put on Adam and Eve.  Remember though, God gave Adam a command to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil along with the reason for why He was giving the command.  Though sin (the human ailment),  hadn’t entered into the world quite yet, the text from Genesis 2 points out that evil already existed.

Genesis 2:15-17
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." 

IN THE SPIRITUAL
In Isaiah 14:12-14 & Ezekiel 28:12-18 we are given an account of something happening in the spiritual realm, that is, God dealing with Satan’s rebellion,take note of Isaiah 14:12 and Ezekiel 28:17…

Setting the record straight for Job is God saying…

Job 38:4-7
4 "Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
       Tell me, if you understand.

5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
       Who stretched a measuring line across it?

6 On what were its footings set,
       or who laid its cornerstone-

7 while the morning stars sang together
       and all the angels shouted for joy?

It’s not clear at what point angels were created or when exactly was Satan’s access to heaven revoked.  What is clear is that Satan’s rebellion, occurring before or during the seven days of creation is the earliest account of sin we know of.  What can be concluded, is that God allowed Satan and his minions to rebel, as He also allowed Adam & Eve to rebel when they exercised their choice to obey or disobey what God had commanded in the Garden of Eden.

BUILDING ON WHY BAD THINGS HAPPEN
So we ask, “Why would God allow either instance of rebellion to happen?”  An answer that seems to fit  God’s nature &  character is that for God to exert His power and will in such cases would seem to violate his very nature, that which makes Him good, just and righteous.  In short, coercion and force on the part of God to make Adam & Eve or us obey would be an act of oppression against his creation.  This is not to say that it elevates the creation above the creator, rather the Lord preserves His goodness in spite of His creation’s will to go against His will and desires.  Another view of obedience is that it is, the exercising of the option/attitude to obey vs not to obey.

As a side note:

If we begin with the belief that goodness and only goodness comes from God; and that goodness was the original order and intention of God, what options for understanding evil do we have?  While Hollywood, deep thinkers, and other “cultural” influences might have us believe that the natural order of things is to have an opposite for  “goodness”, I don’t believe this to be an accurate reflection of goodness from the Christian worldview.     

To elaborate, I don’t understand evil as being the “compliment” of good; evil existing has nothing to do with a duality of good and evil, ie; good is not dependent upon evil, it’s not a yen & yang proposition.  Evil is a way to describe that which is without goodness, ie; void of goodness. And on that abrupt note I’ll close for now.

To be continued…

 

Grace and peace be with you.

The Father Draws You – Blackaby devotional (20100126)

The Father Draws You

He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”
John 6:65

Throughout Jesus’ ministry on earth, He never seemed intimidated by the crowds.  Instead, He looked into the multitudes and focused on those whom His Father was sending to Him.  Jesus knew that because of sin, no one naturally seeks after God.  Sinful man’s inclination is to hide from God, rather than to come to Him (Genesis 3:8; Psalm 14:1-3).  Therefore, whenever Jesus saw that the Father was drawing a person to Himself, Jesus immediately began relating to that person.

Jesus observed the great lengths to which the despised tax collector, Zacchaeus, had gone in order to see Him pass by.  In response, Jesus immediately left the crowd and spent time with this man in whom the Father was obviously working (Luke 19:1-10).  When Jesus noticed a man following after Him, Jesus spoke to Andrew, “Come!” (John 1:39).  Every time the disciples experienced a new insight into the truths of God, Jesus recognized that it was the Father who had been at work in their lives (Matthew 16:17).

As your desire to spend time alone with Jesus, recognize that this is the Father drawing you to His Son.  You do not seek quiet times with God in order to experience Him.  The fact that He has brought you to a place of fellowship with Him is evidence that you are already sensing His activity.  As you read the Scriptures and pray, trust that God will honor your response to His leading by teaching you more about Himself.

Henry and Richard Blackaby
Experiencing God Day-by-Day

Taking Responsibility- Blackaby devotional (20091127)

Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate."
Genesis 3:12

Adam and Eve did everything they could to avoid taking responsibility for their sin.  Adam blamed his wife: "She gave me of the tree."  He even pointed an accusing finger at God, saying it was "the woman, whom You gave me."  Eve blamed the serpent saying: “the serpent deceived me, and I ate."  God ignored their excuses and announced the judgment they would face as consequences for their disobedience.

One of the dirges of mankind is that we refuse to take responsibility for our actions.  We want to blame others for our problems: Our parents did not raise us well; our friends let us down; our pastor was not a good enough preacher; our children are rebellious; our employer is not sensitive enough; our spouse is not understanding; there is not enough time in the day…the excuses are plentiful!  Yet forgiveness and restoration cannot happen until we accept full responsibility for our action.

An obvious indication that we have not genuinely repented is that we make excuses for our sinful behavior.  Nowhere in scripture does God excuse one person’s sin because of someone else’s actions.  If we make a habit of blaming others for our failures, we will not reach a point of honest repentance.  God will hold us accountable for our own actions, not others (2nd Corinthians 5:10).  Strive always to acknowledge and take responsibility for your own sins.  It will free you to receive God’s forgiveness and to press on to spiritual maturity.

Henry and Richard Blackaby
Experiencing God Day-by-Day

Crouching at the Door – Blackaby devotional

If you do well, will you not be accepted?  And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door.  And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.
Genesis 4:7

When temptation enters our hearts and minds, we either deal with it and gain mastery over it, or it eventually leads us to sinful actions. The time between the initial temptation and the chosen response is critical. Much hangs in the balance.

1st Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Cain knew that God was displeased with him but pleased with Able. Feelings of jealous anger crept into Cain’s heart, and thoughts of murder pervaded his mind. As Cain considered what to do, God’s word came to him. God warned him that sin was waiting at the door of his life, looking for an opportunity to enter. Now was not the time to treat temptation lightly, not the time to assume sin would never cause any  harm. Now was the time to master the sin and renounce it before it overcame him. Tragically, Cain did not master his sin; instead, sin overtook him and destroyed his life.

Temptations come at unexpected moments. Sinful thoughts may cross your mind. Selfish feelings may begin to invade our heart. The promptings of the Holy Spirit will warn you that God is not pleased with the direction your thoughts and feelings are taking you. At that moment of conviction, you must master the sin that crouches at the door of your life. Sin destroys. Sin brings death. Sin is not something to toy with or take lightly.

Romans 6:16-23
16Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

19I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. 20When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God’s word to you is the same warning He gave to Cain: Master the sin at the door of your life before it brings its inevitable and disastrous consequences. Heed His caution, and you will avoid unnecessary hardship for yourself and others.

Henry and Richard Blackaby
Experiencing God Day-by-Day

Walking By Faith – MacArthur devotional

"By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God" (Hebrews 11:5)

Our second hero of faith is Enoch. Genesis 5:21-24 records that "Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah. Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him."

What a wonderful epitaph: "Enoch walked with God." His life exemplifies the walk of faith. Adam and Eve had walked with God in the Garden of Eden, but their sin separated them from such intimacy. Enoch experienced the fellowship with God they had forfeited.

Enoch’s faithful walk pleased God greatly. And after more than three hundred years on earth, Enoch was translated to heaven without ever experiencing death. It’s as if God simply said, "Enoch, I enjoy your company so much, I want you to join me up here right now."

Like Enoch, there is coming a generation of Christians who will never see death. Someday–perhaps soon–Jesus will return for His church, "then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up . . . in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians. 4:17). Enoch is a beautiful picture of that great future event, which we call the rapture of the church.

As you walk with God, He delights in you. You’re His child and your praises and fellowship bring Him joy. Psalm 116:15 says, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones." Even death itself simply ushers you into His presence for all eternity.

Let the joy of intimacy with God, and the anticipation of seeing Christ face to face–either by rapture or by death– motivate you to please Him more and more each day of your life.

Suggestions for Prayer: Thank God for the promise of Christ’s return.

For Further Study:

Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

What events surround the rapture of the church?
How were the Thessalonians to respond to Paul’s teaching about the rapture?
How should you respond?

From Drawing Near by John MacArthur Copyright © 1993. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com.