New Book Discussion Archives - Page 182 of 188

November 22, 2009

God Allows Bad Things to Come Into Our Lives

Just a quick reminder that there is still a drawing going on for Brandilyns Collin’s great book, Eyes of Elisha. It is autographed. Brandilyn is one of the top suspense and mystery writers in the business.

You have until November 30th at 5:00pm Pacific time to get your name in for the drawing. What a great Christmas present this would be for someone.

Go to the right side bar and click on the icon that talks about subscribing to my highly endorsed newsletter. Then follow directions.

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Why Does God Let Tragedy Happen?

Fear of man will prove to be a snare,

but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.

Proverbs 29:25

I am drifting away from bumper stickers for a moment to share some thoughts/questions people have asked me. I have even asked other questions myself. It is very hard to see why so many people must be sacrificed, for no apparent reason. Why would God allow this to happen?

It seems like God has forsaken us sometimes when a tragedy happens. The major tragedy that happened in New York City, on September 11, 2001 makes us ask questions.

Terrorists hijacked four airplanes and attempted to crash them into important buildings. Three of the planes succeeded in crashing into the World Trade Center twin towers and the Pentagon building, killing over 3,000 people. The fourth one, because of the heroics of the passengers aboard, crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing all 38 aboard.

Why did God allow this kind of horrible event? Why would He let His children die? Why didn’t He stop the terrorists from carrying out such a horrific deed?

The answer isn’t simple, but we learn in the Bible that God gives us choices. He gives us the freedom to choose what we will be in life. He lets us rise up and be leaders that are admired by millions, but He also allows people the choice of evil. Satan is alive and well, trying to get mankind to choose evil. That is why there was Hitler, former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, and Stalin. God, in His love for us, gives us the choice of our path, and then we become accountable for our choices. Man had to be given a free will, because love is a choice and can only be possible where man is free to choose.

So, if sin can separate me from God, why doesn’t He separate me from sin? Because God chose. He chose to create the heavens and the earth. He chose to create oceans and the mountains, and He chose to create Adam and Eve. He created them in His own image and also gave them the right to choose, just like He does.

He is like a father or mother would be like on earth. Parents tell their children what is wrong and what is right. Then they watch over their offspring, hoping they make the right choices and never disobey. If children make a mistake, they have to face the consequences at a later time from their parents.

God didn’t make us to be robots. We each have our own decision-making process. We can accept God, or reject Him. We can obey God, or obey Satan. We can give up the things of the world, or we can become part of the world. God loves us so much He allows us freedom of choice. He loves us as we are, but He just doesn’t want us to stay that way.

It seems hard to accept death, even though it may be the death of a loved one. God loves us all, and He will comfort us through the hard times of losing someone, even though it hurts so badly.

Try to comprehend why God allows people like terrorist to be on this earth, and then make the right choices in your own life.

For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief,

he will also show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.

For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.

Lamentations 3:31–33

Further adventures

Be a help to those who are confused about why God allows things to happen in the world. Try to let them know of His love and how He allows us to make our own choices. This may help many people if you just do this one thing.

Something to ponder

Isn’t it funny how we forget God when everything is going well, but cry out to Him when we are hurting?

(Excerpt from: Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World. Chapter 8.)

November 14, 2009November 14, 2009

Stop Racing in the Rat Race. Listen to God

Before you read today’s post, I want to make an exciting announcement. We have a new book that will be given away in a drawing. The book is called, Eyes of Elisha, written by Brandilyn Collins. Brandilyn is argubaly the number one Christian mystery and suspense writer in today’s market for novels.

I was very fortunate to win this book in one of Brandilyn’s drawings for free books. I also won one of her books in an earlier drawing, but that one is under lock and key.

This is your chance to win a top selling book with the auther’s autograph in it. It will be a huge collectors item.

To have a chance to win this great book, go to the right side bar and click on the icon that talks about subscribing tom my free newsletter.

You will notice that you will also be able to download a free eBook called, The Top 25 Ways to Survive in a troubled World.

So….. you get a free newsletter that will have excerpts for my book, Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.

You will also be in all future drawings for book with top selling authors that have their autographs in them.

AND you get a free eBook called, The Top 25 Ways to Survive in a troubled World.

Lots to gain and nothing to lose.

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He Who Kneels Before God Can Stand Before Anyone

I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer.

Psalm 17:6

It seems that everyone is on the fast track these days. You get passed by cars even though you are going the speed limit. The commuter trains are jammed full. Everyone you see has a cell phone up to their ear.

Some call it the “rat race.” However, even rats stop whenever they want to.

We feel like we need to climb the ladder of success. Some do it in such a way that anyone in their way will be stepped on. They don’t realize that each step on the ladder is made of paper, and although they may make it up to the top, the trip back down is very fast! You can be king of the mountain today, but you could be a has-been in the valley tomorrow.

I think back to a time when things weren’t so frantic—to a time when you could lie in your front yard and watch the clouds go by; a time when you could play with your dog; a time when you had a leisurely barbeque in the backyard and everyone in the neighborhood was there; a time when there was just your wife and you and no children.

Those were the days, my friend, and you thought they would never end. And they weren’t just the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer—much of life went at that pace. Then you noticed you didn’t have time to lie in the front yard. You were too busy mowing it and trying to keep it looking better than the neighbors’ lawn. You stopped having pets around because no one was home long enough to care for them. And the barbequewas long ago replaced by a quick waveto our neighbors and food from the drive-through. What’s a barbeque???

You now have three children—and they are very costly. Two are in college, and the other needs new equipment to be able to play on the school football team.

Are you on the fast track? Instead of a racing on an oval track, are you simply going in circles? Is there no end to the cycle?

Did you know that the oceans even stop to rest? They flow back and forth every day, but there is a short time when they reach their peak and do not flow anywhere. They stay still for about half an hour and then they start to flow the other direction. It is called high tide.

When you go crabbing (a sport, not an attitude!), you see the rope line to your trap going one direction and then at high tide the rope slacks and even disappears down into the water. Then when the ocean starts up again, the rope does a complete turn and heads the other direction.

I know how it is to feel we can’t take the time for even a short pause like the ocean does each day. It seems we feel we have to keep going no matter what. We feel driven—we are driven.

I know what that’s like. I’ve been there. I have wanted to be near the top. I have wanted to be more important. I have wanted; I have wanted; I have wanted.

Then one day I read this in the Bible: “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). That hit me right between my “wanting to be important” eyes. God cares more about my spending quiet time with Him in prayer than He does about how important I am.

Think about this: A thousand years from now, will it matter how important you were in this world? Will it matter what title you were given? How hard you worked for that title? Nope. The meek (not the “top bananas”) will inherit the earth. Your success and your money do not go with you to the cemetery.

Instead of fame and fortune to pass on to our children, God wants our legacy to be a quiet and humble spirit that waits on Him.

When I really understood Psalm 46:10 for the first time, I realized that I needed to slow down, take time for prayer, and spend more time with God. I needed less time in the rat race.

“But I don’t know how to pray; I don’t know what to pray for,” is a common lament. Romans 8:26 says, “We do not know what we ought to pray for” and that “the Spirit himself intercedes for us.” Paul was talking about people who feel just like us. And in other places, Paul says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6) and “pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

You can pray for your children, your parents, your church and your neighbors (even the one with the dog who barks all day!). How about something unique? Pray for yourself. God doesn’t think we’re being selfish when we pray for ourselves. He wants to hear about our hurts and our concerns.

God doesn’t turn anyone away. He didn’t turn away Moses. He didn’t turn David away. He listened to Job. He listened to Sarah. He listened to Doug. He will listen to you.

God listened to me. I learned what a comforting feeling it was to have my heavenly Father listening to my cries. He spent hours with me helping me through some very tough times. The times I thought I wasn’t going to live to my next breath, He was there to help me through the storm.

Asking God to be on our side is like living in a muddy polluted river and suddenly having fresh water flow into it. It may take awhile for it to completely clear up, but with God’s help and our prayers, it can be a rich productive river again.

Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

Ephesians 6:18

Further Adventures

I remember when I first started coming out of the web of fear and anxiety I was stuck in for many years. The web kept pulling on me trying to keep me from getting away. I struggled because I wanted to finally be free. It was an exhausting, hard fought battle. Little by little I was able to get my arms free, and then my legs. Finally I was able finally able to leap into the loving arms of God. You can do the same thing. It will not be easy to rid the poisonous bite of the spider (Satan.) He will try to suck all the energy out of you even though you are struggling to free yourself. Turn to God, and let Him stamp the life out of the spider. Let Him put new loving blood flowing through you. Once you are free and strong again, He will be there to protect you from all enemies for the rest of your life on earth,

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that the faster we go the more behind we get?

(Excerpt from Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World. Chapter 18)

November 6, 2009November 6, 2009

Our Churches are in Trouble. They are not Prayer Condidtioned.

Before I put in my post for the day, I would like to remind you that the free book give away of, Moments This Good: The Softer Side of Alzheimer’s, by Bonnie Nester is still available to be won in our drawing. There are only a few days left, so go to the right side bar and click on the icon that talks about subscribing to my free newsletter.

You will also notice that you will receive a free eBook when you subscribe.

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The Church Is Prayer-Conditioned

Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

Matthew 7:24–25

The church today is often at the center of controversy—from within and without. The far right has its agenda, but it isn’t always right. The far left’s agenda causes it to sometimes be left out of the mainstream. Lawsuits against churches run from those bordering on frivolous (zoning controversies) to more serious charges like those against clergy who have molested children.

We are told in the Bible that this kind of divisive behavior will increase so that brothers will be against brothers, fathers against sons, wives against husbands. Not only is the controversy from outside the church, it takes place right within its walls. That is one reason there are so many different denominations. When people agree to disagree, the easiest thing to do is leave and form a congregation more to their liking.

Why does this happen? Why do people allow their differences to separate them from the true purpose of the church—to worship God?

I see one glaring reason: the lack of prayer in the church. So many ministers are what some call “current-events” ministers. They do not preach from the Bible, and speak instead about issues of the day on which they have an opinion. In the process, they do not bathe their ministry in prayer.

That is not about worship; it is leaning on a political agenda instead. That is not what God had in mind when He laid out plans for the early church in the book of Acts and throughout the epistles.

Without prayer, a church’s foundation is laid in sand, and it will topple and crumble as easily as Saddam Hussein’s statue did in the Iraq war or as easily as a sand castle, no matter how carefully it was engineered. The church will go over a cliff just like many sheep do when they are all running in the same direction. The leader of the church will do all he can to stop them, but they will run on without him to their death.

There is a way to do a U-turn in all of this. Pray without ceasing! Here are some crucial words from Paul the Apostle: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7).

Is that hard to understand? I’ve told my students that when they lose their way in their studies to go back to the basics. What is the basic foundation of your math problem? What is the basic idea behind a sentence structure? What is the basic thought about this culture? The basics! Stick with them and you’ll figure it out.

The basics of a church’s survival are prayer and more prayer. It is using prayer to seek God’s will. It is using prayer to plan for the next revival. It is using prayer to withstand the enemy, who wants your church to fail.

Two things should be happening within a church to make it a growing viable church: The minister needs to be preaching from the Bible, and there has to be powerful prayer support from within.

Having the church prayer-conditioned will make for cool summers and provide for lots of spiritual growth.

I have attended several churches over the years. I didn’t stay for much more than one sermon in those that weren’t built on the proper foundation—Bible preaching and prayer. They refuse to let God run the show and eventually find themselves with declining attendance. They didn’t realize they were worshipping in God’s house, not their own house.

Check out the foundation of your church. Is it prayer-conditioned? Does it have the Bible as its guide? Or do you hear about the latest best-selling book or about why gays shouldn’t be allowed to be part of the church? These issues are about opinions and have no place in the pulpit. Church is where we come to worship God. End of story!

Try to put God first in your church, and it will be as solid as a rock.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5–6

Further Adventures

We sometime take prayer for granted. We say, “Help me through the day Lord.” But do we really think about what we even said. You walk out the door and go to work, and ask God to help you through the day. That is way too broad of a request. There are hundreds of things that could happen in one day.

We do this in the church too. We pray for the sick of the church. We pray that the members will donate more money. Those prayers are also too vast to let God know your specific needs. When we pray for the sick, we need to name individuals and hold them up to God. When we pray for more giving, we should point out specific projects that we are working on. Yes, it takes a lot longer, and you think God will know all of the sick, and all of the needs of the church, but He listens to earnest, sincere, and concentrated prayers with a deeper love and understanding.

Something to ponder

Isn’t it funny that if we trust God, we can build a foundation that will never fail?

(Excerpt from Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.) Chapter 21