From: Roby Wong
Good God, Cruel World?
By Krista Kay Bontrager
http://www.reasons.org
A recent letter to RTB asks a familiar question: How do you explain events like
natural disasters that cause mass destruction, millions of deaths, and
indiscernible suffering throughout the entire history of the world? In other
words, how does a Christian account for natural evil’ (the awful effects
of natural calamity) in a universe created by the all-loving, all-powerful God
of the Bible? Moral evil in the universe seems easier to explain: Evil people
make evil choices. But humankind´s choices do not account directly for
all of the things that happen in the world.
Natural evil presents a more difficult intellectual hurdle to the Christian
faith. Today, for example, we may ask (or be asked) how a loving God could
allow Hurricane Mitch and the Armenia earthquake to shatter countless lives?
Given the occurrence of these and other horrific natural disasters, skeptics
assert that the existence of an all-powerful, all-loving God makes no sense.
When faced with this question, the Christian would do well to concur that
certain natural phenomena (earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, tidal waves,
etc.) do wreak havoc and bring suffering. Clearly, these tragedies warrant a
compassionate and empathetic response, and
questions about them deserve serious consideration. If we seem cold or callous
about human suffering and loss, the opportunity for thoughtful discussion will
most likely be lost.
We can, however, talk about natural evil as a misnomer, at least in one crucial
sense. Phenomena such as earthquakes and hurricanes actually prove beneficial
for mankind. Planetary scientists, among others, affirm that events such as
hurricanes and earthquakes must occur for planet Earth to maintain the delicate
balances of atmospheric and other environmental conditions mandatory for human
life to exist and survive. As Hugh Ross documented in a recent article:
Hurricanes] counterbalance the ocean´s tendency to leach carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere. This leaching, if unchecked, would result in a
catastrophic cooling of the planet. On the other hand, hurricanes prevent the
oceans from trapping too much of the sun's heat by helping to circulate
greenhouse gases globally as they shade the ocean locally, preventing heat from
building up too dramatically for the safety of certain sea creatures.
1 Likewise earthquakes play a vital role in providing for mankind's survival.
Without them, nutrients essential for land life would erode off the continents
and accumulate in the
oceans. In a relatively brief time, land creatures, at least the advanced
species, would starve.
2 But thanks to the movements of the Earth's tectonic plates, these nutrients
are recycled
back onto the continents.
3 Second, some of the suffering caused by natural disasters can be avoided if
human beings act prudently in acknowledgement of nature's awesome power. If,
for example, people build homes in what proves to be a flood zone, they must
prepare to deal with the floods or move somewhere else. Or, if people choose to
live on or near a major earthquake fault, they must also prepare for and accept
all the risks that accompany that location choice. From a biblical standpoint,
God included nature in Adam's consequences for misuse of freedom. Adam and Eve
brought trouble not only upon themselves and their descendents, but also upon
the planet.
As a result of their actions, God pronounced an inhospitable relationship
between nature and humankind (Gen. 3:17-19). The farmer must till the ground by
the sweat of his brow. No longer do its fruits come forth easily. Although the
exact correlation between natural disasters and the Fall remains only partially
explained, we can say with assurance that Adam´s sin did have an adverse
affect on nature (not the laws of nature) and that both await full
redemption at the Last Day (Rom. 8:19-25).
In the next issue, we will see how the Christian can turn the tables on the
atheist by doing an internal critique of the skeptics own worldview
assumptions. The existence of evil, far from disproving God, can actually be
used as an argument in favor of the existence of God.
References:
Hugh Ross, Hurricanes Bring More Than Destruction,Facts Faith 12 (1998), pp.4-5.
Hugh Ross, Temblors Touch Off Questions,Facts Faith 6.3 (1992), pp. 2-3
Hugh Ross, The Creator and the Cosmos, 2nd ed. (Colorado Springs: NavPress,
1995), pp. 136-145.
Krista Kay Bontrager has recently joined the publications staff at Reasons To
Believe and serves as an adjunct faculty member in Biblical Studies and
Theology at Biola University.
===================================
From: Lauw Eng Tjun
The Purpose Driven Life - by Rick Warren
Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, is the founding pastor of
Saddleback Church
in Lake Forest, California, one of the America's largest and best known
churches.
www.purposedrivenlife.com
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It All Starts With God
It's not about you.
The purpose of your life is far greter than your own personal fulfillment, your
peace of mind, or even your happiness. It's far greater than your family, your
career, or even your wildest
dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet,
you must begin with God. You were born by His purpose and for His purpose.
The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of years.
That's because we typically begin at the wrong starting point-ourselves. We ask
self-centered questions like
What do I want to be ? ... But focusing ourselves will never reveal our life's
purpose.
For everything absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible...
everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him. Colossians 1:16
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You Are Not an Accident
Your birth was no mistake or mishap, and your life is no fluke of nature. Your
parents may not have planned you, but God did. He was not at all surprised by
your birth. In fact, He expected it.
Long before you were conceived by your parents, you were conceived in the mind
of God. He thought of you first. It is not fate, nor change, nor luck, nor
coincidence that you are breathing at this very moment. You are alive because
God wanted to create you !
You know me inside and out, You know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing
into something Psalm 139:15
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You Were Planned for God's Pleasure
Bringing enjoyment to God, living for His pleasure, is the first purpose of
your life. When you fully inderstand this truth, you will never again have a
problem with feeling insignificant. It proves your worth. If you are that
important to God, and He considers you valuable enough to keep with Him for
eternity, what greater significance could you have?
You are a child of God, and you bring pleasure to God like nothing else He has
ever created.
You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power.
For You created everything, and it is for Your pleasure that they exist and
were created.
Revelation 4:11
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What Makes God Smile?
God smiles when we praise and thank Him continually.
Few things feel better than receiving heartfelt praise and appreciation from
someone else. God loves it too. He smiles when we express our adoration and
gratitude to Him ...
An amazing thing happens when we offer praise and thanksgiving to God. When we
give God enjoyment, our own hearts are filled with joy!
I will prise God's name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving.
This will please the Lord... Psalm 69:30-31
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You Were Formed for God's Family
God wants a family, and He created you to be a part of it. This is God's second
purpose for your life, which He planned before you were born. The entire Bible
is the story of God building a family who will love Him, honor Him, reign with
Him forever ...
He didn't need a family - He desired one, so He devised a plan to create us,
bring us into His family, and share with us all He has. This gives God great
pleasure.
His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family by bringing
us to Himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave Him great pleasure.
Ephesians 1:5
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Experiencing Life Together
Life is meant to be shared.
God intends for us to experience life together. The Bible calls this shared
experience fellowship. Today, however, the world has lost most of its biblical
meaning. "Fellowship" now usually refers to casual conversation, socializing,
food, and fun ...
Real fellowship is so much more than just showing up at services. It is
experiencing life together.
Share each other's troubles and problems, and in this way obey the Law of
Christ.
Galatians 6:2
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You Were Created yo Become Like Christ
>From the very beginning, God's plan has been to make you like His Son, Jesus.
>This is your destiny and the third purpose of your life.
God announced this intention at Creation: "Then God said, 'Let us make human
beings in our image and likeness'." (Genesis 1:26 NCV)
In all of creation, only human beings, are made "in God's image."
This is a great privilege and gives us dignity.
God knew what He was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset
to shape the lives of those who love Him along the same lines as the life of
His Son...Romans 8:29
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It Takes Time
There are no shortcuts to maturity.
It takes years for us to grow to adulthood, and it takes a full season for the
fruit to mature and ripen. The same is true for the fruit of the Spirit. The
development of Christlike character cannot be rushed...
Altough God could instantly transform us, He has chosen to develop us slowly,
Jesus is deliberate in developing His Promised Land "little by little"
(Deuteronomy 7:22 NIV) so they wouldn't be overhelmed, He prefers to work on
incremental steps in our lives.
God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure He will continue it until it
is finished when Jesus Christ comes again.Philippians 1:6
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Accepting Your Assignment
You were put on earth to make a contribution.
You weren't created just to consume resources - to eat, breathe, and take up
space. God designed you to make a difference with your life. While many
best-selling books offer advice on how to "get" the most out of life, that's
not the reason God made you. You were created
to add to life on earth, not just take from it. God wants you to give something
back.
This is God's fourth purpose for your life.
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which
God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10
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Shaped for Serving GOd
You were shaped to serve God.
God formed every creature on this planet with a special area of expertise.
Some animals run, some hop, some swim, some burrow, and some fly.
Each has a particular role to play, based on the way they were shaped by God.
The same is true with humans. Each of us was uniquely designed, or "shaped," to
do certain things...
Before God created you, He decided what role He wanted you to play on earth. He
planned exactly how He wanted you to serve Him, and then He shaped you for
those tasks. You are the way you are because you were made for a specific
ministry.
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my
mothers womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully cpmplex!
Your workmanship is marvelous ... Psalm 139:13-14
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Made for a Mission
God is at work in the world, and He wants you to join Him. This assignment is
called your mission.
God wants you to have both a ministry in the Body of Christ and a mission in
the world... Fulfilling your mission in the world is God's fifth purpose for
your life... You are the only Christian some people will ever know, and your
mission is to share Jesus with them.
We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop
their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between
them. We're speaking for Christ Himself now: Become friends with God... 2
Corinthians 5:20
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Living with Purpose
Living on purpose is the only way to really live. Everything else is just
existing...
Once you know what God wants you to do, the blessing comes in actually doing
it... That is what the purpose-driven life is all about. Neither past nor
future generations can serve God's purpose in this generation. Only we can.
Like Esther, God created you "for such a time as this." (Esther 4:14 NIV).
When fulfilling your purposes seems though, don't give in to discouragement.
Remember your reward, which will last forever.
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that
far outweighs them all. 2 Corinthians 4:17
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Source: DaySpring calender 2005
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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