WHY DOES GOD ALLOW CHRISTIANS TO BE TESTED? HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND?

From the AMR Archives ©2010

#alphamegaradio #christianity #lifelessons

Have you ever asked these Top 10 Questions, or found yourself curious about them?

1 • Why does God allow bad things to happen to us?... Or better yet—bad things to good people?

2 • Why doesn't God make my life any easier? Things seem to get worse and worse. Doesn't He care?

3 • I've prayed about things, but nothing seems to happen. Is God ignoring me? Or have I done something to offend Him?

4 • If I'm trying my best to follow God and obey His commands, why does God still allow bad times in my life?

5 • If God truly hates evil, why does He allow the devil to tempt people or try to make their lives miserable?

6 • If the Bible says, "Ask and you shall receive," how come when I ask, nothing happens?

7 • I understand that God does things in His own timing, but why do I have to wait for Him to act—sometimes for very long periods of time?

8 • If God's desire is to bless His people, why do I seem to go through so much hardship, suffering, and pain?

9 • Why is it that God says that He'll provide for our needs, but everything seems to be closing in on me? It seems hopeless.

10 • When I mess up and really blow it, and find myself in disobedience and sin, why do I need to repent and ask for forgiveness? Wasn't I already forgiven once-and-for-all when I was saved? Isn't repentance the same thing as asking for forgiveness?

These are all perfectly common questions, and the solutions can at times be elusive and confusing. Scripture contains the answers to each and every one, however. We need not stay confused about these things. Life can be very liberating and much more fulfilling if we know the answers to these questions—the truth, which I’ve compiled the following related devotionals (below) to help address...

If you're struggling in life, with your faith, not understanding what God's doing or what you should be doing, I suggest that you take a moment to read and reflect? All were written by world-renown and highly-educated Bible teachers and pastors.

Feel free to pass this blog along if you're blessed by it and/or feel that someone that you know might experience the same. You just may be helping others who are dealing with some of the very same issues, without realizing it.

Thanks, and have a blessed day!

 

 

 

ARE YOU A THREAT TO SATAN? 

Devotional by: Dr. Charles F. Stanley

(Ref: 1 Peter 1:6-7)

On two separate occasions, the Bible records that Satan petitioned the Lord to test a believer (Job 1:6-12; Luke 22:31-34). In both cases, God agreed. The devil did his best to break the faith of first Job and later Peter, but he failed both times.

Do you suppose that Christ and Satan have ever discussed you? I think most people are too humble to assume such a conversation has happened. So let me ask the question a different way: Is your life making an impact worth talking about? I had to ask this of myself—am I serving God sufficiently to make Satan feel threatened?

Preachers and missionaries aren't the only people who make the enemy nervous. Any believer who is determined to obey the Lord is a threat to the devil, particularly when sharing the gospel.

God calls on you to witness to certain people because you have just the right knowledge, story, or temperament to reach them. Fearing that the unbeliever might choose salvation because of your testimony, Satan gives you plenty of opportunities to fail. He hopes you'll be too discouraged to continue serving the Lord.

The enemy would like nothing better than to thwart God's plan for believers' lives by undermining their faith. That being the case, we might all be surprised how often our names pass between Jesus and Satan!

Although you may think you aren't important, God knows your true value. Friend, as a Spirit-filled believer, you have amazing potential to serve the kingdom. Satan sees that, and he will try to make you stumble.

If you fall, lean on the Lord as you get to your feet and carry on.

SATAN'S STRATEGY

Devotional by: Dr. Charles F. Stanley

(Ref: Luke 22:31-34, 54-62)

All of us make tracks through the valley of failure. The question is, how are you going to respond? Plenty of people give up and exchange a vibrant kingdom-serving life for a defeated existence. But failure need not be an end. It's a chance for a new beginning living in Christ's strength.

Peter had a life-altering failure. Jesus warned that Satan had asked permission to "sift" the disciple like wheat (Luke 22:31)—vigorous shaking is required to separate wheat kernels from debris. The enemy wanted to shake Peter's faith hard in hopes that he'd fall away from Jesus like chaff.

Peter fervently believed the promise he'd made to Jesus: "Even though all may fall away, yet I will not" (Mark 14:29). But Satan knows a few things about the power of fear. What's more, he realized that the disciple would be wounded by his own disloyalty. A man with tattered pride can't help but question his usefulness.

When Satan sifts believers, his goal is to damage our faith so much that we're useless to God. He wants us shelved far from the action of the Lord's kingdom. Therefore, he goes for our strengths—the areas where we believe ourselves to be invincible, or at least very well protected. And when the devil succeeds, we are disappointed and demoralized. But we don't have to stay that way.

If we are willing, God can use failure to do spiritual housecleaning. Peter laid down his pride and instead put on the Holy Spirit's courage. Thereafter, he risked humiliation, persecution, and death to proclaim the gospel. Failure was the catalyst that brought forth greater faith and true servant-hood.

HANDLING ADVERSITY 

Devotional by: Dr. Chuck Swindoll

(Ref: Job 1-2, 42)

Step into the time tunnel with me, and let's travel together back to Uz (not the wizard of, but the land of). Wherever it was, Uz had a citizen who was respected by everyone. Why? Because he was: blameless, upright, God-fearing, and clean living.

He had ten children, thousands of head of livestock, acres and acres of land, a great many servants, and a substantial stack of cash. No one would deny that he was "the greatest of all the men of the East." His name was Job, a synonym for integrity and godliness.

Yet, within a matter of hours, adversity fell upon this fine man like an avalanche of jagged rocks. He lost his livestock, his crops, his land, his servants, and all ten children. Soon thereafter, he also lost his health.

The book that bears his name records an entry he made into his journal soon after the rocks stopped falling: "The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD" (Job 1:21).

Following this incredible statement, God adds: "Through all this, Job did not sin nor did he blame God" (1:22).

The logical questions are, why didn't he? What kept him from bitterness or even thoughts of suicide?