Why does a loving God not stop the suffering on earth?

I know it does not seem understandable that God does not seem to care somehow,
… but actually He does and He has already done something about the suffering!
So, if God has, why then is there still so much suffering?

Because God made mankind special, His special children, and not robots or toys!
… and gave us not only a free choice (freewill) but also the right to make our free choice stick.
Therefore, if God simply did things in our lives without our freewill being involved
(overriding our free choice)
… He would deny what He made us to be, and we would be lost.

    However there is one who does not care about man or man’s freewill, the devil,
    … he lied to man, and instead of man rebuking him and his lie,
    … man ignored God’s warning,
    … acted on the devil’s lie and got into the mess man is in today.

    God on the other hand does not ignore man’s special position,
    … neither does He ignore man’s freewill!
    But in response to man’s freewill, God made a way for man’ position to be reversed.
    God gave man Jesus!

Yet, God in doing this for man, had to do this without going against man’s freewill,
… and without going against His own will and commandments.
Therefore, Jesus had to restore man’s option to return to God,
… and at the same time satisfy God’s judgement of sin.
Jesus did that on the cross by being the sacrifice for our sin!
And as Jesus himself said on the cross, ‘IT IS FINISHED!’

    So God’s part was done,
    … the way to God, to His blessing and away from suffering, was successfully completed,
    … without having denied or having overridden man’s freewill!

So now it is again man’s time, as it was in the Garden of Eden,
… man’s part, man’s choice, to use his freewill to choose God,
… to use his freewill to obey God and accept His terms
and to choose against the devil, against his lies and his suffering!

Now, do you want God’s blessing, then you have to accept God’s terms.

You already know what NOT to do,
… so as not to be under the devil’s curse & suffering,
… so that the devil’s will, will not be done in your life!
Now, by the same token, you have to find out WHAT you have to do,
… what God’s expects you to do so that His will can be done in your life!

If that was not necessary for you and your freewill to be involved,
… then Jesus also would not have had to come to set things right (for you)!
God did His part and ALL His blessings are there for you!
Are you prepared to do what is necessary to receive God’s blessing?

Choose life, choose His will and live … (Deut. 30:19)
    Receive Jesus as Lord in your life.
    Live God’s will and you WILL be blessed!

Should children recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of each ‘school’ day?
Why?
The first 12 or so times, teaches you the contents and helps you remember the words!
After that …
Why?
Anything done without a goal, vision or HEART, is meaningless!

Remember the young man called Joshua,
… well God spoke to him about this kind of pledge.
Joshua had been given the task of leading God’s people into the promised land,
… an awesome task!
So to make sure that Joshua would succeed, God said this to him …

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth,
but you shall meditate in it day and night,
that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.
For then you will make your way prosperous,
and then you will have good success.
Joshua 1:8

The potential, power and strength in that instruction,
… in that Allegiance (as in any pledge or allegiance)
is not in what you say, but as God Himself said,
… is that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it!
For only then will you prosper and have success!

A pledge of Allegiance is only as effective as the goal, vision and heart behind it!
A goal and a vision one can get by repetition,
… but a heart that empowers, quantifies and qualifies that vision,
… is born out of what you see and observe in others.

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar;
for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen,
how can he love God whom he has not seen?
1 John 4:20

Unless the parents, teachers and official representatives of those children,
… are living examples of that Allegiance,
… are observing (doing) what is written in it,
that pledge will be empty!
… or as twisted as the picture the children see,
at home, on TV, at school, in the street, on fakebook, etc…

Jesus said, make disciples; in other words,
… be an example for others to follow
so they can pledge Allegiance to a real vision!

The apostle James in talking about life and how faith develops,
… gave us this instruction,

     If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God,
     who gives to all liberally and without reproach,
     and it will be given to him.
     —- James 1:5

Then continues by saying,

     But let him ask in faith, with no doubting,
     —- James 1:6

Of course when we ask something of God, in faith,
we are not doubting that God will give us what we ask of Him!

However, that’s not what James was referring to,
as he was specifically talking about how faith is built or developed,
… and continues by telling us to ask for wisdom!
Now you may well ask, what does asking for wisdom,
… have to do with asking in faith, without doubting?

     What James was saying is that,
     if you want your faith to grow,
     … God is the most important part,
     not your need, not your knowledge, nor your actions!

In other words …
Ask God for wisdom, ask God what to do (in everything)
Because you need His wisdom to know His will!
And you need to ask for that wisdom in faith without doubting,
… without doubting that God will give you the wisdom you asked for!

What could James possibly have meant we should not doubt?
Not to doubt that we won’t receive something from God?
No!
But, what he was telling us not to doubt,
… is that we will receive the wisdom we asked for from God!

James was saying that,

     Faith is not just about God’s promises and our needs,
     Faith is not just about God meeting our needs,
     But …
     Faith is about a relationship with God,
     A relationship in which God Himself is real in our lives,
     … and not just His promises!
     A relationship in which we expect God Himself,
     … in which we expect to hear God Himself in our lives!

Therefore James was saying to us,
You are not going to hear God, even if He shouts at you,
unless you ask without doubting that you will hear the answer,
which simply means,
… you have to EXPECT Him to actually answer!

When we talk about faith,
… we normally mean that we believe God,
… and in particular that we are believing God for something!
Well, there is nothing wrong with that,
except that too often it does not seem to work the way we expect!

Well, maybe faith is not the problem, but our expectations.
Are we actually believing and asking correctly?

What are your expectations?

When we go to God, in faith, about a need we have,
… or about a promise He made in His Word,
what exactly are we believing, what are we expecting?

God to manifest, or the promise to manifest?

If we are honest, as we should be,
… our expectation is that the answer will manifest,
… that what we have asked God for will be done!

Maybe that is why Hebrews 11:6 tells us,
… for he who comes to God must believe that He is,
… and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

What or who are you believing … God’s promises or God?
What or who are you seeking … God’s reward or God Himself?

If denying yourself is a challenge,
… then taking up your CROSS surely is more of a challenge,
in fact one would probably say, that is too much!

Praise God, that what things sound like,
… are so often different than what one thinks!

Consider this.
Jesus started by saying … deny yourself,
then afterwards He said … take up your cross!
So obviously what you are taking up is,
… a result or response to having denied yourSELF.
Now, since denying self is about considering others,
… and doing what you are doing with others in mind,
then what is that CROSS?

Remember, Jesus did not tell us to take up His cross,
… but He said ‘take up your cross’,
and since His cross was giving Himself for others,
… doing for them what they could not do for themselves,
I would dare to say that your cross is surely the same!


But does this mean that I have to sacrifice my life for others?
Not at all!
Jesus does not want you to sacrifice your life,
… but He wants you to live your life for others!

As Jesus also said in another place,
… I have come that you may have life, in abundance!
And what is it that He wants us to do with that life,
… to live that life in abundance with others in mind!

So what is this cross I should pickup?
Love (agape)

Living your life loving others,
… doing what you are doing with others in mind!

1 John 3:16-17

Sound familiar … ?
Not only familiar, but also one of the hardest conditions in the Bible,
… that seems to demand that we need to deny our needs and wants,
… go where you don’t want to go, do what you don’t want to do!

And in the current financial environment,
… most governments & financial institutions are demanding the same,
that for the good of the economy and the benefit of everyone
… that we should set aside and deny our needs and wants!

Give up your comfort,
… and do without!
Take a cut in your salary,
… and get by on much less!
Do that and you will help save the economy!

Although that may sound the same,
… and the ultimate result may look the same,
the reason however, why Jesus made that condition, is totally different!
And, unless the real cause is addressed,
… just denying what you need or want today,
will not solve the problem, or bring a brighter tomorrow!

What is it that got the world into this financial dilemma?
SELF!
What is it that has caused turmoil and wars since forever?
SELF!
No, it is not simply because of needs and wants,
… neither because most thing is done for gain,
but because it is done ONLY for gain (my gain),
… regardless of the cost to others,
Not because it is for profit,
… but because profit alone has became the goal,
the profit for SELF, mainly at a cost to others,
… better known as greed!

And in the end, this greed has come at a cost to most everyone,
… whether they were directly involved or not!

So, for what reason did Jesus say - deny yourself!
… and what did He actually mean for us to do?
You see, when Jesus said, deny youself,
… He was NOT talking about what you have,
… but He was talking about what has you!

What is the difference?
Simply this,
… who or what are your eyes on?
YourSELF or others?

What is in your heart?
If you are doing what you are doing for yourself only,
… or even for yourself in preference to others,
then you are limiting yourself to yourself,
whilst all of creation, as can be observed in nature,
… is based on Seedtime and Harvest!

Seedtime and harvest, or being fruitful,
… which simply means,
Doing what you are doing, to have more than YOU need.

Man in his makeup and nature,
… is dependant on his environment and on others,
so if man only does what he does for himSELF,
… and if everyone around you is only doing for themSELVES,
who are YOU going to be able to rely on for your need?
… yourSELF?

Too often we perceive things that happen in our lives,
… that look like everything has gone wrong,
… that we don’t know what to do about,
as something that God has put before us to test us,
as a problem that needs to be solved!

The result is that it becomes a pressure in our lives,
… and we therefore struggle to cope or deal with it,
mainly because we have misread its source,
… and are expecting God to take care of it for us!

God however does not cause problems in our lives,
… neither does God use problems to teach us something!
God is an overcomer and not the creator of problems,
… and He challenges us to be the same!

Problems sow doubt … Challenges demand action!

Yes, God does have an answer for every question,
… and a solution for every challenge in life;
in fact, He has already overcome (it),
… all we need do is to ask Him how!

So, stop looking at everything that confronts you, as a problem,
… but see the challenge it is putting before you.
If you see those things that happen in life, as a challenge,
… God can make you an overcomer, by showing you the solution!


1Cor 10:13 … will also make the way of escape,
John 16:13 … and He will tell you things to come.

(Source: covenantnet.com)

Two thousand & twelve was a FULL year …
Full of challenges, without which there is no life!
Full of fruit, without which there is no future!

The secret to life is not a mystery,
The secret to life is a relationship,
in which …
If you will take care of today and its challenges, with God,
He will take care of your tomorrow and its fruit, for you!

I am looking forward to Two Thousand & Thirteen,
Not to have less challenges, that’s life at its best,
but …
to have more fruit, that is life in abundance!

(Source: covenantnet.com)

Some time before the foundation of the earth (or there abouts), the Father said to Jesus, ‘I want to create some children for myself!’ 

Jesus said, ‘That sounds like a great idea, but if they are to be children of yours, they are going to have to be real special!’ 

‘You are right’  the Father said, ‘and that is why my plan is that they should be just like you, Jesus!’ 

Jesus said, ‘That’s wonderful! However Father, have you given it enough thought, because for them to be true children of yours, they are going to have to be able to decide for themselves!’ 

The Father said, ‘Yes I know, could be tricky, but unless we do that, why even start!’ 

Jesus said, ‘Well I think it is a wonderful plan and opportunity to live out what is in us, agape, the very thing that you are Father!’ 

So the Father replied, ‘Let’s do it, let’s express what is in us, because what is in us is the fullness of life, and is more than enough to be able to counter any challenge, as Lucifer found out!’ 

‘I like that, and I will be there to help you make it possible Father!’ 

Just there the Holy Spirit interjected, saying ‘Do you realize how unpredictable children are?’ 

‘Yes we do,’ they answered. 

‘And do you realize what it is going to take to bring them up, to teach them to make the right decision, and to stand by that decision?’ 

‘Yes we do, and that is why we have decided to give you the job!’ 

“What job?’ 

‘The job to help, teach, guide and show our children, not just what to do and choose, but also those things to come, so that they will be prepared for life, so they will know how to receive life and walk in it, that life that Jesus will restore to them when they fail! 

The Holy Spirit smiled and said, ‘Thought there was a catch somewhere, but I think it is a great plan anyway!’ 

So having agreed together, God said 
‘Let Us make man in Our image and according to Our likeness …!’

(Source: covenantnet.com)