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Post by DanTheMan on Oct 17, 2005 10:31:59 GMT -5
I do not doubt the goodness, greatness, and sovereignty of our Lord but sometimes when God says that He causes disasters, I am caught off guard. Which is a good thing! Too often I think of Him as an all-knowing benevolent God, which He is, but I forget how high above my comprehension He is. "Disasters" aren't necessarily bad things. Good can come from them.
Was Job happy he went through what he did? Well, maybe not happy, but he was a better man afterward. And in the scope of eternity, or even his short life here on Earth, it was a short trial (I think).
That we know that He causes the disasters should help us to understand that He is in control. A hurricane is incredibly powerful to us, but it is nothing compared to the power of our Creator.
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Post by tinidril on Oct 17, 2005 20:52:33 GMT -5
"Disasters" aren't necessarily bad things. Good can come from them. That we know that He causes the disasters should help us to understand that He is in control. A hurricane is incredibly powerful to us, but it is nothing compared to the power of our Creator. "Behold the goodness and the severity of our God." "For we know that all things work together for our good..." "Count it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter diverse trials..." Yes, I agree.  |
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Post by DanTheMan on Oct 24, 2005 12:51:13 GMT -5
I am now in Jeremiah. I presume I'll be bouncing around the Bible somewhat to keep things interesting.
Jeremiah 1:7-8 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.
This I find interesting. He doesn't tell Jeremiah that he'll prevent evil from reaching him, but that He will rescue Jeremiah. So, J can assume that he's going to get into trouble. He has to trust in the Lord to come and get him out of it. Like Jesus telling the apostles that they will be persecuted. I like it when the OT sounds just like the NT.
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Post by DanTheMan on Oct 31, 2005 13:10:15 GMT -5
Jeremiah 20:13-14
13 Sing to the LORD!
Give praise to the LORD!
He rescues the life of the needy
from the hands of the wicked.
14 Cursed be the day I was born!
May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!
Interesting that Jeremiah is praising the Lord, yet so unhappy. This reminds me that walking with the Lord is not always easy, but he is still the Lord and worthy of praise!
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Post by wizardB1u3 on Nov 7, 2005 22:43:57 GMT -5
interesting, in school we are studying Narnia more in depth for our British Lit class, we just got through today on a quote from Mr. Beaver on Aslan. "Safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But He's good, He's the king i tell you!"
Since Aslan is a representation of Jesus we were talking on how God isn't a safe God. He puts us through trials and "dark times" to strengthen us. but never more than we can handle. He is loving, but not in the pampering way, its more of a disciplined love. Hope this helps.
How's it coming by the way?
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Post by Tegid on Nov 7, 2005 23:01:15 GMT -5
It's great to read the Bible through, because then we come across verses and passages about God that tend to be skipped or glossed over in a more selective reading.
If you believe that God is almighty (and I do), then these kinds of things are part of what you believe. God is completely and altogether in control. Nothing happens apart from him.
For some reason, we lose sight of that. It is almost as though, in the back of the mind, people think that God has to spend a great deal of time and effort restraining the enemy, and a lot of what's left over goes toward damage control after the enemy has done his worst in spite of God. Really, some people's belief about this (though they'd never say so in words) practically elevates Satan to a level of equality with God, on par with a Zoroastrian duality or a yin-yang thing. And this is exactly what Lucifer's ambition has been, ever since his rebellion (Isaiah 14:13-14); he attains this goal when he gets people to believe he has the power of evil, just as God has the power of good. No! God has ALL power!
The great thing is, since God is indeed the loving God he is, he uses his power for good and for loving purposes. Only! Even when he does create darkness and disaster.
There's a 'problem' in this planet full of mortals, and it stems from God's love. This 'problem' is called free will. God wants people to love him back of their own accord, not because they have to. Although he will never make anyone love him, he will use his authority and power in the circumstances of a person's life to try to get that person to turn to him, and preferably turn to him with all their heart. There's a glimpse of this in Job 33:14-30, where we are told that God works as gently as possible in someone's life to turn their feet onto the path toward him, but he doesn't hesitate to turn up the heat more and more if the gentler ways didn't work. He has an eternal end in view, and he will, if necessary, sacrifice the temporal good we tend to want, in order to bring about his expected end (as in James 5:11).
We look at things as disasters, because of our timeframe. We have only a few years here, and we would like for them to be as 'good' as possible. We just don't have God's perspective. When things go wrong, we see the Sabeans and the fire and the Chaldeans and the tornado (Job 1). But really, it is as Job acknowledged: It was the Lord who took away all he had. We need to see God's hand in everything, and in everything give thanks and rejoice evermore.
If the power of disaster were in someone else's hands, we would be in deep trouble indeed -- we would be doomed. Instead, it's in the hands of someone who loves us absolutely.
When the Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and take us into captivity, we have God's word that it is because of his kind intention to bring ultimate good (Jeremiah 29, especially verse 11). When Stephen is stoned, it is (among other things) so that Paul will always have the proper attitude that he is the chiefest of sinners, so he could tell us more truly about the awesomeness of God's grace and forgiveness. When Jesus is crucified (what a disaster!), it is so that our salvation can be made a possibility and a reality.
And in his love, God has so joined himself with us that, when he brings disasters, he comes and experiences the full brunt of them with us. When Joseph is yanked away from his homeland and sold into slavery, and then condemned to years in a dungeon on a false charge, the Lord went into slavery and into prison with him (Genesis 39:2 and 21). In all the hardships the Israelis went through in the wilderness, even though they acted in a way that brought it upon them, God suffered those hardships with them (Isaiah 63:9). Every time a sparrow falls to the ground, God falls with it. Every person who has to flee from a hurricane or an earthquake, God goes homeless with them. He doesn't leave us on our own in the darkness or in the middle of the disaster, while he sits aloof on his throne.
Thank God that the one who has the power to create darkness and disaster is indeed the one who is the loving God!
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Post by acts2120 on Nov 12, 2005 19:55:36 GMT -5
Good luck - it's a tough go. I've been a scripture student for nearly 2 decades, and still haven't gotten through it all.
However, you comment that you need to know more about religion - you won't actually find "religion" in the bible - religions as we know them tend to be based on man's interpretation or application of scripture, rather than the heart of God's message.
As you read, ask God to show you His heart in His word; you'll find out a lot more Him that way than you will in most "religions."
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Post by DanTheMan on Nov 12, 2005 21:15:51 GMT -5
I'm in Hebrews, now, and at the end of Jeremiah. Jeremiah is quite a book! Depressing in its way but I note that God mentions over and over how He is going to use this leader to do this or that, or this country will be brought done, etc. It's like God is saying how any leader of a nation is really nothing to Him, and God will do what He wants to regardless. That's cool. God really is awesome!
And Hebrews is a really deep book! I've read it a few times before and I'm always struck by how much is in there. Currently, the author (Paul?) is describing the temple and its relation to heaven. Neat stuff!
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Post by blixbrunner on Nov 14, 2005 22:03:20 GMT -5
I am going to read the bible front to back. I have recently heard about this 'karma' thing, and I am trying to improve my...how should I say it...my karma. I guess you could say. Hi Were you hoping to learn about Karma in the Bible? bb |
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Post by CynanMachae on Nov 15, 2005 20:54:47 GMT -5
You know what I'm doing now? I'm reading Psalms. I could read them over and over again; they're so good.
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Post by DanTheMan on Nov 28, 2005 16:21:33 GMT -5
I'm in Ezekiel and 1 Peter. Very interesting to contrast the two. In Ezekiel, the Lord is saying how he is going to discipline Israel and in Peter he encourages the Christians to trust the Lord more.
C.S. Lewis did an awesome job in reflecting some of God's character in Aslan. He is not tame and yet He loves deeply.
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Post by Child of Immanuel on Nov 28, 2005 17:28:18 GMT -5
I'm in Mark 14 and Matthew 1 (see my blog to the left). I've been studying Greek by immersion, ie no English, so I'm hoping for a Hebrew grammar and OT to shake things up a little.
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Post by DanTheMan on Dec 9, 2005 11:59:10 GMT -5
I'm now in 3 John and Daniel. Always liked the book of Daniel - it has such a nice name.
I'm also interested in the inclusion of the discussion about angels and their movements. Michael and Babylon and so forth.
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Post by aelfric on Dec 9, 2005 19:08:57 GMT -5
One point my Vicar made to me is that to be able truly understand the Bible you need to be fluent in several ancient languages, be an expert on numerous ancient civilizations and have studied theology and even then there is room for disagreement between experts! So much depends on translation, context etc, I applaud you for trying to read it all but I also think we need the true message explained and interpreted by those who are true experts. Which is why the Church has such a responsibility to have good people as its ministers.
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Post by DanTheMan on Dec 10, 2005 8:19:33 GMT -5
If I only had time (and determination) to study the languages and archaelogy! I would love to. But I think that even not doing so I am able, with help of the Holy Spirit, to understand what I need to from the Word. I feel the depth of the Scripture is such that no one, even the smartest of us, will truly understand it in this lifetime. My thinking is that the Church needs more of its people reading the Bible and discussing it.
I read Jude today, that forgotten book. It is a good one. Again Michael the angel appears and even a prophecy from Enoch! And more of Daniel and his prophecies - this is where I wish I had more knowledge of history to see how this prohecies have come true.
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