Author: annm2705

If God is good, why do bad things happen to people?

This is a question I had and one that I still hear people ask. It is a question that was answered after I read the bible. I’ll share the answers I found in the bible:

  1. Sin: Evil Spiritual Beings having access to the world is the reason that “bad things” happen. Sin didn’t originate from God, it came from the evil spiritual beings who rebelled against God then introduced people to sin and people were deceived and followed it. Evil spiritual forces continue to influence, manipulate , deceive and destroy people today. Bible/study references:
  2. Discipline from God: God sometimes uses bad things to discipline a person who is sinning and turn them from their sin, restore and reconcile with Him. Think of the saying: “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” The bible is full of examples of this, throughout the Old Testament is very clear when God says if you repent and turn from your sinful ways, I will restore you.
  3. God is Just: God will destroy evil and He doesn’t relent when He chooses to do this. If God wasn’t just, then how would victims of evil ever be consoled? God is clear about evil, He will destroy it: sometimes people will see it during their lifetime, but if not, God promises it at the end.
  4. A Test of our Faith from God: God sometimes allows bad things to test our faith and trust in Him. This is found in the story of Job. But the story also tells us that God will restore everything and even more later on, if we pass the test and remain faithful to God despite our circumstances.

In summary, bad things happen for various reasons and we don’t always know which reason or understand completely why something specific happened, but sometimes we understand it in hindsight and I believe God will reveal why in the end. Trusting in God, despite the circumstance, will come with a reward from God; we see that in the Bible repeatedly. It does require faith, strength, endurance and perseverance- which God will give to those who ask Him for this, those who remain loyal to God, He provides. Personally, it helps me to think of bad things as “temporary,” during a “transitional” time. In eternity, all will be restored- that is God’s promise!

God’s Promise: Revelation 21

by Categories: FAITH, God, HAPPINESS, Improvement, Letting Go, Love, RELATIONSHIPSTags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Trust, Questions and Freedom

I was living life like a trusting child, in somewhat of a carefree way until the years 2020 and 2021 happened when I began noticing contradictions that made me question what I was hearing. You know what I’m talking about, the really obvious type of (let’s just call it what it is) LIES: when actions don’t match the words we hear. When what I observed didn’t support what I was hearing. I didn’t want to accept what I was observing; my trust was broken. This wasn’t just one aspect of my life where my trust was broken, it was in the world, in business, in relationships, and it was all happening at the same time.

When trust was broken in a majority of the areas of life that “supported” me, where did I turn? God. I turned to God even more than I ever have in my life. I prayed, read the bible and studied the bible and it distracted me from the harsh realities I was facing. I’m a curious person and I love to explore, as in travel, but also in exploring thoughts and ideas of others. So I explored. I started seeing that some things I was taught in religion didn’t line up with what I was reading in the Bible. The timing of this was ironic, because this meant another area of “trust” was broken: the religion I was taught growing up. I just wanted the TRUTH to be found SOMEWHERE! This caused me to want to separate from others and look deeper into these findings: What is the Truth? Where can it be found? I trusted God, and I still do. After reading the complete Bible, most of the questions I had were answered, and it made sense of all these nonsensical things happening in my life. I felt compelled to share what I discovered in the bible and I did.

Click here if you want to explore more about the Bible being trustworthy/true.

From the secular aspect of the world and what’s happening today, the Bible gives clarity to this too; it’s all in there. Many things happening in world events right now were foretold in the Bible. If I hadn’t studied the Bible, I wouldn’t be aware of this. Our freedom is under attack, there are those who seek power and dominance and the only way for them to achieve this is through forced control because if given the choice, not everyone will choose to submit. Many people are seeing this and becoming vocal about it, and something that I understand from the Bible comes to mind: God created each of us with a purpose: to fulfill His will. People are using their skills and talents to resist this forced control and I thank God for each and every one of you! May God be with you in this effort.

While freedom remains, to some degree, despite some censorship, all of us have the freedom of choice. Our choice comes with consequences and we individually weigh the choice and consequences when making a decision. I believe “choice” remains because God is the one who gave all people that freedom from the very beginning. I believe we are at a critical moment in time right now and while I currently have the freedom of speech, I want to share some thoughts with you, some things I hope you think about as an individual: don’t automatically believe my words, investigate this, don’t automatically believe what you’ve been taught, investigate it, then arrive at your own conclusion, because not everyone will arrive at the same conclusion and that is the way God allows it: a personal CHOICE! Freedom.

As I mentioned earlier, I found some of the things I was taught growing up that didn’t match up with the Bible and that destroyed my trust in the religion. Why did I choose what I read in the Bible over what I was taught? Because what I found in the Bible was consistent and answered questions I had. My former religion was “Christian” based so the bible was an acceptable means of seeking information and I believe the Bible to be a “God inspired” source for the truth. I chose what I believe is “God inspired” information over the information that was man made religious traditions from my former religion. But this isn’t where I stopped. I had more curiosity, I had friendships throughout my life with people who are Jewish and Muslim, and I would describe them as “good” people, from a secular viewpoint. Although I know that no one can really be labeled “good” other than God, so I use that term only to attempt to describe what most people think of as good: kind people who act in loving ways.

So my “exploring” inclination led me to “take a peak” into both faiths and see what is similar and what is different. I say “take a peak”, because I am not an expert in any religion, I was just curious. After all this broken trust happened in my life, I wanted to see what those faiths were all about and why people believed in them compared to any other belief. I think many people believe what they were taught to believe as they grew up, from those who cared for them. Caring people do have an influence on the lives of others.

The foundation of the beliefs in each faith are:

Jewish faith- source: The Torah: The Torah (law of Moses) includes the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, named: Genesis (written approximately 1446-1406 BC) , Exodus (written approximately 1440 BC), Leviticus (written approximately 1440 BC), Numbers (written approximately 1406 BC) and Deuteronomy (written approximately 1406 BC). But there are also “sacred writings”, the scripture that is part of the historical Jewish belief (The Nevi’Im, and Ketuvim).

Christian faith- source: The Bible: The five books of the Torah are incorporated into what is called the Old Testament of the Bible. The Jewish scripture found in the TaNaKh (link to a summary) are also included in the Old Testament of the Bible. So Jewish faith is the foundation of the Christian Bible and this scripture found in the Bible was written approximately starting in 1446 BC. In addition to these scriptures found in the Old Testament, the Bible adds the New Testament books which include the life of Jesus (the Gospel), teachings, the followers of Jesus and more prophesy in the book of Revelation written in the 1st century, around 90 AD (the prophecies do not contradict the prophets of the Old Testament, but provide more detail and insight regarding the events to take place).

Muslim faith – source: The Quran (a prophetic revelation and doctrine established by Muhammed written in the 7th century/600 AD) and Hadiths which became the basis for the Islamic religion.

Belief Similarities

I’ll start with belief similarities (from my research) that Christian, Jewish and Muslim people share:

  1. We all believe in the same Creator: “God” “Hashem” “Allah”
  2. We all believe that the way we live our life matters
  3. Jesus lived on earth and taught people
  4. All good things come from God
  5. There is only one God
  6. There is a Messiah who will come (but the roles of the Messiah in the beliefs are different)
  7. There is a Judgement Day when the Messiah returns

But there are differences:

  1. The Trinity: Christians believe in one God, but three persons making up that one God, or the “Godhead” as I’ve heard this referred to: God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit (called “The Trinity”) – this is definitely a challenging concept to comprehend and for me, the clearest way I came up with so far to explain this is to give an example of something material that we know for a concept to hopefully make the understanding clearer. If you’ve seen a 3-in 1 winter coat this is something can function independently yet is part of the (1) coat. For example the first layer may be a light, fleece jacket, the next layer might be a down insulated layer, and the third layer might be a waterproof outer shell. Each jacket on it’s own has a function, but together they are one. If you have trouble visualizing this here’s a video clip of a 3 in one jacket, not exactly the one I described but for concept. (Neither Jewish or Muslims believe in the Trinity) Click here if you want to explore a study on the Trinity belief.
  2. Jesus: Christians believe Jesus is the Son of God (part of the Trinity/Godhead), the Messiah, Jesus was without sin, he was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born to a virgin mother (Mary), he came to earth to save people (and if someone does not believe this, they will not be in eternity with God), was crucified, died, was buried and rose from the dead, interacted with people after the resurrection, then ascended into Heaven, but sent the Holy Spirit to be present after he left the earth. Jesus will return to the earth and will be visible to everyone when he returns, arriving in the clouds (the same way he departed when he ascended into the clouds in front of witnesses). Jewish people do not believe Jesus was the Messiah because he didn’t complete all the prophecies/finish what was prophesized when he was on earth. The Jewish people are waiting for the Messiah to arrive. Muslim people believe that Jesus was a prophet and a good person, believe that his mother was a virgin, but do not believe that Jesus died on the cross. The three differing beliefs about Jesus is the greatest difference and a critical one because it has consequences for every person. So which belief is the truth? That is for you to decide, and worth investigating. Click here if you want to explore study information on the Nature of Jesus.
  3. Eternity/the Afterlife: Christians believe the only reason we will be able to enter into eternity or the after life is through Jesus who came to earth for God’s purpose. Jesus’ purpose (God’s will) was to reveal God in human form to people, teach people about the spiritual realm (things unknown to people), fulfill the prophecies about the Messiah, and to most importantly become the sacrifice required to save ALL people. Our “good works” are not enough to be as holy as needed to be in the presence of God. We are not perfect beings, nor will we ever be, but God wants us to be with Him, so he sent Jesus to bridge that gap of our imperfection. From what I’ve found, I don’t think the afterlife is very clear, certain or described in the Jewish faith. What I’ve found in the Muslim faith is that there will be an afterlife. Click here if you want to explore information on the afterlife belief.
  4. The Messiah: Christians believe the Messiah is Jesus and there will be a second coming of the Messiah in the future and judgement follows his return. Jewish people believe the Messiah has not come yet, but will come in the future. Muslims believe that Jesus will return (but don’t believe he died on the cross, instead he was rescued by God and taken up) and when Jesus returns, he will “follow” the Mahdi. Very different beliefs. Click here if you want to understand why Christians believe Jesus is the Messiah.
  5. The Anti-Christ: Christians believe there will be a deception near the end of the world (during a 7 year time period) and the Anti-Christ (along with the help of a false prophet) will deceive many people (even some Christians) and will be able to take control of them, thereby causing those people to lose the opportunity of the afterlife with God, but not only lose that, but suffer the consequences of allowing the deceivers to take control, from submitting to them instead of God and therefore will be sent to eternal hell. The Jewish people don’t acknowledge this. The Muslims believe there will be an Anti-Christ at the end also. Click here if you are curious about the AntiChrist.

For those who believe God exists, but if you are unsure about any further beliefs, it is important to pray directly to God and ask for the truth to be clear to you, ask for wisdom in regard to these various beliefs. I think all who believe in God know that God will respond if we genuinely seek him.

The belief you choose should always be your choice, no one should “force” anything on you, but it is worth your time to research what you believe. It’s never a good situation if you are forced to decide this “on the spot” and you haven’t had time to fully think through this. Take the time this winter to reflect and research.

by Categories: American, FAITH, God, Improvement, RELATIONSHIPSTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Viewing the Bible as Truth?

I was thinking about various beliefs and why people may have the beliefs they do. It seems that culture may be a reason: what was taught, passed down generation after generation. The belief becomes something we don’t question, we just “know” because we heard it from when we were children, so we adopt the same belief as those around us. At some point growing up we realize other people have different beliefs because of their culture. For some, that can be when the questioning starts: What is the Truth? When we start asking this question, we can be influenced by people in our lives, by the friends we make. We can be influenced by religious leaders who are well spoken, interesting and tell compelling stories, or we can be turned away from a belief by religious leaders and people who identify themselves with a certain religion if we have a bad experience with them. We can abandon every belief and claim to be “scholarly” and believe in nothing. Belief, or unbelief, is a choice we make.

People have said to me: “You can’t trust the Bible, it was made and edited to control people.” People point out “contradictions.” But every point someone has made about it, after looking into it further, the point made doesn’t stand up. Most of the people who made these comments to me hadn’t ever read the entire Bible , they were repeating something they were told that seemed to make sense to them, or they heard an excerpt from the Bible out of context. In contrast, I’ve also heard many people say that it was reading the Bible that finally made them believe it is the truth and after reading it, they began changing their life because of what they read. Reading the Bible isn’t a small task; it’s a lengthy book, and many people don’t make the time it to read it for various reasons but it will have an impact.

When we truly believe something, we are compelled and take action because of our belief. This isn’t only regarding “faith”; it’s about anything in life that we believe, we take action according to our belief.

So what is it about the Bible that made me believe it?

  • The Bible answered many “why” questions about life for me, such as: Why do we exist? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do bad things even happen? Why do people die? Why do people become addicted to harmful things? Why do people still feel empty when they have so much in life? Why are relationships so hard? Why do so many marriages end in divorce? Why do people experience fear and anxiety? Everything finally made sense to me.
  • The Christian Bible incorporates the Jewish beliefs (the Old Testament), it doesn’t deny the foundation of Christianity which is Judaism. Jewish and Christians both believe what is found in the Old Testament Books of the Bible. This was affirmation to me from another faith that added validity to what is found in the Bible. The ability today to see the original Hebrew text (www.blueletterbible.org) provides additional insight and clarity. The main difference in Christian and Jewish beliefs is who Jesus is believed to be.
  • The New Testament of the Christian Bible has similar prophecies to what I’ve read and heard is in the Quran about what happens in the world leading up to Judgement Day, about Mary the mother of Jesus being a virgin, about Jesus being a respected prophet. The main difference is the belief in who Jesus is. But the fact that there are some similarities by different faiths seems to validate those similarities as truth.
  • The Bible was written by significant historical people and the main message is consistent throughout the Bible. This message is: God’s love, compassion for people and people’s rebellion and repentance (sometimes) or rejection towards God. There are times when God punishes people for their actions (to wake them up/cause them to change for the better) and there will be a day when justice will be served to all people by God for all of mankind’s actions (Judgement Day).
  • The Bible is partially a history book which adds to its validity. The collection of books by various authors in the Bible explain life, document the history of leadership and genealogy of Jesus, the books of the prophets told of events before they happened (warning people) and the events actually happened exactly as they were predicted to occur and some remain unfulfilled, but remain expected sometime in the future (especially because these future prophecies were told by prophets thousands of year ago who told other prophecies that occurred), and document the life of Jesus and what happened with his followers after he was killed.
  • Within the Bible it tells us: it is “supernatural” information inspired by the Holy Spirit. It isn’t just one person validating the information assembled into Bible, there were hundreds to thousands of people who validated much of the content. Eye witnesses documented and others interviewed people about these “supernatural events.” This Bible continues to be read today. Think about how long this book has lasted. It’s interesting because Jesus said that Heaven and Earth will pass away, but the word of God will remain.
  • People who knew Jesus personally wrote books: Two of Jesus’ original followers: Matthew and John, each wrote a book (the gospels) in the Bible that tells us the same thing (validates the story) but also provides a unique collection of events that happened.
  • Mark, who was another author of the Bible (gospel) was an acquaintance of Peter who was one of Jesus’ original followers. Peter also contributed books to the Bible about how people should live and what will happen in the future; Peter personally knew Jesus and was taught by him.
  • Luke who was another author of the gospel and was believed to be a medical doctor which probably gave him some credibility. He interviewed people who were still living from Jesus’ time, those who had witnessed Jesus’ life to assemble the book he wrote.
  • The 4 gospels tell similar stories but have additional accounts, yet all are consistent regarding the character of and the message from Jesus.
  • The Bible also has books from two who are believed to be Jesus’ half-brothers: Jude and James – family members of Jesus’ household. Family members certainly add credibility and validity.
  • A significant portion of the Bible contribution, primarily letters written to communities by a person who was persecuting Christians, but then had a life changing conversion after a supernatural experience with Jesus. This was Paul (originally named Saul) his name was changed when his life’s direction was changed. Think about this: the most drastic life change after a supernatural experience: becoming a person who supported and grew the believers community by his preaching but before he had been on the opposing side and was targeting and persecuting those same people, until his life was changed.
  • There are a wide variety of sources, people, authors, prophets who all tell the same message repeatedly over thousands of years, after having a vision, an angel visitation or revelation from God or experiencing life in person with Jesus. Multiple sources all telling the same message is what supports this as truth.
  • I personally had experiences that reinforced my belief in the Bible. After praying and asking God questions, I opened the bible to a page or book that answered by specific question numerous times. One question was about the future and what I understood did happen. When I’ve asked about the future, I regularly end up opening to a page that talks about the end times. Believe me, I didn’t want that to keep happening, but it did and it does, so I do think we may be closer than anticipated or God is wanting people to prepare and take this future event seriously.
  • In 2020 when things started happening, I personally saw the connection to the end time prophecies and was alarmed because the Bible foretells of these things and there are so many happening at the same time: the global pandemic and its effect on people, the on-going and escalating conflict in the middle east, the persecution of Christians today, the alliances of nations that appear to be forming, the growing anger towards Israel from surrounding nations and world leaders, the desire of nations to unite into a global governance, the removal of references to God, the rise in crime, the “all inclusive, “anything is acceptable” direction of some religions, the deception and corruption, the growing acceptance and encouragement of things the Bible identifies as immoral, the growing focus on “peace and safety” when the Bible tells us there will not be peace and safety leading up to the end, but that people will say that. All these things are prophesized in the Bible. We have been warned.

I don’t want to focus on this, I would rather just go about life and experience happiness and laughter. I miss feeling “carefree” to some extent, before when I was ignorant to what appears to be happening, before my eyes were opened to the reality of these times. But I have these thoughts sometimes when I wake that I can’t seem to ignore because they don’t go away until I take action. The thought I had for a few days now that prompted this was: people need to know and comprehend what is in the Bible, explore it for themselves, seek God, pray to God, so that He reveals the truth about all of this and then decide if you believe it or you don’t. If a person doesn’t believe the Bible, the main message won’t be known or taken seriously and a person may end up eternally separated from God. When a person understands this clearly, the Bible will have a positive impact on that person’s life. I want people to know Jesus because knowing who he is, why he was here and what he said will have a significant positive effect on our lives and our future. I want people to truly comprehend this and take action, not for my benefit, but for yours.

Please consider reading the Bible, then decide for yourself. God gives us the freedom to choose to believe or not believe.

by Categories: FAITH, FRIENDSHIP, God, HAPPINESS, Improvement, Make It Count, priorities, RELATIONSHIPS, WellnessTags: , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Eyes Opened after Looking Back

The end of the year is a logical time to reflect on life: What did we learn? Do we notice a pattern? What good happened? What are we grateful for? What do we want to change? What will our goals be heading into the New Year?

If you’ve read any of my prior blogs, you will understand this: our lives have a purpose, we are where we are for a reason. Do you know your purpose? Do you know the reason your life is the way it is right now?

I went through most of my life not thinking about this until my life was “shaken” in 2015 by an untimely death. That caused me to question everything in life: purpose, reasons, etc. I had no answers, only questions. I was confused about life and wanted answers, started searching. It led me to evaluating and making significant changes in life, taking action, but without knowing my purpose or the answers to the “reason.” I was lost, but moving, aimlessly, seeking, wanting life to be better but not knowing how to make it better.

2016 was continued seeking, transitioning to a “changed life.” I began praying more than I ever did in the past and in 2017 “surrendered” my life to Jesus, wanting his guidance. I was lost, I needed guidance, I didn’t have the answers, but I knew my way of doing things wasn’t effective; it was lacking. 2017 was a year of mild turbulence: ups and downs and I was wondering why since I surrendered but I kept my trust in God. 2018 seemed to be the turning point, everything seemed to be falling in place and I was grateful. 2019 brought a noticeable “dark cloud” into my life but I still trusted in God and went to Him for answers. I was led to the Bible and read it front to back for the first time and it literally made me want to change my life even more. My eyes were opened. I realized I was not living as God wanted me to. I decided to try to live better. I was hopeful heading into 2020. (LOL) I don’t need to explain 2020 to anyone; I think we all had the same year! But that’s when I “woke up” I realized what was happening in the world. I continued to go to God for answers to my questions and He revealed the answers in the Bible. It was amazing to experience this “communication” from God through prayer and the Bible.

2021 in summary was probably the worst year I’ve experienced in life, but not in every way: God was all I had to help me through it and He did. God is truly all I needed. When the Bible says God is faithful, God provides, God protects – all that is true. Throughout these past 6 years, I’ve learned to fully trust God. I’ve learned the answers to most of my questions (through the Bible). I have a different outlook on 2022, than I have in past years. In past years I looked forward to the hope of a better year. I don’t have that outlook this time. I don’t expect a better year. I actually expect a more challenging year, but I have all I need: God.

I have a mindset very different from a few years ago. I foresee the years ahead as getting tougher, but I KNOW (not just guess) this is only a transition to the greatest years of all time ahead, and I look forward to that with much anticipation. This is a time for endurance and perseverance. I don’t yet know how many future years ahead, but my intuition is that it won’t be too far away. Stay strong, stay connected with God and we will make it through.

by Categories: Face Fear, FAITH, God, Improvement, Make It Count, prioritiesTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Happily Ever After: The True Story Everyone Should Know

Once upon a time…yes, this is a true story, but it happened “once upon a time.” There was this creative King who enjoyed making beautiful things filled with joy and happiness. There is no one greater than Him in any way; He was the first King. He created the earth and everything in it, on it and surrounding it out of enjoyment. He created people and made them to look similar to Him. He used His own breath to breathe life into the people and make them living. He was delighted and interacted with His creation. The people He made were not like puppets or programmed a certain way, although He did give them unique abilities and skills. It was enjoyment for Him to see what they did. He gave the people complete freedom because complete freedom is love. This King became known as LOVE.

Because this King had been around for awhile, He had made other things prior to the earth. We only know a little about the prior creations He made because the beings live in a different realm than we do. There are spiritual beings that can travel between realms, unlike people who are limited. One of the spiritual beings began to think He was as good or better than the King and became competitive with the King. He convinced a few other spiritual beings that he was as good or better and they joined him in rebelling against the King, that’s how the spiritual war began.

Not very long after the earth was created, the Rebelling Being determined he would destroy everything the King created and went into action. He knew that people had certain limitations making them easily able to be manipulated and influenced by unseen spiritual forces and he knew the King loved the people. So that became the Rebel’s focus: separate the people from the King and destroy them. The Rebel was also creative in a manipulative, crafty way. He uses lies, deception, and fake promises to convince people to believe and be led by him. He started in the King’s garden and convinced the people to disobey the one rule the King gave them. He was successful at this because he put doubt in their minds and convinced them that the King was trying to limit their knowledge, keep them oppressed, and they believed the lie and disobeyed the King. At that point, the people unknowingly allowed the Rebel access to their lives and their children’s lives from that point forward. Not very long after this happened, the first murder on earth took place: one brother killed his own brother out of jealousy.

Things became even worse. Other rebellious spiritual beings from another realm came to earth and impregnated women creating unusual evil offspring. These rebellious spiritual beings also taught people things that were not meant to be known by the people of this world. The rebels taught people to contact the rebellious spiritual beings rather than the King for information and the people did. The people on the earth were quickly becoming influenced and spreading evil, killing, lying and reflecting the actions of the Rebels rather than the King. This angered the King because the good He created was being corrupted and dying, so the King decided to destroy the majority of the living beings, keeping only a small portion who remained loyal to Him. He destroyed everything with a flood and gave His people a new start.

It didn’t take long for people to be manipulated by the evil spiritual beings once again because the spiritual beings that can travel between the realms hadn’t been destroyed. So this began the cycle that continues today: people reconcile with the King, the evil spiritual beings manipulate the people, they separate from the King, the King disciplines the people so they learn a lesson, the people reconcile with the King and the evil spiritual beings manipulate people again.

As time goes on, the King finds loyal people who are willing to break this cycle and want Him to protect them from the evil beings. The King does, He is willing to do this for anyone who recognizes what is happening. The King is then able to work through the loyal people. But even the loyal people are not perfect and mess up, but the difference is that they ask for forgiveness and try to never do it again. The King gave the people 10 rules to live by and gives His Spirit along with protecting angels to help His loyal people. The King saw that the people had good intentions but were too weak to resist evil completely.

The King can’t be in the presence of evil, so this had to be solved so one day He could live with the people He created once again. He sent his Son to earth to break the curse that evil had placed on the earth. The Son lived on earth, taught people about the King and explained what was happening on the earth. Some people believed him, but others didn’t. He taught people for approximately 3 years and told those people who believed him to continue to let others know about the King. He told the people the King has future plans and everything will be made new again and the earth will be repaired and the King will once again live among the people. The Son told the people that he himself would be killed, but would continue to live (in another realm) but would someday return to to bring all who believe and love him back together, including those who had died already and those who would die in the future. All will be brought back to life by the King’s spirit, His breath of Life.

The Son was killed, but returned, living, as proof to those he had told of this. Thousands of people saw him, ate with him and communicated with him before he ascended to another realm. He promised he will return and today we are waiting for his (Jesus’) return. Those who are loyal, believe what Jesus taught and show God (the King) that we love Him by our actions (i.e. willingly obeying the 10 commands the King gave) will live forever with God after Jesus returns…happily ever after!

by Categories: FAITH, FAMILY, FRIENDSHIP, God, HAPPINESS, Improvement, Love, Make It Count, priorities, RELATIONSHIPS, WellnessTags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Our Parents, Parenting and Jesus

Oh my gosh when information found in the Bible starts connecting to various scripture throughout the Bible about a single subject, an awakening/eye opening occurs and, I felt compelled to write about this even though there are so many other things I have to do right now.

Months ago, while reading in Genesis, I noticed something that stood out to me:

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring (seed) and hers; he will crush (strike) your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:15

This is God speaking to the serpent. Does anyone else notice something odd? He is talking to a serpent and refers to your “offspring”. Look at this definition of a “serpent” too, then pay attention to a detail in Genesis 3:14:

So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You WILL crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.

This statement refers to the future, not the current moment. Evidently the “serpent” WASN’T existing as a snake crawling on its belly UNTIL God cursed it! It (the serpent) was something specific, but not what we know as a “snake” when all this took place. What we understand from the bible comes from translations and depictions in artwork, but when we study God’s word, a deeper understanding occurs. Did you ever wonder why God, in the commandments He gave to Moses, told them not to make images of ANYTHING in heaven or on earth or below earth? (See Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 4) This was meant to discourage worshiping anything other than God, but also when we make an image in our mind of something we have not seen, it is only our imagination; it is not true reality! This is also the reason many people can mock this story, saying: wow a snake talking to people, right?!…but this isn’t just a “snake”!

So after we discover the fact that this wasn’t a hissing snake that deceived Eve, then there is the second part of this odd statement: “your offspring” or “your seed”. This implies that there are offspring from this serpent! This explains why God could justifiably wipe out or destroy a bunch of people.

Remember God is just, God is trustworthy, God is faithful to His people, God NEVER abandons His people. People abandon God, by their own choice.

People may bring up examples of good people who were hurt, destroyed or died untimely deaths and say: “that is not just, that is not fair, God is not just” but the answer to this is in the Bible too. When this happens, this is NOT God! Remember that. In God’s future Kingdom, there is no death, no weeping, no pain, no disease- this is God’s future plan for those who don’t CHOOSE to abandon God! The only reason for disease, pain, sadness, depression, etc. is due to the opposing evil forces working against God in an attempt to destroy our relationship and reliance on God. God is good; only God is good. Be careful, we need to be able to recognize evil and we only get that intuition from God (the Holy Spirit) who gives wisdom and discernment. Evil forces are deceiving, why do you think Paul said to put on the armor of God? Evil spiritual forces will appear enticing, to lure us in, and then after “the lure,” they destroy us. It’s like fishing bait, where we are the fish that gets fried if we can’t discern. That is the truth.

Bad things happen to good people for two reasons, found in the bible: 1) as a consequence to our own sin that we choose or 2) if God allows it to test us, to test our trust in God, our relationship with God. You may have heard this: “Whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger” well that is the truth, and God does that to strengthen us. God could end our life, if He wanted to, but when He doesn’t, He wants us to be strengthened by that experience. We also have to remember or understand from the bible: God will RESTORE anything that is taken from us in the testing of us; this grows our faith in God. Read the book of Job if you want to understand this. This may happen in our life on earth, but it may also be reserved for eternity. Read about future blessings here. We need to trust God and have patience.

OUR PARENTS

I just comprehended this after studying the Bible. All of us are “adopted” in a sense. Our true parent, the one who created us, the one who enabled our parents to produce us, is God. We are His children. Our parents are ultimately given a purpose, from God, to raise us and to introduce us to God, to encourage us to seek God, to share the knowledge of God. And God gives our parents the choice in how they do it and if they choose to do it. Just like anything else, some are good at the job and others aren’t good at the job God gave them. But God knows parents are not perfect and He knows when a parent is trying their best or if they are not trying at all; that’s between God and that person but it doesn’t make any child less loved by God, if that child didn’t have parents who encouraged. God makes each child for a reason and with a purpose. The purpose, as we learn from the bible, is ultimately helping others so that others will enjoy God’s future Kingdom and will not be deceived by the evil spiritual forces and lose out on what God has planned for His children (us). Here is an example from the book of Jeremiah, the prophet. Get to know God personally, then help others to know God, to know the Truth.

PARENTING

If we truly comprehend the truth in the paragraph above, we will realize this is why abortion is so wrong. In an abortion, we are destroying a child that God thought of and has plans for, the child God created for a purpose. God can bring good from bad. So even if the physical connection between the parents was “bad”, trust God, seek God, God can do amazing things with that child and with us. Don’t forget that Rahab, the prostitute, was part of Jesus’ ancestry/lineage. So can good come from “bad”? Yes, Jesus was a descendant and proves this. Jesus also said there will be prostitutes entering God’s kingdom ahead of the people who know God’s word, appear religious, keep the commandments, but whose hearts are far from God. (Of course the prostitutes in this example are the ones who realize what they have done, ask God for forgiveness and change their ways; God forgives.) Remember: God forgives easier than people do; He knows what’s in our hearts.

God is our parent, he gives us guidelines to follow, but as rebellious children, we don’t listen to Him. Starting with marriage; God tells people in the bible to not intermarry with “foreign” people- this has NOTHING to do with race or nationality! This is about individuals priorities: who or what is their priority? It should be God. God is warning people that life WILL be more difficult if we don’t follow his guidelines. If one person has God as their priority and the other doesn’t, that is going to be a rough road ahead. He warns because often the person who doesn’t have God as their priority slowly turns the God focused person away from God. If you want examples of this, look at what happened in Solomon’s life, in Samson’s life, in the book of Ezra (these people took drastic measures to avoid separation from God), and those a just a few examples, there are many more. It’s ultimately about getting separated from God and loosing eternity with God (by our own choice) when we choose a partner who does not have God as a priority. History repeats, don’t think that this won’t happen today; it does. The bible is there to help us, not harm us. There is an eternity and it is one of two outcomes: 1. With God or 2. Without God.

“What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” Matthew 16:26 (Jesus’ words)

“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 24 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ 25 When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.26Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.” (Jesus’ words of warning) Luke 11 This is scary, concerning and further evidence of this spiritual war that is happening.

Read all these verses in this link about Children. Tying this into the beginning of this article; God tells us in the bible, the first book of Genesis: there is an evil spiritual seed/offspring. How do you think this happens? By uniting with someone who has evil residing in them. This doesn’t mean that it is hopeless because you have to remember that Jesus is more powerful than evil, Jesus saves and Jesus can defeat this evil spiritual force, if we seek him, call upon Him. God is faithful and merciful. Despite our shortcomings and mistakes, He ultimately loves us and wants us back. Connect with God in prayer and He will rescue a person in this situation! Last night I came across this (visit the links for the details), “Ahab” kept showing up in my reading, Ahab was connected/married to Jezebel and when you read the bible about them, that is the worst combination, look what happens to their descendants, how their character is described in these verses: “did evil”. And notice their fate too. God wants to save His children from this. Jesus is how we are saved from this; seek Jesus.

JESUS

Getting back to the initial verse in Genesis: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring (seed) and hers; he will crush (strike) your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:15

Jesus is the one that crushes the serpent/Satan’s head and Satan continually tried/tries to strike Jesus.

There are so many things the bible tells us about Jesus. He is the most powerful, and will defeat all of this evil as we are told through prophecies. Check out the numerous verses in this link.

Summary: Seek Jesus for any and all of your needs. It is only through Jesus that we will overcome the evil spiritual forces that attack and surround our broken world.

Please share this with others who may benefit in knowing this. In doing so, you may help others enjoy God’s future Kingdom.

by Categories: Dating, Face Fear, FAITH, FAMILY, God, Improvement, Love, Make It Count, Marriage, parenting, Parents, priorities, RELATIONSHIPS, SexTags: , , , , Leave a comment