You have heard it said that if it was too late for you, that you would not even be able to be concerned about your salvation.  The fact that you feel “called”, means that today, it is not too late.

If this is true, then if you do not sense your closeness to God, could this mean that you are lost?

John 6:44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

Philippians 2:12-13, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

Because God draws you through the inner working of His Spirit, you cannot even desire to do His will without the Spirit.

Consider these verses.  God contrasts for us what doing His will entails.  In some verses we see a contrast between God’s people and they way they live and those that reject God:

Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”

Galatians 5:19-22, “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.  

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

John 15:14, “You are my friends if you do what I command.”

Revelation 14:12, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”

1 Timothy 3:1-4, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.

I was considering the story of the 12 virgins.  How they would not have been there at all if they were incapable of doing God’s will. That day, they would not have responded to the Spirit to go meet the bridegroom.  But they were there.  In the right place at the right time.  But their relationship to God was not sufficient.

A man one day made a decision to start his day with Bible study and he also decided to read the daily devotionals on Amazing Facts.  So each morning he rose up a bit early and went to a solitary place in his home and prayed and did his morning worship.  He also decided that he wold continue his nighttime worship before bed.  He set in his mind that this he would try to form a habit of morning and nighttime study because he recognized his need to be closer to God.  After a few days he noticed his thoughts were more on God during the day.  He even decided to start a Bible study group online.  One day, he had a conversation with a someone close to him which quickly became a dispute.  Within minutes he went from having a respectful dispute to yelling and cursing and tossing things about.  The next day, he came to himself and realized that he too had little oil in his lamp.  

The mechanics of Christianity does not create a relationship with God.  The great news is that God wants to help us with this.

Matthew 7:21-23, ““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

In the passage of Scripture above we see lost people who believed they were doing some good, prophesying, doing many miracles and driving out demons.  This is work of people that thought they had a relationship with God but He didn’t know them.

It is hard to imagine that a person can hear God speaking to them through the pleading of the Holy Spirit and ignore it.  But it is true that some pick and choose what they will follow, what sin they will continue to indulge, and where they will harden their hearts.  Often we believe we take a calculated risk, believing that we have time left to get right with God.

Hebrews 3:12-15, “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. As has just been said:

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I often get asked, If there is a God, or if God is real, then why is there so much evil and suffering in the world?  It is a good question.  It is logical to ask if God is all powerful and loves us then why do the innocent suffer?  Why does it seem that when catastrophe strikes it is indiscriminate in whom it claims, young, old, Christian, Atheist or Muslim,  rich or poor, white or black?  Why does it often seem that the wicked prosper greatly while the innocent and the good get taken advantage of?    Why would God allow this?

I heard a good point in a recent sermon I watched.  The pastor reminded us that in the beginning, a perfect God created a perfect world, with perfect people.  But when we look around us we see the opposite.  We see death and abuse and greed and fear.  So when you read the Bible you have to ask, “what happened?”

He gave the example that goes like this:  In the morning you wake and tidy your home.  You vacuum, do the dishes, wipe down every surface, do laundry and put the laundry away and when you are leaving your home, you glance back and see that everything is good.  Everything is in place and you have staged it with flowers so that it will be pleasantly welcoming when you return.  But after a long day at work, you return to find your front door broken, and your home is a mess.  There is graffiti on your walls and most of your belongings are destroyed or missing.  Your immediate thought would be “What happened?”

Jesus describes it best in Matthew 13:24-30.  “Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.  So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?  He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?  But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”

Notice how people are questioning the farmer.   A good farmer plants good seeds.   But the people ask, “did you not sow good seed in the field?”  Perhaps in their minds they are questioning whether the farmer is a good farmer or a bad farmer.   No good farmer would plant bad seed.

The focal point of the parable is the answer.  “He said unto them, An enemy has done this.”

In our world, we see much suffering and imperfection.   How could this have happened?  How could we have gone from a perfect creation with perfect people to this decay.   The answer is simple and speaks to the great controversy.  An enemy has done this.

Revelation 12:9, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

So in our world, we see both growing together, the bad and the good seed.  “ Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”

The enemy is seldom mentioned when discussing why there is so much suffering in the world.  God is blamed.  But a study of the great conflict that we are all part of is critical in understanding the forces that impact us daily and how this will end.  When will the harvest be?

The post Why Is There Evil in the World? appeared first on The Balanced Life: Bible Study and Christian Bible Discussion.

Each day we choose what we do, where we go, what we see and what we hear.  If there is something you do not want to hear, for the most part, you can walk away, turn it off or change the channel.

Consider that some people start their day with the alarm clock, springing out of bed ( or after several applications of the snooze button, slowly slide out of bed), shower, get dressed, grab a small breakfast, gulp down the mornings coffee and away to work.  While others, as soon as they open their eyes in the morning thank God for life and the beautiful new day.  They spend time in God’s word before showering.  They are thankful to God for providing breakfast.  Ask for God’s protection before the place the car in gear, or venture out of the home and are in constant contact all day with their maker.

We choose how we start our day, how we prepare our minds and how we prepare our allegiance.  The question in all situations is “who will I serve?”.  In all situations, you can choose to give into sin, or not.  The Bible says that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to resist.

1 Corinthians 10:13
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

So when temptation arises, and so often temptation is specifically engineered to appeal to our deepest desires, how do we resist?  Do we have the strength to resist?  If we don’t, are we doomed to give into sin?

I find that many times, we have the internal strength to resist.  When we do, we feel good that we have overcome that sin in that moment.  But often, we give in and know while giving in that we have crossed the line.  After, we feel guilt and shame and wonder, is it possible to be truly dead to sin?  The Bible says that God is to be our strength:

Exodus 15:2
“The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God…”

2 Samuel 22:33
“God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.”

Psalm 59:17
Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defense, and the God of my mercy.

If you find that sin has got you and you have daily struggles with sin addiction, make a commitment to truly serve God.  I know it is scary.  You will loose things.  But you will gain.  And the things you lost that you desired will begin to look strange.  Tray this daily:

1) Wake one hour earlier than normal and start your day with a prayer of thanks and a request for God’s protection.
2) Spend 30 minutes in Bible study.  This shouldn’t be heavy study.  If you do not have formal Bible studies, I recommend selecting any of the following to start: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Genesis, Psalms and Proverbs.  If you would like to have more structured studies, I recommend visiting Amazing Facts study guide page.  http://www.amazingfacts.org/free-stuff/bible-studies/study-guides.aspx.
3) For the next week, change the music you listen to.  When I say the next week, I actually mean to start today and eliminate songs that glorify sin.  We know the songs.  There are so many excellent Christian songs out there, from classic hymns to country, to r&b, rap, easy listening, you name it.  On your daily commute, at work, on your portable listening device, at home, change the influences that you allow into your day.  It takes only a moment to hear and a lifetime to forget.

4) Start talking to God.  Always.  God wants to be close to you.  There is so much that God wants you to know but it is hard to hear the voice of God when our minds and hearts are not prepared to hear Him.  Prayer is good, but talking to God can be while driving, or in the grocery store, even in the middle of a conversation.  Practice closeness with God through conversation.  This is sometimes difficult at first and often awkward feeling as we hear ourselves speak to God.  To some, it identifies daily our need for God and the insufficiency of our lives without Him.  But Start with praise, thanking God every time you see His goodness or see His works in your life.

Try these few daily practices.  You will be surprised that in a month, you will notice small changes that brings you closer to your creator.  When God works in your life, share His goodness toward you with others.  It is hard for me not to take credit for the things in my life.  My job, home, or car.  But these things are blessings from God and for the glory of God.  God wants you to have an abundant life to His glory.  So be sure as you see grace of God in your life to give Him glory!

God Bless!

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