Bad Things Archives - Page 3 of 4

What Kind Of Savior Is Jesus? Precise!

February 5, 2015 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Jesus Could Do
Anything And Everything
But He Hasn’t
Promised To

Jesus isn’t a rabbit’s foot, four leaf clover, wishbone or lucky charm.

Plastic replicas of Him on the dashboard will not keep you safe.

Any one of those things may salve you psychologically, and I’m happy for you if they help, but trinkets around your neck do not save.

I don’t doubt Jesus wants all of us to be safe. I also don’t think it’s His wish or will for anyone to hurt, get sick or die ever, for any reason, but we do. He doesn’t prevent these pains. Bad things happen occasionally. It’s inevitable.

Honesty Helps

We need to be honest with the facts. To believe Jesus is the Savior for every possible bad experience, makes Him a failure and us dupes.

But if our understanding of salvation is a little more focused, if we allow limits on what we expect, then we can eliminate several things from salvation’s list. For example: [Read more…] about What Kind Of Savior Is Jesus? Precise!

Finding God In Life – Offenses Must Come

April 23, 2013 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Offenses Must Come
Avoid The Ones You Can
Use The Ones You Can’t

God isn’t isolated to one area or one time slot each week, like church.

He’s in church, yes, but no more so than the office or the kitchen or the wee hours of the morning when we can’t sleep. God is a little bigger than a few small segments of your life.

He’s everywhere all the time and He’s never idle.

He’s listening and responding even when He isn’t doing any apparent thing in your behalf.

He tags along everywhere we go, in church and out, and that means He is aware of it when we feel like people are throwing stones at us. He feels the impact of every stone but rather than protect us, He uses those “stone throwing” moments to help us learn.

Church is His classroom. Life is His internship.

Sometimes, however, we miss opportunities to gain valuable experience because we respond to life’s difficulties the wrong way. We feel cheated, insulted, unfairly passed over, misrepresented, falsely accused or manipulated. Offensive, all of it! – and we call on God to make it go away as if He is our personal judge, prosecutor and jury.

We cry and moan and writhe in pain and we usually do this because revenge isn’t really an option. Unfortunately, there is only one thing that helps and it is the last option on the list if it’s on the list at all.

Forgive all the stone throwers!

Offenses Are Inevitable

Now, before I say more about forgiveness please understand that offenses are inevitable and Jesus is the one who made the point.

For offenses must come. (Matthew 18:7 – NKJV)

The proof of that statement is the reality we live everyday. Offenses occur more regularly than the sun rises and they come from every direction: [Read more…] about Finding God In Life – Offenses Must Come

Finding God In Life – What About The Pain?

April 8, 2013 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Don’t Run From Pain
Or Wish It Away
God May Be The Author

It is quite normal to find God in church but that isn’t the only place we can expect to find Him. God is a little bigger than a church service (omnipresent) and I’m sure He is active more than one hour a week so we should expect to find Him mingling in all of life and by “life” I mean everything outside of church.

Since He created life for us, and us for life, we shouldn’t be surprised to find Him tagging along when we leave church.

Church does serve an important purpose but a very limited one. It is only a classroom and offers only theory. Life offers what the classroom can’t, experience. It is the lab where we learn to apply the theory and God is involved in both places. He instructs us in one and mentors us in the other.

God Isn’t On Emergency Standby

Most people do invoke God’s presence in their daily living but more as a protector or body guard or shield. He gets called for emergencies only.

Life can be hard and we don’t like “hard.” We much prefer easy and convenient. The ideal job is one in which productivity smoothly moves along and the people we work with are always agreeable but who has a job like that.

If you have a boss, and most people with jobs do, he or she is constantly expecting performance quotas to be met. Even if you work for yourself, bill collectors are there to remind you of the same.

And if you are fortunate enough to achieve financial security – that is you don’t have to work – you find you must still work hard and smart to maintain the value of your resources, whether they be investments or savings.

You can’t really get away from it. There is constant pressure and that pressure sometimes produces pain. Jobs aren’t the only source of pain but it one common to us all.

And the question is, where is God when the pain comes? In our thinking God and pain can’t be reconciled. Pain is a problem and God is the solution.

Well, Unfortunately, God is not Vicodin or a magic wand and Life, which can sometimes be painful, is His training ground. [Read more…] about Finding God In Life – What About The Pain?

Snickers, Snivels and Successes

October 24, 2012 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

The Inability To Do One Thing
Highlights Abilities To Do Others

We recently had Snicker Sunday at church. It was great fun and tasty too. Every person was given a Snickers Chocolate bar but the sermon wasn’t about the bar. It was a gimmick. It made people curious and allowed me to introduce a discussion on why people snicker at the perceived inabilities of others or snivel over the inabilities they don’t have.

Tales of this happening in the younger years are legion. Kids try to do some particular thing, academically, athletically or socially, and fail. Peers snicker and the failing individual snivels.

To start the discussion I introduced several disabled but notable people: [Read more…] about Snickers, Snivels and Successes

7 Reasons A Miracle May Not Be Your Best Option

December 11, 2011 by EnnisP 2 Comments

God Uses Life
Not Miracles
To Stimulate Growth

I recently answered several questions about miracles. The questions originally came from an agnostic/atheist type (Agath) who thought miracles were nonsense and I partly agreed. Agath’s questions were aimed at Christians and for obvious reasons. Who else makes more noise about miracles.

My intent was to answer Agath’s questions, which implied God doesn’t exist and therefore miracles can’t happen. My intent in this post is quite different.

I want to bring a little sense to the grab bag approach to miracles popularized in some circles. It might seem strange but in one sense I agree with Agath here. But that really shouldn’t surprise you. Because Atheists and Christians differ on a few important issues doesn’t mean they disagree on everything. It also doesn’t mean all Christians agree.

So, this post is aimed at Christians who I believe are confusing the issues and making it difficult for practically minded people to believe.

The problem, as I see it, is this. Some Christians are claiming a large number of miracles – of the most sensational kind – and suggesting miracles are promised on demand.

I say “some” because not all Christians agree. I, for one, am of a different opinion and I’m not alone. Many of us are a little skeptical about all the claims.

And it’s a sensitive issue for everyone. Who hasn’t been desperate enough to want a miracle occasionally? When life gets hard, unpredictable and cruel, what better (easier) way to solve the problem than pour a miracle on it.

God, however, hasn’t promised that and the few promises He has made that require miracles in order to be fulfilled have little to do with your personal problems or wish list.

So, let’s analyze the concept of miracles and answer a few questions. [Read more…] about 7 Reasons A Miracle May Not Be Your Best Option