Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
This little jem was posted in a forum and a friend pasted it to his facebook page, so I am sharing it here. The authors name is Amanda Hadaway.
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1. God uses problems to DIRECT you. Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving. Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. Is God trying to get your attention? “Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways.” Proverbs 20:30
2. God uses problems to INSPECT you. People are like tea bags . . . if you want to know what’s inside them, just drop them into hot water! Has God ever tested your faith with a problem? What do problems reveal about you? “When you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience.” James 1:2-3
3. God uses problems to CORRECT you. Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure. It’s likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove. But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of something … health, money, a relationship … by losing it. “It was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws.” Psalm 119:71-72
4. God uses problems to PROTECT you. A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. Last year a friend was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss had asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem – but it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when management’s actions were eventually discovered. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good .” Genesis 50:20
AN OLD VIDEO OF MINE ANSWERING A QUESTION FROM A WORD OF FAITH MOVEMENT BELIEVER: THAT THINKS GOD WANTS **ALL HIS CHILDREN TO BE RICH AND HAVE A BIG HOUSE**
From time to time we get comments on our group blog (The Word on The Word of Faith @ https://thewordonthewordoffaith.wordpress.com/) that need to be responded to in depth. This is one case.
Demonknight2 SAID…. “Hello, Damon. Since you clearly don’t want comments that say anything nice about the guys youre against, I wont say anything. But I have to ask you SERIOUSLY your personal opinion or what you think the Bible says about the issue Perhaps God doesnt necassarily want ALL believers to be BILLIONARES. But Do you really think that as Christians, the only things were worthy of having (in Gods eyes) are the SAME things non-believers have or LESS than what non-believers have??? In other words, why would God ask believers to engage in things completely outside the realm of what the rest of the world is doing, then expect those SAME people to eat mud pies for dinner, AND LIKE IT??????
Again, are you saying that the God we serve is a turn the other cheek & eat hambergers for dinner & thank me for it type of God, while the person that slapped you is laughing with his friends about it & eating steak & has NOTHING to do with God??? Honestly, if God is going to contrast the size of our wallet to whether we love & trust in him, then perhaps its not us who are putting stock in money, maybe its really God! OK, but that sounds ridiculous, doesnt it??? But equally ridiculous? The notion that God wants, condones, or commands that all believers be LESS than the world even if the subject IS MONEY!!! Be HONEST Do you want to serve a God that sees you as not being worthy to have a house BIGGER than a person who OUTWORDLY MOCKS GOD???? Thanks”
DAMON WITSELL SAYS: The Lord has blessed some to be rich and some not. Mainline Christianity does not say that God does not want us rich NOR does it posit that God wants us to live in poverty. But the Word of God is clear that we cannot serve both God and Money (mammon), and Gods declares chose this day whom you will serve!
THERE ARE MANY WARNINGS ABOUT RICHES: 1Tim 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded; nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; Jas 1:10-11 But the rich, in that he is made (….)
‘The Average Dog is a Nicer Person than the Average Person” – 60 Minutes contributor Andy Roony
SOURCE: Does God hear the cries of those who do not communicate in human language? Does His heart respond to the fearful mewing of a motherless kitten or the exhaustion of a donkey staggering under a load far too heavy for it? Does He care about the animals that are bred in cramped quarters and exploited for profit?
God was so interested in the welfare of the animal kingdom that He created, that He even commanded Noah, in the time of judgement on the earth, to make the ark big enough to hold two of every kind of animal that existed.
The Bible actually has much to say in regard to animal abuse. In the beginning, God created the earth and all the creatures on it to be under the authority of humanity. He entrusted these beautiful elements of His creation to our care (Genesis 1:26). Our sinful nature causes us to abuse these things, sometimes without even realizing it. Yet, God expects the Christian, above all others, to be sensitive to all of His creation, knowing that exploiting or abusing it shows a disrespect for God Himself. Abuse of anything that God made is not the character of God, but rather of the Evil One.
Domestic Animals: “A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel” (Proverbs 12:10). Throughout the Bible, God shows how He expects us to care for our animals in practical ways. In the Law of the Israelites, for example, one of the purposes of the Sabbath year of rest for the land, was to let the land lie fallow–and so that the poor as well as livestock and wild animals could eat from it (Exodus 23:11 and Leviticus 25:7). The Sabbath day itself was not only for humans to rest. God also commanded us to give our animals rest on the same day. (Exodus 20:10). He also commanded the Israelites to help both their friends and enemies when their ox or donkey had fallen over, or was carrying a burden too heavy for it to bear (Exodus 23:5 and Deuteronomy 22:4). In addition, livestock were also allowed to eat as they worked (Deuteronomy 25:4). Finally, God says to us in Proverbs 27:23: “Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds.”
Part of the reason that God anointed young David to be king over Israel, was that he was a good shepherd and could be trusted with the sheep under his care, even risking his life for them when they were attacked by lions or bears (1 Samuel 17:34). God knew that if David had this sort of heart for his sheep, he would be a faithful shepherd over an even greater treasure–the people of Israel.
Wild Animals: His eye is on the sparrow: In addition to domesticated animals, God also watches over wild animals and commands us to do the same. In Deuteronomy 22:6-7, God promises a long life to those who will watch over wild birds. If we rape the land or the creatures in it, what will sustain us in the future? He allows for the taking of eggs, but commands that we release the mother bird to continue living in the wild and reproducing as He intended. In Job 38:41, God says that He hears the cries of newborn ravens crying to Him for food. Jesus went on to say that God supplies food for the wild birds and that not one of them falls to the ground without Him knowing it (Matthew 6:26, 10:29).
These small, but kind and practical commands written throughout the Bible give us good insight into how God expects us to treat animals. Surely we will have to answer to Him for any abuse that we have committed against them. God created animals for us to love and to learn from. In them, we see our own dependance upon God illustrated in their dependance upon us. We can also see elements of our foolishness manifested in them (who has not seen a crowing rooster and laughed at the comic caricature of ourselves crowing to all the world in our foolish pride?) In addition, God also tells us to learn from their wisdom:
At The End Of The Video Below Joe Kirby, From Off-The-Kirb Ministries, Has a Fascinating Discussion with This Super Hero about God, The Bible, Love, Heaven and Hell, Salvation, Jesus Christ, How Christians Should Evangelize AND MORE. It Was Very Fascinating, Indeed.
As a blogger it is my job to say something interesting, or intriguing, about this video to try to get you to watch the video, because I believe it is a great video, and I would like to see people watch the video and spiritually prosper a little more because of watching it. But this video is hard to give an adequate description of because it is so different, so I will just say this.
I have been following Joe Kirby and his ministry on Youtube for over a year now and I believe this is his best video I have seen yet. Joe does not usually do apologetics videos, or rebuking videos, or exposure type videos exposing false teachers and false teachings but here he gives very good reasons why people should be very weary of “progressive Christianity”, and yes he does give a loving rebuke to “progressive Christians”.
He starts off with the old riddle about 5 blind guys and an elephant, and how they all feel something different when feeling the elephant to show, and then to explain why, that Christianity and Biblical Truth are not up for just any and every interpretation. He talks about how progressive Christianity mimics our post modern relativistic world by claiming that all truths are true (so just be nice and accept all truths as true) and treating God’s Word no different than many Unbelievers do, thinking it can mean what ever we might think or imagine it means.
NO, God and the authors of the bible had very specific intended interpretations, and ways we are to understand biblical truths, when they wrote the Bible. And Joe explains that very well and why it really matters.
So I hope I have convinced you to watch the video because I really do think you will spiritually prosper more if you do.
ARISE SOLDIERS OF CHRIST 