Hello to you; and may the One God, Who created all things for His own good reasons, bless you and yours today and always.
Today a very important election is being held in the USA. The results of this election will affect not only the people of the United States, but also everyone else in the world. Therefore, everyone has a stake in this election; and everyone should be hoping and praying that it turns out well.
I invite all Americans to join with me in this prayer for our election today. Christians, Muslims, Jews, and all other believers in the One God can safely join in this prayer without fear of betraying their own particular faith. I also invite all non-Americans to join in this prayer, as if they were Americans today.
Dear Lord, our God, we come to You in prayer, That You will bless our efforts here today, And guide the voters to a good result.
We know that we have badly gone astray, And badly used the powers that we have. We pray that You will guide us as we vote, And change our hearts to understand Your will.
We pray that You will bless not only us, But also all the others in the world. We pray that You will lead our hearts to peace, And help us live together in Your world.
Rev. Bill McGinnis is an Internet Christian minister, writer and publisher. He is Director of LoveAllPeople.org, a small private think tank in Alexandria, Virginia, and all of its related websites, including InternetChurchOfChrist.org,CommitteeForTheGoldenRule.org,CivicAmerican.com, and AmericanDemocrat.net. His agenda is to help maximize the happiness and well-being of all people. His blog is located at http://blog.myspace.com/revbillmcginnis
The One God cannot be both Good and evil, Truth and falsehood, Light and darkness, Love and hate, Creator and destroyer. But from where we sit at the "fault line", we see both.
So how can the One God be the god of all three "great monotheistic religions?" We have witnessed hundreds of burned houses of worship, a hundred thousand refugees forced to leave their homes, tens of thousands killed, young daughters kidnapped to make wives, families killed while working in their fields. From our city large truckloads of bodies have been taken to mass graves. Some families have resisted the violence for hundreds of years, and yet the hate continues. This is not the work of the One True God.
If you think there is one god for all, you need to come here and see for yourself.
by
Craig (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments)
on Tuesday, November 7, 2006 at 1:49:48 PM
You have identified one of the biggest theological questions of all time, which is, "If there is an all-powerful One God, why does He/She/It permit bad things to happen to good people?"
Like many ohers before me, I have attenpted to answer this question, and my best complete answer is located at click here .
Here is a summarized version . . .
First, recognize that God does not permit us to understand all things at this time. Why not? I don't know. He just doesn't permit it. At the present time, we see things only dimly, as through a glass. (See 1 Corinthians 13:12)
Nevertheless, there are certain things He does permit us to know, including these:
1. God is absolute sovereign over everything. He created everything; it all belongs to Him. Nothing happens without His knowledge and consent. (see Colossians 1:16)
2. God has ordained the laws of Nature, including the laws of Physics, such as The Law Of Gravity. He does not usually interfere with their normal, mechanical, cause-and-effect operation. When He does interfere, it is considered a miracle. So when the mechanic fails to fasten the bolts, and the wing falls off the airplane, and it crashes, killing your child, God didn't do it: the mechanic did. Yes, God could have kept it from happening, but in order to do so, He would have had to interrupt the normal operation of His creation. He doesn't do that very often. Many of the bad things that happen to good people are the result of the normal cause-and-effect workings of Nature. For instance, people are designed to wear out and die. That's just the way it is. These things happen to good people and bad people alike. (See Matthew 5:45b)
3. For some reason, Satan and his demons have certain rights to exist and to act. And they hate us. They will harm us as much as they can. As Christians, we have some authority over them, but few of us know how to use it. Many of the bad things that happen to good people are caused directly by Satan and his demons. Acts 10:38 speaks of people being "oppressed of the devil." (see Acts 10:38)
4. Sometimes, God will warn us in dreams or by some other means, when bad things are heading our way. If we cultivate a close relationship with the Holy Spirit, we are more likely to be warned of impending trouble so we can avoid it. Joseph was warned in a dream to take Mary and baby Jesus into Egypt, to escape Herod who was trying to kill Jesus. (see Matthew 2:13)
5. No matter what happens, if we love Him, God will make EVERYTHING work out for our own good, even if this idea seems preposterous at the time. (See Romans 8:28)
6. The world is a very rough place. We can expect much pain and many difficulties of all kinds. Why? We don't know. That's just the way it is. (See Job 14:1)
7. The good news is that Heaven awaits us, and then all our troubles will be gone. (See Revelation 21:4)
8. Until then, we have the Holy Spirit as our Comforter, Who will be with us, helping us and loving us at all times. (See John 14:16)
For the actual Bible verses and more information, please see my HTML page at click here .
That's the best I can do.
Blessings to you. May God help us all.
Rev. Bill McGinnis
by
Rev. Bill McGinnis (87 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 19 comments)
on Tuesday, November 7, 2006 at 3:57:25 PM
