Evil Exists – So What (There is a God- Pt 6 of 7)

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments”  – John 14:15

My Thoughts:
All of you must be able to see that we live in a fallen world.  The violence, bloodshed, abuse and anger that so many are experiencing today is far greater than any other time in our history.  A day doesn’t go by when we are not hearing another story of someone being shot, or multi-person murder, or violent protesting in the streets and casting insults upon one another.  Daily there are drive by shootings in neighborhoods around major metropolitan cities across America.  It’s not all gun-violence, but certainly we hear about these more so than other violent crimes.  Horror stories of sex-trafficking, child-pornography, suicides and school shootings grace the crevice of our ears almost weekly now.  Mankind has fallen and it’s almost becoming blasé and less of a shock to the average person.

What causes individuals to believe that they have the right to walk into an establishment, wave a pistol and begin shooting?  What makes a person think he is justified in kidnapping a 14 year old girl while she waits for a school bus, drug her, take her away to a foreign country and sell her for unthinkable purpose?  What differentiates their thought process from mine or yours (as you read this)? 

God created this world, mankind, and all that is in it.  The evil in this world has perverted it.  God’s word tells us of His character as perfect, righteous and holy.  When someone chooses to live outside of God’s character it is expected that they are living outside of these traits as well.  But, those of us living within God’s character, it is expected that we abide by His laws and the teaching of His Son Jesus Christ.  (John 14:21)

I’ve spoken to and listened to several atheists on this topic.  Their entire premise is that Christians need God as a crutch and Satan to blame, to avoid dealing with these difficult issues in life.  Their statements were ground in the belief that there is no supreme being, we are here for a period of time and then we are gone.  Often times they’ve read the bible cover to cover, even multiple times, and have a very thorough understanding of the message that we, “Christians”, believe.  They simply choose not to, as is their prerogative.  To them the bible is a compilation of fantasy stories told from generation to generation to appease mankind’s fear of the unknown.  At the basis, though, is a predominant feeling of self-righteousness.  Without a supreme being, a higher power, there is no one for them to answer too.  They answer only to themselves and their opinion of right vs. wrong as their guideline for life.

To this I wonder though; where does the foundation of this right and wrong come from?  Where did they learn that it is wrong to kill, to steal, or to bring harm upon another?  Where did this internal judgment complex come from?  There must be a foundation of right and wrong for them to compare their opinion against in order for them to claim that someone is doing something wrong.  What they will not admit to you is that they don’t know.  Certainly man’s laws are crafted in a manner to keep the peace between individuals, and could be claimed as the foundation of their choices and decisions. We are all obligated to uphold and live by these laws.  Dig a little deeper and ask the basic questions of where those laws were founded?  What is the premise of the laws that govern your country, county and city?  After peeling back layer after layer of the onion, most will fall back to early manuscripts which quote the 10 Commandments as a basis.

God has ingrained in every single human born an innate knowledge and sense of right vs. wrong.  Because we are made in His image, we are filled with His presence and love as our foundation during the development stages before birth.  Once born, the world begins influencing decisions and laying the second, third and fourth layer upon an individual’s character.  Life’s situations, environment and culture have much to do with an individual’s outlook on right vs wrong when we become adults.  The inability to recognize God is a learned trait, something that was taught and accepted rather than something that is believed through faith.  The most fundamental difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is our faith in something we have never seen and cannot be proven. 

We trust in the scriptures as God’s holy word and the single point of truth in the world today.  This lighthouse keeps us focused on right vs wrong in the eyes of the Lord.  When we are living by His standard of goodness, there is nothing in this world that can declare it as wrongdoing.  

Be Blessed,

Rich

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You Knew Me

Make 2014 a year of Sharing

“Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” – Psalm 139:16

There was a thin red line separating him from the masses on that day.  He had been brought before them with the accusation of murder and would now be sentenced to death.  Everything he had done, all 632 people he had killed up to that point were justified by those around him, yet here he was sitting in the gas chamber.  When they arrested him, his white lab coat was covered in red, and his hands still held the tools of his trade, by which he had used to destroy so many lives.  Now he stood before them and they screamed for his release, for his life to be spared.  The crowd gathered around the building in the streets and chanted of injustice and freedom and mercy.  They held signs and banners, that declared their rights in this life and they spit upon the courts who had ruled against him. 

Over 600 lives had been taken by this man, by his own confession and statement of record.  He had been trained by the very best and was called to perform these heinous acts at the request of the masses, who now stood and held him blameless.  Yet the unheard cries of those that perished at his hand could not be present to defend themselves, and demand justice on their behalf.  For you see, the courts and laws protected him and not them, with the exception of one.  He made a simple mistake that brought him to this day of atonement, where his very life would be taken from him against his will.  His life of working in the abortion clinic had come to an end when one of the babies survived the procedure and he chose to slice it’s throat after live birth, as it looked up at him from the operating table.  He was charged with murder in the first degree and sentenced to death as a result.  The other 631 abortions he had committed in the previous 14 years had no bearing on the decision. 

Does it make sense?  Does the fact that a baby killed within the womb is not murder yet a baby killed on the delivery table 30 seconds afterwards is.  Does this truly set well with any of us?  David writes in Psalm 139 about the incredible miraculous creation of a human child in the womb of his/her mother.  Somewhere, to our convenience in this world, we have tried to convince ourselves that it isn’t real, it’s not alive and it’s just a mass of tissue.  The reality is though that it is a living creation of God Almighty, and mankind has chosen to take what God created and throw away, like the leftovers after Christmas dinner.  Who do we think we are?

I am not a judge in the courtroom of eternal life, for there is only One.  I do not condemn those who have made bad decisions in life, for we all have in one way or another and how could one sin be forgiven and not another.  But, I believe it is wrong, and I believe it is the murder of a life, created by God the Father, that was destined for a purpose in this world of ours.  Can you imagine if Mary had lived in these days and had become pregnant out of wedlock?   Many family members, friends and doctors would have tried to convince her to abort the Savior of the World.  What if Sarah were living today?  Pregnant at 100 years old, nearly every medical professional would have told her to abort Isaac.  We have become a throw-away society focused on ourselves and what’s best for us, rather than others.  We spend billions of dollars to save trees, to save endangered animals and at the same time justify the death of 10’s of millions of unborn babies.  Jesus must be weeping over how mixed up and selfish we have become as a human race.

 I realize that there are emotional scars that are deep within the fabric and souls of women all around the world, who have endured this procedure.  I know you are silently hurting because of decisions that have been made in the past.  I want you to know, God’s love is not wavering.  He loves you and the blood from His Son’s death on the cross is sufficient to overcome even this.  His grace and love for you are never ending, and only He can provide you the strength and peace to get through your hurt and pain.  Do not turn away from Him out of fear, but embrace His forgiveness, love and grace; to pick up and move on in this life wrapped in His arms.  I lift up my prayer for all of you this morning who have or are considering this act.  Yes, you have a choice, I ask only that you make sure you fully understand it.

© Sondove Enterprises, 2014
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You be the Judge

Read It, Learn It, Live It, Share It

“Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, you forgive them all.”   - Psalm 65:3

He walked through the door, his mind was elsewhere.  The day had been a long one and the night did not look any different.  He had several projects due at work in the next two weeks and he was missing his family time.   He walked past the beer aisle and grabbed an ice tea from the cooler in the small gas station.  He walked down the aisle when he heard the bell, hanging on the door open.  Voices were raised, speaking a different language, one he wasn’t familiar with, but escalating to a yell quickly.  He walked toward the front of the store, still hidden from the cash register where the yelling was taking place.  He saw a reflection in the window of a man, wearing a mask, holding a gun at the forehead of the young man behind the counter. 

He bumped the shelving unit, startling the man with the gun and the man turned.  As he did the one behind the counter dropped down and hid to the side.  The man with the gun raised the gun and pointed it in the direction of our victim in the chip aisle.  The gunman yelled for him to get up, and then stated in plain English, “Why, why did you have to come in here tonight?  This is between him {pointing to the man hiding behind the counter} and me.  He raped my daughter, and the judge set him free.  Justice must be served.  You should not have been here.”  His hand shook as he waved the gun, with a quivering voice, he told the man to “Go – get out of here.”

So the man took the opportunity to leave and ran out the front door carrying the bag of chips and ice tea.  As he looked back over his shoulder he heard the gunshot.  He stopped in his tracks and turned to see the man with the gun falling backward against the shelves holding the bread and the young man behind the counter holding a pistol, with smoke coming from the barrel.  He immediately dialed 911 and stated the emergency.  Then he ran back toward the door, and upon opening the door saw the pool of blood under the man in the mask.  The young man behind the counter held the gun firmly pointed at the man lying on the ground and did nothing to help.  Kneeling down next to the body on the floor, he removed the mask and saw the trembling lips of a dying man whisper, “Pray for me, please.”
Just then the police pulled in and burst through the door.  They told the clerk to put the gun down, and told the customer, who was praying, to stand up away from the body.  The clerk behind the counter told the police that the customer had attempted to steal an iced tea and bag of chips, while the other man, lying dead on the floor, had held him up at gun point, so he shot him in self-defense.  Outside on the ground lay the bag of chips and the bottle of iced tea, shattered on the pavement, as proof that indeed the man had left the store without paying, despite the fact that he came back in.

You are the police overseeing this situation.  Who’s right?  Who’s wrong?
You don’t know all of the details behind the intruder’s motives.  You don’t realize that the customer ran from the store to protect his own life.  You don’t realize that the man behind the counter is a serial rapist that has been caught but never indicted.  Does any of this matter based on the facts of this case?
Which of the above committed sins are unforgivable?

- man with a gun enters the store, intent on killing the clerk to avenge the rape of his daughter

- customer runs out the door without paying for the merchandise

- clerk behind the counter shoots and kills the intruder

God knows all things at all times.  The motives, the circumstance, the history and the future.  In this case would it be justice that all of these individuals be given the same eternal resting state?  If you had God’s perspective on the situation, would you forgive the customer, most likely yes?  Would you forgive the man behind the counter for shooting the intruder?  Would you forgive the intruder for his intent on killing the clerk?  The answer to all of these is unequivocally, yes, with one caveat – have they accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  Grace is given, not based on fairness and equity, but based on the love of the Father for all mankind, for those who seek Him through His Son Jesus Christ.  Now we can debate all day long who in this situation had truly accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and who had not, based on the lives that they are leading. 

Only God knows the heart of each man, and only God can judge the righteousness and sanctity of mankind against their faith and trust in His Son’s sacrifice.  Each of these men have the same value in God’s eyes and were all born into this world to serve Him with the one life He gave them.  Let us leave it to God to determine who does and who does not enter into His Kingdom.  We are charged to be right with God in our life and represent His glory and grace to those around us, such that they will see the love of God through us.  God’s grace is sufficient to cover all sins and unrighteousness for those who have accepted His Son.  Who are we to say that it isn’t?


© Sondove Enterprises, 2013
For more Daily Thoughts go to: http://sondove.blogspot.com