“Why is God Allowing this to Happen to Me?”

As people walk away from homes that are in foreclosure, or are dismissed from jobs that they have enjoyed for years, some may be asking the question, “Why is God allowing this to happen to me?”

Some people are at a loss on how they will pay the bills, or put food on the table for their family.Make no mistake about it, when you have no means by which to meet your responsibilities it can add a tremendous amount of stress to your life.

9 years ago, to no fault of my own, I lost a good job that provided well for my family.I was informed about the layoff on Friday and on Sunday my wife informed me that we would be having our 3^rd child in a few short months.

As a Christian I took this in stride, knowing that God would provide for us just as He always had.I would find another job and life would continue just as it always had.

3 months later, we were broke and I was still out of a job.I discovered later that when employers found out that I was on layoff and would be returning to my old job at a better salary that they had no interest in me…except for one company.

The local Hog Processing Plant would take nearly anyone who was willing to work.Reluctantly I took the job and began working on the “kill floor” on the maintenance crew.When I first started I wondered how I would ever get past the smell of death in the air, but soon found out that the smell was the least of my worries.

My first day on the job a “jaw pulling machine” got jammed with a hog jaw and it took 3 of us pulling on a pry bar for 10 minutes to unlock the machine.No sooner that we were done with that we had another call to a conveyor belt.

We literally had to run to the conveyor belt (sliding on “who-knows-what” on the floor), where we found that the belt was stuck because hog guts were jamming the line.Since it was my first day on the job I got the honor of crawling on my stomach under the belt where I pulled the innards out of the machine.Luckily it worked.

On breaks I changed bloody saw blades.When machines broke down I did whatever it took to get those machines up and running again.I learned to become a master plunger when blood and guts clogged the pipes.And I did it all for less then half of my former salary.

At home bill collectors were calling because we simply couldn’t pay our minimum payments.We struggled by, paid what we could and lived on next to nothing.Thankfully the Lord provided for us through the kindness of others.Around Christmas we received an anonymous envelope in the mail with money, a gift from a brother at our local church no doubt.Family members occasionally would provide groceries.This was very humbling and appreciated all at the same time.

 

Eventually God opened other doors and this time period in my life was over.When we were going through that time, it seemed as if it would never end.It was a painfully tough, pride swallowing time for me and my wife.However I thank God for that time in our life.

It was when we were struggling to make ends meet that we learned some very important lessons about life.We learned the value of a dollar.We learned about the pitfalls of debt.We learned that God does provide exactly what we need exactly when we need it, even if we don’t want it.

I also learned that God is sovereign.It didn’t matter what I wanted, it didn’t matter what I did.God’s will be done.It was His will for me to work at the Hog Processing Plant, and I had to  just bow to the will of the  King.

That brings me back to the question that we started with.“Why is God allowing this to happen to me?”Perhaps we are not asking the right question.

Perhaps the question should be something like this.“Why has God given me, a rotten sinner, anything?”The only thing that we sinners deserve is death, Hell, and destruction.

I am convinced that if I had not lost my job 9 years ago and went to work at the Hog Plant that I would be making the same foolish mistakes today that I made then.I would be spiritually stagnant and my relationship with Christ and my family would be infantile.

Why is God allowing this to happen to you?Who are we to question God?Consider what God says to Job in this passage from Job 38 1-4.

“Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.Where was thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?declare, if thou hast understanding”

Does Bernie Madoff Deserve Hell?

He has become the embodiment of all that is evil.  His image has become the latest “2 minute hate” for all who are loosing money in the stock market.  He is Bernard Madoff.

There is no doubt about it, Bernie Madoff is guilty, he admits it, and he deserves to go to prison.  He knew what he was doing was wrong and he did it anyway.  He lied to his clients, his family, his friends, and to those who loved him and to those whom he loved.  He’s a liar and a cheat.  He’s a sinner and deserves to go to hell.

With all of that said, please allow me to point out some lessons that we can all take from the Madoff scandal and some, antithetical view points.

The Big Fish Story

This scandal is the atypical story of how a little white lie can grow into a white whale.  I’m sure that when he was in college preparing for his career that he didn’t set out to lie, steal, and cheat his way to riches, and then to prison.  It probably started out as a “one time thing” to earn a little extra money, “just this one time.”  He got away with it once, no one got hurt, and thus he knew how to get away with it time and time again.  Before he knew what happened he had a raging river of deceit on his hands that he could not turn back.

Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick

Not only was he getting away with it, but he was being richly rewarded for it as well.  He became the investment guru for many stars and they loved him as they thought they were making them money “hand over fist.”  The pressure that he was under must have been great.  In retrospect it is a wonder that he didn’t die from a heart attack before he was caught.

This is what he said in court, “When I began the Ponzi scheme I believed it would end shortly and I would be able to extricate myself and my clients from the scheme, however, this proved difficult and ultimately impossible…As the years went by, I realized that my arrest and this day would inevitably come.  I am painfully aware that I have deeply hurt many, many people, including the members of my family, my closest friends, business associates and thousands of clients who gave me their money…I cannot adequately express how sorry I am for what I have done.”

You see that is how Satan works.  He gets you to accept little compromises along the way and before you know it you have compromised everything that you once stood for and believed in.

In Luke 12:3: Jesus says, “Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in the darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.”

Is anyone else responsible?

As I have been following this story I have not heard anyone name any other responsible parties.  I would like to take the time now and name some other parties that are also responsible for Madoff’s clients loosing their money.

1.         Madoff’s Clients

Aren’t adult people responsible for their own money?  Shouldn’t  they bare some responsibility in knowing where their money was invested and to get some type of proof?  From what I have read, Bernie would at times hand write an amount on a piece of paper and the clients would accept what he wrote as the gospel.  Now that’s faith!  I have also read that some of the clients have said that they have lost everything, their entire life savings.  Have they never heard that you don’t put all of your eggs in one basket?  Lets be honest, they were greedy.  They thought that they had an inside to making big returns on their money because of their stature in their community.  Yes they were victims, but they allowed themselves to be victimized.

2. The Government

Social Security is a very large Ponzi scheme, nothing more or less.  He probably justified his actions in his own mind by looking at the social security.

3. Wall Street

Investing in the stock market is risky.  You can loose all of your money.  Everyone knows this, yet most people continue to invest their money into the stock market.  When you knowingly put your money into a vehicle where you can loose it all, this is called gambling.  We can give it proper sounding names like mutual fund, but no mater how you slice it, it is gambling. Wall Street facilitates this type of gambling.  It is driven by fear and greed.  The same emotional states of mind that drive the casinos in Las Vegas

Bernard Madoff is a criminal and will probably spend the rest of his life in jail, and deservingly so.  He sinned against his family, his friends, and against God.  You know, when I think about it, so have I, and so have you.  We have all sinned against our family, friends and against God.  We all deserve to go to hell.

“For we have all sinned, and come sort of the glory of God.”  Romans 3:23

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16

Salvation and forgiveness is available to us all through Jesus Christ, even to public enemy number one, Bernard Madoff.

Church Shootings – What’s Going On?

By Bodie Hodge, AiG–U.S.

There Is a Problem

When a man walks into a church and guns down the pastor, perhaps the question we should ask isn’t “Why did this happen?” but “Should we really be surprised?” In a society where people live by their own whims and ignore God’s rules (even those in the church), such as not to murder, we continue to reap the bitter fruit of such a philosophy.

Judges 17:6
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Christ is King and sits above any authority on earth (of course, some reject this, but Christ still reigns—whether they want to admit it or not.) The King says not to murder. But people are taught that they are their own authority. Hence, the King’s rules are often neglected as people raise their own beliefs to be greater than God.

Violence Increasing

If people set their own rules—and many in today’s humanistic culture have been taught to do this from an early age—then be prepared. School shootings, church shootings, and other acts of violence, sadly, will increase. For a listing of some of school shootings in the U.S. please visit this off-site website, Keys to Safer Schools This website used to keep a map of the U.S. school shootings, but it was forced to stop updating it in 2006 because there were so many. The site claims, “We are unable to keep up with a graphic view of school violence.”

Many of you may recall the shooting in Columbine and other high schools, but even universities have suffered such tragedy, such as Northern Illinois University on February 14, 2008, and Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007.

Now even churches are becoming targets of violence. In late 2007, a shooter, who had a Christian background, went into a mission and a church and became a murderer. And when someone claims to be a Christian, but defies God’s Word and murders, then they have raised their own beliefs above God’s Word, showing humanistic influence.

But shootings are not limited to the U.S. Perhaps the most famous international school shooting was a student in Finland who, due to evolutionary beliefs, decided to put “natural selection and survival of the fittest back on tracks!”

Why?

On Sunday March 8, 2009, violence erupted in Marysville, Illinois, in a Baptist church. A shooter opened fire on pastor Fred Winters, who was standing in the pulpit. Our hearts and prayers go out to the pastor’s family and others in the church, specifically those who were injured trying to subdue the shooter.¹

When such tragedies strike, people often want to assign blame. Sometimes there are other pertinent factors, but ultimately the root cause is sin. We are in a sin-cursed world because our ancestor, Adam, sinned against God. Because Adam sinned, we all have sinned and continually choose to sin.

We were all in Adam when he sinned, just as Levi (Abraham’s great-grandson) was in Abraham when he tithed to Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:9–10). But we can’t simply blame Adam for all the problems because we sin too. It may seem like a difficult situation with no escape, but through repentance and faith in Christ, one can be saved. But being saved does not mean that there will be no hardships as long as we remain in a sin-cursed world; however, the sting of death, which is the ultimate punishment for sin, will be thwarted (1 Corinthians 15:51–58).

What Can Be Done?

In today’s society, Christians are letting the philosophy of “people setting their own rules” go too far. It is time for Christians to challenge humanistic ideas on all fronts to “cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5) The humanistic philosophy that has taken over society, particularly in the past 50 years, is bearing ugly fruit. If this fruit continues to grow unabated, it will bring our society crashing down around us.

The first way to counter this is to begin with ourselves—then our families, then our churches, and then our culture. We need to have answers about why the Bible is true, why it is the authority, and about the God to whom we are accountable.

Invitation

Fred Winters, the pastor who was shot, is now with the Lord: he died a martyr’s death like most of Jesus’s disciples. Like Jesus’s disciples, Pastor Winters devoted his life to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. For those who may be reading this and are unsure of their salvation, we invite you to consider the claims of Christ and the good news that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord. For more, please see:

• The Good News
• Why Does God’s Creation Include Death & Suffering?

And I would encourage you to find a local church and speak to the pastor concerning salvation. For a good biblical overview, I suggest reading Genesis 1–11, the Gospel of John, the book of Romans, and then Revelation 21–22. This will give you a good overview.

Help keep these daily articles coming. Support AiG.

I found this to be an excellent aritlce found on the Answers In Genesis Website.  Thanks to Ken Ham for his Creation Ministry, and to Bodie Hodge for this Article.  Please visit their website at http://www.answersingenesis.org

The Biggest Crisis in America

There is an economic crisis in America, but it is not our biggest crisis.

The Associated Press today released some numbers from americanreligionsurvey-aris.org

a national survey on religion in America.

Here are some of the numbers.

• 15% of the respondents said they have no religion. An increase from 14.2% in 2001, and 8.2% in 1990.
• Northern New England Surpassed the Pacific Northwest as the least religious Region.
• 34% of Vermont reported that they have no religion
• The numbers of Americans with no religion rose in every state
• Mainline Protestants dropped from just over 17% to 12.9% of the population
• 30% of married couples did not have a religious wedding ceremony
• 27% said they did not want a religious funeral
• 12% of Americans believe in a higher power but not the personal God at the core of monotheistic faiths.
• 1.2% said they were part of new religious movements, including Scientology, Wicca, and Santeria
• Evangelical or born-again Americans make up 34% of all American adults and 45% of all Christians and Catholics.
• Muslim Americans grew to 0.6%

Our biggest crisis in America today is a spiritual crisis. Christians have no where to look but into the mirror when looking at these statistics. If we were at lest discipling our own children these numbers would be increasing for Christ.

Until we take seriously the commandments of God, the economic crisis doesn’t really matter.

Sinking Sand

As the Financial Tsunami makes landfall it is destroying everything within its path.  It is taking homes, mortgage companies, banks, investment companies, automobile manufactures, small businesses, large businesses, jobs, and anything or anyone else that has built their future on the sinking sands of debt.

“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:  And the rains descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not:  for it was founded upon a rock.  And every one that heareth these saying of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:  And the rains descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: And great was the fall of it.” Mathew 7:24-27

In the area in which I live a large home builder just went out of business.  They cited the current economic environment was too tough for them to survive.  It’s true, the present economic environment is very difficult for home builders or anyone else involved with real estate to survive.  However, just a few short years ago they were making money hand over fist.  Their sales were booming and people were building a lot of homes.  What happened to all of the money that they earned when times were good?

I’ll tell you where it went.  It went to banks in interest payments.

This builder, like many other large builders, operated from a “stay in debt business model”.  It was working from the “microwave worldview” that it must be the biggest builder in the nation, right now!

They used debt to acquire land to be developed into building lots.  They used debt, in the form of a business credit line, to ‘ready’ the land for homes to be built.  They used debt to build spec. homes to be sold.

This type of operation is understandable (although risky) for a new start up business with a limited amount of cash.  However, for many builders and businesses there is no plan to get out of debt, and to operate the business debt free.  When profits are earned they are spent on bonuses, and dividend payments.  Interest paid to the bank is simply another category on the expense side of the ledger.  Sinking Sand.

The travesty of the whole thing is that’s what is taught in most business colleges today.  The students are not taught the pit falls of debt.  Debt is taught as a cost to do business.

It is more then just bad news for this builder and its employees.  There are many people who will suffer the consequences of the builder’s debt.  The towns in which land was acquired is now in questions.  Will this land sit empty with no use for several years?  What about the customers that were in the midst of building a new home; will their home be completed?  What about other companies (landscape companies, roofing companies, etc…) that became yoked with this builder; will they have to go out of business too?

I am not trying to pick on this one company, but I am using them as my example of how most businesses, large and small operate.

Debt kills, it destroys, and it enslaves.

With this in mind, think about these statistics.

• About 43% of American families spend more than they earn each year.
• Average households carry some $8,000 in credit card debt.
• Personal bankruptcies have doubled in the past decade.
• Consumers owe nearly $2 trillion. (not including mortgage debt)  That’s $18,654 per household

The current national debt is $10,964,973,383,260, and growing.  (Just in case you need to know that’s nearly $11 Trillion!)  It continues to grow at an average pace of $3.71 Billion per day.

At every level of our society (Government, Businesses, Households) debt continues to grow.  It there any wonder why

Thailand Tsunami Destruction

we are facing judgment?  We ignore the warning from God about debt and then we pray for blessings.

Make no mistake about it, the Financial Tsunami has made landfall, and only God knows how far it will go.  When it finally does recede we will then begin to see the destruction that it has brought forth upon our land and upon the world.  What an opportunity for the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Global Financial Summit

This is a Ron Paul video on the G20 Summit that is presently taking place.  He does an excellent job of articulating the direction that our country is likely to go.

The Family is Important

According to the Bible everyone has a role. Men are to provide for their families and to be the heads of their households. Women are to be the keepers at home so that the word of God is not blasphemed. Children are to be obedient so that they may live long upon the earth. The older men and women are to teach the younger men and women. Everyone has a job, and when it is done correctly not only is their harmony within the family but there is also economic prosperity.

The family is important, but the post-modern society has redefined what the family is and what it looks like. It has redefined the rolls of the family members. It has taken what is beautiful and right and turned it completely upside down. Sadly, the word dysfunctional almost naturally goes in front of most families these days.

This destruction of the Biblical family may be the greatest reason for the Financial Tsunami that is coming. I am working on a series of messages that will outline the roles that we are all suppose to be fulfilling, the benefit of doing things God’s way, and the consequences for ignoring the Bible and doing things our own way.

Please check back as I will post these messages soon.

Federal Reserve Refuses to Identify Recipient(s) of $2 Tillion

Very Interesting Article from Bloomberg.

Fed Defies Transparency Aim in Refusal to Disclose (Update2)

By Mark Pittman, Bob Ivry and Alison Fitzgerald

Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve is refusing to identify the recipients of almost $2 trillion of emergency loans from American taxpayers or the troubled assets the central bank is accepting as collateral.

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in September they would comply with congressional demands for transparency in a $700 billion bailout of the banking system. Two months later, as the Fed lends far more than that in separate rescue programs that didn’t require approval by Congress, Americans have no idea where their money is going or what securities the banks are pledging in return.

“The collateral is not being adequately disclosed, and that’s a big problem,” said Dan Fuss, vice chairman of Boston- based Loomis Sayles & Co., where he co-manages $17 billion in bonds. “In a liquid market, this wouldn’t matter, but we’re not. The market is very nervous and very thin.”

Click the link below to read the entire article.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aOngFPgq7r3M&refer=home

U.S. Looses $35-70 Trillion in GDP Since 1973

What is the socioeconomic impact of 50.5 million abortions we have had in the United States since 1973?   It is estimated that abortions have cost the United States of American $35 to $70 Trillion in lost in lost GDP (Gross Domestic Product), and that is a conservative approach to the numbers.

Let me say that again, abortions are costing our economy $35 Trillion dollars conservatively. The number could actually be closer to $300 Trillion!

That’s lost businesses, lost customers, lost tax payers, lost producers, fewer people contributing to social security, and less people to share health care costs. These lost businesses could provide for millions of jobs. The lost customers could be buying cars from GM, Chrysler, or Ford right now. These lost tax dollars could go to pay for more teachers, and local government projects. These lost producers could be providing Wal-Mart with goods, instead of them coming from China. Social security could be healthy, and health insurance rates could be lower.

I won’t go into the probability that of these 50.5 millions murdered people the likelihood that they would be inventors, or leaders, or neighbors that we could learn from. What would an extra 50.5 million citizens do for our country from a military stand point? The realm of possibilities is endless for even one life, let alone 50.5 million.

We are now beginning to feel the effects of the loss of Trillions of dollars in lost GDP. The amazing thing is that while we are in the middle of this economic crisis, we have elected a president that supports abortion at any time during the pregnancy. He even voted for infanticide.

“Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.” Psalm 127 3-5

Sin never goes unpunished. We have been killing the innocent as a nation since 1973, and God has been longsuffering. I believe that one of the greatest reasons that we are on the cusp of an economic disaster is because of the sin of abortion.

Can Anyone Spare Some Change?

“Vote for Change”; A very popular slogan for nearly every candidate in nearly every race this election. President elect Barak Obama’s spread the wealth philosophy may have everyone scrounging under the cushions of the couch looking for loose change before we know it.

His socialistic/communistic view to take from the rich and give to the poor would make even Robin Hood blush. Robin Hood was fighting against a tyrant, while Obama plans to use his tyrannical ideology to steal from the working man to finance the man who will not work.

The real shame in this line of thinking is that it not only takes from the achievers, but it also robs our nation from the “pull yourself up by the boot strap,” grit and determination that has made this country what it is, or maybe rather, what it was.

God’s word clearly states that if a man will not work then neither shall he eat. This is not some cold callus attitude that says that we should turn away the poor; in fact it is just the opposite, but it does hold men accountable for laziness.

We should feed the poor, and visit the widows and the prisoners. But this should be done out of charity or love. The government should not take from someone who will work and given to someone who will not work.

However, when the smoke clears and the dust settles, this call for socialism that so many Americans voted for can be shouldered by the local churches and Christians everywhere, including me. We have allowed the widows and the orphans to be taken care of by the state; we have allowed the poor to be fed by the state. We have allowed the prisoners to go mostly without a single visit.

Of course the state will think that it is their job to feed the poor, and to visit the widows. Of course the orphans and prisoners will count on the state to take care of them, which has taken care of their needs in the past.

However, when the state takes care of individuals there is little responsibility or accountability for the person who receives the donation. The biggest responsibility a welfare recipient has is to go to the mail box to collect their check. The state welfare system is designed to keep people on welfare.

Christian love and charity is designed to teach that person to provide for himself.

When a church takes in and individual in need, it is should be done in a manner that allows that person the dignity of getting back on their feet. In fact, it should be lovingly demanded that people work toward providing for themselves.

So where does that leave us?

It seems pretty apparent to me and many other people that we are headed for some very serious financial problems. While this will cause a lot of pain for many individuals, it will also provide Christians and local churches and opportunity to serve others, and to pick up the ball that was fumbled with FDR.

It will also be a time where many people who are tired of the world chewing them up and spitting them out a chance to turn their backs on that world and turn to the Savior of the world, Jesus.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast himself. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10.

We are called to work, not for our salvation because that is a gift from God. We are called to work as a demonstration of our salvation so that others can see Christ in us.

Christians, we have a lot of work ahead of us.