Who is guilty?

Earlier today someone posted an article on Facebook about the attacks in Paris. It seems that at the time of the first attacks the people at the rock concert were singing a song called "Kiss the devil". The lyrics of the song  ask "who will love the devil and who will sing his song?" Then they answer, "I'll love the devil and I'll sing his song." The article contained a picture of youth with two fingers in the air, making a sign intended to imitate the devil's horns. One comment under the article articulated my first thought, "I guess they met the devil quicker than they thought."

Another person who read the comments thought the article was very inappropriate. They felt as if the writer was placing the blame for the attacks on those singing the song, as if they asked for the attacks. When I read this I was heartbroken for the young people. Surely they did not know that such a thing was about to happen, even as they naively sang a song inviting the devil into their lives. I am not naive enough to think that the song they were singing had anything to do with the attacks, I just grieve that a group of young people went to meet their maker while singing such a song.

Even as I read the account I thought of Jesus words in Luke 13: 1-5:

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Apparently the scenarios Jesus spoke of were well known to his followers. It is evident from the few verses we have that many wanted to place the blame for this tragedy on those who died. After all, weren't they suffering the judgment of God for their sins? Jesus answer should make us all stop short. "Except you repent you will all likewise perish."

All of us have committed sins according to Romans 3:23. Not one of us can claim to have never sinned. Without the mercy of God all of mankind is collectively doomed to perish. We all deserved death for the sins we committed and it is only because of God's grace that we do not receive it.

If there ever was a time that our world is in need of prayer it is now. We must pray for those in government and those trapped under the fist of the giant evil that is slowly overtaking our world. Only a genuine move of God's Spirit can change anything. Let us pray that we will not be caught up into the foolishness and wickedness of the hour. Let us pray for those who are hurting after loosing loved ones. Let us pray for those Christians who are being persecuted in lands that are hostile to the gospel. Let us pray that government leaders would have Godly wisdom to make decisions that are for the common good. Most of all, let us ask God to forgive us all so that we do not all likewise perish.

Prayerfully,

Sullivan Jones

Bewitched

Did you know?
The TV show "Bewitched" from the sixties and seventies had a decidedly Jewish theme. The screenwriter, Sol Saks, was a Jewish man from New York. Here are just a few Jewish themes.

In several episodes there was a Menorah on the living room wall of the Stephen's home. Samantha, a witch, tries to look like a mortal. She uses her nose to do magic. In one episode she and her husband fantasize about what would happen in she was known to the world. There might be a witch burning if the neighbors knew about her. In another episode Darren introduces Samantha to a plastic surgeon that does "nose jobs." He insinuates that she probably already knows him, making a jab at the things she can do with here nose. The list goes on...

The Jewish meaning is clear. Samantha, as a witch, represents a Jewish woman who tries to look like a gentile. She is married to a "mortal", meaning she is in a mixed Jewish-Gentile marriage. The nose is also a pun since Jews are stereotyped as having big noses. If the neighbors, i.e. Christians, knew who she was, she might be in danger. The undertones continue but I think you get the picture ...

As I recently discovered this it made me ponder our treatment of not only the Jewish people but everyone who is not like us. I find it sad that so many atrocities have been done to people in the name of Christ through the centuries. The Christ that I purport to follow, while being God in flesh, is a God of love. He went out of his way to talk to a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. He welcomed Greeks and healed a Syrophoenician girl of a horrible disease. Surely a Savior that did such things would not advocate mistreatment of anyone, least of all his own flesh and blood people, the Jews.

Lord help me not see anyone as a "witch" just because he or she is different than I am. While I do not have to agree with everyone's religion I can love just the same. After all, Jesus said we would be know as His disciples by our love. Lord, help me to love.

In Christ's Service,

Spanish Pastor Jones

When bad things happen to good people

Matthew 5:45 - He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Why do bad things happen to good people? There is not always an easy answer but I would like to share a thought on the subject. We live in an imperfect world. Much of what is wrong in our world is a product of mankind's sinful state. That does not mean that any individual person has sinned more than another. It means that the evil in our world is a product of man's original sin.

God created a perfect paradise for man to live in. Adam and Eve introduced sin to the world and our world drastically changed. We don't know all that the change entailed but we can deduce a few things. Before this time there was no sickness, no death, no pain, etc. The ground grew only good fruits. Thorns and thistles are part of  because of the curse that sin brought (Genesis 3:18). Basically everything bad happened because of sin. I am convinced their were no poisonous spiders and no deadly snakes. Everything was perfect!

What about sickness? Why do some people suffer sickness when others seem to be well their whole lives. Is it because of personal sin? In John 9:3, the story of a man born blind, Jesus made it clear that sickness is not necessarily caused by personal sin. Rather we humans are products of thousands of years of humans living under the curse of sin. People with high blood pressure have children and pass the trait on. Two people whose genes aren't compatible get married and they have a handicapped child and so forth. And yes we know that certain lifestyle choices do make things worse but this is not always the case either. We see seemingly healthy people get stricken with cancer while others are spared.

There is a temptation in our world to blame things on God. God, why did you let this happen? The bottom line is that God gave man a free will. Unfortunately, man chose to participate in sin and allow evil to enter our world. Much that we suffer  is a result of that evil and not a result of God's judgment.  The struggles we go through are usually neither our fault nor God's fault but the result of an imperfect world.

So does this mean God is absent from the whole process. No it doesn't. He is able to heal. Many of us can attest to witnessing great miracles. But God doesn't always heal everyone and many times we don't understand why He doesn't. One thing I can say is that God is fair and just. He never makes mistakes. We must be careful not to blame God by saying He isn't fair or just. Why does he allow bad things to happen to the righteous. It may be to show the unrighteous that He is fair.

There are people who have been faithful to God through very difficult circumstances while others turn their backs on God in the slightest trial. By allowing His children to go through difficulty, God is assuring the sinner that He will not be able to claim innocence on judgment day. He will not be able to say He couldn't live for God because life was too hard. God will be able to point to others who were faithful unto death and use them as an example of faithfulness. Just thing about it - you may be in a trial and wondering what you did to deserve this. It probably doesn't have very much to do with you. It maybe that God is using you as a testimony of His faithfulness to someone else.

We often pray for God to use us for His glory. We want to witness to others and win souls to Christ. Yet we don't often consider that the trials we go through might be God's way of using us. What greater testimony is there to the unbeliever than to see a Christian persevere under great difficulty. The next time you find yourself in a trial you might want to consider this: "God, am I being used to show your faithfulness to another?" If so, give me the strength to endure so that someone else will see your glory in the miracle.

Yours in Christ's Service,

Rev. Sullivan Jones