As many of you know, and as I shared in my previous post, Christina and I are excitedly taking our next step in ministry. However, this next step requires me to raise my full time salary for a year. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried. Then I am reminded of passages like this.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. -Philippians 4:4-6

This passage tells us to pray about everything, and to be anxious about nothing.

Well if I’m being honest, that isn’t really happening.

Why does God allow evil and suffering?

This is one of the greatest arguments in our modern era against the existence of God. Not only that, but why does God allow so much of it?

Now from a biblical perspective, we do have an answer as to why evil and suffering exists. We know that God originally created a perfect universe, and because Adam and Eve sinned, our world became fallen and corrupt. In God’s goodness and grace, he did not force mankind to love him, and we chose to go against God.

At this point, most non-Christians at least understand the Christian perspective, that it is in order for God to give us free will, there had to be an option to do evil. And this is when the question becomes: but why so much?

It’s no secret I’m a huge sports fan, and of all my favorite teams, Duke basketball comes out on top. I’ve watched them since I was as young as I can remember because my dad liked him. I remember asking him one time why he liked Duke since he grew up in Florida. “Because when we moved [to North Carolina] everyone had a team and Duke was always good and no one likes to root for bad teams” he said.

Therefore Duke was the team that was on, and the team I grew up watching. I even remember crying after Duke lost to UNC by one point in 1996 (I just had to look up the year!) when I was only five and half years old. To which my parents had to remind me that it would be ok and that I didn’t need to cry over Duke losing (now they really did say it a lot sweeter than that, I just don’t exactly remember how they said it!). I haven’t cried over them losing since.

As everyone knows, Duke just won the 2015 National Championship (!!!), and of course I am ecstatic. Even more so than I was in 2010 when they last won it all. I think largely due to the fact that since I am a little bit older, I understand a bit better how rare a championship is, especially in college basketball when there are so many teams. And yet there is another reason as to why I am enjoying this championship a bit more.

I always find it funny when I read a post starting with some variation of “I’m sorry it’s been so long since my last post” or “I’m going to try and start writing more so you guys don’t have to wait so long between posts.” It’s funny to me because the reality is that for 99.9% of us, no one is holding their breath until we write something new. Just because your mom really wants to know why you haven’t said anything lately, it doesn’t mean everyone else is (no offense to you moms out there!).

That being said, I haven’t written anything in over four months. As someone who typically posted something 1-2 times a week, four months is quite the pause. Why has it been so long you ask? (Well, I know you didn’t really ask that, after all I am included in that 99.9%!)

There hasn’t been much for me to say. Towards the end of last year, Christina and I began praying for what God has called us to do next in our lives. We felt (and still do) sure of what that was to be, but as of now we really don’t have much to update anyone on. I guess I thought would take a break from writing anything while we prayed and sought direction, and then go back posting as usual once I had something to say on that end.

That was over four months ago.

1 John 5

5:1-5

1-3: Genuine Christians are those that believe Jesus is the Christ and has been born of God. And this can be seen when we love God and obey his commandments. Our actions demonstrate what we truly believe.

4-5: Those born of God will overcome the world because God rules over the world and will one day make a new heaven and new earth.

Question: Part of overcoming the world for believers is not succumbing to the “world’s” desires and temptations because they care more about Christ, but this can be pretty hard at times. How is it then that God’s commands are not burdensome (v. 3)? If you are a believer, how has your experience been in light of this?

5:6-12 

6-8: Water is more than likely in reference to Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist. Blood references Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Spirit is the Holy Spirit who testifies that Christ came and is the savior of all.

9-12: John is claiming that what he is writing is from God. That is, the testimony that Jesus is who he said he was. That God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Those without Jesus do not have true life.

Question: Why would John say that those who don’t believe in Jesus make God a liar? What does it mean to live in such a way that your actions don’t make God a liar?

5:13-20

13: Though John is very convicting in this book regarding sin, he is clear that we can in fact know if we are saved.

14-15: Though we do not get all the things we pray for (which is a good thing!), we at least know that he hears us in whatever we ask.

16-17: Sin that leads to death is probably continued unrepentant sin, ultimately caused by that fact that the doer of that sin doesn’t truly believe in Jesus, therefore sees no need to repent and change his or her ways.

18: John is reminding us that true believers are affected by their sin, not that they are perfect (1 John 3).

Question: John ends by stating that God has come in the form of Jesus Christ. Why do you think the last thing he says is to “keep yourselves from idols”? What are some practical things you can do to keep yourself from letting things become idols in your life?

1 John 4 Bible Study Guide

4:1-6 

1-2: Believers should not blindly accept everything someone says or does. Jesus was himself God in the flesh, contrary to what some at the time were teaching, that Jesus only appeared to be human.

3: Believing Jesus existed, or was a good person, or was a good moral teacher, etc., is not the same as trusting in Jesus as Lord and Savior.

4-6: The world rejects that Jesus is who he said he was, but the Spirit of God is more powerful than demonic influences over the world.

Question: Many people believe in some sort of supernatural being, and many even believe to some degree that Jesus existed and was a good teacher. However, the Bible (and Jesus) is clear that faith in Jesus and his work on the cross is the only way for anyone to be saved. What do you think causes this disconnect? If you are a Christian, when did it “click” for you?

4:7-12

7-8: Someone may think they know a lot about God or the Bible, but void of love, they show that they really don’t know God. Anyone who does not love does not know God.

9-12: God showed us what true love is by sending Jesus, who not only forgave us for our sins, but gave us a relationship with God. We love because God first loved us. Therefore, if we love on another, God abides in us.

Question: You don’t have to be a Christian in order to love people well. However, to be a “Christian” and not love people well is an oxymoron. Why do you think John presents love as the most important part of the Christian life? How can you grow in this area?

4:13-21

13-15: Followers of Christ are given God’s Holy Spirit to guide them in their lives. God abides in believers through his Spirit.

17-18: Believers can have confidence at the day of judgment because they know God loves them and has forgiven them. They know they will not face the punishment they deserve.

19-21: We cannot love God and not love his people. And how can we say we love God whom we have not seen when we don’t love the people that we do see?

Question: Believers do not have to fear God’s condemnation because we have already been forgiven. In the same light, God is also in control over what happens in our lives. That being said, what fears do have about your future (career, marriage, where to live, etc.)? How often do you bring those fears before the Lord?

1 John 3

1 John 2:28-3-3

2:28-29: Those that abide in Christ will not be shamed when he comes because Jesus has cleansed believers of their sins.

3:1-3: Believers are children of God. When Christ returns we will be even more like him. That is, in eternity Christians will be without sin, without pain or illness, etc. We won’t be identical to Jesus in his glory, all-knowingness, etc., but we will much more like him than we are now.

Question: John talks a lot in this book about living holy and righteous lives. However he points out in this passage that in order to do this we must abide in Christ. What does it mean to abide in Christ? What is a current circumstance that you need to abide in Christ more in?

4-10

4-7: Sin matters to God. This passage is not saying Christians will no longer sin, but rather that they don’t make a practice of habitually sinning.

8-10: No one born of God makes a practice of sinning. The Christian life includes time of growth and setback. However, a conscious continuation of a sin pattern, with little or no desire to change, may reflect the lack of a truly regenerate heart.

Question: If this section is challenging and convicting, it should be. It seems that Christians at times think sin “isn’t that bad” because Christ has forgiven us. In reality, sin is a (most often) conscious disobeying of a perfect and holy God. How does this passage cause you to view sin?

Question: Our works do not save us, but our actions reflect what we truly believe in and worship. What are some things you are easily prone to worship other than God in your life?

11-22

11-15: Abel did the right thing and yet was bitterly opposed by his brother. Christians should expect the “world” to give you pushback in someway. Yet believers are still called to love, and Jesus looks at your heart, not just your outward actions.

16-18: We know love because of what Christ did for us in laying down is life for us. Therefore, we ought to do this for others. We should be willing to help friends and others in need, even when it is inconvenient, as we are not to love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

19-20: Even when we become convicted of sin, John reminds us that God is still greater than our sin.

23-24: The greatest commandment for us is to believe in his Son Jesus Christ and love one another. This is what someone who abides in God, and God in him looks like.

Question: After loving God, the greatest thing a Christian can do is love people. When we ask “what is God’s will for my life”, it is to love Him and love his people. What are some things you can do to better love those who are currently around you (coworkers, family, friends, etc.)? What are steps you can take this week to work toward that goal?