By Bob Barney
I have run the Garner Ted Article
article (below) before, and do so after many tragedies. Many often
wonder how these things could happen in a modern world. People ask,
“how could a loving God allow such tragedies?” People blame God,
guns, conservatives, the media, and everybody else – other than
themselves. Where is God when tragedies like these occur? Where is
God when a million abortions a year are slaughtering the innocence in
the womb? The Plain Truth is that God is where THEY (YES 'THEY' –
as GOD is the English word that means Jesus and the Father) have been
for most of the last 6,000 years. God id in heaven, allowing us to
run our own lives, follow our own ways, worship our own false gods
and follow pagan holidays that God has nothing to do with. Most
people do not want God in their lives. It's a hard simple fact. Most
do not want to follow the Law of God, when it does not suit their
needs. We want to be free to do what we want to do, since the time we
first walked up until the time we draw our last breath of life. We
want a God of convenience, and not a God who orders us to obey
physical and spiritual laws. We want to follow Christmas, not
because it is found in the Bible, but because it makes US feel good.
We really don't care what God thinks about the holiday – we really
don't care, because if we did, very little research would make us
draw a conclusion on our lives, that we do not want to face.
We are also in a form a denial. We
deny God and God's way. We deny that such tragedies will actually
happen to us. Jesus was asked this question 2,000 years ago. It is in
Luke chapter 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.”
Repent
of what? SIN! And what is the Bible definition of sin? There is one
place in all of your Bible that says “Sin is” - and it is found
in 1 John 3:4: “Whosoever
commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression
of the law.”
Did you read that? SIN IS BREAKING GOD'S LAW! Then the next
question, “what law?” The TEN COMMANDMENTS! (John 14:15), one of
which is the Sabbath Command. However, for most of the Christian
world, “loving Jesus, and believing ON Jesus,” is all we really
have to do.... Yet Jesus said, “Why
do you call me LORD LORD and not do the things I say to do!”
You find here:
Matthew
7 13-28: (NIV version)
The
Narrow and Wide Gates
“Enter
through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road
that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small
is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few
find it.
True and False
Prophets
15 “Watch out for false prophets.
They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are
ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do
people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise,
every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A
good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good
fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and
thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize
them.
True and False
Disciples
21 “Not
everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your
name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly,
‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
The Wise and Foolish
Builders
24 “Therefore everyone who hears
these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man
who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams
rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not
fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone
who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is
like a foolish man who built his house on sand. (like
all of those today who love to build their houses on the sand like in
Florida, The Outer banks and New York and New Jersey) The
rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against
that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
28 When
Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his
teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as
their teachers of the law.
It's not hard figuring out why God
allows tragedies. The majority refuse to obey God, and therefore all
of us suffer because of this fact. We want “democracy” and God
has allowed us to get what we ask for. Until God returns and
establishes THEIR Kingdom, we will continue to experience that fate
of those who are in rebellion against God.
Oh God,
Where
Were You When
I Needed You?
By Garner Ted Armstrong
The family was shocked beyond comprehension!
Caught in a snowstorm in Alaska, they had kept their heater running. The snow
had piled high around the car and, without their knowledge, deadly carbon
monoxide had seeped into the automobile. The gas—heavier than air—had first
reached their twin boys, asleep on the floor Groggy, wondering what was causing
their sleepiness, the parents gradually became aware something was wrong. The
father struggled to open the windows to change the air! They grasped their twin
baby boys-shook them, rubbed their little arms and tried frantically to awaken
them. But it was too late! Their cries of anguish were lost in the blackness of
that Alaskan night with its billions of softly falling flakes. But WHY? WHY,
if there is a loving God in heaven, do such tragedies strike? WHY DID GOD
LET THOSE BABY BOYS DIE?
By Garner Ted Armstrong [printer-friendly]
[pdf format] {LINK to article ONLINE}
The preceding
story was related to me by the father of the boys, an executive in
the radio business from Alaska, when he attended the National
Association of Broadcasters convention in Chicago, Illinois.
I had been invited to give the
invocation at a dinner for about 2,000 radio-station owners and
managers from all over the country; the main speaker that day was
Paul Harvey.
During the recess after lunch,
one of the radio executives asked if he might ask me a personal
question. He then related the tragic story of his two baby sons'
death. He had already asked his own pastor, or perhaps two or more
ministers. He and his wife were searching for some understanding;
they needed to know WHY—WHY would a loving God allow this to
happen?
How WOULD YOU ANSWER?
If there IS a God, and if
GOD IS LOVE, then WHY?
Now, if someone asks some other person that
question, he has a perfect out. All most people have to do is to
cluck away sympathetically, or, if genuine emotion is really felt,
show some sincere empathy with such a tragically bewildered parent.
However, it only requires a polite disclaimer: "I've always
wondered about that too," or, "Well, I don't know.
I lost a son in Vietnam, and I have never understood why he had to
die when all these others..."
But this was different.
I am a minister.
items out of the back of one of those trucks.
