Why Good Things Happen to Bad People

Scripture:"God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God." Ephesians 2:8

 

I'm Not Good

Many people ask, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” But that assumes there are good people. Lately, it has become glaringly clear to me that I am not a good person. Even the couple “good” things I’ve done were mostly done with selfish motives. Can you relate at all? When you are really, truly honest, do you feel like a good person?

 

Are You Mean, God?

I bring this up because the last thing that God said about Himself in His description is this:

“I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.” (Exodus 34:7)

Wow! All the descriptions before were really nice (compassionate, merciful, faithful, loving), but this one is a little hard to swallow! It makes you ask, “Is that fair? Should I be punished for my parents’ sins? God, are you mean?”

 

The “Bad” Woman

I want to tell you about a woman Jesus talked to that no one thought was good, herself included. She likely came from a rough family and felt the effects. Married 5 times and now with a man not her husband, she was an easy target to judge. Plus, she was a Samaritan, the culture Jesus was supposed to hate. Plus she was a woman; respectable religious teachers only saw men as deserving of their time. All in all: not a good candidate for Jesus to talk to.

 

An Exact Picture of God

But what does Jesus do, shun her? That’s what I might do. (And remember: Jesus is an exact picture of God.) No, He does the opposite.  In fact, she is one of the only ones that He out-right tells He is the Messiah:

Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink”…She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask Me, and I would give you living water”…“Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her. “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”…The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus told her, “I AM the Messiah!” (Excerpt from John 4:7-26)

 

God Is Not Like You Think

Think about this: out of all the people Jesus could’ve told He was the Messiah, He chose the woman no one thought was good.  God is not like you think.  He is not looking for the person who has sinned the least; He is looking for the person who needs Him the most.  Jesus said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” Mark 2:17

 

New Cause=New Effect

The laws of cause and effect are still in motion. That’s why God said He doesn’t excuse the guilty. However, there is a new rule with Jesus: when you give your life to Him, He starts things over for you.  The Bible says, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” Galatians 2:20 That means the past sins that held you down don’t have power over you any more. It’s as if you had inherited a car that always pulled to the left, taking you off course. That might have been the sins of your parents or your own mistakes. But Jesus comes and sets the alignment in your car aright, so that now you can drive straight ahead.  The road He has for you is His will, and it leads to Heaven. Jesus came to set the alignment aright for the Samaritan woman, and He wants to do it for you too, starting today.

 

Ask Him to Realign your Car

Tell Jesus now in the Comments what has always pulled you off course and ask Him to set you straight. No matter how bad you feel, He is offering you His living water!

Rooted In Christ

The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Ps. 92:12.

The Christian is likened to the cedar of Lebanon. I have read that this tree does more than send down a few short roots into the yielding loam. It sends strong roots deep down into the earth, and strikes down farther and still farther in search of a still stronger hold. And in the fierce blast of the tempest, it stands firm, held by its network of cables beneath.

So the Christian strikes root deep into Christ. He has faith in his Redeemer. He knows in whom he believes. He is fully persuaded that Jesus is the Son of God and the Saviour of sinners. . . . The roots of faith strike deep down. Genuine Christians, like the cedar of Lebanon, do not grow in the soft surface soil, but are rooted in God, riveted in the clefts of the mountain rocks.

If the Christian thrives and progresses at all, he must do so amid strangers to God, amid scoffing, subject to ridicule. He must stand upright like the palm tree in the desert. The sky may be as brass, the desert sand may beat about the palm tree’s roots, and pile itself in heaps about its trunk. Yet the tree lives as an evergreen, fresh and vigorous amid the burning desert sands. Remove the sand till you reach the rootlets of the palm tree, and you discover the secret of its life; it strikes down deep beneath the surface, to the secret waters hidden in the earth.

As the palm tree, drawing nourishment from fountains of living water, is green and flourishing in the midst of the desert, so the Christian may draw rich supplies of grace from the fountain of God’s love, and may guide weary souls, that are full of unrest and ready to perish in the desert of sin, to those waters of which they may drink, and live. The Christian is ever pointing his fellow men to Jesus, who invites, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” John 7:37. This fountain never fails us; we may draw, and draw again.

Let Your Light Shine

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matt. 5:16

To every soul born into Christ’s kingdom is given a solemn charge, Let your light so shine before men that they, by seeing your good works, shall glorify your Father which is in heaven. Pour forth upon your neighbors the rich rays of light received from the Sun of Righteousness; flash upon your friends in the world the bright gems of light and truth imparted to you abundantly from the throne of God. This is trading upon the talents entrusted. Go on from light to a greater light, catching more and more the bright beams from the Sun of Righteousness, and shine more and more unto the perfect day.

Jesus does not bid the Christian to strive to shine, but just to let his light shine in clear and distinct rays to the world. Do not blanket your light. Do not sinfully withhold your light. Do not let the mist and fog and malaria of the world put out your light. Do not hide it under a bed or under a bushel, but set it on a candlestick, that it may give light to all that are in the house....God bids you shine, penetrating the moral darkness of the world.

Many do not know what is the matter with them. They want light and see no ray. They are calling for help and they hear no response. Shall doubt and unbelief be perpetuated because I do not gather the divine rays of light from Jesus Christ and let them shine forth to others? . . .

The deep struggles of my own soul against temptations, the earnest longings of my mind and heart to know God and Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour, and to have assurance, peace, and rest in their love, lead me to desire every day to be where the beams of the Sun of Righteousness can shine upon me. Without this experience, I shall indeed meet with great loss, and all with whom I associate will be affected by the loss of the light I ought to be receiving from the Source of all light and comfort, and to be flashing into their pathway. Shall I be indeed a light unto the world, or a shadow of darkness?

Life's Best Things

Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith. - Proverbs 15:16

Men and women have hardly begun to understand the true object of life. They are attracted by glitter and show. They are ambitious for worldly pre-eminence. To this the true aims of life are sacrificed. Life's best things--simplicity, honesty, truthfulness, purity, integrity--cannot be bought or sold. They are as free to the ignorant as to the educated, to the humble laborer as to the honored statesman. For everyone God has provided pleasure that may be enjoyed by rich and poor alike--the pleasure found in cultivating pureness of thought and unselfishness of action, the pleasure that comes from speaking sympathizing words and doing kindly deeds. From those who perform such service the light of Christ shines to brighten lives darkened by many shadows.

While helping the poor in temporal things, keep always in view their spiritual needs. Let your own life testify to the Saviour's keeping power. Let your character reveal the high standard to which all may attain. Teach the gospel in simple object lessons. Let everything with which you have to do be a lesson in character building.

In the humble round of toil, the very weakest, the most obscure, may be workers together with God and may have the comfort of His presence and sustaining grace. They are not to weary themselves with busy anxieties and needless cares. Let them work on from day to day, accomplishing faithfully the task that God's providence assigns, and He will care for them. He says:

"In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6, A.R.V.; 4:7.

The Lord's care is over all His creatures. He loves them all and makes no difference, except that He has the most tender pity for those who are called to bear life's heaviest burdens. God's children must meet trials and difficulties. But they should accept their lot with a cheerful spirit, remembering that for all that the world neglects to bestow, God Himself will make up to them in the best of favors.

It is when we come into difficult places that He reveals His power and wisdom in answer to humble prayer. Have confidence in Him as a prayer-hearing, prayer-answering God. He will reveal Himself to you as One who can help in every emergency. He who created man, who gave him his wonderful physical, mental, and spiritual faculties, will not withhold that which is necessary to sustain the life He has given. He who has given us His word--the leaves of the tree of life-- will not withhold from us a knowledge of how to provide food for His needy children.

How can wisdom be obtained by him who holds the plow and drives the oxen? By seeking her as silver, and searching for her as for hid treasure. "For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him." Isaiah 28:26. "This also cometh forth from Jehovah of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in wisdom." Verse 29, A.R.V.

The Beauty Of Christlikeness

Shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. Titus 2:10.

Everyone who names the name of Christ is to adorn the doctrine of Christ our Saviour by a well-ordered life and a godly conversation, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit....Possessing this, you will have favor both with God and with men.

Words spoken hastily wound and bruise souls, and the deepest wound is made upon the soul of the speaker. Christ’s gift, the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, is authoritatively declared by Him who can make no mistake to be of great price. We must each find out its worth for ourselves by seeking it from God. However men may estimate us, if we wear this ornament, we bear the sign of our discipleship with Christ. We are esteemed by the Most High; for the ornament we wear is in His sight of great price. This precious gem is to be sought for....

To every soul things will come to provoke, to stir up anger, and if you are not under the full control of God, you will be provoked when these things come. But the meekness of Christ calms the ruffled spirit, controls the tongue, and brings the whole being into subjection to God. Thus we learn how to bear with the censure of others. We shall be misjudged, but the precious ornament of a meek and quiet spirit teaches us how to bear, how to have pity for those who utter hasty, unadvised words. Any unpleasant spirit displayed is sure to arouse the demon of passion in unguarded hearts. Unholy anger need not to be strengthened, but bridled. It is a spark which will set on fire untamed human nature. Avoid speaking words which will stir up strife. Rather suffer wrong than do wrong. God requires every one of His followers, as far as is possible, to live peaceably with all men....

We must be Christlike. Let us strive to make our lives what Christ designs them to be, full of the fragrance of love to God and our fellow men, full of Christ’s own divine Spirit, full of holy aspirations toward God, rich in the beauty of Christlikeness.

Can You Trust God's Love?

Scripture:"The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease." Lamentations 3:22

 

The Worst Feeling

Do you know the feeling of being about to run out of gas? It’s awful. You’re there, heart pounding, looking down at your gas gauge, certain that every weird sound is your car sputtering down to empty and stranding you in the worst possible location. Because typically you only run out of gas at the worst possible time. 

 

Almost Empty

Do you ever feel that way with God? Like the tank of His love is on the verge of empty, just when you need it the most? One more press down on the pedal—one more sin or hard time—and boom, out of gas, stranded. I know how you feel. I remember when I was at my lowest point a couple years ago: disillusioned with life and people. I no longer had the dreams I used to, and everything seemed bleak. I was sure that God’s love tank for me was sputtering to empty.

 

Unexpected Loyalty

Naomi felt the same way. She had left her famine-struck country with her husband and sons in search of food. But not long after, her husband and sons died, leaving her with just her daughters-in-law. She dismissed them to go and start over, but Ruth refused, saying:

Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” (Ruth 1:16-17)

Ruth stayed with Naomi at her lowest, gathering food for her, and bringing a new grandson into life. Ruth brought new joy into Naomi’s life when she was at her worst.

 

A Picture of God

Ruth is just a small picture of how incredibly loyal God is to you. He is the most faithful, loyal friend in the universe. In Exodus 34:6, God said, “I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.” What He is saying is that you’re never going to run out of the gas tank of His love. He will never leave you on empty, stranded. He knows all your sins (including the ones you’ll do in the future!), the hard and lonely times you’ll go through, and He has still promised you:

Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)

 

What Happened with Me

So what did God do with me when I was at my lowest, when I thought my love tank was on empty? He really surprised me. Instead of leaving me stranded, He actually changed my fuel source. I had been running on the gasoline of my own good deeds that were always running dry; but He wanted me to run on the solar power of His never-ending love which renews every morning. Lamentations 3:22 says, “Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.”

 

Change Your Fuel Source

In fact, God said the renewing of the sun is proof of His faithful love to you: “I would no more reject my people than I would change my laws that govern night and day, earth and sky” Jeremiah 33:25—meaning, the day that the sun doesn’t come up is the day you can start worrying that God doesn’t love you anymore. But if you’ve been like me, and worried that you’re going to run out of gas, He wants you to switch over to the solar power fuel of His never-ending love.

 

Tell Him Now!

Do you want to make the switch? Tell Him now. He hears your heart and will answer!

Reminders Of Our Heavenly Home

Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee. Neh. 9:6.

There is beauty in the valley’s awful grandeur, in the solemn, massive, cleft rocks; there is majesty in the towering mountains that look as if they touched the heavens. There are the lofty trees with their delicately formed leaves; the spires of grass, the opening bud and blossoming flower, the forest trees, and every living thing. They all point the mind to the great and living God. Every faculty of our being testifies that there is a living God, and we may learn from the open book of nature the most precious lessons in regard to the Lord of heaven.

In this study the mind expands, is elevated and uplifted, and becomes hungry to know more of God and His majesty. We have awakened in our hearts feelings not only of reverence and awe but of love, of faith, of trust and entire dependence upon One who is the giver of all good. And as I look at His marvelous works and see the evidences of His power I instinctively inquire, “What is man that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” Ps. 8:4.

All the greatness and glory of these wonderful things in God’s house can only be appreciated as they are, in the mind, associated with God and the future home of bliss He is preparing for those who love Him. . . .While we talk freely of other countries, why should we be reticent in regard to the heavenly country, and the house not built with hands, eternal in the heavens? This heavenly country is of more consequence to us than any other city or country on the globe, therefore we should think and talk of this better—even an heavenly—country. And why should we not converse more earnestly, and in a heavenly frame of mind, in regard to God’s gifts in nature? He has made all these things, and designs that we shall see God in His created works. These things are to keep God in our remembrance and to lift our hearts from sensual things and bind them in bonds of love and gratitude to our Creator.

Hope and Courage to the Disheartened

Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.- Colossians 4:6


We can do nothing without courage and perseverance. Speak words of hope and courage to the poor and the disheartened. If need be, give tangible proof of your interest by helping them when they come into strait places. Those who have had many advantages should remember that they themselves still err in many things, and that it is painful to them when their errors are pointed out and there is held up before them a comely pattern of what they should be. Remember that kindness will accomplish more than censure. As you try to teach others, let them see that you wish them to reach the highest standard, and that you are ready to give them help. If in some things they fail, be not quick to condemn them.


Simplicity, self-denial, economy, lessons so essential for the poor to learn, often seem to them difficult and unwelcome. The example and spirit of the world is constantly exciting and fostering pride, love of display, self-indulgence, prodigality, and idleness. These evils bring thousands to penury and prevent thousands more from rising out of degradation and wretchedness. Christians are to encourage the poor to resist these influences.


Jesus came to this world in humility. He was of lowly birth. The Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, the Commander of all the angel host, He humbled Himself to accept humanity, and then He chose a life of poverty and humiliation. He had no opportunities that the poor do not have. Toil, hardship, and privation were a part of every day's experience. "Foxes have holes," He said, "and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head." Luke 9:58.

Moon Turned Into Blood

"The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come." Joel 2:31

May 19, 1780, stands in history as "The Dark Day." Since the time of Moses, no period of darkness of equal density, extent, and duration has ever been recorded. "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come." Joel 2:31.

The moon became as red as blood on the night of the "dark day," May 19, 1780. Milo Bostick in Stone's History of Massachusetts says, "The moon which was at its full, had the appearance of blood."

With Eyes Of Faith

The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. Eph. 1:18.

The highest qualification of the mind will not, cannot, supply the place of true simplicity, of genuine piety. The Bible may be studied as a branch of human science would be; but its beauty, the evidence of its power to save the soul that believes, is a lesson that is never thus learned. If the practice of the Word is not brought into the life, then the sword of the Spirit has not wounded the natural heart. It has been shielded in poetic fancy. Sentimentalism has so wrapped it about that the heart has not sufficiently felt the keenness of its edge, piercing and cutting away the sinful shrines where self is worshipped. . . .

The eyes of the understanding must be enlightened, and the heart and mind brought into harmony with God, who is truth. He who beholds Jesus with the eye of faith sees no glory in himself, for the glory of the Redeemer is reflected into the mind and heart. The atonement of His blood is realized, and the taking away of sin stirs the heart with gratitude.

Being justified by Christ, the receiver of truth is constrained to make an entire surrender to God, and is admitted into the school of Christ, that he may learn of Him who is meek and lowly of heart. A knowledge of the love of God is shed abroad in his heart. He exclaims, Oh, what love! What condescension! Grasping the rich promises by faith, he becomes a partaker of the divine nature. His heart being emptied of self, the waters of life flow in; the glory of the Lord shines forth. Perpetually looking unto Jesus, the human is assimilated by the divine. The believer is changed into His likeness. . . . The human character is changed into the divine.

Christ looks upon His people in their purity and perfection as the reward of all His sufferings, His humiliation, and His love, and the supplement of His glory—Christ the great center, from whom radiates all glory.

The Smiles Of God

The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. Prov. 10:22.

Nothing can do us real good without the blessing of God. What God blesses is blessed. Therefore “a little that a righteous man hath is better that the riches of many wicked.” Ps. 37:16. The little with the blessing of God is more efficient, and it will extend farther. The grace of God will make a little go a great ways. When we devote ourselves to the affairs of the kingdom of God, He will mind our affairs.”

The Lord has given us precious blessings in the simple flowers of the field, in the fragrance so grateful to our senses. He has tinted every flower with beauty; for He is the great Master Artist. He who has created the beautiful things in nature will do far greater things for the soul. God is a lover of the beautiful, and He would adorn our characters with His own rich graces. He would have our words as fragrant as the flowers of the field. He has given us blessings in daily provision for our physical needs. The very bread we are has upon it the image and superscription of the cross.

They only are truly blessed whose chief concern is to secure those blessings which will nourish the soul and endure forever. Our Saviour says to us, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matt. 6:33. God has a care for us, even to bestow His temporal blessings upon us. Our earthly good is not beneath the notice of our heavenly Father. He knoweth that we have need of these things. . . . When God smiles upon our efforts it is worth more than any earthly income.

“How sweet our daily comforts prove

When they are seasoned with His love.”

Every deliverance, every blessing, that God in the past has granted to His people, should be kept fresh in memory’s hall as a sure pledge of further and richer, increasing blessings that He will bestow.

There is no limit to the blessings that it is our privilege to receive.

The Court Of Holy Life

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. 1 Peter 2:9.

The church of Christ on earth is amid the moral darkness of a disloyal world, which is trampling upon the law of Jehovah. But their Redeemer, who has purchased their ransom with the price of His own precious blood, has made every provision that His church shall be a transformed body, illumined with Light of the world, possessing the glory of Emmanuel. The bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness, shining through His church, will gather into His fold every lost, straying sheep who will come unto Him and find refuge in Him. They will find peace and light and joy in Him who is peace and righteousness forever.

The members of the church should individually keep the light of God’s love burning brightly in their own souls, that it may also shine forth to others. We have too much at stake to allow spiritual lethargy to creep over us. Let us beware of indulging a disrelish for religious services and religious duties. Let us resolutely battle against that sluggishness of soul which is so fatal to the growth and even the life of the Christian. That church will be healthy and prosperous whose members are putting forth active, personal effort to do good to others, to save souls. This will be a constant incentive to every good work. Such Christians will labor with greater earnestness to secure their own salvation. The dormant energies will be aroused, the whole soul inspired with an unconquerable determination to win the Saviour’s plaudit of “Well done,” and to wear the victor’s crown.

Christ makes His church a beautiful temple for God. “Where two or three are gathered together in my name,” He declared, “there am I in the midst of them,” Matt. 18:20. His church is the court of holy life, filled with varied gifts, and endowed with the Holy Spirit. Appropriate duties are assigned by Heaven to each member of the church on earth, and all are to find their happiness in the happiness of those whom they help and bless.

The Plan of Life

I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. - Psalm 37:25

The plan of life that God gave to Israel was intended as an object lesson for all mankind. If these principles were carried out today, what a different place this world would be!

Within the vast boundaries of nature there is still room for the suffering and needy to find a home. Within her bosom there are resources sufficient to provide them with food. Hidden in the depths of the earth are blessings for all who have courage and will and perseverance to gather her treasures.

The tilling of the soil, the employment that God appointed to man in Eden, opens a field in which there is opportunity for multitudes to gain a subsistence.

"Trust in the Lord, and do good;

So shalt thou dwell in the land,

and verily thou shalt be fed."

Psalm 37:3.

Thousands and tens of thousands might be working upon the soil who are crowded into the cities, watching for a chance to earn a trifle. In many cases this trifle is not spent for bread, but is put into the till of the liquor seller, to obtain that which destroys soul and body.

Many look upon labor as drudgery, and they try to obtain a livelihood by scheming rather than by honest toil. This desire to get a living without work opens the door to wretchedness and vice and crime almost without limit.

Seeking God With All The Heart

Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee. Zech. 9:12

We need to educate the soul to lay hold, and hold fast the rich promises of Christ. The Lord Jesus knows that it is not possible for us to resist the many temptations of Satan, only as we shall have divine power given us from God. He well knows that in our own human strength we should surely fail. Therefore every provision has been made, that in every emergency and trial we shall flee to the Stronghold.... We have the word of promise from lips that will not lie. . . . We must individually cherish the faith that we receive of Him the things He hath promised.

God will be to us everything we will let Him be. Our languid, half-hearted prayers will not bring us returns from heaven. Oh, we need to press our petitions! Ask in faith, wait in faith, receive in faith, rejoice in hope, for everyone that seeketh findeth. Be in earnest in the matter. Seek God with all the heart. People put soul and earnestness into everything they undertake in temporal things, until their efforts are crowned with success. With intense earnestness learn the trade of seeking the rich blessings that God has promised, and with persevering, determined effort you shall have His light and His truth and His rich grace.

In sincerity, in soul hunger, cry after God. Wrestle with the heavenly agencies until you have the victory. Put your whole being into the Lord’s hands, soul, body, and spirit, and resolve to be His loving, consecrated agency, moved by His will, controlled by His mind, infused by His Spirit.

Tell Jesus your wants in the sincerity of your soul. You are not required to hold a long controversy with, or preach a sermon to, God, but with a heart of sorrow for your sins, say, “Save me, Lord, or I perish.” There is hope for such souls. They will seek, they will ask, they will knock, and they will find. When Jesus has taken away the burden of sin that is crushing the soul, you will experience the blessedness of the peace of Christ.

Time For Meditation

But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Ps. 1:2.

Your last thought at night, your first thought in the morning, should be of Him in whom is centered your hope of eternal life.

Many seem to begrudge moments spent in meditation, and the searching of the Scriptures, and prayer, as though the time thus occupied was lost. I wish you could all view these things in the light God would have you; for you would then make the kingdom of heaven of the first importance. . . . As exercise increases the appetite, and gives strength and healthy vigor to the body, so will devotional exercises bring an increase of grace and spiritual vigor.

The affections should center upon God. Contemplate His greatness, His mercy and excellences. Let His goodness and love and perfection of character captivate your heart. Converse upon His divine charms, and the heavenly mansions He is preparing for the faithful. He whose conversation is in heaven, is the most profitable Christian to all around him. His words are useful and refreshing. They have a transforming power upon those who hear them.

There is constant need of private communion with God. We must take in the spirit of Christ if we would impart it to others. We cannot meet satanic and human agencies combined unless we spend much time in intercourse with the Source of all strength. There are times when we should get away from the sounds of earthly toil and human voices, and in retired places listen to the voice of Jesus. Thus we may taste of His love and imbibe His spirit. Thus we shall learn to crucify self. This course of action may seem impossible to the human mind. “I have not time,” you may say. But when you consider the matter as it really is, you lose no time; for when you secure the power and grace that come alone from God, you do not accomplish the work. It is Jesus who is the real worker. “Without me,” says Christ, “ye can do nothing.” John 15:5. . . . Reflection and earnest prayer will inspire to holy endeavor.

Sun Turned Into Darkness

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened." Matthew 24:29

Twenty-five years after the Great Earthquake appeared the next sign mentioned in Revelation 6:12,--the darkening of the sun and moon. What rendered this more striking was the fact that the time of its fulfillment had been definitely pointed out. In the Saviour's conversation with his disciples upon Olivet, after describing the long period of trial for the church--the 1260 years of papal persecution, concerning which he had promised that the tribulation should be shortened--he thus mentioned certain events to precede his coming, and fixed the time when the first of these should be witnessed: "In those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light." Mark 13:24. The 1260 days, or years, terminated in 1798. A quarter of a century earlier, persecution had almost wholly ceased. Between these two dates, according to the words of Christ, the sun was to be darkened.

On the 19th of May, 1780, this prophecy was fulfilled. It was not an eclipse. Timothy Dwight says, "The 19th of May, 1780, was a remarkable dark day. Candles were lighted in many houses; the birds were silent and disappeared, and the fowls retired to roost. ... A very general opinion prevailed, that the day of judgment was at hand." Quoted in Connecticut Historical Collections, compiled by John Warner Barber (2nd ed.; New Haven: Durrie & Peck and J.W. Barber, 1836) p. 403. For further commentary on this event please continue reading.

The Dark Day

"Almost if not altogether alone as the most mysterious and as yet unexplained phenomenon of its kind, . . . stands the dark day of May 19, 1780,--a most unaccountable darkening of the whole visible heavens and atmosphere in New England." That the darkness was not due to an eclipse is evident from the fact that the moon was then nearly full. It was not caused by clouds, or the thickness of the atmosphere, for in some localities where the darkness extended, the sky was so clear that the stars could be seen. Concerning the inability of science to assign a satisfactory cause for this manifestation, Herschel the astronomer declares: "The dark day in North America was one of those wonderful phenomena of nature which philosophy is at a loss to explain."

"The extent of the darkness was also very remarkable. It was observed at the most easterly regions of New England; westward, to the farthest part of Connecticut, and at Albany, N. Y.; to the southward, it was observed all along the sea coast; and to the north, as far as the American settlements extended. It probably far exceeded those boundaries, but the exact limits were never positively known. With regard to its duration, it continued in the neighborhood of Boston for at least fourteen or fifteen hours."

"The morning was clear and pleasant, but about eight o'clock there was observed an uncommon appearance in the sun. There were no clouds, but the air was thick, having a smoky appearance, and the sun shone with a pale, yellowish hue, but kept growing darker and darker, until it was hid from sight." There was "midnight darkness at noonday."

"The occurrence brought intense alarm and distress to multitudes of minds, as well as dismay to the whole brute creation, the fowls fleeing bewildered to their roosts, and the birds to their nests, and the cattle returning to their stalls." Frogs and night hawks began their notes. The cocks crew as at daybreak. Farmers were forced to leave their work in the fields. Business was generally suspended, and candles were lighted in the dwellings. "The Legislature of Connecticut was in session at Hartford, but being unable to transact business adjourned. Everything bore the appearance and gloom of night."

The intense darkness of the day was succeeded, an hour or two before evening, by a partially clear sky, and the sun appeared, though it was still obscured by the black, heavy mist. But "this interval was followed by a return of the obscuration with greater density, that rendered the first half of the night hideously dark beyond all former experience of the probable million of people who saw it. From soon after sunset until midnight, no ray of light from moon or star penetrated the vault above. It was pronounced 'the blackness of darkness!'" Said an eye-witness of the scene: "I could not help conceiving, at the time, that if every luminous body in the universe had been shrouded in impenetrable darkness, or struck out of existence, the darkness could not have been more complete." Though the moon that night rose to the full, "it had not the least effect to dispel the death-like shadows." After midnight the darkness disappeared, and the moon, when first visible, had the appearance of blood.

The poet Whittier thus speaks of this memorable day:--

"'Twas on a May-day of the far old year

Seventeen hundred eighty, that there fell

Over the bloom and sweet life of the spring,

Over the fresh earth, and the heaven of noon,

A horror of great darkness."

"Men prayed, and women wept; all ears grew sharp

To hear the doom-blast of the trumpet shatter

The black sky."

May 19, 1780, stands in history as "The Dark Day." Since the time of Moses, no period of darkness of equal density, extent, and duration has ever been recorded. The description of this event, as given by the poet and the historian, is but an echo of the words of the Lord, recorded by the prophet Joel, twenty-five hundred years previous to their fulfillment: "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come." Joel 2:31.

Jesus, Have Mercy on Me!

Scripture: "But in Your great mercy, You did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God You are!" Nehemiah 9:31

Completely Desperate

Have you ever felt completely desperate for help but totally undeserving? When I was in high school, I completely slacked off and didn’t have enough credits to finish my junior year. I didn’t deserve to graduate, but the school had mercy and let me pass. Have you ever been in a similar situation? Mercy is “kind and gentle treatment of someone having no right to it.” And it’s the 2nd way God describes Himself. When He says He is merciful, He’s saying it’s His natural tendency to be kind and gentle to people who don’t deserve it—people like you and me.

Mercy for All?

So who gets God’s mercy? It’s one of those things that is backwards in our minds. We think, “Good behavior=kind treatment.” You should get what’s coming to you, right? Wrong! Remember the definition of mercy: Kindness to those who don’t deserve it. Imagine the biggest outcast you knew growing up—the kid no one wanted to be near. Maybe you felt like that, unloved and not good enough. Well that was this blind man. When Jesus was on Earth, people thought blindness was caused by sin. Can you think of an affliction you or someone has today that people think is their fault? Maybe it’s being divorced, depressed, sick, or poor. We judge others, thinking, “It’s their fault they’re like that.” Or we judge ourselves, thinking, “I deserve these circumstances. I don’t deserve mercy.”

God = Not Like Us

But God looks down on the desperate and thinks: They really need my help! And if they are humble enough to call out to God, that’s exactly what He’ll do. Read this story about Jesus and a blind man to prove it:

As Jesus was coming near Jericho, there was a blind man sitting by the road, begging. When he heard the crowd passing by, he asked, “What is this?” “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they told him. He cried out, “Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!” The people in front scolded him and told him to be quiet. But he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David! Have mercy on me!” So Jesus stopped and ordered the blind man to be brought to Him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Sir,” he answered, “I want to see again.” Jesus said to him, “Then see! Your faith has made you well.” At once he was able to see, and he followed Jesus, giving thanks to God. When the crowd saw it, they all praised God. Luke 18:35-43

Why Him?

What made Jesus stop for the blind man? No one else cared about him. In fact, they all thought he deserved to be blind. Jesus should help more deserving people, people with very good backgrounds or prestige. But it was actually the very thing that people thought separated him from God that brought him near…his desperation and humility. When you are an afflicted outcast, pride goes out the door. And that humble place is exactly what draws God. “Though the LORD is great, He cares for the humble, but He keeps His distance from the proud.” Psalm 138:6 If you are afflicted and humble, you are exactly who God wants to help.

Be Like the Blind Man

Are you in a desperate place right now? Maybe it’s your job, health, or a relationship. Maybe you’re just desperate to hear from God and feel His love. You might feel that you don’t deserve it (truth is, none of us do!), but that’s exactly the time when God wants to show you mercy. Be like the blind man and cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And like him, keep doing it until Jesus grants your request. No matter how many people tell you to keep quiet or give up hope, keep crying out to Jesus! He will turn around and hear your request—He is merciful!

Proof of God’s Mercy:

Here are some everyday examples of God’s mercy.

• The earth continues to blossom and renew, even after all the bad things we do to it: “When You send Your Spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth” Psalm 104:30
• We are not consumed on the spot for all of our evil deeds: “He does not punish us for all our sins; He does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve” Psalm 103:10
• People with severe sicknesses are healed, either by medicine (God’s creation) or a miracle: “Jesus saw the huge crowd…and had compassion on them and healed their sick” Matthew 14:14

A Great Earthquake

"There was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon become as blood." Revelation 6:12

In the year 1755 occurred the most terrible earthquake that has ever been recorded. Though commonly known as the earthquake of Lisbon, it extended to the greater part of Europe, Africa, and America. It was felt in Greenland, in the West Indies, in the island of Madeira, in Norway and Sweden, Great Britain and Ireland. It pervaded an extent of not less than four million square miles. In Africa the shock was almost as severe as in Europe. A great part of Algiers was destroyed; and a short distance from Morocco, a village containing eight or ten thousand inhabitants was swallowed up. A vast wave swept over the coast of Spain and Africa, engulfing cities, and causing great destruction.

It was in Spain and Portugal that the shock manifested its extreme violence. At Cadiz the inflowing wave was said to be sixty feet high. Mountains--some of the largest in Portugal--"were impetuously shaken, as it were from the very foundation; and some of them opened at their summits, which were split and rent in a wonderful manner, huge masses of them being thrown down into the subjacent valleys. Flames are related to have issued from these mountains."

At Lisbon "a sound of thunder was heard underground, and immediately afterward a violent shock threw down the greater part of that city. In the course of about six minutes sixty thousand persons perished. The sea first retired, and laid the bar dry, it then rolled in, rising fifty feet above its ordinary level." "The most extraordinary circumstance which occurred at Lisbon during the catastrophe, was the subsidence of the new quay, built entirely of marble, at an immense expense. A great concourse of people had collected there for safety, as a spot where they might be beyond the reach of falling ruins; but suddenly the quay sunk down with all the people on it, and not one of the dead bodies ever floated to the surface."

The shock of the earthquake "was instantly followed by the fall of every church and convent, almost all the large and public buildings, and one-fourth of the houses. In about two hours afterward, fires broke out in different quarters, and raged with such violence for the space of nearly three days that the city was completely desolated. The earthquake happened on a holy day, when the churches and convents were full of people, very few of whom escaped." "The terror of the people was beyond description. Nobody wept; it was beyond tears. They ran hither and thither, delirious with horror and astonishment, beating their faces and breasts, crying, 'Misericordia! the world's at an end!' Mothers forgot their children, and ran loaded with crucifixed images. Unfortunately, many ran to the churches for protection; but in vain was the sacrament exposed; in vain did the poor creatures embrace the altars; images, priests, and people were buried in one common ruin."

God Will Help His People

Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow. Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. - Isaiah 43:16-19

The time has come, when, as God opens the way, families should move out of the cities. The children should be taken into the country. The parents should get as suitable a place as their means will allow. Though the dwelling may be small, yet there should be land in connection with it, that may be cultivated.

Parents can secure small homes in the country, with land for cultivation, where they can have orchards and where they can raise vegetables and small fruits... On such places the children will not be surrounded with the corrupting influences of city life. God will help His people to find such homes outside the cities.

Let everyone take time to consider carefully; and not be like the man in the parable who began to build, and was not able to finish. Not a move should be made but that movement and all that it portends are carefully considered--everything weighed. . . . To every man was given his work according to his several ability. Then let him not move hesitatingly, but firmly, and yet humbly trusting in God.

There may be individuals who will make a rush to do something, and enter into some business they know nothing about. This God does not require. Think candidly, prayerfully, studying the Word with all carefulness and prayerfulness, with mind and heart awake to hear the voice of God. . . . To understand the will of God is a great thing.

Out of the Cities

Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the earth.- Isaiah 5:8

The physical surroundings in the cities are often a peril to health. The constant liability to contact with disease, the prevalence of foul air, impure water, impure food, the crowded, dark, unhealthful dwellings, are some of the many evils to be met.

It was not God's purpose that people should be crowded into cities, huddled together in terraces and tenements. In the beginning He placed our first parents amidst the beautiful sights and sounds He desires us to rejoice in today. The more nearly we come into harmony with God's original plan, the more favorable will be our position to secure health of body, and mind, and soul.

"Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess." Deuteronomy 5:33

Out of the cities. Do not consider it a great deprivation, that you must go into the hills and mountains, but seek for that retirement where you can be alone with God, to learn His will and way. . . .

Make it your lifework to seek for spirituality. Christ is at the door. Do not consider it a privation when you are called to leave the cities and move out into the country places. Here there await rich blessings for those who will grasp them. By beholding the scenes of nature, the works of the Creator, by studying God's handiwork, imperceptibly you will be changed into the same image.

The Anti-christ - John's Vision

"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority." Revelation 13:1-2

"And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast."

"And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?"

"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months."

"And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven."

"And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations."

"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Revelation 13:3-8

"And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."

"Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." Revelation 13:17-18

God, Your Compassionate Father

Scripture: "The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion." Psalm 116:5 

What is Compassion?

I want you to imagine that your best friend broke his leg and has to use crutches everywhere. He’s so tired and is getting blisters on his hands. So you go out and buy a pair of crutches and use them alongside him. In the same way it takes longer and much more effort for him to go anywhere, so it does for you. Just how he gets tired and blistered, so do you. You walk alongside him, even though you don’t have to, feeling his pain and being his friend. That’s compassion. And it’s the first word God used to describe Himself.

Beyond Compassion

Compassion literally means to suffer with. When I have a problem, my mom says she feels it too—that’s the compassion of a parent. And God has that for you, only much more: “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him” Psalm 103:13. But God goes far beyond just feeling your pain. He chose to take it on Himself, and completely remove it from you.

Jesus—the Pain Exchanger

When Jesus came to earth, it wasn’t just to show people a better way to live, or what God is really like, though I am so thankful He did both! Jesus’ mission went beyond feeling the pain of being human, with sickness and sadness and pain: He came to literally take your pain and suffering for Himself, so that you could have eternal life with God. Read here what He did for you, predicted hundreds of years in advance:

He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on Him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses He carried; it was our sorrows that weighed Him down. And we thought His troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for His own sins! But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. Isaiah 53:3-5

Jesus didn’t just feel you pain; He took it from you. It’s like you had a 50 lb weight around your leg, and He didn’t just strap one to His feet to feel your pain: He knelt down, took your weight (and everyone else’s!) and strapped it to His own leg, so that you could walk free. 

The Deepest Pain

You say, “But I still feel pain!” Yes, you will experience sadness, sickness, and hardships on this earth. But Jesus completely changed the root and the ending of your life. Imagine your life as a bookshelf filled with books, held together by two bookends. The bookends used to be rotten and moldy: how your life began in sin and would end in sin, separated from God. But Jesus personally took your moldy bookends and replaced them with His golden ones, giving you His eternal life, love, and forgiveness.

Come to your Compassionate God

And all the books in between? Jesus completely understands them. He willingly walked in your shoes and felt the pain of sickness, loneliness—even separation from God when He hung on the cross. Hebrews 4:15 says, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin.” So that chapter of loneliness, longing, or hurt, He is reading right alongside you. God wants you to come to Him as your compassionate Father, knowing that He is not going to be cold-hearted toward your pain, but tender-hearted and caring. Anytime you have a hurt or pain, run straight to Him! No one understands more or can carry it better than Jesus.