tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25253203.post115999320631928474..comments2023-07-04T08:14:16.030-05:00Comments on Eyes Open Wide: The Discipline of the Lord (Part 1)Doulos Christouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04575598875038475380noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25253203.post-1160511249023822022006-10-10T15:14:00.000-05:002006-10-10T15:14:00.000-05:00Doulos,That was a good answer to Anonymous. Anony...Doulos,<BR/><BR/>That was a good answer to Anonymous. Anonymous, your statements cannot be refuted without appeal to faith and if faith is rejected then there is no answer at all. Abram, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, all the prophets, the apostles, and our brother Paul, all gave their lives to God based on faith and faith alone. Were they wrong? Can you prove they were wrong? Can you prove the deaths of the Puritan Pilgrims were useless? Of course not. You can't see what God did with any of those events in history. The ramifications of such things are spiritual in nature and cannot be seen. That is why our "deluded" brother urges the followers of Jesus to "not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles (like being sawed in half) are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on wht is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18<BR/><BR/>Simply put, we cannot SEE what happens in the spiritual realm and if we could then there would be no call to FAITH.Shiloh Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00516285675816569740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25253203.post-1160020073593750592006-10-04T22:47:00.000-05:002006-10-04T22:47:00.000-05:00Anon...Tough questions which require a thoughtful ...Anon...<BR/><BR/>Tough questions which require a thoughtful answer. I, on the other hand, have only one: Faith.<BR/><BR/>The Bible is plain and honest about the fact that many who believed - the "heroes" of the Old Testament - died without receiving what had been promised! (Hebrews 11:39)<BR/><BR/>We Christians "believe" God. Not just believe in Him (even the demons believe, and tremble - James 2:19), but we believe Him. Like it says in Hebrews 11:1-5: and <BR/><BR/>"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead." <BR/><BR/>"By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God." <BR/><BR/>"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."<BR/><BR/>No matter the outcome, at least for me, it's worth taking the leap!<BR/><BR/>DoulosDoulos Christouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04575598875038475380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25253203.post-1159999533361348742006-10-04T17:05:00.000-05:002006-10-04T17:05:00.000-05:00Yeah, yeah, yeah. the Lord disciplines those he l...Yeah, yeah, yeah. the Lord disciplines those he loves... what a crock. The Lord doesn't give a rip - And I can prove it.<BR/><BR/>In 1620, One hundred godly men, women, and children set off to live in a new land where they would be free to practice their devoutly held faith in a new world - far from the negative influences of a corrupt Church of England, and an indifferent, and already atheistic population in the Netherlands. Yet rather than bless these brave and faithful people, within a few months the Lord had allowed half of them to die in terrible pain from starvation, exposure, and disease...<BR/> <BR/>After 385 years, it is fair to wonder why the Lord wanted that to happen. What good came of it? In what way did the horrible suffering of these God fearing people serve to advance the Kingdom in any way at all?<BR/><BR/>Need more examples? Look at the example of Isaiah. For all his hard work for the Lord, at the end of his life, he was rewarded by being executed by being sawn in half. SAWN IN HALF!<BR/><BR/>What kind of monster would allow his faithful servant to be sawn in half - even if some good were to come of it?<BR/><BR/>After 2800 years, is there any evidence that Isaiah's gruesome death and terrible suffering served any purpose? No.<BR/><BR/>There is therefore one obvious answer: <BR/><BR/>The suffering of these good people served no purpose. <BR/><BR/>God does not in fact turn bad things into good. <BR/><BR/>The universe is chaotic, and events are completely random. <BR/><BR/>And our buddy Paul was deluded.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com