“I feel like I’m being punished,”
says a woman in her mid-50’s
after learning that she has
cancer. Reflecting on a wrong
she committed years earlier,
she concludes, “This must be
God’s way of telling me I
sinned.”
WHEN faced with adversity, many
people feel that God is punishing
them for some past wrong.
Overwhelmed by a sudden
avalanche of problems, they may
be heard to lament: “Why me?
What have I done to deserve
this ?” Should we conclude that
our problems are an indication
of divine disapproval? Are
personal adversities really a
punishment from God?
Faithful Worshippers
Experienced
Adversity
Consider what the Bible reports
about a man named Job. Without
warning, he suddenly lost his
wealth. Next, all ten of his
children were killed in a
windstorm. Soon thereafter, he
was struck with a debilitating,
loathsome disease. ( Job 1:13-19;
2:7, Such adversities led Job to
cry out: “The hand of God has
struck me down.” (Job 19:21,
Today’s English Version)
Evidently, like many today, Job felt
that God was punishing him.
However, the Bible reveals that
before Job ’s trials began, God
himself had described Job as “a
man blameless and upright,
fearing God and turning aside
from bad. ” (Job 1: In view of
this expression of divine
approval, it is clear that Job’s
adversities were not a
punishment from God.
The fact is, the Bible is filled with
accounts of upright individuals
who faced personal adversities.
Although he was a loyal servant
of God, Joseph endured years of
unjust imprisonment. ( Genesis
39:10-20; 40:15) The faithful
Christian Timothy suffered from
“ frequent cases of
sickness.” (1 Timothy 5:23) Even
Jesus Christ, who never did
wrong, was cruelly mistreated
before suffering an agonizing
death. ( 1 Peter 2:21-24) Hence, it
is a mistake to conclude that
adversity must be an expression
of God ’s displeasure. But if God is
not responsible for adversity,
who, if anyone, is?
The Causes of Our
Problems
The Bible shows that Satan the
Devil was the cause of Job ’s
tragedies. (Job 1:7-12; 2:3-
Furthermore, it identifies Satan
as the chief source of our
problems today when it states:
“ Woe for the earth and for the
sea, because the Devil has come
down to you, having great anger,
knowing he has a short period
of time. ” (Revelation 12:12) As
“the ruler of this world,” Satan
has influenced many to engage
in evil acts that have resulted in
untold misery and heartache. —
John 12:31; Psalm 37:12, 14.*
We should not, however, be
quick to blame the Devil for every
adversity we experience. As a
result of inherited sin and
imperfection, we are prone to
make unwise decisions that can
cause us problems. (Psalm 51:5;
Romans 5:12) For example,
imagine a man who by choice
neither eats properly nor gets
sufficient rest. If this eventually
leads to serious health problems,
should he blame the Devil? No,
the man has merely reaped the
bitter consequences of his own
poor judgment. ( Galatians 6:7) In
such an instance, it is just as a
Bible proverb puts it: “A man’s
own folly wrecks his life.”—
Proverbs 19:3, The New English
Bible .
Finally, it must be realized that
many unpleasant experiences are
simply the result of “time and
unforeseen
occurrence.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11)
Consider the person who is
unexpectedly caught in a
rainstorm. Whether he will get a
little wet or completely drenched
may just depend on where he
happens to be standing when
the rain begins to fall. Similarly, in
these “critical times hard to deal
with,” negative conditions can
quickly turn into a downpour of
adversity. ( 2 Timothy 3:1-5) To
what extent we are personally
affected is often a matter of
timing and circumstances, over
which we may have little or no
control. Does this mean, then,
that we will always be plagued
with adversity?
All Adversity Soon to
End
Happily, Jehovah God will bring
an end to all adversity very soon.
( Isaiah 25:8; Revelation 1:3;
21:3, 4) In the meantime, he
shows that he really cares for us
by providing “instruction” and
“comfort from the Scriptures” so
that we can cope with trials now
as we look forward to that
wonderful future just ahead.
( Romans 15:4; 1 Peter 5:7) At
that time, those who are upright
in God ’s eyes will enjoy unending
life in a new world, free from
every form of adversity. —Psalm
37:29, 37.
* See the article “The Bible’s
Viewpoint: Who Is Satan? Is He
Real ?” in the February 2007 issue
of Awake!

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From those Bible accounts God does not in any way cause the things that adversely affect us be it natural disasters or evil

it is true that our ancestors have lived long bin before Christ came.it will be comforting to note this bibles hope for them in ACTS 24:15, THERE IS GOING TO BE A RESURRECTION OF BOTH THE RIGHTEOUS AND UNRIGHTEOUS.These unrighteous people are those who were not given the opportunity to come know about GOD and what HE wants them to do.They ll be the chance to learn about GOD AND LATER TESTED TO SEE WHERE THEIR LOYALITY LIES

Please all should please listen to me.I am not here to make you change your belief nor am here provoke anyone but i am only here to say the truth.It is true that speech is free but the result td cannot bear it.JAMES 1:13 SAYS WHEN UNDER TRIAL LET NO ONE SAY I AM BEING TRIED BY GOD BECAUSE WITH EVIL THINGS GOD CANNOT BE TRIED NOR DOES IF TRY ANYONE.The faithful man JOB ADDED WEIGHT to that statement in JOB 34:10 and 12.

Deuteronomy 30:19 answers“I DO TAKE THE HEAVENS AND EARTH AS WITNESSES AGAINST YOU TODAY THAT I HAVE PUT BEFORE YOU TODAY LIFE AND DEATH,BLESSING AND CURSE AND YOU MUST CHOOSE LIFE THAT YOU MAY KEEP ALIFE”from that BIBLE account you will believe with me that we are free moral agent that decides what our life will be like.Already GOD himself have put these things into motion so whatever we do today we are solely held responsible for our actions

From my earlier quote since a balance was needed to restore what was lost by ADAM and on human is equal to adam because all are imperfect so only a PERFECT BEING was needed to carry that task CHRIST was sent and in other to retain his perfect state HE was his life was transferred from heaven to the womb of a virgin to act as medium to be born as a human.Please i humble advice to check what we say and do be JEHOVAH OUR GOD SEARCHES OUR HEART.

From my earlier quote since a balance was needed to restore what was lost by ADAM and on human is equal to adam because all are imperfect so only a PERFECT BEING was needed to carry that task CHRIST was sent and in other to retain his perfect state HE was his life was transferred from heaven to the womb of a virgin to act as medium to be born as a human.Please i humble advice to check what we say and do be JEHOVAH OUR GOD SEARCHES OUR HEART.

sorry for the break as i was saying that the blood of bulls wap not enough to cleanse us one and for all time reason being that it was not equal to the perfect state Adam was meaning that something perfect was still required to balance the equation.PERFECTION WAS NEEDED TO UNDO WHAT PERFECTION DID.No human was able to do this because Romans5:12 ans just as through one man sin entered the world, because they had all sinned.

well well well i have being reading your post and wap really fascinated by how jesus was born but before i start on this i want us to bear this point in mind what was Jesus purpose of coming to earth.Remember it was as a result of Adam's sin that lead to all there events and also bear in mind that he was perfect before he sinned.It is of no suprise to us that the blood of sheep and bulls was not enough to cleanse us of that sin

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A loving father may punish his children but he ll never torture them!Many religion teach that God tortures sinners in eternal hellfire.This it claims is divine justice.If that is true,who created that terrible place of eternal torment?And who is responsible for the agonies inflicted there?If such a place exist God would have to be the creator of it and he ll be responsible for what happens there!

Imagine for a moment the following horrific scene:A person is being roasted on a hot iron plate.In his agony he screams for mercy but nobody listens.The torture goes on and on day after day without pause.Whatever crime the victim may have committed would your heart not in out for him?What of the one who ordered thetorture?Could he be a loving person?Not at all.Love is mercyful& shows pity

Many people has had different views concerning the term HELL.Some view Hell as a place of torment for evil doers while others has contrary opinion.What is the Bibles view point.I only want people who are willing to do research and not those that argue blindly or hearsay.Please such people are not allowed to make contributions

All your questions will be answered.My work here is to defend the Bible from fellow Christians who erroneously teach what is not there.Do you own a Bible?Do not be embarrased or think otherwise cause i have a reason for asking you.2Timothy3:16 said all scriptures is inspired by God and it is good 4 teaching 4reproofing 4setting things straight 4disciplining in righteousness that the man of God many be fully competent completely equipped for every good work.From this account it shows God is the author of the Bible.

Is that how you reason?Is that how you try to intimidate others by trying to call them names Islamics and cultics?Islamics have more hope than you who claim to be a christian because they believe in existence of only one supreme Being- JEHOVAH.1 CORINTHIANS 8:5,6 reads "FOR EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE THOSE WHO ARE CALLED 'gods',WHETHER IN HEAVEN OR ON EARTH,JUST AS THERE ARE MANY 'gods'AND MANY 'lords'.THERE IS ACTUALLY TO US ONE GOD THE FATHER OUT OF Whom all this things are and we for Him and there is ONE LORD JESUS CHRIST through whom all things are and we through him"l really foot want to argue again but i am leaving you the warnings of Matthew18:6 'But whoever stumbles one of this little ones who put faith in me,its better 4 that person to hang around his neck a milestone & thrown into the sea'l am not really suprised Bible prophecies must be fulfilled 1Tim4:1 and 2Tim4:4.But the question still remains WHY MUST THEPROPHECY BEFULFILLED ON YOU?This is my last Quote on this thread.LETHIM THATHas ears listen

Why are you avoiding answering my question?I asked if Jesus as you claim is part of Almighty God why is it he does not know what the Father knows (Matt24:36)We should not in any way try to teach what is unscriptural.Pro 8:22 Jesus said that Jehovah produced him as the beginning of his ways the earliest of his achievements of long ago.Revelation 3:14 says And to the angel of the congregation in Laodicea write:These are the things that the Amen says the faithful and true witness the beginning of the creation by God and what exactly can you make out of in the bible book of 1Corinthians 8:5,6 and 1Peter1:3 clearly Trinity is not scriptural but the philosophy of men.Please this is an open thread we want to tell them the truth on this subject and take the warnings of Matthew 18:6 to heart

According to Matt 15:9 said we should not teach the commands of me as doctrine.Colossians 1:15 tells us that Jesus is the first born of all creation and Proverbs 8:22 affirms the fact that Jesus was created.So if Jesus was created,how can he be equal to his creator?Jesus never considered himself equal to his Father no wonder at John14:28 he told his disciples that the Father is greater than he is.If Jesus had said this things,who are we to say otherwise?In my next quote we will consider the account of 1CORINTHIANS15:21-28

I really appreciate your method of reasoning and your indebt knowledge in scriptures.I have questions to ask you concerning the word being in beginning.Since your study of the scriptures,have you ever read that God has a beginning?If christ is the same as Almighty God why is it the Father whom he shares the nature know more than him(Matt24:36)which reads in part concerning that day or hour nobody knows not even the angels nor the Son but only the Father.Please i will you answer my questions serialy

It really interests me to see people especiately youth like myself who are eager to find answers to questions that matter most in life.I really appreciate the effort Huxley2 made in putting the Bible book of Matthew 24 down.Concerning the Bible author Isaiah46:10 says:'The One telling from the beginning the end and son ancient times the things that has not be done the one saying My own council will stand and anything that is my delight i shall do'Hebrews6:18 tells us that it is impossible for God to lie.So since God himself tells from the beginning the end so what has he said in our time? Please follow of and examine that same Matthew 24.Verse 6 and 7made mention of something consider the millions of lives the two world wars have taken and and what about the earthquakes we face.Have you ever look at statistics and see the number of people has killed?Have you taken time to see the number killed by diseases?What about the outbreak of diseases?Were they rampart back then?Can you compare the numbers?

It really interests me to see people especiately youth like myself who are eager to find answers to questions that matter most in life.I really appreciate the effort Huxley2 made in putting the Bible book of Matthew 24 down.Concerning the Bible author Isaiah46:10 says:'The One telling from the beginning the end and son ancient times the things that has not be done the one saying My own council will stand and anything that is my delight i shall do'Hebrews6:18 tells us that it is impossible for God to lie.So since God himself tells from the beginning the end so what has he said in our time? Please follow of and examine that same Matthew 24.Verse 6 and 7made mention of something consider the millions of lives the two world wars have taken and and what about the earthquakes we face.Have you ever look at statistics and see the number of people has killed?Have you taken time to see the number killed by diseases?What about the outbreak of diseases?Were they rampart back then?Can you compare the numbers?

, So this additional information from my last post shows how John1:1 should be understood.Jesus,the Word,is a 'god'inn the sense that that he has a high position but is not the same as Almighty God.If you are not sure what the bible writer John was really saying about the relationship between Jesus and God you could turn to another bible writer for more explanation since the bible does not contradite itself.Consider what was written by Matthew,for example.Regarding the end,he quotes Jesus as saying: 'Concerning that day and hour nobody knows,neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son,but only the Father'(Matt24:36)How do this words confirm that Jesus is not Almighty God?Jesus says that the Father knows more than the Son does.If Jesus were part of Almighty God,however,he would know the same fact as his Father.So,then,the Son and Father cannot be equal.Yet some will say; 'Jesus had two natures.Here he speaks as a man'.But even he that were so,what about the holy spirit?That place said its not aware

Ireally have to appreciate the efforts you all have being putting to the understanding of the term 'trinity`1John4:1'Do not believe every word Test and See whether they originate from God because many False Prophets have forth into the World'.Please the word trinity nor its idea cannot be found in the Bible.For us to understand the context of John1:1 let up look at 18 of that Bible book-No man has seen God;the only begotten god who is in bosom position with the father is the one that has explained him.However considering John1:14,how then could the son be part of Almighty God?John also states that the word "was with God".How can an individual be with someone and at the same time be that person?Moreover,as recorded at John17:3,Jesus made a clear distinction between him and his heavenly Father"the only true God".And toward the end of his Gospel,John sums up matters by saying 'These have being written down that you may believe that Jesus is the son of God(John20:31)Notice that Jesus is notcalledGod bt Gods son

I have said my mind