Good God, Evil World: Why would a good God allow bad things to happen?

Why is their evil in the world? Why would a good and loving God allow such things to happen. Why would he let that little boy be killed, that little girl be kidnapped and sold into slavery? Why are these things happening in my life when I am trying so hard? These are the kind of questions we have all asked or pondered at some time or another. These are the things that keep many of us questioning, doubting, maybe even the things that keep us from placing our faith in God and trusting him with our lives.

If we take a look at the word of God and the history of mankind, I believe the answer becomes all too clear. Genesis tells us that in the beginning, God created everything, the heavens and the earth, day and night, water and sky, animals, plants and people. He looked at all he created and said "it was good". God had created a perfect world. There was no sin, pain or suffering; this was how he intended for us to live. But something happened in the Garden of Eden that would spark a question, a question that would remain in the hearts and thoughts of man thru out this life, a question we are still asking today.

You see in this perfect paradise God had created, he placed a tree, a tree that he said we were never to eat from, and he allowed a serpent to come onto the scene, who would tempt us to eat from that tree. So here begins the question, why would God do this? Why would he allow this opening for even the possibility for evil to enter this perfect creation? The answer is simple...choice. God did not want us to serve him because we had no other option. He desired that we would choose to love and obey him. The tree represents our choice. A choice to either trust, love and obey God or to rebel and choose our own way, our own selfish, sinful desires. The choice was God or evil. See God is good. James 1:17 tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from above. From the father who made the sun, moon and stars. Everything good comes from God, and without God there is nothing good. Evil is the absence of God. So our choice was God or no God. God or evil. Mankind chose evil on that day. On that day God's perfect creation was cursed and broken. Truthfully, God would have been perfectly justified then to destroy all of mankind or to leave us to our own destruction but in his immeasurable love and grace, he chose to give us another chance. He chose to make another way for us to still have a choice. He wrapped himself in the flesh, stepped down from his heavenly throne and became a man, the man Jesus. He willingly trudged up a hill called Calvary, with the weight of a cross and the sins of all mankind on his shoulder and he gave up his own life to pay the wages of our sin. He did this so that once again, we could have a choice.

Today, there is evil in the world. There is hate. There is greed. There is sickness. There is death...but there is a choice. We today are faced yet again with the same choice God gave Adam and Eve in the garden. God or evil. In fact I believe that is one of the primary purposes for our time on this Earth. An opportunity to choose. If you've ever said or thought, why am I being punished for the choice Adam and Eve made? It's not the choice I would have made. Your life, right now, is your chance to prove yourself. For those who choose God, to love, obey and trust him, there will come a day when evil will be no more and all things will be made perfect again. Thank God for such grace and love!

The Seekers Heart

Plans, strategies, programs; not bad things in and of themselves, but what we really need is God's presence. If that's not our chief concern then all those other things will be in vain.

He comes to those who seek him, and with all their heart at that. It's that simple. If we're missing his presence it's because we're missing a seekers heart.

Jeremiah 29:13 says this: You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Interestingly enough, when researched in the original Hebrew, the word seek here...well it means 'seek'. That's right, it means exactly what it says.

Herein lies the issue I believe. The fact is we are such a busy, give it to me now, microwave oven kind of culture that we just don't have time for things like true seeking anymore. Honestly, it would be easier if we could just go about our lives, doing our own thing and when we need God for something just wink and he be there, ready to do our bidding. Unfortunately, we are probably all guilty sometimes of treating God kind of like our own personal Genie in a bottle.

Funny thing is we still tend get upset with God when he doesn't seem to show up on cue. Often we find ourselves in the middle of a crisis, not seeing God, not feeling God, and honestly not sure he's even there and wondering why.
Maybe our church services even feel a little slack on his presence lately. The glory is just not tangible and manifest like it once was. The Holy Spirit doesn't seem to have the time to interrupt our routine these days...maybe that's it, or maybe it's this: maybe God is just looking, anxiously waiting even, for someone who will diligently seek him with all their heart again. Maybe he desires a people who won't just run in and out of service on their own time schedule, looking for a quick pick me up. Maybe he wants to connect intimately, deeply with those who will sacrifice their precious time for his priceless presence...those who know what it means to persevere in prayer.

After all, if he just handed out all his goodness like candy to everyone who stretched out their needy hand, wouldn't everyone in the world be on board. I mean that's easy, the way we like it. The truth is God's mystery revealed, the depth of his character, his heart and heartbeat...they were never really meant to be known by the casual pew warmer, or anyone who takes such a great and holy presence so flippantly. No, he's much to jealous a God for that. He wants our time and affection. He wants our undivided attention and he's reserved an immeasurable amount of goodness for those who are willing to truly seek him.

No More Clapping

      The room erupted with clapping and affirmative shouts and amen’s. Immediately I joined in on the affirmation. Apparently, the Pastor had reached a climactic point in his sermon and I wanted to be sure that he knew I was with him. Then a thought struck me, I had no idea what he had just said. It seemed I had allowed my mind to wander off for just a moment and missed one of the main points of the sermon. I had no idea what the point was, but there I was clapping and nodding my approval whole-heartedly. Wow, how many times had I done that before and never even realized what I was doing? Furthermore, how many people in that sanctuary were just like me? My intentions were good, I thought, and I trusted this man, after all he was my pastor, but what if? What if what he had just said did not line up with scripture? What if there were hundreds of people in that room who were just taking him at his word and I was only deepening the impact by applauding in confirmation of its truthfulness. The Holy Spirit continued to nudge me, gently rebuking and teaching, as he so often does. Are we living out our Christian lives in like fashion, simply ambling along, nodding, receiving what we have been taught, and never really searching it out for ourselves in scripture? Even the most well intentioned, God-loving men are fallible. We are all capable of being in error, even mislead sometimes by our own opinions and emotions. God’s word, in contrast, is infallible, everlasting and never changing. That is why we must seek out contextual evidence in scripture for every teaching.

I believe this is what God meant in his word when he said, “work out your own salvation, with much fear and trembling.” I’ve often seen people use this bit of scripture as some kind of justification for sin that they just don’t want to let go of, saying things like ‘well I’m not convicted about that and God said for me to work out my own salvation, so I feel this is just between me and him.’ I actually see no evidence in the context of this scripture that points in anyway to such a meaning. Instead I believe what the Lord was saying is this; get into my word yourself, seek me and my truth out for yourself and do so fearfully. Don’t let a man alone direct your path but let my word be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path. I pray I am not misunderstood here, God gave us pastors to be our shepherds and to help guide us in the right way but Jesus is the great shepherd and ultimately everything must line up with the truth of scripture.

            I heard a message given by Francis Chan in which he shared a story that I would like to share with you. He told of a time when a couple of Jehovah’s witnesses came by his home seeking to share their beliefs. He said they went back and forth for a while sharing teachings and why they believed them to be true. One of their beliefs was that Saint Michael the Archangel and Jesus were one and the same. Finally, Francis looked at them and said, look me in the eyes and be honest with me and tell me that you’ve read the bible and come to this conclusion for yourselves, or is this something you believe just because you’ve been fed it. He then says they went away saying that they did need to study for themselves and they thought they would do so. Francis said as they left he was feeling pretty good about his point until he begin to think, was I fair to them? I mean have I truly read and proven everything I believe thru scripture or am I also believing some things that I’ve just been fed?

            This is a dangerous time we live in, to just take what we are told at face value.. Our beliefs are being questioned at every turn, our Christian faith is being labeled as old-fashioned and intolerant and God’s word is being twisted and perverted even by many who claim to be his messengers and followers. It is especially dangerous for those who are not personally well grounded in God’s word, for if you build your house without a good foundation it will surely fall. His word warns us that, in the last days even many of the elect, if it were possible, would be deceived. How could this be? Could it simply be because his word is not hidden in our heart. Even King David himself understood this necessity when he said, ‘hide your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.’

            With more and more false religions, false teachings, and hypocritical preachers who seek only to please men and tickle their ears, we must be ever vigilant in standing guard. Let us say that we will not suffer the defilement of his true and holy word, not on our watch. We must know his word in order to proclaim it and we must proclaim it without relent for it is the power of God unto the salvation of men.

            The God of the universe is sending us a wake up call, his message: no more clapping. Stop sleepily clapping and nodding away, it’s time to wake up and address the deception. There is no time for apathy, no room for compromise. His word is uncompromising, and sovereign. It is not, nor will it ever be subject to man’s will or opinion.

The Everyday Storm

In the light of all the suffering and loss sustained in Alabama and surrounding states due to the recent tornadoes, something beautiful and amazing has surfaced and begun to shine through the dark days like a diamond caught in the sunlight. The good will, humanity and self sacrifice of neighbors, answering the call to meet the needs of those in crisis is awe inspiring. Truly in times like these we see the potential of the human race to be selfless, adequate in the ability to love thy neighbor as thyself. When we see a catastrophe such as this and witness such loss and tragedy, we are moved to action by something innate, something built into our DNA…love. Love alone, love unconditional, will give of itself to save another.


Here in Selma, Al there is a far greater crisis taking place even now. It is one that may not be as visible to the undiscerning eye but its effects are devastating. In our streets, in our workplaces, in our homes, all around us victims are claimed. Just like those storm victims who did lie trapped beneath rubble and debris, waiting and praying for rescue; our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends and loved ones lie trapped here beneath invisible walls that have fallen in, in deep hopelessness, bound by the chains of sin, under the jurisdiction of death and they are crying out for help. They are waiting for their rescuer. Though they may not even know that God is their only hope and Christ their savior, when the garbage and debris are peeled away and the light begins to pour into the dark places and the chains fall away, they will see and they will be eternally grateful. The plight of the victims of these tornadoes is indeed sad and not to be belittled, but this too shall pass, but for those facing the crisis of death and hell, their suffering will be an eternal one. What are we doing to rescue them?


It is hard for me to comprehend how we can be moved with such compassion to take action to save lives and meet needs after a terrible storm, yet daily we like the priest and the Levite pass by people who are dying and in need and do not take the time to stop and help them. I am definitely not saying that we should not help those victims of such great catastrophes, or that it is not a wonderful thing to do. I am simply wondering why we cannot choose to live with such compassion every day. Were love and selflessness to become a lifestyle rather than a reaction to certain stimuli then the entire world would be saved and there would be no need unmet. The Good Samaritan inconvenienced himself greatly. He did not have an extra donkey, he placed the suffering man on his own donkey, and then he took the reins and walked him the rest of the way to the city. His loving rescue came out of self-sacrifice. Maybe it is that we too often are just not willing to walk those extra miles.


My hearts’ desire is that you will join me and that today we will not only reach out with compassion to those victims of the storms, but that we will continue in our endeavors each and every day, to reach out with compassion to those in the greatest crisis of all, an eternal crisis for which Jesus is the only rescue.

A Right View of God Produces Greater Faith

What is it that is impossible for God or what is he unable to do or accomplish. It is our lack of understanding, and right-seeing of whom God is that weakens our faith and ushers in doubt. Surely if we could truly grasp the infinite, limitless nature of God, all doubt and fear would be removed. I would venture to say that even the well known saying that we have nothing to fear but fear itself would be proven untrue when we come to the knowledge that even the spirit of fear is at the mercy of our almighty father. What’s more is that there nothing we could not do, rather moving mountains or parting seas, were we to grasp the unlimited resource of the Holy Spirit of God which dwells within us. 16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? -1 Corinthians 3

In our often times sincere and right hearted pursuit of God, we may find that we, from the start, begin wrongly. This being because our very concept of God, of who God is, cripples us from the very offset. To consider him something obtainable, something comprehendible, something that we can wrap our finite minds around, is to inevitably limit his very being. To compare God to anything we’ve known, seen, heard or imagined, is to place him within the very limited realm of human understanding. Instead, we must recognize that he is a being without realm or scope, whose very essence defies all possibility of understanding. God cannot be placed in any box that we can contrive to fit him in. To truly know him, all of him, is a foreign concept that can never be fully realized.

Isaiah 55 describes it like this:

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.



Deuteronomy 4:15-18 conveys to us clearly the truth, that God is of no form or image known to man and thus cannot be represented or defined by any man made thing, either of the reality or the imagination. To do so would be to be guilty of the sin of idolatry.

15 “Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, 16 lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure: the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth.

Why then is it written just a few short scriptures later and many other times throughout the word, in some way or other, that we are to seek God so that we may find him?

Deuteronomy 29 But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Isaiah 55 says this: 6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.

This is the beauty of the revelation of God through his holy word and the experiencing of his glory through the love and power of the Holy Spirit; that we can come to know him in some way, and the essence of who he is, as is revealed to us through his attributes.

“O Majesty unspeakable, my soul desires to behold Thee. I cry to Thee from the dust. Yet when I inquire after thy name it is secret. Thou art hidden in the light which no man can approach unto. What thou art cannot be thought or uttered, for Thy glory is ineffable. Still, prophet and psalmist, apostle and saint have encouraged me to believe that I may in some measure know Thee. Therefore, I pray, whatever of Thyself Thou hast been pleased to disclose, help me to search out as treasure more precious than rubies or the merchandise of fine gold: for with Thee shall I live when the stars of the twilight are no more and the heavens have vanished away and only Thou remainest. Amen.” -A.W. Tozer

1 Corinthians 2 Reveals to us our only hope in knowing him to any extent; that the Spirit of God knows the mind of God and reveals himself unto us:

10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.[c] 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?”[d]

But we have the mind of Christ

So we can know the attributes of God, which are revealed to us through the Holy Spirit but only those which have been revealed; as “God being infinite must possess attributes about which we can know nothing.” -A.W. Tozer

When we rightly see God as he is, being omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, being indescribable, uncontainable, and without bounds or limits then and only then can we understand the profound truth that nothing is impossible for God, as it is said “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13 NIV

Awakening Is Here!

Hey everyone. I know it's been awhile since I've blogged anything. Things have been extremely busy, both with Crosstrainer Student Ministries and D.I.V.E. Kidz. Sometimes keeping facebook, twitter, websites and blogs updated can seem like an impossible task, at least for one person. I just had to take the time today to let everyone know about our incredible weekend at The RAMP though. We took 20+ youth to The Ramp this weekend and to say that God moved mightily would be an understatement. I have been to quite a few Ramp services in the past and every other type of service, convention, rally, etc. you can think of but I can honestly say I believe this was the most powerful yet. It only seems to get more so every time I go. We had several first timers go this time and they all got smoked. It's awesome to know that God is adding to the burning, passionate God seekers we already have among us. If you could only hear, see, and experience all that God is doing in this generation right now you would probably be awestruck. For one moment turn off the news, turn off MTV, turn off the computer...forget everything the world is telling you about this generation. Push out the other junk and listen to what God is saying... Now is the time. This is the generation of the 3rd great awakening. Better get on board now or you might miss out. Here is just one powerful example of what God is doing in our nation and across the world...

March 4, 2011

Revival in South Carolina Schools

Recently Eddie James Ministries had the opportunity to minister in a public school assembly. We frequently get this chance, but this time it was a bit different in that we were actually allowed to talk about God. We usually have to make it "inspirational"(instead of spiritual) as to not offend, etc. A public highschool in South Carolina decided to take a stand & give us (& God) complete freedom to minister! They sent letters home in advance asking permission for the kids to be involved in the meeting. Out of the whole school only 10 students were kept out of the assembly due to their parents wishes. At the end of the meeting around 500 kids came forward to make a statement that they were giving their life to God for Him to have & use. So powerful!
Upon exiting the school, one of the EJM members was stopped by a parent who said "Just so you know my daughter text me today during the school assembly to apologize for her behavior & how she treats me. She also said from here on out she is done messing around with drugs & alcohol - thank you!". Just an example of one of the lives that was forever changed! And not only the highschool student, but what a testimony to her mother.
But the goodness continues, after that school meeting, calls from other public schools began pouring in (I heard there were 10 schools interested in the surrounding areas, but I'm not positive) asking for us to come and deliver the full gospel instead of the usual "No mentioning God" policies that we have to follow in public school systems. Today we went back to the original school for another assembly to find that a few surrounding schools were sending their students over on buses so that they too could participate in the outpouring! 1500+ kids committed their lives to Jesus Christ today.
AWESOME things are happening in South Carolina!!! Please pray that these kids can sustain the relationship they have begun with Jesus, that it's not just a one time thing. Unfortunately we are not able to connect all these kids with a home church. But because true Christianity is first & foremost found in a relationship with Jesus Christ I personally am believing/praying that these kids were so impacted that they find themselves in their bedrooms weeping before His throne & buying Bibles to read on their own until they can find a church home. I'm praying that their parents hear the prayers coming from bedrooms all over South Carolina and what was first poured out in a school gymnasium will overflow into families/homes/communities. In Jesus' name.

*

**Update**

The next school we went to had some issues with their pa system. Eddie just started singing "How Great is Our God" not knowing exactly how the students would react. Within no time at all the public school gymnasium was filled with students standing to their feet, raising their hands & singing along. The presence of God was ushered in! Not only were students impacted but the principal of the school himself got up & admitted that he had intended on telling Eddie to "turn down the religious stuff". However he felt so gripped by the Holy Spirit that he ended up asking Eddie to "turn it up" instead. Awakening is here! =)

Believe it my brothers and sisters! This generation is awakening to their need for God. Their hearts are crying out...WE WILL SHAKE A NATION FOR THE GLORY OF GOD!!!!!

Watch and Pray!

I find it amazing how God works in such a specific, unified way. After last weeks’ pastoral meeting with pastors from around the city, where several pastors shared their hearts, I realized that God is dealing with his people, all of his people, about one same and specific thing: prayer. He has a strategy for everything that he wills to accomplish on Earth. If we are going to accomplish his purposes and will for our lives, then we must find out what his strategies are and get on board with them. How then, can we discover his strategies for saving, delivering, healing and restoring our city, our nation, even our world if we are not communicating with him? God is crying out for us to pray, for through prayer he can do the miraculous. As Pastor David Perry put it, we are the watchmen on the wall and THIS IS OUR WATCH. I don’t know about you but I’m not going to let the enemy seize victory on my watch. We have to wake up and pray. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus urged the disciples to wake up and pray, for he knew of the critical hour that was approaching, yet they continued to slumber. Shortly afterwards, when Peter’s faith was tested, he was found wanting. Was it because he was ill prepared for the coming trials, because he lacked in prayer and communication with God? Had he prayed and known God’s strategy would he have been able to stand in his faith for the one he loved?


God’s word is very distinct about the power of prayer and how prayer works. Its power is multiplied many times over when we join together in prayer. One can send a thousand to flight and two ten thousand! Matthew 18:19-20 tells us this 19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Clearly it is seen that God is trying to tell us of the importance of unified, corporate prayer.


I believe, in fact I am absolutely convinced, that God is even now breaking the wine skin over his people. He is pouring out a mighty dose of his Holy Spirit like nothing we have ever seen. There is a new anointing for healing and the miraculous that is coming for those that are hungry for his presence. Why would he do miracles today? Simple, because he is still God, he still loves people as much as he did when he walked this Earth two thousand years ago, when was beaten and crucified for them, and he still wants to meet every need, restore every broken place, and heal every disease for the glory of his name! Behold! He makes all things new!


God is urging us to pray. I’m not talking about the little prayers we cram in when the rest of our lives slow down just enough for us to stop for a minute. I’m talking about making prayer our priority again. We say we don’t have time to come together for prayer but we have time to play sports, watch sports, watch television, surf facebook for hours, and do all of the things we want to do in day. We have time for those things we prioritize. Work is not an excuse. I don’t believe God ever intended for work to be what a man centers his life around. Matthew 6:33 says this,”But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Even the excuse of being a parent with too many kids isn’t gonna cut it with God. If we have time to take our kids to sports practices and games and watch them play but not enough time to take them to prayer, pray with them, and teach them how to seek God then we are teaching them to serve another God. It’s time for us to wake up!


For the past several weeks on Thursday nights, we have been having prayer in our youth sanctuary. It’s only been a handful of people so far but God is already moving and doing some incredible things among us and through us. I know that he is getting ready to show himself even more. I encourage everyone, no matter your age, to come and be a part of seeking the reviver!

Prayer works. Let's testify. What are some prayers God has answered for you? Please feel free to leave comments.