The Christian Center

It has been said that God uses sickness, diseases, tragedies, accidents and death to bring people to Him. You may know someone who gave their life to Jesus after some tragic event happened. Please don’t be confused about the way God draws people to Himself. If it’s the will of God for a loved one or friend to die so someone can be born again, then we must ask the following questions: (I will use the name "Joey" to illustrate my point) 1. How many tragedies or accidents will it take before Joey gets born again? 2. Are the terrible things that are happening to friends or family members Joey’s fault for being so stubborn about being saved? 3. If Joey would have been saved when he was a young boy, would these people not have suffered? Let’s look at the scriptures and find the answers to these questions. Romans 6:23 says,

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

This verse tells us there’s a payment due for sin, which is death; but as a gift, God offers life through Jesus.

In John 12:32, Jesus says:

"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."

He also says in John 3:14-16,

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

God offered His Son as the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. He does not cause tragic events as the means of drawing people to Himself.

A couple of years ago, a relative of mine was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Some well-meaning individual came along and said, “Well, you know God has a plan”. This was of no comfort to the grieving spouse; and their reply to this statement was, “If this is the plan of God, then it stinks”.

No one among family or friends considered this event as good news. Paul said in Romans 1:16,

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

The gospel is good news, not bad; and the good news is that God has given His Son Jesus that we can become a part of His family. Someone may say, “Well, God used a tragic event to save one of my friends; because they gave their heart to Jesus, and I know He used it to draw them". No. What happened is this; as the result of a tragic event, that individual started searching his own heart and turned it toward God. The Bible teaches that if you seek, you’ll find, knock and it shall be opened; and whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. God has sent His Son; and through the preaching of the gospel, He draws people unto Himself. Don’t be confused about this important truth. God’s not behind the undesirable things that happens to people. He loves them and wants to save them, not destroy them.

Faith doesn’t come by asking or praying. Faith comes from God’s Word. As you incline your ear to the Word of God and begin to give God’s Word top priority in your life, faith begins to develop in your heart. Once faith is developed, you then have to learn how to work it.

“For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love.”

Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, but faith works by love. God’s love for us is the foundation or soil that will cause your faith to flourish, stand strong, and produce good fruit. Many times your faith is hindered, because you don’t have a revelation of how much God loves you. In order to know God’s love, you must know who God is.

The most important principle to your faith is knowing that God is love. God is not vengeful, and He is not out to get you. God is full of love, mercy and forgiveness; and He has extended it towards you. You live in a fallen world, and when you yield to sin, there are consequences; but it is not God punishing you for that sin. Sin has its own punishment. When you sin, God still loves you. He has provided forgiveness, and all you have to do is ask and receive it. When you understand how much God loves you, it will be easy to trust Him and to believe that He is faithful to fulfill His promises to you. This revelation of God’s love for you will cause your faith to work at its highest level in any circumstance, test, or trial.

As I close, be encouraged and know that God is love; and He loves you. It is His desire to bless you and fulfill His promises in your life. This is all possible, because God loves you. You must get a revelation that if God was going to love anyone, it would be you. Allow God’s love to cause you to be strong in faith and have a blessed week.

Weekly Bread