Book Review - If God Is Good

Tonight I have the pleasure of promoting a book that I really want to read. This is suppose to be a review, but I seem to have been inundated with other tasks and only read three chapters of a fairly length work. The book is "If God is God" by Randy Alcorn. It looks at the age old problem of how God can be good when so many bad things happen. It considers the difficutly of where is God in the midst of pain and suffering.

To honor my agreement with the publisher, I'm putting all the information about the book here. Hopefully in a week or so I will be able to post a proper opinion about it.

Publisher's Info
Every one of us will experience suffering. Many of us are experiencing it now. As we have seen in recent years, evil is real in our world, present and close to each one of us.

In such difficult times, suffering and evil beg questions about God--Why would an all-good and all-powerful God create a world full of evil and suffering? And then, how can there be a God if suffering and evil exist?

These are ancient questions, but also modern ones as well. Atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and even former believers like Bart Ehrman answer the question simply: The existence of suffering and evil proves there is no God.

In this captivating new book, best-selling author Randy Alcorn challenges the logic of disbelief, and brings a fresh, realistic, and thoroughly biblical insight to the issues these important questions raise.

Alcorn offers insights from his conversations with men and women whose lives have been torn apart by suffering, and yet whose faith in God burns brighter than ever. He reveals the big picture of who God is and what God is doing in the world–now and forever. And he equips you to share your faith more clearly and genuinely in this world of pain and fear.

As he did in his best-selling book, Heaven, Randy Alcorn delves deep into a profound subject, and through compelling stories, provocative questions and answers, and keen biblical understanding, he brings assurance and hope to all.

Author Bio
Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspectives Ministries and a bestselling author. His novels include Deadline, Dominion, Edge of Eternity, Lord Foulgrin’s Letters, The Ishbane Conspiracy, and the Gold Medallion winner, Safely Home. He has written eighteen nonfiction books as well, including Heaven, The Treasure Principle, The Purity Principle, and The Grace and Truth Paradox. Randy and his wife, Nanci, live in Oregon and have two married daughters and four grandsons.

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The Hat Message

Tonight I preached my final sermon in the "Everything a Message" series. Next week my wife will take a stab at it to finish the series. I wish I could take credit for the idea, but my mom came up with the basic premise that I ran with.

I talked about how it is a fun and crazy hat. It's bright orange and fuzzy. Yet, if you turn the brim of the hat up, you see a leopard pattern. Leopards are hunters. They hunt and kill other animals. So beneath the fun and frivolity, you find the pattern of a killer.

Our enemy is no different. He masquerades as an angel of light while he is really a killer. He works his best to package evil as something lighthearted and fun, but beneath it is eternal death.

I kept the message short and to the point. I closed with the point that if we want to escape eternal punishment, we have to allow God to be God in our lives. That means we must give him the right to point out things in our lives that displease Him and then when He does, we must change. Too often we accept and enjoy what God doesn't want us to partake of (the fun side of the hat). We may think it's harmless, but only God knows the end result in our lives of so called harmless fun (the killer side of the hat).

I ended with a call for every student to prayerfully ask God to examine them. After a few moments, I asked for students to raise their hand of they honestly felt God was pointing out something that He wanted them to stop doing or give up. I'd say at least half if not a little more raised their hands. I prayed over them, but then I left it in their hands. If God has pointed out something, they must make the decision to obey.

It felt like a powerful ending, but I hope it remains with them.

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The Hat

My final contribution to the "Everything a Message" series must be based upon this crazy hat to the right. The liner inside is a beautiful leopard print while that outside radiates a happiness that can only come from a stunning Day-Glo orange fuzz. Yeah, that was a stretch.

Anyway, this one is a stumper. I know with a hat people automatically think helmet of salvation, but this hat really doesn't conjure up images of strength and warfare. I know I could make one of my youth extremely happy if I preached on Samson while wearing the hat, only to take it off when I get to the part of Delilah cutting off his hair. Yet, wearing the hat definitely would be a distraction. The object is meant to help us learn something, not just be an amusing prop.

So, I need to figure something out. As always, I would love some ideas from people that read this. Either leave a comment on my blog or leave a comment to the post in Facebook.

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The Cottage Cheese Container

Tonight's "Everything a Message" had to deal with a cottage cheese container. My main emphasis was the three types of Christians represented by the container.

1. The Empty Container

A cottage cheese container is really only a cottage cheese container if there is cottage cheese in the container. That was as much fun to write as it is to say. The thought is that there are a lot of people that call themselves Christian, but inside their lives you don't find Christ. If Christ isn't living and working in you, then it doesn't matter what you say, you really aren't a Christian.

2. The Full Container

Cottage cheese in a container is meant to be consumed. For the Christian, we are to pour out what God pours into out lives. We pour out love to others because Christ freely pours love into us. The amazing thing is that we can never outpour God. The more we pour out the more He pours. Our lives should constantly be refilled by the Lord, and it happens as we share what He has done with others.

3. The Moldy Container

If you wait long enough, a container of cottage cheese will go bad if it isn't used. Sadly, some Christian have allowed God to pour into their lives, but they have refused to pour it out for others. Christ gives them love but they don't show love in to others. The work that God has done in them begins to sour and bitterness sets in. It falls in line with the example of the Dead Sea. All it does is take water in. There is no outlet for the water. With no outlet, the Dead Sea is...well...dead. Too many believers take and never give, then wonder why they seem so far away from God.

Well, that is what I came up with. Originally I had one more point that I wrote up but I scrapped it because it didn't seem to fit.

Timetables and Decisions

I'm currently reading the book "The Dark Foundations." It's the second part of a three part series. I guess the best way to define it would be Christian Science Fiction. It has a nice blend of both technological advancement and theological issues. Even though the author and I have differing eschatologies (he shares his opinions on his web site), there was something that he wrote for one of his characters that struck me.

"Where we are in the great timetable has no real bearing on matters of right and wrong. Every day we're given choices and every day we have to make the right decisions. If I knew the King was returning tomorrow or in ten thousand years' time, it wouldn't alter my choice...we just battle evil until the whistle blows--whenever that is."

I personally believe in a Pre-Tribulation rapture of the church. I would fall into the Christ could return at any moment crowd. Often, we do speak in terms of we should live like Christ is returning tomorrow. However, what if we knew absolutely that Christ wasn't returning for a thousands of years? Would that change how we live? Does right and wrong only exist in a timetable where Christ is coming back soon?

We have been called to live holy lives in Christ. We have been called to do what's right no matter how long Christ chooses to tarry. No matter the number of days that remain for this world, I must make decisions that reflect my Lord.

Revisiting the Gnome

I realized that I never got back on here and shared what my message on the garden gnome was all about. I did some light research on gnomes and then narrowed it down to garden gnomes specifically. I stress the word "light" in my research. I gleaned four points about garden gnomes from this.

1. They are helpers.
2. They work behind the scenes.
3. They work to help things grow (in the garden).
4. Some people absolutely hate them.

With those four thoughts in mind, I preached about the Holy Spirit.

1. He is a helper the Lord has given us.
2. He works behind the scenes deep in our life.
3. He helps us to mature and grow.
4. There is an amazing amount of hatred for the Spirit today.

I thought the points were pretty good and it fit well. Now honesty. I got into the prep so much that I wan't thinking about length. I went longer than what I think is the max for youth that are listening. That was my fault. I should have worked more to streamline the message. Another proof of my lack of perfection.

Anyway, I enjoyed it and if you're following this blog, you know that we are on to our second item now. The cottage cheese carton.

Cottage Cheese

Part 2 in the "Everything a Message." This past Tuesday there weren't many items brought. Quite a lot of head smacking and I forgot. However, a few items were placed out with some items scrounged from the church. This weeks top vote getter was a carton of large curd cottage cheese. Just to refresh, by next week I have to come up with a message that is in some way related to that carton. I think I might already have an idea. Would love for readers to post some of their ideas in the comments below.

It Was Worth It

I went to the department of health today to get the shots I needed for my missions trip to Kenya. Both arms are now covered in multiple band-aids from the experience. The thought I had as I was sitting there concerned the missionaries of the past.

They headed out into the world to spread the news of Jesus Christ without the benefit of vaccinations.

They headed out knowing that there was a high probability that they would never return.

They headed out willing to suffer if needed.

They headed out to lands where they often had to bury a child, a spouse, or both.

They headed out because the truth was burning so strongly in them that they couldn’t help but share it.

They headed out because that’s what we are called to do.

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