Two of the more frightening passages of scripture that describe our contemporary American culture are:
 Amos 8:11:“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD”
And, Psalms 11:3: “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
 
Over several decades, liberalism has successfully incorporated the tactic of the using "Social Justice" to erode the Judaeo-Christian ethic upon which our nation was originally founded. However, in his book ‘Social Justice Fallacies’, which I plan to use in this Tidbit series, Thomas Sowell does a wonderful job refuting those ‘Fallacies’ which are being used to deceive the government, academia, business and even the church!
   Sowell writes, “At the heart of the social justice vision is the assumption that, because economic and other disparities among human beings greatly exceed any differences in their innate capacities, these disparities are evidence or proof of the effects of such human vices as exploitation and discrimination.” He continues, “These vices are in fact among the many influences that prevent different groups of people---whether classes, races or nations---from having equal, or even comparable, outcomes in economic terms or other terms. But human vices have no monopoly as causes of economic and other disparities.” (pg2)
  In short, Sowell uses facts and stats to refute the liberal myth that inequalities and disparities among groups in America are always racial…because America is a racist nation!!! On the contrary, Sowell writes, “there are innumerable things that can create unequal chances, some of which are worth examining in some detail.” (pg3)
   Sowell continues, “A more general question arises when the incomes of women as a whole are compared to the incomes of men as a whole. This leaves out many specific differences in the life patterns of women and men. One of the most basic of these differences is that women are full-time, year-round workers significantly less often than men. U.S. Census Bureau data show that, in 2019, there were 15 million more male, full-time, year-round workers than female, full-time, year-round workers. The work patterns of women include more part-time work, and some whole years many women are out of the labor force entirely, often due to staying home to take-care of young children.” Sowell continues and concludes that, “When these and other differences in work patterns are taken into account, male-female differences in income shrink drastically, and in some cases reverse. As far back as 1971, single women in their thirties who had worked continuously since leaving school were earning slightly more than men of the same description.” (pg6,7)
   When liberals demand ‘pseudo’ rights, it creates great division within the culture. Envy becomes the norm, which leads to anger and then hatred! Hatred leads to violence, and even climaxes in murder (1Jn3:15). On the contrary, God, who is the author of our rights, does not provide special rights for special interest groups of people. On the contrary, God only provides human rights, which are general rights for all humans!
   As we continue to explore Dr Thomas Sowell’s book ‘Social Justice Fallacies’ my objective is not only to rebuild the foundations as cited in Psalms 11:3, but more importantly to inspire a love for God’s word as America and our churches are delivered from the judgment of Amos 8:11!!!!
  
Quotebit
 “The doctrine of original sin is the only philosophy empirically validated by centuries of recorded history.” -G.K. Chesterton 

  Jeremiah 13:22 declares, “If you say in your heart, ‘Why have these things happened to me?’...” I have used this passage to address one of the most important questions of life: Why? From childhood to adulthood, it is written on the human heart to understand: Why? Why has this happened to me? To us? To our family? To them? To our race? To our nation? To the world? Either good or bad—like Jeremiah, humans inherently want to know!
   Over the past couple of tidbits, I addressed the Why? as it relates to wars. So far, I addressed two wars: The War for Independence in 1776; and the Civil War in 1861. In this tidbit I want to address World War 2 in 1938-1945.
   Since the end of one of the most violent conflicts in world history, intellectuals have written volumes on World 2. So, a short tidbit like this can only address a few generalities on the war. Therefore, the question of this tidbit is: What was in the mind of God when Adolf Hitler rolled into Austria in 1938?
   Although there are literally multitudinous places to begin, I would like to use the words of Hitler and Nazi leaders to attempt to uncover God’s purpose in WW2. For example, in 1943, the Nazis unveiled their victimology for all to see in an educational pamphlet titled, “The Jew as a World Parasite.” (In German, “Der Jude als Weltparasit.”) “In this war for the very existence of the German people, we must daily remind ourselves that Jewry unleashed this war against us. It makes no difference if the Jew conceals himself as a Bolshevist or a plutocrat, a Freemason or uses some other form of concealment, or even appears without any mask at all: he always remains the same. He is the one who so agitated and spiritually influenced the peoples that stand against us today such that they have become more or less spineless tools of International Jewry.”
   Moreover, Adolf Hitler began writing his final will and testament: "Centuries will pass, but out of the ruins of our towns and cultural centers, the hatred will renew itself against those ultimately responsible … international Jewry."
   At another time Hitler said, “The Jews are undoubtedly a race but not human. They cannot be human in the sense of being an image of God.”
   And still another time Hitler said, “History will recognize our movement as the great battle for humanity’s liberation, a liberation from  the curse of Mount Sinai. God is a tyrant who orders people to do the very things one doesn’t like.”
   In Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote, “The Jews were responsible for bringing the Negroes into the Rhineland…it suits the purpose of the cool calculating Jew who would use this means of introducing a process of bastardization in the very centre of the European Continent and, by infecting the white race with the blood of an inferior stock, would destroy the foundations of its independent existence.” 
   And finally, also from Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote, “In that I defend myself against Judaism, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.”
   In addition to his antisemitism, no honest person questions Hitler’s desire to dominate the world! He declared: “With this world we cannot ever reconcile ourselves. ... I can beat any other power in the world.”
   And again, on August 22, 1939, in a document, which was entered into evidence at the Nuremberg Trials, and well-before Hitler attacked Russia, he wrote: “Accordingly, I shall in a few weeks stretch out my hand to Stalin at the common German-Russian frontier and undertake the redistribution of the world with him.”  
   These statements, as well as many others, vividly uncover Hitler’s objectives for the Jew AND the world! BUT….in starting a ‘WORLD’ war, which obviously involves several nations of the world, why was Hitler so enamored with the ‘little ole’ Jew? In other words, how are the Jews related to Hitler’s desire to dominate the WORLD?
   In 1930 there were 2.07 billion people in the world of which 15.2 million were Jews, accounting for .007% of the world’s population.  Currently, today's 15.7 million Jews are .002% of the just over 8 billion people in the world. In 1933, only 1.5% of the German population was Jewish. Of the 250 ministers in the government, 4 were Jewish.
   In her excellent book, ‘For the Soul of the People’, on page 124, Victoria Barnett quoted Otto Dibelius, a Berlin CHURCH leader who lived during Hitler’s tenure: “In the last 15 years in Germany, the influence of Judaism has strengthened extraordinarily. The number of Jewish judges, Jewish politicians, Jewish civil servants in influential positions has grown noticeably. The voice of the people is turning against this.”
   In addition, on page 125, Victoria Barnett also quoted a German PASTOR: “Anti-Semitism is justified, but this antisemitism must remain with the Biblical set limits.”*  In other words, ‘Jew-hatred’ infected not only Hitler, but the entire German culture—including the church! Tragically, this evidence for the false converts to Christ in the German church!!!
   So, Hitler’s infatuation with the Jews can only be explained from the Bible. There is only one answer to antisemitism: Satan! Very simply, Deuteronomy 7:7 reveals two reasons for Satan’s venom--through Hitler---toward the Jews:
1.God set His love upon Israel
2.God chose Israel 
   Because Satan hates God, and therefore what God loves and has chosen---hence, Israel is the most persecuted people group in world history!!
 
What does ALL this have to do with the purpose of World War 2?      EVERYTHING!
 
    All these facts, and many more, align with God’s great plan to reveal to the world the greatest sign of this current generation!  And what is that sign? The re-birth of Israel after 2500 years! In 1948, just 3 years after the end of WW2, God returned the Jew back to His Promised Land!
Scatter:
   God said, And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. -Deut28:64; Deut4:27
  This prophecy can only refer to 1948, because Israel was not scattered among the nations when in Egypt.**
Re-Gather:
11.And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
12.And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
 
Once again, this can only refer to 1948, Why?
Scatter:
God judged Israel for their sin and kicked the divided kingdoms out of the land: Israel in 722BC; and Judah in 586BC. Although they returned to the land under Cyrus, king of the Medes and Persians in 536BC: Israel was not in control of the land!!!  They did not own it from 536BC until 1948AD!
Re-gather: In 70AD, when the Temple was destroyed; and 135AD, when Bar Kochba, the pseudo messiah was defeated in war by the Romans---Israel was dispersed (a.k.a.the Diaspora) to every nation of the world as Isaiah 11:11,12 declares---but regathered in 1948—in ownership of the land.
 
The key to the prophecies of Deuteronomy 28:64(4:27) and Isaiah 11:11 is: land ownership.
 
Land Ownership: Two Times
1.Israel returned and regained ownership of their promised land the first time under Moses in 500BC
2.Israel returned and regained ownership of their promised land the second time in 1948:
 
In conclusion, in the Providence of God, He used World War 2, as the womb from which He would fulfill His promises in 1948:
1.Rebirth of Israel
2.Return of Israel back to their Promise Land…a second time!
I repeat, the purpose of WW2 is Israel!
 
 
*Does the Bible advocate antisemitism? Absolutely not! Every writer of the Bible was Jewish!!! These ‘pseudo’ Christians are simply inventing things!!!
**The divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah were scattered to two nations in 722BC & 586BC; but the prophecy of Deut28:64 uses the verbiage “scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other”, which agrees with Isaiah 11:11.
 
QuoteBit
God moving in past, present, and future to bring about His good and perfect will, in individuals, families, and nations, etc., using both good and evil; often without you knowing, nor understanding it! Providence is a sovereign move of God, according to His goodness.
            -Derrick Jackson

  Over the past several tidbits, I used Jeremiah 13:22, which declares “If you say in your heart, ‘Why have these things happened to me?’...” to address the question of ‘Why?’. In tidbit 5, I expanded the “Why” question from a personal ‘Why?’ to include a general ‘Why?’, in order to address reasons for wars. Last week was the ‘War for Independence’; this week is the Civil War.
  From the beginning, historians have argued primarily these three reasons for the Civil War:
i.State’s rights
ii.Preserve the Union
iii.Slavery
 
i.Stephen Douglas used the term Popular Sovereignty to argue that in free governments, rulers are the people's servants. In other words, he meant that states should have the right to decide the issue of slavery independent of any Federal government interference.
ii.At the beginning of the contest, President Abraham Lincoln argued his objective in the Civil war was to preserve the Union. For example, in perhaps what was Lincoln’s most infamous letter ever written, he penned the following to Horace Greely: “My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that. What I do about slavery and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union.”
 
Well! This seals the deal, right? No more evidence is necessary for the reason for the Civil War? Right? Incorrect! Ironically, some of the greatest evidence to the contrary comes from ‘OTHER’ words of Lincoln! Why?     
   Because he changed!

First, Lincoln ultimately came to the conclusion that the Civil War was a result of:
1.the sins of America
2.AND then…he identified that sin as slavery
 
  For example, after issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln set a National Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer, for MARCH 30, 1863. He proclaimed: “The awful calamity of civil war...may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins."
  And second, on March 4, 1865, in his Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln declared, “If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came….Yet, if God will that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsmen’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword…”
  So…why did Lincoln change? In 1862 (and 1863) the war was generating horrendous casualties, which placed Lincoln under massive pressure resulting in terribly erratic behavior. These four events (plus 1) happened:
            1.the Greely letter (August 1862)
            2.Lincoln met with 5 Black pastors, essentially blaming Blacks
               presence in America for  the nation’s present condition, and
              then ask those same preachers to lead the efforts to colonize
              Blacks out of the country—to make this a single race nation!!
            3.In September of 1862, he promised to sign the Emancipation
                Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which declared, “All persons
               held as slaves within any state of rebellion, shall be then,
               thenceforward and forever free.”
           4.In December of 1862, he offered a deal to the South that if they
              would lay down their arms, they could keep their slaves for
              another 40 years.
           5.He signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863
​
In addition, the Battle fought at Gettysburg on July 1-3, 1863, resulted in over 50,000 casualties. In November of 1863 Lincoln visited the area near the battlefield to dedicate it as a National Cemetery and made his famous Gettysburg address. Subsequently, speaking to a clergyman, Lincoln said, “When I left Springfield, I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ. Yes, I do love Jesus.” In other words, he was born-again at or around the time of his visit to Gettysburg!
  However, in spite of him wavering from the pressure, he knew God was using him even ‘before’ he was saved at Gettysburg! The following is irrefutable evidence:
“…so many instances when I have been controlled by some other power than my own will – that I cannot doubt that this power comes from above. I frequently see my way clear to a decision when I have no sufficient facts upon which to found it. But I cannot recall one instance in which I followed my own judgment, founded upon such a decision, where the results were unsatisfactory; whereas in almost every instance where I have yielded to the views of others, I have had occasion to regret it.”     -Abraham Lincoln
 
“I hold myself in my present position and with the authority vested in me as an instrument of Providence…I am conscious every moment that all I am and all I have is subject to the control of a Higher Power, and that Power can use me or not use me in any manner, and at any time, as His wisdom and might may be pleasing to Him.” 12/1/1862                -Abraham Lincoln
 
And finally,
…if God gives me four more years to rule this country, I believe it will become what it ought to be – what its Divine Author intended it to be – no longer one vast plantation for breeding human beings for the purpose of lust and bondage. But it will become a new Valley of Jehoshaphat, where all the nations of the earth will assemble together under one flag, worshipping a common God, and they will celebrate the resurrection of human freedom.”
                                                                       -Abraham Lincoln
 
  In conclusion, the greatest evidence that God sovereignly determined the Civil War to free the slaves are the slaves themselves. The slaves understood well that if the North won the war, they would be free. What is the evidence? Most certainly, the slaves were aware of not only the existence of the Emancipation Proclamation, but that Lincoln signed it on January 1, 1863—before the war was over!!
   Second, although Blacks fought on both sides of the war, the Blacks that fought for the Confederacy were forced, whereas the Blacks willingly fought for the North! For example, the 54th Massachusetts and the 29th Connecticut Black regiments.
  For my final evidence, when President Lincoln and the Black 29th regiment visited Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederacy, a Black officer reported, “As President passed along the street, the colored people waved their handkerchiefs, hats, and bonnets, and expressed their gratitude by shouting repeatedly, “Thank God for His goodness, we have seen His(God’s) salvation.” The White soldiers caught the sound and swelled the numbers, cheering as they marched along. All could see the President, he was so tall. One woman, standing in a doorway as he passed along, shouted, Thank you, dear Jesus, for this sight of the great conqueror.” No wonder tears came to his (President Lincoln’s) eyes when he looked on the poor colored people who were once slaves, and heard the blessing uttered from thankful hearts and thanksgiving to God and Jesus. Thousands of colored men in Richmond would have laid down their lives for President Lincoln.”*
 
Yes! In His Providence, God chose the Civil War as the final tool to end slavery in America!
 
 
*A Documentary History of the Negro People in the United States (New York: Citadel Press, 1990), Vol I, pp. 489-490, “Negro Fighters for Freedom and Unity, 1863-1865,” taken from J.J. Hill, A Sketch of the 29th Regiment of Connecticut Colored Troops (Baltimore, 1867), pp. 25-27.
 
 
QuoteBit
The definition of Providence: The care and superintendence of the invisible, benevolent hand of the sovereign God over all His creation.
  In more common vernacular, God works behind the scenes, i.e.without your notice or even prayer, to bring His benevolent will to pass in your life.

   In Jeremiah 13:22, the prophet declares “If you say in your heart, ‘Why have these things happened to me?...” In this passage, the prophet attempts to address one of the most difficult personal questions of life: Why? In my four previous tidbits I dealt with the question of “Why” on an individual basis.  However, I want to broaden this tidbit to include mankind in general as I look at the ‘Why?’ of war.
   God gives His ‘general’* view of war in James 4:1-2:
1.Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?
2.You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

James 4:1-2 is a straightforward statement regarding wars between nations! The phrase: “your desires for pleasure that war in your members?” in James 4:1 refers to man’s sin nature. Man’s sin nature is defined as the evil which exists in every human from conception (Ps51:5;Rom5:12).
   For example, David describes the sin nature in Psalms 51:5: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” And, Paul also describes it in Romans 7:18-20NAS:
18.For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing…”
19. “…but I practice the very evil that I do not want.”
20. “…but sin which dwells in me.”
So…in general, human wars originate in the sin nature of man!
  However, there is a very important ‘different’ side of war. For example, God describes Himself as a man of war(Gen15:3), which describes the aspect of God’s righteous nature that must respond to man’s sin. In addition, God repeatedly reveals His name as the Lord of Hosts (Ps24:10; Is14:24), which means the ‘God of armies’. Furthermore, in response to their sin, God determined Himself at war with Amalek “from generation to generation”(Ex17:16), which means forever! And finally, the archangel Michael is the angel of war(Jude9; Rev12:7)…all of which means in addition to man’s sin nature, God ‘uses’ war as judgment to bring about His perfect will in the earth to judge man’s sin. In other words, because God is perfect, holy, and righteous, He can ‘use’ evil to bring about good(Gen50:20; Judg14:1-4; Jn11:49-50;Rom8:28).
   On the other hand, and yet another variable is that God deals with Israel just a bit differently from other nations due to His ‘forever calling’ (2Sam7:22-24; Ps106:8,10). For example, God promises to fight for Israel against her enemies, to win their battles(Deut20:4), which God will also do for other nations when their behavior and cause is righteous. However, one difference is that when God judged Israel for sin (for example see the book of Judges; Joshua 7:9-11; Assyria(722BC); and Babylon 586BC) His ‘forever calling’ did not allow Him to completely destroy Israel from the face of the earth, like other nations who sinned against Him; such as Amalek(Ex17:16), and other nations found in Genesis 15:19-21. That is a short overview on how God dealt with war between nations in the Biblical text.
   Although I do not know the reason for all wars, I do believe God has unveiled to me reasons for some wars. In the time and space remaining, I would like to address the reason for a war in America’s past: the War for Independence in 1776, a.k.a. The Revolutionary War.
   In short, God used war to separate Britain from America’s 13 colonies ‘because’ of the calling on America to be a beacon of freedom to the world. From 1776 to this day, the Declaration of Independence serves as one example of God’s call on America to gift and establish freedom—not just in America—but in all nations of the world!! In other words, America’s Declaration of Independence introduced God’s first purpose of government: to secure individual human freedom (rights)---I repeat—not just to America, but to all nations everywhere!!
   However, God’s freedom is not defined as an absolute freedom to choose anything! Why? Remember, man’s sin nature! Founder James Wilson declared, “Without liberty, law loses its nature and its name, and becomes oppression. Without law, liberty loses its nature and its name, and becomes licentiousness.” In addition, Founder Fisher Ames, author of the First Amendment stated: "The known propensity of a democracy is to licentiousness which the...ignorant believe to be liberty." In other words, there is no absolute freedom to do anything you want!
    On the contrary, the Founders of this nation defined freedom first as the right to choose the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ as its spiritual foundation!!!! Why a freedom to choose God? Because our wise Founders were either Christians or Christianized and fully understood that humans have a sin nature(Rom7:14-21), which means if freedom is without restraint, man’s choices will include the sin nature, i.e.sin--which does not free mankind, but blinds him(Jn1:9;Ps36:9;Lu11:34-36) and enslaves him (John8:34)!! Remember, “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”(Pro14:34)
   Furthermore, man’s ‘freedom’ not only requires a choice’ to choose God (Ex20:3; Josh24:15), but to also choose one’s unique calling(2Tim1:9)—which are heads and tails of the same coin. I repeat, God’s freedom, i.e.America’s freedom begins with two choices: 1.To choose God; 2.To choose His unique individual purpose.
   Although there is much evidence for ‘freedom’ as God’s gift to America, allow me 4 examples:
1.The Declaration of Independence says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
   The absolute key to this statement is that the rights of freedom are God-given!! In other words, humans can’t define freedom, nor the rights of freedom—without God!! Why? Because of man’s sin nature!!
    Another example of man’s sin nature is found in Romans 8:3 –“For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh(sin nature), God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” Why did God condemn sin in the flesh? Romans 8:7 declares–“Because the carnal mind (the thinking of the sin nature) is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
  Although God gave Adam the freedom to choose from any tree in Eden, He commanded him not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—which God sovereignly determined as sin! In other words, freedom to choose sin does not exist!
2.God’s calling upon America for freedom is what inspired Leviticus 25:10 to be impressed on America’s Liberty Bell: “And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof…”
3.The second President John Adams said, “…it is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand.”
4.President Abraham Lincoln declared, “The Declaration of Independence gave liberty not alone to the people of this country, but hope to all the world, for all future time. It was that which gave promise that in due time the weights would be lifted from the shoulders of all men, and that all should have an equal chance. This is the sentiment embodied in the Declaration of Independence.”
   Notice the word “all” in Lincoln’s statements. Lincoln was speaking ‘prophetically’; expressing the call of God upon America to reveal freedom…to the world!!!!
 
   In conclusion, the War for Independence was not only a war for America to become free from Britain; but that God would use the war to catapult freedom around the world!   
 
*God determines two reasons for war in scripture:
            i.General reason, i.e.the sin nature (Jms4:1,2)
            ii.Specific reason (God’s judgment upon one or both parties
               involved in the war for sin (2Chron12:1-2;1Sam15:1-2)!)
In addition, remember God has two ‘wills’ toward man: 1.Benevolent will(Lu2:14); 2.Judgment will(Eph5:6). Technically, God’s only will is benevolent, however, because He is absolutely just, He must respond to man’s sin, which results in what is called His Judgment will.
 
 
QuoteBit
"Religion and liberty are the meat and drink of the body politic. Withdraw one of them and it dies... without religion we may possibly retain the freedom of savages, but not the freedom of New England... If our religion were gone, our state of society would perish with it and nothing would be left worth defending.”
               -Timothy Dwight, Grandson of Preacher Jonathan Edwards,
                chaplain in the Continental Army

  The last 3 tidbits I have endeavored to expound on the question that Jeremiah asked for the children of Israel; ‘Why have these things happened to me?’ (Jer13:22). In other words, Jeremiah is teaching how to respond to the most difficult question of life…why has this bad thing happened to me?
  After addressing the theology of the ‘Why’ question in my past 3 tidbits, I now want to address how to apply the ‘Why?’ theology to my life. Of course, the reason this is so important is that bad things cause personal suffering which is the number ‘ONE’ reason people reject God.
  Two confirmations:
1.“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” -1Tim4:1
2.The Bible dedicates an entire book, i.e. Job, to understanding how to deal with the pain and sufferings of life.
 
  So, let’s jump right in and examine one of the more difficult situations of America’s past: slavery. The most important questions we must ask ourselves regarding American slavery are: If God is God, what was He thinking/doing during American slavery? Why did God allow the enslavement of Blacks if He is such a good God? Can God be ‘just’ if He allowed such cruelty to be perpetrated upon Black people?
  Allow me an example. In the movie ‘Emancipation’, star actor Will Smith plays the role of Peter. One of the most powerful and emotional scenes in the film occurred near the beginning when a Black slave who had just been whipped, beaten, and chained, was tossed back into a slave-holding pen while all the other slaves watched helplessly. A slave sitting next to Peter (Will Smith) begins shaking with fear after viewing this situation. Peter turns to the trembling slave and begins to encourage him to think about something good, i.e.his family, to calm him down.
Then Peter suddenly declared, “God is with us!” The first slave who is still trying to recover from his beating overhears Peter’s words is stunned, and angrily replies, “How can you say that to him? God is with us! Where is He? And why has He not set you free? Stand up and praise your God for all He has done for you! For all of us! God is not with you! He is nowhere! He sends that fool (referring to a slave preacher) to tell us about His word, to be a good slave; to be obedient to your masters! Is that what God says to you?” As Peter listens intently, tears begin rolling down his face; and then he responds, “God says many things! I do not know why God shows Himself to some people, and not to others, but if you do not know Him. I will pray for you!”
  In other slave/oppression movies, the norm is to call the oppressed to anger, hatred, and revenge against the oppressors!!! But not the writers of this movie! I’m fully convinced the Holy Spirit inspired Peter’s response! I repeat, although the suffering in this scene was unimaginably horrific, Peter (Will Smith) did not curse God, nor White people; and just as important, nor did he attempt to offer some deep theological explanation! In short, Peter did not attempt to explain something he did not understand! Yet, despite his inability to understand, Peter’s response showed that he retained his faith in a ‘good’ God—despite his suffering! ‘THIS’ PRINCIPLE is ‘THE’ key to answering the question of ‘Why?’ in our personal lives when facing suffering and tragedy!  
  So, am I saying the response to slavery is to do nothing? No! To ONLY pray? No! Is there an answer to the question of slavery* from God’s perspective? The answer is…YES!! To begin we must remember the first principle of determining God’s Will: God is good, at all times, and in every situation---because His nature is good (Ps119:68; Ps136; Lu18:19) and…He cannot deviate from His good nature…ever!
  Furthermore, God’s nature is multi-faceted, which in short means along with His goodness, He is just (Gen18:25; Ps96:13), and His justice is perfect (Deut32:4) because He is perfect, i.e.without sin(2Cor5:21; Ps92:15). This means God cannot be unjust anywhere or at any time…because He is absolutely righteous!
​
  First, ‘God’s Will’ is two-fold:
1.Benevolence Will. Because God is good, He is benevolent toward all mankind. Luke 2:14 declares: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men”
2.Judgment Will. Because God is both perfect and just(Deut32:4), He must judge sin (Gen18:25; Acts17:31). On the contrary, if He does not  judge man’s sin---then He is unjust!
 
  The Judgment Will of God is ‘THE’ most complex Biblical doctrine because of its many facets. So, to understand and explain American slavery, we must first determine God’s will regarding the issue of slavery—because He is same yesterday, today, and forever(Heb13:8), i.e.His will is the same for all humans, at all times, everywhere…because God is just(Deut32:4)!
  The Bible declares Rehoboam sinned against the Lord and took all Israel with him (2Chron12:1,2). In God’s righteous judgment for their sin, He determined to send Shishak, the king of Egypt to wipe them out, unveiling to them the “WHY”, i.e. the reason Shishak was attacking. In other words, there is a reason, i.e. a ‘Why?’ for everything that happens in this life—good or evil (Is1:19; Pro26:2; Job37:23; Deut28)!
  Because they did not know the reason, and because God is perfectly merciful(Ps136)--which means even in judgment He desires mercy (Jms2:13)—God sent the prophet Shemaiah to announce the reason Shishak was attacking: “…Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.” -2Chron12:5
  Incredibly, the people humbled themselves and declared: “The Lord is righteous!” (2Chron12:6). These words are a simple declaration of God’s nature of Righteousness (Ps129:4). In other words, the people declared all God’s ways are righteous(Ps145:17)—including the absolute justice of wiping them out through Shishak--for their sin!
  Of course, this teaches one of the first principles of understanding how to deal with suffering and pain: I. Declare the righteousness of God’s judgments, no matter how difficult the situation. In other words, NEVER BLAME GOD FOR EVIL…especially in your time of suffering!
  Incredibly, God took the people’s declaration of righteousness as repentance and sent Shemaiah back to Rehoboam:
“And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.”           -2Chron12:7
 
  2Chronicles 12:7 confirms that God’s initial judgment for their sin was absolute: to destroy them—because sin requires justice(Rom6:23). However, while under absolute justice, because of their repentance, God gave them mercy…but that mercy resulted only in a ‘some’ (partial) judgment. Verse 7 says, “Therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them ‘some’ deliverance.”
  So, what was the final, i.e. ‘some’ judgment? Verse 8 declares: “Nevertheless they shall be his ‘servants’; that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.” The Hebrew word for “servants” is ebed, meaning slave.
  This teaches 2 types of slavery: i.slavery to God, and ii. slavery to man. Because God is good, slavery to God is good (1Cor7:22; 1Cor6:20; Mk10:44). However, because man is evil, slavery to man is wicked (Gen1:26-28; 2Chron12:8; 1Cor7:23).
  Therefore, 2 Chronicles 12:1-9 teaches slavery is a judgment of God for sin! This truth is confirmed by the entire book of Judges, where Israel was in and out of slavery for their sin lasting over 450 years. A third witness is both the nations of Israel and Judah were taken into slavery for their sin in 722BC, and 606 BC respectively.
  I repeat, slavery is a judgment of God upon a people group for their sin! This means when Blacks were brought enslaved to America, the reason was sin committed in Africa!!! Blacks are not the only group enslaved in history; slavery has existed in all people groups and nations—all over the world--for thousands of years!!! This does not make the enslavers innocent…for God condemns both kidnappers(1Tim1:10), which is the foundation for slavery; and the enslavement of men(1Cor7:23)!!
  In conclusion, because God is Sovereign (ruler over all), no event, nor situation; nor anything good or bad, can happen outside of God’s will. See God’s 2 wills above. If this is not true, then God is not Sovereign, i.e.He does not rule over all! In other words, there absolutely can be nothing good or evil, regardless of its scale or magnitude, that can occur without the involvement of the Sovereign God—Who rules over all! Why? If the devil can act apart from God’s will, then he is either equal with God, or greater than God---both of which are false!
 
*While I recognize slavery is an extremely difficult topic, and can literally take volumes to unpack, I can offer some basics. 
 
 
Quotebit
“…the spread of Christianity and Christian influence on government was primarily responsible for the outlawing of infanticide, child abandonment, and abortion in the Roman Empire (374AD)”
-Alvin J. Schmidt in ‘How Christianity Changed the World’, Christian Ethics, Wayne Grudem, pg475

   The last two weeks we have endeavored to expound on the question Jeremiah asked for the children of Israel; ‘Why have these things happened to me?’ (Jer13:22). My point is to address what is perhaps the most difficult question of life…Why? In other words, why has this bad thing happened to me?
   I originally offered three points to remember when encountering difficult times. But a fourth is needed:
1.God is good (Ps. 145:9)
2.There is always a reason for a difficult situation (Pro26:2)
3.You may not be ready to handle the answer
4.By faith…God can change your circumstance (Mk9:23)
 
   Without exception the most important of these four truths is the goodness of God. Although ‘goodness’ is part of God’s immutable nature(Ps. 136:1; Ps. 145:7,9)--it still must be interpreted! Why? As we have already discovered, so often contemporary theologians interpret bad things that happen with a simple cliché’--“God is sovereign!” Of course, in reality the Bible does in fact teach that God is indeed sovereign(1Tim6:15; Is45:5,6), but by answering a difficult situation with a cliché, theologians and pastors reduce the sovereignty of God to: whatever will be will be**, or whatever happens is God’s will. On the contrary, this is no way to teach the sovereignty of God, and in reality describes a pagan theology known as fatalism.
   Therefore, in order to adequately answer our original question: ‘Why bad things happen?’ we have to understand both good and evil. To understand evil however, requires us to first understand good. So, from the beginning “good” was associated with the natural realm (Gen1:4,10,12,18,21,25,31). It was not simply a theological doctrine; nor some ethereal quality without ontological substance—and without definition nor meaning!! On the contrary, ‘goodness’ was designed by God to be an experience—of the natural realm, i.e.of the creation! 
   David agreed proclaiming, “Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You, which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, before the sons of men!”         -Ps. 31:19  
   The first part of Psalms 31:19 says God’s goodness is “…stored up…” which means hidden, treasured and laid up for usage. However, Biblical doctrines are not ‘stored up’ for usage. Furthermore, the latter part of the verse in the NIV says, “…which you bestow in the sight of men…” meaning it is something that can be discerned as good by the five physical senses, i.e.others can ‘see’ the goodness of God to you. 
   So far we have learned that God’s goodness: 1) can be stored up; and 2) can  occur before the sons of men.  Interestingly, both of these points imply some sort of physical, tangible human experience. 
   However a third point from Psalms 31:19 can be derived from the word ‘great’ in the phrase: “How great is Your goodness…”. The Hebrew word “great” is “rab” and means: abundant in quantity, size, age, number, rank, quality (Strong’s).  Therefore, all three of these points together refer to something good which can be seen, heard, tasted, touched, or felt; AND…that is also abundant in number, or size, or quantity, or quality, etc.! In other words, the ‘goodness’ of Psalms 31:19 is so abundant that it meets your personal needs, as well as possesses abundance more that can be ‘stored up’ to meet the needs of many! And what’s even more, not only can it meet the needs of many, but can also abundantly meet the needs of many!
  Therefore, God’s ‘good’ nature can be identified by ‘good’ things in the natural realm, i.e.the creation—and therefore cannot be limited to a spiritual doctrine. Psalms 34:8 confirms this truth: “O taste and see that the LORD is good…”, where the word “taste” (tawam) means something that can be perceived and also experienced!
   Therefore, we are expected to ‘BOTH’: i.discern and ii.experience God’s ‘goodness’ in BOTH the spiritual and physical realms (the creation)---in order to understand God’s nature of good! On the contrary, if a person cannot discern good from evil, how can he or she know God from the devil?
   Yet, if one cannot discern God from the devil, how can one even dream to know ‘Why bad things happen?’ Tragically, the prophet Isaiah says in the last days men would be unable to discern good and evil, calling good evil and evil good (Is. 5:20).  Why? Because the rejection of God’s word is sin, and darkens understanding, enslaves, and kills. On the contrary, God’s Word not only is a light to all men(Jn1:4,9), but literally changes the natural realm to conform to God’s will! For example, the Word of God can literally change sickness into health(Pro4:20-22).
   To further establish my point, Jesus told the story of the rich man and Lazarus(Lu16:19-25). While Jesus was condemning the rich man--but not for his riches--He quotes Abraham as saying, “in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things”. But if Jesus condemned the rich man for his riches why did he call his riches “good things”?
   Yet, here is my point! To what were those good things…that Jesus referred? The context describes the “good things” as: “Riches”, “food”, “fine clothes”, and “luxury”, etc.!!! I repeat, the fine clothes, enough food, fine dining, desires, luxury, and the money necessary to live in these things…Jesus called good!
   On the contrary, moving from the rich man to Lazarus, in Luke16:25, the things which Lazarus received in his lifetime: poverty, hunger, sickness, comfortlessness---Jesus said, “and likewise Lazarus evil things”. I repeat, what the rich man possessed in his earthly life was called ‘good’, and what Lazarus received in his earthly life were defined by Jesus as ‘evil’.
   Matthew prophesied that Jesus would take away our sins and our sicknesses (Matt. 8:16-17). So, sin and sickness must be evil, or why would Jesus take them from on us on the Cross! On the contrary, righteous living, good relationships, physical health, and financial increase are all good. Therefore, the Bible is replete with how to define good and evil!!! See Deuteronomy 28.
  All this emphatically teaches us the only way to discern good and evil is through God’s Word. Therefore, because God is for the good, and against the evil(Deut30:19); and God’s will for your life is only good (Lu2:14)—we can only conclude not everything that happens is God’s good will for your life!!!!
   And what’s more, just because the contemporary theologian who due to their theological ignorance/misunderstanding of God's Word declares that ‘God is sovereign’ when something bad happens that they can not explain does not mean that bad experiences are God’s good will! On the contrary, the ‘good’ nature of God rejects such folly; Whom alone knows what is good, and by default evil…because He exists as good and does good(Ps119:68; Mat19:17)!
   The next time something bad/evil happens to you, remember, God’s word declares, “The Almighty—we cannot find Him; He is exalted in power, And He will not do violence to justice and abundant righteousness.  -Job37:23
   Therefore, fight the good fight of faith—for the good and against the evil….and choose never to give up!!

Derrick Jackson

*It has been brought to my attention that there may be an exception to last’s week tidbit. If you will remember, I wrote under the ‘category of permit’, there were only three separate possibilities: 1.The one giving permission; 2.The one doing a thing, and 3.the one upon whom the thing is done. Well, one astute reader says that someone committing suicide is all three. Excellent!!! 
**For the older readers, these words are the interpretation of the title of the song ‘Que Sera, Sera’, sung by Doris Day in Alfred Hitchcock’s movie, “The Man Who Knew Too Much!”
 
QuoteBit
You can understand ‘limited’, only within the definition of ‘unlimited’!  -Derrick Jackson

The prophet Jeremiah asked a very important question – “Why?”
           If you say in your heart, ‘Why have these things happened to me?’
          Because of the magnitude of your iniquity, your skirts have been
         removed, and your heels have been exposed.                                             -Jeremiah 13:22 KJV
 
Jeremiah was inspired to ask and answer this question directly: ‘Why have these things (bad) happened to me?’ The answer was: “for the magnitude (greatness) of thine iniquity.” The “iniquity”, i.e.sin was the reason for the troubles. The question is, can we extrapolate the ‘reasoning’ of Jeremiah 13:22 to all evil? I argue…YES!
  First, in addition to His other attributes like knowledge, understanding, wisdom, power, and Creator, God is sovereign* which means He must also possess responsibility for everything that happens in allowing both good and evil. However, because God is responsible for everything does not mean He ‘does’ everything!! Remember, God is perfect(Deut32:4) and as such, is righteous, existing without evil/sin (2Cor5:21;Ps92:15) and therefore cannot do evil!** On the other hand, Satan acts to kill, steal, and destroy (Jn10:10). Therefore, God does good (Ps119:68; Ps136), and Satan does evil (Jn10:10; 2Cor2:11) by inspiring man, to whom God gave free will to choose evil.  
   Second, God is rational, answering the prayers of His people, and revealing Himself, i.e.His omniscience to His people(Jn16:15). For example, regarding evil, Solomon says,
“Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, so a curse without cause does not alight (Prov. 26:2).
 The phrase “the curse causeless does not come” (KJV) teaches bad things or evil does not occur apart from a reason. In addition, Elihu--whom God does not condemn in the book of Job--echoes this truth in Job 37:23: “The Almighty—we cannot find Him; He is exalted in power, And He will not do violence to justice and abundant righteousness.”
  Jesus also confirms the fact that a reason always exists for evil/suffering/pain in John11:4- ““This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.””
  Moses is yet another witness establishing the truth that reasons exist for both good and evil in Deuteronomy 28. For example,
The Good: “..’IF’ thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God,(28:1)” “…all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee (28:2)”
The Evil: “But ‘IF’ you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you” (28:15)
 And finally, Paul summarizes and confirms this truth in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”
  Within the truth of God’s sovereignty ‘someone’ or ‘something’ has to be responsible for anything that occurs in life. If everything that occurs in life is God’s will, then Satan exists without purpose and blame…and obviously, therefore, no reason exists for a Christian to need to pray! Can God answer prayer for something against His will? No!*** On the contrary, He only answers prayer according to His will (1Jn5:14).
  Furthermore, why is there even an admonition to resist the devil (James 4:7) if every experience is God’s will? If we have no control in the bad things that happen in life, no reason exists to resist the bad? What’s more, how can one even know if something is bad if everything is labeled as God’s will?!?!
   On the other hand, if you cannot discern whether something is from God or the devil, ‘never’ blame God for a negative, painful, or evil experience! See Job as an example! And what’s more, when in a difficult place please don’t blurt out what I consider one of the several common pseudo-spiritual statements: ‘May God’s will be done!’ While it is true that God is sovereign, but to translate God’s sovereignty into ‘everything that happens is God’s will’ is not only false…but blasphemy!
  Another super religious statement used by Christians in times of sickness is “God is trying to teach you something.” While there is a partial truth in this statement---because God can ‘use’ anything—either good or bad--to teach you! Two quick points pertain: 1.The Biblical method God uses to teach His own is the Holy Spirit (Jn14:26; Jn16:13-15;1Jn2;27), Who is the teacher(1Jn2:27)…not sickness and disease!  And 2., why pray for healing, if you choose to wrongfully believe it is “God’s will” for you to be sick to teach you “something?” And what’s worse, why go to the doctor, if you actually believe God is trying to teach you something…in the sickness?
   A final pseudo-religious statement used in painful and difficult situations by those who incorrectly conclude everything is God’s will: ‘God permitted it!!’ While it is true that God does permit things--including bad things, i.e.evil things--to happen because He is God, and is ultimately responsible for everything that happens…yet that does not mean that God is doing the bad things!! Remember, the absolute truth is God cannot do evil!**** Therefore, just a moment of Holy Spirit-guided thought (Eph1:17,18) unveils the error in the following interpretation: ‘Because God is sovereign, when a bad thing happens means God permits it, therefore it has to be good because God is good!’
  On the contrary, this theology is false because three parties are necessary in the word “permit”:
1.One giving permission,
2.One doing the thing permitted
3.One upon whom the action is done.
 
  The one permitting an action must permit the one doing that action.  Therefore, the one permitting an act cannot logically be the same individual doing the action. Both the one permitting an act and the one doing that act, also cannot be the one upon whom an act is done. For example, if I (1) permit my dog (2) to bite you (3), then I(1) am giving permission, the dog(2) is doing the biting, and you(3) are being bitten! 
  As the statement: “God permits it” relates to my point in this tidbit, the question that now demands an answer is if God (1) gives His permission for a bad thing to happen to you; and I (2) am the one upon whom the bad thing happens; there yet remains one slot left to fill—which is the one actually perpetrating the bad thing on me! Who is that being? 
 
I submit that the being doing the evil is Satan!!!
  “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices” -2Cor2:11
 
Pastor Derrick Jackson
 
*Absolute Ruler, or ‘only’ sovereign or only potentate (1Tim6:15)
**however, God can ‘use’ evil (Rom8:28) to bring about good. God creates the ‘capacity’ for evil(Is45:7)---but He does not do evil; commit evil; or commit sin.
***However, in judgment---for sin---He can! For example, after Israel came out of Egypt, God answered their prayer for meat…but God accompanied that prayer with judgment! Yet, we are not referring to the wrath of God in judgment in this tidbit!
****Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. -Jms1:13. If God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone with evil—how can He do evil?!?!

The prophet Jeremiah asked a very important question - why?
 
If you say in your heart, ‘Why have these things happened to me?’ Because of the magnitude of your iniquity, your skirts have been removed, and your heels have been exposed.
-Jeremiah 13:22 KJV
 
  The ‘Why?’ of life is perhaps life’s most difficult question. When we experience crushing blows, often we scrutinize our actions/lives to derive a reason or a purpose for the painful thing or situation we have encountered. Searching for the reason for pain is common to all humanity--both saints and sinners. The ‘Why?’ of life, or the need to know or the desire to know ‘Why?’ is built into our core belief system.  
 Interestingly, the ‘Why?’ of life, or the need or desire to know ‘Why?’, applies when something bad happens and when we experience something good! I repeat, it is natural for us to attempt to determine the reason for anything good or bad that happens. However, what is just as interesting is that the ‘Why?’ of life, or the need or desire to know ‘Why?’ is many more times intense when bad things happen to us! And oftentimes…the pain is overwhelming!   
 But…why is that? Because humanity was created ‘good’ (Gen1:31) and within that ‘good’ exists the assumption that something good will happen to us or for us. Therefore, when that ‘good ‘is not present—it becomes natural to want to know why! Therefore, this tidbit will focus on the theology of ‘Why?’ bad things happen. 
  There are at least four primary reasons for asking ‘Why?’ bad things happen: 
           1.Experiencing good is natural, i.e.how God made mankind
            (Gen1:31)
          2.Pain is not natural, it is NOT how God made mankind
          3.Therefore, bad must have a reason, because it is not natural
          4.We must find the reason to alleviate the pain.
 
  Theologically, God must be absolute in His nature. Because God is good, He must be absolutely good and therefore must also do good (Ps119:68). So, mankind must experience God’s goodness because God created all things—including man---according to His absolutely good nature. Therefore, because goodness must possess an action(Ps119:68), mankind must experience God’s goodness—which by default must exclude evil, and the pain that comes from evil.
    So, how do theologians attempt to explain evil, i.e. the experiences and the subsequent pain that mankind now experiences in the many and various facets of this life? Of course, the only answer should be man’s rebellion against God, which is called sin. However, the status quo, ‘Theologically Correct’ response to “why am I experiencing this evil, (i.e. bad thing, i.e. pain)?” is: “God is sovereign.” Of course, what is meant by this answer is: “God is in control” or “You never know what God is going to do!” Or, “God can do anything He wants because He’s God—therefore we should just accept the evil (pain) now being experienced!” And so on!
  I have too often found many Christians use the ‘God is sovereign’ answer to cover up their ignorance of God, and His Word. In my opinion, the ‘God is sovereign’ line has become a quick ‘religious’ substitute. Interestingly, it is most often used by someone too prideful to acknowledge their lack of understanding by honestly stating the dreaded phrase: “I don’t know.” 
  On the other hand, however, while it is true that ‘God is sovereign’, is that to be interpreted to mean that the omniscient God does not want us to know the answers to our most difficult questions—especially regarding things like sickness or even the death of a loved one? 
  Moreover, what makes the ‘why’ question ohhhhhhh so much more difficult is that if there is no apparent answer available for a painful situation, either ‘I don’t know’ or ‘God is sovereign’ can be an appropriate response!!! There are definite times in life when God leaves us ONLY with the question: “Why?” Or, “Why me God?” In other words, when bad things happen, God can choose NOT to offer an answer, or not offer an answer until sometimes years later!
  However, what’s dramatically more painful than God leaving us without knowing ‘Why?’ is when the evils of this world are blamed on God! While we can expect non-Christians to behave in this manner, I repeat, it is multiplied times worse for Christians to blame God for evil--which is simply poor theology, and often rebellion--bordering on blasphemy. In my opinion, which I derive from the suffering of Job, is that the internal answer offered to ‘oneself’ when seeking an answer ‘why’ something bad has happened is the number one reason people leave the Christian faith. Over decades of ministry listening to people comment on their lives, I have seen many people depart from their faith in God for an inability to deal with the ‘Why?’ of a tragedy!
  While it’s easy to throw in the towel on God and go our way because of a traumatic, and so often unbearable experience, to retain our victory(2Cor2:14) in any battle of life we must understand Satan’s devise is to use any difficult situation, suffering, and/or pain to shipwreck our faith (1Tim.1:19). 
  Following are 5 things to remember when evil(painful), impossible circumstances arise:
1.God is good (Ps136). This is an absolute truth! It means goodness is His nature, or He exists as good; or all goodness originates in God. Therefore:
     i.God must be good all the time, in every situation (Ps145:9)
     ii.He can only ‘do’ good(Ps119:68) because His is good. Or, God
         cannot act apart from His nature of good.
     iii.God does not and cannot do evil…because He is absolutely good.
2.There is a ‘reason’ for everything or situation, even your present difficult circumstance.
3.God knows that ‘reason’ because He is omniscient.
4.It is God’s will for you to know
5.However, like a parent in a certain situation with a child who, because of age or maturity may not be capable of understanding, God may determine you are not ready to handle a reason for your situation.
      Or better yet, how about answering the following question:
  Is God obligated to inform you of the reason for a bad or painful situation you are now facing?

 
We’ll continue next week….
Pastor Derrick Jackson
 
 
 
Quote Bit
Motivation leads to action; action leads to skilled action; skilled action leads to productivity; productivity leads to accomplishment; and accomplishment back to greater motivation.
-                               Derrick Jackson

 If you remember, my last tidbit was primarily focused upon the Providence of God (GP)* that brought the English Pilgrims from Holland to the Eastern shores of America. God sent winds to blow them off course as they sailed toward Virginia to what is now the Massachusetts area. 
  After prayer, they were led by the Holy Spirit to land at what is now Cape Cod. When they disembarked the Mayflower, in God’s Providence, they stepped upon vacant land previously occupied by the Patuxet Indians who had all died earlier from a plague.
  Now on to Samoset! The date was October/November of 1620, so the Pilgrims began building houses to survive the winter. The good news is that the food from the ship lasted until the Spring of 1621. However, the bad news is that diseases like Scurvy and the many challenges of their new habitat hit the small group of 102, and by the Spring—nearly 50% perished. It was during this time that their Christian character was forged. Many times only 5 or 6 people were healthy enough to care for the sick—what if the Indians attacked(GP). Food shortages led to starvation, and hope of survival quickly faded!
  However, enter a single Indian** who boldly walks into their camp(GP) named Samoset(GP). Incredibly, he spoke broken English(GP), which he learned from some of the previous English explorers who occasionally visited the area. He proceeded to tell them of the violent, warring Patauxet tribe who previously lived on the land they now inhabited(GP). He spoke of how the other tribes would not live there in spite of it having fresh water and fertile land, perfectly suited to produce for any inhabitants(GP). After teaching the Pilgrims many things in their first encounter with the natives, Samoset decided to leave but promised to return with the Wampanoag tribe(GP).
  Several days later, Samoset returns with Chief Massasoit and many braves, squaws, and their children. In the Providence of God, Squanto was among them—who arrived at the exact moment of their desperation!!! Remember, like Joseph in Egypt, Squanto was among the 6 Indians in the initial capture by Thomas Hunt. Squanto spent 9 years*** living with an English sea captain, becoming fluent in the English language and ways, before returning to America in 1614.4*
 Was it an accident, luck, or chance, that Squanto’s tribe perished? Or, that Pilgrims landed on their land? Or, that Samoset arrived alone--and nonviolent--to the English settlement? Or, that he was able to teach the Pilgrims? Or, that he was connected to the Wampanoag tribe? Or, that Samoset was able to convince Chief Massasoit to walk with his tribe 50-70 miles to the Pilgrims on the former Patuxet land? Or, that Squanto was a Patuxet Indian living with the Wampanoag tribe at that precise moment?
  Was it an accident, luck, or chance, that the Wampanoag tribe were non-violent against the English? Or, that Squanto spoke perfect English? Or, that Squanto even had any desire at all to return to the site of the death of his entire tribe? Or, that he had any desire whatsoever to help the English after being kidnapped and enslaved by them? Or, that Squanto was the only living Patuxet Indian on earth?
 
Is all this mere chance?
 
   Historian Stephen McDowell wrote, “He (Squanto) showed them how to plant corn, assuring its growth by setting it with fish; he taught them how to catch fish and the times when they could not find the creeks stocked with fish (the Pilgrims had only caught one cod in the preceding four months)--he taught them to stalk deer, plant pumpkins, find berries, and catch beaver; whose pelts proved to be their economic deliverance. Squanto was also helpful in securing a peace treaty between the Pilgrims and surrounding Indian tribes, which lasted over fifty years.” 5*   
  William Bradford, elected Governor of the Pilgrims also wrote, “Squanto… was a special instrument sent of God for their good, beyond their expectation.”6* 
 In addition, it was Squanto who helped Chief Massasoit to sign a peace treaty lasting 54 years!!! Was this just another accident? Chance? Luck?
  In October of 1621, Massasoit returned with 90 braves, their squaws, and children. They feasted on “deer, turkey, fish, lobster, eels, vegetables, cornbread, herbs, berries, pies; and…the Indians even taught the Pilgrims how to make popcorn. They competed in foot races, wrestling, and shooting games. Massasoit enjoyed himself so much that he and his tribe stayed a full three days”5* This was the first Thanksgiving!
 
   For these multitudinous reasons, the traditional celebration of ‘Thanksgiving’ is a day set aside by Americans to thank ‘GOD’ for His providence!
 
 
*Remember, the initials GP stand for the appearance of God’s Providence, which I decided to add to reveal all the times God supernaturally provided for the Pilgrims
**Was this an accident? Chance? Luck? Absolutely not! It’s called the Providence of God.
***Squanto was converted to Christ and forgave those responsible for kidnapping and enslaving him
4*Some historians identify this date as 1614, which means Squanto was enslaved either 7-8 years if 1614 is correct; or 14-15 years, if 1605 is correct.
5*Stephen McDowell, historian
6*William Bradford, Of Plimoth Plantation (Boston: Wright & Porter Printing, 1901), p. 111. 
 
Quote bit
Whatever you build ends up building you!  -Derrick Jackson

  The Providence of God was so obvious in the life of Joseph who was sold into Egyptian slavery, betrayed by Potiphar’s wife, and imprisoned for 13 years, yet, God raised him from prison to second in command behind Pharoah. So too, that same Providence is glaringly apparent in the story of the Pilgrims, Samoset, Squanto, and Thanksgiving. To help illustrate God’s Providence in this Great holiday celebration, I will place the letters GP beside every place I believe it appears.
  In 1605*, the English pondered colonizing the new world(GP). They decided to capture several Indians (GP) during a fishing exhibition, bring them back to England, and teach them the English language (GP) to obtain the necessary information on the locations of both violent and friendly Indian tribes, to plant their colonies successfully.
  Initially, the fishing exhibition sailed from England under the command of John Smith, who survived the Jamestown(GP), Virginia colony debacle. After a successful fishing endeavor, Smith ordered one of his commanders Thomas Hunt, to remain behind and trade their fish for Indian beaver pelts, which would garner more money upon their return to England. Instead, Hunt tricked 20 Indians into coming on board his fishing boats-one of which was…Squanto(GP). Hunt then set sail for the notorious slave trading post in Spain called Malaga(GP). Along the route, Hunt stopped in Cape Cod and added 7 more Indians for a total of 27.
  As the 27 Indians began to be auctioned off (GP) in Malaga, several Catholic friars heard of their plight and proceeded to purchase several of the slaves including Squanto (GP). The friars led Squanto to Christ and eventually released him(GP). He later made his way to England where he spent several years learning the English language and their customs (GP). In 1619, he returned to America with Captain Thomas Dermer. When he returned and began to search for his tribe, he encountered the shock of his life finding that his entire Petauxet tribe had been wiped out by a plague(GP). Squanto was now the only Petuaxet Indian left on earth(GP)!
  Squanto decided his only option for survival was to walk 50 miles to join the Wampanoag tribe(GP), where Massasoit was Chief. Indian tribes were not usually friendly with each other and were therefore very hesitant to accept other tribesmen. In God’s providence, Squanto was accepted(GP)!
  On the other side of the earth(GP), in 1620, the Mayflower and Speedwell departed from Holland(GP), made a stop in England, and then headed toward Virginia(GP)--not Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts(GP)!!!! Along the way, they were forced to abandon the Speedwell due to leaks which delayed their progress, until they were caught in terrible Atlantic storms(GP). Due to the inclement weather (GP), 102 men, women, and children were forced into the cargo space of the Mayflower; a ship that was only 25 feet wide, and 90 feet long, with only 5’6 inches of head space—for 44 days and nights—eating, drinking, going to the bathroom, and more than likely enduring sea sickness—which in more crude language—means they were vomiting!
  The waves from the storm rocked the ship, forcing the crew to tie themselves to the mast to remain on board. The Pilgrims staved off their fears by singing songs of worship! Incredibly, when the average loss of life crossing the Atlantic was 50%, only 2 people perished—neither of which were Pilgrims(GP)!
  As the Mayflower approached the eastern shore of America, the storms blew them off course pushing them to the north(GP). Having no clue where to land, or whether the Indians were friendly---they stopped and began to pray(GP)! They eventually landed on Cape Cod(GP) and ultimately found Plymouth Rock(GP), the former location of the violent Petauxet Indian tribe (GP) that had previously all perished by plague(GP). However, not only was the Petauxet tribe absent but no other Indian tribes(GP) would chance living there for fear of enduring that same fate(GP); even though the spot had fresh water making it perfectly suited to human existence.
  Over that winter, they lived off the ship’s reserves(GP), and still, 50% of the Pilgrims died. Yet, when the Mayflower returned to England, not one of the surviving Pilgrims chose to return(GP)! Why? They were missionaries called by God to take the gospel to the Indians.
  First, before the Pilgrims stepped off the ship, after prayer and thanksgiving, they covenanted together and created the Mayflower Compact. In short, it declared: “In, the Name of God, Amen…” “Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith,” “In the northern parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly And mutually in the Presence of God and one another, covenant, And combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick,”(GP)
  Ten years later, William Bradford further elucidated their original motivation: “A great hope and inward zeal they had for the propagating and advancing the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world; yea, though they should be but even as stepping-stones unto others for the performing of so great a work.” (GP)
  This quote reveals not only the call of God upon the Pilgrims, and by default America, but the “stepping-stones” remark reveals they understood they needed to stand fast on their calling because they were to be facilitators for those who would come behind them!!
 
This is America’s vision!!! (GP) This is America’s Thanksgiving!

 Stay-tuned for part 2!!!!


Quotebit
 “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”                          -Albert Einstein
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