NCarolinian

God exists. However, some, like Deists would suggest God or a Divine Being created everything then sat back or walked away - a wind-up creation and let the chips fall where they may type of involvement. This is NOT the portrait of God in Christian Scripture. Over the physical creation, God is sovereign (Genesis 1-3) . Over the spiritual realm, God is sovereign (1 Chronicles 21:15, 27; Matthew 13:41 ; ) . Over humanity as nations and individuals, God is Sovereign (Acts 17:26-28; Deuteronomy 32:7-8) . Over all the plethora of details that construct existence and meaning, God is Sovereign. Throughout Scripture, there is no escaping the picture of God as personally involved in the affairs of humanity and all His creation. In the Old Testament we read in Psalm 37:23 - "The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him;" . Personal involvement. Then the ultimate, intimate involvement was Father God sending His one and only Son to pay the cost of humanity's redemption...

After experiencing major challenges in my life like sickness, disease, a huge financial hardship, job concerns and so forth I cannot tell you how many times I have inquired of The Lord -  What do I learn from all this? Teach me Holy Spirit . Change has to occur for development to proceed. God initiates His formula of pressure over time for believers to be refined. If He supplied us with the answers to problems on the onset of every issue, there would be no progress in our development. God allows change through all kinds of friction so that in our relationship with Him we move from glory to glory. Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:18 says it like this - "And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." Notice the transformation, the challenge or molding that God has to perform on the believer's character  between the glories. Surrender and trust in God...

From my research in Scripture,  there is a sin among the plethora of sins that people, not God, declare as The Unpardonable sin - suicide. Taking one's life is an act of rebellion or disobedience against God. The Lord did not suggest, He commanded that we not murder in   Exodus 20:13 . Not murdering includes one's self. Suicide is murder of one's self in place of trusting in God's plan and providence for your life.  Therefore, since suicide is a type of murder, it is one of many sins and not documented as an unpardonable sin that our culture has for whatever reason labeled it. This means suicide falls under God's grace through the cross of Christ. This does not by any stretch of the imagination give the green light or justification to suicide. Just because suicide is a forgivable sin does not mean we submit to the temptation to take our lives in our own hands. If you are considering suicide, first call out to Jesus in prayer then immediately seek human help.  Call 1...

All believers in Christ can trust God in the midst of a challenging sickness or disease even to the point of death. Christians may even learn a lesson during the ordeal or after the sickness has passed. God may even decide to heal the individual and that is a huge part in Understanding God's Healing Process. The decision to heal or not to heal someone's condition is totally in God's court because I have witnessed God answer "yes" and heal quickly, "no" but walk with them through it, and even "no" and take them home to be with Him in Paradise. I look at the beating that Christ took before His crucifixion and I recognize the payment upon the Cross and think - what am I missing that I cannot claim physical healing every time? There has got to be a satisfactory answer because  God's will is not always for us to be healed physically.  That is hard for me to write and admit at first, but totally understandable in light of Him not answering my pra...