Category Archives: Evil and Suffering

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Dave K interview Part #1

Please enjoy listening to Dave tell his AMAZING faith journey.  This first of three parts points out the OC lifestyle as seen by a Jersey boy (and the world).  A helpful reminder that we live in an incredibly materialistic place.  Dave has become an incredible man of faith through his journey.  Here are a few words from Dave:

“I was thinking about how much my present day situation fits with today’s lesson of “are you enough?”  If you think about it, if I paid attention to the world around me, the OC lifestyle would definitely tell me I wasn’t nearly enough.  I…have no assets other than a 2001 Nissan Sentra and live pretty much paycheck to paycheck (mainly due to restitution).  But, because I follow God and not the world, I have a genuine smile on face and countless blessings.  It is amazing how little you really need.  If we look back only about 50 years, how big were our parents’ and grandparents’ homes?  How many baths did they have?  Life was smaller and better but Satan is out there convincing many that bigger is better and what they have isn’t good enough.  People take their eyes off of God and look at what others have…”

Please share with us your thoughts.

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Prayer is Invading the Impossible

I had the honor to teach at Men of Influence this week.  This is the men’s group at Mariners Church that I used to go to until I moved over to Men on the Path at Pathways Church.  It is an amazing group of men, and they have chosen an AMAZING book to go through: Prayer is Invading the Impossible by Hayford.  We discussed these questions:

  1. Is God good? How do you know that God is good?
  2. Does Satan exist? How do you know?
  3. Why do bad things happen to good people?  Where do bad things come from?
  4. What role do your prayers have in accomplishing God’s will?

I mentioned these 2 books as GREAT resources:

  1. Never Give Up! by Nancy Missler: A LIVE CHANGING book concerning trials and tribulations
  2. The Invisible War by Chip Ingram: What Every Believer Needs to Know about Satan, Demons, and Spiritual Warfare

Please enjoy my brief audio teaching and slides, and as always, please share your comments!

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Paul Young speaks and preaches AGAIN

This is the 1 of 4 teachings from July 2008 at Mariners Church when the author of the amazing book: The Shack spoke.  (There are 4 separate podcasts that you can listen from Mariners Church podcast; these 2 are the best of the 4.)

As always please share with us your thoughts by leaving a comment.

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Paul Young SPEAKS about The Shack etc.

This is the 1 of 4 teaching sessions from Mariners Church by Paul Young author of the amazing, must read book: The Shack.  In this session he shares some of his life’s experiences and answers some of the common questions people have about the book. (There are 4 separate podcasts that you can listen from Mariners Church podcast; these 2 are the best of the 4.)

Please share your thoughts with us here at UBERLUMEN by posting a comment.

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Prayer Request Update re: Jeff’s cardiac arrest

I just received an update via email about Jeff’s condition. I know that many of you have been praying for him and his family.  PLEASE read his AMAZING journal entry!

I have cut and pasted it here as well:

I’m writing to say thank you for your love during my cardiac arrest, resuscitation, medical care and current recovery…

…to my Heavenly Father, who, obviously, holds my very life in His hands; Jesus, my Lord and Savior and the model of the person I strive to become; the Spirit of God, my daily strength and wisdom. Thank you for your grace.

…to Karen, Alex, Maddie and Ella, it is impossible to imagine a life without you. Thank you for loving me everyday.

…to mom and dad, for staying by my side the past 45 years

…to the rest of our family and friends, in the Port Streets (wow!), at the Boras Corporation, across Orange County and the country for your prayers, caring for my children and my wife, visits to the hospital to spend time with me and sacrificing time with your own families, coordinating meals…etc. etc., overwhelming…

…to St. Andrews Pres, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and my Friday morning men’s group, for being a model of what it looks like to worship God with our lives everyday, praying over me and reading God’s Word to me in the hospital, and prayer, prayer, prayer…

…to Hoag Hospital, my doctors, and the Newport Beach Paramedics, there are numerous exceptional medical people and facilities across the country, but none better.

There has been much prayer for me, and now from me to you-one of Paul’s prayers that has been a main life verse for me for over 20 years….

“I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV).

I look forward to the opportunity to say thank you personally to as many as God affords me the opportunity. Just one warning, any hug over 3 seconds brings with it the danger of getting wet.

Peace, Jeff Musselman

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Evil and Suffering, Passing the Blame

It took me some time to see it (15 years), but it finally dawned on me as I observed another doctor do it.  I saw a patient who was dying of end stage liver disease from alcoholism.  The first question that the admitting doctor asked the patient was “When was the last time that you had a drink?”  How is that relevant at the end of this patients life?

I have been guilty of this as well.  I have seen patients dying of lung cancer that I have asked if they smoked and how much.  WHY?!! There is no medical reason to ask.  We ask these types of questions because it makes us feel better.  We think to ourselves:  1. They are to blame for their demise and 2. I won’t get this horrible disease because I don’t smoke or I don’t drink.

The blame game does NOTHING to help with the suffering, the evil, the tragedies, the messes of life.  We must rise above the blame game to ask ourselves how can I help others through this and to help heal the pain with God’s help.

We all play the blame game and look for someone to blame.

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God Questions Part 3: Evil and Suffering

This topic has hit me personally right between the eyes this last few years.  Bucky and I discuss evil and suffering in this session of the God Questions at Pathways Church (www.ocpathways.org)

You can also read this brief collection of information that I put together concerning evil and suffering:

The 5-C’s of Evil and Suffering

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Evil and Suffering Sermon #2 Luke 13:4

This is Greg Boyd’s final sermon on evil and suffering his preaching on Luke 13. He makes 3 KEY POINTS in this sermon:

#1. collapse the judgment–don’t blame the sufferer and don’t blame yourself for the suffering. We don’t know squat! As C.S. Lewis said to a colleague who was trying to comfort him with Lewis’ own theological answers to evil and suffering after his wife Joy died: ‘Shut up, it’s just a bloody mess.”
When we judge or look for blame for a tragedy, it forces us to conclude that God is just, and therefore we must blame the individuals involved in the tragedy.  Or we must conclude that God is unjust, and we must blame God for the tragedy.  But God doesn’t cause the messes; He brings purpose to the messes!
The one suffering often feels horrible and that they are to blame which causes us to label ourselves a murderer or a whatever and that makes us “not a verb that we did but a noun that we are!”
We must live in the now because God is in the now.  No blaming but asking God how He can bring good out of this tragedy.  Every mess is an opportunity to bring healing and something good out of it.  In a time of suffering, we must be quiet, listen and ask how would you, God, have me respond to this mess?
#2. in the face of tragedies don’t judge, just respond–Are you turned and walking in the kingdom? Don’t try to figure it out! Just bring healing! HOW CAN GOD BE GLORIFIED IN THE MESS?
#3. God’s response to tragedy is always about healing never about condemnation–We live in a demonic war zone…demonic forces play a big part of suffering….
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John 9:3

3 great points made by Greg Boyd:

  1. Some people use this verse to say that God is sometimes the source of evil but we must look at the entire Bible and note that based on what the Bible says about God being good, this verse is the exception and not the rule
  2. There are unseen evil forces at work
  3. the original Greek of this text  states: “…But let the works of God be displayed in him…”  Therefore it does not say that God caused the man to be blind but his blindness lead to God’s goodness being displayed
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Evil and Suffering Sermon #1 Luke 13:4

Another GREAT sermon by Greg Boyd! I wish that I had heard this during my times of suffering.

KEY POINTS:

  • Evil and suffering is not from God
  • God is good
  • Don’t ask why but ask ‘to what end’ (26:45)
  • Ask God ‘How should I respond in this situation?’ & ‘How can God be glorified in this situation?’