Posted on 09/25/2013 7:10:23 AM PDT by SoFloFreeper
Kirk Cameron introduced his latest live event through Fathom, Unstoppable, at Liberty University to a massive crowd, 700 movie theaters and over 100,000 viewers. Cameron’s message was very personal, motivated by the death of a close friend’s teenage son, and challenged even the strongest Christians to answer “Where is God when you are in the middle of the tragedy?”
Confessing that the suffering in the world, the loss of life and death of children all bring us to our knees to ask God: “Where are you?”
Not answering this question is one that can destroy the bond with God, drive people to atheism or worst.
Cameron’s intro included tear-jerking testimonies from Vietnam vet Tim Lee, who lost both of his legs when we stepped on a landmine. Lee recounts his surgeries, feeling distant from God, but said “Life is stronger than death and life won out.”
“How can you stop a man who won’t quit?” Lee asked, describing the message from some Georgia teens, as he now travels America as a evangelist, preaching the gospel. (Tim Lee Ministries)
It was Charles Woods next.
The proud father of Tyrone Woods, one of the fallen heroes from the Benghazi attack, quoted scriptures of encouragement and stories centered on a God of love and his sovereign power over everything.
Mandisa performed her hit song “You’re an Overcomer” and Warren Barfield sang his song from Unstoppable: “The Time is Now.”
Audiences may have been content and happy to have left after the pre-show, but that was just the introduction.
Cameron’s Unstoppable recounts the Bible, the Creation story, the fall of Adam, the murder of Abel and the flood to question the audience member’s understanding of God.
The question “Why doesn’t God heal if He’s good…where is He?” still resonated through the film as Cameron explores this “Faith wrecking question” (if left unaddressed.)
Moved by the death of Matthew Sandgren, Cameron journeys to the funeral, hugs the family and expresses his pain through his story.
“People don’t want to hear about death,” Cameron stated while discussing the flood story, yet the audience was not invested in this exploration.
Unlike the response to a child in the Christian film Courageous, Unstoppable doesn’t seek out survival skills or a reason to carry on, but rather an understanding of an omnipotent God who works through horrible and tragic events, as documented in the Bible, to deliver mercy, grace, love and everlasting hope.
HuffPo described the film as a “One Hour Sermon” and that isn’t unfair.
The film’s target audience is Bible believing Christians who will ask these questions as tragedy lands on their doorstep.
Unstoppable doesn’t offer much appeal to the atheist or the skeptic as it relies on the truths of scripture to connect with Cameron’s earnest faith and emotions.
While some may come away discussing the rib scene at Eve’s creation, the brutal murder of Abel or the hysterical movie pitch of “The Flood,” the audience will likely seek out Unstoppable for a viewing when tragedy knocks on their door.
The proud father of Tyrone Woods, one of the fallen heroes from the Benghazi attack, quoted scriptures of encouragement and stories centered on a God of love and his sovereign power over everything.
Kirk Cameron! Why didn’t I think of asking him
those questions? Tell us Kirk, why does God put up with Satan’s existence? Why not put him in time out, alternate universe, or just undo him?
Who’d know better than a guy whose movie opened just now? unstoppablethemovie.com
Good thing it’s a movie, not a blog, or this thread would not be in News/Activism.
Ping to check it out.
People break down into two groups.When they experience something lucky, group number one sees it as more than luck, more than coincidence. They see it as a sign - evidence - that there is someone up there watching out for them.
Group number two sees it as just pure luck. Just a happy turn of chance. I'm sure the people in group number two are looking at those fourteen lights in a very suspicious way. For them, the situation is a fifty-fifty. Could be bad, could be good. But deep down, they feel that whatever happens, they're on their own. And that fills them with fear.
Yeah, there are those people. But there's a whole lot of people in group number one. When they see those fourteen lights, they're looking at a miracle. And deep down, they feel that whatever's going to happen, there will be someone there to help them. And that fills them with hope.
See what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, that sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky? Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences?
-- Graham Hess, from the M. Night Shyamalan film Signs
I enjoyed it for the most part
But understanding God Sovereignty will help you understand “WHY”
Why do bad things happen to good people...
Ask Able.
My question for the last four months. At the beginning of June, my wife of 23 years left with no explanation. Hit me like a bolt of lightning. Moved in with a guy who lives off the gov’t and whatever girlfriend he can get to stay there. He even kicked out his then current girlfriend for my wife.
Next she called the cops saying I was going to kill myself and had me committed for a week, during which she removed half the money from our savings.
During all this our (adopted) 12 year old daughter starts going out of control. We have now lost physical custody of her to her birth mother.
I have finally resigned myself to the fact that the wife isn't coming back and that I probably wouldn't want her if she did.
But I have prayed about this again and again and God has not revealed anything to me or provided any comfort. I feel like I have been totally abandoned. Where is God?
Prayers for you and your family.
It will get better. We are creatures of habit. When the Soldiers liberated the death camps during WWII, they were astonished to find that the prisoners were afraid to leave the camps. Imagine, perhaps the most awful existence possible, yet, they were afraid to leave it. They were used to suffering. They were comfortable with it. Your life will get better. Take joy and happiness where you can find it. Watch the sunrise. Listen to the birds. I have been where you are. My life is so much better now. Listen to that wise philosopher, Roy Clark. “Thank God and Greyhound you’re gone.”
God hasn’t moved. He is still right beside you. I found a lot of peace in the casting crowns song “prAise you in this storm”. Cant tell you how many times I have listened to it with tears running down my face
God is faithful. He is the only One who is faithful find Christian friends and lean on them. Pray -— even if it is just to cry before God. He understands.
The answers to these questions may seem weak if you are among those who do not recognize that the Scriptures are the message from God. However, if this underlying assumption can be accepted (the Scriptures are from God), then here is a crack at the very good questions you raise (hopefully, on behalf of Kirk).
The Scriptures provide us only a small peek at the reason for Satan's existence. Actually, one might broaden your inquiry to include, "Why does evil exist, at all?". Really, Satan is just another expression (a subset) of the concept of evil. He is a real being and an embodiment of evil, but still just a part of evil. From the Scriptures we gather that all evil (including Satan) was manufactured by God in order to make some kind of enormous point. That is, there has been an incredibly problematic drama set up to display the difference between God and all "other". The Scriptures call this His "glory".
Prior to the commencement of creation (which includes the beginning of time, the creation of Satan, the creation of heaven, the creation of the universe, etc.) God determined (after the counsel of His will) that He would form a creation in which this gargantuan problem could be solved only by His own death. That is, He would create the problem (rebellion against Himself), and it would be so enormous that only His own death could pay the price He decided to demand. If this seems preposterous, I shared your skepticism for years. But, this is what the Book tells us.
Satan just happens to be a pawn on the "chessboard" of creation, played by the hand of God. Don't misunderstand me here, God says that He has pushed Satan away from Himself in a way that makes Him not guilty of Satan's evil. Nevertheless, Satan is not an "accident", nor a "good thing gone wrong". He is a deliberate portion of the drama unfolding across all of creation. The whole death of Christ is not an "after thought" nor a "plan B". It was the eternal plan. The day will come when God does exactly what you suggest. Actually, all evil will be set aside in an "alternate universe"...something the Scriptures call "hell".
Currently, or shall I say, temporarily, we are seeing the expression of evil (Satan's and man's) play out seemingly uncontrolled. But, it is not uncontrolled, at all. At an appropriate time, all of this will be radically changed. Whether this is on the earth itself, or it occurs in another place, is not absolutely clear (new heaven & earth?).
But, you have happened upon one of the situations that tends to keep folks back from God. And, it is interesting that the Scriptures even describe this experience. To some, He has granted the opportunity to realize what He is doing...He has kept others in the dark. There is, in this sense no such thing as "free will", in that God (according to the Book), has been manipulating all things at all moments. You, me, every FReeper, every spirit, all molecules, all events. Even the death of His Son was the pre-planned moment of Rescue for those whom He has chosen.
I don't necessarily think that this will convince you of anything...it is not intended to. But, if you sense any kind of stirring in your soul that this rather outlandish story may be true, then it is possible the Spirit of God is dragging you into the adopted family. Perhaps you are already there.
But, there is no club to join, there is no organization which is special, there is only His family. If you are brought into His family you will be in "The Body of Christ", as it is called in the Book. Everyone from the beginning of human history (at least Abel and onward) who has been granted this "drawing" (known as "faith") are in the family of Christ.
Of course, this is an abbreviated version of the story found in the Scriptures. Some organizations have tried to make this about them, but it is really about the Triune God and His glory. Let anyone of the folks noted in the "to" section of this post, if you wish to know more.
I cannot give you a complete answer publicly; the issues are too deep, and I am not a qualified counselor.
I do believe God has purpose in all events, just as He was with me during my heartbreaks. Obviously when I was going through them, seeing or acknowledging His purpose was difficult.
My empathy is with you, and I do urge you to find a clergyman in your area with whom you can discuss these sad events.
Prayers up for you, fh.
Freewill. God did not want robots. Freewill allows the ability to choose to sin or to obey.
Removing Satan from Earth won’t change anything. Man has already chosen the path of sin. The consequence of that choice is evil, suffering, and ultimately death.
fredhead, the world sometimes gives you shit. Take that shit and sow it into a garden, the garden will grow like never before. good things will come from your struggle. Never give up, God is here and by your side, know it. It will take time for your new garden to blossom and be fruitful but with the right care and love it will.
Perhaps this could be approached from a creator’s view.
Lets each personally assume or pretend that we have the ability to create something such as a PC which is operating perfectly but is unable to give us something that we really want from it.
As creators we have the ability to either redesign our creation, modify it or destroy it due to it’s failure to give us what we really want. We created it and therefore we have the right to do with it whatever we want.
Perhaps we realize that our creation can be modified to give us exactly what we want from it but that would require us to give it the gift or ability to exert it’s “free Will” in order for it to choose to have a personal relationship to us.
That free will of necessity would allow our creation to either love us or reject us and love another which is not it’s creator, and that is where the problem comes in.
God created us to love and worship Him, to be a companion to him and not merely programmed robots designed to only do specific chores. It requires that free will to make worship and love “true” and not a programmed response.
It is the ability to choose of our free will that provides that special value to God and He has designed a method through Christ whereby we can be “saved” or “converted” to provide that which He truly desires. He gives to mankind the ability to be redeemed but he doesn’t give that ability to his angels. If they sin in any way and reject God there is no redemption for them but only immediate destruction.
Now for a Personal thought, I believe that God once granted that same free will to his angles allowing them to either accept Him for Who and what He is.
The bible records that one third of the angels followed Lucifer in rebelling against God and therefore were cast down to earth where they were sentenced to eternal separation from God.
God did however succeed in getting two third of the angels to love and obey Him by exercising their free will which He granted them to exercise.
After all, what value is there in a creation which only functions in a mechanical matter as a robot as opposed to a creation with a free will which chooses to love and obey?
The heart of the matter is that God wants a sentient creation which chooses to love, obey, and communion with Him. By communion, I don’t mean a religious rite or ceremony but an actual personal relationship with Him and His Son Jesus. This worship and communion is only of value when it is a result of an individual’s free will decision to do so, it is of NO value when it is obtained by a forced robotic behavior programmed into the individual.
In regards to why some people suffer in this life despite being ‘Christian’ may be simply because as the bible states God is long suffering and not willing for any to perish. We need to keep in mind that this life is temporary at best and no one is guaranteed to live a long and happy life.
Christ Himself stated that the world would hate us because it first hated him.
In conclusion, it is the result of an individual’s free will that so much evil has fallen on the world, it is NOT God who created the evil but evil angels and men which create it. WE must never forget that life was only meant to be temporary and it is eternity WITH God that we should be looking for, not a life of ease and joy here on earth.
He's right there holding your hand.
Been there. There is no other explanation for it.
Prayers for you and your family.
God did not cause these things. They are part of the fallen state of man.
But He said He would restore to us the years the locusts have destroyed. Keep the faith.
Thank you all for the kind words and encouragement. Things may not be getting better right now, but I am starting to handle them better.
He's there, Fred. When my youngest daughter died in a car wreck it was really hard, but God supported me when I needed it. I don't know how to tell you what I felt, but it sometimes is hard to hear when the Lord speaks to you, especially when you are in pain.
I believe He's there, reaching out, whether you recognize it or not. I pray that you'll feel His touch soon.
Remove Satan from earth and man will be his own Satan; or maybe the president or Senate majority leader will fight it out for the job if they can hold off Hilary.
fh
I just prayed for you and for God to be real in your life right now...
Your problems are deep but God’s mercy is deeper. Look to Him... Read His Word. Meditate on it.
Bad things happen to Good people so He can be glorified.
Glorify God thru your suffering and Glorify him thru your pain.
Prayed for you again.
Regards
RB<><
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