Category Archives: Old Testament

Suffering and Judgement (Part 5 of 6)

Suffering and Judgement

Personally, I don’t really like the idea of suffering, even for a good cause. It is a brave person who prays – ‘Lord, make me suffer so that you will get the glory!’

I wonder, what the original readers of 1 Peter might have been thinking as they contemplated all the different kinds of suffering that might lie before them. Like us, I am sure they would have been uncertain.

Peter, seems to have understood that uncertainty and offers some perspective by looking at the role judgement plays in suffering.

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God makes himself known – look at his Word!

The clearest way to know God is to listen to what he says!

One of the first things that we learn about God in the opening Chapter of the Bible is that he talks. ‘In the beginning God created’ and how did he do that? By his word ‘And God said: ‘Let there be light’…., and then God said: ‘Let there be an expanse between the waters…, and then God said: ‘let there be sky’… and so it goes on for seven days (Genesis 1:1-2:3).

Each of the special acts of creation come about by the word of God. What he creates is new and wonderful and he does that by uttering his words.

If the significance of that is lost on you, give it a go! Test the power of your words. Create something by your words and only your words – ‘Let there be a ham sandwich’! How did you go? I think I can guess!

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God makes himself known – look at ourselves!

Looking around, at the world we live in tells us something about God. Are there other ways that God makes himself known?

Another way you can learn something about God – is to look at ourselves. How he made us!

If he can make a Brad Pitt or a Meryl Streep or a Roger Federer or a Serena Williams or even a person who is you – then there has to be something amazing about him.

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