Join For His Glory for a discussion on how
https://christianforums.net/threads/a-vessel-of-honor.110278/
https://christianforums.net/threads/psalm-70-1-save-me-o-god-lord-help-me-now.108509/
Read through the following study by Tenchi for more on this topic
https://christianforums.net/threads/without-the-holy-spirit-we-can-do-nothing.109419/
Join Sola Scriptura for a discussion on the subject
https://christianforums.net/threads/anointed-preaching-teaching.109331/#post-1912042
Strengthening families through biblical principles.
Focus on the Family addresses the use of biblical principles in parenting and marriage to strengthen the family.
Read daily articles from Focus on the Family in the Marriage and Parenting Resources forum.
That is sad Jo Jo, and some are not going to help because of the color of their skin. And that is the truth. I can see now that even though Pat had a right to say what he had read, the timing was not good, and it could really hurt, but God is more powerful.JoJo said:Today I overheard a woman talking about the financial aid America is sending to Haiti. The woman said, "I don't think we should be helping those people. You heard what Pat Robertson said..."
So this is the message we are to receive? As a call to ignore the suffering in Haiti because of the evil in their land?
I wanted to ask this lady: If you had a neighbor across the street, let's say they were a satanic couple with five children. If a tornado hit their house and it collapsed on the couple and their children, would you stand idly by? Would you spend your time making judgment calls on the family? Or would you run across the street and start digging through the debris to free the family? This is the perfect opportunity to show Christ's love!
What kind of witness is it to say, "I don't think we should help those people. They made a pact with the devil..." Those children and average families over there crushed in the rubble didn't make that pact.
Haitians need our help. They need our prayers. They need our witness.
Lewis W said:Ok, but the reason for my comment is, I was listening to the uproar over his comments on my car radio[youtube:2gy3kgrk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5TE99sAbwM[/youtube:2gy3kgrk]John said:http://www.christianforums.net/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=44416
^ Similar thread.
Midgwy said:but where in the bible does it say that satan can cause earthquakes because He wants to kill people?Or where does it say that life and death are in the devils hands?
Sounds like someone needs to read the book of Job.
JoJo said:Today I overheard a woman talking about the financial aid America is sending to Haiti. The woman said, "I don't think we should be helping those people. You heard what Pat Robertson said..."
So this is the message we are to receive? As a call to ignore the suffering in Haiti because of the evil in their land?
I wanted to ask this lady: If you had a neighbor across the street, let's say they were a satanic couple with five children. If a tornado hit their house and it collapsed on the couple and their children, would you stand idly by? Would you spend your time making judgment calls on the family? Or would you run across the street and start digging through the debris to free the family? This is the perfect opportunity to show Christ's love!
What kind of witness is it to say, "I don't think we should help those people. They made a pact with the devil..." Those children and average families over there crushed in the rubble didn't make that pact.
Haitians need our help. They need our prayers. They need our witness.
jasoncran said:this coworker probably isnt saved. i'm for helping them. i just wish that the country could get itself together.
We have occupied that country several times. FDR and Cooledge, Clinton sent troops there to stabilize the country.
Lewis W said:That is sad Jo Jo, and some are not going to help because of the color of their skin. And that is the truth. I can see now that even though Pat had a right to say what he had read, the timing was not good, and it could really hurt, but God is more powerful.
GodspromisesRyes said:Just because there is a judgement from God, does not mean that we should hold back our help to them, but instead we should deliver to them now the mercy of God along with the message of repentance and faith in Christ Jesus. Those who would withhold help have forgotten that they were also once children of wrath under the judgement of God and God had mercy upon them.
GodspromisesRyes said:Just because there is a judgement from God, does not mean that we should hold back our help to them,...
destiny said:Good post "GodspromisesRyes", I have noticed those same things holding back repentance in America. Inside the churches the false prophets and teachers are doing the same thing.
JoJo said:destiny said:Good post "GodspromisesRyes", I have noticed those same things holding back repentance in America. Inside the churches the false prophets and teachers are doing the same thing.
I know this is off-topic, but I am curious about which denominations don't teach repentance.
handy said:...Even so, the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak...
So, all this about Haiti and pacts with the devil and whether or not a natural disaster can just be a natural disaster or if it's always a judgment of God's...
What Robertson said was true enough. And, I don't fault him for saying it, especially since he stressed (even if those reporting what he said didn't stress that he stressed) that we need to help them in their "unimaginable" suffering (Robertson's words).
I read and re-read Robertson's comments and not once did I see where he stated that this earthquake was a judgment of God's. What I see, and what I think Robertson was pointing out, is that Haiti does not enjoy God's blessings. And, they don't. But, God not blessing a nation isn't the same as deliberately sending an earthquake to punish the nation.
Here is a thought for those who want to believe that this earthquake was sent specifically by God, to punish the Haitian people: This earthquake is the same magnitude as the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake which hit San Fransisco so hard. In that earthquake, only 69 people died, and while there was widespread damage, the damage was nowhere near as extensive as this Haitian earthquake. We're talking San Fransisco here. So, God blesses San Fransisco and punishes Haiti? Does anyone want to say that the people of San Fransisco are more godly than the people of Haiti?
I quoted 1 Corinthians 2:11-12 above because it makes it clear that we don't know the mind of God. No knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the mind of God, but rather the mind of Christ (vs 16) and what the Spirit freely gives us. The mind of Christ is that we should love our neighbors as well as our enemies. So, whether the Haitians are neighbors or enemies or both, we need to love them with the love of Christ. We have also received things freely given to us by God, which is the gospel and worldly blessings, both of which the Haitian people are in desperate need of.
So, rather than wondering whether or not God is punishing Haiti, I think we need to do whatever we possibly can to help the Haitian people, both spiritually by praying for them that they fully receive the gospel and materially by sending whatever we can to help them out. Let God worry about whether or not He is judging them. We have our instructions from God, which is to not judge, but to love.