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Frequently Asked Questions
I Didn't Know that God.......
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about God, Jesus and Christian Faith
QUESTION: "I've had bad things happen to me in my life and the only one I know to blame is God. Why does God do such bad things to people?"
ANSWER: The first thing you need to understand is that God doesn't bring tragedy or calamity into people's lives. The devil does. Notice what the Jesus said in John 10:10-11; "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep." The thief Jesus is talking about here is the devil. The devil comes to steal your finances, kill your hopes and dreams, and destroy your life. But Jesus, who is God Himself, comes to give you life. And not only life, but life more abundantly.
QUESTION: "I don't understand. If God is a good God, why do people get really sick?"
ANSWER: Sickness and disease are not from God. They are from the devil. Luke 13:10-13 says, "Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, 'Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.' And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God." The verse goes on to say, "So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound think of it for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?" Here was a woman whose body was bowed together in a fixed position. She couldn't even straighten up. What did Jesus do? He called her to himself and said, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.'' Then He laid hands on her and immediately she stood up. Then Jesus explained where the sickness came from. He made three enlightening statements:
The woman ought to be loosed, not bound.
Satan had bound her, not God
The reason this woman ought to be loosed was she was the daughter of Abraham. Or she a covenant with God.
It can't get much clearer. Satan brings sickness, not God.
QUESTION: "I know that God heals some people. But I'm not sure that He wants to heal me".
ANSWER: One of the major barriers to healing is the uncertainty in people's minds, if it is the will of God to heal. Nearly every one knows that God heals some people, but is God's will for ME to be healed. Before you can receive your healing, you must believe, or have faith, that God wants you healed. Faith begins where the will of God is known. Your Faith must not only believe that God can heal me, but that HE will heal you. Some might say, "Lord, if it's your will, I will be healed." Settle in your heart .. It's God's will for you to be healed! Get rid of the "if."
It's God's will, above all things, that we live in good health every day. 3 John 2 says, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." If Jesus healed the sick, then it's the will of the Father to heal the sick. Since it's the will of the Father to heal the sick, then it's the will of the Father to heal you! We can see throughout the Scriptures, there is no doctrine more clearly taught than its God will for you to be healed.
QUESTION: "God seems so busy. Why would He care enough about me to heal me?" Sometimes we think, "Why would God heal me? I've not worthy to be healed. You don't know what I've done."
ANSWER: The beautiful thing about our God is that He loves us in spite of ourselves. He loves us so much that He sent His only Son to die on the cross. And His only Son, Jesus, went willingly because of the Joy that was set before Him. Hebrews 12:2 says, "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." When Jesus went to the cross, He thought of you. He had you on His mind. That is why He wants you healed. He came to release us from the bondage of the devil.
QUESTION: "Is Jesus the only way to get to God? "Don't all religions point to the same God? Isn't that narrow-minded to believe there is only way to Heaven."
ANSWER: Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the truth, the way, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me" That's very clear. Jesus said he is he only way to the Father in Heaven. Please note that this is a statement from God Himself. Christians are the not the ones who are making this claim. We are only repeating what God Himself said. You may not agree with that statement, but that doesn't make it less true.
QUESTION: "I'm a good person, so I'm going to Heaven, right? After all I never did anything really bad."
ANSWER: The problem with "goodness" is that you don't know how much of it you need to get in. Has anyone seen the "Goodness Chart?" No, because there is no chart. Is it 50% of your life? Or is it 67%? And how much "goodness" is deducted when we do something bad? Good people don't go to Heaven, forgiven people go to Heaven Luke 23:39-43 says, "Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us." But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong." Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." Now crucifixion was the worst form of punishment. It was reserved for the worst of the worst. If "goodness" was a criteria for Heaven, then neither of these criminals would get in. But notice what happens in verse 40; "But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong." Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." This criminal, the worst of the worst, is going to Heaven. So obviously being good or bad is not the criteria for Heaven. It's "forgiven" people go to Heaven. It doesn't matter how good, or bad you are, it's whether you've been forgiven. And that's Good News. Because now we have clear criteria of how to get into Heaven. It actually doesn't even matter what you have done.
You say with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus died for you and ask for forgiveness.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at River of Hope Fellowship. We are church that believes in the healing power of God and have seen Him do mighty works in peoples lives.
