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Where is God when things go wrong? By John Blanchard HAve yOu ever Asked tHe AGe-OLd questiOn, ‘WHere is GOd WHen tHinGs GO WrOnG?’ IT’S SIMpLe to put the case against the idea of an all-powerful, all-loving God: How could such a God preside over natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, volcanoes and hurricanes, sweeping thousands of people to their deaths in a matter of hours? Can he possibly stand idly by while millions of accidents wound and kill countless people every day? Is he supervising ‘man’s inhumanity to man’, from international wars to one-on-one violence — and doing nothing about it? Many people go beyond accusing God of powerlessness and declare that he doesn’t even exist. But if God does not exist, we are not part of God’s creation, and are nothing more than biological accidents. If that is true, why should we be concerned at other ‘accidents’ such as natural disasters? If we are the chance products of mindless evolution, how can we make moral judgements that define good and evil? How do conscience and our sense of personal obligation have any importance if we were not created by an all-righteous God? Strange as it may seem, the fact that we can even talk about evil and the suffering it causes points towards the existence of God, not away from it! Getting rid of God leaves us hopelessly trapped in a broken world from which there is no possible escape. The Bible doesn’t give us all the answers to our anguished questions about evil and suffering, but that should not surprise us. After all, God is not ‘one of us’, but he is eternal and immortal. There is no way in October 9th at 7.30pm Pontardawe Arts Centre Free Admission which we can get an inside track on how he is thinking and working — and he is under no obligation to tell us everything we want to know. Yet being left with questions is not the same as being left in the dark. The Bible tells us all we need to know — and begins at the beginning. God created the world without any imperfections and crowned his creation with humanity, made ‘in his own image’ (Genesis 1:27). everything was ecologically and ethically perfect until Adam first sinned by disobeying God and taking the forbidden fruit. This wrecked his relationship with God, shattered his own personality, condemned his body to decay, disease and death, and even threw the whole universe out of sync. As the representative head of the human race, Adam took the entire species with him, with the result that by nature we are all rebels against God and repeatedly contributing to the world’s sin, sadness and suffering. Yet the Bible promises us that God will end the suffering and evil in this world, and when he does, ‘God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain...’ (revelation 21:3-4). Those verses from revelation tell us that God himself will wipe away the tears from our eyes. So how do we come to God, “Many people go beyond accusing God of powerlessness and declare that he doesn’t even exist.” so that he can wipe away our tears? The Bible explains, ‘Christ… suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God’ (1 peter 3:18). Isn’t that remarkable? To bring us to God, to end our suffering, Jesus Christ suffered an agonising death on the cross, bearing the weight of the sins of the world. This means that God not only understands our suffering, but in the person of Jesus Christ, he has experienced deep, deep suffering. God the Father knows what it is to watch a loved one die. God the Son knows what it is to be despised, rejected, beaten and even killed. where is God when things go wrong? when Jesus saw the suffering of Jerusalem, the Bible tells us simply, ‘he wept over it’ (Luke 19:41). That gives us a deep insight into the heart of God. when we cry because the ones we love are suffering, we do not cry alone. But if Jesus died to end suffering, why is there still suffering in this world? The Bible explains that to deal with suffering, God must deal with sin. And to deal with sin, God must deal with sinners — and that means he must deal with us. There will come a day when God judges and punishes sinners, but thank God, that day has not come yet. The Bible puts it like this, ‘he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance’ (2 peter 3:9). So where is God when things go wrong? He is with us, and he feels our pain. But we can say more than that. He promises to bring an end to suffering and pain, and if we come to him, he will wipe every tear from our eyes. His promise is no mere platitude. remember, ‘Christ… suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God’. Christ suffered for us, that our suffering might be brought to an end. God is ‘gracious and compassionate’ (psalm 111:4) and he pours out his ‘unfailing love’ (psalm 33:5) on all who truly turn to him. Millions of people, over thousands of years, have found these things to be true in their lives. why not put God to the test? is GOd PAst His seLL-by dAte? evening with John blanchard tuesday 8th October, 7pm @ Ffwrness, Llanelli
Crying to god LIFe HASN’T ALwAYS BeeN eASY and my Christian faith has been tested on many occasions. My first baby was born with poorly working kidneys. His illness wasn’t diagnosed until he was four months old, and as a first time mother I wondered why he cried all the time, didn’t gain weight and wouldn’t sleep. I remember lots of evenings crying to God for strength. when he was finally diagnosed and taken into hospital, he needed to gain weight. To do this he needed a naso-gastric tube. I remember rhys screaming as the nurse struggled to insert the tube into his nose. I ran to the toilet and cried to my God and saviour. when I returned, the tube was inserted, and all was calm. when looking back at these moments, I’m reminded that God is interested in all of my life and he hears my cries for help. God has kept me and given me strength through some very difficult times, but I haven’t always been a Christian. My mother is a Christian and took my brother and me to church every week. I loved the stories, singing the songs, and taking part in the annual Christmas services. I thought I knew Jesus, that he was my friend; it was a huge shock when I heard the gospel message for the first time. I was told I was a sinner who deserved hell. Over the next few months the Lord gently worked on my heart and I knew that I needed to ask him for forgiveness for all the wrong things I had thought, said and done. I asked him to be my saviour and my friend. There was no bolt of lightning, but I felt peace in my heart; I knew I belonged to him. I’ve been blessed with two more children, and rhys had a kidney transplant this year. even though at times I’ve been afraid and had little faith, God’s love for me has remained constant, promising to never leave me nor forsake me, no matter what may lie ahead. psalm 121 says, ‘I will lift my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.’ I have found that to be true. Ladies’Meal with Kath Hamm and Andy Christofides saturday 6.30pm 5th October @ Manor park, clydach Tickets required, please contact us (see cover for details) Forgive a terrorist? MY dAuGHTer-IN-LAw phoned me about 9 o’clock. distressed, she blurted out ‘Steve has been murdered.’ It was a dreadful evening as you can imagine. The press came the next morning and one asked, ‘Mr Oake, what do you think of the man who killed your son?’ I wasn’t prepared for that question. As I paused to answer I prayed in the silence. I looked the journalist in the eye and said, ‘I don’t know the man, I Kath Hamm don’t know the circumstances, but I want to forgive him and I pray that God will forgive him.’ Immediately the whole atmosphere changed. Someone yelled, ‘what, how can you as a policeman forgive a terrorist?’ I am a Christian - I trust and believe in the death of Jesus to forgive all my wrong. I follow Him. Jesus said, ‘Love your enemies.’ This was hard to do but I wasn’t bitter, rObin OAke will be sharing more of his story on: Friday 4th October 7.30pm at Bethel evangelical Church, west street, gorseinon Tuesday 8th October 7.30pm at Lonlas Gospel Mission, off park avenue, skewen Friday 18th October 7.30pm at Mount Elim, Brecon road, Pontardawe youth evenT FRee! Music perforMance by: Written in Kings Speaker: John Orchard FRiday 7.30pm 11Th OcTObeR Waterfront Community Church Langdon Road, Swansea, SA1 8QY www.waterfrontchurch.com FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT: PAUL DANIEL (07951 257441) I wasn’t angry. I wanted justice, but I didn’t want retribution. For nearly two and a half months we sat within twenty feet of this man in the Old Bailey, where he was found guilty of killing Stephen. As we were sitting next to him, we were praying for him. I still pray for him every day. I can forgive because I know what it is to be forgiven by God himself. Robin Oake
Page 1: Real Lives Clydach’s October 2013
Page 5 and 6: A tale of two families Alison’s s
Page 7 and 8: My Mate’s gone mad! By Graham Dan

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