God Does Not Hate Us
Posted by Chris on May 26, 2013 under Front Page Posts, Sermons
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May 26, 2013 –
Lamentations 3:19-24
The thought of my suffering and homelessness
is bitter beyond words.
I will never forget this awful time,
as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope
when I remember this:
The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”
Jerusalem and Oklahoma
Some things are the same between Jerusalem and Oklahoma
- Daring to Hope
- Trusting in God
- God’s faithful love does not end – The steadfast love of the Lord does not cease if an army invades or a tornado destroys!
- This is not God’s wrath
- This is not a divine response to sin (we go too far when we attempt to claim that!)
I reject those who claim that God is hateful and that God enjoys pouring down destruction. Those who claim this should read Lamentations 3:33 – “For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.”
Let God be God and you just be his child. Stop trying to be the prophet and stop trying to make yourself into God’s spokesperson on “the news of the day.”
God does not spin up tornadoes in order to teach us a lesson!
God makes his teaching clear through his son, Jesus Christ.
How would Jesus respond to these questions about suffering and disaster?
Luke 13:1-5 – About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. 2 “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? 3 Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. 4 And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? 5 No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”
- We always need to repent
- We live in a broken world
- God does not enjoy hurting people
- God’s faithful love does not cease