Why God?

This is my devotion for the month of may at church, but with all the recent tragedies going on, and quite a few questions that I have gotten recently I figured I should post this now rather than waiting.  Blessing son your day!

Why God? This seems to be a question that I have been hearing quite a bit lately.  It is something that we question through tragedies like the Boston bombing, the plant explosion in Texas, or as we go through the loss of loved one who has been so close to us through the years. 

The short answer is sin, sin is the reason why bad things happen in this world. Humanity used to live in a world where there was no sin, where we walked with God, talked with God, and were able to have a face to face relationship with Him. Sin came into this world through Adam and Eve when they hardened their hearts thinking they could be like God.

It is always obvious when you are talking to someone about a tragedy in their life whether or not they are sure if the person had salvation in Christ or not.  Those who are sure of the faith of the person or people involved in the tragedy that they are mourning for are certainly sad, but in the same sadness comes a  special joy. A joy knowing that the person who has left this world is not in just some place better than here, but they are in heaven! They are seated at God’s right hand worshiping Him  forever and ever Amen.

So when we as Christians start to ask the question why God, I think that we have an obligation to ask    another question; what else can I be doing?

In Luke 13 Christ Himself was posed with the question of why God by some of the people around Him.  Apparently there had been a tower that fell on 18 innocent people and some of the people around Jesus seemed to have trouble accepting it. Jesus response was, “Those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them– do you think they were more guilty than all the other living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent you too will all perish.” (Luke 13:4-5) Jesus does not even waste time on discussing why this tragedy happened, but skips to the most important part, their salvation.

I think one of the biggest reasons we struggle accepting these large tragedies, or deaths of loved ones in our lives is because  sometimes we don't know if we are going to meet that person in heaven one day or not.  This should not lead us to a life of despair , but rather inspire us to spread God’s love and His promise that we now have salvation through His Son’s death on the cross and nothing else. 

We can have an impact around those whom we love and see daily as well as those who we have never even spoken to and simply pass by on the street. God’s Word is universal, often times our simple actions through the day can do much more work than our mouth can. God gave us two hands, two feet, and only one mouth for a reason, to serve.  His Word speaks to us today and says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

Through Him Alone,

Ryan Strehlow

April Devotion

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be          hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.       Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your  Father in heaven.      Matthew 5:14-16

               Through my short time here in Alaska many of the people here inside and outside of Our Redeemer have told me that this is an odd year for weather in the state. First they say it was a bad summer, then the high winds were extremely abnormal, low amounts of snow, high winter temperatures and the list goes on.  I'm starting to wonder if everyone's predictions about what the weather should be, is just about as   reliable as what the weather forecasters say is going to happen.  There is one thing though that has not differed from last winter by all accounts, and that is the amount of light that we get each day.

This has quite possibly been the most unique thing that I have had to get used to in my time here.  Having light until eleven at night, and sometimes even later through the summer was a great experience.  Of course with the great benefit of summer comes the doldrums of winter and the mass amount of hours of darkness that we have.  It has been amazing over the past few weeks to see the change in my own life mentally and emotionally as we start to get more and more sunlight and how much happier I am about my day to day experiences.  Although it seems like the cold will be around for a bit longer, it is amazing to see how much happier the state of Alaska has become in the last couple of weeks.

The verses above from Matthew really seem to apply on a couple of different levels.  Christ calls us to be a light to those in darkness, and to be the light of the world.  Just as our moods have now been lifted over the last few weeks with the excess amount of light we need to be that light for those who don't know Christ! We have the opportunity to be just like the light at the end of a long winter peaking out through the clouds of this life.

Though the storms of this life may change on us one thing still remains the same; the light of this world is Christ and He has complete control over all.  He is the light at the end of a long and dark winter, the calming of a storm, and the Savior that frees us from the bondage of sin day in and day out, so that we may now be  “the light of the world. And a city on a hill”

Through Him alone,

Ryan Strehlow