Dave Sweigart

Since the beginning, one of the most perplexing questions about God is, “If there is a God, why does He allow hard things in my life?” This “hard thing” could be many things. It could be the loss of financial freedom, the loss of a loved one, the pain of heartache, the fragility and loneliness of old age, and yes – WAR.

The title could give the impression that a Christian could be different in an election year than other off-election years. That is not the intent. Instead, in the time of national elections, Christians face extra pressure to become something they are not; pressure to join another kingdom and fight intellectually using the ballot box. Many times during election years, the question is asked of the plain community –”why don’t you folks vote; if you all did, we could finally change some things. Aren’t Christians to be a salt and a light?

The human race has a problem. This problem first appeared in the heavenly world when Lucifer exalted himself. The problem was transferred to the earth when Adam and Eve felt they could rise above the clear direction that was given them by God Himself – Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. This rebellion attempted to elevate man above his Creator but succeeded only in starting him on a slide away from Him and trouble ensued. We know the after effects of what happened next by what is recorded in Scripture and by what we all experience today.

The concept of obedience is very familiar to us. We were all supposed to have been taught this at a young age. But yet we need reminders and succeeding generations will keep arising that need these concepts taught and reinforced.

What a beautiful world God created for us to enjoy! The seasons of spring, summer, and fall, bring many different colors to our eyes. The colors of the rainbow are a reminder of the beauty and multifaceted splendor of our Creator God. An interesting study is the study of color and what each color represents. Of course, there is variation across the societies and cultures of the earth, but even in that, some themes are constant. We want to look at the color Red.

This is probably not a new concept to most of us; in fact, it may be in danger of becoming a cliché because of overuse. There is a lot of focus on this today and there should be. Few things are more important than the blessing of mutual satisfaction and communication from a healthy parent/child relationship. A home where the parents have the hearts of the children is a home that is ideally equipped to handle the stresses and turmoil of everyday life and simultaneously maintain an equilibrium of harmony, happiness, and stability.

World Wars I and II brought indescribable pain and suffering to millions of people, brought death to millions more, and possibly 1.5 trillion dollars or more worth of damage. In today’s world, violent crime is up 467%, the number of incarcerated criminals up 463%, and out of wedlock births up 461% all in the last 40 years. Is it too simplistic to say it is all because of the unbroken will?
As we can see from the statistics above, the human will is nothing to trifle with.
The will is a part of what makes you. It is one of the three major aspects of the mind.

The book of 1 Samuel opens with a spiritually dark picture. In Chapter 3 Verse 3, we are told that the Word of the Lord was precious. The Word of the Lord should always be precious to His people, but this is not what this word means in this context. Here precious means rare or uncommon. Why would God allow His Word to become rare or uncommon?

In the Old Testament, God’s Word came to His people through the medium of faithful prophets. The Holy Spirit would also come upon certain individuals at specific times for specific needs.