Attitude of Gratitude & Listener’s Questions Answered

About this Episode

Attitude of Gratitude & Listener's Questions Answered are the topics that will be discussing today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast

Tony Evans- “God says to give thanks in everything. That doesn’t mean you need to give thanks FOR everything. You don’t need to give thanks FOR that bad day. Or FOR that bad relationship. Or being passed over at work. Financial hardship. Whatever it is – you are not to give thanks FOR the difficulties, but rather IN the difficulties. That is a very important distinction, and one I think we often miss. Giving thanks IN everything shows a heart of faith that God is bigger than the difficulties and that He can use them, if you approach Him with the right heart and spirit, for your good and His glory.”


Being thankful for Him working through our life difficulties allows us to walk in freedom and thankfulness to him. Knowing that we are not going through our struggles alone, because He is with us, growing us and bringing purpose to the pain. Jesus sets us free from the pain and gives us rest, and knowing that allows us to be thankful for the process.


But before we talk more on Thanksgiving lets be thankful that we have listeners that have some hard questions that we can try and answer.

First Question From Neena:
“According to Rick Warren, we were all born for a purpose, exactly the way we were supposed to be born- what about those children who were born severely deformed and/or handicapped or missing a part of their brain and that sort of thing -is that really the way God wanted them to be born? I know God can take a bad thing make some good come out of it, but was that really his plan with them to be born like that? Or would you say it's just because we live in a fallen world things have become corrupted, even our genetics.
• Truth of the matter is we are all broken and disabled in some way.
• Sin brought with it sickness, imperfection, and disease Romans 5:12) Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned
• One reason God allows people to be disabled or handicapped is that such conditions are the natural result of mankind’s rebellion against God. This is not to say that every disability is the direct result of personal sin but, generally speaking, the existence of handicaps and disabilities can be traced back to the existence of sin.
• Another basic reason that God allows some people to be disabled or handicapped is that God will glorify Himself through it.
• Another reason why God allows disabilities or handicaps is that we must learn to trust in Him rather than in ourselves.
• Another reason why God allows some to be disabled or handicapped is that, in His overarching plan, He has chosen the weak things of this world for a special purpose: “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

That same question applies to gay people who from the very beginning even when they were little children had those tendencies and as they grew, were NEVER attracted to the opposite sex... were they really supposed to be born that way - it was the plan??”

Second question from Lino
Jesus wasn’t accepted by his own people as Messiah. Why if they rejected him, do they no longer sacrifice animals like in the Old Testament, today, for forgiveness of their sins?
• Because there was no longer a Temple, the only place allowed by halakha for sacrifices. Temple at Jerusalem, was destroyed in 70 AD The foundation of a religion based on centralized worship and sacrifice in the Temple had been obliterated.
• The rules for sacrifices in Judaism are very ancient, and set forth primarily in the book of Leviticus. The first seven chapters, in fact, are almost an instruction manual for how to do each of the sacrifices.
• So today the Jews have made Prayer replaced sacrifice, and the local synagogue replaced the centralized Temple.
• We believe as Christians that the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ permanently abolished animal sacrifice, primarily based on the teaching in the Epistle to the Hebrews that Jesus was the "Lamb of God" to whom all ancient sacrifices pointed.
• Traditional Muslims do still offer sacrifice. The Feast of Sacrifice (Idu-l-adha) comes two months and ten days after the end of Ramadan. The ritual sacrifice is usually a sheep or goat, although a cow or camel is possible. The meat is eaten at the feast. There are a number of complex rules about the procedure. The celebration is in honor of Abraham, spiritual father of Muslims (and Jews and Christians, by the way) who was willing to submit (islam) to God’s will and was ready to sacrifice his son.

There was a recent time that I had a coworker who I didn't get along with. For reasons I never learned nor will learn, because I don't work there anymore, she was always a very mean and unpleasant coworker, and someone that I found to be generally hard to be around because of her condescending attitude. Is there anyone in your life, or that you deal with on a regular basis (past or present - no names), that almost makes you forget that you're a Christian, and if so, how do you deal with them?
• Jesus loved everyone – had compassion, saw them lost and commands us to Love one another as He loved.
• Ephesians 6 – battling against a spiritual battle
• Matthew 5:43-48

Third question from Fred
Since God took his anointing off of King Saul and gave it to King David, does that mean he is not in heaven?

• 1 Samuel 28: 19The LORD will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines."

Our last question today from Janette -Can women be Pastors?

The question can better be asked by this, “Can women be Senior Pastors?”
• 1 Timothy 2:13-14 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.
• God created man first and women to be his helper.
• The structure of 1 Timothy 2:11–14 makes the reason why women cannot be pastors perfectly clear. Verse 13 begins with “for,” giving the “cause” of Paul’s statement in verses 11–12. Why should women not teach or have authority over men? Because “Adam was created first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived” (verses 13–14). God created Adam first and then created Eve to be a “helper” for Adam.

Thanksgiving
• “It is only with gratitude that life becomes rich!” –Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• “In happy moments, PRAISE GOD. In difficult moments, SEEK GOD. In quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD. In painful moments, TRUST GOD. Every moment, THANK GOD.” –Rick Warren