I struggled with what to write this week. As I prayed, God kept bringing to mind two thoughts: Lying always backfires and evil is being exposed.
If you haven’t read my last two blog posts, I hope you will. I’ve received many encouraging comments that they might be the best I’ve ever written and to that I say, “To God be the Glory!” I honestly never know what He’s going to ask me to share with you. I pray and sit down at the computer and suddenly I have a blog post. I often read it later and am amazed at what I wrote. Only God.
10 Things You Can Do in a World Gone Mad!
How Not Mentoring Millennials Implodes a Political Party. What Can the Church Learn?
Everyone Knows The Difference Between Good and Evil
Since Satan enticed Adam and Eve to eat from the fruit of the Tree of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden, humanity has known the difference between good and evil, truth and lies.
15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it.16 But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— 17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” Genesis 2:15-17 (NLT)
Satan: “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5
Everyone, even those who choose to do evil and lie, has a conscience. They know the difference between right and wrong . . . except maybe psychopaths
It’s a matter of whether we choose to make evil or good our guiding life force. Tell the truth or lie to our own advantage. You don’t have to be a Christian to make that choice. Even unbelievers can do good and be truthful.
[Tweet “Our choices between good and evil usually come down to whether we’re self-centered or other-centered.”]
Our choices between good and evil usually come down to whether we’re self-centered or other-centered. Caring only about our own selfish desires or caring more about others than ourselves. Again, you don’t have to be a Christian to make the choice to do good, but Christians should always make that choice.
When I hear politicians and pro-choice advocates expound that every woman should have a choice with her body, I want someone to challenge them with asking, “A choice to do what? Good or evil?”
Let’s look at 5 examples of how we can join God in bringing good out of evil intents.
1. Abortion
Many agree that abortion is evil, but until recently how many really did anything about it. Yes, there were annual walks for life and pro-life advocates, but few people, even Christians, let the murder of innocent babies keep them awake at night or invade their everyday life.
Then abortion went to the next level of infanticide and everyone started taking notice. When New York approved abortion up and through delivery and lit up the city in pink to celebrate this evil, the governor of Virginia told us in graphic terms that a baby who survives an abortion could be left to die, and Congress voted to legalize infanticide . . . suddenly we were kept up at night. We were appalled. We couldn’t ignore that 50 million innocent souls are tortured to death in their mommy’s tummy every year.
[Tweet “We can’t ignore that 50 million innocent souls are tortured to death in their mommy’s tummy every year.”]
Social media lit up with graphic pictures and descriptions of the atrocities of abortion. The mainstream liberal media, as usual, wouldn’t touch the topic, but FOX News did. You’d have to be a hermit today to not know what happens to babies during abortion.
So how could this publicity about the atrocities of abortion be used for good?
Pushing the envelope to late-term abortions and infanticide has now made abortion a topic of discussion and disgust.
There’s renewed hope and fervor for overturning Roe vs Wade. We must keep the momentum going when the publicity dies down.
We can’t become complacent again while murder of innocent babies happens in our own hometowns every single day!
Women who have long suffered with the guilt of abortion have an opportunity to use their story for good by sharing their testimonies and turning the bad in their life into good by helping to save more babies. We can pray for these mothers and share with them the forgiveness that comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
A young dad who had no say in the death of his own baby when his girlfriend chose abortion, has now brought an unprecedented legal case for the rights of fathers.
We can send a message to Congress that all newborn babies should be welcomed with warmth and care, and join thousands of Americans in a End Birth Day Abortion campaign.
[Tweet “See the movie Unplanned releasing March 29. Tell all your friends about this movie and encourage mothers to take their teenage daughters and sons.“]
Go see the movie Unplanned releasing March 29. The true story of former Planned Parenthood Director, Abby Johnson, who suddenly saw the evils of abortion and became a pro-life advocate. A former abortion doctor has a role in the movie also.
Tell all your friends about Unplanned and encourage mothers to take their teenage daughters and sons. The movie is by the same producers who made God’s Not Dead. It has an R rating only because Hollywood promotes abortion and they’re trying to discourage people from seeing it.
[Tweet “Only God could bring out the movie Unplanned at a time when abortion is in the national discussion. We can work with God in helping publicize it.”]
Only God could bring this movie out at a time when the atrocities of all abortion is the topic of national discourse. We can work with God in helping publicize Unplanned.
[Tweet “An evil world has made killing babies a political issue. Abortion is a criminal issue. Make it your spiritual issue“]
An evil world has made killing babies a political issue. Abortion is a criminal issue. Make it your spiritual issue.
God created each baby in His image with a unique fingerprint and DNA from the moment of conception. Let’s not be satisfied until the world acknowledges this truth.
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. — Genesis 50:20 NASB
2. The Mueller Investigation
I know you’re saying, “How could that be used for good?” We’re all so sick of it and it has plagued our president since before he even took office. Now he’s vindicated!
But consider that if there had been no investigation, would we have ever known about the corruption of some in the FBI and Justice Department? Those evil men and women who chose to put their own political interests before the good of the country have been exposed.
And the lies, lies, and more lies of the mainstream liberal media and politicians during this investigation are now boomeranging on them as the Mueller report is released.
Let’s pray for a revival of honesty and truth in our government and that our country can begin to heal. Corruption would continue to be eradicated and God would be brought back into our schools. We would vote into office godly public officials. It starts with we the people!
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
and clever in their own sight.
22 Woe to those . . . who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
but deny justice to the innocent.” Isaiah 5:20-21, 23
3. Democrat Presidential Candidates Running on a Platform of Socialism/Communism
I know again, how could this be good? It’s not. Socialism is evil, but the younger generation and school age kids aren’t being taught that in school. This is our chance to educate them on the evils of socialism, which leads to communism and a dictatorship.
[Tweet “We have a choice. Take action or stay silent while Democrat candidates lie about the freebies of socialism without exposing how it ruins countries.”]
Again, we have a choice. Take action or stay silent while these candidates lie about the freebies of socialism without exposing how it ruins countries and lives. Speak out against their platforms and mentor truth to the next generation. If you don’t, who will?
“For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.” 1 Peter 2:15
4. Suffering
It’s hard to find good in suffering. It’s painful. Dreadful. Costly. Debilitating. Destructive. And yet, it happens to most of us at some time in our life. We try to avoid it by taking good care of our bodies, eating healthy, exercising, and taking vitamins. But one day we can’t outrun the diagnosis that stops us in our tracks. We want to deny it, but we can’t.
While in the moment it seems all about us, maybe God actually wants us to use our suffering to help others.
When I first had breast cancer, I wanted to go through surgery and treatment and then move on with my life. The last thing I wanted to do was identify as a breast cancer survivor. Then God took hold of my heart and I wrote the book I wished I had going through my cancer journey, Dear God, They Say It’s Cancer: A Companion Guide for Women on the Breast Cancer Journey. I’ve had many women tell me it was like God and I were walking along beside them during their breast cancer.
I’ll never know how many women God has used to turn evil cancer into a blessing for other breast cancer sisters.
“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.” Colossians 1:24
5. Sin
No matter how good we try to be, the evils of sin enter our life often through our wrong choices. But here’s the Good News: at Calvary God traded evil for good. The horrible death of Jesus Christ by evil men, and His ultimate resurrection, ushered in the amazing opportunity of salvation for everyone who chooses to believe in Jesus and receive forgiveness for his or her sins.
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. Romans 3:23-26 NLT
[Tweet “For believers, evil doesn’t have the last word in our life. No matter how evil the world becomes, we know that this world is not our final home.”]
For believers, evil doesn’t have the last word in our life. No matter how evil the world becomes, we know that this world is not our final home. We must share that Good News with everyone we know who might not be joining us in eternity.
The best way to exemplify the goodness of our Holy God is to let our Light shine in the midst of a dark unholy world.
“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life . . . .” Philippians 2:14-16
We each have a choice:
Stay silent about evil or expose it.
Turn our backs on evil or work with God to bring good out of it.
“Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” Romans 12:21(NLT)
Will you share in the comments where you’ve worked with God to bring good out of what Satan meant for evil.
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You might also enjoy a slide how I wrote for Crosswalk.com 10 Powerful Gifts to Pass to the Next Generation.
awesome information. appreciate all the encouragement in your blogs
Thank you Elaine and thank you for sharing them. God is good all the time!