Why do evil doers prosper?

At times, we may have a hard time understanding why evildoers or atheists prosper. It just doesn't seem fair. They don't have a set of standards by which to govern themselves. At times they seem to have the best cars, houses, prosperity in their careers, health, etc. While many Christians, who are devout believers, find themselves almost struggling to maintain their livelihoods. It appears as though they rarely pay for their crimes or misdoings, and they live conscious-free in a life of comfort and sin. They even know what sin is, but do not care.

It's perspective.  
Firstly, this type of prosperity is the world’s definition. Our society, especially western civilizations, is corrupt. The things that are valued are material. If we focus on the things of God, His purpose for us, and have a Kingdom mentality then we see the fallacy in that sort of prosperity. Kingdom mindedness focuses on relationships... with God, family, and others. Prosperity in the health of relationships should be sough after, and valued.
Secondly, it is God’s desire that none be lost, so He extends grace to all. (See 2 Peter 3:8-9) In short, we all are given time to recognize who God is. God gives them time to recognize who they are, turn from their sins, and turn to Him. The same passage of scripture talks about the difference between being infinite and being finite. (A major difference between us and God) Because we cannot really understand what eternity means, Peter writes it as "a day is like 1000 years to the Lord and 1000 years are like one day".  Think about that for a moment... Once we get past the fact that we have no clue how God exists outside of, yet throughout time ...the conclusion that one comes to is that we have no clue how patient God is.

We find this written in Nahum 1:3 "The Lord is slow to anger and great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm…” God’s long-suffering is a result of His love for mankind.  He is certainly a loving God.  He is also a just God.  Because God even loves those we consider to be bad people, he affords them opportunities to be saved. When He determines their time is up He punishes them.  Sometimes he uses the whirlwind and the storm as tools. (Can anyone say amen to that?) Our goal as Christians should be to let our light shine as brightly as possible so that they become changed, attacked to that light, and not in that “guilty” number.

We love you and we are praying for you.

~SALT, pastor Erroyl and Sis Pinky

Sis. Pinky's Prayer:

Father, we pray for the lost. We ask that You would soften their hearts and get them to see the error of their ways. Please send us, your ambassadors, to the lost so that all will have an opportunity to repent and have a secure standing in eternity.

We thank you for being a patient and loving God with us all, and for the great reward we'll receive in glory.

In Jesus' Name we pray,

Amen

What God Requires

What God Requires

God never requires more than what you already have... In Genesis 4:7 He asks Cain,  "If you do your best, will not I accept you?" In other words, all He asks of us is the best from what we already have, not our leftovers.  The expectation is found earlier in chapter 4 of Genesis by the mentioning of Cain's vocation. He was a tiller of the soil: a farmer.  Our best is not that time we fit into our schedules, or the offering that we give after having paid our bills, and other expenses. Can we not plan to serve God with our time, talents, and treasure just as we plan parties, a guy’s night out, or to buy expensive items? Why is it that we can boast about work attendance and punctuality, we make sure our children go to school everyday, but we cannot seem to make it to church on time? Is that our best? Is that really what we give to God? 

The adjective used to describe the fruit that Cain gave to God was "some". Is that what we give God "some" fruit? Nothing special, not the best, just "some" fruit. 

God required a calf from Abel, because Abel raised animals. He required fruits from Cain, because Cain was a tiller of the ground. Notice that He did not require Abel to give fruit, nor Cain to give from a flock. If you want to know what God requires of you, look within. He’s already placed it in your care. Be it your writings, cooking, or singing, your listening ear to hurting persons, event organizing, praying, or serving. God did not place that gift in you simply so that you could sustain an Earthly life. Whatever it is remember that you should give a portion to God, and when you give God His portion, it must be your best--in order for it and you, to be accepted by the Lord. Look again at what Abel gave to God. It was the first born from his flock, and the fattest of the firstborn. He gave God the best of the best. And that's what we should do with who we are, and what we give to God.

Another part of that scripture (Gen 4) tells how Cain was feeling after this offering. His countenance had fallen. In other words he felt rejected, and miserable because of it. Don't we feel the same way after we give God less than our best? When we present God with a version of ourselves that is not the best we can be, don't we feel our countenance has fallen? Hmmmm. 

We love you, and we are praying for you.

~SALT, Pastor Erroyl and Sis. Pinky

Sis. Pinky's prayer:

Almighty God, maker of heaven and earth, we thank you for placing spiritual gifts in us. Help us to give you our best at all times, especially when it's sacrificial. Let us not allow worldly things to get us distracted nor self created idols to take the place of You. We thank you for being patient, loving, merciful, and full of grace. 

In Jesus' name we pray,

Amen