I Will Answer Your Questions

@herm71 we just had a sermon on this! Ditto!

@OkieGemini so many non believers think that God shouldn't let bad things happen to anyone, but just because you believe doesn't mean that you will not have troubled times come along at some point. If you know the Bible, Job was the true depiction of the answer to this question. God let the devil work on Job, but Job never once waivered from God. He just kept turning to him and praising him for what he had done for him.

@OkieGemini So what did you appreciate about the sermon you heard?

@herm71 Jesus told us there would be trials & tribulations, but that he overcame the world. Being Christian doesn't make us immune to bad things but changes how we deal with them.

@seotelkniwt I guess I just never thought about ppl observing my problems & that my life could influence someone without me saying a word

@herm71 When you think about Jesus fine example and the way he and His heavenly Father interacted with each other, you will see that Jesus was not shielded from all opposition and even death at the hands of those ancient Jews.
Jesus willingly proved loyal to God, under extreme tests, unlike Adam and Eve, who only had to not eat from a particular tree in the Garden of Eden. Satan figured that if he could get the 1st perfect human couple to be disloyal and disobedient to God, that it would be a "piece a cake" to get others to be disloyal and disobedient to God. However, there were/are up to this point and day and age, still true Christians who have withstood opposition, tradgety persecution, great loss and all manner of suffering for the love and appreciation of having God in their life and because of being footstep followers of Christ Jesus.

@seotelkniwt so glad as an American, I can worship freely!

@OkieGemini sounds like a beautiful sermon and yes Jesus did forewarn his followers that trials and tribulation will accompany true lovers of God and true lovers of God's Word the Bible. Yet his fine example and him telling his followers that his heavenly Father would help us is very encouraging. When we see Jesus example we come to realize that if he did it, we can too 😊

@OkieGemini if a person is a follower of Jesus Christ and a worshiper of God, ppl will see your fine works without you even saying a word most of the time. They will notice how you conduct yourself during good and bad times and depending on how or what you say or don't say, may cause others to think about God or at least respect you as a Christian. Yes being a Christian and the way we follow or not follow God's standards can definitely influence others for the good or for the bad.

@OkieGemini I too appreciate the freedom that we have now to freely worship God, but based on Bible prophecies found in the book of Revelation chapters 17-18 (particularly chapter 18 verse 4) and the book of Zechariah the 13th chapter, a time or a period of time is coming when the vast majority of mainstream religion will not have that freedom to do so....
That is why it so very important, so vital to be on God's side when the end comes. It is very important to be worshipping God the way He outlines in His Word the Bible (John 17:3).

@seotelkniwt Exactly!