Q101:  Why do people take drugs?

A most important question – huge to answer, nearly too huge for me as I know very little about drugs, so I shall have to ask for help to answer this one. I refer to illegal drugs here and, of course, ’grog’ (alcohol).

It seems that people take drugs to ’feel better’ if they are unhappy and to take away pain. Pain can have many forms and sometimes people carry ’pain’ that somebody has put on them – making them unhappy. We ordinary folk see pain as a sore eye, a sore foot, a blister, a stubbed toe, or a sore of some sort. If you’re travelling where feet and eyes are in use and they are sore then life’s a misery and we reach for a pill or a bandaid; anything to make feet and eyes feel better. Sort of the same with drugs.

Many people are not really happy in life! Unhappy people seem to be plentiful. Why they are unhappy is not being answered here. Try some of the other questions for ’why’ people are unhappy. Mostly, I think that somebody did something nasty to them and they don’t know what to do about it. Depression and mental illness is around us more than we think. Getting drunk makes most people feel good for a while, but a very sore head (a hangover) is the result. Worse – as an adult, you could be ’Done’ by police for DUI (Driving Under the Influence) of alcohol or drugs; or even have a crash.

In asking people about drugs I am told that people take drugs for several reasons: ’to try them’, ’to see what they’re like’, ’to be like their crowd and not be different’. Peer pressure can be ’heavy’ and hard to get away from but no drug addict ever had the thought: ’I want to be a drug addict, to lose my family, my house, my marriage, and all my money and be in poor health for the rest of my life.’ Nobody thinks like that…but it happens.

A friend who works in the city with the homeless and drug affected people pointed out to me that most young people who start on drugs do not realise the slippery downhill slide they are on until it’s too late. Then they are ’hooked’ and become like the group they are mixing with – a crowd of so called ’friends’ who may, or may not, help you if you are in trouble. Without understanding what is happening to them, they see violence, grog, drugs and sex as quite normal. That is very sad and mostly has a sad ending.

Not long ago I watched a ’Dr Phil’ show on TV. A girl (lady) who was very pretty but very sad too, was a member of a gang and had spent years in jail for murdering a young girl. She was on the show and trying to tell the mother and big sister of the murdered girl just why she helped to kill a 12 year old girl. She, basically, was afraid to go against what the gang was doing! She was so very sorry but the 12 year old girl had a horrible death and the convicted girl very much regretted not stopping the other gang members. She was now around 30 years old. A life filled with sadness and regret, and a family who had to live with the memory of the horrible death of their girl. So choose your friends/gang carefully because you’ll be like them.

One story had a good ending: I heard a guy telling his story on radio, on the ABC 720 AM band in Perth. He related how he was with his friends, good ones this time, and he was on drugs and out of control and said ’I wanted to burn my neighbour’s house down. My best friend took a lump of wood and hit me over the head and knocked me out for a while.’ When I woke up I was OK and realised how stupid and dangerous I had been. I have not touched drugs since.’ How is that for good friends?

Alcohol is the biggest problem, it is legal and cheap but costs this nation plenty in bashings, knifings, killings and ’punch ups’ of many sorts and that includes ’wife bashing’, and too often suicide. Alcohol is nasty in that the TV and other advertisements only show happy people drinking and they do not appear to drink too much. Many others do drink too much and get seriously addicted. That’s a nasty problem in that the addiction can take away most, or all of your money. It all happens very slowly until one day you admit you’re an alcoholic, broke and need help. Someone wrote: ’Why pay good money to put a devil in your mouth to take away your brain – then you piss it up against the wall?’ An Indian Chief, in the early days of the USA asked a white man who had given him a bottle of whisky: ’Why you give us drink to make us fools?’

I only see the sad consequences and I, and most in my age group (70-90 years) feel a real sadness that kids like you will be exposed to these drugs ’pushed’ by some low-life from the sewer, to get you hooked, and to produce money for their profit. The bigger the ’pusher’ the bigger their profits – from you!

The only drugs us oldies grew up with were tobacco…and that was rationed by the government to keep our armed services supplied in the war. (Much tobacco was grown in Manjimup in Western Australia.) There was of course beer, but pubs closed at 6.00 pm, with few liquor outlets, no Sunday trading and there was not much money, or time for drinking anyway.

This much I do know: I have noticed on TV and in magazines that Mums are encouraged to give kids, even little babies painkillers so: ’they get relief from any pain.’ A caller on talk back radio pointed out that: ’from babies, we never have to put up with any pain at all. There is always a pill to remove pain of any kind.’ (I am so glad that someone invented the anaesthetic drug so that a trip to a dentist is not too bad.) But the caller also pointed out that: ’When the pain is of the heart (emotions) there is no painkiller for that!’ So very true!

This emotional pain could be a friend dumping you for no reason at all, Mum and Dad divorcing, a girl or boy friend who you trusted, betrays you and spreads personal stuff for everyone to read, to see, or hear. Very hurtful indeed! So what to do? Mum and Dad or your best friend can help ease the pain. But if they are not there, there are many illegal drugs to cover the pain for a while but they will not take the heartache away. If you keep taking the drugs for the pain, then comes the problem: Drugs cost money! Big problem indeed. If you have none you think, ’Got to get some money, somehow.’ If you have plenty of money you can buy plenty, and whatever you want – but that’s not good either. Some end up dead.

I have three friends, whose child, around 20 to 30 years old have died from, we suspect, drug overdoses. It is very painful and I guess hard to talk about. Another one I know has survived – the child of a preacher at a good sized church. That child had no problem stealing money and saleable goods from the parents to sell, to get money for drugs. Drugs take away your conscience so that stealing anything becomes easy and not a moral question. I thought I wrote that I knew nothing – seems I know a bit after all!

Here are three testimonies (stories that happened to the people writing them). ’Graduates’ (people restored from drugs) from ’Teen Challenge’ agreed to tell their stories to put in my book. Teen Challenge is a group of Christian people who help those who need help, and ask for it. This is what they wrote:

When I was 13 I started to hang out with friends who used drugs and I started to use them too, so I could fit in. At first I liked it because it made me feel good but soon I didn’t want to do it anymore but I couldn’t stop because I was addicted. I started to steal from people and sell drugs so that I could buy drugs.

When I was 16 I tried injecting drugs and by seventeen I was addicted to heroin. Before the end of that year my life was so bad because of my drug use that I didn’t want to live anymore and I tried to kill myself twice and was put into hospital in a psyche’ ward.

When I was 19 I was at a party and had an accidental drug overdose that did kill me. I needed to be resuscitated by the ambulance guys and although they revived me I was still in a coma for seven days fighting for my life.

When I turned 21, my Mum told me she didn’t want to speak to me again until I got help. I chose to go to Teen Challenge because I had heard that it was a Christian place and I knew that it was going to take a miracle for me to stop using drugs.

At Teen Challenge I started a friendship with God and He helped me to become a healthy, happy person who no longer wants to take drugs. Now I’m married with a young son and another baby on the way, and I’m pastor of a church. God can do great things, but if I had my time again I WOULD NOT start using drugs.

Jacob Hill (May 2011).

Here are two more personal stories from kids who were restored by Teen Challenge.

When I was 13 my parents separated and at about the same time I started high school. I was feeling depressed and instead of sharing my feelings with a trusted adult, I bottled it all up and began to experiment with drugs and alcohol as a way of ’escape’. This continued over the next few years until by age 24 I had a drinking problem and a serious addiction to speed. My life was a mess. I was suicidal and had no hope for the future. This is when my Mum told me about Teen Challenge and I entered the program. At Teen Challenge I detoxed off drugs and alcohol, and dealt with issues that I had been running from most of my life. I learnt to respect authority and boundaries, I learnt to communicate and respect myself and others. Teen Challenge changed my life.

I am now happily married with one child and another on the way. I am one of the fortunate ones who were given a second chance at life. Some of the people I knew who also took drugs didn’t get that chance and their lives were ended far too soon.

Drugs are NOT COOL. They destroy your health and ultimately your life. I thank God that my life was spared and I am now able to share this: Say NO to Drugs message with others.

Melissa Hill (May 2011)

When I was in Year 4, I was sexually abused at school by an adult. Then when I was in Year 7, my parents separated. At 13 I started smoking cigarettes and at 15 I started smoking pot. I did this for two reasons. The first was because my friends were trying it and I didn’t want to be different than them and the second because it stopped me thinking about how sad and hurt I was. I really missed my Dad and because of the abuse I had suffered I had the wrong idea of what love was so I had relationships with guys to try and find the love I had lost when my Dad left. I continued using pot and trying all other kinds of drugs (LSD, Ecstasy, Diazepam, Speed, Crystal Meth). In amongst all this I gave birth to my daughter. By age 21 I was absolutely addicted to drugs and couldn’t function without them.

When my family couldn’t stand to see me hurting myself anymore, they cut me out of their lives. This finally led me to seek help from Teen Challenge. There I was able to work through all my problems and break the wrong mind sets I had developed. I have now been drug free for 4 years and work at Teen Challenge. I have a great relationship with my daughter and I can now be a positive role model for her.

Many young people have experienced the breakup of their parent’s marriage or other traumatic events, just like I did and this can become a factor in their decision to use drugs. But I would like to encourage anyone who may be thinking of going down that track to talk to an adult first about how you feel. Get help for your problems. And remember the old saying: ’Prevention is better than cure.’ It really is.

Caroline Barlahan (May 2011)

Sorry that this is a bit long-others write whole books on the subject…so I feel better already. A preacher I once heard said: ’The greatest thing a person can tell is what’s happened to them.’

Someone’s personal story is powerful and I thank the three writers for their story – powerful messages indeed. My comment: ’I cannot imagine coping with the problems those kids wrote about.’. To readers who have been hurt, especially sexually or emotionally abused, know this: On judgement day, those who did evil to children will answer for their evil deeds. The worst punishment is for them! Yes it is! Jesus said so by saying: ’But if any of you causes one of these little ones who trust in me to lose his faith in me it would be better for you to have a rock tied to your neck and be thrown in the deepest sea.’ Matthew chapter 18 in verse 6. Better than what?! Jesus did not say. One Bible translator used slightly different words: ’…anyone who hurts the conscience of one of these little ones…’ (Damages the mind of a child).

Children are very special to Jesus. And from Buddha: ’An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast. One can damage your body the other will damage your mind.’ (I don’t often quote Buddha but that one is true. Choose friends carefully.)

Jesus talked about judgment day too. He was telling his disciples that on judgement day selfish and uncaring people will be separated like a farmer separates sheep from goats before shearing. Those who ’helped the sick, the homeless, visited those in jail and helped those in need would be rewarded, and those who failed to help them would be punished.’ That’s in Matthew chapter 26 in verses 31 to 46.

From time to time we all ask God for help. Often nothing happens because God does not stop people doing evil things. From Adam and Eve right up to 2012,we’ (everybody) have a choice, a personal choice to do right-or to do wrong.

You, who maybe reading this some years down the track may ask: Is help available to me…now? I believe it will be! There have always been, and always will be, kind and good people. They will help if they know how to help; and if they cannot they will know someone who can and will. Do, please read again the three personal stories above and know that there is help.

Finally, I paid good money in 1984 to hear a speaker from the USA talk about ’motivation’. This statement has stuck in my mind since then: he said: ’You’re where you are, you’re what you are because of what has gone into your mind. You can change where you are, you can change what you are, by changing what goes into your mind.’ Zig Ziglar Perth 1984

A school principal said to me that rebellion can be the first step along the road to drugs. ’What?’ Let me explain. Teenagers can get quite resentful of restrictions placed on them by their parents: i.e. ’Now I want you home by 10.30 tonight, remember.’ ’Yuk! I want to stay out later with my friends.’ Or ’I will not allow you to go out with that boy.’ and other such unwanted restrictions. ’I’m old enough to know what is bad for me, leave me alone.’ And then resentment builds and sometimes rebellion, until at maybe 16 or 17 the child decides to leave home and live with some ’friends’. The friends could be of a similar mind, and all of them are easy, or ’soft’ targets for drug pushers. Easily manipulated by older men or women to get kids started on ’harmless’ soft drugs ’that help you have a good time’. That could be the start of a downhill path to a life of drugs. (Getting your own flat to live by yourself costs around $5,000 just to get started.)

Kids also leave home to avoid sexual or emotional abuse by family or relatives, often by ’Uncles’. They see that living on the streets, in old buildings, etc. is better than a bad home.

Finally, a little story told by Graham Mabury, the 30 year presenter of NIGHTLINE on 6PR (here in Perth) and still going. He told of a teenager leaving a party told her friends: ’Mum told me to be home by 11.00 so I have to go.’ One of the group remarked after she went: ’I wish my Mum cared when I get home.’ meaning that his Mum did not care enough to make boundaries. (Kids need that kind of love, even if it is ’tough love’)

To you, dear reader, I say: ’May you always be where God can bless you.’

Finally (nearly there): Try www.jadelewis.com I read of her story in the doctor’s waiting room recently in a That’s Life magazine. She has a story full of hope for all. Well worth a look.

After all that serious stuff, try a nutty joke: ’Two peanuts were crossing the road. One was assaulted.’ (A salted peanut).

And: ’Two peanuts sat on the railway track,

Their hearts were all-a-flutter,

Train came speeding round the bend.

’Toot Toot’ – peanut butter!’ (I like ’crunchy’ best)

Q102: Would our family be better if I was not here?
Life would be better if I was not here.

A Grandma I know told me of this boy’s remarks and that he felt that he was invisible at home (not noticed and ignored) while Mum and Dad argued too much and later divorced.

This boy was the ’meat-in-the-sandwich’ while his Mum and Dad fought and had eventually separated. NOT his fault at all but he felt it would help if he was ’gone’ – maybe dead. Kids often think that they are the problem that causes Mum and Dad to argue. Like: ’I am not good enough at sports, or school’. Kids are not the problem, Mum and Dad are but kids still worry a lot that they might be. No child asks or demands to be brought into this world. The parents bring them in within a marriage and the child is much loved, but somehow things go wrong in this crazy mixed up world and as there is no training as to how to be a good Mum or Dad, personal problems just get bigger and good advice and help is not sought.

A personal thought: Advertising is about the biggest evil in our society. ’What?’ Think about this: We are all urged on TV, radio, and in hundreds of newspapers and magazines and billboards, etc., to ’be happy’ and buy this or buy that and ’turn every head’ by buying this car or that one…and ’have the greenest lawn in the street’. So to ’be happy’ we borrow money to buy ’stuff’ that we really can do without. Others do not really care but we must pay back that money we borrowed to ’be happy’. It can be quite hard repaying borrowed money.

Q103: Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?

This is how I put a variation on this statement: ’I prayed to God but he didn’t answer my prayer so I don’t believe in him anymore.’ That statement is a question and a child’s belief.

In my first book:100 QUESTIONS Asked by Year Seven students, Q.49 asked: ’When I pray to God why doesn’t he answer back?’ and Q.99: ’I talk to God sometimes, but usually nothing changes. Why is this so?’

All three questions are very reasonable thoughts from a child who is growing up. (Please note that many grown-ups feel the same but never bother to think it through.)

God’s way is not our way and I’ll try to explain. Jesus said to his 12 disciples: ’Ask anything in my name and it shall be done.’ Phew! Can he really mean that? Anything? Jesus then likened their faith as being very small indeed. We all find it very hard to believe because our faith in Jesus is small.

Those disciples also said to Jesus: ’Lord-teach us how to pray.’ So He did. Jesus said: ’When you pray do not be like the heathen who hope to be heard by their much speaking, for your heavenly Father knows what you have need of before you pray. Pray like this: ’Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom , the power and the glory forever and ever, Amen.’ Please note that the Lord’s Prayer is very good in that it can be used anywhere and in any situation where God’s help would be a good thing.

It sure must be confusing for a child. The bit most of us don’t get is ’…your heavenly father knows what you need before you ask.’ It takes years to truly believe that. Some learn it fast, others take longer and some very much longer! I guess that’s our problem!! He knows what we need – but many of us ask too often for what we want or think we need. Please try to understand those few lines because that’s the secret. (Matt.6:5-15) please note; The 12 disciples were ’slow to learn and understand’ too. Jesus told them several times: ’Do you still not believe me?’ And ’Why are you so slow to understand?’ (see Mark Chapter 17 and verses 17 to 18, and Mark Chapter 8 verses 17 to 21)

I know people here in Western Australia who have had urgent prayers answered, for food when the pantry was empty, missionaries needing a plane, or train fare and have had their needs met- – just in time.

I am now 79 years old and I looked and found that most of my prayer was about other people- : family, lots of missionaries in places like Africa, Indonesia, Australia, USA, South America and the Middle East. These people need our prayers to keep them from harm and danger in many places. As an ’oldie’ I don’t ask for much for me.

Q104: Why did God make bad things like cigarettes and cancer?’ and ’Why do bad things happen to good people?

These two questions are in 100 QUESTIONS Vol.1: Q.55 and Q.87.

I add this now because it will maybe shed a little light on unknown sickness and cancers. I heard on the news last week that kids in Japan around the four damaged nuclear power plants in 2011 must now wear radiation monitors so they do not get atomic radiation poisoning. ’YUK!’ What are they supposed to do if there is radiation? run 200 miles away?

In 1945 and up to 1965 the USA, France, Russia, Britain, (Britain tested several in Australia) and maybe a few other countries set off thousands of atomic bombs to learn more about them. Two atom bombs were dropped on cities in Japan to end six years of World War II. The poisonous bits (microscopic size poisons) fell all around the world and are still there – in food, water and the air, but invisible, odourless and tasteless.

Nuclear waste, radiation and other such ’nasties’…this world can do without!! Some of it causes cancers (one of my children died of cancer at age 4) so this writer will never trust nuclear energy in any form to be safe because many who want it make money from it! The waste must be stored for many thousands of years – hundreds of tonnes of it. And my grandkids and future generations will carry the burden of the cost and the danger from this highly poisonous radioactive ’stuff’.

Recently I saw a TV programme about Hiroshima victims. That city was the first to have an atomic bomb dropped on it. It was a year, (or years) after the bomb fell. Quite a few were still alive. The natural, long term decay of nuclear particles is a bit like a lottery. Nobody can tell just when a microscopic poisonous bit will decay (a bit like a tree trunk rotting over years in a forest) in your kidney, liver, leg, arm, etc. When the particle decays a nearby cell in your body will be damaged by its decaying. When a cell is damaged it cannot make new cells so a cancer might develop, or it may not develop! A real ’Lottery’ inside the body of the ’victim’.

If you, a family member or friend has cancer there is a very helpful website in Australia by CanTeen. It is www.whatnow.org.au . A very helpful mob.

Q105: How come you haven’t created peace yet even though you have had millions of years?
How long to peace?

A very reasonable expectation that it is time for a break from wars. Why does it not happen? Well, we humans are really slow learners. We do not, and never have, learnt that war really solves nothing – only makes money for the arms makers (ships, planes, submarines, trucks, tanks and so on). One wise, former ’great’ in fighting wars said; ’What must be held by force cannot last.’ Meaning that eventually ordinary people will rise up and throw the oppressor out! It is happening in the Middle East today, now, in June, July and August 2011 (Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Syria, Iraq, and Bahrain and yes Afghanistan). What will replace them? Only time will tell – but some people seem urged to dominate and rule other people and you will see what happens over there in the next few years as history is made there. An elected democracy? Another dictator? Who knows? I do not.

In the Bible it says: ’The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it.’(Jeremiah chapter 17 in verse 9) The very thought of power over people and lots of money ’hooks’ some people, but they find out later that power and money can be deceitful and does not always make you happy and with a great family when that person is old.

Q106: Why do we die?

Well, we all have to die one day. The Bible says that a person’s life is 70 years, or eighty if he is strong.

In another way, each day in Australia about four people take their own lives, by suicide. I do not know but maybe this is what you may be asking about. Depression, or mental illness is something you cannot see mostly, but it is quite common. Some of the best and nicest people suicide. It is very painful for everyone and many people cannot talk about childhood abuse and so do not get help. Help is more available these days.

It seems to me – an old bloke – that big cities help, produce the conditions for loneliness, depression and thoughts of death and that nobody cares, or can help. And walls…walls that separate us from our neighbours are really not helpful at all.

To a child, death (in my country, Australia) is far, far away and not thought of too often. Australia has a good health system and help is mostly there if we need it. Yes, in ’the Outback’ where there are very few people, ’The Flying Doctor’ aeroplanes fly out to bring in sick people hundreds, even thousands of kilometres to hospital. Millions of children in other countries do not have this security and see death from poverty and sickness all too often. My Mum lived to be 100 years old – yes she did, 1893 to 1993, and her seven children were very proud of her. She told me around her last year: ’Oh Peter, I am so tired, I would like to just go to sleep and not wake up. ’She was a Christian and looking forward to heaven. I am now nearly eighty years old and starting to feel the same way as my Mum. It is God’s plan that our time on earth is a sort of school of learning, to get us ready for heaven. (A sign outside an American church says: ’Planning to go to heaven? Get your flight training here.’)

Youth just thinks that we will live forever because, in my country, mostly, life is good. Enjoy your life now…but be ready at all times to meet God. OK?

Q107: Why doesn’t everyone speak English?’

Well, millions are born in countries where English is not the local language. Russian kids speak Russian, Japanese kids speak Japanese, French kids speak French. I know that millions of people want to speak English and spend a lot of money learning it. It is very hard to learn it as a second language. BUT it is a beautiful language with many shades of meaning to better describe what you want to say. In a little dictionary and thesaurus I have the word nice has 23 other words to describe something that is nice. (i.e. attractive, likeable, pleasant and many others). I think English is the only language with a thesaurus.

Q108: Why are some people Gay?

’Gay’ is another word for homosexual and I will not ask another person for their opinion because there are so many theories and it would take too long. This is my opinion.

I believe that when a child is conceived by a female ’egg’ being fertilised by a male sperm (can only be seen under a microscope) there begins a process of creating a new life. This, some say, is a miracle and I fully agree. All those DNA bits and genes decide your hair colour, skin colour, your face, your height and feet size and so on…and the child is 50% Mum and 50% Dad. Grandmas and Grandads think they are beautiful. How do I know? I have eight ’Grandies’ and four ’Great Grandies’ so that’s how I know!

Millions, maybe it is billions of chromosomes, genes and DNA (look those up in a dictionary for yourself) must be joined together perfectly over nine months inside the woman’s body. Errors can happen in that very, very complicated process and various poisons, can damage the process. Handicapped, disabled and imperfect babies are then born and I guess that a homosexual person can be the result of an error in a very complicated process.

I saw a Chinese guy on TV who was half a metre taller than everyone else. He was two-and-a-half metres tall! I think the ’height genes’ forgot to stop multiplying so he got to be very tall. Not too good going through doors. DUCK YOUR BLOOMIN’ HEAD! Others are born with Down’s syndrome, spina bifida, cerebral palsy and quite a few other abnormalities. Homosexuality, I believe, is another minor error.

I have seen a few lambs that are born with both male and female body parts. They are known as hermaphrodites. A few humans are that way too and that makes for a very difficult life for them. Even God claimed that He made imperfect babies. Yes!! Way back in the Bible Moses was told by God to: ’…go and tell the Pharaoh of Egypt to let my people go.’ They were there in slavery. Moses did not want to confront the Pharaoh and claimed that he had a speech impediment: ’ Moses replied, “I have never been a good speaker. I wasn’t one before you spoke to me, and I am not one now. I am slow at speaking, and I can never think of what to say.” But the Lord answered.“Who makes people able to speak or makes them deaf or unable to speak. Who gives then sight or makes them blind? Don’t you know it is I who does these things? Now go! When you speak I will be with you and give you words to say.’” ( Exodus chapter 4 verses 10 to 12). God got quite annoyed with Moses later, read it in verses 13 to 17) It all finished up, OK. I have never heard a preacher explain that passage of scripture about birth defects – it is pretty hard to understand.

I believe that the process of bringing a new life (a baby) into the world is so highly complicated, with so many millions of perfectly correct connections to be made between genes, chromosones, DNA and all that, it is so marvellous, that it should be called ’A miracle’. Errors do happen.

For real solid information see www.NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC (USA) October 2006 to see and read about chemicals that today are poisoning people –for profit ($$$$). 30 pages of it too. Some people worship money and care not for poisoning people!!

Q109: How did the devil get turned into the devil?

Because he got very proud and ambitious and did not want to be No. 3 or 4 in heaven but rather No.1. The Bible says there was war in heaven and Lucifer (another name The Devil) was thrown out of heaven, down to the earth and he took many evil angels with him. They are now the ’Evil spirits’ of this world. Maybe a better plan would have been to send him to Mars or Jupiter! (Er, that’s my own idea-it’s not in the Bible).

Q110: In heaven, you know how we don’t get older but does God?

No, I do not believe that God gets old like we do here on earth. There are many big words to describe God. He is immortal, (deathless, lives forever) invisible, omnipresent (everywhere at once), omniscient (knows everything), and omnipotent (all powerful). Jesus said : ’God is spirit (not a spirit) and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.’ King David wrote: ’From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.’ He always was – and always will be – God. The unchangeable God.

Q111: When you get married on Earth do you still become a couple when you die and go to heaven?

Great question and many think on it. I don’t know the answer exactly but I’ll try. Jesus said to His disciples not long before he was going to die: ’Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house (heaven) are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if go and prepare for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.’ (John 14: 1-3). And He did not just mean the 12 disciples. Not at all; Jesus meant the true believers, and you and I are included in that lot.

The Bible also says: ’Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for those who love him.’ (i.e. much better than we can possibly imagine)

Because love is the main theme of the whole Bible I cannot imagine God saying to good people, as we might say here on earth: ’No, you cannot be near that one-we have rules here, you know. You stay over there with that lot, and you stay with that lot.’ I am fully convinced that true love will not be separated by silly rules.

On the other hand I would not like to be living with the woman I married without a big change. We just would not get along together. God is love and He cares for us all very much.

Q112: Has God tongue kissed – does he approve it?

Q113: Where do babies come from?

Q114: Does God approve of sex before marriage?

Q115: Is it a sin to have sex at this age? Like 13 and up because my friend had it?

Q116: Does God like sex? (used to).

(These five all go together – and from five different people. I do hope the writers are not ’having a lend of me’, joking, or just being silly) I did not understand, or remember all I heard in Year Seven, so I’ll treat them as serious questions.)

All five questions are a part of having babies. As God is ’Spirit’ (Jesus said that) so He is not flesh and blood as we are and did not, and does not, have a wife to kiss and hug.

Are you dear reader able to spot what is missing in the above five questions? Look hard – read them again. What is missing! All five questions are on sex…you are strongly attracted to, besotted with a person (in adults it’s called lust).

Love is missing. Yes, love is the missing part. God planned that sex (kissing, touching and all that), is to go with love…in marriage, but we know better – or do we?

Four people a day in Australia suicide. Why? Heartbreak, lack of love? Mental illness and depression (some from sexual abuse) can cause the loveliest people to suicide. A lot of people have severe depression – sometimes brought on by sexual abuse as children. We have a lot to learn and remedy about that.

Kissing and ’touching’ is the beginning of having sex and having sex makes babies inside a female’s body. Babies come from a woman’s body as a result of having sex. God does not approve of sex before marriage. Why? We humans don’t know how to be sensible about it: simple as that. The TV, radio, magazines, etc. promote lust and adultery and call it ’Love’ but it’s not! It is sex but it ought be called ’Fake love’. Love is essential to happiness! We all, from babies to adults need to learn how to give love and to receive love. Humans are not ’complete’ people without genuine love.

I watch the TV show ’Dr Phil’ often. He is very wise, very kind, but very practical. Many of the people on his programme have deep personal pain and problems…many, because they took the easy way to sex and ’Happiness’ and ignored the fact that God intended love and sex to be enjoyed within marriage. Maybe nobody told ’em that!! Once two people are sexually aroused it cannot be stopped. Alcohol makes sex happen much more than normal – your sexual feelings ’take over’ and you ignore everything you may have been taught from your youth.

Animals, with a few exceptions, have sex once a year to make babies. Mostly the mother raises the offspring (except a few). Daddy emu sits on the eggs till they hatch and raises the chicks. Poor dad emu! Mostly the male runs off till next year (lions, leopards, bears, foxes, etc) until it is time to mate again. Humans can have sex often if they want to but we do seem to make a mess of it and often and fail to ’connect the dots’ and understand this business of sex and wonder why we are unhappy. Love and care for the partner is forgotten.

I was watching ’Dr Phil’ recently. He tried to show a 13 year old girl that dressing in a ’sexy’ manner invited boys to look at her, and think about one thing…sex. Dr Phil then invited the girl to walk around the walkways with him among the audience and return to the stage. She managed that OK. Then he put a blindfold over her eyes and helped her to walk around again. She was lost and totally bewildered. ’That’s what you are doing in the way you dress and behave. You cannot see where it will finish up.’ (Getting pregnant, being sorry and very lost and getting a disease was not even considered by the girl.)

Yes! God planned that love and sex go together and ordained them to be enjoyed within marriage – but we know better!

In our knowing better there is an awful lot of sorrow, heartache and divorce. Kids suffer the most in a divorce, often blaming themselves. Take a daily, or hourly check of the popular music you listen to…how many times is love mentioned? In 50% of the songs or more, or less of them? Everybody wants love…and needs to learn to give love. In the 1950s a popular song was Love and Marriage (’...go together like a horse and carriage’ – and had a great melody too). Such things as councillors, chaplains and psychologists were almost unheard of then. Society was without a lot of the heartache we have now and suicide was almost unheard of. What’s wrong now?

Back to sex! This desire/hunger/urge in sex can be a very strong force and few can hold back from it once kissing and fondling begin to get serious. All morals simply fly out the window because neither of you can, or want to stop. It can be a lot of fun…but pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases are not thought about. It hurts a lot of kids!!

Very early in the Bible God said: ’For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and they will become one flesh.’ (Genesis chapter 2 verse 24) God knew that we needed sex – and within marriage you can have plenty – with no risk of a getting a dose of STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases). Some of them can kill you; and also make you sterile (unable to have babies). Jesus told of an example of wise and foolish people (and the moral can be applied to sex and marriage). ’Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation upon the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practise is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the wind blew and beat against that house and it fell with a great crash.’ (Matthew chapter 7 verses 24-27). Around half of all of marriages fail. Mine did, so take care!

Finally, whatever you do, do not model your life on ’Pop stars’ and ’Soapies’. Very few of them, but especially the ’plots’ and ’happenings’ are good models of how not to live your life. I love to hear our local weather presenter Natalia Cooper say: ’Congratulations to Bill and Mary, celebrating 60 years of marriage’ God bless ’em’ – I am sure they had some fights, but they hung in there because real love was there.

Q117: Does God exist?
How do we know God is real?

Yes, I believe the evidence is all around us if we care to stop and think about it seriously. Our ’Blue Planet’ spins around once a day at 1,500 km/hr to give us night and day, it travels around the sun once a year at 30km a second, in its own orbit, and it tilts at 23 degrees as it spins to grant us winter, spring, summer and autumn. And – this is very important – we (our earth) are just the right distance from the sun (150,000,000 Km). Very convenient for growing things like millions of tonnes of food crops, chicken, fish, beef for burgers, etc. so we don’t get hungry. And, according to ’The Galaxy song’ our Milky Way galaxy goes round (orbits) every 200 million years. Phew! I did not know that! BUT our Sun will only last another 2,000,000,000,000 years and then it will give a big ’POUFFFF’ and the bits will go off to form some other sort of star. And…none of these planets and stars has a string like a Yo-Yo to keep them in orbit. Gravity, just gravity holds ’em all… just gravity in all of in their 400,000,000,000 individual orbits. Our galaxy, The Milky Way, has 400b. stars. From a Big Bang? I think not- God made it!

We humans enjoy music because, and unlike animals, we can dream or imagine things. We can make a grand piano, a clarinet, a trumpet and then compose and write music to play on those creations.(Joke: Elephants sound like a trumpet... because they can’t play a guitar)

So that you can hear music in our wonderfully created ears…we are given minds to dream up ways of delivering music in a concert hall, your home, or your ear, while out walking. (Do please look out for busses while walking – they’re big and can flatten you). Humans can also dream or imagine, stuff like lasagne, ice-cream, pizza, chocolate, Black Forrest cake, and meat pies, and apple pies…and then set up gymnasiums to help us lose the extra weight by paying to work it off! Animals have none of those pleasures. Only humans, made in the image and likeness of God, can imagine, and make such things.

I do think that when God made little girls He did an excellent job. How would we manage without them, boys?

Humans are – this bit is scary – given the choice to do good, or to do evil things to other people. Animals are not given choices like that. Animals only kill to eat, to feed their young and protect their territory. Animals do not go to war; humans do. I think God would like all humans to be peaceful human beings, but sadly we are not. And greedy humans insist on cutting down forests of trees to make money. I think we should cut down a lot less trees and live much more simply by not buying so much ’Stuff’. That was a bit long! Sorry.

I must mention The Ten Commandments. It is the basis of this ’Christian’ nation, Australia (yes, Australia does have its faults). From the Ten Commandments we have ’The rule of law’ i.e. police, judges, juries, jails, and a whole lot more. Maybe that is the reason so many people want to come here – or any country where the law is based on the Ten Commandments.

I have to mention butterflies, birds and flowers…just beautiful I say, and created by a loving God.

Q118: What happens when you die?

To begin with it makes some people very sad – and some people very happy. Those who loved you phone up all who knew you and they tell others. Then the funeral is arranged, and notices put in the paper to give details of where and when the funeral will be. For a young person killed suddenly and tragically many tears are shed. Your ’earthly remains’ are buried and your soul/spirit goes to God.

The Bible says our spirit goes to God. Our spirit is indestructible. In the Bible it says in quite a few places that we will all stand before God to answer for all we have done, and there will be a judgement day for all the nations at the end of this age.

The Apostle Paul wrote that he longed to be in heaven with Christ, which ’…would be far better.’ Paul was converted from a ’Christian hater’ and a ’rounder up of Christians to have them tried and probably killed’ into a very different person.

A few years after Jesus was killed and rose to life again, Saul was very soundly ’converted’ and his name changed to Paul. Jesus spoke to him from the sky after he was knocked off his horse by an invisible hand. You can read of how this happened in the Book of Acts, chapter 9. It is known among journalists as ’A Damascus Road experience.’ Every sports journalist seems to have been taught it – a 180 degree turnaround in your life – be it for a coach, player or manager, etc. So Christians are not at all afraid of death, atheists don’t care and some people are scared of dying. They do not have to be.

In heaven, after our death, and at ’the Second Coming’ Christian believers, will be given new spiritual bodies, like Jesus had after He rose from the grave. Wow! No pain, tears, no night, or death, or dying. (Rev. chapter 22)

Q119: Who created God and why?

Good question, thank you. I do not think that anybody knows the answer to this one, I do not.

So you will just have to wait till you die and ask him that question when you see him. It will all be revealed- somehow.

Q120: Are there actually people that have gone to hell or is it just a lie?

No! It is not just a lie. Jesus told the story of two people: one went to hell and one went to heaven. The story was to let people know that there would be a separation after we die. See Luke chapter16 and verses 19 to 31. I have in my possession the story of a man who was dying (over 100 years ago) and wanted to tell someone before he died, of how he had died for several hours while working in a coal mine.

He was in jail and was made to work in a coalmine. The roof collapsed on him and he was buried for several hours. He was a criminal and a horse thief and had led a very wicked life. He told the story of what he saw and heard when he went to hell. It was dark and horrible. He later did come back to life in the morgue. After a spell in hospital he quickly found a preacher and became a Christian but told no one about what he saw and heard because they put you in the lunatic asylum if you told such stories in those days. Only in his last days did he tell his story to a friend. I am not going to tell about it here but be assured, punishment awaits wicked people. Stories can be found on WWW – but do be careful. False stories do not honour God, nor do they fit with what the Bible says or they want to sell you something exciting. I spent some time on the www re. hell, and near death experiences, ’I went to hell’ videos, etc. be careful! Be sure that the stories honour God, Jesus or the Bible and are not trying to ’get you in’ or sell you something. Ask for guidance from God to be wise.

Q121: Does heaven and hell exist?

I say an emphatic ’Yes,’ because Jesus said they did and what Jesus said is worth listening to (and keeps the heat off you later).

I looked up the WWW on ’out of body experiences’ of ’hell’ and ’heaven’. Please do not be fooled: hell is for ’God rejecters’ and is not a very pleasant place. To make a losing bet on earth is a disappointment. To find you ’bet’ wrongly about heaven and hell is a very serious loss indeed – it lasts for eternity.

There was one video of an evil man, convicted of, and jailed for manslaughter, who later, actually ’died’ during an operation and saw the fires of hell, and dead men he had known on earth warned him away. He said he felt the heat of it. It was very like the hell that Jesus spoke of in Luke 16 in Q.120. On the video, at home, dressed and in a large chair, he looked to me to be a man at peace with God, and a happy and relieved man who is now a serious Christian. I believe hell is very real and there is no second chance! Be very clearly warned! Too many people today, on and off the WWW, are ’False Christians’ and want to be famous and get your money. If a WWW site urges you to: ’…send your money in today to this great cause,’ or ’…send your money for this great book now – it is only $54.95, down from $98.50, just for this week.’ Be smart, stay away from ’go getters’ and money grabbers.

A true Christian person or group, will offer you free help and advice and leave it up to you to send money with no pressure to: ’…give money today.’ There is a difference.

Q122: Why do we steal?

Because we want something badly and have no money. In 1750, or around that time, in ’Merry England’ (that’s what it was called when I was in school) where rich folk lived well and poor folk starved, a man might steal a loaf of bread because his children were starving. There was no ’Social Welfare’ money of any sort. If he was caught he very likely would go to prison! For stealing something more valuable, he may have got ’transportation to Australia’ as a convict for some years, and no free ticket back home back to England by sailing boat. Very unfair indeed but things have got better over the last 200 years.

Today, in school, another student’s rubber could be attractive to you as you may have lost yours. It is often in our nature to steal – there is a little thrill in ’getting away with it’. And a biscuit stolen when Mum has said ’No.’ is a thrill sometimes but we know it is wrong. If we later realise that when we steal, someone suffers loss, be it a rubber in school; or a stolen car, we are growing up and learning.

Some people find stealing is fun, and get smarter and try not to get caught. That equals trouble because you know it is wrong. Many will say: ’The devil tempted me,’ as an excuse. Adults have no excuse, but will scream ’blue murder’ if something is stolen from them!!

God put in the ’The Ten Commandments’, a command not to steal (He knows we are inclined to be naughty). He wrote: ’Do not covet (want something) what belongs to someone else. Don’t covet your neighbour’s house, wife, or husband, slaves, bullocks, donkeys or anything else.’ (Exodus chapter 20 verse 17).

Stealing keeps the Police busy and our jails full. See Q.123.

Q123: How do you fight/avoid sins?

Q124: What happens if you sin?

’Thank you…you will make a good mark in life because you have thought about such things.’

About the most important and helpful question I have ever been asked. Yes it truly is, and this writer says: ’Thank you for a wonderful question.’ God will bless you for such an honest heart. And I say to you my friend:’ Join the club…there are millions of us with the same problem.’! It’s true!

We all need to understand the questions and the answers. Some of this world’s greatest Christians, scholars, missionaries, writers, priests, preachers and Bible professors have wrestled with these two problems all through life. Only Jesus was without sin. We all sin – some a lot, and some a little bit.

It is because we are weak humans who get tired, angry, frustrated, lonely and sometimes very sad – and we cannot see the future – only Jesus knows that. Getting angry is not a sin, and it is OK to try to make things right. Jesus got very angry once and did something about it. Merchants in the temple were trading sheep and cattle, changing different money (called Money Changers), selling doves, and so on. Jesus made a whip out of chords and chased the animals out, upset the money changers tables and said: ’Get these things out of here. Don’t turn my Father’s House (the Temple) into a market.’ He upset them sinners and made a lot of enemies that day (see John chapter 2, verses 13 to 17). I like that story because I believe that Christians should leave this world a better place for them having been here.

To get the help to resist sin, and get help to remove the guilt of sin, we need to get to know the only one who can help – God’s Son, Jesus. His forgiveness and help is a free gift. It cannot be bought or worked for. Jesus longs to forgive us – yes he does.

The disciple John wrote a clear message in his last years of his life: ’If we confess our sins to God, He will keep his promise and do what is right: He will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing.’ (First Letter of John chapter 1, verse 9).

We, each one of us, needs to let God know that we want to change – to get into God’s family. Tell God in your own words that you want to be in His family, to have your sins forgiven and have Him, or His angels, by your side to help you in His way, every day. God will understand your prayer however simple, and will help when he knows your heart is serious.

This getting to know Jesus is not like a 100 metre dash where we get to know Him in a day or two. ’No, Sir!’ It is a lifetime ’journey’ that gets better every day and it is not tiring like a marathon. And…I would urge you to pick up a Bible (an easy to read one if you are not used to it) and read The Gospel of John in a weekend. It will make a difference. I day-dreamed a bit one day and thought of my life and others I have known, as we went along that ’Road of life’.(in my dreaming):

(I thought): ’The Christian life is a bit like driving down the highway of life in our car. In stage one, we have a Bible wrapped up and tucked in the boot behind the spare wheel because we believe in God but don’t know much more because we are very busy. If we strike trouble we can always pull over, consult Jesus, pray a bit and read the Bible till the trouble is past. Maybe even get to a church for a while. In stage two-we have a wife and kids and we decide to get the Bible (Jesus) out of the boot and put Jesus in the back seat with the kids – might do some good. In stage three we decide that as we are more ’grown–up’ now and we agree to have Jesus sit in the front between Mum and Dad. We can ask Him all the questions we like about life and He can still tell stories to the kids. All is going well. Last stage: Mum and Dad decide to let Jesus drive our ’car’...and go wherever he decides to take them. Could be down a gravel side road to a strange new place, new job, new career or whatever. Jesus is driving–so it can be confusing and needs real faith-but Jesus is in control with many unexpected miracles along the way...so all will be well. Not everyone can take that final stage. It can be a bit scary.

About the greatest Christian Apostle; known as Paul, or Saint Paul, wrote many encouraging letters in the Bible, was beset by the frustration of sin. Why? His body wanted to sin but his spirit did not. He wrote: ’I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I can’t. I do what I don’t want to – what I hate. In fact, I don’t understand why I act the way I do. I don’t do what I know is right. I do the things I hate.’

And later: ’…what a miserable person I am. Who will rescue me from this body that is doomed to die? Thank God! Jesus Christ will rescue me.’ That’s all in Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome, Romans chapter 7 verses 15 and 24.

Paul had a brilliant intellect – an IQ of around 150 I reckon – and his writing in Romans can be hard to understand but he was very honest. In his earlier life he arranged for the destruction of Christians. See it in Acts chapter 9.

A story on a lighter note. A very young Christian man was at a Christian convention and asked a very much respected, 85 year old retired missionary gentleman: ’Would you please tell me at what stage in your life did you get past looking at pretty girls and thinking about how lovely they are and forgetting about other things?’ ’Oh…I am still waiting for that to happen,’ was his honest reply. (God did a lovely job in making girls…be kind to them, boys.)

Q125: Did God make the dinosaur?

Yes, I believe he did…and some of their footprints are up around Broome, in my state of Western Australia too. Last month, September 2011, a group of American scientists were up there to check their footprints out…as a huge gas plant might go in there. I believe God did make them, simply because I cannot believe dinosaurs just ’happened’ by evolution. Evolution just does not make sense to me.

Q126: Why did God make wars?

In history, ’wars’ are mostly not made by God. But on several occasions He did direct the armies of ungodly nations to punish and send into exile His own people, the Israelites (Jews), because they just were stiffnecked and hard-hearted and would not obey Him. God got very angry with them on more than a few occasions over a period of, say 1,500 years, and killed quite a few.

In other wars God did not intervene. Oops – maybe that is wrong!

In World War II when the whole world was at war, I believe God did intervene to help ’our mob’, the Allies (this was WW II –1939 to 1945): Britain, France, Holland, the USA and Australia to name a few. Our civilisation was threatened by a Nazi (Fascist) World Order. In that war 55 million people died. I was in school during that six year war. All along the way miracles happened. Like 230,000 allied troops were rescued from the French Coast to England and were not taken prisoner, so they were there to fight again later (the Germans could easily have killed them.) And, an Enigma Code machine was taken from a German submarine intact, with all the crew. From then on the British knew the movements of all German submarines and they attacked and sunk a lot of them. The Germans did not know that Britain had the Enigma machine. In the battle of Midway a Japanese scout plane’s radio malfunctioned and the Japanese Admiral Yamamoto did not know of several American aircraft carriers not far away. Three Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk in a decisive battle.

I heard on the ABC last week that in the 3,500 years of recorded history that there have only been 250 years without a war of some sort. Phew! how we love to fight to get something that is not ours. People still have a choice to be good or bad.

Q127: Why is the sky purple?

Because, I believe, God created this ’Blue Planet’ so that it is liveable to humans. We have a perfect mixture of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and neon, argon, crypton and zenon gases. Water evaporates and rain works to put moisture in the air as well. The trees take the carbon dioxide in the air and turn it into oxygen and wood and flowers (with nectar for bees to make honey. Yum!) and all sorts of good things. In Australia the eucalyptus trees give off a gas that makes the hills look blue from a distance. The purple colour, some say blue, is the result of light from the sun shining through the 15 kilometres of the atmosphere. It is all pretty good I say.

Q128: Will we ever know when paradise will come? Truly and honestly! I would not like to die before the event?

’Please don’t worry because if you love God you will see it.’ Thank you for the question, I call that a beautiful question – and a lovely thought too. Jesus’ disciples wanted to know exactly the same thing as you do.

You can read how they asked Jesus in Matthew chapter 24, verse 3. ’When will this happen? What will be the sign of your coming?’ Read all of chapter 24 – it is good stuff!!

But Jesus then described the awful things that would happen in the months before His ’Second Coming’. Jesus said: ’No one knows the day or hour. The angels in heaven don’t know and The Son (Jesus) doesn’t know. Only the Father (God) knows.’ (verse 36) So...nobody knows but we can be assured that it will happen and believers need not worry – God is in control of such things. I think that God is waiting and hoping that all the world will hear and understand the Gospel (The Good News), of Jesus. Did you know that one or two billion people have never heard exactly what the message about Jesus is all about? That’s a sad fact. They all have to hear before ’Paradise’ comes. That’s in the Bible, but many countries will not allow Christian missionaries into their country, ’No Sir.’

So-do not be anxious but be patient. Paul wrote to the early Christians: ’…no mere man has ever seen, heard or even imagined what wonderful things God has ready for those who love the Lord.’ (First Corinthians chapter 2 verse 9) Note well: Moses, Abraham, Jacob and his 12 sons have been enjoying those good things for about 3,000 years? (I wonder if they eat ice-cream up there?)

Q129: How come God lets Wars happen and good people die?’

Well, sadly, good people do die. They are sent to the war by our governments – some for good and proper reasons and some for ’not-so-good-or-proper reasons’. Politics get in the way and money does too. Politicians, good and bad, choose to go to war and use men to fight it for them. It is all too complicated to explain here. Try the WWW for information on The Great War (WWI), WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War and Afghanistan. Politics, money and helping other countries are all mixed up. Thousands of books have been written and are still being written by the victims, and the perpetrators of war. Big businesses who make armaments for wars are the only ones who like wars. I read in the paper in 1990 that Britain had finally finished paying off the debt of World War I (or ’The Great War’) from 1914 to 1918. Wars cost money, and men die. Some Vietnam War veterans go back to Vietnam to make friends with their former enemies (the Vietnamese people) and try to help them because it was a very bad and unfair war. Some of us humans can be fools sometimes.

Q130: Where is heaven?’

Where God is, ’Yes sir’ it is! We are not told where but we are told by Jesus that He has gone to prepare it for those who love Him. Everyone on earth, in Japan, the USA, China and Australia point upwards to refer to heaven. Jesus also said that He would come back to take us there one day. His promises come true. I am looking forward to it and to catching up with dear friends and some other special people. Ps. I hope there will be laughter in heaven.

Joke time:

Q: ’Why couldn’t the sailors on the ship play cards?’

A: ’The Captain was standing on the deck.’

Q131: Why do we kill each other?

For many reasons. All of them break God’s ’Ten Commandments’. Hate, envy, jealousy, revenge, and unpaid money debts are a few reasons. Human passion and anger take away our normal common sense and human compassion. These days, alcohol and drugs seem to be making some people very angry and violent. Next morning they feel very different in a Police cell but murder has been done and cannot be reversed. The hot temper and anger have gone but what happened is final. All so very sad for the victim’s family. In a war, young men are taught (prepared mentally), to kill the enemy and ignore normal feelings. In some wars it is easy – in others it is difficult to kill an enemy person. It is unnatural for most of us to kill. God said in The Ten Commandments: ’Thou shalt not kill.’ Or ’Do not murder.’ It’s a complicated world. (in World War I on one Christmas Day, German and Allied troops forgot the war, and after hearing the ’other side’ who were not too far away, singing Christmas carols the soldiers came out of their trenches to shake hands, say ’Merry Christmas’ and exchange simple gifts of food. The ’top brass’ were furious: and explained loudly that they were: ’…to hate the enemy and kill them.’

Q132: What does heaven look like?

Q133: Is everyone’s heaven the same? or is heaven whatever you want it to be?

I can only imagine what you think it might be like. You would be different to me. We can all imagine our favourite things: lots of free ice-cream (except one!! A town in the USA celebrates a ’Garlic Week’ – and garlic ice-cream is on their menu! Phew – not for me!), no school or homework, chocolate ’goodies’ everywhere and millions of flowers, birds and butterflies. (I would choose a walk through an unspoilt forest, on a neat boardwalk with lots of birds, especially hummingbirds, butterflies and flowers. (No biting ants or spiders please.) Jesus told his disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them and would later come and get them to be with Him for ever. That promise was not for just 12 disciples…it includes all believers. Should be pretty good if Jesus prepares it. We all, I am sure, change our idea of what we would like heaven to be like as we all grow older and desire different things. Our ideas will change.

The disciple John, the only Disciple to survive to old age, had a vision of heaven. He heard a loud voice say: ’He (God) will wipe all tears from their eyes and there will be no more death, suffering, crying or pain. These things of the past are gone forever.’ (Revelation chapter 21 verse 2). Sounds good, especially if you have suffered a lot. To me, God’s heaven is a ’cool’ place to spend the next 10,000 or so years.

Please note: Our place in heaven is a choice to believe in Jesus and the Bible and daily follow Him as best we can, or to ignore Jesus, the Bible and stay away from heaven. It’s our choice. There will be no evil there.

Q134: How come God doesn’t talk to us like we pray to him.

Oh boy, this one is not easy to answer by anyone. One could expect answers at least sometimes but I have heard of some immediate, spoken answers to immediate, urgent needs. God talked to Moses, Elijah, Jonah and some other Bible notables in the early Bible days. But there is more – read on.

God has His angels, or messengers who do speak out loud…but NOT how we might expect. Try A Mighty Tempest. This book is a truly amazing story by Michelle Hamilton and her Mother. One was a new Christian, the daughter a non-Christian. Michelle, the daughter was lost in shark and pirate infested waters of the South China Sea for two nights and three days. A ’voice’ spoke loudly and firmly to keep Michelle alive ten or more times!!…sharks and all!! A truly amazing story…but God had a purpose.

Or try Michelle Hamilton’s www.jonahministries.com I have heard Michelle tell her story personally three times in Perth. And have her first book. A genuine story that cannot be denied as a miraculous intervention by a God of love. Michelle is the only human to have a question answered…from above! Yes indeed. The WWW site has a series of videos of her experience, and Michelle is just simply a beautiful young woman. There is a series of short videos of Michelle telling of her amazing story. She has long, thick blond hair – her rescuers thought she was a true ’Americano Mermaid’.

With people I know, and have known, or been told about, answers and miracles have happened and many prayers have been answered by actions of other people – obviously instructed to act by God or his ’ministering spirits’ (angels). See the two miracles at the back: Mr Roberts coming back to life from the morgue, and Mrs Effie Duke and her miracle baby, Deborah. Others have had a loaf of bread left at the front door when they’ve had nothing to eat in the house. That situation of no food did happen in Western Australia. In the ’Great Depression’ (1929 to 1939) many in Australia, the USA and other countries were close to starving quite often. That can be hard to believe in 2011 but it did happen. But somehow – not to all of them.

God directs praying people in many ways like a silent voice in your head – but beware of Satan’s deceptive ways. It gets easier to understand as Christians get older and learn more about God. AND, make sure that any idea you might get conforms to what the Bible says. The Bible has lots of stories to illustrate this. A bit of wisdom. King Solomon wrote: ’Having a lazy person on the job is like a mouth full of vinegar or smoke in your eyes. If you respect the Lord you will live longer; if you keep doing wrong, your life will be cut short. If you obey the Lord, you will be happy, but there is no future for the wicked.’ (Proverbs chapter 10 verses 26-28). Well done Solomon…we must all do our bit and work too.

Q135: Why am I not good at sports?

Oh boy…that’s me too. I was tall and awkward I and just could not run fast or do cartwheels at school. I was a big lad and just had no sense of rhythm or balance at all. I took lessons in dancing to dance at my wedding but still failed modern dancing. ’Ouch, I’m a failure.’ Well not really, but I have learned to live with it. I recently watched a girl come through a classroom of kids. Just beautiful – she did not walk – she ’danced’ her way through the classroom and enjoyed it very much.

We, all 22 million Australians, are all different. Some good footie players, some good cricketers, some ballet dancers, or netball players, maybe you play music – we all are good at something. And children are growing towards maturity and learning what we are good at and what we are not good at, and trying out many things. Do be patient, God loves you so keep trying things out and find something you like. Music?

Joke: What four legged animal can turn cartwheels? Answer. A horse – you put him in the shafts, connect up the harness, say ’Gee up’ and the ’cart wheels’ turn.

Q136: Why do good people get bad things or illnesses?

For many reasons and some unknown causes. There is no easy or simple answer to this very often asked question. And please be wary of anybody who says they know. Bad things can happen to good people and we cannot know why while here on earth. But bad things can also happen to good people…who could be said to be stupid because they do not think very deeply. They eat too much of the wrong foods and maybe drink too much, get too fat and get heart disease, high blood pressure and other sicknesses. Mostly they can be controlled and avoided by being sensible and eat the right food.

God does not cause sickness to us but he does know the future and in many cases God will use a sickness to have a person stop, slowdown, get a medical check up and think about where and how their life is going. This ’Answerer’ (Peter Harris) has had an experience like that.

In 100 QUESTIONS Vol.1, I wrote a description of the drastic changes in my life that led to my being a teacher, then a Scripture teacher for 24 years – and these two books and the 200 questions is a part of the changes brought about by God after I broke my back. Question 72 partly answers your question – about me.

There is a very popular song (hymn) called Amazing Grace. Nobody does not like it. John Newton (1726-1807) wrote it after he had become a preacher later in life. For 30 or 40 years he had led a very bad life. He suffered a lot, was a slave for several years too. On at least five occasions ’Something’ saved him from death. They are described in his life story. God was watching over him – and an illiterate, not an especially pretty girl, became his wife. He thought of, and dreamed of her, very, very often, over many years. He longed to marry her – but had no money to do so. The song ’Amazing Grace’ was Newton’s ’Thank you’ song to God who had led him so far and so safely through life, even though he had often been foolish.

Finally, learning to live with a bad sickness often brings out qualities inside of us, like compassion and care that we did not know we had.

Q137: Why does my cousin (aged 7) have to have diabetes?

This is very hard for a family to have to bear and I cannot give you an answer. God did not give your cousin his or her sickness. God loves children very much. Jesus never spoke harshly of children – ever. Nobody can truthfully answer your question – along with many others like it. Humans just do not know, but may find a cure one day. Beware of people who say they know – and maybe can even cure it – for money, in advance of course.

Maybe one day a scientist/researcher will discover a cause because there are thousands of chemicals in our environment – in food, air and water and I am suspicious of many of them. Have a look at Q. 108 about poisons in the National Geographic magazine. Not very pleasant reading – sorry!

Q138: Why does the world exist?

A beautiful place for us to live in. The Bible does not say in as many words but my opinion is that it is a place where a child is born – a new life – with ’a clean slate.’ That means he/she knows nothing of hate, love, envy, poverty, luxury and good and bad thoughts. All these things are put in there by the parents, grandparents, neighbours, good or bad food, teachers, and, of course, scripture teachers!! So the world – our existence – is to teach us about life and help us to grow into good helpful ’Grown-ups’ and be ready to go to heaven – if we want to. Sadly it does produce some ’Groan-up’-complainers.

Q139: What is the point of death?

So we can go to heaven! Most kids imagine death to be far away and mostly it happens to old people. Their whole life is before them. That’s how it should be – exciting!

I am almost 80 years old now and am tiring of life here on earth because I get very tired, weary, and: ’…I see an angel peekin’ through a broken window pane.’ That line is from a popular song from my youth (1950s) in which Rosemary Cluney cheerfully sang a song called ’This old House’. It has a great melody and is really a happy song. Her grandad is very old, the house is old and the roof leaks, the door hinges squeak but he doesn’t worry because: ’…he’s a ’gettin’ ready to meet the Saints.’ My Mum made it to 100 years old but said to me one day: ’Oh Peter, I am so tired,I would just like to go to sleep and not wake up.’

For you – you are standing on the threshold of life, dreaming of being grown up and doing great things, and probably a family – and death is far away. That’s very normal and how it should be. Do live a good life and may the world be better for you being on it for many happy years.

Q140: Why is there wars if God is real?’

Good question and I have already answered several others like this one...but wars have a place in history.

Humans have hearts (wants) that can want a lot of things that are not theirs, so they steal it, take it by force or by stealth (robbing houses), and by mugging in the street…or even stealing a rubber in school. That’s like a small war – taking a rubber that is not yours – and so somebody has suffered a loss and must buy another one.

Wars are much bigger and a lot more people suffer loss. God does not stop people being bad, nor does He force them to be good. It might be a very strange world if people were forced to be ’good’. I asked a class once ’How would it be if everybody obeyed the Ten Commandments like no lies, no stealing, no murder etc.?’ One boy said: ’There would not be any news would there, Sir.’ Funny or not? It makes the news very interesting but there is far too much bad news and too little good news. None of that bad stuff is in heaven: ’God’s eye cannot look upon evil.’

There is a group of folk in the USA called ’The Amish People’ They will not use modern ’things’ like cars, trucks, tractors, home phones or ’modern’ things (there is a phone in the street for very short calls). They try to live like people did in Bible times. Recently a big ’Blue’ (dispute) arose in the community over how to behave. They took the dispute to the law courts. Dunno what it was about. Society grows and changes – maybe the girls were tired of wearing 200 year old dress styles – I know not.

Q141: Why are people angry?
Why people turn bad?

’Help!’ that’s a huge question! I could fill many pages with my beliefs, but others would be different or write whole books about it. Some human hearts get hungry for money and power to rule over people.

Millions of people could be angry at the way some nation’s leaders (self-styled ’Presidents’, Dictators and Military bosses) put much money in foreign banks for their own benefit when they retire. Mostly, the millions of poor people know nothing about that – they are just hungry and do not get to go to school. And certain giant oil companies take millions of dollars in oil from poor countries and do not equally share the money with the poor people.

In Australia many kids are angry because Mum and Dad do not really want them around. It does happen. I heard a policeman tell a TV reporter here in Perth, that they (the Police) take some kids home but the kids don’t want to get out of the police car and go inside to their own home! They know they are not wanted there. Drugs, alcohol and sexual abuse make home a nasty place to be. Horrible for the kids.

Some kids can be sick and not realise that they are sick and should see a doctor. Must tell Mum if you are not well. Maybe Mum is on drugs and doesn’t care.

People wanting ’Things’ too much can make for an angry child. A new mobile phone, a better bike, a new Video game can distort a child’s opinion on their parents’ love for them. And some parents fail to fully explain the reason why. One reason that really annoys me (The Answerer) is that the wretched TV, radio, newspapers, etc., urge you to ’get the best car’, ’have the greenest lawn in the street’, the latest iPad or phone or whatever – to impress other people!! But, we have not got the money, or rich parents so maybe some get angry. We did without mobile phones, iPods and GPSs for 5,000 years ’OK? One of the retail ’Giants’ put on their TV ads. ’100% Happy’ What a lie – what a load of codswallop – that things you buy make you 100% happy. They break, don’t work and much of it is soon in the rubbish bin. A heart at peace and a happy home makes you happy.

Many people do get angry and do turn bad and unless someone helps them by showing kindness and guiding them along new paths in life. Sexual and emotional abuse can permanently damage a person’s mind. Yes, it can really. Some people, even in churches, sexually and emotionally damage kids minds. Some kids never really recover even with big compensation money and apologies. Children are very vulnerable to evil adults. Such child abuse is the worst kind and Jesus said the ones who do it are in for very severe punishment later on (Matthew 18:6). That does not help kids much now, and anger and ’badness’ can be a way for some people to feel better – by hurting someone else.

I have a copy of a ’classic’ Australian book: Robbery Under Arms, by Rolf Boldrewood. He was a magistrate and later a judge a hundred years ago, and made up the story from cases that had come before him in court. The father of the Marstens, a family who engaged in ’Bushranging’ (like robbing the mail coach for the gold shipment) and many years of such bushranging activity. In his later years the father revealed that as a child, he was without parents, or they were useless, and in orphanages and ’The Workhouse’ he was, for years, very badly treated by the ’upper class’ people in England i.e. beatings, hunger and no love or kindness shown to him at all. In later life he vowed to hurt such people whenever and however he could. HE hated them!! So he became ’Bad’. Maybe I would be the same!? I know not.

A long answer to a real problem but I hope that sort of answered your question.

Q142: Why are sisters devils? What can you do about them?

Whatever you do don’t shoot ’em! (only joking). It will get better as you all grow older – this is a normal process in families and most kids are ambivalent (love and hate close together) at some time.

And ’No.’ I cannot explain it. Every family is different. Some girls just adore their brothers, while others hate them, and some siblings (brothers and sisters) hate each other…but look out if anybody wants to hurt them…fierce punishment will be upon anyone who touches my family! It should get better as you grow older – if it does not get better; then maybe an independent counsellor can point you in a better direction to be real friends.

And parents ’favouring’ one child over another can be really bad causing one to hate the other (but some parents still do it). PS: ’What do your sisters think of you?’

In the Bible, Jacob ’favoured’ Rachel over Leah and there was quite a bit of anger and hostility in the family. Later Jacob ’favoured’ Joseph over his brothers by that ’coat of many colours’. Murder was in the air and Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt. That’s in Genesis chapter 29 to 31. It all finished up OK as God had a plan for Joseph to become PM of Egypt – and he did (Genesis chapter 37 to 50). Great story.

Q143: How come some people are brown and white?

They are born that way because their Mum and Dad had brown or white skin. They inherit all the traits of their parents – skin colour, hair, shape, height and so on.

Q144: What will happen if the earth has been Died so where can we go?

’I thank you for a first class question.’ Why do I thank you? Well, within your lifetime, say by 2025, ’we earthlings’, must change our ways dramatically or face very serious climate, environmental, housing and food crisis the likes of which we have never had to face in 6,000 years of history on this earth. That’s a true statement!

There has always been plenty of ’new country’ to move to – now there is not. Good farming land is being covered in roads, housing and concrete and by 2050, 2,000,000,000 extra people will want to be fed, housed, clothed and maybe want a car and petrol to fuel it. That’s the direction ’We’ are going in now.

And there is no other place to go! There is a star called Alpha Centauri. It is four (4) light years away (our closest star) and it may have habitable planets like earth near it – but that star is 55,250,360,000,000 kilometres away. A rough estimate of time to get there is 30,000 years. Bit too far would you agree? We must preserve this one now!!

SO...get your Mum, Dad, politicians, all of us, who consume too much to cease consuming more than is necessary! ie: big cars, big houses, food, ’STUFF’ we can do without (and later put on the road verge for pick up for the tip) because this generation (those aged 17 to 60) are using up this earth’s resources much too fast! They are stealing tomorrow’s oil, iron, aluminium, rare earth metals, and food growing soil and so on. You kids deserve to have a reasonable life here on earth. No other planet is habitable!! We must look after this one a lot better!! Like using less wood – save trees from destruction, stop eating too much, use less petrol, water and electricity! Big problems if we do not! Some of you will know, but not fully understand that ’Banksters’ (money men) could have avoided the recent huge losses of money but they made huge profits from that financial ’Crash’, and little people paid dearly for their (unseen to us) benefits.

You kids in upper primary school now, are the first to ’See’ and to understand that real problems are ahead of this world and we all must change our wasteful ways. Truly, ’God help us if we fail to change our wasteful ways.’ ’God bless you’, for thinking about it now.

Q145: Who is Mother Nature? Is she God?

Ripper of a question! Thank you, it is a beauty. I had never really given it much thought myself, so I’ll ask a few friends too. ’Mother nature’ is a very good friend to us all. She tells us to put on a jumper if we’re cold, take it off when we get hot, drink if we’re thirsty and eat if we are hungry after school (good healthy stuff please, Mum). Serious trouble if we do not obey!!

’Mother Nature’ brings us rain… and some city people curse the rain – farmers rejoice at it. Rain at the right time causes the farmer to plant his crop of wheat, barley, oats, beans and so on. ’MotherNature’ tells the seed to swell and grow, and the leaves are ’told’ to grow up to the sun, and the roots down into the soil. (I have never known them to go the opposite way.) The winter cold gets rid of mozzies and flies and we can enjoy the footie and yell for our favourite team.

So exactly who or what is ’Mother Nature’? ’She’ caused you as a microscopic sized egg to be formed and grow inside your Mum until it was time for you to come into this world – and yell at the pain when you took your first breath, and filled your lungs with the perfect mixture of gases that make up the air we breathe. How come that air is ’just right’ to sustain human life? ’Mother Nature’ made it – or did it just get there, in vast quantities, all by itself, all 15 km of it above earth?

And the sun. It is ’just right’ at 140,000.000 kilometres from us…and summer can be hot but not enough to barbecue us, and not too cold in winter to freeze us. Very handy to be just the right distance from the sun…and the planet earth does not need a Yo-Yo string to keep it in place. ’Mother Nature’ keeps it in the same orbit with only gravity to hold it there. Not half bad I say! ’Thank you, ’Mother Nature.’ This planet is rather nice to live on, especially with roast lamb, roast potato, pumpkin and delicious onions for dinner, and ice-cream for sweets. ’YUM!

This ’Answerer’ believes that ’Mother Nature’ is a convenient nick-name for the creator, God. When people may not want to accept that God had a hand in designing and creating this lovely planet and the environment and the people on it, so instead of saying ’God’; they avoid it by saying ’Mother Nature’. What do you think?

New news: I heard on the ABC radio in my town, Perth, yesterday (28/12/2011) that a scientist and his team of researchers in Australia are very fond of a South American beetle (no, not a VW Beetle). This desert living beetle goes out each morning to sit in the sun, and across his back he, or she, extracts water from the air. When the shell on his back is covered with water the beetle has a drink and then gets on with his daily activities. These researchers are most impressed with this beetle’s ability to get a drink in the desert from the air. They have copied the beetle and harvest water from the air by imitating the same sort of covering the beetle has on his back. Mother Nature or God? That science team harvest one litre of water from one square metre of their imitation beetle cloth is their result. Well done folks – Mother Nature is pretty smart, eh?

About storms, hurricanes, floods, heat waves etc…human activity and 80 million. barrels of oil burnt daily! We humans have played a part in clearing land, felling forests, fouling oceans and rivers. WE MUST STOP that sort of thing if we want to survive to enjoy this planet.

Q146: How do you know you are going to hell or not?’

You choose…and I thank you for this very important question.

If your Mum, Dad, uncle or anybody else you know was a Christian, a missionary or even a preacher, that will not get you into heaven. You make the decision yourself to accept what Jesus said as true, or that it is a load of rubbish. That decides whether or not you go to heaven.

As a child, God will not send you to hell. Jesus never mentioned the word children and hell together. While you are a child you just do not know enough yet to make the choice. Later on in life we all make a choice to accept God and Jesus as the true God; or you say to yourself ’I cannot believe all that rubbish about God and the Bible.’ (Most who say that have never read the Bible, but they know without reading it that it is all a load of rubbish.)

When Jesus raised Lazarus to life after his four days in the tomb, He told Lazarus’ sister, Martha: ’I am the one who raises the dead and gives them life again. Anyone who believes in me, even though he dies like anyone else, shall live again. He is given eternal life for believing in me and shall never perish.’ (John chapter 11 verses 25-26).

That is your guarantee! Believing is the first step. Believing in Jesus means that you want to follow His way and his teaching for the rest of your life. Do not treat this belief lightly! Just say a simple prayer to Jesus – tell him that you want to be in his family and not go to hell. He will know exactly what is in your heart. Then get hold of a Bible and begin reading, and I suggest John (the story of Jesus told by John), then Luke and make a habit of reading a bit each day.

Finally, mix with people who are in His family – not in a particular church, but be around Christian people who enjoy life and have fun as well. Being a Christian is not being perfect, always serious and careful of every little thing you say and do. There are many such Christian ’fun’ people in my town and they have lots of fun and enjoy life very much. ’Seek and you will find.’ Jesus said that. I know that in Western Australia, Scripture Union Christians love Jesus and the Bible but also have lots of ’fun’.

Q147: If we pray and wish to God will he make our wishes come true?

Probably not. Why? Well you used the word ’wish’ – as we all do sometimes. You may have meant something else but our wishes are mostly selfish. Like a new bike, dress, laptop, boy/girl friend, or video game. I can only guess what you wished for – I cannot really know.

Here is a story of a prayer/wish by a pilot in New Guinea:

I heard of a lady in the USA being woken up by a voice (or a persistent urging) to get up at 2.00 am and kneel down and pray for a certain pilot in New Guinea who was in trouble. He was praying ’hard’ (and I guess wishing too). She did get out of bed and pray for him, and that pilot who was in trouble above low cloud in New Guinea, and could not see to go low enough to land. He did eventually find a hole in the heavy cloud and was able to see the airstrip and land safely (he was very low on fuel). The lady and the pilot met two years later and compared written notes. ’Yes,’ he said, ’I was in trouble on that day…it is recorded in my pilot’s log book. I could not see where to land.’ (New Guinea is one of the most dangerous places on earth to fly.’ There’s rocks in them thar clouds.’ the pilots say.)

Our wishes mostly are not what God has planned for us. Jesus said of our Father (God): ’He knows what you have need of before you pray.’ Please read question Q 103 – it is about prayer.

Q148: When is judgement day?’

I do not know. The 12 disciples asked Jesus almost the same question ’…when will these things be?’ and added later as they were all sitting with Jesus discussing future things: ’What events will signal your return and the end of the world?’ (as we know it).

Jesus had been telling them of the destruction of the beautiful temple, a very large and beautiful temple, and they found it hard to believe that as Jesus said: ’…not one stone will be left upon another.’ (The Romans destroyed it 40 years later. None of Jesus’ words were ever untrue.)

In Matthew chapter 24 and chapter 25 Jesus tells it all. I would not suggest that you go and read it now…it is pretty scary and a bit hard to understand. Judgement day is spelt out in chapter 25. Be assured, if Jesus said it, it is from God and will happen. And maybe in your lifetime too; but Jesus said that even He did not know exactly when it would happen.

I see a difficult part today in 2012. When Jesus was discussing His ’Second Coming’ with His 12 disciples he told them that many really bad things would happen part of which said: ’When the good news about the kingdom has been preached all over the world and told to all nations, then the end will come.’ (Matthew chapter 24 verse 14) Today in 2012, many Muslim nations refuse to let any Christian work, preaching or broadcasting of ’The Good News’ about Jesus, to happen. So that is stopping the ’Second Coming’ of Jesus and ’Judgement Day’ that you asked about. Maybe, somehow, via satellite, or world TV, or some new technology the ’Good News’ about Jesus will be ’…preached to all nations’ whether Muslims like it or not – then ’Judgement Day’ can come. God can make anything he wants to happen when He wants it to happen. All very complicated for kids, even adults, isn’t it?

Q149: If someone kills someone to save themself or others do you go to heaven or hell?

At first reading of this question I would say ’No.’ because I imagine my family being attacked by some madman, or an enemy. You may be thinking of something else.

In this country of Australia we have ’the rule of law’ (based on the Bible) that permits a person to use: ’…reasonable force to defend himself.’ So if somebody is attacking you with an axe or lethal (deadly) weapon you are free to attack him; and if he dies later you are not guilty and as God is a God of justice you will not go to hell. The Bible covers just about everything that humans can get up to.

In the ’Books of Moses’ (Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers) almost every problem that can happen between humans is covered and the penalty for wrong doing is written there. Yes, even stoning to death, repayment for things borrowed and then lost, and so on. It is ’heavy’ reading indeed but unique in how God knows what humans can get up to. It shows God’s clear way to justice – not all nations follow it.

Q150: Will God ever appear again?

No, but Jesus said that He would. God did come and talk face-to-face with Moses a very long time ago and instructed Moses in all that he wanted the people to know – he will not do that again. Maybe you meant Jesus? So just in case you did I’ll explain.

God’s Son, Jesus, has appeared once and has promised to appear again ’…in power and great glory.’ That will be ’The Second Coming’ and that coming will bring in a ’new heaven and new earth.’ That’s written in Matthew chapter 24 verses 30 to 31.

Jesus said it so be assured it will happen. It will be a fearful and very terrifying time...or an exciting time for believers who follow Jesus (could happen anytime).

Q151: Does God have parents?

No, not as we understand parents. He has just been there forever. The Bible says nothing about God having parents.

Q152: If God is real why do so many people die?

Be assured that God is real but as to ’Why do so many people die,’ we humans have a habit of going to war all too often. Since Australia became a nation in 1901, 100,000 Australians have died in wars. We have never started a war – others have done that, we only go to help. Many die from sicknesses caused by our modern lifestyle of wrong food, polluted air, grog, car crashes, drugs, and so on. Many sicknesses causing death have no cure yet!

More people in Australia suicide (about four a day) than die in road crashes. Mental illness, and depression causes much of it.

Sexual abuse as a child, divorces, bullying at school and at work are some of the causes of mental illness. But it also just happens to some people too. God must be very sad indeed.

One of them here in Perth was Rob Reilly. He was an aboriginal boy and was sexually abused in an institution. Mentally (his soul) was damaged and the pain never left him, yet he worked tirelessly for over 20 years, for the benefit of Aboriginal people, putting aside the pain in his heart (his ’Inner pain’). Eventually that pain caused him to take his own life at about forty years old. In the ’West’ newspaper on one day there was a full page of tributes to him in the ’DEATH NOTICES’, and the tributes continued for weeks. A much loved man, yet he suicided, as do four people in Australia every day. Why? I can only guess as I have never had that sort of pain.

Hope that helped a bit.

Q153: How do you know the devil is bad or not good?

Because Jesus said so! Jesus called Satan some nasty names when he rebuked some religious men who hated Jesus. Jesus said: ’You belong to your father the devil and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He (Satan) was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth,for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language for he is a liar and the father of lies.’ John chapter 8 verse 44.

There are dozens of references to Satan, mostly from Jesus. He is evil and is: ’The Prince of this world.’ Jesus broke his power over us when He rose from the grave but Satan and his ’evil angels’ are still active on the earth and doing bad things.

Q154: Do you know if God is bad not good?

Please ask this question from some people you know are Christians because I can only give you my experience – and that backs up what the Bible says. I have had many doubts over 79 years!! Be assured of that; it is OK to doubt.

A ’voice’ has spoken to me four times in those 79 years and I did not ask for them. They have given me a lot of assurance that God cares for me.

The first one was concerning my future family. My wife had some trouble having children early on. One morning just after I woke up, a voice soon after said: ’There goes your baby.’ And I saw in a technicolour ’movie’ a three year old girl running by a farmhouse and laughing. Nine months later our baby came along and three years later we were living in the farmhouse I had seen three years before. That ’baby’ is now 54 years old.

Another time, moments after I got out of the water when I got baptised, a clear male voice said : ’You’ll be working with children.’ I had been a ’blue collar’ worker (making things) for 25 years, and the concept of ’working with children’ was very strange to me. The guy who baptised me said he heard nothing, so I forgot about it. I did forget about it but four years later I had a fall at home and broke my back. Went to University two years after that (that was a miracle in itself) and became a teacher at 47 years old. I taught for seven years, my wife divorced me in 1985, I resigned teaching in 1985. I went to Bible college for two years and began scripture teaching in 1988. I have taught Scripture since 1988. Now two books of kids questions – because YR 7. kids seem to ask me lots of questions. I sincerely thank them for it all.

The third male ’voice’ told me to: ’Go and see Mrs Arnold.’ ’Oh no!’ says me. I got a bit upset and did not want to go. He kept repeating the message. Eventually I did go – and when she came stomping to my car in slippers and dressing gown she said: ’Well God must have sent you – I was just about to kill myself by jumping out of the window.’ (of her third floor flat). She talked non-stop for 45 minutes and I never did get a chance to tell her that God had indeed sent me. Also, that I was reluctant even to make the 60km round trip to stop her. I have no idea of what or why she was saved. God always has reasons but as yet I know not why I was sent to save her.

Another one was to tell me not to be so proud, thinking that Baptists were better than any others. Yes, oops!

So I know He is there and has put up with my failings and errors and anger at Him not making me to walk again.

I am now 80 years old, have four children, eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren. I am a happy man and I know that God is good.

Q155: How did the devil become evil?

Pride and ambition. Lucifer (Satan) was about number four in heaven but he wanted to be number one. So there was war, he lost and was thrown out of heaven down to earth – and took many bad angels with him. These are the ’evil spirits’ now here on earth. Jesus had to deal with Satan (to show who was ’The Boss’) on several occasions.

Q156: How was the earth made?’ (the same question from two people)

God just spoke and it happened! That is basically what the Bible says in Genesis chapter one – first book, first page, and the first words. It’s a simple answer for me to give – easy.

Millions of people have, still do, and always will argue and discuss just how it did happen and who did it. Nobody was there but God, Jesus, and His angels to see it happen.

I know the last bit is true because after the creation of the world was complete God said: ’Let us make man in our image and likeness.’ God said ’us’ so He must have had others with him. No voice answered or questioned that God should not make a man. A bit of humour: a ’Wag’ once said: ’God made man first because he did not want a woman looking over his shoulder telling Him how to make a man’. (Meaning women can have a lot to say). Another ’Wag’ said: ’God made man, looked at him and said: ’I can do better than that,’ so He made a woman. Do you agree gentlemen? I do and I love a laugh.

To your answer: Put three Christians (or Jews) together and you’ll get four different answers as to WHO, WHEN and HOW it was put all together, or how it all came together.

This I know and believe in my heart: ’God made it all, He causes the earth to turn once a day, to tilt and give us summer, autumn, winter and spring and to travel in its orbit, around the sun every year and somehow the 400 billion stars in our Milky Way galaxy hold their place and to not crash into each other. Not a bad effort eh? And this galaxy is only one of millions, (or is it billions), of galaxies yet to be discovered.

Think on this fact: If you could fly at 150,000 miles an hour and can get fuel on the way without stopping and have lots, I mean really lots of chocolate bars, it would take 670 million years to fly across the Milky Way from end to end. That’s in my Readers Digest Atlas from 1960. Sort of incredible eh?

The earth is also a massive web of life supporting billions of creatures with their food, and somewhere to live, and to have babies too. I love the singing birds, butterflies, flowers and all beautiful things and ’yes,’ this poem by AB (Banjo) Patterson who wrote in his classic Australian poem Clancy of The Overflow: ’And he sees the vision splendid of the sunlit plains extended, and at night the wondrous glory of the everlasting stars.’ That’s true beauty.

I just cannot believe it all came to be all by itself, or by evolution from a creature in a swamp billions of years ago. To me, that theory just does not add up or make common sense.

Q157: I want to learn more about Moses.

Wow, what a massive task! Moses stands about as ’tall’ as Jesus in the Bible. Some Jews regard Moses as higher than Jesus.

The Torah, the first five books of the Bible: ’The Books of Moses’ are sacred to Jews. They are the laws of God, given to Moses and written down by him. They contain The Decalogue (The Ten Commandments) and thousands of verses on how God was to be honoured and the ways to properly worship Him – and thousands of verses of instructions on how to live together in peace and how to settle disputes. King David’s son, King Solomon was in God’s presence on two occasions but Moses was the specially chosen as God’s special man.

Today there is a ’Blockbuster’ movie that will never ’grow old’ because it is so well done in telling Bible history and the part Moses played in it. Cecil B. De Mille produced the movie: The Ten Commandments. He stands very ’tall’ in movie making and has done so for 60 years. This movie is still regarded as one of the ’all time greats’ of the movie world.

When Jesus was here on earth, Moses came back with the prophet Elijah and both were talking with Jesus on a mountain. Christians now call that mountain; the Mount of Transfiguration. Peter James and John were there and saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. Moses had been dead for over 500 years. God’s voice split the clouds and He said: ’This is my beloved Son whom I love and am well pleased, listen to him.’ (that’s in Matthew chapter 17 verses 1 to 9). The disciples were terrified at God’s voice and later, coming down the mountain, Jesus said to the three of them: ’Tell nobody of this until I have risen from the dead.’ Not too many leaders in history have said things like that!!

I often wonder just what Moses gets up to in Heaven. I mean he had been dead 500 years then…and now it’s 2512 years?

Q158: How does God look after everyone?
How can God hear us?

The Bible does not spell out exactly how He does. It is a mystery.

God is omnipotent (all powerful), omnipresent (everywhere at once), and omniscient (knows everything). Just how God is all those things I cannot tell you, but He did make the world so everything is possible.

On many occasions in the Bible angels feature in helps to many people and tribes. They have killed a whole army during the night. Others have put awful fear into the hearts of whole armies causing them to kill one another. King Jehosophat was in deep trouble with three armies coming after him (you got plenty of notice about coming armies in those days – they walked). What could Jehosophat do? All be killed – not him!! He called all the people to fast and pray, he humbled himself and begged for God’s help. Then he led his army out singing and praising God for his goodness. They took no weapons. ’As soon as they began singing, the Lord confused the enemy camp so that the Ammonite and Moabite troops attacked and completely destroyed those men from Edom. Then they turned against each other and fought until the entire camp was wiped out.’ That is in The Second Book of Chronicles, chapter 20.

Jahaziel, the prophet told Jehosophat: ’You won’t even have to fight. Just take your positions and watch the Lord rescue you from your enemy.’ They did, and soon every soldier of the three attacking armies were lying horizontal (dead). It took a good while to collect all the ’loot’ from the dead soldiers too.

In other accounts whole armies just ran away at full speed leaving all their ’goodies’ (food and weapons and clothing) behind.

I can truly write that God’s angels are everywhere. David wrote: ’God will command His angels to protect you wherever you go.’ (Psalm 91:11). Bad things still happen to good people and I can’t explain that I’m sorry to say).

And in Hebrews : ’Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation.’ (Hebrews chapter 1 verse 14)

For myself and the four voices telling me important things (see Q 154). The Apostle Paul (or Saint Paul) had Jesus turn his life around from a Christian persecutor to a Christian teacher and writer, and Christians still today are pleased to have his writings in the Bible. Paul was a ’giant’ of a man. He was put in prison so he sang and converted the jailor and many others. The Bible certainly is not all dull boring ’stuff’.

As for ’us’, God does not attend to those who just...’want something’ from him-like a Lotto win or our personal desires. It takes many years to get to know God and His ways and He: ’…knows what we have need of before we ask.’

Q159: Are you real?
How do we know God is real?
What is God?

My dictionary says of God: ’superhuman being worshipped as having supernatural powers, object of worship, Supreme Being, creator and ruler of universe.’ (Collins Gem Dictionary 1997).

About 2 billion Christians, 2 billion Muslims, and around thirteen million Jews worship this being we call ’God’ (not sure about Jewish numbers). He has many other names. But that’s a sizeable number of people and all the above people claim Abraham as their earthly ancestor. Phew!! That’s a bunch of people – and a very large variety of opinions, ideas, beliefs, prejudices and hates among them all.

King David, when in serious sickness and other troubles – even from a close friend, wrote: ’Bless the Lord, the God of Israel, who exists from everlasting ages past and on into everlasting eternity ahead. Amen and Amen!’ (Psalm 41:13).

King David was no ’angel’ (he had a man murdered and took his wife for himself but paid a very heavy price for his selfishness). But David loved God and sought and got forgiveness). Jesus is recorded as: ’born of David’s line.’ (from the same tribe as David).

Please note that the faults in Bible characters are not ’glossed over’, or omitted. The Bible tells the truth about its people – warts and all.

God had Isaiah write in 700 BC quite a lot about Jesus: his birth and suffering for us. There are over 300 references to Jesus in the Old Testament, that’s before Jesus was even born.

Jesus himself, when the time was close for his arrest, trial and crucifixion asked His Father God: ’Father, if you are willing, please take away this cup of horror from me. But I want your will not mine. Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him for He was in such agony of spirit that he broke into a sweat of blood.’ Luke chapter 22 verses 42 to 44).

Jesus knew full well that crucifixion was ahead, but that is what He came to earth for – to help us into heaven – because we are not good enough to get there by ourselves. God made this world, and had Jesus show us the way to heaven and has planned heaven for us…those of us who want to go there. The Bible has been the worlds ’best seller’ for ages. Millions believe it to be true. That is COOL!

I hope that explained a little about God.

Q160: What does people in other countries believe in?

Mostly anything that they have taught by their parents, because everybody needs, even long, to believe in a god of some sort because the human heart: ’…has an empty space that only God can fill.’

There are many people in developing countries; (that is a nice way of saying that those countries have few schools, most cannot read and write, very poor roads, almost no hospitals or knowledge of hygiene (like toilets and fresh water), still have Shamans who are trusted like we trust doctors. Some could be called ’witch doctors’. They consult dead chickens insides, old bones and a variety of ’charms’ or trinkets they carry in a bag. Of course they charge good money for their advice.

In parts of Asia some of those people sell ground up rhinoceros horn. It is regarded as a powerful medicine for sexual problems and strength. It is only keratin – the same material as your hair and nails – yet it is worth thousands of dollars for a tiny bit of it, and rhinoceros could soon be extinct – except in zoos – because poachers kill them for their horns. Those animal poachers worship money.

Quite a few cultures still sacrifice live chickens to please their ’spirit gods’ who, they believe, are all around them. Some cultures are referred to as ’Christo-pagan’ because missionaries have told them of the God of the Bible and the Christian way and they believe some of it but the Pagan ’spirit-world’ is still a real fact of life…a part of daily living.

Middle-Eastern and North African countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco etc. are mostly Muslim and worship Allah (God). In India there are thousands of ’gods’ worshipped by Hindus, Sikhs, Brahmans; and others in Asia worship Buddha. Many Japanese worship Shintoism, which involves ancestor veneration or worship. There’s an awful lot of them out there. Jesus told his disciples: ’I have been given all authority in heaven and earth. Therefore go and make disciples in all nations, baptising them into the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit and then teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you and be sure of this, I will be with you till the end of the age.’ (Matthew chapter 28 verses18 to 20) So, in most countries there are Christians, the same as here in Australia because of missionaries. Quite a few are hated for bringing Christianity to a country and thousands have, and still are, killed every year for their efforts.

In some ’advanced’ (maybe backward really) ’First World’ countries the God of the Bible is sort of worshipped but money, expensive cars and huge costly houses are worshipped more. Much of the money to buy these things comes from poor people all over the world. That is true, and it is bound to bring real trouble one day – maybe soon. God could very well judge them and punish them.

God is good, kind and forgiving but there is a limit to how much oppression rich people can put on poor people and God has been known to punish those who know what they should be doing, but refuse to do it. That makes God angry and he does not forget.

In a book I have on current world money problems it says that 1,000 very rich people run the world economy. When you’re older, look out for one, or all of them…they want your money and may even want to run the world!! Yes! Do not believe all you hear on the TV. Learn to THINK about what you are told…or hear.

Q161: How does God look at you when he is not a person?

Great question and I cannot fully answer it. I know that He sees everything because He is omnipresent (everywhere at once).There are quite a few Bible verses that mention this.

Remember, God is not bound by human limits like we are so He does not get tired of watching. Jesus said: ’God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.’ (John chapter 4 verse 24).

’God is spirit’ – not a spirit. Spirits can be angels or devils.

Maybe there are 20 billion angels who can slip from heaven to earth instantly and report everything of importance to God.

The book of Job tells of some of those angels: ’One day when the angels had gathered around the Lord, and Satan was there with them, the Lord asked, “Satan, where have you been?” Satan replied, “I’ve been going all over the earth.”’ (Job chapter 1 verses 6 and 7).

It would take a whole book to tell of all the times in the Bible when it says: ’…and God looked and saw that…’ such and such a thing was happening. Like Jacob’s 12 sons and their families (now grown to around 2 million) who were slaves in Egypt. God got them all out after a few lessons to the Pharaoh as to just who was the real ’Boss’. That’s in Exodus, and in the Movie: The Ten Commandments.

Q162: Why is there rubbish?’

Because most people don’t think, don’t care and just maybe, ’We’ don’t deserve this once beautiful planet!! I say: ’Send all polluters on a one way trip to Mars.’

Not a pleasant thing to say of my own country but it’s the truth. Animals do not foul their own nest – humans do! I cannot explain why humans drop rubbish when our surrounds can be so beautiful.

Much of the rubbish comes from ’stuff’ that we buy that is claimed to ’make us happy’. What a load of old cobblers (rubbish). It does not make us happy. My street has 65 houses. Each year I estimate that ’verge collections’ amount to about four tonnes of old TVs, tables, chairs, fans, computer screens, bicycles, microwave ovens and so on. What we bought a year or so ago is now rubbish! My city has one and a half million people. All China has 1.3 billion people!! ’How would it be if every house in China put out tonnes of rubbish like we do?’ They would drown in the stuff! Too many humans cannot, or will not think, of what is happening and that there will be consequences. I am glad to know that you will not be one of them.

Q163: Why is the world polluted?

Greed, stupidity and the love of money!! The pollution begins with our parents who do not, or will not, teach their children good and clean habits. This carries on into adulthood when maybe the child is grown up, has a business and is making money, what our parents taught us carries on there too.

A pretend case: If this business man has a lot of waste, then he must decide how to get rid of it. Some pay registered business people to take the ’muck’ away and pay them for it. Others will, and do, tip it into the river as night. Fish die, the river stinks and is dangerous for a while, but the guy saved, say $1,000.00, as the cheapest way to get rid of the ’muck’. This has happened a lot in the past but some people, and yes, good kids do join in to put a stop to such people polluting our water. Scientists can now discover exactly what the chemical was and who deals with that chemical, and heavy fines are the result. It is helping a lot, but much damage has built up in our rivers and oceans. Fast food outlets can be a problem with littering from the packaging. Do your bit (tell them off) to embarrass them and reduce visual pollution in our streets. It can be done if enough people like you who care, and demand that it be stopped. More heavy fines for people who drop litter – or send ’em to Mars.

Q164: How does Jesus bring back people to life?

Not by CPR (cardiac pulmonary resuscitation) as the Ambulance/Paramedics people do today. Put simply, Jesus carried within him God’s power to do anything. Not in a doctors ’black bag’, but in his power as the Son of God. That mighty power could not be seen with our eyes. Jesus silently sometimes, and speaking at other times, simply called on God’s power to raise a person to life.

There was the 12 year old girl, one of my favourite stories. In this one Jesus simply took her hand and said, ’Little girl get up.’ (Luke chapter 5 verses 41 to 42). She did get up. Then Jesus said: ’Give her something to eat.’ I like that so much – kids who have been sick need a feed and Jesus knew that.

Jesus, on another occasion, spoke a prayer for all the people to hear. This was to show that He had God’s power within Him.

This happened at the tomb of Lazarus. Before calling Lazarus back from the dead. The Bible says: ’After the stone had been rolled aside (from the tomb), Jesus looked up toward heaven and prayed, “Father, I thank you for answering my prayer. I know that you always answer my prayers. But I said this, so that the people here would believe that you sent me.” When Jesus had finished praying, He shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” The man who had been dead came out. His hands and feet were wrapped with strips of burial cloth, and a cloth covered his face. Jesus then told the people, “Untie him and let him go.’’’ That story is in John chapter 11.

Many people who saw what Jesus did believed in Him after that…but Jesus’ enemies wanted Him arrested and silenced.

Q165: How can the environment kill even though it’s beautiful?

Not quite sure just what you mean but the environment sure is/was beautiful. I wrote ’was’ because chainsaws have ruined too much of what was once so beautiful. Having no chainsaws would have left a lot of trees standing and slowed down the felling of a lot beautiful trees, because an axe is just very hard work. The environment sure is dangerous. AND, going to the top of Mount Everest has a 25% death rate. Yes! Quite a few die coming down, and the living ones cannot possibly help in any way to bring the body down. Phew! Awful decision!

Humans love to see new wonders and beautiful unspoilt places and things but the natives there know all the dangers that lurk there, and they respect those dangers. White folk often do not see dangers and can suffer the consequences. The USA President, Barak Obama was recently in Darwin, a town in the north of Australia. The ’Aussies’ there (they love to laugh) gave him a very special personal insurance policy – just in case he was attacked/bitten by one of the local crocodiles. The President thought it a was great gift and good joke.

Now and then, mostly young crocodiles, are found roaming the suburbs or even in home swimming pools in Darwin. Crocodiles lived there before humans – we came into their territory – so we must learn to be careful of them at all times.

Antarctica: It’s very, very cold down there but people want to go and explore it all, and find, and get to the South Pole. Quite a few have died but many love the place where a little mistake or a minor accident can quickly kill you, or freeze you to death.

There are snakes, spiders, ants, scorpions, and bugs of all sorts live in our environment and they have their part to play in the environment (snakes and owls love to eat rats and mice). We oh-so–smart-humans really only know a little about them. A butcher told me that flies play an important role in cleaning up the environment. What?! Yes they do. After the lions, wild dogs, vultures, crows and ants have had their share of a dead animal, flies clean up the bones and no disease can develop. Cool eh? Earthworms and bugs by the million – seen and unseen, turn dead leaves and other organic ’stuff’ on the ground into humus – that’s plant food –and when they get driven out, or die because of our mucking around with the soil, the soil is never as good as it was before. All the chemical fertilizers cannot do the same job in growing yummy tasting peaches, apricots, bananas, and mangoes, etc.

Q166: Why don’t you come down?

I like this question because I would like Jesus to come down – now! That would be the ’Second Coming’ that Jesus talked about a lot. The end of ’The Age’ He called it, and that would bring in the new world that God has planned, and the end of evil in all its forms. Hooray!

The Jews had to wait 500 years for the prophecy of Isaiah to be fulfilled. And about the same time the for prophecy about the birth of Jesus by Micah that Bethlehem would be His birthplace. God counts a day as a thousand years and a thousand years as but a day.

God is very patient and just maybe Jesus meant it when He was talking to His disciples who had asked Him about His return, ’The Second Coming,’ and the end of the age. Jesus said: ’Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.’ (Matthew chapter 24 verses 12 to 14).

That is pretty specific, and whatever Jesus says will come, will come. No doubt about it. There is much more in Matthew chapter 24 that is quite scary as to coming troubles. Read it and be wise and prepared. This ’Answerer’ of questions thinks some parts have begun to show up in the last few years. There could soon be wars over clean water – I kid you not.

Earthquakes, troubles, climate change, plus troubles of all sorts with a population of 7,000,000,000 today, and it could be 10,000,000,000 within 40 or more years. So I say to you, read Matthew chapter 24 and try to know the worst signs like the moon not giving its light and the gospel being preached to the whole world. Many nations refuse to allow Christians telling about Jesus, they actually kill some of them and many who convert to Christianity are killed.

Knowledge makes you wise and prepared, so be wise and not foolish.

Q167: Can God help me?’

Sure can…just ask Him to and he will in a most amazing way.

God does and always will help people. He is always there and ready to help. You can get help – but it’s not like in a supermarket where you get what you want, when you want it. It is a lifetime learning experience, quite often filled with wonder at God’s goodness, but also filled with doubts, yes doubts: ’I wonder what God is doing now?’ thinking even, ’God has forgotten me,’ and ’I feel lost and alone.’ King David was much loved by God had all three of those feelings with a good many ’highs’ and a very large number of ’lows’ throughout his long life.

As a teenager, David became famous for his simple boyhood trust in God. He told the giant Goliath: ’You come with a sword and spear – I come with God’s help and I’ll kill you’. He ran towards the giant Goliath who was three metres tall, and David slung a stone from his slingshot that struck Goliath on the forehead and killed him. The Bible says: of that stone: ’It hit him in the forehead and broke his skull and Goliath fell face downward on the ground.’ David ran up and used Goliath’s sword to remove his head. Great story. See First Samuel chapters 16 and 17.

Everyone soon loved and admired David, but not the king, no sir! King Saul secretly hated David and tried to kill him on several occasions. David was on the run from the king for several years because King Saul was jealous of him – and Saul knew very well that God was angry with him because he had disobeyed God, and that David was to be the future king.

King Saul’s foolishness is all in First Samuel chapters 17 to 31. Saul suicided in a battle at the end.

Being in God’s family and having ’God help you’ is not ’all honey with no bees,’ or ’all roses and no thorns.’ The ’thorns’ and ’bees’ teach us that life is not all good times and trusting God is hard sometimes.

You are in the same ’boat’ as the 12 Disciples. These guys knew a lot about Jesus but all of them ran away when Jesus was tried by Pilate, crucified, buried in a tomb and rose to life on the third day.

In John chapter 14 Jesus tried to tell his disciples that He was ’going away’ and they would no longer see Him. They just could not understand what He meant. A bit like a lifelong friend saying: ’I must go overseas and see you no more.’ What on earth did he mean? Get an older trusted Christian to explain to you what Jesus meant by ’another helper, the Holy Spirit,’ in John chapters 14 and 15. Not easy for kids to understand.

Later, the disciples came to realise that Jesus was truly God’s son and Jesus promised them help from the Holy Spirit – not God as we think of Him. When ’John the Baptist’ baptised Jesus, the Bible says: ’As soon as Jesus was baptised, he came up out of the water. Then heaven was opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and landing on him. Then a voice said from heaven, “This is my own dear son, with whom I am pleased.”’ (Matthew chapter 3 verses 16 to17). Much is explained there: God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is here, sort of representing God and Jesus on earth.

To get help just tell God that you know He is there, and that you want His help in your life and be a part of his family. Get to read your Bible too and a ’Bible help’ book. Many are available free. Here is a website for one in Australia: www.word4u2day.com.au or Email: admin@word4u2day.com.au. My granddaughter gave me that name and she loves the book that’s posted to you, free, to help you with the Bible each day. Several others put out good Bible helps for kids, mostly free. Scripture Union are very good too.

Q168: Why can’t I see you?
Why do we never see God?

Well done to think on this and ask about it. Only Moses had the honour of having God speak with him ’face to face’. That’s very rare! The Bible says: ’No one can see God and live.’

In Numbers chapter 12 God spoke from the ’cloud’ and said to Aaron and Miriam: ’Even with a prophet, I would communicate by visions and dreams; but that is not how I communicate with my servant Moses. He is completely at home in my house! With him I speak face to face.’ (Numbers chapter 12 verses 6 to 8)

This is before we got a Bible: Moses was to instruct the people of Israel in God’s laws, and later write down all that God wanted us to know.

To see God is indeed a frightening thing that not many have done. Isaiah, one of God’s great prophets, did see God. I’m not sure if it was a vision, or a dream, or that he did actually see God. Isaiah ’saw’ God in the Temple and his ’train’ filled the Temple. Isaiah wrote: ’The year King Uzziah died I saw the Lord! He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the Temple was filled with his glory. Hovering about Him were mighty, six winged seraphs (flying angels). With two of their wings they covered their faces; with two others they covered their feet, and with two they flew. In a great antiphonal* chorus they sang, “Holy, holy ,holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is filled with His glory.”’ Such singing it was! It shook the Temple to its foundations and suddenly the entire sanctuary was filled with smoke. Then I said: ’My doom is sealed, for I am a foul-mouthed sinner, a member of a sinful foul-mouthed race; and I have looked upon the King, the Lord of heaven’s armies.’ (Isaiah chapter 6 verses 1 to 5).

*Antiphonal means two or more choirs singing different parts, but together, to make a great sound, Try Handel’s ’Halleluiah chorus’ from ’The Messiah’. It was so ’Grand’ that the King of England stood up when he first heard it, out of respect and reverence for God. For a Christian, it makes the hair on the back of the neck stand up. Grand ’stuff’ indeed. Heavenly music! That piece of music, from the Messiah; ’The Halleluiah Chorus’ is used sometimes on advertisements on radio and maybe TV too. If somebody got a picture of God, it would soon be on drink bottles and breakfast cereals. Think of that! Oh YUK!!

Being in God’s presence is frightening ’stuff’, so imagine being there then, with Isaiah, a ’foul mouthed sinner’ would be scary indeed. Maybe in the fear and wonder of seeing God, Isaiah immediately recalled all his sins. ’…woe is me for I am a foul mouthed sinner!’ But God had a Seraph take a live, hot coal from the fire and, using tongs touched Isaiah’s lips with the hot coal saying: ’Now you are pronounced, not guilty, because this coal has touched your lips. Your sins are forgiven.’ (Isaiah chapter 6 verses 6 to7) God is a forgiving God and used Isaiah to write one of the great and profound prophecies, with much in it about Jesus in the Bible. N.B.: No other ’religious’ book tells the future, only the Bible, and it’s never wrong.

So, to the answer: We are not meant, or allowed, to see God. He is not a person, a statue, or a carved image. You will stand before Him after you die and then you’ll see Him in all his glory and majesty. Me, I look forward to that!

Q169: Why do people get sick?

For many reasons, and we can’t possibly tell the ’why’ for all of them. For one thing, medical doctors would not have a job. (New thought: no sickness so no doctors needed in heaven.)

Many people make themselves sick by eating the wrong food, or too much wrong food. And almost every month I hear of a new sickness being discovered that was unknown in my youth. In the time of Jesus and up to the Industrial Revolution (around 1750) the air was clear of most pollutants. No cars, smoke belching chimneys, no aeroplanes, diesel trucks, and such like. We have grown to see them as necessary and mostly harmless. But now, all put together they are a threat. We breath in their exhaust ’muck’. Today (5/12/11) a world campaign has begun in Australia to end asbestos mining and its use. The damn stuff can kill people!! MONEY is made from mining and using it to make asbestos sheets for roofs and walls – same as Australia did 60 years ago. This time it is India who uses it, supplied by Canada. Who cares about the thousands who will get sick and die? Some big business is only in there for the money – people, we will worry about tomorrow. Yuk!

Fast food, preservatives and other additives can, and do, make people sick. You need to be able to read and understand the labels. Many people cannot or don’t bother to read the label.

In John chapter 11 when Jesus raised Lazarus back to life He said: ’The purpose of his illness is not death, but for the glory of God, I, the Son of God will receive glory from this situation.’ (John chapter 11 verse 4).

After that miracle a great many people believed that Jesus was the Messiah (God’s chosen one) and they told many others about Him. Such news spread like wildfire! Never happened that a person is raised from death before. Such things are rare today, but lifesaving operations are common!!

Today many doctors and caring people are trying to warn about the wrong foods. Many get too fat and that leads to several bad sicknesses like heart disease and diabetes. Both can kill you.

Finally, a thought. People who have never been really sick mostly don’t care much about those who do get sick. Sometimes do not even believe that they are really sick – until a serious illness knocks ’em flat. Yes! ’Oh, I feel really bad!’ Suddenly they have compassion for those who are sick. Big change of attitude indeed, and it changes them for the better. Sickness can lead to more understanding and compassion.

Q170: Why can’t God stop bad things happening to me?’