Our Fall series, WHY?, will answer some of the questions people have about God, the Bible, and the Christian faith.

Depending on the version of the Bible you have, there are over 3,200 questions in the Bible.

Here are a few of the questions in the Bible:
"Where are you?" (Genesis 3:9) - God seeking Adam after the man had sinned.
"Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9) - Cain to God after murdering his brother.
"What is that in your hand?" (Exodus 4:2) - God asks Moses what he has that he will let the Lord use.
"Who shall I send, and who will go for us?" (Isaiah 6:8) - God asks if anyone will represent Him.
"Who do you say that I am?" ( Mark 8:29) - Jesus pressing His disciples as to their opinions about His nature and identity.

Good questions make a person think deeper and differently.

In John 1:38a, a couple of John the Baptist's students begin to follow Jesus and Jesus asks a good question.

There are 7 investigative or interrogative words that begin with "WH". Who, What, Where, When, Why, Which, Whose, and one additional one, How.
In this series, we are going to use the word "why" to key each of the questions that we're going to be looking at.
Why implies that we are seeking to understand the reason or explanation for something.

Do you ever find yourself asking God "Why?"
("Lord, why did this happen to me?", "Why did you allow this?", "Why me?", "Why now?", etc.)

Have you ever wondered if it's O.K. to even ask God why?
When something unexpected happens in life or in the world that we live, we want to know why and the motivation for wanting to know varies.

We want to live the blessed "abundant life" that Jesus talks about in John 10:10b and then when we read in John 16:33, "In this world you will have trouble" we are offended and don't think it should apply to us.
We also tend to overlook the fact that all of the Bible characters in the Hebrews 11 Hall of Fame had their share of struggles, grief, and hard circumstances.

In Scripture there are a number of why questions posed to God about Himself and about people and the various aspects of what they are facing.
The vast majority of these questions seem to be asked by those who say they loved God and were serving Him.
Here are some examples:
· Moses asked God in Numbers 11:11a “He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant?”

· David questions God in Psalm 10:1 “Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?”

· The Prophet Habbakuk asked in his book 1:3a “Why do you make me look at injustice?Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?”

· Job asked in his book 7:20 “If I have sinned, what have I done to you, you who see everything we do? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you?”

· The Disciples asked Jesus in John 9:2 [NLT] “Rabbi,” his disciples asked Him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”

· Even Jesus asked in Matthew 27:46b as He hung on the cross “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

So can you ask God why? The answer is yes!
God is a loving Father who desires His children to share all aspects of their lives with Him.
1 John 5:14 [NLT]
God has a master plan that is in our best interest. It's His plan that guides His response.
He is not in the business of explaining everything to us. He is in the business of sustaining us as His plan unfolds.
Illustration of a little girl watching her grandmother do cross-stitch.

Feel free to ask God why, but understand that His reply takes many forms. Here are some of them:

1. He may say YO, which is a cultural way of getting someone's attention. In which case, God will provide you an answer.

2. He may say NO, because the answer is not needed in His plan for your life.

3. He may say GO, which means there is an expectation for you to do something with what He reveals to you.

4. He may say SLOW, and the idea is that you will gradually learn the answer to your own question over time.

5. He may say SO, it's the idea that He expects you to make certain changes in your life in order to handle the truth that you say you want to know.

We do have some heart-felt why questions. But will knowing the answers change the past, make our lives better, or cause us to love God and people more?
Throughout Scripture we see God reassuring His people of His love, His plan, His provisions, His authority and control, and the security we have in our relationship with Him.
Are these things not more important than the answer to our why?
We should talk to God and ask why. Then trust Him for His answer in His time. Then set it aside and live out the purpose for your life and minister in your church and community.

Birthdays and Anniversaries!

Sunday, September 4 - Sandy Schilz, Kelly Adrianson, Frankie Berry, Andrew & Sarah Hoxie
Monday, September 5 - Diana Reid, John & Alivia Mater
Tuesday, September 6 - Cass Ramey, Amanda Zalewski, Nick & Jacki Van De Moortel
Wednesday, September 7 - Robert Schilz, Jackson Sensiba
Friday, September 9 - Jillyn Boldrey