Episode 468

Send Relief Workers Bringing Hope Amid War, 25th Anniversary of IRFA & Suffering in the World

Oct 30, 2023

Relief workers continue to bring gospel hope to people dealing with grief and trauma in the wake of war. Religious freedom advocates lamented the loss of civilian lives in the Israel-Hamas war, antisemitism and Islamophobia on the 25th anniversary of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) Oct. 23. And, why does God allow suffering in the world? If you’ve wondered this, a Lifeway Bible Study challenges you to make sure you’re asking the right question.

Host

Brandon Porter

Resources

The Voice of the Martyrs

Transcript

Relief workers continue to bring gospel hope to people dealing with grief and trauma in the wake of war.

Send Relief workers are helping those affected in the Middle East and across Ukraine. While the eyes of the world have rested on the Middle East over the past month, Russia has considered it siege on Ukraine.

More than 14 million Ukrainians have been displaced because of the war.

The U.S. is welcoming more than 100 thousand Ukrainian refugees to find safe shelter. Relief work is happening across the world and here at home. Get more information at SendRelief.org.
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Religious freedom advocates lamented the loss of civilian lives in the Israel-Hamas war, antisemitism and Islamophobia on the 25th anniversary of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) Oct. 23.

The bipartisan and multifaith United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), created by passage of the act in 1998, commemorated the 25th anniversary of IRFA at an event on Capitol Hill with an overview of USCIRF accomplishments under IRFA, panel discussions, congressional remarks and historical summaries of the act’s passage.

Commissioner Frederick A. Davie, USCIRF vice chair and senior strategic adviser to the president at Union Theological Seminary, reiterated USCIRF’s Oct. 11 call for an international prayer service in response to the Israel-Hamas war. 
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Good News for Today is sponsored by The Voice of the Martyrs

Good News for Today is made possible through our friends at The Voice of the Martyrs, a nonprofit organization that serves persecuted Christians around the world. Founded in 1967 by Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, VOM is dedicated to inspiring believers to deepen their commitment to Christ and to fulfill His Great Commission — no matter the cost. Find out more and sign up for their free monthly magazine at vom.org/goodnews.
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Why does God allow suffering in the world?

If you’ve wondered this, a Lifeway Bible Study challenges you to make sure you’re asking the right question. It says, “There is a more basic reason suffering exists, and it is explained in the story of the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3. Before they sinned, God’s creation was perfect. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sin entered the world, all of creation was corrupted — both the natural world and the human spirit. At that point, evil entered the picture and became the source of all kinds of suffering. All of creation fell because our ancestors disobeyed God.”

A group of people asked Jesus about the suffering in Luke 13. Rome had mistreated a group of Galileans. Rather than directly answering their question about the suffering, Jesus called on His listeners to repent. As God did with Job, Jesus was letting His hearers know that a relationship with God was more important than understanding every detail about things they were incapable of understanding.

While suffering should be attributed to the sin of humanity, God often works through it to call people to Himself. Pray they will hear his voice.

You can read the full piece and learn more about our daily emails at Baptist Press.com.

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