For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.

First half of 1 Peter 3:18, NIV translation

1 Peter 2:24-25, NIV

 ²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Why do bad things happen to good people?

man, so many people wonder that, and I didn't know the answer until I lived it.

I started my freshman year of high school battling a pretty life-dominating illness. Pretty much everything I did was affected by this, and it caused an immense ammount of struggle, pain, and tears.   There were a couple of times when i asked "why me"?. 

i know God let that happen to me for a reason.  He's used my experiences to turn me into a more compassionate person.  Now that I've experienced suffering, I know how to comfort others who are struggling.  Even more than that, it's helped me to see that just people act differently, I need to respect them and have compassion for them-- you never know why a person acts the way they do, or what else they're dealing with in their life. Before having this experience, I was really quick to judge other people and tended to label them, but now I see that there's so much more to a person than it seems.

Also, through the struggle, I learned that God will always be there for me.

In short, God can use bad things to make a person grow and mature in their faith, teach them something about Him, and teach them how to better love and serve other people.

Check out these verses:

Romans 8:28

    ²⁸And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,^[a] who^[b] have been called according to his purpose.

a.         Romans 8:28 Some manuscripts And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God

b.        Romans 8:28 Or works together with those who love him to bring about what is good—with those who

Romans 5:3-5

³Not only so, but we^[a] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

a.        Romans 5:3 Or let us

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Hello,  Thank you for checking out the website.  Sometime I would like to have a chance to meet with you and talk over your questions.  What I can tell you now is back in 1996 I too wasn't sure if this whole God thing was real.  What I did was pray to him and say, "God if you're real, reveal yourself to me"  and you know what, He did!  I encourage you to do the same.  If and when you do, make sure to look for his response.  He tends to do much of His work through people, friends, circumstances and through speaking to you when you open his Word.  If you don't have a bible I can get you a Campus Way bible.

Oh yea,  there is still time to sign up for Miles.

Blessings, Jay