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  • Rainbow!

    Why did God let Satan take everything from Job?

    In the book of Job, Satan wanted to see if those who loved God would be faithful to Him even if He took everything from them. God knew that Job was faithful, He knew Job’s heart and how he felt about God. God wanted to show Satan that people aren’t just faithful because of physical objects and that Job wouldn’t curse His name. So, God allowed Satan to take anything from Job, and Satan did. Satan took Job’s animals, his servants, his children. He took everything Job loved, and still, Job loved and trusted God. 

    Although, Job questioned God a lot! Job never lost faith, and even though some might say that Job did curse God I don’t think he did. If we were in Job’s position, I think we would all do more than just be upset with God. Job had an exceptional amount of faith in God. Job did ask a lot of questions, and he was upset at the situation, not God. Job didn’t take the things he had for granted, whatever God gave him was because he loved him. Job knew that God still loved him because God doesn’t give up on us and we all need to remember that. 

    God will never leave you so don’t leave Him. Whatever happens in life is for a reason and God has a plan for everyone. Sometimes we forget that. We think that God doesn’t love us anymore, but if you trust in God, you will know and never forget that He will never leave. We just have to stay with Him and see the end result. God gave so much to us. We won’t even come close to giving Him what He gave us, but we need to try to get close. If God dedicated His life to saving the evil world we live in, why aren’t we trying harder to help Him? We need to save the people around us from going down the wrong path. We all need to be as faithful as Job, or try to be. Job is a wonderful example of how Christians should be. Obviously, he wasn’t perfect, but none of us are. So, if there’s one thing I learned from Job it’s how to trust God and be faithful to Him, because we don’t know what God’s plan is but “Where God guides, He provides.” I’m sure you’ve seen a movie where everything looks like it’s going to end horribly and then it somehow comes together. That’s how God works. You might not see the rainbow yet, but it’s always after a storm.

    Mountain Top, France

  • It’s all up to you!

    In 2nd Samuel, David was a faithful servant of God, but he also sins. David had a son with Bathsheba without being married, which is very sinful and David knew that. David first saw Bathsheba on the rooftop of her home. She was taking a bath when David fell in love with her. David was a man of God and should have known better to steal a woman that was married to another man. David wasn’t thinking of anything but what he wanted. He should have had God as his highest priority, but he didn’t. 

    When dealing with temptations you should always think of God first and what he says is right. David was very faithful, but one mistake can ruin a life. When David’s son was born God struck the baby and made him ill as a punishment to David. David fasted and begged God to spare the child’s life, but his son died anyway. If David would have just followed God’s rules, he could have had a child with a woman he was married to. He wouldn’t have had to suffer the loss of someone he loved. 

    The Bible says God doesn’t go lightly on His punishments Hebrews 12:5 “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him, For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.”It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?”  and we shouldn’t be mad at Him for it because He doesn’t punish us with anger. He is teaching us. If God doesn’t punish us so clearly that we know we did wrong, we will never take it seriously or learn from it. As Christians we want to know what we did wrong so we can go one the right path again, and God has His ways of showing it. 

    If your highest priority is an object or something you do and it’s taking attention off of God, most likely he will remove that from your life or have some way of showing you that He needs to be back on top. At the end of the day, do you want to live life in sin and end up suffering, or follow God’s rules the best you can and live a better life than you could ever imagine? It’s all up to you, but I’m going to choose to love God and obey Him so I can have a wonderful life with Him. I hope you choose the same!

    Mountain Top, France

  • What’s right and what’s wrong?

    What is the right meaning of justice?

    Let me start off by saying that my opinion is going to be different than yours, and no one has the same opinion on what’s right. In Plato’s Republic, Cephlus believed that Justice means that you have to follow legal obligations and be honest, Polemarchus believes justice means that you owe your friends help and owe enemy’s harm. My opinion is, you should follow the law but to a certain point, if it’s risking someone’s life don’t do it, and if you can save someone’s life, you can break the law. 

    People are more important than the law. Also, Polemarchus was wrong in saying you owe your enemies harm. God says to love everyone, even your enemies. And if God says it’s the right thing, you shouldn’t let the law, or any person, tell you differently. 

    The only law should be God’s law, because nobody knows better than Him. You should follow what you truly know is right and what God says is right. One example from the Republic was, if you borrow a knife from a person who you know could and has harmed someone physically, should you give it to them? You owe it to them and it’s the law to give things back or it’s stealing. Would you give it to them? There are more examples where sometimes the law does cover what’s justice, sometimes you need to break a few rules to save someone from harm. Don’t go out looking to break the law, but also do what you can for the people around you.

    Mountain Top, France

  • God, Wealth or Both?

    In 1 Samuel, in Hannah’s prayer she says  “The LORD makes some poor and others rich, he brings some down and lifts others up.” Why does God make some people rich and others not? Why does He lift some up and bring others down? 

    Each person has different attitudes towards things and situations. Some people will believe in God whether they are rich or poor, and some won’t. Being rich gets to some people’s heads, and they don’t care about anything but themselves and their riches. They think they don’t need God because they already have everything. If a person can be rich and a Christian, God will more likely give them more. 

    Why are the less fortunate people that believe in God still poor? Well, like I said, God will give more to the people that can handle both wealth and Him and don’t let money get to their head. What if the poor can’t do both if they become rich? God wants to keep their relationship with Him and he will keep them in the situation they are in. 

    God also lets things just happen and stands back and lets people do their thing. He doesn’t control every move a person makes. That’s why there are some conceited people who aren’t Christians. God is so kind that he lets us have freedom, but we are the ones who make the world how it is today. I’m not saying whether you’re rich or poor is because of your relationship with God. Sometimes He lets things happen how we want them to and lets us live out our lives ourselves. 

    God tests everyone, to see if we are as faithful as we say we are. You might think you’re faithful until something happens. Then everything falls apart and the first thing you do is blame God. God does lots of things to test us, depending on what our highest priority is, and sometimes He does things to bring us closer to Him. The moral of the story is, God will do what He can to keep you close to Him. He loves each and every one of us, but always keep Him at the top of your priorities. What we do to ruin our own lives is on us, but it can always get better.

    Mountain Top, France

  • Apprehensive

    “Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.”

    In the play Oedipus Rex, there were two men; one’s name was Teiresias and the other was Oedipus. Teiresias was physically blind, but not mentally; he had the ability to tell the future. Oedipus could physically see, but not mentally. Teiresias was trying to tell Oedipus that he was going to end up murdering his father sometime in the future, but he didn’t want to listen to him. Oedipus was blind to the truth. 

    I know how scary it would be to know the future. I’m sure there are going to be things that I do in the future that I wouldn’t want to know right now. I feel that if you find what your future is you would deny some things, think you would never do that, and you would probably be afraid. Maybe that was Oedipus’ problem; he thought he could never murder someone. You can’t really blame him for being human and being scared and denying the future. If you had a fortune teller, would you ask when you’re going to die or if anything tragic will happen in your life? I wouldn’t; if I knew when I was going to die, I would be afraid. When the time gets closer, you’ll just sit there being frightened the whole time. Instead, you could not know, and when the time comes for you to die it wouldn’t bother you. You wouldn’t know and you’ll live life like normal, being happy. What I’m getting at is that the future is scary, and knowing what will happen in the future would be scarier to live with. Have you ever gotten news about what might happen, and you’re scared because you know it might happen, but you don’t know for sure? The anxiety of knowing what’s going to happen is a lot worse than not knowing and just living like nothing is ever going to happen. 

    So, my argument is, Oedipus might have seemed to be the one to blame when most of us would be blind to the truth just like him; he wasn’t wrong, he was human. Murdering obviously wasn’t right, and I’m not agreeing with that at all, but what I am saying is, none of us really want to know the future. While in the story Oedipus may have looked bad, he wasn’t to blame for thinking and acting like a human. We humans aren’t all that different when it comes to being afraid of the unknown; we just need to understand each other.

    Mountain Top, France

  • Love Everyone!

    What can we learn from David?

    In the book of Samual, David started out as just a young shepherd and ended up being king. David was anointed by God. Although David had flaws, he was overall a good person. We can learn from him that we need to love our enemies no matter what. 

    Saul and David had their differences. Saul was jealous of how David was anointed by God and was good at fighting. Everyone would make a big deal of it and it would take the attention off of Saul. Many times, Saul tried to kill David, but then one day David saw Saul in a cave. David sneaked behind Saul and cut a piece of his robe. David then showed it to him to prove that he wasn’t trying to kill him. The lesson that we can learn from David is try everything you can to show love instead of hate. 

    In the Bible, the Book of Matthew 5:44 “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” God says to love your enemies, you don’t have to like them, you just need to love them. You should never want death for anyone or for their lives to be ruined. We are all humans and we are made in the image of God. God only makes beautiful creations. And no, nobody’s perfect and neither are you, so learn to have patience with everyone and to love everyone. 

    Someday you’ll learn when the person you hated suddenly becomes the person you can’t live without. Maybe the person you get mad at or who make you cry is your parents or guardians. They change their lives just to make sure that when you go out into the world you don’t make stupid mistakes, and that you will respect people for who they are and not who you think they might be. You never truly know someone’s heart. Try living without them. I’m 99% sure that you will end up wanting them back because you have no idea what you’re doing. The same words that break you down and make you cry are the words that shape you and make you stronger. So, listen to the people around you because you don’t know everything. 

    The most important lesson I’ve learned from the book of Samual is love your enemies. People are more important than you think sometimes. People shouldn’t have one more enemy because of your feelings about them. David did nothing wrong, but he still could have died because of Saul’s jealousy.

    Mountain Top, France

  • Hard beginnings and Happy Endings!

    Love shouldn’t be bought or rare, Evil shouldn’t be common or tolerated, God shouldn’t be blamed or disregarded, Life should be cherished in every moment. 

    In the book of Genesis, Joseph was hated by his brothers because he had a dream that his parents and brothers would bow down to him. His brothers got angry saying they would never bow down to him. They wanted to kill him. Instead, they sold him into slavery. I think they wanted to make him suffer instead of killing him. People tend to get mad so easily; love should always come first. For some reason in books and movies, when someone wants to teach someone a lesson they kill them, and you can’t learn any lessons when you’re dead. I’m not saying make anyone suffer. Never do that. If you’re ever mad at someone violence is never the answer. I’m just saying murderers aren’t smart. 

    Anyways… God had a bigger purpose for Joseph and God used evil for good. Things may not be going your way but always consider that God might be planning something for you. You have to trust the process in almost anything you do like, planning for your future, or getting your dream job. Nothing is ever 100% without God. 

    So, why not trust God? He is bigger than any of our small problems, He can make your dream a reality when it seems there is no hope. Joseph didn’t know that he was going to be anything bigger than what he was and, at one point, I’m sure he thought he was never going to amount to anything. God has a plan for everyone and He obviously can’t directly say it to you. He has a way of making things happen, so always just trust that He has a plan if everything is falling apart. If you truly believe in God, you should believe that He won’t just leave you to suffer. 

    Joseph didn’t know what was going to happen, but he was always faithful to God. Remember “Where God guides, He provides” Isaiah 58:11. It’s called a happy ending because you have to go through things to get to the happy ending. If life is always perfect, and you’re happy all the time, and nothing ever goes wrong there’s not that special happy ending that everyone waits for and wants. 

    Mountain Top, France

  • The reasons behind World War I.

    The reasons behind World War I, which started in The Balkans in late July 1914, are numerous. Political, territorial, and economic conflicts among the major European powers in the forty years before the war were some of these reasons. Other factors included militarism, a complicated system of alliances, imperialism, and nationalism. The war started because of the choices made by leaders and military officials during the July Crisis of 1914. This crisis was triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist from the group Young Bosnia. The Black Hand, a nationalist organization in Serbia, supported this group. The crisis happened following a lengthy and challenging sequence of diplomatic conflicts between the Great Powers (Italy, France, Germany, Britain, Austria-Hungary, and Russia) regarding European and colonial matters in the years leading up to 1914, which had escalated tensions. These public disputes can be linked back to shifts in the power dynamics in Europe since 1867. The war started mainly because of the tensions over land in the Balkans. Austria-Hungary, Serbia, and Russia were all vying for control and power in that area, which eventually led to the involvement of other major countries due to their alliances and treaties.

    Mountain Top, France

  • The Making and Breaking of the Titanic.

    The Titanic was built during a time when shipping companies like White Star Line and Cunard were competing fiercely to have the best steamships in the early 1900s. White Star Line was trying to outdo Cunard, a respected British company known for their top-notch ships that were considered the height of luxury and technology. The Mauretania, a ship operated by Cunard, started its service in 1907 and quickly achieved a remarkable feat by setting a speed record for the fastest transatlantic crossing. This record remained unbroken for a remarkable 22 years.  In the same year, Cunard’s Lusitania, another amazing ship, was praised for its stunning interiors. Unfortunately, tragedy struck on May 7, 1915, when a German U-boat torpedoed the ship, leading to the deaths of almost 1,200 out of the 1,959 passengers and crew on board. This event also played a role in the United States joining World War I.¹

    Titanic’s huge hull, the biggest movable manmade object in the world back then, was launched into the River Lagan in Belfast on May 31, 1911. Over 100,000 spectators watched as the ship was launched smoothly in just over a minute. The ship’s hull was quickly taken to a huge dock for final touches, where many workers would work hard for almost a year to build the decks, create luxurious interiors, and install the 29 massive boilers that would fuel the main steam engines.

    Some theories suggest that the Titanic was destined for disaster due to its cutting-edge design that many praised. The Olympic-class vessels had a double bottom and 15 watertight bulkheads with electric watertight doors that could be controlled all at once or one by one from a switch on the bridge. The watertight bulkheads were the reason Shipbuilder magazine called the Olympic liners “practically unsinkable.” However, the flaw in the watertight compartment design could have played a crucial role in the sinking of the Titanic: Although each bulkhead was watertight, water could still overflow from one compartment to another. Other ships that were owned by Cunard and were sailing around the same time as the Titanic had already come up with clever safety measures to prevent a similar tragedy. If White Star had learned from its competitor’s example, maybe the Titanic could have been saved from its unfortunate fate. The second major safety mistake that led to the loss of many lives was the number of lifeboats on the Titanic. There were 16 boats and four Engelhardt “collapsible” that could hold a total of 1,178 people. The Titanic had a maximum capacity of 2,435 passengers and around 900 crew members, making it able to accommodate over 3,300 people. This means that even if all the lifeboats were filled to their maximum capacity during an emergency evacuation, there would only be enough seats for one-third of the people on board. Although it may seem unbelievable by today’s standards, the Titanic actually had more lifeboats than what was required by the British Board of Trade’s regulations. 

    Mountain Top, France

  • John D. Rockefeller and his oil company.

    John D. Rockefeller, an American entrepreneur, started from modest origins. He established the Standard Oil Company, a powerful entity in the American economy that led its creator to become the wealthiest individual in the world. Rockefeller was born in Richford, New York on July 8, 1839, and later relocated to Cleveland with his family when he was 16 years old. Demonstrating a strong work ethic, he engaged in various small business endeavors during his teenage years. At the age of 16, he secured his initial professional role as an assistant bookkeeper at Hewlett & Tuttle, a firm specializing in commission merchant services and produce shipping. Rockefeller, having excelled in his job by the age of 20, decided to start his own business with a new partner. Together, they worked as commission merchants dealing in hay, meats, grain, and various other goods. By the end of the company’s inaugural year, they had generated $450,000 in revenue. Rockefeller, a meticulous and diligent entrepreneur who avoided unnecessary risks, recognized a potential in the oil industry during the early 1860s. Consequently, in 1863, he established his inaugural refinery on the outskirts of Cleveland. In less than ten years, Rockefeller, the creator of the Standard Oil Company, achieved almost complete dominance over the area’s refining facilities. 

    Rockefeller pursued the oil industry as it shifted to Pennsylvania. By the beginning of the 1880s, he held a commanding position in the oil sector nationwide, with his company’s total value reaching $55 million. Standard’s supremacy was derived from its extensive influence and ownership over nearly every facet of the industry. Under Rockefeller’s guidance, the company implemented a network of pipelines to facilitate the transportation of its products. Additionally, it possessed train cars and acquired vast expanses of forest for fuel purposes. Rockefeller, in 1882, orchestrated the establishment of the Standard Oil Trust, a business trust that would become a blueprint for the formation of various monopolies. Naturally, Rockefeller assumed the position of leader within the organization. But as Rockefeller’s power and wealth increased, his standing with the public nose-dived. By the early 1800s states began to enact anti-monopoly legislation, paving the way for the 1890 passage of the Sherman Antitrust Act. In 1895 the 56-year-old Rockefeller retired from his day-to-day involvement with Standard Oil and turned his focus toward philanthropic endeavors. His new direction did little to quell the attacks on Rockefeller and his business. In 1904, Ida M. Tarbell penned The History of Standard Oil, an incriminating publication that exposed Standard Oil’s cutthroat business tactics. By 1911, the company was deemed to have breached the Sherman Act and was instructed to disband. Nevertheless, Rockefeller managed the dissolution of Standard Oil and retained sufficient influence over its various divisions to still reap financial gains.

    various divisions to still reap financial gains.

    Work Cited.

    1. Whitley Hounchell, “Industry Pioneer: John D. Rockefeller,” Whitley Hounchell, Last modified November 13, 2013, Accessed March 23, 2024, https://whitleyhounchell.wordpress.com/2013/11/14/industry-pioneer-john-d-rockefeller/.

    Mountain Top, France