Be as a little child....

As I was drinking my morning coffee in the patio, I heard a small voice from the house, but it was not God: "did you just come out of bed?.... Good morning grandpa..... I wanna give you a hug"; it was my grand son; and those were his actual words. A few minutes later my grand daughter comes out and says; "hi grandpa; I'm hungry, can you make us breakfast?" Ahh; the joy of children; so different from each other, thank you Jesus.

Then during the ride home from church, I heard my grand son saying that Jesus rode a motorcycle; he says that that is what he learned at Sunday school; but it turns out that the lesson was about a man who found a pearl of great price and sold all his stuff to get it; how are pearls related to motorcycles I have no idea, but he does. During lunch he told me that I am smart and that being smart makes me cool; "but only boys are cool" he said; that's when she said......"I'm a girl and I'm smart, and I'm cool too"; end of story, he didn't reply because he is smart and cool, and he knows she is right.

My grand daughter repeated the whole lesson about Jesus walking on the water; and my grand son said "no one can walk on the water"; "Jesus can" she said; and his question was: "is He invisible?"; "No", my daughter said; "He is God and God can do whatever He wants"; can I put that in simpler terms?

Children are a lot of work; hats off to moms everywhere. Children are amazing too; but for some people they are an inconvenience because children require you to die to your self every minute they are under your care; and so some people kill them before they are born, it is a tragic crime of selfishness; yeah, people want to have sex and enjoy the pleasure of being "independent", they want the fun without the consequences, they don't want the real struggle of dying to self; or conquering lust; it is all a matter of the sinful human heart and the deceitfulness of sin.

What about the joy of watching a child eat an ice cream cone? Now that is something to cherish in my mind, it is really a show; or their innocence when they hear about Jesus, and how He made the stars? What about their simple questions; "Is that whole book about Jesus?"; yeah, the bible is all about Jesus; "Is He God?" Yeah, Jesus is God; or about "can you read me a story?" Or about "I don't like broccoli"; or about "I want to sit on your lap"; some people will never know what I'm talking about. Some people just don't want to know what I'm talking about.

God has a plan always: Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Behind every act of darkness, and behind every miracle of life there is a plan; a thoughtful plan. I was born by decree; nothing could prevent my birth; and nothing could have prevented yours either; or the birth of my grand kids; they are here by design just as I am here by design. Oh, you don't have grand kids, or kids period? Don't worry, your time will come, and if it doesn't, then I guess you missed the blessing, by design also.

If I am convinced that everything that happens in my life is under the sovereign control of the King of kings, what makes me doubt that what happens to my children is not? God either reigns absolutely or He doesn't, there is no middle ground in His kingdom. That is the only comfort for a suffering father, or a suffering mother; God's sovereignty.

His promise is that everything works together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose, and even though I can't see His purpose sometimes, and I don't know what the specifics of the plan are, I trust Him. The only reason I can't see His purpose sometimes is because my flesh blinds me; worry and anxiety are like a thunderstorm that covers the sun; but the sun is still burning above the clouds, the sun is still heating everything with its light; and the storm will end one day; clouds are not there forever.

My grand children make me think about Jesus; they make me feel alive; it is a very different feeling from that feeling I used to get from my daughters when they were little girls; with my children I felt lovingly responsible, but with my grand kids I feel like a little kid; I forgot how innocent children are, when I hear what they say they make me desire to be like them; innocent, pure, holy, meek, just like Jesus. I love them just as if they were mine.

Children live in the moment; they don't have lists of goals; they just play and have fun, they believe in God without reservations; they really rest in their faith that God is big and that He loves them, that they are protected and that everything will work out for their good, even if all they can see is the monster behind the closet door. Millions of other children around the globe are not that blessed; their monsters are real; and they are really there; they don't have a grandpa to tell them God is in control; and I ask: who decided that they should be born in the darkness of the world they are in? Think about it.

Jesus used children as an example to describe those who are born of the Spirit:
Mat 18:2-7 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!

Children have no pride, ambition or envy, really; they become all that when they grow up, and when the world gets into them and awakens the innate sin we all are the victims of; but there is a stage when all they think about is the wonder of their surroundings; and their need to be loved; I see that with my grand kids, "look at that green bug!".

Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. That is a fascinating statement; unless you be converted; how is one converted? How does one become as little children? Those are unanswerable questions from the human perspective; you can't be converted, you can't become like little children, that is the problem; and the only solution is that God has to convert you, He has to make you a little child by changing your heart, from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh; regeneration is conversion; there is no other way...and it is all up to Him.

This is exactly what Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3; You must be born again. The thing with evangelicals and the way they have been instructed for years is that they interpret this as a command from Jesus telling Nicodemus that he must do something; but as you clearly see in the context, it is impossible for a man to be born by himself; John 3:5-8 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

The same exact thing that John starts his gospel with: John 1:12-13 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Clearly, when Jesus says that unless you are converted and become like a little child, He is not saying that is up to you to be converted and become as a child; He is clearly, again, pointing to the fact the conversion is God's work; with man things like this are impossible, but with God all things are possible.

My children did not ask to be born; I didn't ask to be born; no one has ever asked to be born in this world; that decision rests in the hands of God alone; and to be converted and to become like a little child is still in the hands of God; no one can decide to become as a little child and be converted; if you want to see the kingdom you must be converted but you cannot want to see the kingdom unless God converts you to begin with; I really don't have a problem with that, do you?

In the mind of an Arminian it doesn't make sense; and it doesn't because in their mind man has to cooperate; but the bible is clear, man cannot cooperate with God to be converted; in fact, man does not even know when conversion happens; "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit"; honestly, if you can pinpoint the moment of your conversion, or your being born again, or your being born of the Spirit; then Jesus was wrong in what He said; but He wasn't....

Jesus was never wrong, and He will never be wrong; John was "the disciple whom Jesus loved"; and what he wrote in his gospel he heard and learned it from Jesus; he didn't make up a story, his statements are all inspired by the Holy Spirit and they have been canonized; they are the word of God; so then, when he says that those who believed were born of the will of God and not of the flesh or the will of man; what does that mean? It means what it says; man cannot give birth to himself, either physically or spiritually, period.

In my mind, all this relates to the doctrine of justification by faith alone; and it does because the doctrine states that salvation is all the work of God; man was not considered when God came up with the idea of saving His elect people by grace through faith; man was not created yet, the plan of salvation was conceived in the Eternal mind of YHWH before the foundation of the world, and man will never be considered in anything God does; He doesn't need permission to do whatever He wants, the least from sinful creatures.

Conversion is a planned event that hinges on another planned event: the crucifixion, death and resurrection of the Lamb of God; everything revolves around Jesus and His sacrifice, the faith that I have was made possible because of that; the gift of salvation itself is made possible because of that; it is the righteousness of God that is imputed unto me by faith, and the gift is given based on election and predestination.

I'm starting to trip out, so I think I'm going to stop soon; all I wanted is to say that I am getting blessed by my grand children and their innocence; and then conversion came into my mind because they make me think about Jesus; and when I think about Jesus, I think about grace, and when I think about grace, I think about God's sovereignty, and when I think about God's sovereignty, I think about His election and predestination, and when I think about that, I think about how sinful I am and how He has forgiven me and made me a child in His kingdom; and when I think about that, it is a glorious thing and He gets all the honor for saving me; it is a humbling experience, and it is sweet to my soul.

http://makariotes.blogspot.com

End times

Prophecy fulfilled right before my eyes:

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Sun, August 15, 2010 -- 8:49 PM ET
-----

China's Economy Passes Japan's in Quarter, Becoming the World's Second Largest

After three decades of spectacular growth, China has passed
Japan to become the world's second-largest economy behind the
United States, according to government figures released early
Monday.

The milestone, though anticipated for some time, is the most
striking evidence yet that China's ascendance is for real and
that the rest of the world will have to reckon with a new
economic superpower.

The milestone was reached early Monday, when Tokyo said that
in the second quarter, the Japanese economy was valued at
about $1.28 trillion, slightly below China's figure of $1.33
trillion. The gross domestic product of the United States was
roughly $14 trillion in 2009. Japan's economy grew 0.4
percent in the second quarter, Tokyo said, substantially less
than forecast.

Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com?emc=na

http://makariotes.blogspot.com

All things work together for my good....

I'm thinking again. There is a purpose behind all events. Everything that comes to pass, not only in my life but in the universe in general, has a very definite purpose for being or happening. From the movement of the oceans to the flight of a particle of dust in my bedroom, from the sparrows singing in the morning to the stars that remain hung in the sky; everything obeys the voice of our mighty God.

God designed our brains to have 100 billion neurons, and trillions of other supporting cells; and He exercises control over every single one of them; our Milky Way galaxy contains 100 billion stars and there are billions of galaxies and hundreds of trillions of stars in the universe; and God exercises control over every single one of them; all at the same time. Not a single atom in the whole of creation is out of control, ever; everything serves the purposes of our mighty God.

Gravity pulls in all directions on everything; from a grain of sand to the farthest star, everything is pulling and being held together by the immutable laws that God has put in place; His word holds all things together and He established the heavens and the earth to display the glory of His might; and even from the natural perspective, predestination is obvious everywhere.

All things in the universe are working together for my good and for the good of all those who love God and have been called according to His purpose; my name was written in the book of life before the foundation of the world; God chose me; God predestinated me; God called me, God justified me; God glorified me. That is what He says. Why would all things work together for good if there is not a plan and purpose behind them? There is nothing left to chance; there is nothing left to fate; everything follows a predetermined plan; that is what I call predestination.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. And how do I know that I love God and was called according to His purpose? John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. And what are His commandments? John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. John 15:17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.

Is that it? It is. Is it that simple? It is. It is impossible to love God if I don't love my brother: 1John 4:19-21 We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

Jesus is the Master thinker; the Prophet of prophets and the Answer to all questions: Mat 22:36-40 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

The whole law and the prophets are hanging from these two commandments; and still these two commandments are impossible to fulfill apart from grace; no one can love God with all his heart and soul and mind unless God Himself puts that love inside; even loving God depends on God's sovereign control of all things; He is the One who decides who it is that will love Him. We love Him because He first loved us, says John, God has to love me before I can love Him; and He demonstrated His love in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for the ungodly, for me; and so I don't have to keep the whole law because it has been kept for me in Christ; the demonstration of His love.

All things will work together for my good because I love God; I love God because He first loved me. I have been called according to His purpose because His purpose is to demonstrate His love for the exaltation of His glory; that is what His ultimate purpose is, the exaltation of His glory. It is all over the bible; and it is all glorious.

It gets deeper though; Rom 8:29-30 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Those who have been called have been called according to His purpose, and His purpose is that they be conformed to the image of His Son; all those who have been called are justified and glorified; and all for the praise of His glorious grace.

Not all people are justified, but only those who have been called; 1Co 1:21-24 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

Paul preached the gospel to Jews and Gentiles; but only the called were justified, so not all people are called; yeah, for sure there is a general call of the gospel but only those predestinated are effectually called (for many are called but few are chosen, Mat 20:16; Mat 24:14 ); which means that those who have been chosen and predestinated do not see Christ as a stumbling block or foolishness anymore, but as the power and wisdom of God.

The call of God hinges on His purpose; and His purpose hinges on His election and predestination: Rom 9:11-16 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

I come to be faced with the sovereign will of God again and again; He chooses whom to have mercy upon based on His purpose of election; not of works (our actions, decisions, free will or distinctives) but based completely on Himself, on Him who calls, on His sovereign will; that is as far as I can go trying to find out the why, or the reasons why God does what He does, and it is simply because He wants to, nothing more; that is what it means to be God; He does whatever He pleases in heaven and on the earth, and no one can stay His hand or ask Him 'what are you doing'?

If God did not elect those He calls based on His purpose, He would have to elect the called based on their distinctive qualities or their actions; and His glory would have to be shared with those whom He calls; and that is for sure an impossibility and a contradiction of His character and sovereignty; so by simple logic based on who God is, I can determine that His purpose on calling me is to demonstrate His sovereign grace; and to make Himself glorious not only in my mind; but all over the universe and in the heavenly realms.

God's grace is sovereign grace indeed: "For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy". And: Rom 9:22-24 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

Man is not independent of God; all the contrary, man is subject to all laws of physics, and chemistry, and gravity, all the laws of the universe, and who put those laws in place but God? The very beating of our hearts is in the hands of a God who is loving and merciful and gracious and patient; He makes His sun shine upon the good and the evil and so every single human being is constantly depending on God's providence, whether they like it or not.

But God is also just; and as God is infinitely loving, He is infinitely just; and in His justice He dealt with the sin of His people in Jesus Christ; before time began: 2Timothy 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. His purpose of election and His grace was given unto us before the foundation of the earth, not according to our actions, or our deeds, or our works.

The more I think about this, the more I become speechless; this is a hard doctrine to understand for some people; but this doctrine is not designed to be analyzed; it has been designed to cause awe, and adoration, and to shatter all pride in the human heart.

Loving God, being called according to His purpose; Christ keeping the law and paying for the sins of the elect; justification by faith; grace; mercy; all is related to the glory of God; everything centers in Jesus Christ and in His death and resurrection; that is the apex of the glory of God's grace; and that is what causes those who have been called to fall on their knees in worship. He is the beginning and the end of all things, and all things work together for good because God in His sovereignty is working them out for good. That is what the bible teaches as far as I can see.

Those who are opposed to the doctrine of predestination are opposed to it because of many reasons, but it all boils down to pride; in their minds they have to perform; they have to be under rules and regulations; they have to try to please God; they have to look holy and righteous, their hearts have not been stripped of the deceit and the philosophies and basic principles of this world; they are all mixed up; they do not know the gospel and have been bewitched.

But those who are called just believe. People who profess to have faith do not have a problem believing that Jesus was born of a virgin; or that His crucifixion was a predestinated act, or that God raised Him from the dead; they don't have a problem with the doctrine of the trinity; or of creation; they don't have a problem believing that there is a heaven and a hell; the problem arises when they hear, or even read it for themselves in the bible, that God predestined some to eternal life and left others to be the recipients of His wrath; they rejoice on the fact that they are vessels of honor prepared for glory, but can't accept the fact that there are vessels of dishonor fitted for destruction; "it can't be" they think; "God is not like that" they affirm; but no one can deny or erase Romans chapter 9; even though they try hard to make it fit their preconceptions of who God really is.

"You should let the teachers worry about those things"; really? I don't think so; the "letting the teachers worry about it" doesn't cut it; and it doesn't bring Christ any glory, and the saints any joy or peace. "But this argument has been going on for hundreds of years"; you are right, and do you realize that this is the very reason why this nation was founded? The whole reformation movement across Europe was all about this; everything was fine until people started preaching another gospel; and guess what, they are still preaching another gospel; some people need to inform themselves before opening their mouths to sustain that man only needs a little help from God.

What is called blasphemy nowadays is nothing more than the gospel; the true gospel, not a watered down version of it; in fact Paul says that if anyone presents you with a gospel different from the one he delivered in his preaching; that person is accursed; what do you think about that? You can read it in the book of Galatians, here you go, just in case you don't know about any book of Galatians: Gal 1:8-9 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

If you are a child of God it is because He made you one; you had nothing to do with it, you did not do anything to be saved except sin to the fullest; but He saved you at the right time and at the right place; at the time and place He had already planned for you to receive life; you say "but I had to make a decision", yes you had to make a decision but God had to give you life first so you could make a decision; if you were dead in sins, as Paul says in Ephesians 2:1; then you could not choose anything, you were dead, and dead people do not make choices.

But the philosophies of this world say that man is not dead, man is not that bad really; all he needs is a little help from God and then he needs to try; and be humble and accept he is a sinner and that he needs a savior; but the reality is that there is not one good as Paul says in Romans; either Paul was wrong or he was lying or he was right; why does he say that? He is just quoting the old testament; who is the one speaking? God. God says there is not a single human being that is good.

Psa 14:3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Psa 53:3 Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Jer 8:6 I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.
Mar 10:18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

Job said it better than I could: Job 14:4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. No one can bring good out of a heart that is evil and completely opposed to God and His word; no one sits there in a bar and suddenly thinks "I think I need to repent from my sins and come to God and ask Him to forgive me; I'll just have another drink first"; unless the Lord of Glory does something to that person first, he/she will not seek God; God is not in all his/her thoughts; their hands and feet are swift to do evil; they are at enmity with God; and as Jeremiah eloquently asks: Jer 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil?

That is the deception of the human heart. If the pastor of your church says that you have been saved by grace through faith and that it is not of yourself, that it is the gift of God so no one can boast; and then he asks you to choose to be saved, isn't he contradicting himself? Think about it; it really is a contradiction; making a decision is doing a work and salvation is not by works. Of course you have to obey after you have been born again; but now is not up to you; it is up to God working in you to will and to perform of His good pleasure; and if you ignore Him, He will use the rod of correction, and at the end He will get His way, whether you like it or not all things will work together for your good.

If I keep on going I might get sarcastic or go off on another trip, so I'm cutting it right here right now while all things are working together for my good; and yours.

Have a nice day.

http://makariotes.blogspot.com

The called.....

One thing happens after the other, first the desktop's monitor stops working; so God blessed me with a friend who traded me one of my watches for a Mac; now the Mac doesn't work; I still have a flat on my bike; and now my phone has been disconnected because I didn't pay the bill last month; and the reason I didn't is because I sent the money to my Mom; I had to since she's got a job and barely makes it every month; it is not right that a widow and a daughter of heaven has to go to work being 76 years old. My bible says I have to, he who does not provide for his own household is considered worse than an unbeliever; and she is a widow, and she is my sister also. I also have to pay my debt to the phone company, and I will but not now.

Actually things are worse than I thought; let me recap it for the sake of giving glory to whom glory is due; I broke my back working, so I had to stop working, when I stopped working I lost my car (at one point I had three cars); I lost one of my bikes; then I lost my house because I could not pay the mortgage; then I lost my job because they wouldn't wait for me to get better; then I lost my medical insurance and now I have to pay cash for meds, not cheap; then I lost my guns since I sold them to be able to pay the rent and buy food and meds; then I couldn't find a place to live because the foreclosure on the house messed up my credit really bad; oh I forgot, I lost almost all the furniture in the divorce, so my living room was two lawn chairs and a TV.; and I had to buy a bed, which was not bad, I like my bed.

I'm not complaining; at least I try hard not to, but sometimes I do, this is not one of those times; there is nothing to complain about. The company I used to work for went bankrupt, but I still have income; I thank God everyday for allowing me to get hurt and providing the insurance, I haven't worked for three years and I still live in a nice place and I have everything I need, everyday I see and experience it, every single day I taste and see that God is good. I'm in pain all the time, I have to lay down several times a day, so what, this is nothing compared to what is coming in my future; I'm going to live forever with the King of kings; that is worth more than all the pain and all the tribulations of this life.

All my trials are just blessings, I discovered; things brake all the time and everything seems to be all screwed up; but I remember, everything works together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose; and all things means all things; nothing is excluded in that scope.

I have been called according to His purpose; I ponder about that often; I have been called.....His purpose; what does that mean? Called. His purpose. His call is a very effectual call; but it is an exclusive call: Act 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. I didn't call myself into being a Christian; God called me when the time was right according to His plans; according to the counsel and pleasure of His will.

God's call is deeper than just a call, as when I call my dog to come over here and do a trick; come here Duche, come here; it is not like that; Duche might just not respond to my call and ignore me. God's call is irresistible; something happened inside of me and could not resist Him anymore; I struggled until the very last moment of my existence in the dark side; He called and I came to Him. I wasn't looking for Him, I wasn't searching for anything but peace of mind, and I wasn't looking for Him, that is for sure; He found me, and called me and gave me more than just peace.

Some think that God is waiting for people to come to Him; as if the creature had more power than the creator; they think that God will not interfere with their "freedom of choice"; in their minds they picture YHWH as meek gentle spirited dude; He waits and waits; He calls people and only a few respond; the free will of human kind wins over the will of their creator; it is a cartoon in which man is sovereign and God is subservient to their wishes.

"No one wants to be dragged into heaven against their wills and wishes" they say; "God is a gentleman and will not force Himself upon you" they affirm; "He is knocking at the door waiting for you to open it so He can come in" they quote. But nothing could be farther from the truth; the problem is that they don't understand who YHWH is; God is the sovereign King of the universe and everything in it, and as Nebuchadnezzar says, Daniel 4:35 "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? "

The bible is clear in that God is in charge; it is written all over the place, from Genesis to Revelation. Do you really think that He who created the light by just saying a word has no power over your will? Do you really believe that God being omnipotent can be contradicted by a sinful man or woman? Really? I don't; and I don't not because I don't want to, but because that is what the bible teaches; either He is God and King and in control, and nothing can stay His hand, or He is a figment of my imagination and I created Him in my own image, He turned out to be a little god; with small "g"; and I remain in charge of my life and everything that happens or that will ever happen.

Which one of the previous propositions is easier to believe anyway? That He is sovereign or that I am? You answer that question for yourself and see what I mean.

Jesus called Lazarus out from the grave; and guess what, Lazarus came back to life and came out of the grave; life returned into his earthly body because the command was given it to come back; as Augustine said: God's call grants what it commands; the power is in His call and if He calls someone like me from the darkness it is impossible that I could resist His call, free will or not, the same way as Lazarus could not resist and came to Him; he was not in the grave wondering if he should answer Jesus' call; he had no choice but to come out.

Nothing better to illustrate than this: Mat 4:18-22 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.

Now, do you think that that was a coincidence? Do you think that just so happened that Jesus was cruising by the beach because He likes the ocean? He was looking for them, He knew exactly who they were and where they were; in the book of John at the very beginning, Jesus went to Galilee looking for Philip and when He found him, Philip followed; Philip then went and found Nathaniel. God is going to effectually cal some and use them to effectually call others.

There is a very interesting section of scripture that I have almost memorized, a lot of people quote it to contradict the very same thing I'm saying; it is Romans 8:28-33 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

Paul is saying here that all those that are called are justified; but not all who are called get justified; that is the crude reality; have you ever wondered why? The answer is in the call of those who have been predestinated; the only ones that are called and respond are the ones who have been predestinated, and the truth is that not everybody has been predestinated.

The massive promise of Romans 8:28 does not apply to those who have not been predestinated, called, and justified. Those who have been justified have been justified by faith; that is the only way to be justified: Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; and the only way to obtain faith is if God Himself gives it to you: Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Obviously, God doesn't give the gift to some people, that is what the bible and experience teach; otherwise everybody who is presented with the gospel would immediately believe, but that is not the case; in fact a lot of people die in their sins; does that mean that they prevailed over God's will? Were they victorious over the gospel? Or does it mean that they did not want to make a commitment or make the right choice; or that God was impotent to save them? God can do anything He wants whenever He wants, and if some die in their sins is because God let them to their own devices to pay for their enmity against Him and at the same time to demonstrate the glory of His justice.

My point is that God is in charge of who it is who believes in the first place; and it is all dependent on His election and predestination; not on our abilities, nor on our distinctives, nor on our free choice.

I know this blog is going into face-book; how it got there I have no idea, what I did to make it go there I don't remember; but some people in face-book are going to read what I'm saying, or they have been reading what I have said in the blog, and I know they are tripping out thinking that I'm in some kind of a trip, or that I belong to a cult. Some, whether in face-book or not, believe that what I believe is blasphemy; that just shows you how ignorant they are; and how brain washed they are by the modern basic principles of this world and by philosophy.

I'm not railing anybody though; all I'm saying is that some people, whether they know it or not, rob God of His glory and do His people a disservice when they don't tech and preach the whole counsel of God; judgment is not in their teaching agenda, hell is an old fashioned tale, and becoming a Christian is based on a personal decision to walk down the isle or recite a prayer with their eyes closed; but they are ignorant of the historic Christian gospel; which is about the sovereignty of God, not only over the whole of history but also over the salvation of His people.

Of course, this is a foreign language to some people; and even then, when they see it all over the bible they still don't want to accept it as true, their pride and false humility is a huge obstacle that prevents them from giving God the credit and the glory; they rather be right than submit to His authority. I personally heard the leader and founder of a famous church in southern California say that we need to stay away from people like me, to stay away from people who believe in God's supremacy over all things and believe in election and predestination; no wonder some of the pastors of that church affirm that you can lose your salvation and that it is up to you to make and keep you holy and blameless; they forgot what Paul said in Ephesians one, or just don't want to believe it.

Getting back to my dissertation about the call and the purpose of God; everything in my life revolves around that these days; that is how I started this post to begin with; God having the complete control of all my circumstances. I am a Christian, I know it with all of my heart; I have been assured of that over and over, in fact I am assured every day when I open my eyes; I wake up and still believe. If it was up to me, I think I would have stopped believing a long time ago, of course I'm using a figure of speech, but in the face of trials and tribulations sometimes it would be easier just to throw in the towel and get loaded to get some mental relief; but that is not the way God does things with me, He won't let me, He keeps me humble and on my knees every day, and I'm thankful for that.

I haven't touched on the "His purpose" part yet, I guess I will leave that for the next post, if I don't people will say that my blog is too long and they won't read it; not that I care but just imagine what they say when they talk about the bible which is a lot longer than this blog.

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The fly

I hate flies. These minuscule flying insects are the carriers of innumerable germs: "These pests breed in animal wastes and decaying organic material from which they can pick up bacteria and viruses that may cause human diseases. In addition, adult stable flies (sometimes called "biting flies") feed on mammalian blood and can give a painful bite". A painful bite!? Poor cows.....

Flies really bother me; I get anxious when I see or feel a fly land on me or near me; it is probably the fly-o-phobia. One thing I can't stand is a fly landing on my tacos; I won't be able to finish eating them. There is an advantage to flies though; they make me think about God.

"Some people spiritualize everything"; I can hear it coming, just like a fly buzzing around, I can hear the remarks; so be it. But think about it; God created everything in the universe; and as far as I know, He controls everything there is, and flies are not exempted.

Imagine how crazy this world would be, even more, if flies were outside God's control of all things; flies would rule the world; they would proliferate in huge quantities and would infest everything around us, I would surely die of starvation seeing flies on my food all the time; imagine that; you're trying to go to the bathroom and there is a fly flying inside the toilet bowl; and what if there were twenty flies in there, you would be naturally constipated.

I'm probably a singularity thinking about this kind of stuff. In the practical side; flies really make me think about how sovereign God is; His control of the universe is so amazing. Does He not have control over the flies also? Of course He does; He has control over everything; and that is what I was thinking about as I was trying to swat one of the little pests.

The scriptures; "here we go again with the scriptures, why can't this guy just talk about flies without bringing up the bible?"; as I was saying, the scriptures clearly teach the sovereignty of God over all things; they also teach that man is capable of making choices; man is a "free agent' Per Se; he is able to choose from eating a taco with a fly in it, or to totally bypass contaminated food; there is no contention about that, man has a free will in that sense; for example, you can choose to read this blog, or more usefully, the bible; or you can make the choice to not read anything at all and just have information delivered already digested to you by planting yourself in front of the T.V.; doing that would translate you into a world of fantasy, and bias; you can make the choice to be entertained and become, as Pink Floyd says, comfortably numb; and escape to another reality; and then again, maybe you don't even have that choice if you don't have cable.

And, really, life is full of decisions to be made; we are all constantly making choices, we are constrained at all times by the motivations of our hearts; from the moment we open our eyes we have to make decisions, choices; one after the other, it is a long chain of choices that we make; should you take a long shower? Or two short showers? Should you wear that shirt or a dress? Should you put both socks on or just one? Should you eat cereal or eggs? Should you eat a tortilla or an English muffin? Should you leave earlier for work or should you take your sweet time and be late? Should you tell your boss he is an egghead or just think about it? Should you have shaved your beard before putting on the dress? How about the high heels, did you shave your legs? And so on, and so forth; life is consumed by choices, one after the other.

How did we get to be so choosy? So picky? It is not a mystery; we have been conditioned to make choices based on personal preferences; see, all our choices are based on self and on desire; and that is exactly where the problem is. The heart.

It has been the history of humankind that what drives us is self; we are naturally driven by our desires and our thinking; or our thinking and our desires, same thing; since the fall, self centered behavior is what drives all of us; and we are, again, by nature, slaves to sin. So we really do not have any freedom of choice regarding what is good because the motivation is, at the end, self.

Who else but Jesus to explain what I'm talking about: John 8:31-34 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

Who can say that they have no sin, or that they have never sinned? No one except Jesus; and that is His point; you do one sin and become a slave to it; no matter how small it might be, you are enslaved; sin reigns in your mortal flesh; it dictates all your choices; so you are really not free at all; there is no free will-verily, verily. Yeah, without Christ you can choose to give all your money to the poor, but your motive will always be self; there is only one way to become free and only One who can make you and I really free; God Himself.

If God doesn't intervene and brake the bondage, you and I would die in sin; we would have no escape from our slavery and hell; so what He has done is He purchased us with the blood of Christ and then He made us slaves to Him; we got to be slaves to someone else at the end; and still have no freedom of choice in a sense; now all we can really choose is what is pleasing to God; and the things we choose that are not pleasing to Him are chosen out of self, again.

Real Christians sin all the time, every day; if you say that you have no sin you make God a liar; and worse, when you think you can live one day of your life without sin you deceive yourself. There are in fact, a lot of people who think they can stop sinning for a day (what are the motives for that?); they are the same kind of people who say that God loves everybody the same; and that you can really be pleasing to God by acting holy and righteous; but the bible is clear, there is not one righteous, no not even one.

Of course there is nothing wrong with desiring not to sin; it is actually a sign of being elected into the kingdom, it is a sign of being born from above; but the important thing to remember is that this desire is not native in the human heart; it is generated by the Spirit of God living in the believer; king David knew it: Psalm 37:4-6 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

Thy righteousness is not thy righteousness, it is God's; and king David knew this also: Psalm 32:1-2 A Psalm of David, Maschil. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

The point is that God is in control. It is amazing to see that, and to believe it, and to experience it; even in the fight against the flies that bother me; they are just another annoyance from a world that is broken; and they actually help build my patience.

I just realized, yeah this very moment at 7:06 PM on this Sunday afternoon, that I think about God's control over all things very often; and as I was thinking and realizing that I realized that I think about it often; I see His control over the thoughts of my heart; at least the good ones for sure. What causes a man like me to think about God's control over all things but God?

The sure realization of thinking about God's sovereignty makes me think about it even more; and who cares? God cares and I care, maybe you don't care, maybe you are worried about tomorrow and about how to pay the bills; or maybe you are more concerned thinking about your children, or your wife or husband, or your job; or what you are going to wear tomorrow; or about how many pounds you would like to loose so you can look good and feel better about yourself; or about paying all the debt your self-centered desires got you into; or about how to place the blame for your trespasses on someone else; every body worries and thinks about themselves; but sooner or later everybody who has the Spirit will think about God's control over all things, including your thoughts.

Life might be sweet right now for some people; but inside they are feeling the turmoil of living in a fallen world; if you are the real deal you will never feel satisfied here in this planet; your satisfaction has to come from the One who can really satisfy; and as He is a loving Father, He will lead you there, to the place of being disrobed of your own righteousness and self-confidence, to get you ready for the white linen of His fire.

Well, you might be asking, what does all this have to do with flies? I'll tell you.....they make me think about God's sovereignty; did I mention that already? I think I did. Did God know that a fly would be trying to land on my coffee as I was looking at the sky? He did. Did He know I was going to be sitting in my patio at that precise moment? He knew. Didn't He create that fly? He did indeed. Did God know that the fly He created would be trying to land on my coffee? He did for sure. Did He know flies really bother me? Of course. Did He not plan the flight of the little pest to annoy me and make me think about Him? Of course He did.

Do you see my point? That event was planned; everything that comes to pass in my life has been planned. What made me go to the patio? Personal preference; I like coffee in the patio in the afternoons. What made me look up to the sky? Personal choice, I like the sky when it is blue with fluffy clouds. And what caused me to think about God's sovereignty? The fly. God used His creation to witness His absolute control to my mind, to impress it deeper in my heart; and as I ponder about flies I'm in awe of who He is; and He gets the glory. He made flies to glorify Himself; flies don't praise Him, I do.

So, yeah, I made the choice to have coffee in the patio in the afternoon, and I chose to look up to the sky; and I chose to try to swat the fly with a magazine; but I sure didn't choose to think about God's sovereignty; that thought was placed in my mind by His Spirit; He made me think about Him, and that is glorious.

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Dancing on a volcano

Here is one of my all time favorite singers; the lyrics are awesome; crank it up!






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