Dr. Stephen Jones wrote an interesting post today about when death ends and whether every knee will bow because they have to or are whether they are all saved at that point. What happens at the Great White Throne of Judgment? It is well worth reading.
I recently read an article dealing with the topic of Free Will. Most of us believe we have a free will. After all, we aren’t a bunch of robots walking around, but if God is sovereign and we have free will, how can His plan ever be accomplished?
In the article the man believed that we have choice but that is not the same thing as having will. It sounds like he is playing with words, but being a Mom, I actually understand it. When my children were little, they would throw a fit if they didn’t get what they wanted. (Ah the fun of having a two year old.) I believed it was important for them to learn to make good choices but those choices had to be governed. After all, you can’t let a child choose to wear his swimsuit in the winter, so I would let them decide what to wear from clothes that I had picked out. They were free to choose and had to live with the results of their decision but their choice was within what I allowed them to have.
Our walk with God is similar to that. He allows us to make choices and those choices reflect the level of our maturity. We get to live out the results of those choices but all of them are within the plan of God for our lives. OK, I know that means God lets us make bad choices and some of us live sinful lives because of it but He allows us that freedom because His ultimate plan will eventually be fulfilled.
I was thinking about this when I read the passage about Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a colt while the crowds cut palm branches to line His path.
John 12:12 On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
John 12:13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.
John 12:14 And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written,
John 12:15 Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt.
John 12:16 These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.
Isn’t that interesting? They chose to cut the palm branches and rejoice in His coming. Later on they realized that they had walked out prophecy through their choices! The more I think about it, the more grateful I am that God is in control. We can’t mess things up. Isn’t that good news?
When I was growing up in the church, one of the most condemning things my Pastor could say about what someone else believed was that it was heresy. To label something heresy meant that it was wrong, probably from the pit of Hell, anti-christian and should be shunned at all costs. Along with that, anyone who promoted such thought was a Heretic. Who would want to carry that label?
Over time, I have learned that many of the things that seemed so simple as a new Christian, had other interpretations as I matured. Suddenly, what seemed to be a terrible heresy by one person, was perfectly scriptural to another. Perhaps that is why the Scriptures admonish us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12). God will deal with us as to the content of our own hearts regardless of what someone told us. Each of us is to develop a walk where we know the voice of our Shephard and follow Him. Along the way, we will often disagree with our brothers as to the interpretation of Scripture but we are admonished to walk in love none the less. (I recently read a good article about this by Gerry Beauchemin called Heresy And A Call To Unity.)
Now for the eye opener:
Heresy: the rejection of one or more established beliefs of a religious body, or adherence to “other beliefs.” (Wikipedia) Did you see that? Heresy is believing something differently than is promoted by your denomination. As such, it could be what some other denomination believes or it could be interpreting scripture differently than is promoted by your particular church. It isn’t necessarily evil or hellish, just different and since none of us have all truth, we all have some heresy when what we believe is compared to our brother’s.
Heretic: One who promotes or commits heresy
We should also consider these terms.
Apostacy: formal denunciation of one’s religion, principles or cause
Blasphemy: irreverence toward religion.
Now, after reading all of this, I have come to the conclusion that I am a heretic when compared to the beliefs of some of the people I grew up with in the church. I have different beliefs but I have not turned my back on my faith (apostacy) nor am I irreverent concerning religion (blasphemy).
I believe God is Sovereign and All Powerful. I believe that when He created the Heavens and the Earth, He knew their end from the very beginning and that nothing takes Him by surprise. He only has plan A. In addition, I believe that when He says Jesus died for the sins of the world, He meant it and that by the time everything is said and done, we will see everyone willingly bow their knee to Him. Yes, I do believe that God Wins.
Obviously, there are many who disagree with me. It’s not my job to convince them of anything. Either the Holy Spirit will open their eyes to see what I see or He won’t but I am no longer going to remain silent regarding my beliefs in order to keep you comfortable. As my husband used to say, “What do you believe and why do you believe it?” It’s fine to disagree as long as we can agree on the main thing that is, Jesus died for our sins to restore our fellowship with our Heavenly Father. We can stand in unity over that and still give ourselves room to believe differently about the details. God will reveal the truth of them eventually.
I hesitated to post what I am making public today because it is highly personal. The reason I decided to go through with it is that there are others in similar walks who need encouragement. Therefore, if this seems like foolishness to you, simply leave it alone and go find something that you can enjoy. For the few of us following a path that is no wider than our feet, welcome.
6/8/11
Jonah woke me from a dream where I was talking to a kindly "shepherd" and a couple of his friends. They seemed to have a ministry of restoring the broken and the homeless. It seemed like we were at some sort of camp setting.
This man asked me what my story was and I told him of being a pulpit supply minister, Bible school teacher and sometime prophet. I told him that I had taken up my cross and was following the Lord where He was leading me. In the process, friends had misunderstood me, some had hurt me, my husband had died…I realized when I was saying it to him, just how deep some of the scars and wounds are that I carry. I thought they had healed but some are so deep that unless the Lord touches them, they will always be there. I realized that the scars would remain none the less and that like my Master, I would always bear them.
I told these caring people that my journey was a choice and that I have the freedom to lay down my cross and stop at any time. The thing is though, once you have looked into the Master’s eyes and seen the fires of the suffering, love, caring, devotion, determination and all consuming passion burning there, you can’t stop.
Psa 32:8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
He is looking for a people who will take up their cross and follow Him. It isn’t a pleasant journey. Along the way people will abuse you. They will take what you say and use it to steal from you. They will misunderstand you and often you will have to leave people you love and who truly loved you behind because they just can’t understand the depth of what He is working in you. As you walk, there will be times He talks to you and other times His silence is so frustrating that you are sure you lost the path except that by faith you remember His words that He will never leave you nor forsake you and you keep going.
If He heals you, you will be healed. If He chooses not to, that is OK too for you know He loves you and somehow it will be worth it in the end. Details really don’t matter. Someday, the journey will have an end. Meanwhile, the memory of His eyes keeps me moving on and where He leads, I follow.
How appropriate that the above verse comes after hiding yourself in Him…Psa 32:7 Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. I stood on that from the time Paul got sick. He is my hiding place and my aid in times of trouble. I’m learning to walk surrounded by Him and He keeps me on track.
Selah
Psa 32:7 Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
Psa 32:8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
Sometimes I talk to people who are feeling unfulfilled because they don’t know the “call of God on their life.” Not wanting to miss what God has for them, they feel like they should be doing more but don’t know what to do. Often, they are members of a church that stresses the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the “Five-Fold Ministries” of God. I am not being critical of either one of these as they are something you should know about and partake of, but sometimes it seems like if you aren’t laying hands on the dead and seeing them spring to life or walking around with a title in front of your name, you have missed God.
It’s time for the Body of Christ to realize that not everyone is called to be a leader and if God does call you to such a position, He is well able to let you know about it. In fact, if He has created you for such a position, you will have a hard time avoiding it. Everything in your life will be preparation for what God has called you to do. If you don’t have that clear direction in your life, then either your time hasn’t come or He has created you for something else.
In the Old Testament, when Moses set up a leadership structure, there were rulers over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. (Ex 18:25) Someone who was a ruler of tens, might have been the head of a household or maybe 10 family groups. We aren’t told exactly what that meant. However, there is also nothing saying a ruler of tens ever graduated to a bigger group. Not only that, the majority of the people spent most of their time going about the business of life. They raised their children. Later on, they planted their fields and harvested their crops. For most of them, learning to live a godly life as they went through their daily tasks, was fulfilling the call of God on their life. Disobeying God’s law brought judgment. Missing the “Call of God on their life” wasn’t something they even worried about.
Ecclesiastes 3:13 And also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
We are looking for the establishment of the Kingdom of God on Earth. You can’t have a kingdom without having someone to populate it and that includes those who are simply good mothers and fathers, butchers, bakers and candlestick makers. We have to stop worrying about who we think we should be and simply be who God created us to be. There is a rich peace to be found there. Learning to forgive, to care for those around us, to see God’s blessings in our daily lives, to raise our children to love and serve God and learning to love one another as He has loved us is a high calling of God that brings a satisfying fulfillment. Let’s appreciate the blessings of God He has for us today without worrying about what else He might have for us to do. He never gives you grace for tomorrow’s challenges, today.
Well, Thanksgiving is over and for many people, the mad rush is on to spend more than they should on the perfect gift that someone might not even want. No wonder so many people fight depression this time of year.
There is a better way. Purposely find some quiet time, take a bath and read a good book. Make time to snuggle with your loved one or watch a good movie together. Invite some good friends in for a low key dinner where laughter is the main course. All of these are stress busters. That gift you sweated over in the store won’t be half as memorable as the time you invested in someone who is important to you. This is the time to say, “I love you” to someone you have never admitted it to. After all, Jesus came because of love.
This might sound like more work for you in a season when there are so many party invites. Some of them you go to out of obligation and others you enjoy but I’m talking about the kind of get together where no one dresses up and everyone feels free to express themselves without worrying about how someone else will take it. Those are the friends who stand by you when things go wrong. They are the gold in your life and just seeing them makes you smile. Call it a Holiday Stress Relief party and watch everyone relax. These are the times good memories come from. Let’s make this a holiday to remember.
I took a walk yesterday and saw a bird’s nest high in a tree. It got my attention because I am walking in a place much more northern than I live. Here the leaves have fallen from many of the trees and the things that normally lie hidden from view are laid bare for all to see.
It got me to thinking about the winter times in my spiritual walk when prayer doesn’t seem to penetrate the ceiling and God seems so far away. We’ve all experienced those times where we feel like crying, “Where is God when I need Him?” Of course He is right where He always is. It only seems like He left us. Perhaps it helps to realize that like the nest in the tree, God has allowed the chilly wind to clear away the clutter and reveal those hidden things we need to deal with.
I’m in a position where I need finances. Where will they come from? What can I do? Where is the job that I can do and enjoy? So many questions arise that as soon as I deal with one, another pops up. Where is peace in all of this? Maybe a more pertinent question would be, “Where is my trust?” I have noticed that most of my growth takes place when life gets the messiest. Those are the times I realize my need for the one who promises to never leave me. Beneath the voices of fear and doubt is another still, quiet one. I can only hear it when I make the effort to ignore the things that so urgently demand attention and lean in close. With my ear on His breast, I hear, “Be still and know that I am God. I have a purpose for you. It’s a purpose of peace and not for evil to give you a future and a hope” (Ps 46:10; Jer 29:11 MKJV).
The winter times in my life keep me pressing into God. It’s so hard to remember how desperately I need Him when everything is going along fine. I’m good at thanking Him but not so good at pressing in when it looks like I can handle everything. Because I think of myself as so much more independent than I really am, I’m thanking God for the Winter time. That’s when I lean on Him and find His strength is sufficient. There is a way through my present difficulties but I have to stop panicking, quiet my heart and listen. Sometimes the only way I can do that is to take a walk.
It would seem ridiculous that women would have to defend their position to minister in this day and age yet we still have denominations that deny just that. Even if you belong to a group that allows women to minister, there are always questions about certain passages in the Bible that seem to limit their input. Because it is a confusing issue, it needs to be addressed.
I recently read a piece by Elaine Cook that does a pretty good job of it. Among other things, she asks that if God never intended women to be witnesses of Him, how come only women witnessed the events at Jesus’ graveside resurrection? If that gets your attention, you might want to read Women’s Place In The Church. It’s only a two page pdf but it will get you thinking. :0)
The following is a reprint of an article Dr. Stephen Jones wrote on his blog. I am aware that many of my friends and family do not believe this but I do. First off, I have read enough word studies on things like the lake of fire, eternal, judgement, etc. to understand why Stephen says what he does. I don’t expect any of my readers to take it on face value. The Bible tells us the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth. If that is so, then we shouldn’t be afraid to ask Him for it. Become a seeker of truth for yourself.
When Paul speaks of conciliating "the many" and "all men" in the fifth chapter of Romans, he is describing the effects of the divine love that he has already defined earlier. Whereas the love of man is normally limited to his friends, the love of God extends to His enemies as well.
It is for this reason, Paul says, God was in Christ conciliating the world–not waiting for them to become His friends, but dying for them while they were yet enemies.
The world–and even the Church itself–scarcely appreciates or even comprehends the depth and breadth of such love. The Church doctrine of divine retribution proves its lack of comprehension, for it denies any beneficial effects of that divine love upon those who die without having conciliated God in return.
To all of these unreconciled ones, many in the Church teach, the divine deadline is each man’s point of death, whereupon God’s demonstration of love is suddenly transformed into a demonstration of divine wrath. Those who refused outright to conciliate God in return are said to be tormented for eternity in unimaginable pain and torture, while those who had never heard of Christ are sautéed lightly in a mere one million degrees.
By such theology, divine love will save but few, having failed in large part through the contrarian will of man. It is as if two nations were at war, having irreconcilable differences, and one wise and loving King (God) decides to sue for peace, knowing that it takes two to make a fight. This loving King had been wronged, but decided to pay the law’s penalty Himself, forgiving the wrong and satisfying the demand of the law. He then sends ambassadors to the other side, carrying a white flag, bearing the message of peace and conciliation: "I no longer hold your transgressions against you."
The result of such love is to cause a few on the other side to lay down their arms and join the side of the gracious King. But then we discover that there was a deadline to respond, after which time love is replaced by the wrath of a rejected lover.
Only then is it clear that the King’s "conciliation" was really a disguised ultimatum. Love was only temporary. Love failed to secure the desired end, having been thwarted by the will of man. Men’s theology insists that God remains a God of love, and yet He is somehow forced by His own law to incarcerate and torture the unreconciled ones for eternity. This idea of a God of love, helpless in the face of His own law, being forced to torture the unreconciled once they have passed the deadline sums up the knowledge of God held by a great portion of the Church.
Such a theology is based upon false assumptions. It is assumed that death is a deadline for repentance, whereas Paul says that "every knee will bow." It is plain that only a few knees bow to Christ during their life time on earth, so it is equally plain that the rest of those knees must bow after they have died. Furthermore, every tongue will confess that He is Lord, and Paul tells us that no man can confess that He is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Further, these knees will bow and these tongues will confess "to the glory of God the Father." Where is the glory in a confession extracted by torture? What glory is it to force a sinner to his knees and wrench from him a feigned confession?
It is further assumed that the divine law demands a burning hell for unbelievers, when in fact the law demands "burn for burn" only in cases where a man has burned someone else without repenting. Even such judgment is limited, because the basic principle of divine law demands retribution in kind only. Man alone extends such retribution to eternity.
The word translated "eternity" in Scripture is nearly always aeonian, which pertains to an eon (age), a time period having both a beginning and an end. While man may extend this time of judgment into eternity, God does not. Furthermore, God’s justice proceeds out of His character of Love, and so the purpose of justice is to correct, rather than to destroy. Divine retribution is not an admission of failure to rehabilitate, for "love never fails." In fact, if the love of God fails to bring even one man ultimately into the fullness of the stature of Christ, then love has failed to accomplish its stated goal.
Sin misses the mark. Is God, then, a sinner? Is He a failure? A thousand times NO.
Men also excuse God for unending divine retribution by insisting that man has done it to himself by his own free will. But this is inconsistent theology. One man’s sin was imposed upon "the many" apart from any decision by their own free will. God imputed Adam’s sin to all succeeding generations even though they had not sinned in the similitude of Adam’s sin (Rom. 5:13). Man’s mortality is proof of this. If the law of imputation of Adam’s sin must affect all men negatively, how can men apply the same law unequally to Christ’s conciliatory work on the cross?
The law judges impartially and with equality (equity). The will of man was not consulted before imputing Adam’s sin to all; neither was the will of man consulted before imputing the righteousness of Christ to all. Both were acts of God alone. Hence, God was in Christ conciliating the world by the standard of divine love alone. By such love Christ dies, not for His friends alone, but also for His enemies.
This is the whole point of distinguishing man’s love from God’s love. Many men will die for a friend or family member, but Christ has died for the ungodly and even for those who hated Him.
Is there no lasting beneficial effect of such love upon the one who dies without conciliating God in return? Is God so helpless? Is He a God who weeps while torturing people in order to conform to a law that would go against His loving nature? No, the law is the very expression of His character, and hence, the law is based entirely on love. On love hangs the entire law and the prophets.
No law is based on love unless it is designed to correct the lawbreaker. The conciliation will have its full effect because it was not based upon the will of man, but upon God’s will alone. Man’s opposition will not succeed in the end, because his will is not stronger than God’s, nor is he capable, in the end, of resisting such perfect love.
All of man’s resistance is time-based and is therefore limited in duration. The authority that men enjoy, based upon the Dominion Mandate in Gen. 1:26, is no match for the sovereignty of God that He retained for Himself. There is no force on earth that can prevent the divine plan from being fulfilled. The devil does not win in the end, nor does God play the role of the sore loser.
The law of God is an expression of love emanating from His very Being. Hence, it is described as "fire" (Deut. 33:2), even as the baptism of fire is, to us, the saturation of His character and essence. There is no fire of God that can be separated from His love, for God will be God, and He must always be true to Himself.
While the "lake of fire" is indeed a place of divine judgment, it is where all men learn the character of God. Even believers today are in training by means of the baptism of fire. We are trained now in order to obtain a better and earlier resurrection. He is the Savior of all men, especially those who believe.
This "fire" is also the glory of God which came down upon Sinai and which will ultimately cover the whole earth (Num. 14:21). God will be glorified, and every creature in heaven and in earth will be found praising Him when the four beasts finally say "Amen."
I recently joined an online group called FaithWriters. They have a weekly challenge to write on a topic of their selection. This week was on gossip. You could write about it any way you wanted as long as it stayed on topic. Here is my entry.
Gossip, slander or just "keeping up-to-date", whatever you call it, it’s something all of us have to deal with. If you have gotten the victory over it, you will probably overhear others who haven’t. I have been on some prayer chains where there was more gossip than prayer being lifted up as if a final "pray over it" made everything all right.
Turn on daytime TV and the airwaves are full of it. There are shows totally based on gossip as people vicariously live the life of the rich and famous. Many people think it’s harmless unless someone actually gets hurt by it. If it’s just between friends and the other person won’t know about it, why not share what you know? The problem is that we don’t understand the power in the words we speak.
Our words, those little power packed bundles of energy that we so carelessly sow into our daily lives, have the potential to change everything around us. Consider that God, the ultimate Creator, who could have done it anyway He wanted to, simply spoke a few words that caused cataclysmic changes. When He said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night" (Genesis 1:14), whole galaxies suddenly appeared spinning on their spectacular paths. Such power is contained in a few simple words and we, created in His image, have been given the privilege of speech. Our words affect far more than we realize. Thank God that He has put us under tutors and governors (Galatians 4:2) so that the things we say are limited in their effect. The Bible tells us that the day will come when we will walk as His mature sons in the Earth. What kind of power will be released when we speak then?
There is a Japanese scientist by the name of Masaru Emoto who has conducted studies demonstrating the power of our words on the world around us. He found that speaking words over water before it was frozen would change the look of the crystals it formed. Positive words created beautiful crystals while negative ones resulted in chaos. Fascinated to see such results, he found that even taping a written word to it or praying over a vial of water effected what was inside.
Our bodies contain approximately 60% water. Considering that words affect water, it’s not hard to see that gossip affects us on an elemental level. When we gossip it affects the person we are talking about even if they don’t hear it. It also affects us because what we sow, we will reap. We can’t afford to indulge in gossip. It’s one of those childish things that will keep us from growing into a mature son of God.
Christian Writers – FaithWriters.com, the Ultimate Community for Christian Writers.
