Wednesday, August 12, 2009

The Truth Project: Lesson 6

Lesson 6 – History: Whose Story?
Remembering…Isaiah 46:9-11. Israel would get in trouble, God would rescue them, and He would tell them to remember His great works. God is in control – He is sovereign over the affairs of men! God has a plan and He is carrying it out. Galatians 4:4-5

The Past: Events which have already happened
The Future: Events which have not yet happened
The Present: “the very thin, nanosecond line converting the future into the past”
What you believe in the present is determined by the past. Thus remembering is very important and history is extremely critical!
The story of “I, Rigoberta Menchu”: a very sad autobiography about life under Guatemalan gorillas which won the author a Nobel Peace prize. It was placed on many school’s reading lists. However, David Stoll discovered that many of the incidents in the story had not occurred. When questioned about this, another professor said it didn’t matter whether or not the book was true…it could be used to teach students about abuse of women. This is a very troubling idea – that something which did not actually happen could be taught as fact in order to make a point.
The Mayflower Compact – Version taught in schools leaves out the references to God which are in the original…thus it loses the whole reason they pilgrims came!

“If I can change your historical context, I can change your present beliefs.”
There have been lies about history since the serpent in the Garden of Eden!!! It didn’t take long for lies about the resurrection to spread! Matthew 28:11-15
Lies = historical revisionism (which is very prevalent today)
When you rewrite the past, you can make people believe whatever you want.
Guess which book comes under the greatest historical attack?? The Bible! People say it has been changed, that it isn’t accurate, etc. etc. In reality, the historical data for the Bible is overwhelming! Of all the ancient books, the Bible has the greatest amount of manuscript evidence. Compare the New Testament, for example, to the Iliad by Homer (which no one questions!). Plato wrote in 900 BC. The earliest manuscripts we have of his works were copied in 400 BC, 500 years later! Furthermore, we only have 643 manuscript copies! With the New Testament, however, the earliest copy was written only 25 years after the original, and we have around 24,000 manuscripts.
Why is it, then, that no one seriously questions the Iliad yet everyone questions the New Testament?
George Orwell – He who controls the past controls the future!!!

Israel’s Memorial Stones: Joshua 4:17 – But they didn’t do too well at remembering, so God would have to rescue them, then they would forget and sin again – Judges 2:16-17.
Why did they tassels, the Passover, etc.? To remind them of God’s work in their history.
The problem with us: forgetting what we should remember (God’s providence, etc.) and remembering what we should forget (sin which we have confessed and which as been forgiven).
Dairyample: Without History, life had no meaning.
Os Guinness: Where we have come from is a key to who we are – we have no identity without our past.
Deuteronomy 8:10-20 – God warned the people of Israel: be careful and remember, otherwise you will forget and become proud. That is exactly what happened! As a result, the Lord sent them a famine of hearing His word: Amos 8:11. That is a picture of a destroyed nation…one that is without God’s word. To avoid that, we must filter history the same as any other subject – by taking every thought captive: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.

A false picture of God by H.G. Wells: God is like a frantic director of a play who’s stage has just caught fire, running around and unable to do anything about it.
That is not true. Rather, God is sovereign!!! Acts 4:27-28
The problem is that I want to be the one in control…
So did Ahab in 1 Kings 22, but guess what happened? Ahab’s plan failed. God uses even “chance” to accomplish His will, sometimes despite our best efforts!

Antinomy and Paradox in Scripture
First – Last; Weak – Strong; Live – Die; Free Agents – God’s Sovereignty

Jean-Francois Lyotard: postmodernism = an incredulity towards metanarratives. (a Metanarrative is any large story giving an all-encompassing plan to history)
Gordon Pennington from Burning Media: Modernism placed Reason above Religion, while Postmodernism rejects both. In postmodernism, everyone tells their own story however they want to tell it.

Photo albums – filled with stories of our lives. God’s grand story is like a photo album of His work. Hebrews 11
Myopia is near-sightedness – everyone has natural myopia at times…we get so focused on our own story that we lose sight of God’s big picture. The Bible is God’s larger story. History is not about ME…we must be caught up into God’s larger story rather than stay focused on our little lives.

Monday, August 3, 2009

The Truth Project: Lesson 5

Lesson 5 – Science: What is True? [This lesson was in two parts - two hours instead of the typical one]
In this tour, it is important that you be objective and listen to the evidence.

Psalm 19:1-4 – The box (the universe, see lesson 2 about the cosmic cube) is noisy! There is a lot going on inside of it. God displays His glory through His work in the box.

Counting the stars – various attempts throughout the ages. In 2003, the star count was 70 sextillion: 70 with 21 zeros after it!

The Universe is NOT random and chaotic. God reveals Himself in Creation (Romans 1:18-20). We almost have to go out of our way to deny His existence. Only a fool says that there is no God – Psalm 53:1.

The Great Cosmological Question: Where did the cosmos come from???
Two possible answers:
It had a beginning – there was nothing, and then there was something
It has always existed – eternal cosmos, but it is eventually winding down
Without God in the picture (assuming number one), there was nothing nothing and then BOOM…there was everything. Sartre: Why is there something rather than nothing???
Evolutionists are men of faith too! They believe that something came from absolutely nothing!
Questions to consider –
Why is anything in motion rather than everything being still?
Why is there order instead of chaos?
Why is there life instead of deadness?
Why is there music?

If something came from nothing, there are two options:
God created – therefore He exists and is revealed through special and general revelation
The Cosmos created the world using eons of time – the impossible becomes possible, that something can come from absolutely nothing
Sagan: to find the truth we need imagination [that’s for sure!!] and skepticism

Science
The systematic study of “stuff in the box”àphilosophy and science are very closely linked. Philosophy deals with the universals, Science deals with the particulars. Now, however, science is trying to answer the big philosophical questions of where the world came from and where it is going.
Kepler said that the chief aim of science is to study the work of God’s hands.

Ed Myer – The Scientific Revolution was based on the idea that the universe is rationally designed!
True randomness means that there is nothing intelligible!!! Where does the information in the world around us come from?
Unlocking the Mystery of Life DVD: 20 kinds of amino acids, arranged like letters in words to form proteins which then form every part of our bodies. The code (or dictionary) for the amino acids is in the DNA…DNA is required to form the correct chain of amino acids. Such a code really could not come about merely by chance. Example: try dropping scrabble letters onto a table and coming up with two lines from Hamlet: “To be or not to be, that is the question.” It really isn’t possible!
Dr. Tackett – not just that, but you have to get the scrabble letters from somewhere!

Scientific method: HypothesisàTheoryàLaw
Hypothesis: collecting data and making an assumption of what typically happens
Theory: predicting what will happen
Law: a broad truth claim that applies to all of reality

William Paley: Natural Theology – if you find a pocket watch in the woods, you know that there was obviously a designer. Dawkins tried to refute such an idea in his book The Blind Watchmaker….

Really, the evidence of design is plain. People don’t drive by Mount Rushmore and praise the winds and the rain. Kids do not find arrowheads and get excited about how the creek shaped the rock. The same is true for the cosmos.

[Part 2]
The amazingly intricate process of blood clotting – a chain of reactions with many different chemicals, each of which must do its own part.

Sagan – Evolution has been verified by the fossil record and by molecular biology.
Is that true? What did Darwin say about it? How does the evidence of today’s science stack up?
Molecular Biology: Darwin said that “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.”
At the time that Darwin wrote that, scientists believed that the cell was basically just a blob. Now, however, they know that it is itself a complex organ. The nucleus of the cell contains the DNA, which is copied to provide the patterns to make amino acids, which are linked together and folded in specific ways to form proteins (see above), which then fulfill various tasks throughout the body. The cell is not a blob, it is a fully functioning factory! There is no way that the cell could have formed by slight modifications. One of the smallest objects in the world strikes a heavy blow against Darwin’s theory, by his own admission.
Evolutionists of today prefer spontaneous generation over special creation, even though the idea of spontaneous generation was shown to be false by Louis Pasteur in the 1800’s.
The bacterial flagellum also causes problems for evolutionists. It is essentially an outboard motor on a little tiny creature – it has several parts, all of which MUST be there at the same time for it to function. This is what some scientists call “irreducible complexity” – just like a mouse trap which requires many pieces to be in the right place at the right time.
The Fossil Record: Darwin admitted that the lack of fossilized transitional forms was a big hit to his theory. He had great faith, however, that these so called “missing links” would be discovered in the following years.
However, the missing links are still missing. We have no fossils which are (without a doubt) transitional forms. Dr. Berlinski explains what a large problem this is by estimating how many transitional forms would be needed to go from a land creature to a creature that always lives in the sea (50,000). He then goes on to point out that with this huge number of intermediate creatures, we ought to have some indication of that process. But we don’t. We have the two separate classes of creatures with no real indication of a progression from one to the other.
The evolutionists’ answer to this dilemma is the punctuated equilibrium theory – that evolution occurred in large sudden bursts triggered by asteroid impacts or volcanic eruptions. Thus, the transitional forms all died in a very short time frame…too short to give fossilization an opportunity to preserve the process. The problem is that this theory is supported by a LACK of evidence, contrary to the way science is typically done!

Icons of Evolution
Darwin’s Finches – True, the beak size increased during the droughts, but then when the rain came the beak size decreased again…that is not very good evidence for changes form one species to another!
Haeckel’s Embryos – At the very least, Haeckel took much artistic license and intentionally over emphasized the similarities…yet these drawings still occur in many textbooks!

Soren Lovtrup – Evolution will someday be seen as the greatest scientific deceit of all times.
It is not merely a scientific truth claim; it is a philosophical truth claim! It is a world view, not just a scientific theory. This is the true battle ground of today. The secular society prefers evolution over creation because once they accept creation they also admit that there is a Creator to whom they are accountable.
G. Richard Bozarth – without Genesis (specifically Adam and Eve), Christ’s death is useless.
Laying a foundation at a young age for belief in a world without God can cause serious problems later in life.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

The Truth Project: Lesson 4

Lesson 4 - Theology: Who is God?
God is infinite in width and breadth. Without God’s revelation, we couldn’t have a clue about Him.

Theology: The study of the existence, character, and attributes of God.
Colossians 2:2-3 – the true treasures from each world view tour are really about God, whether we are studying anthropology, veritology, etc.
Nothing that is true can contradict God’s character.
What the Westminster Confession says about God: “There is but one only, living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions; immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will, for His own glory; most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him; and withal, most just, and terrible in His judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty.” And that just barely scratches the surface!

R.C. Sproul: the bane of our age is the eclipse of God. Man ignores His existence by focusing on himself. This does not change the reality of God, just hides it. Our passion should be to remove the shadow eclipsing God.

Eternal Life: John 17:1-3 – A conversation that has been occurring forever.
KNOWING GOD affects our relationships, social order, personal communication, ETC. It is an intimate knowledge, like Adam knew Eve. We do not know God primarily by studying the Scripture, but by knowing Christ (John 5).

Spurgeon said that “the highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy” in which we can engage is the study of God. Paul: Philippians 3:8-10. God: Hosea 6:6, Jeremiah 9:23-24. You will never be able to know who you are until you gaze upon God’s face: Isaiah 6

Names of God
One which upsets many people: El Qanna – Deuteronomy 4:23-24 and Zechariah 8:2 – God is a Jealous God. His very name is Jealous – Exodus 34:14. Although many people find it offensive, God’s jealousy is a very good thing. His jealousy is a zeal against any sin that threatens His covenant relationships. It is therefore very unlike human jealousy (hating someone because they have something I want).

Theology is not to be a self centered quest, but rather a quest to know God which leads us to a greater understanding of ourselves.

God’s character and His Word are always under the greatest amount of attack by the world. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 R.C. Sproul says that 90% of the spiritual battle is directed against the existence of God and the trustworthiness of His Word. In the 1700’s, Voltaire claimed that there would be no Bible within 100 years of his death. 100 years later, his house was being used to store Bibles which were then spread throughout all of Europe!

[God is jealous for His glory. He will protect His word, and He will reveal Himself to those who have open hearts and minds.]

Monday, June 29, 2009

Perspective

I just published my first post on another blog I am part of! It is for the John Brown University summer reading program and is about "perspective" as pictured in the first book of Chaim Potok's The Chosen. Check it out if you want!
http://jbureads.blogspot.com/2009/06/perspective.html
P.S. we were asked not to do plot analysis...so if you haven't read the book it may not make a lot of sense. But it is an interesting book to read if you have the time :D

Monday, June 22, 2009

The Truth Project: Lesson Three

Lesson 3 - Anthropology: Who is Man?
What is Evil? The question should be referred back to the world because we have an answer and the world does not.
Man has a huge propensity for good, yet he does so much evil. He longs for relationships, yet he is so alone. WHY?
In the Cosmic Battle (Truth/reality vs. Lie/illusion), the most pernicious lie concerns Who Is Man? What is his essence, his moral state, and his need?

The states of man are like the modes of a watch (time/alarm/stopwatch/etc).
These are the modes of man:
1. Created – Innocent Genesis 1:27
The Fall (no way to get back)
2. Fallen – Sinful Romans 5:12, Genesis 6:5 Death--->2a. Hell Revelations 20:15, Hebrews 9:17
Fallen Man: Evil, Dead, Blind, Deaf, Lost
“You can’t slander Human nature – it is worse than words can paint it”---C.H. Spurgeon
Salvation
3. Redemption – Redeemed Revelations 5:9 Death--->3a. Glorified 1 Corinthians 15:42
Saved Man: Saints, Priests, Called Out, People of God

Sanctity of Human Life – even fallen man still bears God’s image, just as redeemed man still carries the sinful nature. Galations 5:16-17

There has been a deep rooted atheism in Human Psychology ever since the fall.---R.C. Sproul
The Cosmic Battle does not absolve us from responsibility for our actions [ie. we can not excuse our actions by saying that ‘the devil made me’ or ‘it isn’t my fault, I have a sin nature!’ etc.]

Man’s Essence: made in God’s image, dualistic (having flesh and a spirit).
Man’s Morality: Fallen
Man’s Need: Redemption

According to Humanism’s viewpoint, the non-reality of the supernatural means that man does not have a spirit. Humanism leads to absolutely NO differentiation between animals and humans: “a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy.” This degrades man rather than promoting him. It also leads to the radical environmentalism that we see today.

The culture also says that man is not evil, despite all the evil things that he does. Therefore, since we are not evil, we should encourage our nature because that will make us happy – we should do whatever we want to do. (According to Abraham Maslow) NO!!! Colossians 3:5-10
Culture says that man must reach a point of self-actualization, while Christianity says that man is evil.

The Christian view of Man VS. The Cultural view of Man.
Created in God’s image – Goo to Man through Evolution
Created perfect, now fallen – basically good, just get in touch with himself
Needs grace – needs to be oriented around and focused on himself

Rousseau: Man is natureally good, as long as nothing foreign to him corrupts him.
He believed that Christianity was just such a foreign corruption.
Carl Rogers: Man isn’t evil, the culture makes him evil [And just where did the culture come from????]
Ask a humanist: Why does evil bother you? You look around the world, and you badger us for an explanation of evil, but why does evil bug you? Isn’t it a part of Natural Selection? Isn’t it men getting in touch with their inner selves?

Monday, June 15, 2009

Where to go to Church.....

I am researching churches for next fall while I am at college...here is a short part of the beliefs of one church I found......
"We say that God was uniquely present in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. One word we use to describe this belief is that God was 'incarnate' in Jesus, that is, God’s own self was present in Jesus’ very body. Following his death, his disciples found that Christ still lived in their midst. Thus, they found themselves connected to God as they discovered themselves to be part of Christ’s resurrected body. And that is still the case today. We [name of group] say that we human beings are united to God through Christ."
On the surface (if one isn't thinking very much) it sounds okay....but when I start thinking about what they are REALLY saying (and what they DON'T say), it give me the creeps!

I don't think I'll go there..........................

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

The Truth Project: Lesson Two

Lesson 2 – Philosophy and Ethics: Says Who?
We can be taken captive!!! Colossians 2:8
Assumptions are the most dangerous form of knowledge because we tend to buy concepts without examining their fundamental assumptions.

The Cosmic Cube: a philosophy trying to take over the world. Pushed by Carl Sagan and others secular humanists/naturalists.
It claims that the universe is all there is, ever was, or ever will be. It begins with the assumption that God is NOT. When one accepts this philosophy, the cosmos is all one has to use in attempting to answer life’s questions, and it is woefully inadequate.
Implications: There is NOTHING outside the box (the visible universe). No God, no matter, no energy, NOTHING.
The Biblical View: God DOES exist, He created the box (the universe), and He works inside the box. This view is built on the fundamental presupposition that God IS and has revealed Himself in Creation and in the Bible.
---Do we really live that way?? Do we really LIVE OUT our belief that God IS and relates to us?? If we were to truly live that out 24/7, our lives would be dramatically different.

Philosophy: love of wisdom, a scientific quest to discover ultimate reality – Reality = TRUTH!!!! So philosophy is pretty important!
Webster’s 1828 dictionary: “true religion and true philosophy must ultimately arrive at the same principle;” philosophy’s goal is “to enlarge our understanding of God.”
As time went on, Philosophy switched to searching for the Universals…the big stuff. When you understand the universals, the particulars tend to fall into place. In ancient Greek there was a battle between emphasizing the universals and emphasizing the particulars. This philosophical dilemma is pictured in Raphael’s painting The School of Athens. [I won’t post it here, but here is a picture of friends posing as a representation of it :D] Plato, on the left, is arguing for the Universals; Aristotle, on the right, is arguing for the Particulars. Man has tried for centuries to start with the particulars and get back up to the universals, but it never works. Until you understand the universals, you really can not get the particulars. God is the only source for accurately understanding those universals.

Postmodernism claims that there is no truth – but no one can really live like that.
You can’t really live in an unreal world…there is always a point at which such a person will be inconsistent.

How do you answer what is right and what is wrong if you are only in the box and all that you have to look at is in the box?? In such a situation, MIGHT is what make right: whoever can most forcefully convince others of their view will win. This also leads to ethics determined by 51% percent of a pure democracy. This type of system leads only to oppression and crushed people.
In reality, ethics are based, not on fallible men, but on the infallible God. For example, lying is wrong because it is counter to God’s character, not for any other reason. The Ten Commandments can thus never change, because God does not change.

When people believe in evolution, these are the implications that they knowingly or unknowingly espouse (according to Dr. William Provine [who can also be seen in Expelled]): NO God/god, NO ultimate foundation for ethics, NO life after death, NO free will, NO meaning for life. Watch out what you swallow with your science classes!!!!!!

The difference between morality and ethics: so often we use them interchangeably, but they really are separate things.
Morality looks at what IS.
Ethics looks at what OUGHT to be.
Ethics therefore must be the foundation, not morality.

One of the major problems in our country is a failure to see Christianity as a system that governs EVERY area of our lives.
If you buy the world’s lies, you will end up conforming to the world.
Life changes when the mind changes.
We must be transformed by God’s Spirit. The Greek word translated ‘transformed’ in 2 Corinthians 3:18 is the same word as in Romans 12:2 and it is also the same word describing Christ’s transfiguration (Matthew 17, Mark 9, or Luke 9). It is the word metamorphoo. Think about that next time you talk about becoming like Christ…it is to be like the metamorphosis of a butterfly, completely and entirely changing your whole being.

If we don’t believe God’s truth claims and act on them, the truth will not survive until the next generation. It will die, because that is exactly what the world, the flesh and the devil want. [That’s what he said, but I think that God Himself also has a lot to do with the preservation of the truth….He does, however, use people who are willing to be radically different than the world around them.]

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

The Truth Project: Introduction and Lesson One

This summer my church’s young adults group is going through “The Truth Project,” a world view tour video series put out by Focus on the Family, featuring Dr. Del Tackett. It is VERY well done and every week I find it enlightening and convicting. In an effort to not just walk away and forget about it, I am going to put a summary/outline of the lessons here. Last night we watched the third lesson, so I have a little catching up to do! Here is Lesson 1:

Lesson 1 – Veritology: What is Truth?
What happens when we look on God (Isaiah 6)?
It exposes us (6:5a)
It exposes our culture (6:5b)
It turns us into a messenger (6:8-10)
This series is a systematic World View tour. Its goal is to lay a foundation, then to provide hooks and shelves for organizing information. The main point is to gaze upon the face of God in order to be fundamentally changed. We are interested in personal transformation, not completion of the material.

[Dr. Tackett teaches by asking his live-audience students important questions and then expanding on the correct answer]

Why did Jesus come into the world (John 18:33-38)?
To testify to the truth: Jesus is on the witness stand at the trial for the truth.

How does man react to the truth (2 Timothy 4:3-4)?
The Cosmic Battle: two sides, the side of truth and the side of fables.
Our culture doesn’t like the idea of “sides” because it is so “tolerant,” but there are most definitely sides. The Spirit of Truth VS. the spirit of falsehood.

Salvation is closely linked to the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14), so truth is pretty important!!!
The devil’s lies are not really that cleaver, but because of our sinful nature and propensity to believe him, we think that they are.
2 Timothy 2:26 – Unregenerate man is captive to the devil’s will. This tells us how to deal with those on the other side of the Cosmic Battle: they are prisoners of war taken by the enemy that must be treated (by us) with love and care, not with arrogance.

The Antitheses between God and the devil: for every Biblical concept, the devil has an opposite idea:
God says v.s. Devil says:
Unity v.s. Division (as between man and wife)
Diversity v.s. Unification (as with homosexuality)
Roles v.s. Jealousy
Responsibility v.s. Blame
Authority v.s. Rebellion
Delegation v.s. Tyranny

“Postmodernism” really isn’t anything new. It is just the same old lies repackaged for a new generation.

What is truth? This is the most important truth for us and for our culture. Truth is:
That which propositionally affirms the reality of nature – Ravi Zacharias
Not just about philosophy…Fundamentally, truth is about who God is – Os Guinness
God’s perfect perception of reality…God is the fountainhead of truth – R.C. Sproul
Conformity to fact or reality….reliance on Scripture – Webster’s 1828 Dictionary

Isaiah 44:14-20 – an idol is any lie which we believe, and any idol is a lie.

What is insanity? Loss of the proper contact with reality – believing that the lie is real and acting upon that false reality.

The ultimate source of truth is God Himself (Colossians 2:2-4)

Culture’s reference to “people of faith” – faith in WHAT? Our faith is not faith in faith or hope in hope. We are to have faith like a child, but what does that mean? It means that their trust in their mother or father overcomes their feelings and inclinations. They don’t want to jump off that diving board into that deep water; but the faith that their daddy will catch them is what conquers their fear.

Dr. Tackett’s convicting question: Do your really believe that what you believe is really real? If we really truly believed in what we say we believe, we would change the world. As it is, we go along with the culture and end up actively disbelieving (by our actions) what we passively believe [the Bible] (by our words).

Discussion Questions (from Focus on the Family):
How does one's concept of truth affect or determine one's concept of faith?
What is the key point of distinction between the biblical concept of truth and popular cultural ideas about truth?
How does our understanding of the Cosmic Battle affect the way we relate to non-believers?
How can we know what we really believe?

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Who's doing it?

This morning I read 1 Thessalonians 5. A few years ago I had memorized this book for Bible Quizzing, but to my discredit I have not retained it very well. So I wanted to go back and re-read it. The last few verses are such a good reminder:
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely;
and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
This comes right after a list of very good instructions:
16 Rejoice always,
17 pray without ceasing,
18 in everything give thanks;
for this is the will of God
in Christ Jesus for you.
19 Do not quench the Spirit.
20 Do not despise prophecies.
21 Test all things;
hold fast what is good.
22 Abstain from every form of evil.
But verse 23 should always remind us that GOD is the one who sanctifies us, not following a set of rules, and verse 24 reminds us that He will get it done. In other words, it is not up to us to follow a lot of rules in order to make ourselves perfect. God is working in our lives through whatever happens. He will accomplish His plan. Our task is to submit to His working in our lives and to truly live out what we say we believe.
Please pray for me, that I would live out what I have written here this morning. That I would submit to my Father’s training of me and that I would rely on His Spirit, not on my own strength.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

God and Change

This morning in church the worship and teaching hours ended up tying nicely into each other. In the teaching hour, Mr. Deffinbaugh talked about change. His passage was Hebrews 13:7-9. He made the point that God never changes, and that He is not bound by geographical or chronological boundaries. (In my opinion that means God can still work miracles!!!) He then tied that in with the change that has been and will be occurring in the United States. GOD IS STILL THE SAME AND HE IS STILL ON HIS THRONE!!!!!! Which led to the point from the worship service: God can (and does!!!) use evil things and sinners (which all of us are!) to carry out His righteous and perfect purposes. Some examples included Joseph in Genesis 50, the sufferings of Paul and Silas in Philippi (Acts 16) and others. In other words, no matter what happens in our lives, we as Christians can rest assured that God is still in charge and that He will work all things, no matter how bad they seem, for His purposes. Does that mean, however, that we should just kick back and never try to counteract the evils in our world? No, I don’t think so, because YOU may be the tool that God intends to use to turn the devil’s plans upside down!

I just found that encouraging this morning, so I thought I would share it with you all. This is not a very organized post, but I wanted to get it out there. Sorry for a lack of posting…this school year and especially this semester have been VERY busy. Thankfully I will be done (with one step in my life at least) in a couple of weeks. Hopefully there will be more posts over the summer.