Not By Might!

 "I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing," (cf. Isaiah 49:14). 

"Everything got its start in Him and everything finds its purpose in Him," (cf. Col. 1:16).

Too many Christians are doing the busy work of God's kingdom as it were and missing out on the spiritual aspect. Now, whatever we do, can be to the glory of God when it's done in His name (cf. Col. 3:17, 23; 1 Cor.. 10:31). Martin Luther said that dairymaids can milk cows to the glory of God.  Work had been considered a curse till the Reformation.  We must be convinced that we are engaged in doing God's will and fulfilling the ministry He has given us and the mission that we are called to do: Paul said that he desired to complete his mission with joy  (cf. Acts. 20:24). 

I like particularly what he said in Romans 15:18, "I venture not to speak of but what Christ has accomplished through me." We must realize that human do-goodery or do-goodism doesn't avail much in God's economy and will be counted as wood, hay, and stubble (cf. 1 Cor. 3:15).  We must work as the LORD works through us as His vessels of honor, being inhabited and controlled by His Spirit. All our fruits are from Him (cf. Hosea 14:8). All we have accomplished is from Him (cf. Isaiah 26:12).   We must not boast of our achievements but trust in God's accomplishment on our behalf.  As Martin Luther's hymn, Mighty Fortress, goes, "Did we in our strength confide, our striving would be losing." 

We ought to boast in our infirmities (cf. 1 Cor. 12:19).  Micah condemned Israel for accomplishing what amounted to nothing and then taking all the credit for it (cf. Amos 6:13): "You who rejoice in Lo-debar, who say, 'Have we not taken by our strength captured Karmaim for ourselves?'"   Zechariah warned us not to trust in the flesh in Zechariah 4:6, "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit...."   David wrote: "My soul makes its boast is in the LORD," (cf. Psalm 34:2).

Faith is dead without works and they authenticate and validate it but we are saved by faith alone, but only by the kind of faith that isn't alone.  True faith produces fruit, not the foliage. And we will be known by our fruits in the eyes of men. We are not saved by works, but not without them either!  God has ordained certain works for us to perform in His Spirit and time and we are called to be faithful in doing them.  (cf. Eph. 2:10).

A Christian is to be engaged in being "zealous of good works," as Titus 2:14 says, but not in the flesh. That only encourages self-righteousness and self-esteem, not true righteousness and God-esteem.  This means ultimately that God uses weak instruments to accomplish His will and to His glory and we should be like Paul who said he'd rather boast in his weakness that Christ may be glorified, for not many powerful, mighty, wise, nor famous are called, but God uses ordinary vessels.  When our work is done if we aren't taken before our time, God will call us home to be with Him in glory, as David was after he had completed all God's will (cf. Acts 13:36). May we all check out after proclaiming, "Mission accomplished!" 

In the final analysis, God bestows blessings as a gift to us; what we do with them is our gif to God; we must come to the awakening that our righteousness isn't our gift to God, but His gift to us  (cf. Isaiah 45:24); no man will be able to boast in God's presence (cf. Eph. 2:9).  Soli Deo Gloria! 

What Would Life Be Like If God Hadn't Created Man?

 “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (cf. John 1:4). If you’re saying we had evolved apart from being created, man would not be in the image of God obviously because things would be without God in the equation. But God is life and breathed in Adam the breath of life and he became a living soul as Genesis depicts. God created all 11 million known lifeforms on earth and He would be the same and His life also, even had He never created mankind. It seems like nature gets along quite well without us in the picture. Without God in the metric, we are but grown-up blue-green pond scum that deserves no respect!

This is what that bleak outlook looks like: no purpose or meaning in life, no hope of eternal life, no dignity or sanctity of life, and no fulfillment in life itself. We would be mere animals in heat, seeking pleasure and avoiding pain, driven by instinct. Instead o life being the deliberate act of God, it would be by chance, spontaneous generation, and evolution. We came from nothing, are here for no reason, or nothing, and going to nothing or nowhere; a brief episode between two oblivions.

But mankind was meant to bring glory to God (per Isaiah 43:7) and to be a lifeform in the image of God that He could have fellowship with, know, and love God. With no humans in the biblical sense on which to bestow His love, it would be a loveless world for God cannot express His love adequately through mere beasts. No lifeform would be moral or even spiritual to know right and wrong and to God Himself. Lifeforms would certainly not be intelligent for we are homo sapiens or wise humans. We alone are rational and have a volition that can go either for or against God.

No animal rebels against God and sins but acts according to instinct like self-preservation and procreation, satisfying its appetites. Animals are oblivious to God and do not build chapels! “Where is He who makes us wiser than the beasts?”

Does The Question "Does God Exist?" A Fair Question?

 Isn’t it about as nonsensical as asking, “Does justice exist without a Judge?” or “Do design and order exist without a Designer?” or “Do laws of nature exist without a Lawgiver?” or “Does love exist without a Lover?” or “Do human rights exist?” or eve does “Logic exist?” or finally, “Does intelligence itself exist?” In the final analysis, is there something in the cosmos besides matter and energy? In common terms, when eating at a restaurant, we don't ask if a chef exists. Humanly speaking, if you see a design, do you wonder if a Designer exists?

God entails all of these and they couldn't exist apart from a God of love, design, laws, justice, and even the Logos (God is the Word—expressed thought— or the Logos in John 1:1). Remember, cosmos without Logos is chaos There is a reason why the framer of the Declaration of Independence said that “these truths are self-evident.”

A person is free to disbelieve in God but that doesn't make Him not exist or go away. But he must realize that he has faith too, even if in science. God doesn't expect us to kiss our brains goodbye or commit intellectual suicide but we can only come to God on His terms and in sincere faith, not head first. “the world by wisdom knew not God.” Honest doubt is fair and God invites scrutiny and even says, “Taste and see that the LORD is good.” It turns out that the proof of the pudding in the eating!

I know that scientifically, you cannot prove God exists, but you cannot scientifically disprove Him either. It would be outside the parameters of science and a metaphysical, not a physical matter and endeavor. Would science even exist apart from the Lawgiver of the universe? The God of nature and nature’s God? As a result: A Christian, Sir Francis Bacon, formulated the scientific method believing in these propositions.

Does God Expect Blind Faith?

 Remember, a faith that isn’t difficult isn't worth much either; it must be tested to see if it’s genuine. faith is what pleases God, not our intellect or human wisdom. “The world by wisdom knew not God.” Blind faith (that which is without evidence or reason or even against one’s better reasoning) is never expected of the child of God. Faith can not be avoided in life: virtually all knowledge is contingent and begins in faith (even in the scientific method, for example, if you're a scientist but even this is still faith).

Christians don’t believe in faith but in Christ. It’s not a matter of faith versus reason but faith versus faith, depending on what presupposition you are willing to accept as the first base; thus we are all people of faith.

Faith is not believing despite the evidence but obeying in spite of the consequences. In the final analysis, it’s not how much you believe but how well you obey. It is simply putting trust in what one doe shave a good reason to believe. God made us rational creatures and expects us to use our brains and not commit intellectual suicide of kiss our brains goodbye.

But doubt is a good thing and not the opposite of faith but an element of it and we would doubt our doubts not doubt our faith. But doubt is not just a Christian or religious problem, it is a human problem It takes courage to express doubt. God wants to reason with us and even answer our questions and in that day we shall ask no more. It is not wrong to be critical in itself but not to accept faith when sufficient faith is available may be foolish.

God does say that there is sufficient evidence of Him in nature itself and no one has an excuse. But there is never enough evidence if you dont’ want to believe. God will not force faith. It's a choice, a matter to be decided with the will. Some people say that they would believe but their brains get in the way, but the Bible says it’s in the heart that man denies God. “The heart of the matter is that it’s a matter of the heart.” We are not supposed to be gullible but to check things out; Paul invited scrutiny himself to his gospel and we will find out that faith doesn't go against reason, but beyond it. “The heart has reasons the mind knows not!”

In conclusion, it has been said, “Only in the reality where faith is difficult is it possible,” thus, it is normal to struggle in your faith.   Soli Deo Gloria! 

The Model Of Gentleness

 Jesus was a true "tough guy"(evident when He cleansed the temple) who also was in touch with His feminine side.  How's that?  He welcomed children to His company and cared for them as His own, saying, "Suffer the children to come unto Me..." Most men cannot relate to children and need to become fathers first to learn caregiving.  Mothers are natural caregivers and very affectionate to children. 

A real tough guy respects his mother and this is a sign of how he treats his wife. Is he good with kids? Does he need affirmation of his dignity or can he swallow it and humble himself as a child himself? Wives are to be treated as being more sensitive and having emotions that men seem to restrain themselves from expressing. That may be why a man needs a woman to get in touch with his emotions.  He can be gentle too!

 A man of gentleness and this is the fruit of the Spirit,  respects women, who were not given respect by society in general until Christ came into the scene. A woman may be worshiped as beautiful but what she expects and needs is respect. A woman can be tough too, this is the mistake in men's thinking. She is a mother by instinct it seems while a man needs growth and experience to learn fathering.  Just giving birth doesn't make a woman a mother, but raising a child in the training and nurture of the Lord.  

What people need to realize is that a mother's love is unconditional like God's.  God doesn't ever cease to love us, as is the ebb and flow of human emotional love, A woman who gains dignity and respect is the highest honor.  A true mother isn't just a mother to her own, but this attribute or characteristic reaches out to others in need of motherly love and affection,  Soli Deo Gloria!