God Works In Mysterious Ways!

"God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will." (Heb. 2:4, NIV).
"Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?" (Job 38:33, NLT).
"So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands" (Psalm 78:7, NLT).
"For you are great and perform wonderful deeds. You alone are God" (Psa. 86:10, NLT).
"Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me" (John 10:25, KJV).
"If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not" (John 10:37, KJV).

NOTE: IT IS SAID THAT WHEN THINGS GO BAD, BELIEVERS SAY, "GOD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS," AND WHEN THINGS GO GOOD, GOD IS BLESSING THEM. MAN GIVES HIMSELF GLORY FOR HIS SUCCESS BUT BLAMES GOD FOR HIS FAILURES (CF. PROV. 19:3).

"God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform," according to William Cowper's hymn (cf. Isa. 45:15, NLT). Even in the days of Job's trials, he says, "He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles." (9:10, NLT). Note he said "countless miracles." Was Job naive or did he actually witness miracles? Even in the days of Moses, the magicians recognized the "finger of God" at work. The people of the Bible cannot be portrayed as naive, credulous, ignorant, or superstitious. They knew when God was performing a miracle because they were observers of nature and recognized God at work. For instance, when the blind man was healed, they said no one had ever healed a man born blind!

If God's miracles were everyday events, we'd call them "regulars." All events are caused by God, the Causa Prima or primary mover of all creation--He is the so-called First Cause, and the existence of motion itself proves there is a God, because one has to wonder when did the first act of motion happen, since the law of inertia says that a body at rest tends to stay at rest---it doesn't happen by itself but must be set in motion!

Jesus didn't want to be known primarily as a miracle or wonder-worker but came to be our Savior. His miracles were but signs to illustrate a teaching point about His Deity or out of compassion, not for show or personal gain, prestige, or money. He never did a biggie miracle to convince the unwilling, nor miracles on-demand or special request. That's because miracles only produce the desire for more miracles and miracles don't produce faith, faith produces miracles! Proof of this is when Jesus said in John 12:37, NIV, that "Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him." Note they "would not" not "could not!" The psalmist Asaph said in Psalm 78:32, NIV, that: "In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe."

And so God causes everything (we are the secondary agents) and miracles are but unusual events caused by God. Have you ever wondered how an immaterial thing such as a thought can affect material things such as a muscle? What causes our motion? If you want to see a miracle, look in the mirror or behold a sunset! Scientists will tell you that miracles are against the laws of nature, but if there are laws, there must be a Lawmaker who can override His own law! By definition, God is not bound by His own laws of nature! Science then cannot forbid miracles, for God is not tangible, visible, or audible and you cannot repeat, measure, observe, or put Him in a test tube or have laboratory conditions to study--He's outside the province of scientific endeavor.        

Truly, O God of Israel, Our Savior, you work in mysterious ways" (Isaiah 45:15, NLT).

"Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? (Job 4:7, KJV--Eliphaz to Job).

God brings good times as well as bad times (cf. Isaiah 45:7, NLT). "I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things." (Isaiah 45:7, ESV). God "doesn't willingly grieve or afflict the children of men" (cf. Lam. 3:33, ESV). Job questioned God's justice after his suffering and God never explained Himself to him, but only humbled him by revealing Himself to bring him to repentance. Jesus was asked if a disaster that happened was because the victims were eviler than others, but Jesus admonished them to repent lest they likewise perish. Just because someone is suffering we are not to conclude that he is being punished by God.

Job was written to partly answer why the godly suffer, but there is no complete answer to this dilemma and we are left with the challenge to trust God for who He is and His providence working for the overall good in the end (cf. Rom. 8:28). They ask why does evil happen to good people? There are no good people! The question might as well be re-phrased, "Why does good happen to evil people?" Because Jesus said that only God is good! God is the source of all good (cf. James 1:17) and evil is just the perversion, waste, and shortchanging of good, or evil under the guise of good--humanism is merely goodness without God in the equation. Yes, one might well echo the words of the famed hymn by William Cowper: "God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform."

Job was told by Zophar in Job 11:7, ESV, "'Can you find out the deep thing of God?...'" As the Latin phrase goes: "finitum non capax Infinitum." This means the finite cannot grasp or contain the infinite! The KJV asks if we canst "by searching find out God." The answer is an emphatic "No." Caveat: God is too wise to make a mistake, too kind to be cruel, and too deep to explain Himself, a sage has observed. God doesn't owe us an explanation and isn't accountable to us; contrariwise, we owe Him an explanation and are accountable to Him! We must not be armchair quarterbacks and second-guess God! We must expect trouble in this life: "Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble" (Job 14:1, ESV). "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all" (Psalm 34:19, ESV).

We must be encouraged to continue in the faith and to bear our cross, which pales in comparison with Christ's passion, for "through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (cf. Acts 14:22, ESV). Remember that trials, tribulations, temptations, sufferings, tests, and adversities must inevitably come; however, Christ will be with us as we pass through the waters and the fire (cf. Isaiah 42:2). "[W]e rejoice in our sufferings," according to Romans 5:3, ESV. Remember, Christ didn't exempt Himself from any type of suffering but suffered in all similar manners and yet without sin (cf. Heb. 4:15). Christ isn't asking us to do anything He didn't do Himself!

We must not ever judge victims as being somewhat less worthy, holy, or righteous than us and believe they deserve what befalls them, as if they were suffering karma or the natural consequences of evil as Job's comforters assumed of him: "As I have seen, those who plow trouble and sow iniquity reap the same" (Job 4:8, ESV). They told him that no one innocent ever perished! Their presupposition was that the only reason trouble comes is because one is not right with God; God blesses the good and punishes the evil. Their calculus was an oversimplification, for they had not reckoned God's goodness into the equation and His profundity, that we cannot figure God out or put Him into a box.

One reason evil exists is that we see good in its contrast. God works evil into good and turns the wrath of man into His glory (cf. Psalm 76:10). Why does He work with evil? Because there's so much of it to work with! God can take the most diabolical events and turn them into good results, and we must not break faith in God that He knows best and what He is doing. Look at what Joseph said, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good" (cf. Gen. 50:20). Acts 2:23, ESV, says that Jesus was "delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God." Someday Jesus will answer all our questions and we will know even as we are known (cf. John 16:23, ESV, "In that day you will ask nothing of me...."). Soli Deo Gloria!

Is Consensus In Science Scientific?

 Science taught or believed dogmatically or by a democratic vote of approval is not science. Despite the fact that biologists have a consensus for evolution, this is not necessitate it’s being truth in itself—they could all be biased or deceived or jumping to the conclusion. They must always be ready for new discoveries that may shed more light on some theory or discovery. The door must be kept open for new light to be shed on a subject. Just because scientists agree on a so-called “fact” doesn't make it true epistemologically. Note: Science is limited to the observable, measurable, and testable.

Because there are limits and parameters to what science can know or study, for instance, it follows that metaphysical questions cannot be answered fully by the scientific method. Science deals in the physical universe. But when scientists harness science for unscientific reasons like making philosophical or religious decrees, it’s not science but “scientism.” That is to say when Carl Sagan said, “The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be,” he was making a philosophical statement, not a scientific one. One example of consensus that proved fallacious was the geocentric Ptolemaic solar system.

What Philosophical Argument For God Is Difficult To Refute?...

Like Aristotle reasoned, the “First Cause” (Causa Prima) or the unmoved mover. According to the law of motion from Newton, an object at rest tends to stay at rest…. Who caused the first motion and got the ball rolling? Who banged the Big Bang? Nothing happens by itself but every event must be caused. Nothing causes itself. If you heard an explosion outside, you’d wonder what caused it—it didn't just happen by itself.

There can be uncaused causes but not uncaused events. Self-existence is not only possible but rationally necessary—the necessary Being. God is that uncaused cause because He is eternal and therefore had no beginning. If there was no first cause, there would be no beginning, but we know there was a big bang. What existed before the singularity? What existed before that? ad Infinitum. If you say, “It was just there, that's no different than saying God was just there.

If you say that something existed before that to cause it, it was either caused or uncaused and you only compound the question and must admit there has to be a first cause or self-existent force, being, or thing that is eternal. Science doesn’t generally accept the fact that matter is eternal or the theory of an eternal universe. This is often called the cosmological argument for God and refers to the law of cause and effect. The so-called kalam cosmological argument states that everything that begins to exist has a cause, the universe began and therefore has a cause (most believably God); also, everything in the time-space continuum has a beginning.

“For every house is built by someone; but God is the builder of all things,”(cf. Heb. 3:4). That’s why the Bible begins: “In the beginning God….” We must begin with God in the equation to remain rational. We cannot assume everything had a beginning or was caused because then there would be nothing in existence for it’s impossible to cross infinity and infinite regress is impossible—you must begin somewhere with something or someone. A was caused by B caused by C … somewhere you run out of letters.

Do You Sin Against God?

 

1. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (cf. Romans 3:23).
2. “For there is no one who does not sin.” (cf. 1 Kings 8:46)
3. “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin,” (cf. Psalm 51:2).
4. “Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.”(cf. Eccl 7:20).
5. “Who can say, ‘I have kept my heart pure? I am clean and without sin.’” (cf. Prov, 20:9).
6. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (cf. 1 John 1:8).
7. “If we claim we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and the word is not in us,”(cf. 1 John 1:10).

Christians even sin but they are forgiven. God doesn’t call us sinners but saints. Gal. 2:17 calls us justified sinners. God doesn’t make us just but declares us so, but we are a work in progress as God continues to work in us (cf. Phi. 1:6).

I sin because I have an old sin nature inherited from Adam. We are all sinners by nature, by choice, and by birth, this is called being “in Adam.” We have inherited the sin virus from Adam. Thus everyone is in solidarity with Adam until they are saved and then possess power over sin and are not its slave it servant anymore. In sum, Christians are effectively dead to sin and liberated from its power (cf Romans 6:14) and God doesn’t hold our sins against us (cf. Psalm 32:2); we need not have any sin have dominion over us (cf. Psalm 119:133; Romans 6:14).

Why Isn't God A Myth Like Santa Claus?

 Santa Claus is a tale based on truth of a man named Saint Nicolas who actually lived. It is more of a legend that has developed progressively over time and is not immediately believed after the saint died. Jesus was immediately worshiped as God. Now, speaking of God, it’s better to speak of Jesus who claimed to be God. His story was written within two to three decades of His death with no time for legend to develop. There’s no comparison. This type of argument is a false equivalency. The apostles denied they were writing myth or fairy tale (cf. 2 Pet. 1:16). He was a historical person, not a myth with much secular corroboration.

It is written that His resurrection proves His deity (cf. Acts 17:31; Romans 1:4). Now, many people wanted Him to prove His claim, so He rose from the dead to prove it and this is arguably the most attested fact of antiquity “with many infallible proofs.” (cf Acts 1:3). Also, the fact the apostles died as martyrs and eyewitnesses is compelling evidence: people do not die for a known lie. Volumes could be written of all the circumstantial, historical. literary, legal, and testimonial evidence of this historical fact.

No one has ever successfully refuted the facts that support it like the fact of the empty tomb, over 500 eyewitnesses, the removed stone, the changing of the Sabbath, the growth of the church, the New Testament, the undisturbed graveclothes, the conversion of the apostles (especially of Paul), to the transformation of the Roman Empire from paganism and barbarianism. Christ is regarded as the central figure in Western history and civilization and not just its biggest revolutionist.

Also, just for the existence of God, there are philosophical and logical arguments and scientific evidence. One can not believe due to a lack of evidence.

If God Is Timeless, How Can He Operate In The Universe?

 God is always relative and timeless in that time is not of the essence as far as He is concerned. He is not the slave of time nor defined and confined to it as He created the time-space continuum that we are limited to and can not escape. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever and relative to all time and no time in particular. He related to us in time and has entered time for our sakes to speak to us and intervene in our affairs. Providence rules over all events, things, persons, and creatures—-creation with not even a maverick molecule or toss of the die outside His sovereignty.

Thus He orchestrates all history for His own plan and will. He beholds all time in one vision or concept without reference to any limit because He is eternal and had not begun in time but is outside time. It should be pointed out that God entered history in the person of His Son Jesus. He not only operates in the universe but controls and manipulates it to His will and purpose.

Why Do Some People Need Evidence To Believe In God?

 You should need evidence for anything you believe or you’re being gullible. Without evidence, faith is blind faith. God doesn't expect us to kiss our brains goodbye or to commit intellectual suicide or anything.

The Bible says there is sufficient evidence in nature and there is enough to make us without excuse and the fact is plain to us (cf. Romans 1:19–20). For example, Doctor Luke says that the resurrection had “many infallible proofs.” (cf. Acts 1:3). And Psalm 19:1 says that the heavens declare the glory of God.

But God will not accommodate intellectual arrogance and expects us to search for Him and to be willing to obey Him. Jesus promised that if we will be willing to do His will, then we shall know (cf. John 7:17).

What Is More Important To You, Faith Or Proof? ...

Note the facts that knowledge need not be 100 percent certain and all knowledge is contingent or based on faith are common philosophical truth claims. By definition, knowledge is justified, true belief. Proof need not be perfect but it must be convincing evidence or a reason to believe something not a mathematical type of proof and faith is simply trust in what you have a good reason to believe.

 I see this as a false dichotomy. You can have faith and proof and God doesn’t expect us to kiss our brains goodbye to commit intellectual suicide or to have blind faith (without evidence). If you put God to the test and demand your kind of proof before you believe, He will not accommodate you. God needs not to prove Himself to anyone and has given all the evidence necessary in the Bible. Note: evidence isn't always definitive, compelling, objective, or authoritative.

How do you define faith and proof? Faith can be seen as trusting in what you have good reason to believe and knowledge in action; what’s wrong with that? Everyone has faith in something; faith in science is still faith. You can have faith in yourself and your own reasoning. All knowledge is contingent and begins in faith with some presupposition that cannot be proved, even in math. Proof and evidence are often used interchangeably. Proof can be seen as just an argument or reason to believe: evidence. The apostle Luke said that there “were many infallible [or convincing] proofs” for the resurrection and he was a doctor and must have known something about proof.

There are many philosophical arguments for the existence of God, for example, but you cannot either prove or disprove God beyond a shadow of a doubt; there's no “smoking gun” evidence either way and both theists and atheists are persons of faith. No amount of evidence would make you believe without any possible doubt either way. There is never enough proof or evidence for someone who doesn't want to believe something, even in religious matters.

Note: there are different categories of evidence such as in law, science, philosophy, history, and literature. In science, something isn't held as true unless it is demonstrable and observable (repeatable and measurable); these types of evidence don’t hold water for metaphysical matters and go beyond the parameters of the scientific method. In a court of law, truth (it must be beyond a reasonable doubt, not all doubt), is by oral and written testimony and considered evidence. In history, for example, corroborating texts and artifacts are considered evidence. No one can not believe in God, for instance, due to the lack of evidence of seeing all the evidence in nature and God says no one has an excuse and that this is plain to see.

If God Is Perfect, Why Isn't Creation?

 He could’ve created a universe without sin, but then there could be no love and ultimately no free will or choice to obey or disobey God. Evil was once good and is a perversion, distortion, or parasite of good. When God did create everything, He did say, “It was very good.” But God couldn’t grant us free will or choice and then prevent us from using them to disobey or hate Him. Love and obedience must be voluntary and a choice. So God inevitably created the possibility of evil.

As far as the fact that everything cannot be perfect, that is hard to define since perfection involves immutability and eternity (it cannot improve or need improvement, nor change for the worse). Note that this world is only a staging area for eternity and heaven will be perfect, and no sinners will be there or it would no longer be perfect. This world is temporary and a test or trial for the next. Even hell will be perfect: perfect justice.

What’s more, nature is always in a state of flux! You never step into the same river twice! Only God cannot change and is immutable and unchangeable in nature or attributes. Jesus is the same, yesterday, today, and tomorrow! We will always be in need of improvement and always on a learning curve. God’s knowledge is perfect—past, present, future—all things logical and possible. We are confined and limited to the time-space continuum but God is immaterial and spirit.

Only God can be perfect and He could not create another God and creation by definition isn’t perfect because it was created and perfection implies being uncreated or eternal without beginning,. But there can only be one Supreme Being who is Almighty in the same reality or cosmos. The closest we see to perfection in this life is Jesus because He is the Son of God and without human flaw—-sinless,

Do You Have Potential To Become A Rock?

"The LORD lives and blessed be my Rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation,"(cf. Psalm 18:46). For starters, there is one Rock who is Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 10:4) but we can become rock-like like Peter.  Jesus saw potential in Simon and after his declaration of faith, renamed him Peter to be like a rock.  You've heard it said that no man is a rock or "no man is an island," (John Donne) but some people do have the steadiness of faith to encourage others and to be especially independent and able to be a light to others, to be a leader of men, a mover, and shaker.  Also, we must strive to be strong.   But that's the point;:  We all have unrealized potential and the ability to be a Daniel to stand alone or to be a David to be a man after God's own heart or to fight like he did or to be bold a prophet like Elijah. What we are in actuality or achievement and what we can become or have the potential for are not the same. 

God does give us opportunities but many of us squander them and waste the grace of God,  even frustrating it.  Peter was an ordinary fisherman who probably had no special ambition but Jesus saw something He could work with--a brazen even impetuous personality that God could use for His purposes.  What we are in actuality and what we can become potentially are two different things.  Some people just require extra grace and God is able to make grace abound even to the chief of sinners, Paul. Paul said that he would speak of nothing but what Christ accomplished through him (cf. Romans 15:18).  Remember we have nothing but what we have received by grace and what we do with it is our gift back to God. Even our righteousness is God's gift to us, not our gift to God.  

Peter was brave but he overestimated himself and underestimated the wiles of the devil to tempt or test his grit and faith. At one moment Jesus commended him, the next it seemed he was being rebuked!  But when it was showtime, Peter's love for the Lord endured and Jesus knew that if He reinstated him and forgave him for his denials, he would be all the stronger: "When you have been restored go and strengthen the others.  

We all must reach the faith of Peter ot be saved; i.e, knowing who Jesus is in reality and not believing in another Jesus. But we must not judge him, for when it counted, he showed faith and was faithful after realizing the truth.  We too can be guilty of putting our foot in our mouth and speaking first and thinking later Peter made all the mistakes we probably would've made: bragging or boasting, trying to impress, correcting the Lord, speaking blasphemy, being confronted for our testimony, and being ashamed or embarrassed, even denying our Lord; there but for the grace of God go us!  None of us are above these except for the grace of God.

In fact, grace is what sums up his life because it shows what God can do to a willing believer.  Peter actually came to the point to realize that Jesus was using him and didn't need him but that he should consider it an honor. Jesus went through the trouble to reinstate Peter three times because he had denied Him three times.  We are all too familiar with the flaws of Peter, but they are ours too.  It wasn't Jesus but Peter who had to be reassured of his love for the Lord and to verbalize it and confirm it with words. Jesus tested his faith after the resurrection by asking him to fish on the other side of the boat, contrary to his reasoning, but he obeyed simply because it was the Lord who told him to. This even hurt his pride as a professional fisherman, but he still obeyed. There is a direct correlation between love and obedience,  Peter had proven his love but needed reassurance. 

Before we judge Peter, we must realize he walked on water and was the first to realize the identity of Jesus as God's own  Son. It was for this declaration of faith that Jesus made him a leader in the church despite the fact that Paul rebuked him for playing politics with the Jews and the party of the Circumcision.  We should all see a bit of ourselves in his flaws.  

Peter's faith went through many phases: he had his shining moment of confessing Christ, his macho moment of boasting of his faith and drawing the sword, his puzzling moment of wondering about Christ's fate and outcome, his humbling moment of finding out he's not such a great fisherman, and his Spirit-filled moment of being reinstated and reassured of Christ's love. Indeed, Peter had the raw material of the makings of a spiritual leader and Jesus saw this potential and made him realize it in real-time with Him. 

Do you yourself realize you are capable of doing a lot more for the Lord than you can imagine? Few of us reach our full potential and are underachievers for God. We have all missed opportunities and failed tests of God but we must never lose our faith that we can become what we are meant to be to fulfill all God's will for our lives and be obedient to the heavenly calling and fulfill the ministry God assigned us. But some of us don't even know our spiritual gift, much less to be engaged in God's will for us. 

We must refrain from measuring ourselves with ourselves and comparing ourselves to others; to whom much is given, much is required.  Who wrote the "Let's Compare!" book?  We are to be rocks in our personal orbit and circle of influence, and not worry about the ministry of the next guy! 

The conclusion of the matter is that we have the potential to be rocks in our own right and to fulfill God's will and calling for us because God doesn't call us to success but to faithfulness--the success is up to Him to bless or not. He makes the fruit grow and have the increase. We must not have gift envy and wish we had Peter's potential, for we do but we may have different gifts but the same Spirit. We can only find out our gift by serving God in the best way we know how to, and look to see how God uses and blesses us.  We all can possess the faith of a William Carey: "Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God!"  Soli Deo Gloria!