About Me

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I am a born-again Christian, who is Reformed, but also charismatic, spiritually speaking. (I do not speak in tongues, but I believe glossalalia is a bona fide gift not given to all, and not as great as prophecy, for example.) I have several years of college education but only completed a two-year degree. I was raised Lutheran and confirmed, but I didn't "find Christ" until I was in the Army and responded to a Billy Graham crusade in 1973. I was mentored or discipled by the Navigators in the army and upon discharge joined several evangelical, Bible-teaching churches. I was baptized as an infant, but believe in believer baptism, of which I was a partaker after my conversion experience. I believe in the "5 Onlys" of the reformation: sola fide (faith alone); sola Scriptura (Scripture alone); soli Christo (Christ alone), sola gratia (grace alone), and soli Deo gloria (to God alone be the glory). I affirm TULIP as defended in the Reformation.. I affirm most of The Westminster Confession of Faith, especially pertaining to Providence.

Thursday, June 17, 2021

Science And Faith Have No Final Conflict...

 God has given everyone a basic awareness of HImself and consciousness of eternity but some suppress the truth and go against the conscience which is a God-given moral compass and God says no one has an excuse to deny Him But just believing in God makes you no better than the devil who also believes. But faith in God is a gift and are to be stewards of it and use it to God’s glory by good works producing fruit that we are known by. However, God must open the door of faith and open the heart to bring one to faith as it’s a gift

However, it’s not wrong to believe in science because most of the early scientists who brought about the scientific revolution were believers. Sir Francis Bacon was a believer that invented the scientific method. But the fault comes mainly in biology when they propagate that we evolved from apes and this is the point of contention because it directly contradicts the Bible. One can be a good Christian and a scientist and a good scientist and a Christian. if you think they cannot be reconciled, you understand neither

However, it is a fact that some 80 percent of people believe in God so don't ‘say that most people believe in science. Only pure Secularists and postmodernists mainly don’t. The question is almost a false dichotomy because you can believe in both science and God and many great scientists do and have no problem with their faith. In my opinion, science has helped to prove God; namely, by the Big Bang.

The only reason I would say that some believe more in science than God is that they are ignorant of God and dont’ realize there’s no final conflict. The Bible states scores of scientific facts that were ahead of their time and only discovered even centuries later by science. Note: The Bible doesn’t say the earth was created 6000 years ago! The cosmos was created “in the beginning,” and we believe that was 13.7 billion years ago.

The fool twists the facts to fit his theory. Science only deals with the physical and not the metaphysical like God, which is a philosophical truth, not a scientific one. Reality is what corresponds to truth, and there are philosophical and scientific truths. To believe that science is the only reliable way to truth is not science but “scientism” making it claim philosophical truth claims that are out of the parameters of science.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Sunday, June 13, 2021

Are You God's Friend?

 We have heard it said in the Bible that Abraham was the friend of God. He obeyed God and it was counted as righteousness.  Jesus also said that He would call us friends if we do as He commanded us. We are exhorted to love one another even as He loved us. Love is the greatest of laws and can never be satisfied.  It's an eternal debt of gratitude to God for His ultimate and supreme sacrifice on the cross. He gave His all and wants us to be willing to take up our crosses and follow Him. Now, my point is that God may be our friend but we may not live or love as His friend, but as enemies and even practical atheists who can live like there is no God and let one's faith have little effect on one's ethic and way of life.  

In reality, we can be servants at the same time as friends because we must not put God in a box and say something like, "I like to just see Jesus as my friend," when He is Lord and Judge! God would never treat us as His enemies no matter what we do, but if we go astray, He will discipline and chastise His wayward children but only in love,  Note that only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes. These two go hand in hand and cannot be divorced.  In other words, there can be no disobedient believers by definition.  

Now when two instruments are tuned to the same pitch they are in tune with each other and can make music in perfect harmony. It' the same with friendship: If two believers are obedient and walking in the Spirit, they should be in harmony or fellowship with each other. or as they say on the same page. This is why no one can claim to love God and not his neighbor and anyone can love his friend, family, or lover, but we to love our enemies. Note that Jeus defined the greatest possible love as laying down your life for them. And this is what Jesus did for us while we were yet His enemies.  The important thing is that we abide in Christ's love and manifest it to the world as ambassadors of it. Soli Deo Gloria! 

Monday, June 7, 2021

The Heart Of Worship

 "Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name: worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness"  (Psalm 29:2, NIV).

"Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, LORD," (cf. Psalm 89:15, NIV). 
"But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of thy Israel" (Psalm 22:3, KJV).

God desires those who worship to do so in spirit and in truth (cf. John 4:24), and this implicates our whole being and that we do it in the right spirit, or filled with the Spirit, and in truth or not hypocritical, phony, or mere lip service--but also consistent with sound doctrine--God is the God of Truth!   We are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and this means everything that we are--our whole being!  It doesn't mean you be something you're not, but to be what God made you and do what you were designed to do. 

There's no "one-size-fits-all" way to worship:  some are traditionalists, seeking liturgy and ritual; some are musical; some caregiving; some activists; some contemplative; and some are even intellectual.  We are not all hard-wired the same, but we are all meant, designed, and made for worship.  Dostoevsky said, "Man cannot live without worshiping something."  That is, if we don't worship God, we will worship something; i.e., we will worship!  We've been called Homo religiosus, or the religious man or being.  We all have a spark of the divine in us and have been called Homo divinus (penned by John Stott) to point that out.

Worship (meaning worth-ship or ascribing worth that's due) isn't always corporate or in the church assembly--though this is highly rewarding and encouraging.  We offer ourselves to God or consecrate ourselves in surrender.  The believer must learn to live his life as a sacrifice to God and as a service to Him in offering himself.  God doesn't want our achievements--He wants us!   We don't want to just go through the motions, or get into a rut, but seek meaning and purpose in our worship.  We don't just go to church to worship--we go to work!  For example, A man laying bricks was asked what he was doing and he responded that he was building a chapel!  The condition of our soul and spirit is what is our aim, not just where we are. 

We are to keep the channel open and the link connected to God as we continually practice the presence of God in our daily chores and activities. Martin Luther proclaimed manual labor as dignified and to the glory of God.   All that we do is to be to God's glory (cf. 1 Cor. 10:31).  Living our lives in God's will is our sacrifice to Him, and this is our yoke, not the Law, as in the old covenant--this is real spirituality.  God wants our obedience in life and this is more important than being religious or having religiosity:  "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams" (cf. 1 Sam. 15:22).

The reason we meet together for corporate worship though is that we all have different gifts and need mutual edification.  Like it says in 1 Cor. 14:26 (NIV) that when we meet together "everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation." The gifts are given for the benefit of the body as a whole, not just for our personal growth.  The point of corporate worship is that the singing of hymns and spiritual songs is not the only form of worship:  We worship in giving of our monetary blessings; we worship in the Lord's Supper as a memorial to Him that contemplate; we worship by heeding the preaching of the Word, and we worship by our fellowship with our brethren. 

By way of analogy, our entire lives are to be an act of giving or of worship and thanksgiving as we render to God His due and live according to His will and walk with Him in the Spirit.  Worship is sacrifice among other criteria:  There are two sacrifices that the Bible stresses, besides the ones given in the Mosaic Law:  The sacrifice of praise (cf. Heb. 13:15); and the sacrifice of thanksgiving (cf. Ps. 50:23).

In summation, Psalm 100:1, 3, 4 (KJV, boldface mine)  portrays the right mental attitude or formula for opening the door to the throne room of God into His dimension for spiritual worship as follows:  "MAKE a joyful noise ...  Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with thanksgiving, know ye that the LORD he is God ... Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful  unto him and bless his name." [Note that we worship in making noise (i.e., audible attention-getting devices), serving (missions, ministry), coming (approaching in prayer--corporate and private, and fellowship--corporate and one-on-one) to Him, offering praise, being thankful (in everything), and in giving blessings (to God and others).]   Soli Deo Gloria!

Authentic Worship

 "... [Shout] unto God with the voice of triumph" (Psalm 47:1, KJV).

"I WAS glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD" (Psalm 122:1, KJV).
"Blessed is the people who know the joyful sound..." (Psalm 89:15, KJV).
"Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with song of praise" (Psalm 95:2, ESV).
"Blessed are the people who know the festal shout [call to worship]" (Psalm 89:15, ESV).
The heart of the matter of worship is that it's a matter of the heart; it reflects the condition of your heart and the extent of its surrender and offering to God, not how much of the Spirit you have, but how much of you the Spirit has. When someone says that he didn't get much out of worship, it only reveals his ignorance of its purpose--to glorify, extol, and lift up the Lord--that your motives are wrong and your worship for the wrong reason. The reason we worship is that we are designed for it and it is only natural--we are called homo divinus, or homo religiosus, meaning we are fulfilled and meant for worship as religious beings--much more, we will worship someone or something, if not God for we are hard-wired for it; however, God is the only one worthy of our worship. "Worthy are you ... to receive glory..." (Rev. 4:11, ESV). That’s because worship is from the contraction worth-ship.

Worship is about having an encounter with the God who is there; in fact, Christianity is not about believing in God, but the God who is in there. Francis Schaeffer says, "He is there, and He is not silent." Indeed, God melts us, molds, fills us and then uses us in worship as we recharge our spiritual batteries and get our checkup in the corporate worship experience of the local body of believers that we congregate and assemble with regularly. There is no one-size-fits-all for worship and that's probably why there are so many worship experiences; some are demonstrative, some stoical, but God sees the heart, while man looks on the outward appearance (cf. 1 Sam. 16:7; 1 Chron. 28:9) or “Your name is on their lips, but you are far from their hearts,” (cf. Jer. 12:2, NLT). Posture and gestures can be important, but mere lip service is vain and fruitless. We don't want to be like Israel: "... 'Is the LORD among us or not?'" (Ex. 17:7, ESV).

Worship is what church is all about, even in our giving we are doing it. And going to church should not be considered something on our to-do list or something we do perfunctorily, but something we gladly and willing do; you could say we "get to" worship God, not that we have to. Some say that they can worship God in the cornfield, so why attend church? Worship is more than music (Jubal invented in in Gen. 4), and some think they only go to church to hear a sermon, but we must realize that there is a purpose for each part of the service in our worship experience. They haven't discovered the power of corporate worship and that whenever two or three are gathered together in His name, Jesus promises to be present. Hebrews 10:25 exhorts us not to forsake the assembling together of ourselves--this is a command--God gives no advice, suggestions, or hints except in 1 Cor. 14:26 describing the gathering of believers.

Worship is important to us because we learn to connect with God and it changes us, not God--God invites us to join Him in His joy and gladness (cf. Neh. 8:10). The call to worship is to focus on who God is and what He has done as we thank Him for His actions, and praise Him for His being. We have the right attitude when we are in awe and humble ourselves before Him in Spirit and in truth. Remember, worship is about God, it's not about you! We learn to seek the presence of the Lord and His face and to be used by God in our surrender to bring Him joy, focusing on His presence on face.

We need to be reminded of the Spirit on a regular basis to keep in touch and not lose track of our fellowship--it's easy to drift off and backslide without regular fellowship and corporate worship--none of us is a rock or an island that needs nobody else--we all need each other for expression and mutual ministry Remember, worship is active and not passive, not something we listen to, but take part in and put all that we are able into it. Some have a form of godliness in so-called will worship, but deny the power thereof (cf. 2 Tim. 3:5).

Church, then is not a place for the goody-goodies to gather or those who think that it's a crutch for weak people or losers--indeed, no perfect people need apply, as God calls not the righteous, but sinners to repentance and church should be viewed as a hospital for sinners, not a hotel for saints. They say that it's filled with hypocrites too, but we should tell them to join in because they'd feel right at home! We don't abandon church or Christ as believers, but we can drift away slowly and should know the warning signs, like our worship becoming routine and perfunctory and hypocritical. The church is our lifeblood and the means of our renewal because the body needs each member and we are all in it together to glorify God and fulfill the Great Commission. The church is not meant to be a comfortable place for sinners to feel at home, but where the gospel is preached and people are enjoined to come to a decision, and making no decision is making a "No!" decision.

We must realize that "God inhabits the praises of His people" (cf. Psalm 22:3) and that we enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with joy (cf. Psalm 100:3) and that we should bless Him with all that is within us--all our being (cf. Psalm 103:1)--and be ourselves, not hypocritical. God thrives on worship and "The Lord takes pleasure in His people" (cf. Psalm 149:4a, CEV). We must worship God "in Spirit and in truth" (cf. John 4:24). The essence of worship is bringing joy and pleasure to God, and whenever we feel this joy in the Spirit, no matter what our endeavor--even working--it is worship and brings glory to God. "... [W]hatever you do, do to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31, ESV). When God smiles on you, or you feel His pleasure, you're worshiping.

You can go to church to worship God or you can go to the factory to worship Him, for authentic worship is the offering of ourselves (as a living sacrifice (cf. Rom. 12:1.) The way we are in our daily lives is worship or sacrifice--we live and breathe worship! We must see the whole world as His temple and fertile territory for worship. Wherever we sense awe, love, respect, and fear we have the right attitude to come before His presence in thanksgiving for what He's done and praise for who He is, and put ourselves in the frame of mind to worship. Our life is an offering to God as we present ourselves to Him in devotion and live to His glory as vessels of honor! Let all that is within us praise the Lord!

Just like prayer, worship should change us, not God, and one should say that they realize we have been in the presence of God or have been with the Lord, as your "cup overflows." Finally, we must realize our need for worship and that it is a litmus test of our spiritual growth and condition, and we cannot thrive or grow without it having its rightful place.

Surely the fear of the LORD is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!’” (cf. Gen. 28:16). Or worst-case scenario: As Abraham said, “Surely the fear of the LORD is not in this place.” (cf. Gen. 20:11). Worship is the serious business of God and heaven. Soli Deo Gloria!

Do You Struggle With God?

 We must be honest in our relationship with God and admit everything isn't a perpetual spiritual high or some Cloud Nine!  Our walk of faith is not Polyanna!  We all struggle with our faith if it is genuine because it must be tested for its genuine grit.  It's okay to tell God like it is and be honest about your issues, problems, and trials.  The patriarch Job threw a fit with God and found out that it was his way of venting with God and his personal lament was finally recognized and God heard him. the struggle with faith is faith!  Doubt in faith is not just a Christian issue but a  human one. If faith were not difficult and it was easy, it wouldn't have much value (therefore it must be tested), and the only reality where faith isn't easy, can it really exist.   God has placed us all in the same boat where only faith pleases Him and we all have the ability to exercise some degree of faith.   We must take a leap of faith, not into the unknown, but into the light!  

We must learn to take our problems directly to the top and seek God's face in our deepest and lowest funks and when we are in the pits and have the doldrums. We have this privilege because Christ has promised He will hear any petition in His name.  We are not the only believers to ever suffer depression; if you read Psalm 42-43, 147,  and you will see how discouraged the psalmist got at times, yet he never gave up on God. God wants us to learn to turn to Him in our troubles; we will either become bitter or better by the process!  We cannot learn to trust God in the good times; in fact, these are the times we are likely to forget God. 

Did you know that honesty with God and not hiding our true feelings is a form of worship!  If we come to God on false pretenses or with some coverup, that is hypocrisy. Do you even think you have a case against God like Job did, well tell it to Him but don't turn to men for your answers; take it directly to the LORD in prayer. It is not a sin to be depressed but this is a matter of our disposition and can be because of circumstances that can befall anyone.  Don't be like Asa who sought not the LORD in his illness but the aid of the physicians! (2 Chron. 16:12).  We will find out that God is still with us in our time of trouble and that He is our Deliverer. We will then realize that the answer to our problems is not some philosophy or ethic but a Person.  Jesus is the Answerer! 

In the end, we will have a stronger tried, true, and proved faith that can face any problem because we've learned to go directly to God first and not as a last resort.  "If you do not stand firm in your faith you will not stand firm at all," (cf. Isaiah 7:9).  Soli Deo Gloria! 



Thursday, June 3, 2021

Do All Christians Worship The Same God Despite Division?

 They don’t just claim to worship the same God, but do! All Christians believe in the creeds of the church written by the church fathers, such as the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, Athanasian Creed, and the Chalcedonian Creed. What makes a sect or faith Christian is whether they believe in the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, all coequal, coeternal, and co-existent. It is the sects that deny equal status to Jesus as God the Father and make Him less than full deity.

There are only minor differences of opinion (people are human and can interpret certain passages of the Bible in a different light) and on areas that are only minor such as mode of baptism, church government, mode of communion, types of worship. Most Protestants feel they can get along with all other Protestants because they all oppose Roman authority over the church and its members; however, most believe Catholics are believers with irreconcilable differences. Most however Christians would concur with St. Augustine: “In essentials, unity, in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” Amen! 

Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Is The Existence Of God A Metaphysical, Ontological, Or Cosmological One?


The question of God’s existence is essentially philosophical or theological. God is metaphysical or beyond the physical realm in which science and empiricism operates within their parameters. It’s not subject to scientific investigation: God cannot be measured, observed, or tested for hypothesis or validated even by experience in an empirical method because He is not audible, visible, nor tangible but spirit. We can no more measure God for experimental reasons that measure foot of love or pound of justice. God will not submit to our laboratory conditions.

The question of God’s existence may be verified in an ontological scheme of thinking: where did we acquire this knowledge since apes don’t build chapels? How can we conceive of God if He doesn’t exist? God has put the knowledge of eternity and basic awareness of Him in us; that’s why every culture throughout history has had its gods and religions. God has made it plain to us (cf. Romans 1:19-21) so that we are without excuse. 

Seeing God as the First Cause or unmoved mover or uncaused cause is a cosmological rationale. Nothing happens by itself but all events are caused: what caused the big bang, for instance—Christians believe the best explanation is God because He is omnipotent. The law of cause and effect has been very handy in deducing God’s existence. Everything that begins to exist, has a cause; the universe began to exist and must be caused—nothing can create or cause itself. God needs no cause because He is eternal without beginning and is the Creator, not the creature or creation.

In other words, there are many ways to prove or argue for God’s existence including the teleological one in which things have purpose and intelligence or harmony. Purpose, design, plans, and beauty don’t just happen. Design implies a Designer for example. Purpose a Purposer. Intelligence demands an Ultimate Mind. The order of creation must be “Thinker, thought, thing.” Things don’t think on their own initiative but demand a Thinker who designed them so. Soli Deo Gloria! 

Sunday, May 30, 2021

"I Am What I Am By The Grace Of God."

 Paul declares this in 1 Cor. 15:10 to show his grace-orientation and blessings in God as he was redeemed from being Christ's archenemy of the church who nearly wreaked havoc on its spread. We have no right to look down on the wicked as if we are superior because we were once the enemies of God ourselves!  (cf. Romans 5:10).  We are to be held to a higher standard and realize that what God holds against sinners is realizing sin and not believing in His Son.  But God had mercy on him! George Whitefield said as he saw a condemned man go to the gallows:  "There but for the grace of God go I."  We must realize that if God withdrew His grace we would be no better than the run-of-the-mill sinner if not worse; we'd be left to our own evil devices or schemes!  ("The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.. Who can know it?"  --Jer. 17:9). 

Our righteousness is God's gift to us, not our gift to God! (cf. Isaiah 45:24; Romans 15:18; Hosea 14:8; Isaiah 26:12).  This means we all have a dark side that only God knows about; we have seen ourselves for who and what we are and the picture isn't pretty!   Christian author Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, we all have an old sin nature that remains after salvation and we must not obey it. We have a new man as well as an old man and the one we feed and nourish the most dominates our demeanor and conduct. We must cease to do evil and learn to do good; it's not automatic or a given.  Even the fruit of the Spirit is a given but must be cultivated before it's ripe enough to harvest. We will reap what we sow. 

The wicked live by the rule of the jungle, each man for himself, looking out for Number One while trying to win the rat race. But his reward is in this life (cf. Psalm 31:15) and we are not to get too comfortable in our temporary abode as we are citizens of heaven and only passing through on a green card and are in a dry run or staging area, or dress rehearsal for our permanent home with the Lord. We have salvation in three tenses: our past is forgiven, our present is given meaning, and our future is secured.  We are saved from the penalty of sin, we are being saved from its power, and we shall be saved from its presence.  

Our lives stand in contrast to the wicked who lives for the here and now and virtually eats, drinks, and is merry as if he were ot die tomorrow.  The wicked do what is right in their own eyes and live for themselves, not some higher purpose or power. Essentially, they waste their lives and have no ultimate purpose, meaning, dignity, or worth.  They live according to what is right in their own eyes go their own way, or act according to feelings or worse yet, libido. (cf Judges 17:6; 21:25; Isaiah 55:6). When you don't surrender to the Lordship of Christ, you surrender to Satan's chaos and evil.  There's no middle ground of neutrality!s  The central question of humankind is: What think ye of Christ?  Even Christians can be deceived by the devil and held captive by him to do his will (cf. 2 Tim. 2:26) and should pray to be delivered from the evil one as the Lord's prayer says.  

We should realize that the wicked are self-condemned by their own conscience (cf. Romans 2:14-15) and will all be judged by our works either for reward as Christians or for salvation for the lost (cf. Romans 2:6; 2 Cor. 5:21; Matt. 16:27; Psalm 2:12).  God's kindness and goodness are meant to lead them to repentance (cf. Romans 2:4).  We are held to a higher standard and should realize that God can convert the wicked just like He converted us! No one who repents is too far gone for grace! (cf. Isaiah 1:18). But the wicked are too proud to seek God and believe they are not accountable since they reckon Him as dead and do not see their own sin due to their pride.  (cf Psalm 10:4); none seeks God! (cf Psalm 14:2).    Soli Deo Gloria! 

Saturday, May 29, 2021

Are You Fighting God?

 "There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD" (Prov. 21:30, NIV).

If you’ve heard the song, “I fought the law, and the law won!” you may realize that if you fight God, He will always win!

“You may even find yourself fighting against God, “(cf. Acts 5;39, Gamaliel).

On the road to Damascus Jesus confronted Saul that it was "hard for [him] to kick against the goads." (Cf. Acts 26:14, ESV). The NLT says, "... It is useless for you to fight against my will." God's will is stronger than ours--He's the Almighty! He gets His way! His power "works mightily in us" (cf. Col. 1:29). We have a will, but God decided our nature, and we act according to our nature, which God has the power to manipulate.

If everything seems to be against us, perhaps we are going the wrong way ourselves! For God is at work within us, "both to do and to will of His good pleasure" (cf. Phil. 2:13). He will make us willing on the day of salvation (cf. Psalm 110:3). God's will overcomes ours and it is vain and futile to oppose God: "... For who can resist his will?" (Rom. 9:19, ESV).

When God decides to save us, He doesn't just help us to believe (we cannot believe apart from God, as it says in John 15:5 that "apart from [Him] we can do nothing"), but He makes believers out of us (quickening our spirit with faith), by virtue of irresistible grace, called the effectual call of God (cf. Rom. 8:30). When we call someone they may or may not respond, but when God does it, the result is guaranteed and efficacious. Jeremiah proclaims "...[Y]ou are stronger than I and have prevailed..." (Jer. 20:7, ESV). We must not find ourselves contrary to God!

We must not find ourselves contrary to God's revealed or preceptive will (which can be thwarted), because God will find a way to work out His plan regardless: "If he snatches away, who can stop him? Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?'" (Job 9:12, NIV); "... No one can hold back his hand or say to him: What have you done?" (Dan. 4:35, NIV). God gets His way: "... 'Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen'" (Isa. 14:24, NIV); "For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him [going against His decreed or secret will]? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?" (Isa. 14:27, NIV); and finally, "'Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days of old, I planned it; now I have brought it to pass...'" (Isa. 37:26, NIV). Even the Gamaliel recognized the futility: "'... You might even be found opposing God!'..." (Acts 5:39, ESV).

God accomplishes His will in us: He will "equip you with every good thing that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight.." (Heb. 13:21, ESV). God will accomplish His will with or without our cooperation, and it is our privilege to be the clay in His hands, our Potter. For this reason, we ought to stop fighting God or kicking against the goads and get with the program. We are made to do His will and this is the only way to find fulfillment (in His will). Our wills follow our minds and God can change our minds and give us a "knowledge of the truth" (cf. 2 Tim. 2:25, NLT).

Isaiah wondered: "O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart so that we fear you not?..." (Isa. 63:17, ESV). God can "uphold [us] with a willing spirit" (Psalm 51:12, ESV). It is for our own good that we pray the prayer of relinquishment and put ourselves in God's hands, praying that His will be done through us willfully, with our cooperation. Wycliffe's tenet applies: "All things come to pass of necessity," and we must realize God's sovereignty, that He is in complete control, working all things for our good (cf. Rom. 8:28) if we love Him. It is important to know that we are aligned with God's will, to know whose side we're on; it is vain to fight God the Almighty One, for He is stronger than us, His creatures, and there is not even "one maverick molecule in the universe," according to R. C. Sproul!

"...'The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will...'" (Acts 22:14, NIV). Christians are exhorted to seek His will and have the unique privilege of knowing it. We also pray in His will and all our prayers are answered if they comply with His will (cf. 1 John 5:14). One petition of the Lord's prayer is for God's will to be done. God's will is laid out to us in Scripture and revealed and illuminated through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Even Paul tells the Greeks: "For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God" (Acts 20:27, NIV). We are responsible for what God has opened our eyes to; to whom " much is given, much is required" is the principle (cf. Luke 12:48).

Jesus said that those who do the will of God are His brother, mother, and sister! (Cf. Matt. 12:50, NIV). And so it is paramount that we seek, know, and do God's will. Why? "... For whoever does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:17, NIV); "you need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised" (Heb. 10:36, NIV); "... [That] you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured" (Col. 4:12, NIV).

Note: one reason David was a man after God’s own heart was that he fulfilled all God’s will (cf. Acts 13:36). Soli Deo Gloria!

Friday, May 28, 2021

Is God Beyond Existence?


I’m not quite sure what you mean by “beyond,” but God is above and beyond; He is both transcendent or other-worldly and immanent or nearby and close at hand or His everywhere-ness or ubiquity or omnipresence is obvious. He is God nearby and far away (cf. Jer. 23:23). He fills the heavens and the earth (cf. Jer. 23:24). He is also fully present everywhere and we call that His immensity. He is not far from every one of us! (cf Acts 17:27). And He indwells all believers through His Spirit. (cf. 1 Cor. 3:16). The Scriptures say the heavens cannot contain Him! (cf. 1 Kings 8:27). In Him, we live and move and have our being.” (cf. Acts 17:28).

But His existence itself is called self-existence or aseity. That means He is totally and fully complete in and of Himself needing no one or nothing besides His own self. (cf. Acts 17:25). We are dependent and contingent beings but not God. His presence is surreal in a sense because we cannot comprehend what spirit is and how He can be a Spirit (cf. John 4:24–25). “Canst thou by searching find out God?” (cf. Job 11:7).

“God is not a man,” (cf. Hosea 11:9; 1 Sam. 15:29; Num. 23:19; Job 9:32). We think of persons as having bodies but God has nobody except for in His incarnation or personification in the Personage of Christ, His only begotten Son, who is as real physically as we are; “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead [deity] bodily,” (cf. Col. 2:9).

God is without limit and can't be defined in terms of space, time, or dimension either for He is spirit (cf. John 4:24) without beginning or eternal. Only that which begins to exist can indwell the time-space continuum. He created that and is independent of it just like the rest of His creation. God never began to exist His name I AM says that) which proves He is not an effect, which all have beginnings, but the First Cause as Aristotle reasoned. That’s why His name can be interpreted: I CAUSE TO BE.  Soli Deo Gloria!