an old thorn

This is a blog, and i have the pleasure from time to time of wandering in places that speak to me, although they may not strike you ...

One of the issues I have chased over the years is the age-old struggle of the church to  define God, in particular and in this case, as to his foreordination of all things, his foreknowledge of all things, his predetermination of all things, etc. etc. ...

Forgive me for indulging myself, but I ran across this comment today from Adam Clarke's commentary at Acts 2.47, and felt I would share it for those who are interested, and can get past the antiquated turn of phrase (1830's). It does call for patience.

[traced from a posting at reknew.org , today's date; quoted from http://www.godrules.net/library/clarke/clarkeact2.htm]

peace

quote:

ON that awful subject, the foreknowledge of God, something has already been spoken: see ver. 23. Though it is a subject which no finite nature can comprehend, yet it is possible so to understand what relates to us in it as to avoid those rocks of presumption and despondency on which multitudes have been shipwrecked. The foreknowledge of God is never spoken of in reference to himself, but in reference to us: in him properly there is neither foreknowledge nor afterknowledge. 

Omniscience, or the power to know all things, is an attribute of God, and exists in him as omnipotence, or the power to do all things. He can do whatsoever he will; and he does whatsoever is fit or proper to be done. God cannot have foreknowledge, strictly speaking, because this would suppose that there was something coming, in what we call futurity, which had not yet arrived at the presence of the Deity. 

Neither can he have any afterknowledge, strictly speaking, for this would suppose that something that had taken place, in what we call pretereity, or past time, had now got beyond the presence of the Deity. As God exists in all that can be called eternity, so he is equally every where: nothing can be future to him, because he lives in all futurity; nothing can be past to him, because he equally exists in all past time; futurity and pretereity are relative terms to us; but they can have no relation to that God who dwells in every point of eternity; with whom all that is past, and all that is present, and all that is future to man, exists in one infinite, indivisible, and eternal NOW. 

As God's omnipotence implies his power to do all things, so God's omniscience implies his power to know all things; but we must take heed that we meddle not with the infinite free agency of this Eternal Being. Though God can do all thinks, he does not all things. Infinite judgment directs the operations of his power, so that though he can, yet he does not do all things, but only such things as are proper to be done. In what is called illimitable space, he can make millions of millions of systems; but he does not see proper to do this. He can destroy the solar system, but he does not do it: he can fashion and order, in endless variety, all the different beings which now exist, whether material, animal, or intellectual; but he does not do this, because he does not see it proper to be done. Therefore it does not follow that, because God can do all things, therefore he must do all things. 

God is omniscient, and can know all things; but does it follow from this that he must know all things? Is he not as free in the volitions of his wisdom, as he is in the volitions of his power? The contingent as absolute, or the absolute as contingent? God has ordained some things as absolutely certain; these he knows as absolutely certain. He has ordained other things as contingent; these he knows as contingent. It would be absurd to say that he foreknows a thing as only contingent which he has made absolutely certain. And it would be as absurd to say that he foreknows a thing to be absolutely certain which in his own eternal counsel he has made contingent. By absolutely certain, I mean a thing which must be, in that order, time, place, and form in which Divine wisdom has ordained it to be; and that it can be no otherwise than this infinite counsel has ordained. By contingent, I mean such things as the infinite wisdom of God has thought proper to poise on the possibility of being or not being, leaving it to the will of intelligent beings to turn the scale. Or, contingencies are such possibilities, amid the succession of events, as the infinite wisdom of God has left to the will of intelligent beings to determine whether any such event shall take place or not. 

To deny this would involve the most palpable contradictions, and the most monstrous absurdities. If there be no such things as contingencies in the world, then every thing is fixed and determined by an unalterable decree and purpose of God; and not only all free agency is destroyed, but all agency of every kind, except that of the Creator himself; for on this ground God is the only operator, either in time or eternity: all created beings are only instruments, and do nothing but as impelled and acted upon by this almighty and sole Agent. Consequently, every act is his own; for if he have purposed them all as absolutely certain, having nothing contingent in them, then he has ordained them to be so; and if no contingency, then no free agency, and God alone is the sole actor. 

Hence the blasphemous, though, from the premises, fair conclusion, that God is the author of all the evil and sin that are in the world; and hence follows that absurdity, that, as God can do nothing that is wrong, WHATEVER IS, is RIGHT. Sin is no more sin; a vicious human action is no crime, if God have decreed it, and by his foreknowledge and will impelled the creature to act it. On this ground there can be no punishment for delinquencies; for if every thing be done as God has predetermined, and his determinations must necessarily be all right, then neither the instrument nor the agent has done wrong. Thus all vice and virtue, praise and blame, merit and demerit, guilt and innocence, are at once confounded, and all distinctions of this kind confounded with them. 

Now, allowing the doctrine of the contingency of human actions, (and it must be allowed in order to shun the above absurdities and blasphemies,) then we see every intelligent creature accountable for its own works, and for the use it makes of the power with which God has endued it; and, to grant all this consistently, we must also grant that God foresees nothing as absolutely and inevitably certain which he has made contingent; and, because he has designed it to be contingent, therefore he cannot know it as absolutely and inevitably certain. I conclude that God, although omniscient, is not obliged, in consequence of this, to know all that he can know; no more than he is obliged, because he is omnipotent, to do all that he can do.

How many, by confounding the self and free agency of God with a sort of continual impulsive necessity, have raised that necessity into an all-commanding and overruling energy, to which God himself is made subject! 

... [I omit  ref's to Milton to shorten the article a bit] ...

I shall conclude these observations with a short extract from Mr. Bird's Conferences, where, in answer to the objection, "If many things fall out contingently, or as it were by accident, God's foreknowledge of them can be but contingent, dependent on man's free will," he observes: 


"It is one thing to know that a thing will be done necessarily; and another, to know necessarily that a thing will be done. God doth necessarily foreknow all that will be done; but he doth not know that those things which shall be done voluntarily will be done necessarily: he knoweth that they will be done; but he knoweth withal that they might have fallen out otherwise, for aught he had ordered to the contrary. 

So likewise God knew that Adam would fall; and get he knew that he would not fall necessarily, for it was possible for him not to have fallen. And as touching God's preordination going before his prescience as the cause of all events this would be to make God the author of all the sin in the world; his knowledge comprehending that as well as other things. God indeed foreknoweth all things, because they will be done; but things are not (therefore) done, because he foreknoweth them. It is impossible that any man, by his voluntary manner of working, should elude God's foresight; but then this foresight doth not necessitate the will, for this were to take it wholly away. For as the knowledge of things present imports no necessity on that which is done, so the foreknowledge of things future lays no necessity on that which shall be; because whosoever knows and sees things, he knows and sees them as they are, and not as they are not; so that God's knowledge doth not confound things, but reaches to all events, not only which come to pass, but as they come to pass, whether contingency or necessarily. 

As, for example, when you see a man walking upon the earth, and at the very same instant the sunshining in the heavens, do you not see the first as voluntary, and the second as natural? And though at the instant you see both done, there is a necessity that they be done, (or else you could not see them at all,) yet there was a necessity of one only before they were done, (namely, the sun's shining in the heavens,) but none at all of the other, (viz. the man's walking upon the earth.) The sun could not but shine, as being a natural agent; the man might not have walked, as being a voluntary one." 

This is a good argument; but I prefer that which states the knowledge of God to be absolutely free, without the contradictions which are mentioned above. "But you deny the omniscience of God."-No, no more than I deny his omnipotence, and you know I do not, though you have asserted the contrary. But take heed how you speak about this infinitely free agent: if you will contradict, take heed that you do not blaspheme. I ask some simple questions on the subject of God's knowledge and power: if you know these things better than your neighbour, be thankful, be humble, and pray to God to give you amiable tempers; for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. May he be merciful to thee and me!


end quote.

good friday/bad friday - reconciliation, again

i really had second thoughts about being here, doing this, tonight ...

sometimes it's better just to close my mouth

words are massively inadequate to express some things
and Jesus' death is one of those things

i simply encourage you to read the 4 Gospels
and let God show you from there

don't watch a movie or documentary or listen to a message
read the word of God himself on it

preface it by telling God your intention
and asking for his insight, his illumination

because you want to know
you want to understand for yourself

you want it to change your life

shalom

more ... the phenomenon of cosmic reconciliation

only a few more days
have to make this count
this is cosmic

very tired
the burden almost unbearable
the attacks increasing, like exponentially
powerful strikes from the enemy

have to be strong
rely on Father
maintain focus

very tired

but ...
the end is near
thank God!

can't allow this to fail
my flesh is the issue
must walk in the spirit at all times

even my friends are questioning
tottering
losing faith
in me

Father, strengthen me now
enable me to look to you alone
and to the joy before me

the reconciliation of all things

i walk in you ...

the phenomenon of cosmic reconciliation

the most astounding event ever
ever

Creator God
takes flesh and blood
is born a human
into our world of suffering and death
lives as a man, fully

and himself suffers and dies
to revoke the authority of death
and it's mother, sin

so that death has no more power over mankind
so that sin and death itself can be destroyed
so that mankind may have life
abundant life

that simply has got to be the greatest story ever
ever

praise be to God Almighty
to Jesus, Word in flesh
my Master, my Lord, my brother, my friend

...


and there's another marvelous thing
i can call him 'friend' .. .

i go with that

shalom

use it ... or lose it

I started another blog, but this thought presents itself; maybe it might help you …

I’m ageing. That means I can’t do all I used-to-could-do, at least not as much, not with the same intensity, etc. And too, energy wanes with age, and maybe motivation. And my work schedule has put a serious dent in my off-time.

But… and this is the thing, there’s an age-old (ha) saying, “if you don’t use it, you lose it”. And I’m losing it. Been telling myself for way too long I need to get going again on the exercise thingy. Even made it 1 of my only 2 new year’s resolutions; but fail again.

So, I decided to revert to an exercise that I used to do that doesn’t take a membership or 2 hours or purchasing expensive equipment (save for shoes) – running. Once I put out my shoes when I got home, I ran. Period. I look at myself now and blatantly see the need for it. I feel old. I don’t like that. I want it back. I aim to try.

Now then… apply the same argument to my spiritual life. I suppose there are others out there like me. I fall off from time to time, relax my enthusiasm and engagement, and my spirit atrophies bit by bit. It must: if you don’t use it, you lose it. The spirit needs exercise like the body does.

But someone once said, wisely, “never give up”. (Actually he said, ”Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in…”.) And they’re right. As humans we tend to attend to the urgent, especially in this madmad world of racing at the speed of light with hardly any time for anything except work. And if there are children involved, well then … Most of the time exercise gets shoved to the back burner, as in "I'll get back to that". We don't see it as urgent.

But, as with the physical maintenance and growth, so with the spiritual. The ‘work’ you put into it determines your wellbeing. Either exercise it, or slowly it will fade, like a tide going out. I don’t want my tide going out; I want it coming in, swelling, growing, increasing my wellbeing.

So … I made the decision. I bought a pair of running shoes and within 2 hours hit the street. First time in … years. And there’s this sense of hope that maybe I can recover some of my former self, and maybe even improve on it. And this sense of satisfaction that I finally did something about it. And this sense of excitement, knowing I took step 1 and came away thinking of step 2. I’m even blogging …

Apostle Paul said physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. A wise statement.

So, whether you hit the gym, or the streets, play ball, or play golf, you’re working that physique. In like manner then, read the Bible, pray, praise, journal, listen to a message and to music that speaks of God to you, smile at someone in Jesus’ name, forgive, bless and don’t curse anyone, and always be looking for ways to encourage and to help the hurting. God is pleased with these sacrifices.

Exercise your spirit. A flabby spirit is not a pretty sight.

peace

mockingbird

The only bird that sings at night

with such boldness and pride

is the mockingbird

O, you’ll hear hoots sometimes

and maybe a few other sounds

but this bird is undaunting, unsolicited, and out to raise cain

Sort of like some people …

they play to you

they listen to you

agree with you

talk your talk when you’re around …

but when night comes

mockery hits the stage

for anyone that will listen

and your words, your thoughts, your feelings, your things said in confidence, your secrets

become told, across the spaces

There is no bird quite like the mockingbird

They have virtually no song of their own

Every beautiful twitter and tweet is copied

and replayed almost perfectly

for those with ears to hear

People get confused

They think they’re listening to the robin, or the sparrow, or the finch …

until the mockingbird changes his tune,

and then again, a different song

and then another …

and you finally realized you were pillaged, raped and murdered

by that one

the one you opened your mouth to

sang to …

… the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. … no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. (James 3).

as Jesus' follower

i really should exhibit the highest standard of integrity

when someone confides in me

(possibly precisely because they know i'm a christian)

my response is to be one of trustworthiness

worthy of the trust they showed when they took me into their confidence

and told me their stuff

anything else is beneath Jesus

gossip, cheap shots, grapevining, slander (?)

i'm working on being Jesusish in this

join me

shalom

sinner!

I had something else in mind, but a recent conversation lead me to this instead.

Since when do I get off pointing my finger and standing in the place of judge? Since when?

It is clear that I am as much a sinner as the next person (or worse), that God, who acts entirely from a position of love, loves humans, and became a human, and suffered and died as a human, did that for them even as he did it for me. That’s clear.

That having been said … we ‘christians’ have this thing about being judges. It’s a ‘thing’ with us. We like it. It makes us bold. It makes us strong and righteous to be able to point out the sin(s) of another. What it really does is move the spotlight off of me on to someone else, and gives me space. I become judge so I don’t see my own sin, sin-full-ness. I don’t want that: too stressful to face myself, so I become judge, and Dread Judge at that. I am vociferous, righteously angry, and stand in the place of God in pointing out this sin or that horror in that person’s life. It's really scapegoating. I peddle the guilt by accusing others. 

Sick. I am sick. I need a doctor. Badly.

It stems from the story of the beginning of Earth things and a particular tree. That tree (or what it represented) had the incredible ability to endow mankind with the knowledge of good and evil, a framework quite different from the one Creator had in mind for the creature he created in his image, after his likeness. Man steps into God’s sphere and becomes a mere shadow of his former self. Wild. Result is I stand in that long line of us who own the right to know right from wrong and to point it out in others. Moreover I have the Bible to prove it.

And then there’s Jesus … and I have to ask myself this. If he is the best representation we have of who God is, then what did he do? How did he behave? What was his view of it? Early on in John’s Gospel the point is made that Jesus did not come to condemn this world, but to save it; vast difference. None less than he taught about the splinter and the log. He it was that defended that woman they caught adulterating; the story is crazy.  His motivation is to encourage her, restore her. He takes her side. When I replace Jesus with me it goes south real fast. I am the chief of sinners and I can point out sin and wrong with the best of them. I am very good at that. Jesus, however, who knows more about that person than I do, never does.

Even when he engaged the woman at the well in Samaria (John 4), he didn't do it to point out her sin; he simply wanted her to know who it was talking to her, and that he knew who she was, what she was, where she was in life. His aim was spiritual: "drink the living water I give you and it will spring up into eternal life".

When the accusations fly, and people are named, and deeds told around the dinner table or the bar table, or the lunch table (or the Lord’s table?), which person am I to the situation? Who am I really? Does the accused see me as an accuser, or as a refuge, a friend, maybe the only one they have left. 

It’s interesting to remember that ‘Satan’ = 'Accuser'.

I guess what I’m getting at is this: do I be Jesus to people, or do I be Satan to people. I really think it’s that simple.

Jesus lived with the accused, the condemned. They came to him because he loved them, and he told them things, wise things, and made them think. And he never stuck his finger in their faces or waved a Bible at them. They could see love in him.

Then one day he said he wanted us to do what he did: care for people. He said that was almost as important as loving God himself. And he spent his life in that pursuit, lived it out, to everyone. Everyone. Even me.

I have to change this. We do. We need to be Jesus to the world, because no one else will.

Fact is, most of the time we don’t know 95% of what underlies the issue, how the ‘accused’ got to this place in life, what really happened, how long it’s been building, and so on. We come into the game in the 9^th inning and act like we’ve watched the entire game. Arrogant, self-righteous, beligerant … anti-Christ.

Lord, help me to take Jesus as my example. To try at all times to be loving first, embracing first, caring first, shalom first. All else follows. ‘Love covers a multitude of sins’. 

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Col 3. 12-14). Brilliantly said.

I have to quit this and start taking Jesus’ side in whatever comes up about whoever. 

Anything else is ‘fail’.

shalom

well said

http://rachelheldevans.com/blog/ashamed?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RachelHeldEvans+%28Rachel+Held+Evans+-+Blog%29

this is one of the coolest, realest, right-onest things i've read recently, and it's even poetic, wonderful turns of phrase ..

do yourself a favour and read it

listen more

http://whchurch.org/blog/2357/a-touch-of-reality

another message in the poverty series

this is good stuff

please listen

listen

http://whchurch.org/blog/1283/seeing-what-god-sees

This is the first message in a series. It rocks. You don't have anything better to do; I'm tellin' ya ..

peace

wasted energy .. .

I began this several days ago. Then a friend posted a blog that spoke to similar. I guess confession is catching ..?

I have wondered … why is it I get so bent out of shape, put out, stressed out, even to the point where I feel ill? Am I not a son of the most high God? Has he not promised to care for me? Hasn’t Jesus spoken clearly enough about it (Matt 6)? Or am I just daft? … or  maybe rebellious, full of myself, thinking 'I can do this on my own, thank you' …

Whether it’s on the job or at home, there are times when I simply lose it. All seems to be tumbling, like the proverbial  Humpty Dumpty. Life becomes too much.

Whether it’s an ill friend, or a struggling child, or an overwhelming financial situation, or a sorry boss, or a hurting friend, or … whatever, somehow the worry gets past the trust and I stress … we stress. And more and more and more medical data points to stress as the primary cause of disease, including all sorts of cancers, diabetes, mental disorders, anger issues, etc., etc., etc. .. This blog, however is not so concerned with the health issues as with the spiritual issues. (They are interrelated, ya?).

Something’s wrong with that. It needs to change. I need to facilitate that change, and the sooner the better. I, as in me, need to change. Nothing will change unless I change it, or, better yet, allow God to change me. I have the say, you know. He won’t just up and wave his wand and change me. He has endowed me and all humanity with a certain amount of sovereignty, say-so, authority. The fact that I still struggle with this crap evidences that.

So… why? I have already alluded to some reasons: rebellion; pride; taking authority over my life. It all boils down to what my friend dubbed ‘when rubber meets the road’. I can posit all sorts of convictions, beliefs, doctrines, and follow them up with Scripture, and be dead-on; but unless I inculcate in my self those things, I will invariably be my own guide when the rubber hits street level. When the junk comes down the pipe and the stuff piles up I will resort to ‘me’ to deal with it. Me - my authority, my own boss, my healer, fixer, doc, psych, … master. And fail again.

It’s interesting that, regardless of my apparent success at dealing with issues, I ain’t supposed to. How can I know the full implications of my ‘fix’? I am, after all, imperfect, my knowledge finite. My resort is to be my Lord, the one to whom I have entrusted my life (supposedly). And there swings the pendulum – I’m trusting, but I’m not trusting… I’m faithing, but I’m not faithing. What is it with that?? Why on Earth do I persist in my foolhardy ownership of the issues that surround me? Why?

Part of it may be simply that we are taught to do just that. We are instructed by society that, as good individuals/citizens, we are responsible for our lives, we are to own our stuff, and not to do that is shirking. Well … that’s admirable, in a way.  It may well be that I caused that issue; I may be the wickedness that brought that issue into my own life (or someone else's). So in that respect I own it. But I cannot be the solvent. We really are not to see the troubles as ours, but as falling within the realm of a fallen world, where we live and move and be. To see my self as the authority and turn to it to fix it is questionable at best.

There is, first, the fact that I do live in a fallen, broken, injured, corrupted (and corrupting), decaying world. I do what I do because sin dwells in my body, and my body lives right here in this sin-full world. That’s not to absolve me of guilt, by the way; it’s simply the way it is: I am influenced by my world. Then I move out of my world into the spiritual reality of the fact that my lord, Lord Jesus, has overcome the world (John 16.33). This man did it. He proved it in a body like mine living in a world like mine facing mine-like issues. And he beat the system flat-out. (Don’t be quick to resort to his Godness. The whole point in becoming human was to be human. Besides, we are created in his image and likeness.) My Leader, Rabbi, Master has done it, as human. He is my example.

And he tells me just that. “You can do this!” “Here’s how.” … Matt 6 and so on. Is he wrong? Misguided? Lost? … Absoultely not. I am. So I have my example, and his teachings on how to overcome this world. And yet I refuse to let go of the reins. Knuckles white, I cling determinably to the steering wheel, stupidly thinking somehow that I know what’s around the next corner, that this hydroplaning is under my control – I can right this. Fool that I am.

The response is a trust-response. It comes from a heart of relinquished control, authority handed-over, submission. My life is lived under the authority and guidance of the King, for I am his subject. He will handle the stuff, even if it’s not according to my liking or my timing. It’s NOT mine … it simply isn’t. And instead of dragging this huge bag of junk around, I need to do 1Peter 5. 5-7 (… and all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your care on Him, because He cares about you.). I need to trust in my King. Simple.. ?

At the end of the day, the same Word that said “You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”, also said “ … whatever has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith.^” The victory is mine, in Messiah Jesus, my Lord. Hear that? To us belongs the victory, we can overcome, even in these bodies.

That leaves me with this: will I ever get to the point of relinquishing my authority over my self to my Lord …? To not do that is will-full, foolish, pride-full, rebellion in the face of him who walked my walk, and gave up his life that I might have life. Life in its fullness. Life that overcomes this present darkness. Life that ascends above the junk and sees the reality of it all, relegating it to the I-can-overcome pile. For none other than Jesus is my Lord! That’s all the argument I need. Period.

When I think of how much energy I expend trying to deal with the drama, it is staggering. If I could simply approach it differently, change my attitude, then that energy could be much better used in furthering his kingdom - attending to the needs of people, trying to reflect Jesus to this atrophying world, bringing some light to the darkness, some hope to the hopeless, some encouragement … pointing people to his glorious face. That is worthwhile.

Why stand here and die in this useless drama-mess? Why not take up a worthwhile battle, and go down fighting for the Kingdom. 
I can’t think of a worthy response … can you?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and don't rely on your own understanding; 

submit everything to him as the authority, and he will level your paths. (Prov 3. 5,6).

peace

listen

I just listened to this 6 1/2 min video clip.

Marvelous.

Please listen to it; the proposition could change your life.

shalom


http://reknew.org/2013/03/the-image-of-god/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-image-of-god