Steven Colborne's Blog, page 48

Your Regrets vs God’s Will

Quite often, when people talk about things that they regret having happened at a certain time in their past, they will use phrases such as “I messed up” or “I did my best” or “I can’t believe I did that”. Using such phrases is a widely accepted and commonplace manner of speaking, but in this article I would like to examine what is going on in reality, and whether or not such expressions of regret are warranted.

I see the unfolding of events in the universe as a kind of play, or a puppet show or game, under the control of God. People of faith acknowledge God’s sovereign control over their lives when they pray about their future, or when they believe in prophecy, for instance. Prayer and prophecy only make sense if God is in control of the unfolding of future events.

Within what I describe as God’s Grand Game, we do have the illusion of decision making and responsibility. It seems that in this moment I can choose whether or not to make a cup of tea, whether or not to put on some worship music, or whether or not to finish typing this article. But when I am making these decisions, am I really doing so freely?

I believe the truth of the matter is that everything I do is caused by God in the ultimate dimension of reality, but is simultaneously caused by me in the human dimension. God is the primary cause of my actions, and I am the secondary cause. The important point to note is that there is no freedom in the secondary cause; all of my actions are willed and determined by God, whose sovereignty and omnipresence leave no room for free action (or free will).

Relating this discussion back to my comments about expressions of regret, if we are speaking in accord with ultimate truth we should be more inclined to reflect on past events with the simple expression, “It was God’s will”, rather than feeling a sense of absolute personal responsibility. It is liberating to know that what we perceive to be our past mistakes were willed and directed by God and we could not have done anything differently.

You are not an autonomous being who is controlling your activities while God watches on from an uninvolved distance. In reality, God unfolds the story of your life down to every detail — he is the puppet master and you are a puppet of his sovereign will.

So what of divine command and obedience? What of sin and salvation? If we are speaking the truth, we must understand and acknowledge that God causes our obedience or disobedience, and our sin as well as our salvation. To view things differently would be to limit God’s sovereignty, which would be foolish, as an omnipresent God must logically be sovereign over all events, and not just some events.

In the Bible, God’s absolute sovereignty is expressed throughout both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, God continually speaks to people with descriptions concerning how he will unfold events in the future (the examples of this are far too numerous to cite). And the passages in the New Testament that describe foreknowledge and election clearly accord with the high view of God’s sovereignty that I am describing here, as does the entirety of prophecy concerning the End Times, for instance, which we read about in the Book of Revelation and elsewhere.

God is not only the creator, but also the sustainer and animator of the universe.

As you go about your daily life, be aware that you are not freely beating your heart, or growing your hair, or digesting your food, or choosing what you are going to be thinking about in an hour’s time or before you go to bed tonight. You are only the secondary cause of these experiences; these processes are being done through you, and not by you. Your actions are all under the direct control of God, who is the primary cause of all activity in existence.

When it comes to the subject of regret, it is natural to feel remorse over things, and it’s okay to take responsibility for how certain events unfolded, as long as we do so in a playful way. While taking responsibility, we can allow ourselves to be comforted by the knowledge that God brought about the events that we are regretting, and there is ample support in Scripture for this way of viewing things. Whatever happened in your past, it was God’s will; there’s no escaping that fact.

Want to go deeper? Check out my Books. Thanks for reading!

The Jailer who was Humbled

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.

When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas.

Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.

And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

From the Book of Acts.

I find the conversion of the jailer moving. It must have been the power of the earthquake that humbled his heart, and perhaps also the power of the hymns Paul and Silas were singing. Most of us are much more stubborn than the jailer. Thanks be to God for bringing salvation to the Gentiles.

Be Dedicated to God Alone

Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

The teaching of Jesus, from the Gospel according to Luke.

You don’t owe your family anything, but you owe God everything. In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:6).

God is Merciful

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger for ever.
Nor does he deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love towards
those who fear him;
as far as east is from the west,
so far does he remove our
transgressions from us.

As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to
those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.

An extract from Psalm 103 (of David).

Predestination

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

From the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians.

Paul says that Christians are chosen for adoption before the foundation of the world. To me, this statement supports the idea that God is in sovereign control over all events, and is unfolding a plan for creation, in accordance with the Scriptures, by his will, in his omnipotence and omnipresence.

Eyes on Eternity

And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out of him and healed them all.

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from the one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.

“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”

From the Gospel according to Luke.

How is the simple Christian able to obey such lofty teaching? The answer is that we do not treasure our earthly lives; our focus is always on the life to come. How can the Christian find joy when all around them the world is filled with evil? Because we trust in the Father’s mercy, and we cling to Jesus’ words about how our present sufferings will one day receive an eternal reward. Thanks be to God.

Jesus on the Abundant Life: A life of resilience

Fantastic post here, you will all be blessed by this!

boammaaruri

I have been reflecting on John 10:10 and in a previous post, I argued that to first understand what Jesus meant by the abundant life, we must first understand what it is not. I argued that it is not about an abundance of wealth and health. If not health and wealth – what then is the abundant life about?

Jesus’ ultimate priority concerning us is not about the external and material conditions of our life; it is about the type of people we become. The abundant life is about the total transformation and renovation of the whole human person: our thoughts, heart, desires, will, habits, character and emotions. His priority is not changing the circumstances of our lives (which he could, and often does) but rather changing our lives (who we are) to handle any circumstance. And by handle any circumstance I mean becoming resilient.

I would define resilience as…

View original post 781 more words

The Woman Caught in Adultery

They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now, in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him.

Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.

But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

From the Gospel according to John.

Because of Jesus’ divine nature (John 12:45) he has the authority to forgive sins (Matthew 9:6). There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).

Ethical will: Truth

Love this post on The Skeptic’s Kaddish on the subject of telling the truth. Very interesting and insightful!

The skeptic's kaddish

Following my previous ‘ethical will’ entry on ‘listening’ and the profoundly divisive aftermath of the 2020 U.S. Presidential elections, which once again reveals a country broken jaggedly in half, I’ve been thinking a lot about the pervasive lack of trust that has come to typify today’s global politics.

Yes, we must listen to one another earnestly, but why don’t we?

Fundamentally, it comes down to a lack of trust. Americans don’t trust one another to have their best interests at heart, nor do they trust their public institutions, nor the fourth estate. Why were the pre-election polls so drastically wrong this year, particularly following the pollsters’ epic embarrassment of 2016? Whence the preposterous, gaping chasm between Americans, policymakers, and opinion-molders?

We don’t trust others to tell us the truth; or perhaps we no longer trust in those truths, which are most available. Access to information used to be…

View original post 1,226 more words

Not Peace, but a Sword

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

“So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

“And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

The words of Jesus in the Gospel according to Matthew.

The sword of which Jesus speaks represents the division that comes inevitably as a result of following him. But Jesus will also return to fight the battle of Armageddon, so his use of the word ‘sword’ could also be referring to the ‘sharp sword’ with which he will “strike down the nations’. (Revelation 19:15)