I Choose You

Have you ever heard something over and over, like somebody was trying to tell you something? Or send you a message? It happened to me yesterday.

I was reading through the Book of Acts and came across this verse. It made me stop and think for a moment, as it has in the past.

"When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed." - Acts 13:48

The way I understand that verse is that SOME people are NOT appointed to eternal life. Some are and some are not. That's scary right there. Keep that in mind as you read this from the Book of Ephesians.

"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." - Ephesians 1:4

God, who has no beginning and no end, who has seen everything future and everything past, chose you. If you have placed your faith in Christ, God chose you!

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day." - John 6:44

That means that if you are a Christian, God chose you, you didn't choose Him. We might think we made a conscious choice but it's really more like we finally woke up.

If all that is true (and it is) then why should we evangelize? Why should we share the Gospel with others? Well, what if God already chose you to share the Gospel with someone next week Tuesday?

I tell you all this because I read the opening verse of this story on Monday during my daily reading. On Tuesday, while I was talking with a friend, the verse also came up in our conversation and I said, "I just read that!" Then, when I got into the car to drive home, I heard the same verse again on a talk show. Is someone trying to tell me something?

And that is why I am writing about it today, just in case God wants to use that verse to impact someone's life. A life He already chose . . . before they were even born.

Is God amazing or what?

Watch & Learn, I Choose You, Night Fit - Thomas Newman

The Coming Storm

Watching the weather last week was pretty depressing. There was a prediction for a winter storm that will supposedly dump a foot and a half of snow on us this coming Tuesday. How do these weathermen know all this stuff? After all, like the great prognosticator Yoda said, "Always in motion is the future."

Well, these weather guys and gals all have their computer "models" that analyze temperature, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, humidity and then they compare all these things with what has happened in the past. They predict future events by analyzing data and generating weather patterns with a computer program.

For the most part, these weather programs are pretty good. They predicted the Washington D.C. area would get a lot of snow last week and they did. Still, their computer programs can be wrong. One of our area's retired weather men used to say that before he went on the air he always stuck his head out the back door . . . just to make sure.
 



Have you ever heard of Biblical Prophesy? God, speaking through prophets, often predicted future events. Isaiah was a prophet. In the book of Isaiah, chapter 53, God used Isaiah to describe the coming messiah, Jesus and what He (Jesus) was going to endure . . . and why. Here's excerpt but I encourage you to read the whole chapter.

Isaiah 53

"4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." - Isaiah 53:4-6

This was written 772 years before it came true . . . in Jesus.

I wonder . . . the more sophisticated we get with our computer programs, will there ever come a time that they will either confirm or deny God? It's possible I guess. What if one night during the local weather the forecaster said, "SO, look to the skies tonight. There will be a total lunar eclipse and all signs point to the imminent return of Jesus Christ. I know that's probably bad news for the Jewish people and the Muslims who thought Jesus was not a God. Oops! More after the break."

We must remember one thing though. Computer programs are created by humans. They can be wrong. So how can we "stick our head out the window" to know what is true" God's Word, The Bible, was written by men as dictated by God through His Holy Spirit. I would trust that more than an earthly computer program.

So, I will watch out for the snow that is coming our way this week. But  will also keep my "eyes on the skies" for another reason - the prophesied return of Jesus to planet Earth. I can do without the snow, but I can't do without Jesus. Can you?

End Times: How Close Are We? - The Watchman

The Ember

It begins in total darkness. Cold. Empty. And then you see it. Just a hint of it really. You can't see it if you look at it. It's kind of a "corner of the eye" indicator of things to come. And then you notice a gentle easing away of the dark, black void until there is an evident lightening. A glow. A spark. An ember.

A sunrise is the perfect metaphor for our humanness. We are born "dark," as in "the sun ain't shinin'." We are born into sin. Sinful from birth. The following is from the Old Testament.

"5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." - Psalm 51:5

We ARE darkness, you and me. In us there is no light. But then there comes a change. A fire begins to burn in us. A longing. A desire. The ember burns brighter and brighter until . . . when we give our cold, dark hearts to Jesus, the ember bursts into flame and we are born again.

"4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." - John 1:4

"The Light shines in the darkness." God's Holy Spirit begins working in the hearts of those God has called, drawing us closer to God. We are drawn towards the light.

God creates that ember in our hearts. As it begins to glow brighter and brighter it becomes just like the sunrise, there is a gradual brightening in our hearts. And then one day, the sun rises out of the darkness!! And we rise!

When our light bulb first comes on it shines bright. Soon the darkness in our souls begins to fade away, retreating into the corners where it like to hide.The next thing you know the light is shining brightly and we are walking in the light.

"5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin." - 1 John:5-7

Have you ever seen the show Fat Guys In The Woods? It is a survival show where a survival expert takes three city boys into the wilderness and teaches them how to survive. There are four essentials to surviving in a harsh environment - shelter, water, food . . . and fire.

There are several ways to start a fire and often that fire begins with just an ember. But the Holy Spirit holds it, nurtures it, and blows life into it. creating just the right environment to create a flame.

We are God's creation. There is a desire in us to know God. Sometimes the darkness overcomes us and we cannot see the glowing ember in our hearts. Our hearts grow cold. But no one, NO ONE, is beyond the reach of God! He can fan the flames of anyone into a roaring fire! That's who God is. That's what He does. God is the great fire starter. Has He lit a fire in your heart? He will if you let Him.

Soul On Fire - Third Day
Trial By Fire - Fat Guys in The Woods

Friends Are A Gift From God

The cold wind blowing in our faces. Sleet stinging our exposed skin like so many frozen needles on this incredibly cold spring day. Why, oh why did we go walking today? Why? I'll tell you why. Because we are the best of friends. That's why.

Do you have a best friend? Do you have someone you can always depend on? Do you have someone who sacrifices their own wants and needs for yours? Do you have someone who will back you up in a fight? Someone you can borrow money from and they don't care if you pay it back or not? Do you have a friend who sticks with you through thick and thin when nobody else will? If not you should go get one. Or better yet, become one.

Have you ever met someone you felt like you already knew? Why is that do you suppose? Do you think it's random chance we meet these people in our lives who we just get along with so incredibly well? Or is there some divine conductor orchestrating our lives for some purpose we have no idea about? So, what do you think? Random chance? Or intelligent plan?

Sounds like a creation vs big bang debate beginning to form, doesn't it? Not too far from it I agree. I have a problem with the whole "random chance" creation theory. The evidence in this world alone is just too compelling to deny that somebody designed all this stuff we see around us. But I don't want to get sidetracked here. Let's get back to relationships.

I heard a verse today from the Book of Acts that caught my attention. It was about God and His interaction with us humans. Read the Word of God here in these two passages and see if you don't agree that God directs us and molds us to accomplish His will. This is Paul and Silas wondering where to preach next.

"6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them." - Acts 16:6-10

And then this happened when they reached Macedonia:

Baptistry at Philippi

"11 So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. 13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us." - Acts 16:11-15

Did you catch all that? God's Holy Spirit prevented the two apostles from visiting several places and then specifically directed them in a vision to go to Macedonia where they preached the Word to Lydia. Lydia, whose heart God had already prepared in advance to hear the words spoken by Paul. Why? So she might believe, and her whole family. Today she is a Saint in the Catholic church.

It is believed that Lydia was the first person in Europe to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. The first of many. And God softened her heart and brought His Word to her in the form of Paul and Silas. Impressive!

Now, do you think that God softens OUR hearts to make certain relationships work well? It says right in Acts 16 that God softens hearts. He also hardens them as well (remember Pharaoh in Egypt?).

Think of your friends. Why did God bring you together? Has one of your friends done something for you? Or you for your friend?

God brought a friend into MY life for His purpose back in 2005. A few months later I gave my life to Christ. I am a firm believer that God orchestrates relationships for His glory - because it happened to me! Pray that it happens to you, then be ready. The next person you meet might be sent from God to become your new best friend.

God's Gift - a mother with Alzheimer's remembers her friend, her daughter.

Predestination

One of my favorite movies was on television this week – The Matrix. It's probably more of a guy movie than it is a chick flick. Probably not the ideal date movie on a Valentine’s Day, or any other day for that matter, but I watched it.

What I like about the movie is its many parallels to the Christian faith. It is not someplace we should be drawing upon for theology lessons but the streams of analogies and similarities is constant - as constant as the flow of those little green symbols on the computer monitors they watch.

The main character, Neo, for example, can easily be seen as a Christ figure. The leading lady’s name is "Trinity." There is a prophet in the film named Morpheus – a character whose names cries out “change.”

One theme that runs throughout the film is that of predestination. Neo, for example, was predestined to save the world. Morpheus seemed to always be referring to Neo as “The One” even when Neo himself didn’t believe it. Morpheus was “destined” to find “The One.” And Trinity was destined to fall in love with “The One.” Everyone, it seems, was predestined to do "something" in that movie.

Hmm. Predestination. What about you? Do you supposed that YOU have been predestined to do something? Ever thought about that? Do you think you have been created with a specific goal or quest in mind by God Himself?

"11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:11-13

"13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." - Psalm 139:13-16

God had plans for us and He had them before we were even born!

Think about that for a moment. Talk about predestination! Our lives have already been planned? Well, sort of. God had a plan for us to be sure, but He gave us a choice. We could either follow that plan, or not. It’s called “free will.” That’s usually where most of the things in this world get screwed up - when we start making decisions based on our own needs rather than considering and deciding things based on the will of GOD . . . or what we PERCEIVE to be God's will.

According to scripture, each of us is predestined to do something in God's plan. That much is true. But when we "try to find our purpose in life" that's exactly when we begin to wander.

Take a look through a "Christian" book store sometime (perhaps that's bad advice). There are many authors offering to help you find your purpose. Rick Warren would love to help you! Joel Osteen too! Save your money. They're leading you astray. Go back home an read your Bible. Everything God wants us to know has already been told to us. We just need to be obedient.

And that, my brothers and sisters, is our predestined purpose - to be obedient to God. Period.

Did you ever wonder what Gods plan for Himself is in all this? It's in the Bible, from beginning to end . . .

Where was God as Adam and Eve . . . in the beginning?

"8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day . . . " - Genesis 3:8

And where will God be with those who believe . . . in the end?

"3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God." - Revelation 21:3

God's desire, at least from what I read, has always been to dwell among His people. But we ruined all that. God knew we would. That's why he planned ahead of time for Jesus to be born of a virgin, and He was. God planned that Jesus would live a sinless life, and He did. And He also planned that Jesus would die on a cross, a spotless lamb, sacrificed for our sins, . . . and He did. God has always had a plan. And God's plan is all coming true. The only "option" is, do we want to join Him? I'll tell you what. This guy's in! But God knew that I would be, even though I ignored Him for years.

Now THAT's predestination!