Everyday

The way I figure it, if you're going to do something anyway, you might as well do it like a boss.

.

Regarding God's Sovereignty: An Exchange

Dan Rysselburghe:

Skarlet, I think I know your errant theology enough to say that you believe that God's grace is completely resistible- see, people do it all the time. You say, also, that Salvation is merely an offer that can be accepted or refused. In saying these things, you strip God of His sovereignty, reduce Him to a poor beggar of men's souls and relegates Him to the role of a responder. Don't you see, this makes you sovereign over your own destiny and refutes the Scripture which says, "it does not depend on man's desire or effort" and "God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. ~ Rm 9.

Skarlet Reinagel:

Dan; Yes, God's grace is resistible, and only because He designed it to be that way. God doesn't want people who have no choice but to serve Him, He is a God who exalts in relationships. If you have a problem with this, take it up with Him and not me. I feel that since God made the universe, if He wishes to give people grace enough so that they are able to accept His offer of salvation but don't have to, He has every right to do so.

Yes, Salvation is offered to all, but that's not all. It's also enacted for those who believe, according to God's design. Everyday, people are regenerated, justified, and sanctified further and further. If this seems to a person to be "merely" anything, then that one does not fully yet understand the magnitude of the gospel, or the Amazingness of His grace toward all. Salvation is an absolute miracle and we should be on our knees every day thanking God that He is Merciful enough to offer it to us wretched beings!

God IS Sovereign over all. Giving people the option to resist His grace does not make Him less Sovereign. In fact, to say that God is not free to offer salvation to all would be to try to tell God what He is and is not free to do in order to retain His status of Sovereignty in your eyes. He is not afraid of your opinion. He is Sovereign over all and gives grace as He sees fit, and not as you see fit. He does not beg, but commands; He also glorifies His name in dealing out the rewards of disobedience to those who ignore those commands. He is not a responder, but is proactive in the life of every human being, both in blessing and grace, and in cursing and punishment.

Finally, none of us is sovereign over his or her own destiny. God is. God chooses who He wants to save, according to His conditions, in line with His good will. If He chooses to have mercy on those who do not resist His grace, what is that to you? And if He chooses to continue to harden those who harden their hearts in response to His grace, who are we to stand against Him? Every destiny is in the hands of the Lord, and it is only by His will and His grace that you or I has been given grace to his faith, and that we are promised eternal life. If God had wanted, He could have given eternal death to believers, but it did not so please Him. It is HIS world. HIS conditions, my friend.

Beethoven's 5th + Pretty Pictures = Awesome

Ashes Like Snow

Can a house burn up while it's burning down?
This fire has taken up more than half the town

I calm myself down - I say a prayer
When I breathe, I can taste the smoke in the air

Black orangish clouds creep across the whole sky
The wind blows too fast, too hot, and too dry

Fear grips my chest - smoke - I can't breathe anymore
The world starts to spin, as, I sink to the floor

"All I hold dear is gone now" I cry
As ashes fall softly like snow from the sky

__________________________________________

It's wintertime here, and Christmas is coming
With holiday songs about drummer boys drumming

I hear jingling bells and see Christmas decor
Kind people wrap presents to give to the poor

Wreaths and holly will hang from each door
Fresh gingerbread man - and the children want more

The gift that I bought her, pies that I would bake
When it comes to mind, my heart starts to break

Something Christmas is missing, I'm not going to lie
I ask for a white Christmas, and what's the reply?
Just ashes falling like snow from the sky

__________________________________________

To buy me that house, I saved all my life
That house was a home, not one bit of strife

I gave up my todays for her tomorrows
I gave her a home to protect her from sorrows

Up in the hills, where the weather is drier
Our house was one of the first to catch fire

The firemen tell me beyond a doubt
That my girl didn't even try to get out

She hated her pain, she wanted to die
I feel so angry and sad - she didn't even try!
And the ash it now falls like snow from the sky

__________________________________________

My past and my future have gone up in flame
My hope, my heart, my house, my dame

This life - what's left - this ash - it's my fate
I wanted to save her, but I was too late

This nightmare I wish was just a dream
If I could speak, or breathe, I'm sure I would scream

She was scared of the dark, so I held her at night
I comforted - told her things would be alright

I told her that Christmas would be quite a sight
Said we could go see trees all dusted in white
But only ash falls like snow tonight

__________________________________________

So Christmas is here - the cheer and the laughter
The reading of stories and happy ever after

At least I'm sure that's how some people feel
Far away from this fire, where pain seems unreal

When carols are sung, and stories are read
To me it all seems so empty and dead

The lights are so bright, the beauty of night
I hear someone saying things will be alright

Then I try to breathe, but the air is too dry
I hold on to hope, at least, I do try
But inside of my soul, I've started to die
There's nothing left in me - I can't even cry
And the ash like sweet snow still falls from the sky

.

Poetry, For the WIN

The following is a set of two poems. The first poem contains a covert message, and the following poem, which was sent in reply, is encoded in the same way. If you search and study and cannot find the hidden messages, then you can select the area under the poems where I will have written the key to deciphering them.

Ice caps melt slowly, as time still ticks on

(And)

Long moments glide by, like a beautiful swan

Of all the things I could possibly do

(While)

Valiantly fighting all darkness in view

Each day that I have, I want you by my side

(Yes,)

Year by year, you and I firmly allied

Of all the dreams we have, still so bold

(Remember)

Ultimately, the end of our story is yet 'to be told'

__________________________________________________

I am impressed by your glorious talent!
Love is evident, and heaven-sent
On wings of an angel, that came and went
Victoriously despite the energy spent.

Enough about that, I want to hold
You close in my arms 'til we're both old
On retirement plans we were each sold
Until (due to Democrat schemes) they fold.

Today's not the time for that however!
Or if it is, it's time to sever
Our thoughts relating to times of never.
! Yes, let's focus on forever!

__________________________________________________

Key: Read the first letter of each line (but ignore the lines within parenthesis)

.

God & Apple Technology

I read this blog post about how Steve Jobs and Apple technology inadvertently empowered the persecuted church, and helped to spread of the Word of God in cultures that don't have a written language. It's a fascinating and encouraging read, and so here is a link to the original post: Tribal Technology

"You do not believe because you are not my sheep"

The following verses from the Bible are awesome, true, and also a point of much misunderstanding and confusion in the Calvinist/Arminian debate:

John 6:37

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”

John 6:44-45

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.”

John 6:65

“He went on to say, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.’”

John 8:43-44, 47

“Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. . . . 47 He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

John 10:26-29

“. . . but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”

John 17:1-2, 6, 9, 24

“Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. . . . 6 I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. . . . 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. . . . 24 Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am.”

For an excellent discussion of the Arminian perspective on these verses, I would recommend that you each . read the following article:

The Order of Faith and Election in John's Gospel

It contains some very clear and powerful ideas concerning the transition from the Old Covenant before Christ, and the introduction of Jesus as the perfect revelation of the Father and His official representative. Those throughout Israel and the world, therefore, who truly knew and loved God the Father already, those who were in right relationship with Him, would also come to Jesus and embrace the Messiah, when He was presented to them. It's a great opportunity to really dig deeply into the Word of God and to gain further understanding of the aforementioned passages.