Tag Archives: God’s Sovereignty

(John 19-21) What About Him?

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Do you ever look at the guy down the street and ask, “Why does he have it so easy?” or look at your co-worker and wonder, “Why does she get all the recognition?” Maybe concerning your own hardships you hear yourself pray, “Why me, Lord? What about him?”

Peter was in that boat. Jesus had just described Peter’s future and gave Peter a glimpse at his own death. It wasn’t pretty. So in response Peter pointed to the disciple John and asked Jesus, “What about him?”

Maybe Peter wanted to be sure John didn’t get off easy, or maybe he wanted his own death to be the more impressive of the two. Maybe Peter had genuine concern for his friend John. I don’t know. But I think we all need to hear Jesus’ answer to Peter’s question.

Basically Jesus said, “It’s none of your business.”

When we begin to hear the “why?” questions in our heads we need to hear God tell us the same thing: It’s none of your business. How God works in the lives of other people is totally up to Him and has nothing to do with how He works in ours. God deals with all of us in many different ways, but with a common goal: the salvation of us all.

Do you trust God? Then know that however He is dealing with the guy down the street, that co-worker, or you, is done by a loving, compassionate God who just wants each of us to come to Him, to accept what Jesus died to provide – the eternal salvation of our souls.

Don’t waste time worrying about what that looks like in anyone’s life but your own. The “what about him?” question is none of your business.

(Jeremiah 20-22) Is It God’s Will?

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The news these days is devastating. Our government is a disgrace. President Biben quit the Afghan conflict and pulled out our troops, bowing to the wishes of terrorists who want an end to America. People have died as a result. Christians have died. American military have died. And more death is sure to come.

I read a FaceBook post from one of my former students who shared that her faith in God has been shaken. “Why does God do this?” she asked. She said she knows it is His will. She just doesn’t understand it.

I read what God said through Jeremiah this morning and I believe the answer is there. As Jeremiah is describing the woes to come, he makes it clear that what is about to happen is judgment for sin. The people have turned their backs on God, and He is turning His back on them. He is about to show them what that looks like.

Would you say that is an example of His perfect will? Did God cause those people to sin, to reject Him, to worship idols, just so He could zap them with some judgment? If you believe that you don’t know God.

Do you want to know where God’s will is in all of this? His will is that every man, woman, and child in the world will choose to come to Him on His terms so that He can bless them. His will is that all people would come to Him humbly, in repentance, submitting to Him to receive the blessings He wants to shower on them. But repentance comes BEFORE blessing.

God is very honest and upfront to say to those who refuse: the consequences are devastating.

I can say with confidence the suicide bombing that took the lives of thirteen American servicemen, and dozens of civilians WAS NOT GOD’S WILL. It was the hand of evil, not the hand of God. That bombing happened because we have turned our back on God, and He has turned His back on us.

We want to live our lives our own way. That bombing IS our way.

Sovereign God knew that bombing would happen. It didn’t take Him by surprise. But that doesn’t mean He willed it to happen. In His sovereignty He tied His own hands by creating us with the ability to choose. He’s not a fairy godfather who grants wishes. He’s not even a guardian angel who swats away danger.

He is Holy God. And you don’t mess with Holy God without the consequences.

Instead of questioning Him, we – each of us – need to submit to Him. Then and only then will we see His will accomplished.

(Isaiah 47-59) Go Ahead And Choose

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Throughout Scripture we are told that, since we have the God-given ability to choose, we must choose wisely or face the consequences. We see that played out in the history of God in Israel in the Old Testament: the Exodus, the taking of the Promised Land, the years Israel was led by one king after another, etc.

We hear it from the mouths of the prophets of God. And we hear it in the New Testament from the mouth of God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ:

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

Isaiah tells us to go ahead and make the choice to follow our own way, make up our own rules, live by our own wisdom and means. That is our privilege as people created by God in His image. But Isaiah, speaking for God, also warns us that if we choose to do our own thing, we won’t like what comes next.

Look, all you who kindle a fire, who encircle yourselves with torches; walk in the light of your fire and of the torches you have lit! This is what you’ll get from my hand; you will lie down in a place of torment. (50:11)

You can argue all day about whether or not there even is a God. You can twist Scripture to fit your world-view, to justify and tolerate sin. You can even flat out reject the whole thing. That, in God’s Sovereignty, is your privilege.

But your choice is not without rewards and/or consequences. God is very clear about that. You can choose Him and obey His rules and receive His blessings both now and eternally. Or you can choose something else, and receive His punishment.

Choose obedience. Choose Truth. Choose God.

If you have read this today, you WILL make a choice. Not choosing IS choosing to reject Him. Right now, this minute, you are faced with a life-changing choice.

Go ahead and choose.

(Psalms 7-10) On Being A Human

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We are often reminded that God’s ways are not always our ways. More often than not, we don’t understand why things are like they are. We wait for God to crush evil people or to relieve the burdens of His children. We wait. And it often seems God isn’t paying attention. It just doesn’t seem fair.

But the truth is, God’s patience is at play because He’s not as concerned about displaying our definition of “fair,” as much as displaying His grace and mercy toward people who need Him. His ways are not our ways. They are always better than our ways.

David reminds us we humans are made “a little less than God.” (8:5a) Yes, we are crowned with glory and honor and placed in charge of creation; to care for and rule over everything God made. But we are still NOT God, and never will be because we were not created His equal. We were created less than God.

Russel D. Moore addressed that in my Apologetics Study Bible (CSB Apologetics Study Bible, Holman Bible Publishers, 2017, p645) and pointed out that people who reject creation as described in the Bible, and especially those who believe in the theory of evolution, believe humans are created – or evolved – a little higher than animals.

That’s a different mind-set than believing we are created a bit lower than God. No wonder it’s so easy for many evolutionists to support abortion and euthanasia. They believe human life is no different from that of an amoeba, no more valuable than a rodent or an ape.

Yet the Bible tells us we are uniquely created in the image of God; like Him with a higher ability to think, feel, choose, deduce, plan, and recognize the difference between good and evil, than the rest of creation. Designed just one rung below God. But that rung isn’t close to God’s.

Closer, yes. But not even close to equal.

That’s why we bow to His sovereignty, we trust His plan even if we are unable to understand it. We who know Him because God created us with the ability to know Him (unlike anything else in all of creation), can rest in His righteousness and sing about the name of the LORD Most High.

LORD, our Lord, how magnificent is your name throughout the earth! (8:1)

(I Samuel 13-15) God Regrets

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God’s Sovereignty is such a mystery. Some people believe life on earth is predestined to play out exactly how God causes it to be. Others think God set the world in motion, then stepped back to see how it would progress without His intervention. Some people place themselves somewhere in the middle, and believe God’s will will always be done no matter the choices we make, because if we make one decision, He will orchestrate situations which lead to His will, if we make another decision, God will manipulate circumstances in another direction to bring about His will. Still others believe something in between all of those.

(Let me say here that I know there is one indisputable aspect of God’s will that will ALWAYS be true. That is that anyone who believes in Jesus will be saved. It’s the “whosoever” of John 3:16. Anyone who comes to God on His terms, He will in no wise cast out. Take that to the bank!)

The question of God’s Sovereignty comes up when Scripture tells us God “regretted” making Saul king. Does that mean He wished He’d appointed someone else in light of what Saul did? Is God really saying hindsight is 20/20? Are we to assume this is the same as an unhappy husband regretting he’s married his nagging wife?

The definition of regret is: “a feeling of sadness, repentance, or disappointment over something that has happened or been done.”

I think what we see here in I Samuel is God’s expression of sadness and disappointment. God has nothing to repent for! Remember His will for Israel was that HE would be their king. They chose a human king instead. I think God mourned the inevitable pain their rejection of Him is going to cause. What Saul did was the tip of the iceberg as we will see as we read on in the Scriptures. And that made God sad.

When you watch your child make a decision that you know is going to end up hurting them, isn’t there a bit of regret, or sadness, or disappointment? It’s the same with God. He loved the people. He loved Saul. And it grieved Him to know how their choices were going to hurt them.

God was disappointed. But He was not surprised. After all He, in His Sovereignty, had already watched the scene played out before it happened. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t break His heart.

My Apologetics Bible said this about this passage: “(God’s) relationships with people are authentic and personal, not pre-programmed.” I tend to agree.

As I think about this passage this morning, I am determined not to cause God any disappointment or sadness. I pray that I – that we all – will decide to obey Him today and bring Him only joy. No regrets.

(Genesis 26-30) What is Bible Prophesy?

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Did God arrange the circumstances surrounding Isaac, Rebekah, Esau, and Jacob so that His prophesy concerning the elder son serving the younger son would come true?

If you believe that, you are saying God caused Rebekah and Jacob to deceive Isaac. You are saying God caused them to sin in order to fulfill prophesy.

And you would be wrong.

Bible prophesies are not predictions of things to come in the future. Bible prophesies are reports of what happened in the future – past tense. God, who exists outside of time, has already seen the end. He knows what will happen in our future as a result of our choices. Our future. Not His.

Bible prophesy demonstrates that God is who He claims to be. He does not orchestrate life on earth. We are not puppets. This is not a video game He’s playing. God doesn’t manipulate your or me or the Presidential election.

But He knows what happened in our future because He is already there.

There are certainly times when He intervenes, when answers to prayer defeat Satan, when our obedience results in blessing instead of judgment. And God can tell us what those results will be because He saw them happen before we experienced them. There are times when Scripture tells us things happened so that prophesy would be fulfilled. Or, these things happened so that we would make the connection between these things that happened, and the Sovereign God who told us it would happen.

When we read about, or see in our lifetime, Bible prophesy fulfilled, let’s let it cause us to fall on our faces before our Sovereign God who is not bound by time. Let it encourage us to know that He is with us, and will be with us all the way. Let’s realize that nothing happens that will surprise Him because He’s already seen it happen.

Bible prophesy is a gift. It allows us to get a glimpse of God as He was, is, and always will be. Then, to think this awesome God loves us enough to die for us so that we can be with Him is beyond amazing.

I pray we will read Bible prophesy with the intent of knowing God better instead of trying to put circumstances on a timeline. It’s not about the prophesy. It’s about the God who has already been there, done that.

Bible prophesy is all about God.

Chosen Or Not? (Matthew 22)

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Does God choose to save some people, and choose to not save others? Matthew 22:14 says that is clearly the case. Like it or not, God in His Sovereignty clearly accepts some people and not others.

BUT… do not take this verse and expect it to stand on its own. Read the first 13 verses of this chapter, too.

The invitation to the king’s banquet went out to everyone. Some people rejected it on their own. Others dropped what they were doing and accepted the invitation. But one who accepted the invitation was rejected by the king.

Why was this man rejected? Had he received the invitation by mistake? Was the invitation never meant to be extended to him because the king didn’t have him on the guest list? No! The man was rejected because he had come to the banquet on his own terms, not wearing the clothing provided by the king.

The man wasn’t rejected because the king didn’t want him there. The man was rejected because he himself had rejected the king’s provision.

Here’s God’s plan of salvation: Jesus died to pay the death penalty for every sinner who has ever lived. Forgiveness and eternity is extended to ANYONE who accepts it. Jesus died once AND FOR ALL. And God chooses to save anyone who comes to Him on His terms.

Also in God’s sovereign plan is the invitation. Scripture tells us God is drawing all men to Himself. He came to seek and to save that which was lost – and we are all lost because all have sinned. He continually reveals Himself to the world through nature and the Gospel so that no one has an excuse when on that day, every person will give an account for their response to God’s grace.

God doesn’t write anyone off until they stand before Him wearing their filthy rags instead of His own righteousness through the blood of Jesus. Many are called. But only the few who accept His invitation according to His demands are chosen.

That means you! If you have never gone to God on His terms, through His Son Jesus, by repenting of sin and accepting forgiveness through His blood, God has chosen to reject you. No one goes to the Father except through the Son. That’s God’s sovereign plan. He’s very clear about that.

But rest assured… if you come to Him today and accept what Jesus died to give you, you will stand before the King of kings wearing the proper attire, the righteousness of Jesus!

I’m praying for you.

God Is Revealed (Ezekiel 38-39)

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God’s punishment for sin will always be evident in this world, because there will always be sin in the world until He comes again. Natural disasters will happen. Evil men will do evil things. There will be disease, and war, and heartache and suffering. There will continue to be times when God removes His protection, and even His children will suffer because of their sin.

But!

There will always, ALWAYS, be times of grace, of mercy, of victory when people humble themselves and repent of sin. God will always, ALWAYS bless those who obey Him.

Why? So that the world and everyone in it will recognize that God is Holy. God is Sovereign, God is who He says He IS and there is no other. This world is about God.

As I read His Word I understand that Truth. And here is the best part of that. God wants a relationship with me! God wants to protect and bless me as though I was His only child. Like a loving Father, He will discipline my rebellion, correct my self-centeredness, punish my disobedience. And like a loving Father, He will always, ALWAYS forgive me when I come to Him, humble myself, and repent.

May God be seen in me through every circumstance of life. May people recognize the Holy, Just, Fierce, and Forgiving God He is by watching Him work in my life. May I be a living example of His grace because:

God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Everything that happens, the good and the bad, happen to point people to Jesus, to reveal God in all His holiness and goodness so that they will come to Him for forgiveness, and enjoy a relationship with the Sovereign, Holy God He is. I love to think that I may have a part in His plan, to reveal this wonderful God to a world that needs Him!

September 7; Changing Anxiety Into Joy

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Daniel 11b3 6-12:13; Psalms 93-96

Often when I read the psalms God will hit me right where I live. I’ll hear something on the news, or someone close to me will share something that has me concerned, or I will have something happen that shakes me. Then, when I read God’s Word, it’s like God is addressing that very thing that is on my heart. He is amazing!

I’m not going into detail today about what is specifically heavy on my heart because that which is on your heart is very likely something quite different. But I want to share with you what God has said to me through His Word about handling our concerns and battles. I think it applies to us all.

In Psalm 94 the writer begins by pointing out the things that are wrong in the world, that wickedness is seemingly going unchecked. But then we are reminded that God created us with ears, do we think He can’t hear? He created us with eyes, do we think He can’t see? The psalmist calls us foolish for thinking God can ever be caught off-guard. He knows every thought we have. We can rest assured that the things on our hearts are on His heart, too.

The psalmist points us to Scripture, the place where God teaches us, where we find relief from our trouble, where we are assured that as God’s inheritance we are not forsaken. It’s the place where I love to go to hear God’s heart-beat.

Then lastly, the psalmist tells us if we are fighting a battle, God fights with us. When we fall, He catches us. When we are weak, He is our fortress and refuge.  Then in verse 19, listen to this:

When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.

You remember Philippians 4:6-7, don’t you?

Be anxious for nothing but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I Peter 5:7 says,

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

So I guess today, as my heart is heavy, as I find myself worrying about people I love, I am reminded that God wants to be in this with me. He wants to be my rock and my refuge. He wants to teach me, assure me, love me through it.

He wants to change my anxiety to joy. And I am going to let Him!

Daniel 7-12; Daniel’s Prayer

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Daniel’s heart-felt prayer reveals his agony over his sin, and the sin of God’s people. They were in captivity, prisoners of the Babylonians, and God had made it clear that captivity was a just judgment for their sin. They didn’t like it. But they deserved it.

It probably wouldn’t hurt us to be praying like Daniel prayed, too. We could use a bit of repentance these days, couldn’t we? Ann Graham Lotz wrote a study on Daniel’s prayer, and it’s a good one for today. If you’re inclined, I recommend it.

Why pray, though? Really. Doesn’t a Sovereign God already have things worked out the way He wants? Matthew Henry says this:

“God gives us leave not only to pray, but to plead, not to move him (he himself knows what he will do), but to move ourselves and encourage our faith.” (Commentary in One Volume, Zondervan Publishing House, 1961; page 1098)

God wants us to pray, to plead with Him, to boldly enter His throne room and lay our requests for ourselves and others, at His feet. But I respectfully disagree with Henry about one thing. Scripture gives many examples of God being moved by our prayers.

Hezekiah’s prayer in 2 Kings 20 bought him 15 more years of life, after Isaiah told him God said for him to get his affairs in order. Hezekiah’s prayer moved God.

God was moved when Manasseh prayed in 2 Chronicles 33, and God returned him to Jerusalem.

Jesus said he wasn’t going to heal the Gentile woman, until she pled with Him. He healed her. (Matthew 15)

However, our Sovereign God sees today as the past. So He knows whether or not we prayed for someone.

Do you remember the comic books that had alternate story-lines? You’d get to a certain place in the story and the character would have a decision to make. If you wanted the character to make one choice, the book would direct you to a certain page. If you wanted another choice, you’d be directed to a different page. Same character, different outcome.

I think prayer is a little like that. Someone has a need. And God knows what happens if we pray. He sees the end result of our pleading with Him to answer our prayer on that person’s behalf, to move Him to action. But He also knows what happens if we don’t pray, if we never ask Him to move in the life of that person. Same person, different outcomes.

The difference is prayer.

Two weeks ago, our much-loved pastor announced his resignation, to the shock and dismay of us all. God is undoubtedly leading him to pastor a church in another state. Now we are faced with the responsibility of filling the pulpit left vacant by this dear man.

We all, as members of this body of believers, want God’s will in this matter. Should we assume that will happen because God is Sovereign, and will bring His man right to us? Or should we pray?

We’re praying!

The Bible teaches us God hears and answers prayer. So we’re praying. The Bible teaches us God is moved by our prayers, that He is free to work in us when we pray. Pray on!

I know God does have a will as to who our next pastor should be. And He’s not going to play games with us to see if we can figure it out, and call the right man. But God isn’t going to force anyone on us, either.

So our prayer is for wisdom to recognize God’s leading. We are pleading with God to make His way known, that we will move only when He moves us. We want God’s first and best choice for our fellowship. So we’re praying that we will know God’s mind and heart in this matter, and that our next pastor will know it, too.

You can bet I’m praying.

I do like what Henry said in the quote above about praying moving us. About prayer encouraging our faith. When I spend time talking to God, pouring my heart out to Him, loving on Him, I am changed. I am encouraged.

So today, I can honestly tell you I’m excited about what’s ahead for our church, because I am praying.