AMP Fitness Party

"Finally" Out?

Lately I've been convicted about the word "Finally". It's a natural response to a situation you feel has gone on for too long. But I believe as a Follower of Christ I'm called to live higher than the natural responses of life. God has shown me time and time again that his timing always beats mine. So I can say "Somebody finally bought my house after its been on the market for x amount of time." But when I begin to look at how much better things are because it happened now vs when I was ready and I begin to wonder how appropriate "Finally" really is. I'll probably still use the word and will probably still be saying it from a point of frustration but it's something to think about I believe.

Moving from Bitterness to Blessing

It’s been a while since my last blog post. Life has been up and down lately but I suppose that’s the case for everyone. I’ve been wrestling with the idea of God and struggling in this life and wondering if there really is someone up there hearing and reacting to my prayers. I try not to base my belief in God on the positive or negative situations in my life but I can’t help it sometimes. I’ve been down in the past and recently over the lack of movement and progress in my financial and career development. Plans are established and are negated before they can even be put into action. I’ve felt like I was following the “Carrot Dangling” God I wrote about previously. Hahaha! I went to church this past Sunday and the Pastor was teaching from Exodus 15.

Exodus 15:22-27

Bitter Water at Marah

²² Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea, and they moved out into the desert of Shur. They traveled in this desert for three days without finding any water. ²³ When they came to the oasis of Marah, the water was too bitter to drink. So they called the place Marah (which means “bitter”).

²⁴ Then the people complained and turned against Moses. “What are we going to drink?” they demanded. ²⁵ So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink.

It was there at Marah that the Lord set before them the following decree as a standard to test their faithfulness to him. ²⁶ He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.”

²⁷ After leaving Marah, the Israelites traveled on to the oasis of Elim, where they found twelve springs and seventy palm trees. They camped there beside the water.

They weren’t out of the Will of God and as a result ran into problems. They were exactly where God wanted them to be but how they responded to this test was key. Just previously they had been celebrating and praising God for parting the Red Sea and delivering them from Pharaoh and Egypt but in the face of trouble they were complaining again. In these moments the biggest problem is that in the complaining is a lack of Trust in God. It’s a struggle but we have to learn to trust God’s Sovereign plans and God’s hidden plans. We may not know why were are dealing with what we’re dealing with but it’s an opportunity to dig in deeper and seek God harder.

My perspective on some things are beginning to change and my mood is changing. I’m changing my focus to say if I believe in God and that He sent His Son to die for me then no matter what my circumstances look like I trust that I am in His hands and that He’ll never leave me nor forsake me. I’m looking towards Christ who is the author and the finisher of my faith and I’ll say like the Apostle Paul. Whether I’m in need or have plenty I’m fine because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

I don’t believe that every time we go through trouble it’s specifically God testing us. I believe that there are times when we get off course and fall into trouble and that there are times when the Enemy has thrown roadblocks in our way that need to be resisted but the process of seeking God and wholeheartedly seeking to draw closer to him makes which of these categories we call into a moot point because the end result should be us turning to the Father and leaning on him. There should be no time when we just “take it”. I don’t believe that is ever the way. We should avoid murmuring and complaining but I don’t believe God ever calls us to just “suck it up” and accept our lack and problems. There is always victory on the other side of the struggle.

Does Jesus = Zeus?

I've noticed over the last few years that many online like to accuse Christians of calling on Pagan deities when they use English translations like God, Lord and Jesus. There is no real support for these claims but that doesn't stop many from reciting the same arguments from the websites and groups they have gotten this information from. This video does a great job of dealing with many of the claims.

Questioning Sacred Cows

Been thinking a lot lately about Doctrines I’ve been taught as fact my entire life. I decided about a year ago that I was going to put everything I’ve been taught on trial to see if it holds up to scrutiny and hard questions and I’m sad to say many of the things I’ve parroted over the years just don’t seem to add up with the bible or even common sense. There are teachings that you’d think went all the way back to when Jesus walked the earth but they weren’t even taught until the church got to Rome. To even challenge or even question some of these ideas is to be labeled a heretic that is trying to tickle the ears of people. The more I study the less I’m sure of the validity of what I believe. I’ve always been taught that the “True Gospel” is that we are all born sinners because of Adam and Eve in need of a savior and that Jesus came and died for our sins so that we can be right with God. I’m not so sure about that anymore.

Two things recently I’ve really been questioning are the Penal Substitution view of Jesus’ work on the Cross and the teaching of Original Sin. They both raise some uncomfortable questions that I believe are legitimate questions but to even suggest that there may be problems with them gets you blacklisted.

Here in our culture we've primarily accepted a view called Penal Substitution as the reason for Jesus having to come to earth and die for our sins. This view basically has the idea of you being on trial and guilty of a crime with a penalty of death when you are about to be sentenced Jesus comes in and takes your sentence and dies for you. So when Adam and Eve rebelled man was separated from God and inherited their sins. Jesus had to come and pay the price for our sins and take the wrath of God on himself to restore our relationship.  Now that I've gotten the description out of the way here are the questions.

What kind of relationship does this give us with the Father? If it weren't for Jesus he would've destroyed us. It seems like it should make us love Jesus but be wary of the Father.

Was forgiveness of sins done at the cross? Can you really forgive if someone has to pay? If I have an outstanding debt with Bank of America and someone else pays the debt for me did Bank of America do anything special? They didn’t forgive my debt they merely took the payment from someone else.

Also my questions about this lead into my questions about Original Sin. This is the view that man is automatically guilty of sin at birth because we are born with Adam’s sin nature. So we’re all under the Wrath of God just because we were born. How is that fair? If we really believed that then why do most reasonable Christians teach that babies that die go to heaven? If they are guilty of damnation automatically why do they get a pass until a certain age? How can we choose to not be under the wrath of God when we didn’t get a chance to choose if we wanted to be under it in the first place? We acknowledge that it wouldn’t be fair for a baby to assume his parents IRS debt but it’s fair for us to inherit the debt of Adam and Eve?

These are some things I’m wrestling with and the more I study these things the more empathy I have for those that bitterly oppose Christianity and what it projects. These are the questions that get you cursed at and rejected by Christians and it’s a scary place to be and I see why many just say forget it and leave all together. That’s not what I’m going to do but I can understand it.

Gangsta Killa God vs Carrot Dangling God

Gangsta Killa God vs Carrot Dangling God

In my time in church I’ve witnessed and experienced various different views of God and the results on both sides have been very bad. I’ll describe them here and ask where or is there a balance between the two views.

Gangsta Killa God:

I don’t have as much experience with this view and I have to give credit for that label to my friend Chris Echols. This view of God ascribes every atrocity known to man to being a part of God’s Will and eternal decrees. You often hear things like it must have been God’s Will for him to be killed. Or it was God’s Will that I get fired and thrown out on the street. Humans have very little if any ability to affect change in their lives without God directly predetermining it. This view sees that the only way God can be assured that His Will ultimately comes to pass is for Him to directly orchestrate and predetermine every action and reaction from the clothes you put on today to the car accident you were either in or saved from. Yet and still we are held accountable for every event and decision that was already pre-planned for us that happens to us. The unfairness is usually chalked up to “He’s God and who are we to question Him.” Once that statement is made there’s really not much more discussion left. 

Carrot Dangling God:

Now this is the view that I have the most experience with. My background  is primarily Charismatic and Word of Faith. I was listening to clip from a young pastor in my city online and it brought back some ill feelings. In this view you constantly hear how God wants to bless you. God wants to heal you. Everything that you need has already been provided just claim it by faith. The Spirit is here and healing is here just reach out and claim your healing. God is waiting on you to sow your seed of faith so he can open the Windows of Heaven and pour out His blessing on you and on and on. In this scenario you’re constantly trying to get yourself in line with God so you can receive these things that he so desperately wants to give you or things He has already given you that haven’t manifested yet. I often felt like I was chasing a dangling carrot. You feel like it’s your fault that you haven’t received those things you need and you’re constantly making adjustments trying to get in line and find where God wants you to be to receive His provision. The process was almost equated with God’s will. "If it doesn't work it's not God's fault." So if it's not God's fault then whose fault is it because it can't be the formula right??? 

I believe there are truths in both camps but I also believe that a balance needs to be found because I’ve found that these are two of the main camps that have caused people to quit God altogether and reject Him. Any thoughts?

Thoughts on Predestination

Predestination stuff

Here is the the definition from a theological standpoint. Unfortunately the Calvinist view is the dominant definition.

Predestination in its broadest conception is the doctrine that because God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and completely sovereign, he “from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass,” (Westminster Confession). “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” (Ephesians 1:11).
http://www.theopedia.com/Predestination

Predestination, in theology is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God. John Calvin interpreted biblical predestination to mean that God willed eternal damnation for some people and salvation for others.[1] Explanations of predestination often seek to address the so-called "paradox of free will," whereby God's omniscience seems incompatible with human free will.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination

These definitions alienate those of us that believe that God has given men Free Will or the ability to make choices that are not His Will. People that believe in Free Will believe that God's Will can be resisted. Those that don't believe in the same Free Will don't believe God's Will can be resisted. So the question then becomes if God's Will can't be resisted then why doesn't God save everyone? That question is reasoned away by placing it on the mystery of God's plan. The Free Will person would say that God wants everyone to choose Him but He won't force Himself on you. God is love and you can't have love without a choice.

The reason I object to the earlier definitions of Predestination is because of the numerous times in scripture God seems to be upset and angry about the decisions of people. For example God regretted making man in Genesis before He sent the flood. God gave the Israelites a king ahead of the time that He wanted them to have one and was upset that they had rejected Him as their king. The Holy Spirit can be grieved and Jesus didn't seem to live as if everything was working according to God's Will. He often seemed frustrated with the people's lack of faith and understanding.

Personally I've been associating myself loosely with what is called Open Theism. I believe that God does have a plan for our lives but he gives us the choice of following His plan or not following His plan. If you accept Christ and follow God's plan you're predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus. I don't believe that God has every detail of our lives written and mapped out. For example I don't believe the child that was molested in foster care was predestined to have that experience. People have the ability to make choices and those choices have far reaching affects on others. Here is where I think it glorifies God in the end. No matter how bad a hand you've been dealt in life God can turn it around in such a way that you'd swear that He had to have put you through that on purpose because it worked out so perfectly in the end. Romans 8:28 is my favorite verse for that reason.

I like to use the story of Joseph and his brothers in Genesis to illustrate my point. God gave Joseph a dream and in the dream he was in charge and his brothers were bowing down to him. The got angry and jealous and sold him into slavery and acted as if he was dead. Joseph goes through a series of events and prospers everywhere he goes whether in Potifar's house or in prison after Potifar's wife frames him. He gets out of prison and is placed over people in Egypt in preparation for a famine. In the end his brothers and the rest of his family were able to live and the Israelites were born in Egypt.

But as for you, you meant evil against me;  but  God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as  it is  this day, to save many people alive. (Genesis 50:20 NKJV)

Some believe that this proves that all that happened to Joseph was according to God's will but personally I believe God could've gotten Joseph where He needed Him to be without having to go through all that He went through but ultimately he was predestined to be in that position in Egypt. 

I guess this is a good start. I wasn't sure what you wanted to know about Predestination so I gave you a summary of the common way I hear it talked about.