My Thursday Night Thoughts

If you read last weeks blog, I’m sure some of you were thinking: Either Jerry knows what he is talking about, or he is a nut. Well, lol, allow me to explain why I am a nut. You see, I read too many books. And listen to a broad range of conservative speakers. That is not a good thing. The best thing for me to do is to look at a subject through only one organization without considering any outside sources. Cult!

Freewill is understood to mean: ability to choose without restraint. I can go with this, if we are talking about the government not restraining us, or other people not restraining us. But if we are talking about the foreknowledge of God, how are we free of that? Only certain ones are able to come to Christ on those foreknown days. If others could come, then God didn’t know it for sure. But He knew, and we are not free to choose otherwise.

One of the attributes of God is that He is everywhere at once. Most people have no problem with this, until they do a serious study on how God is present in the material world. If you say His presence makes up the subatomic structure of things, then you rub shoulders with pantheism. If you say He is “beside” things, then He is not present everywhere. Which is it? I say both, because we are OF the One who transcends.

Do women lack wisdom? Every woman reading this right now is paying attention, right? Lol. Men, you are a bunch of cowards. Some might say I need to crawl in a hole right now. Lol. But I’ll answer this question this way. I’ve met some very wise women and some very unwise guys. And though some might make certain generalizations concerning both (see Eccl. 7:25-28), yet, without following Christ, where is wisdom?

What is the ultimate purpose in life? I’ve asked people at work this question and got all kinds of answers. Anywhere from raising a family to becoming successful, or from sex to just plain survival (what a contrast, lol). Some think it is salvation, but when you think of why God wanted to make “vessels of mercy” (Rom. 9:23), another answer comes up. With an eternal God of the universe, His supremacy matters the most. Glorifying Him is the answer.

Many of us are married; and most married couples have kids; so we find fulfillment in friendship with people through this means alone. Another way is through work and church. But what is a good friend? When my Dad died, I lost a good friend. Good friendships are rare. It is two people staying in contact with one another constantly because they connect so well, and fulfill one another’s needs.

Jesus said: “...He that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47). This belief is different from the belief of just believing all the facts about Him. The Devil Believes the facts. What Jesus is talking about here, is a reliance or trust of deep adoration and submission towards Him. The Devil will not bow down to Him as Lord and Master of his life. This kind of changed heart is believing in Jesus.

Have you ever noticed that when you finally get a chance to say something to some people, they’re really not listening. It’s like they are only interested in informing you, and not gaining anything from the conversation.  How do you get through? Sometimes it’s impossible, especially if they’re a talker. I love it when a person talks WITH you, and not AT you. This is wisdom: few words; listening with interest; back and forth; love it!

If everything happens for a reason, why are there bad things in the world? My reply: How can you explain all the bad things in the world without everything happening for a reason? Let me ask you this: If you had the power of God for one day, what would you do with it? I’m sure you would rid the world of all natural disasters and diseases, etc., right? But if you had the wisdom of God as well, you would leave everything the same.

Why marry? Why not just live together? I could answer this question by simply saying, because God ordained marriage; but this doesn’t answer the underlying reason why. It is because God created us in His image. We are not like animals, where there is no rational or morality to make a covenant contract between a man and a woman (not capable of fornication or adultery). Marriage reflects God’s character.

What do you need to do in order to be sure you will go to heaven when you die? The answer: You need to come to a place in your life where you realize you are a sinner, lost, and going to hell, repentant before the Lord, asking Jesus Christ to save you. This occurs when the gospel message comes to you; and you realize who Jesus is, and why He came; and you now want Jesus Christ to rule your life through His Word (See John’s Gospel).

How is it that we are (often times) what we were brought up to be? And people will hold to this vigorously. They will say, “I am a Baptist; or I am a Republican; and that’s just what I will continue to be.” If you ask, “What caused you to come to this?” They will say, “I was brought up this way.” Lol. This is not a good reason to believe something, even if it is true, how would you know for sure?

Can you think of any attributes in God that are totally different than ours? If you say, “All-knowing.” We have knowledge. If you say, “All-powerful.” We have strength. These attributes are like our own only projected into infinity. But what makes God so unique is that He never had a beginning, and is not dependent upon anything or anyone for His existence. “There is none like [Him]” (Isa. 46:9).

If I was asked to prove that God exists, How would I do it? I would do it by arguing the impossibility of the contrary. You say: “What!?” Lol. Let me explain. You see, We don’t live in an atheist world where there are only physical realities. We live in a world where the laws of logic and objective moral truths exist. These are the very immaterial things you would expect from a God of logic and morality.

How do I know there is a God? The same way everyone knows there is a God. He created within all of us to know this truth. But because of sin, people suppress it, even to the point of supposed atheism. You might say, “These are rather blunt statements you are making without any proofs.” But the proofs are in the things He has made. We were all created to know deep down inside that God truly exists.

“Life [is] like a box of chocolates.” Many of us know the movie. And the answer does seem to have to do with fate, not knowing which one “you’re gonna get.” But is it really about fate? Why not providence? Even though we still don’t know what the future brings, we can rest assure that God is in control, and things happen for a reason. Providence is God directing the acts of continuation after creation.

I like making people think sometimes in my approach of sharing my beliefs. So I came up to this guy asking him: “Do you believe there is a God?” He said, “yes.” Then I said, “Do you think that will do you any good?” He said, “I sure hope so.” I said, “Doesn’t the Devil believe there is a God?” He said, “Well, yeah.” Then I said, “If his belief didn’t do him any good, how’s yours going to do you any good?” Stumped.

I am a Republican, just so you know. And one of the reasons why, is because of the moral issues, they line up with the Bible. The reason I know this, is because I read the Bible. Lol. I remember one time a Democrat arguing with me, saying: “How would Jesus vote?” Apparently he didn’t know the Bible. It is obvious that Jesus would vote for the party lining up with the moral truths of the Bible.

It’s funny when people find out that I am religious (to say it their way), they start holding back on their bad language in front of me. This is always noticeable. I know they do it to be considerate, and I appreciate it, but what about the Holy God of the Bible that they claim to believe in? They’ll hold back in front of a judge in court, but what about the Judge of the universe, where it matters?