Free Will Or Determined?

When it comes to decision making, are you a believer in free-will or determinism? Do you think our choices matter or is our fate already set in stone?

Why am I asking this question? The reason is because we live in a world of irony. We all want God to tell us what to do, but if we lived in this kind of reality, we would all be complaining to God that we never get to choose. So what gives? Take a look at how the Book of Proverbs sheds insight to this subject:

Proverbs 16.1 says, "We can make our own plans, but the LORD gives the right answer."
Proverbs 16.9 says, "A person may plan his own journey, but the LORD directs his steps."

This creates an intellectual dilemma for the human mind. To our thinking, it must be one way or the other, or at least a 50/50 partnership with God...a type of supply and demand relationship, "God I demand this, so you supply it." But Timothy Keller in Your Plans:God's Plans, comments on how The Proverbs teach us that we actually have 100% free will with 100% of the results being under God's Sovereign outcomes.

Despite the intellectual perplexity of such a situation, it actually makes perfect sense. And the reason is that God, in order to know His Will, wants us to know Him...not the other way around. Therefore, He grants us the freedom and the gift of choice, but at the same time, governs the results. Our wisdom to choose is built on The Foundation of our relationship with God. So we now have the solution to the aforementioned question because when all is said and done, would we really want to live in the extremes of an either/or situation. All free will or all determined?

Think of it like this...given the state of the human condition, would we really want 100% free will to shape our outcomes? NO! And at the same time, do we really think 100% of our life is already determined? Of course not...what would be the point of getting out of bed in the morning?

I like how Steven Furtick puts it, "I still believe God gives us enough ink to write our story in His Story."

This is why I love The Holy Scriptures. Even if one denies the existence of God, they have one problem. They live in God's World. Only the writings from God, such as Proverbs 16.1 and 16.9 can give us such insight to our thinking and our actions.

So here is my final point and why I am convicted of it. If Hebrews 11.6 says that it is impossible to please God without faith, then we are living in sin with indecision. Why? Because indecision is a lack of trust and trust is the action form of faith. Don't let indecision force your hand. Forget the fear involved from making a wrong decision from free-will and let go of the depression of believing that everything is already determined. Praise God for our freedom and trust God for His Sovereignty.

Christ-Awareness

The Japanese martial artist have a saying, "Miso No Koro," which translates, "Mind Like Still Water." It is comparable to what most athletes refer to as "The Flow" or "Being in the zone." Basically it is an 'unconscious,' or quiet state of mind that allows peak performance in a chosen endeavor. When you are in the zone, you don't analyze, you act. Your training and experience become one and you reach moments of near perfection.

But what happens when such a state of focus is broken? Worry and panic creep in. Questions begin to be raised. Doubt overcomes trust and faith turns into fear. Why is this? Because we fall into a state of self-awareness and our left brain logic over runs our right brain readiness. What is suppose to be a complete unity has been disconnected into unrelated parts.

This is what happens in our relationship with Christ as well. When we have a Christ-Awareness, instead of a self-awareness, we are "in the zone" and the natural flow of life takes place without any question to what God's Will is. It's what Psalm 16:8 means as it states, “I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”

- Think of Peter. He walked on water when he had a Christ-Awareness, but he sinks when he had a self-awareness. Take a look at how Oswald Chambers states the difference between Christ-Awareness and self-awareness:

A complete life is the life of a child. When I am fully conscious of my awareness of Christ, there is something wrong. It is the sick person who really knows what health is. A child of God is not aware of the will of God because he is the will of God. When we have deviated even slightly from the will of God, we begin to ask, “Lord, what is your will?” A child of God never prays to be made aware of the fact that God answers prayer, because he is so restfully certain that God always answers prayer.

Where have you been rattled into self-awareness? Where have I become disconnected with Christ? As Chambers states, "Simply ask the Lord to give you Christ-awareness, and He will steady you until your completeness in Him is absolute."

“Come on!” Jesus said. Peter then got out of the
boat and started walking on the water toward him.
Matthew 14.29 CEV

* The 'X' in the graphic represents the greek letter Chi as in Chi Rho, one of the earliest forms of christogram, and is used by Christians. It is formed by superimposing the first two letters in the Greek spelling of the word Christ ( Greek : "Χριστός" ), chi = ch and rho = r, in such a way to produce the monogram ☧. Although not technically a cross, the Chi Rho invokes the crucifixion of Jesus as well as symbolizing his status as the Christ^[1]

Pray Like Jesus

"Preaching a pagan-style gospel teaches that as long as we
have enough faith in Jesus, then we don't have to be like Jesus."
...a paraphrase from Mark Driscoll,
~ Pray Like Jesus:The Gethsemane Prayer ~

Tired of hearing the pagan practice of the prosperity gospel?...the prosperity gospel is when we use Prayer, Scripture, and experience to try and align God to our will. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, on the other hand, is when God utilizes Prayer, Scripture, and experience to align us to His Will.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect,
the prosperity gospel is pagan...

...Mark Driscoll, in his sermon called, Pray Like Jesus: The Gethsemane Prayer, explains (and I paraphrase) that "so much of what we hear today is a brand of theology that will not be strong enough for us when we need it the most."

Christianity is a belief in a person (Jesus Christ)...it is not a coping mechanism or some magic trick for material wealth and prosperous gain...it is a relationship based on a theology that will be everything for us when we need it the most...Driscoll goes on to say, "being a follower of Jesus Christ may not get us around the obstacles of life, but it will get us through the obstacles of life."

At the end of the sermon, Driscoll outlines and speaks briefly on eleven questions about prayer... questions that challenge us to see if our prayer life is in line with God's plan...Below, I have included the eleven questions...but along with those questions, I highly encourage you to either watch Driscoll's sermon or listen to it on the Mars Hill App or via podcast.

01. Do you pray to get from God or to get God?
02. Do you pray to move God or for God to move you?
03. Do you pray to get around pain or through pain?
04. Do you courageously punctuate your prayers with "Your - Will - Be - Done...?"
• We do present our requests to God, but we should always end with, "Your Will Be Done..."
05. Do you pray out of Holy or unholy depression?
• Holy despair/depression = due to sin and its effects
• unholy despair/depression = not getting our way
06. Do you pray in faith knowing that God is not the author of sin, but is the author over sin?
07. Do you ask your friends to pray for you even if you know they will fail to do so?
08. Do you pray to both hear and accept God's will for your life?
09. Do you accept that God will answer your prayers with a "yes, no, or later?"
10. Do you know that knowing God's Will is far easier than walking in it? (Hebrews 5.7-8)
11. Do you know a godly wife who lived like Jesus Prayed? (1 Corinthians 11.3)
• You have to listen to his explanation to understand this question...

"God’s main purpose for you is not what you do. It's who you become."
~ John Ortberg ~

Improv

If you are a fan of comedy, then you know how amazing actors are when it comes to Improv. Now I am all for being proactive and planning, but when it comes to life in Christ and following the leading of our Counselor, The Holy Spirit, then we must be ready to do a little Improv ourselves, which actually brings excitement into life.

Mark Batterson, in his book, In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day, says it like this:

"I know that part of us wants God to take us to a three act play with a clearly defined plot that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. But Jesus takes us to the Improv instead. We want the entire script up front, but that would undermine our dependence upon the Holy Spirit."

The whole point of following Christ is Trust...The peak at the mountain top of our Faith is Trust. Living life in Christ as though it's an Improv forces us to lean on Christ...if we had a script, would we really develop a relationship with Him?

Batterson goes on to say, "Following Jesus and keeping in step with the Spirit requires the art of improvisation. We've got to develop an affinity for uncertainty and learn to enjoy the journey."

The Scriptures reveal many things that increase our certainty. For instance a spiritual certainty. We know we are saved, forgiven, and redeemed. But for circumstantial uncertainty, that is something we must embrace and that is what Faith in Christ is all about!

Evil via Subtraction, God via Sanctification

I was listening to John MacArthur this morning, in his sermon about The Origin of Evil, and he said something that really grips what evil is and how it exists...MacArthur states,

"Evil is not the presence of something, evil is the absence of righteousness."

Very interesting...evil is a negative...it results due to a subtraction. MacArthur goes on to say, "God created absolute perfection. Wherever a lack of that exists, sin exists. And that cannot exist in the nature of God or in anything that God makes.

This confirms what my Preacher Bro informed me of the other day...we need a Jesus Culture...A Culture of Christ...if we object to that, it is probably because our idol is standing in the way...you see, if our culture, our lives, our homes, our families, our computers, our iPhones, our video games, our social outings, our thoughts, our actions, our words, etc, were saturated in Jesus, in Prayer, in Praise, then evil would have no place. But what do we do...we push God out of every area of our lives and then we wonder why people are addicted, lost, and messed up.

Joshua 3.5 gives us a great look at ridding ourselves of evil, becoming Sanctified so that God can work miracles into our lives:

Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you."

And then in The New Testament, James 1:21 tells us, “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”

...sin can not exist in The Presence of God...Fill yourselves with Christ and evil will flee.

Visions Become Reality

The following post comes from www.utmost.org (Oswald Chambers)...

Awesome post for anyone who is being molded or shaped before the vision becomes a reality!

Visions Become Reality

Jul

06

2010

The parched ground shall become a pool . . . —Isaiah 35:7

We always have a vision of something before it actually becomes real to us. When we realize that the vision is real, but is not yet real in us, Satan comes to us with his temptations, and we are inclined to say that there is no point in even trying to continue. Instead of the vision becoming real to us, we have entered into a valley of humiliation.

Life is not as idle ore,
But iron dug from central gloom,
And battered by the shocks of doom
To shape and use.

God gives us a vision, and then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of that vision. It is in the valley that so many of us give up and faint. Every God-given vision will become real if we will only have patience. Just think of the enormous amount of free time God has! He is never in a hurry. Yet we are always in such a frantic hurry. While still in the light of the glory of the vision, we go right out to do things, but the vision is not yet real in us. God has to take us into the valley and put us through fires and floods to batter us into shape, until we get to the point where He can trust us with the reality of the vision. Ever since God gave us the vision, He has been at work. He is getting us into the shape of the goal He has for us, and yet over and over again we try to escape from the Sculptor’s hand in an effort to batter ourselves into the shape of our own goal.

The vision that God gives is not some unattainable castle in the sky, but a vision of what God wants you to be down here. Allow the Potter to put you on His wheel and whirl you around as He desires. Then as surely as God is God, and you are you, you will turn out as an exact likeness of the vision. But don’t lose heart in the process. If you have ever had a vision from God, you may try as you will to be satisfied on a lower level, but God will never allow it.

The Responsibility of The Revelation

Albert Einstein was once asked what he would do if he had sixty minutes to save the world...I love his response, "I would spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem and only five minutes finding the solution."

One of the problems I seek a solution for is the origin of sin. I desperately want to know everything in the realms of origin, purpose, morality, and destiny, but I especially want to know the nature of satan and the origin of sin. The reason is because life does not have to be as hard as we make it out to be, and if we would simply become aware of satan's strategy of deception and doubt, we can get on with God's purpose and plans...

I understand Genesis 3 and the fall of man, but I want to go farther back...satan was created before the creation of man, he was cast out of heaven because he desired to be God. We can read accounts of who he was and how this happened in certain areas of Scripture, and even Jesus stated in Luke 10.18, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." But we don't know exactly why satan was so unsatisfied despite his perfection, and if satisfied, why would he rebel? Why would satan desire to be the king of hell instead of a servant in Heaven? One reason is due to the sin of pride, but I still wonder why satan has this internal pride?

So in my "fifty-five" minute search, God thankfully cuts to the chase and leads me to the "five minute" finding of the solution:

“The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions." ~ Deuteronomy 29:29 ~

...so what it boils down to is this: We have questions and we want answers, but our responsibility relies in God's Revelation. Forget about the secret things...leave those to God...

...God wants us to take care of the business we do know, and trust Him with the business only He knows..."Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD." ~Jeremiah 17.7~

So what do we do? We Trust God and we take initiative to do something with our lives. I like how Erwin McManus puts it:

"We must do something to seize divine moments
as opposed to sitting back and watching life happen."

"We have defined holiness through what we separate ourselves from rather than what we give ourselves to. I am convinced the great tragedy is not the sins we commit, but the life that we fail to live...this requires initiative...

...those who change the world, who make a difference in history, who live life rather than simply watch it, have at least one common characteristic among them:

...they do something."

This is so rich because it points straight to the life of Jesus...look at what Jesus says in John 10:37-38 about the importance of what we do...

"Don’t believe me unless I carry out my Father’s work. But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don’t believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father” (emphasis added).

Let's not focus on what we don't know to interfere with what we do know. Jesus said we will do "greater things" as we follow Him and believe. Plus, doing, as opposed to not doing, not only brings glory to God, but it makes satan cringe...

• satan does not necessarily care if we don't drink alcohol, but he hates it if we feed the hungry
• satan could care less if we don't cuss, but he hates if we Praise God
• satan yawns at the fact that we don't smoke or if we don't lie, etc,
but he hates it when we serve the poor and minister to the lost.
• satan could even care less if we read The Bible just as long as we don't live it...

So let's stop worrying about being perfect and knowing all the answers. Let's stop "defining holiness through what we separate ourselves from rather than what we give ourselves to." Let's stop tucking in our shirts, brushing our hair and putting on an image of being Mr. or Ms. Nice who do not offend...

Let's start doing "greater things" and take responsibility for what God has revealed to us!

For a great read on doing "greater things" and taking responsibility from God's Revelations, take a look at the awesome post,
Does Jesus know you?