I have no idea what 2025 holds for you. It may be a year where you reach your goals. If so, it will have more to do with your attitude than your circumstances. Success in life is mostly about our perspective on what’s possible or impossible and what’s valuable to us.
People generally love things that are reliable and predictable but what if a lot of things in life aren’t that way? For Christians, the idea and expectation of a reliable life is heightened by the idea of God setting up our future so reliably that many have bought into the idea of their future being “Predestined”, which believes our eternity as well as this life is both guaranteed and that no worry or concern is needed. But what if that teaching is an exaggeration of scripture and not biblical? What if life and eternity is only as sure as we continue to trust God rather than just trusting our own thoughts and intentions? What if life is far more unpredictable than we realize? For many, that idea is unsettling and can create fear and anxiety unless people are truly trusting God day by day.
This idea of predestination is really a concept that both secular and religious people wonder about. Many movies wrestle with the idea of our destiny being set or not. There are many movies that have been made in the last twenty years relating to time travel and trying to figure out if people can change their past or not because people want to know if we are predestined or not.
Many Christians have been taught that God predestines our future so it is set before we are even born. This theology became strongly developed for many Christians because of the reformation and the shift in theology by people like John Calvin, Martin Luther and others in the 1500s. These church leaders were trying to figure out what theology was wrong in the Catholic Church doctrine and they came up with the idea of going back to Augustine in third century for a confirmation in which God predestines people. Much of this shift in my mind came from the hatred of many over the sale of indulgences to wipe away the past, unrepentant sins of those who were about to die or had already passed away.
The strange thing is that these writers and others base this major doctrine over five verses from the New Testament in which the apostle Paul wrote instead of looking at the overall bible context of both the Old and New Testament. The idea of God choosing people for his purpose, also known as “election”, was formulated mostly by Calvin to say that certain people are chosen by God to be saved for eternity and others are predestined to go to hell for eternity regardless of their choices or desire. Once a person was baptized they no longer needed to worry about salvation or their conduct.
Romans 8:28-29
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
One of the problems of this doctrine is that it makes God out to be a liar when he says anyone can choose to follow him, and if we choose him, he will bless us both now and in eternity. Secondly, using Rom:28-29 to support this doctrine fails to look at the context. Paul is referring to people who are living according to God’s purpose, not our own, and they are predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus. Our predestination is about our calling to become like Jesus “NOT” predestined about our future. It is easy to twist scripture when failing to look at the objective and context.
Another verse of scripture about predestination used by many to justify God choosing us before the foundation of the world comes from individuals having a calling before they were born. Unfortunately, they fail to read or acknowledge that the purpose God set before the foundation of the world was about “HOLINESS” to walk in a blameless way with God and thus our adoption is based on what John wrote about a person’s adoption as God’s children.
John 1:11-12
He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
Ephesians 1:4-5
Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
Lastly, Paul writes in the book of Ephesians about being predestined according to God’s purpose, not being predestined to or for individuals desires. When Paul uses the word predestination it’s always in reference to God’s purpose, not according to some notion of election regardless of our choices. God, throughout the scripture from Genesis to Revelation, is calling man to choose rightly with the promise of blessing and if we choose wrongly the results are punishment and sorrow.
Ephesians 1:11
In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,
Starting with Adam and Eve, God creates mankind with the potential to make choices, either good or bad, either constructive or destructive. Adam and Eve chose poorly and they suffered for it. You would think their children would take stock in their mistakes and learn to make right choices. Abel made the right choice and honored God and Cain did not, which resulted in him killing his brother. Here is what God says to Cain when he is so mad and ready to do something so stupid it will cost him for the rest of his life.
Genesis 4:5-7
God did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the LORD said to Cain,
“Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
God posed to Cain that he was in charge of his future, either good or bad. He challenged him that if his feelings rule in his life he is in trouble and if he listens to God he will be blessed. Throughout scripture, God says the same thing. Our choices set our course, not some notion of being predestined outside of our choices.
God puts great value on our choices. He doesn’t make us choose, he lets us choose. Real love cannot be forced and thus God gave us the potential of choosing to love or hate. Don’t be fooled into thinking you can’t do anything about your future because God says otherwise. He says you have the power to make the future we want. Remember the enemies plan for us.
John 10:10
The thief ( Satan ) does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Satan wants to steal our future and to kill any hope of redeeming it, thus destroying our faith in God for change. Remember Jeremiah’s prophetic words to rebellious Israel, who went into captivity because they chose poorly. These were the people of God and yet they did not inherit God’s blessing but his curse.
Jeremiah 29:11-13
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you and you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
It is better to listen to God’s own words than to listen to theologians who don’t seem to read scripture as it was meant to be read and understood. Your choices mean a great deal to God and they should mean a great deal to us as well.
Questions:
1) Have you believed the lie that people are predestined to heaven and hell regardless of their choices? Study the word of God yourself and discover how important your choices are.
2) Have you bought into the lie that once you’re saved you can never get unsaved? Ask yourself what salvation is about. Is it about letting us live like fools or like Christ?
Loving God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength,
Pastor Dale
This is the third article on myths we believe in. If you have not read the first two, please read them first to understand why I am calling these topics myths. When Christians read the scriptures we take our cues about how to understand what God is saying from so called “Intelligent” people who claim they know Greek and Hebrew words and sentence structure. But, have we been brainwashed to believe false ideas about what God is saying? History is not always right, especially when it comes to scripture.
Life has a way of making you feel like no one cares about what you are going through. Sometimes even God seems included in that. You can be in a crowd of people and still feel overwhelmed by the sense of abandonment. Even when the facts speak loudly, our feeling can overwhelm us.
Times like that are a part of the human experience even though we have good friendships with others and call our selves Christians who believe God loves us. Nevertheless, we can still find ourselves isolated in our souls. Our minds tell us one thing yet our feelings tell us something totally different and those emotions sometimes scream the loudest.
In those times, we need a foundation in our souls that can weather the storm we find ourselves in. That foundation won’t be successful if we try to establish it when we are in the storm but has to be established and relied on when we are centered and calm. It’s during the calm time that we prepare, not during the storm.
There is a story in the book of Luke where Martha is going through a storm in her soul. She “FEELS” now one cares, even though she “knows” otherwise. One of the few references about Martha is where Jesus is said to “LOVED” Lazarus, Martha and Mary. We all assumed Jesus loved people, especially his disciples, but John goes out of his way to state it in no uncertain terms because John had just written that Lazarus was dying and yet Jesus stayed where he was and didn’t go see him or pray for him, which seemed contrary to acting in love.
John 11:5
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
We all have a problem in reading people’s response in life as it relates to us and others. We misread people’s intentions and motives, which leads us to wrong conclusions. Because we can’t read peoples minds we assume things that may or may not be there and then our friendships go through the proverbial storm. I guess we all go through times like that and Martha was no exception.
One day Martha finds herself hosting a meal in her home. The fact that she opened her home to Jesus also meant she opened her home to his disciples and those that accompanied him. Luke tells us there were many people that traveled with Jesus, both men and women, so it’s not hard to believe that there could have been 20-30 full time followers going from town to town with Jesus.
Luke 8:1-3
Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.
Now, in this one time at Martha’s house, she was responsible to make sure everything was prepared and ready. In her business she gets overwhelmed by the responsibility and gets irritated with her sister Mary whom she thinks should shoulder the burden of the event with her. Yet Mary seemed captivated by Jesus speaking. Martha tells Mary to come help yet Mary was too focused on listening so she couldn’t hear her sisters stress or request.
I have to believe all of us have been in similar places where we seem to see a need and no one else sees the situation the same way we do and it ends up making us frustrated. Unchecked the frustration can spill over to speaking words we shouldn’t have said, which insulates us more than before and leads to loneliness.
Martha is in the storm of her life when she just wanted to be a blessing to Jesus. Sometimes we intend to do the right thing and it only ends up blowing up into a mess. It is in these times that we either overcome or are overcome.
Martha, at this time, felt the stress of her chosen responsibilities were ignored not only by her sister but Jesus as well. How often have we been overcome to think God doesn’t care because he didn’t produce some miracle to make it all better?
Luke 10:40
But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.
If you know this story you know many pastors and teachers criticize Martha’s and make Mary look like a saint yet I see so much more in the story. First, remember scripture says that Jesus loved Lazarus, Martha and Mary. It didn’t say just her brother and sister Mary but all three of them. That is the foundational truth that Martha needed to keep a hold of in her stress and help her gain perspective. Secondly, Martha’s relationship with Jesus was solid enough for her to speak her mind and thoughts to him even if those thoughts and feelings were right or wrong. If we really love God and believe he loves us we should feel the liberty to speak honestly in prayer with him rather than pretending. Often counseled people who are struggling in their relationship with God need to find some open field somewhere and scream their hearts out to God even if it sounds bad because God loves honesty not pious words.
Martha asks the million dollar question to Jesus about whether he “CARED” about her frustration and relational problem with Mary. I have to believe Martha expected Jesus to do something about the problem without her saying anything about it. We do the same thing when trouble comes our way. We often cry out to God and ask “Don’t You Care” because we thought if he did he would fix things either before they happen or right after they happen.
When Jesus answered Mary he doesn’t rebuke her or condemn her. Instead, he says “Martha Martha,” which is like saying I do care. Jesus was showing affection to Martha, not rebuke. Then he identifies the problem of Martha’s pain. It was “WORRY”, not things like food and drink or cushions or lighting. We often let our feelings override our good judgment when dealing with tough issues. Martha let worry captivate her heart when she was trying to do a good thing by being hospitable.
Luke 10:41-42
And Jesus answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.
Jesus was not saying that Mary is the better person at the time but Mary saw what was most important – The Words of Jesus. Maybe the Holy Spirit is speaking to you or someone you know about their focus in the storm right now? We can’t avoid the storms of life but we can keep our focus on Jesus in the storm.
If you have lost your focus like Martha today, refocus on the person that loves you the most even though “HE” is not fixing the problem right now. Trust him to walk you through the storm until the storm passes and you once again are feeling blessed and happy in the Lord. Your focus and trust will either set you free in Jesus or enslave you if you keep looking at what’s wrong in your life.
One of my favorite verses that helps me to get refocused is in Proverbs 3:5-8
Proverbs 3:5-8
Trust the LORD with all your heart, and don’t depend on your own understanding. Remember the LORD in all you do, and he will give you success.
Don’t depend on your own wisdom. Respect the LORD and refuse to do wrong. Then your body will be healthy and your bones will be strong!
Questions:
1) Do you find yourself struggling with trusting that God really loves you because of troubles? One of the best things to do is VERBALLY cry out to God in prayer while being brutally honest.
2) Do your worries seem to captivate your heart even more lately? One of the best scriptures to rely on is James 4:7, which identifies the cause and solution.
Trusting that God LOVES us,
Pastor Dale
Many Christians say they trust the Bible, that is until some new bit of science comes out and gives us a “NEW TRUTH” that contradicts reliability of scripture and at least causes doubt about the trustworthiness of scripture among believers. This is not excluding the “THEORY” of evolution taught in public schools long before I was in grade school in the ’50s. In times like these many professing believers, even strong ones, secretly capitulate to the intimidation of scientific information. When you question the book of Genesis and the story of creation for the theory of billions of years of evolution you already are making science as your god, not the God of the bible.
Receiving Jesus into our lives is meant to be a transformative experience, not a transitory experience, nor a one-time experience. It was meant to be from now through eternity, but sadly it is often a short-lived experience, just like the many broken marriages of today.
This is the fourth article on walking in the Spirit dealing with the specific topic of demonic activity. We have covered a lot of ground and yet the subject of the demonic is so vast I have just scratched the surface. In this article, the last in the series, I intend to talk about how we can challenge demonic spirits, which the Bible calls evil spirits. There are many books on deliverance and this article is not intended to be exhaustive. It is meant to highlight the main struggles when trying to set people free from the demonic.
This is the third article on walking in the blessing and power of the Holy Spirit. This subject has many aspects but I wanted to address what I think is lacking by many believers, especially by pastors. Walking in the Spirit is far more than walking in the gifts of the Spirit. It should also encompass the knowledge and freedom of walking without the hindrance of demonic spirits that still operate on the earth as they did in biblical times.
I started out the first article talking about the “Demonic Realm” for a number of reasons. Primarily because most professing Christians rarely, if ever, mention the subject when talking about spiritual matters. But Jesus capitalized on casting out demons wherever he went.
When we as Christians talk about walking in the spirit do we acknowledge the fact that many people walk and are led by the demonic realm and not the Holy Spirit? When watching the nightly news one has to consider the “Demonic Realm” as having a major role in the violence and hatred that is happening. The terrorist group Hamas murdered thousands of innocent civilians, including killing babies, for no more reason they they hate Jews. If one can not see evil personified then we are hopelessly ignorant and will surely suffer for it. The world denied evil in Hitler and his Nazi regime and the world experienced a world war because of it.
