Happy New Years everybody!

whizzpopping:

darlingyellow:

HAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHA

I had the same reaction when I first heard people saying “hella” in college

sooooo true.

Aaaaf

The fickle comment of “Its God’s Will”

In this short article, I hope to make these points clearer

1.  The distinction between what God desires and what happens in the world

2.  Everything that comes to pass is not necessarily God’s will.

3.  God is not always in control

4.  God doesn’t cause every event to happen, but can redeem the worst of situations

It irks me when people try to brush off things or simply say “Maybe it was/wasn’t God’s will”. I’m not against God or trying to demean Him in any means. I am humbled and amazed at the grandness and holiness of God. However, does anyone think this is a cope out response to many things?

Before I further continue, I would like to clear up some semantics based on how words are defined in common Christian Culture.

Sovereign Will (What actually happens in the world)

                The way I will define “sovereign will” will be in this manner. If I hold the assumption that God is all knowing and God knows everything, then what comes to pass in terms of actions and events is in God’s all-knowing will.

Moral Will (God’s desire according to the Word)

                This type of will is what God actually desires. We read about this in the word about God’s desires and will for His people.

Now that I have this established, the one deadly mistake that people make is thinking that God’s “Moral Will” and “Sovereign Will” are always equivalent.

Most Christians will often use the term “God’s will” in several types of ways. Some may say “Thank God for His will” when something good happens or say “Maybe it wasn’t His will” if something doesn’t align correctly. Others will associate everything to be God’s will and confuse “Sovereign Will” and “Moral Will”. This is a very dangerous line of thinking.

When disaster strikes whether it be sickness, death, or a disaster, some people might say “Maybe this is God’s will.” I’ll give a light example in which Christians blur the line.

Example 1

                Let’s say that a person ends up dying, not receiving Christ. Some may say, “I guess it was God’s will for him not to get saved”

                This may sound absurd, but if you really believe God’s in control of everything, then you would have to assert that God’s will was for this person was that he would not come to know Jesus. However, we see God’s actual desire revealed in 2 Peter 3:9.

“⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

So in this particular example, we see that God’s sovereign will was that” person x” did not get saved, but God’s moral will was for him to get saved.

Example 2

                Let’s say a girl gets raped. It’s an unfortunate event, immensely. However, eventually the girl comes to terms and God heals her in her brokenness.

                Since this event came to pass, I would say, yes, this is God’s sovereign will, but not God’s moral will. However, there is a kicker clause here that really frustrates me. Some might justify that God’s will was for the girl to get raped because God taught her about His love through this experience.

                I am an advocate that God is not necessarily in control of everything, but more so God is so awesome that He can redeem and work with any situation.

                It was Adam’s choice, not God’s, to eat the fruit. God redeemed him.

                It was our choice to sin. God gave us Jesus as redemption

                The amazing thing about God is that no matter how bleak or bad the situations is and no matter how much we fail He gives us grace and love to teach us more about Him.

To cliff note this in summary,

1.       We have to read the word to understand what God’s desire (moral will) is

2.       Some things that come to pass are not what actually God intended

3. The devil’s job is to kill, steal, and destroy. Jesus gives live abundantly. Let’s not get this confused.

deergoeshome:

simple answer: there is such thing as the devil.

i overheard a christian radiostation this morning & the guy was like “why do bad things happen to good people? well, i don’t think we will ever really have the answer to that, but we do have pastors here that you can talk to…”

i don’t know about you, but if i were a nonbeliever & i heard someone say that, there would be no reason why i would want to talk about my problems to these people who don’t have the answer. ridiculous. 

If you have been more into making faith more active, you’ve probably heard the quote “I don’t pray for revival. I AM revival”

Also if you’ve heard this quote, you’re probably involved in prayer movements and this quote will probably ring in some red flags on initial reaction. 

Do I agree with this quote? Yes.

Do I still pray for people and nations? Yes.

I am still figuring out how everything makes sense. However, I’ve realized over the past few months is that God can move regardless of my character, my prayer life, or my faith level.

It startled me that I could go around and see awesome miracles and moves of God from simply taking bold steps and talking to people.

So, where does prayer fit into this context if I still pray?

I would like to say this:

Prayer isn’t necessary for revival. However, when people pray, they tend to grow a heart for the things God desires. Prayer isn’t required to have revivall, but there is correlation.

Some things that might be going through your head

Don’t people need to be filled before going?

Here is my response

- the Holy spirit fell already.

- You have every spiritual blessing

- God will never leave or forsake you

- God desires that no one shall perish (He wants revival more than us)

After having this revelation, I enjoyed it immensely, but I neglected to pray. Soon, I became disillusioned and burnt out and I reverted back to having a performance mentality rather than moving out of the overflow of His heart and love. Revival happens regardless of whether we pray or not, but it’s only sustained when we continually connect with Him.

Another confession I have to make over the recent months is shrugging over “old covenant” style prayer meetings. However, I realized that although some people may pray for revival. They can be more fruitful than me by keeping the core principles of loving God and obedience to Him regardless of the lingo. Obedience and love are the most important things in transformation in my opinion.

So if someone is praying for revival, and you disagree with them. At least know that they are spending time with Him. Even if the lingo and certain mindsets are incorrect, if they have intimacy with Him it’s inevitable that they will also grow a greater hunger for the lost. If they’re praying and going out in obedience, then encourage them and don’t over quarrel with them.

If they’re praying without going out, then encourage them to take steps of faith and point them in the right direction.

-Daniel