Knowledge

It has been frustrating. The internet was down all last night all morning, then I went to boarders book store and still couldn't get on the internet. I though it was my computer. Thankfully I gave it one more shot and I am now at Panera Bread, and using their free Wi-Fi. Yesterday I learned a lot, not just information but knowledge. One of my fellow co-workers who is also on project, Ben, came into work yesterday talking about Romans 9. Particularly verses 14-25. It is some very scary stuff, that is if you don't have the right tools. Not only do I have God's sovereign and Holy Word, but I have my go to guy when it comes to the hard questions, my Dad. When I have a question that I can't answer I go to him, he is very wise in this aspect and has a whole lot of knowledge in this topic. Romans 9:14-25 basically says "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I have compassion on whom I have compassion." It goes on to say "God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden." That kind of scared me. I had a whole lot of questions and I really didn't know what to think. I understood prior that we have the choice of free will and that we make our own decisions, this made me confused. That God chooses who he gives mercy and compassion to and that he may harden peoples hearts. This didn't make any sense. Verse 19 says "Then why does God blame us? For who resists his will? 20 But who are you O man, to talk back to God? This did not encourage me either, and I knew then that I needed to call my Dad and have him give me some insight on these questions I had. In Exodus it says that Pharaoh hardened his heart it also says that God hardened Pharaohs heart. My dad explained that to a Jew this means the same thing. To say that God did it or that we chose means the exact same thing to a Jew. God is all knowing and He knows what we have done, and will do. He is omniscient He knows all, but it is all still our choice. We have no right to question Him either. Read Job 38. God is the potter and we are His clay. We do not ask Him why, because he owes us no explanation. The biggest thing to take from this is that everything we do is by our own will. God doesn't make us do anything. If everything was predestined than we would be puppets on a string, and it would defeat the whole purpose of Adam and Eve biting the apple. It would make God a cruel God, a master of puppets that predestines people to Hell. This is not the case. Thankfully, He is merciful and shows us grace. He gives us the opportunity to repent and have Jesus be the Lord and savior of our lives. If it was predestined what would be the point? The best thing to do is act as though you are predestined and live into that. Live as a son of the Lord God almighty, and let Him use you according to His plan. He knows, trust Him because He knows best. The best analogy I have, which I hope I can write as well as I can say is this: Imagine you are standing infront of a door, and it is your choice to walk through that door. If you want to, you could very well turn around and walk away, and never walk through the door. You decide to walk through it anyways. As soon as you do you turn around and above the door is a big neon sign flashing, "I knew you were going to walk through"-God.(Well more internet problems. I finished writing this blog in Panera Bread, but did not know that their was a 30 minute time limit. So I am now back at the Hotel and trying to re-write what I wrote. I am a little frustrated and out of my rhythm, but I will do my best to finish this out in its original form). See, God is not bound by time, He knows the past, present and future. It isn't necessarily June 29, 2010 for Him, He knows all and knows what you are going to do. It is all still your choice, your freedom, your free will. That is what makes Him God. I later got the chance to dig into 1 Peter 1:6-7. It explains that God shows us His mercy and that we are shielded by our faith, we must still be obedient. Later on in verse 8 it says "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy." That was exactly the encouragement that I needed to hear. It is funny how God works. I suggest and recommend that you find someone to take your tough questions to. Someone who has good knowledge of the Bible and who you trust. So that when you do get stumped, confused, or just need some help interpreting what God is saying, you have solid help. I am thankful that I have my Dad to turn to. Please pray that I will keep growing in my wisdom and knowledge of God and His scripture, and that one day I can help others like my Dad does for me and for others.

Serving Him,

Daniel