And it has dawned on me that the subject–this doctrine–has been taught very poorly, it clashes against either our cultural view of man and God or our sheer individualism.  On top of that we probably all have an inadequate view of God.

For those who are wondering, here are the passages in question (they are by no means the only passages that deal with the doctrine of “predestination”).

Ephesians 1:3–6 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. (ESV)

Titus 1:1–3 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began 3 and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior; (ESV)

Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. (ESV)

As I’ve reflected on the reaction to these passage two things have dawned on me.

First, we never pray hoping God is not sovereign and in control.  We pray asking God to intervene, to do something about the situation we are praying about.  And for the most part, we believe He is able and has the right to intervene and change a situation–whether it is a physical illness, a difficult situation, the heart of a boss or even the heart of someone unsaved.

Second, Scripture consistently reveals God as proactive.

God chose to create everything out of nothing for His good pleasure.
God chose to create man positively disposed to Him by making him in the image and likeness of God.
God chose to extend mercy and grace to Adam and Eve, after they sinned, even when they were not looking for Him (actually hiding from Him).
God chose Abraham, a man who could do nothing for Him, to bless him and the rest of humanity through him.
And we could continue in much more detail…but skipping ahead
God continually chose to extend mercy and grace to Israel, in spite of their rebellion, in order to be faithful to His word and to fulfill His plan.
God chose a specific time in which to radically change human history (Galatians 4:4).
God chose a poor insignificant young girl to be the human mother of Jesus, the God-Man.
Jesus chose a motley crew of men to propel His message to the world.
Jesus chose an antagonist to be one of His greatest defenders.

These are just a few of the ways we see in Scripture that God is proactive.  There are also time when He graciously response to individuals and their needs. But the overarching tone of Scripture is that God is proactive.

I am thankful the God is proactive.

(More in subsequent posts–including a definition of “predestination”)

Book I didn’t finish in 2011
The Doctrine of God, John Frame

This will take me some time to work through.

New books
Money, possessions and eternity, Randy Alcorn
In Search of Balance, Richard Swenson (author of Margins)

In Search of Balance is free on Kindle right now.

I’ll provide links to a few I’ve come across (click on the image).

The one I’m listening to today.

Some like Austin Stone even provide the explanation of where the song come from (theological background), chord chart, etc.

Smartphone Apps

My favorite “Christian” apps.  For descriptions click on the icon to open either the Android App Store (first) or the iOS App Store (second).

Bibles

YouVersion

ESV Bible

Logos and Vyrso

Logos has also created Vyrso as an ebook reader.

Support

Ryrie Basic Theology Central Passages

Beneficial Apps

These apps are not per say “Christian” but you may find them helpful to assist you in your transformation journey.

Kindle

Highly recommend Gospel Ebooks to keep up with discounted and free Kindle books.

Google Reader

For RSS feed and to read blogs (I’ll post my favorite blogs later)

Media players are built into smartphones; my preferred player on Android is Winamp (for music, audio books and podcasts).

For audio books

I use iTunes to manage my music, audio-books and podcasts.  And since I have an Android Smartphone I use iSyncr to transfer from iTunes to my phone (wired or wirelessly).

Enjoy this beautiful Christmas carol.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

The 12th century Wexford Carol:

Good people all, this Christmas time,
Consider well and bear in mind
What our good God for us has done
In sending his beloved son
With Mary holy we should pray,
To God with love this Christmas Day
In Bethlehem upon that morn,
There was a blessed Messiah born

The night before that happy tide
The noble Virgin and her guide
Were long time seeking up and down
To find a lodging in the town
But mark right well what came to pass
From every door repelled, alas
As was foretold, their refuge all
Was but a humble ox’s stall

Near Bethlehem did shepherds keep
Their flocks of lambs and feeding sheep
To whom God’s angel did appear
Which put the shepherds in great fear
Arise and go, the angels said
To Bethlehem, be not afraid
For there you’ll find, this happy morn
A princely babe, sweet Jesus, born

With thankful heart and joyful mind
The shepherds went the babe to find
And as God’s angel had foretold
They did our Saviour Christ behold
Within a manger he was laid
And by his side a virgin maid
Attending on the Lord of Life
Who came on earth to end all strife

There were three wise men from afar
Directed by a glorious star
And on they wandered night and day
Until they came where Jesus lay
And when they came unto that place
Where our beloved Messiah lay
They humbly cast them at his feet
With gifts of gold and incense sweet.

Money, Possessions, and Eternity

Good book!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001C36CEW/?tag=gospelebooks-20

Small Group Questions

1. How would you describe your prayer life?

2. Is prayer natural to you or do you have to work at it?

3. Do you have a set time to pray? Do you simply depend on “conversational prayer”?

4. Compare your normal prayer with Nehemiah’s pattern or structure of prayer? Are the any elements missing or incomplete in your own normal prayer?

     Adoration
     Confession
     Reminder of the Word of God (thanksgiving)
     Supplication

5. When do you find it hard to persist in prayer? (Nehemiah prayed for 4 months)

6. Compare Nehemiah’s two prayers—Nehemiah 1:4-11 and 2:4. What can you learn?

7. One of the instructive elements of Nehemiah’s prayer in chapter 1 is Nehemiah’s “praying Scripture”—reminding God of His promises. He boldly challenges God to remember and fulfill His promise. Should we do the same? If so, when can we do this?  What is necessary for us to “pray Scripture” and what is necessary for us to be able to “challenge God with His promises?”

8. When the King asked Nehemiah what his request was—he had specific items and a plan. How do you reconcile praying and planning?