im tired

[digitalbuddah]

so its been good stuff since i last updated. i went on the ACF mens retreat which was an all around great time. we arrived at tyrone on friday night and played basketball with the kids of the Joshua House which is a Christian community center type thing in tyrone. the kids were a lot of fun. after that we went back to the church where we were

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i had some more questions....as usual

[jpunkin5]

i think about predestination and fate, if u will, sometimes. im lost pretty much. does God know when u are born whether or not how ur life will turn out? does he really know whos going to heaven or hell when they die? does he know when and where u are going to die. i know i sound really dumb and silly. im just trying to sort things out in my head. im not criticizing religion or anything of that nature. im just questioning. do we have a set destiny that we dont know of yet? i know God gave us free will to choose but why doesnt he do something so we pick good over evil, like give us a sign or something? is it predetermined what our fate is or can we change it? i think about this a lot. ive changed for the better i think, was it fate or destiny and God knew along i was gonna change, or did he realize i was making bad choices and decided to intervene and wake me up? i dunno if u have answers on these. id like to hear ur opinion and u were not online when i wrote this and i didnt want to forget my train of thought. ill catch u laters friendus maximus : )

Re: i had some more questions....as usual

[digitalbuddah]

God knows everything. Before you were born, He knew whether or not you were going to Heaven or Hell. This does not mean He decided for you that you're going to one or the other. God is uncreated and supernatural... time is no restraint on Him. He's the Great I Am. God just IS. Because He is outside time, the past the present and the future are all open to Him at all times. But again, this does not mean He decides the future, bc we have free will. Its like when TV Guide comes out... you know whats going to be on tv in the future, but you didnt decide. Predestination would say that God has chosen some ppl for Heaven and others for Hell, which i see as a big problem, bc it is our sin that sends us to Hell and not God. Also, the purpose of our lives is to glorify God. if we are predetermined to love Him and go to Heaven, its not really love, bc we would have no say in the matter. similarly, its not glorifying to God for Him to condemn His creations to Hell without a chance. and if everyones fate is decided by God, then it really makes no difference what we do here, and Jesus would be pointless, bc ppls fates are already determined. as for why doesnt He give us a sign... well He does. evidence of God is everywhere, but ppl choose not to see it that way. Furthermore, our consciences and emotions and everything immaterial are evidence of God.
Romans 1:19-21
19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

so God has given us plenty of signs, but its up to us to accept or reject those signs. and He also works in other ways of divine intervention, but again, it is up to us what we do with that intervention. for instance, you could have ignored God and kept on doing what you were doing, but thankfully you didnt.

from what i gather from the verses that speak of predestination, Jesus was predestined to come to earth, and by accepting Him we become chosen through Him, and not us being pre-chosen by God. God wants everyone to go to Heaven, so why would he condemn some of us to Hell right off the bat?

Re: i had some more questions....as usual

[swtheart804]

hey jesse, im bored so im commenting to something you wrote in your comment which went " so God has given us plenty of signs, but its up to us to accept or reject those signs. and He also works in other ways of divine intervention, but again, it is up to us what we do with that intervention. for instance, you could have ignored God and kept on doing what you were doing, but thankfully you didnt."
So clearly you disagree with teh calvinist's view of predestination so i'll make a point for it. in the quote you had said that its up to US to accept or reject God basically. However, according to the Bible man is incapable of doing so. Man is born evil and has no will to choose God, in fact he is a slave to his evil nature (Mark 7: 21-23, Colossians 2:13, John 8:44). He is completely evil and he CAN NOT choose God. He can only have faith if God gives it to him (John 6:44, John 8:34). And since all men are born sinners and we all deserve death(Romans 5:12) however, God chose an elect. And he will save this elect from death (Mark 13:20, I Peter 2:8,9). God chose these individuals before the creation of the world. Your faith is a result of God's choice (Romans 9:16, II Timothy 1:9) Because, we're all sinners and we all deserve death, God did not have to save any of us. But out of his infinite grace and goodness he gave the gift of salvation to his chosen people and saved them from death. So our faith isnt our choice to accept God but his choosing us before the beginning of the world.
Well that's just my thoughts... have a good week!