Easter Blessings

Hello all...thanks for checking the blog from time to time. Hopefully it challenges you and blesses you. Resurrection Sunday is nearly upon us & as I will possibly be away I wanted to put something here before I leave. A little bout of bursitis has limited my online time recently but a dear pastor friend is praying, so I know it will soon be healed...by His stripes...as the word says...we ARE healed, & in more ways than physically. As we enter this season let's reflect on the sin that Christ so sacrificially bore for us, that we might inherit eternal life if only we call upon his name to be saved.


If you have been a C&E(seasonal) believer, consider taking a step beyond as you reflect on the depth of the pain Jesus bore for you. I know, many are put off by the hypocritical attitude of some believers & would rather stay home and I don't blame them, but you know what-what better place for hypocrites to be than in church! So, go anyway-set an example for them that is present & visible, and go ahead and enjoy a close relationship with your Lord, not letting them deter you! Find a solid Bible preaching church and soak up all the Word you can! Ask the Lord to illuminate your mind and touch your heart as you seek his will for your life & to ever know more & more of him. The walk of faith is not easy always-sometimes it is downright hard, but God promises he will never allow more than we can handle, and I can attest to the fact that the blessings of God are so awesome that you will never understand why you didn't run hard after him before.


Our world is full of the "evil of the day" that comes at us from every direction, but the armor of God shields us from that-the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the shield of faith, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the sword of the spirit-if you picture this in your mind you will see there is nothing for the back-why? Because we are to ever move into battle against the evil one, and the Bible says the glory of the Lord is our rear guard! Some of the evil will not be clearly seen, beloved, so stay in touch with the Father every day, all day. Pray without ceasing as his Word says. When you find that place of divine interaction with the God of the universe, the things of this world WILL grow strangely dim. If folks fail to understand you as a believer, that's OK. They didn't understand Jesus either-they thought he was a fanatic, a fraud, & a failure-we know better-if we read the end of the book! Celebrate the new life in Christ that we can all have only because Jesus Christ died a horrible death on a cross in our place-yours, and mine! If you have never seen The Passion movie, I recommend it highly. It IS hard to watch, but it may help cement in your mind and heart the incredible sacrifice Jesus Christ made for you & for me at Calvary. May God bless you this Easter season in ways never before!

Agape & Shalom,

Liz

Negating the salvation message?

FOX News says "we report, you decide" so I am going to say..."I ask, you decide." Does the doctrine of Predestination, which theologians have argued for decades dismiss the very purpose of Evangelism and the reality of Free Will? I never thought about it a lot until recent conversation & study have led me to. It would seem that the doctrine of Eternal Security that also negates a choice on our part might also negate the truth of our Free Will, but I find it less troubling as those subscribing would simply feel the person wasn't ever saved and would continue to evangelize the person. However, if God already has chosen those who would be saved, what point is there in evangelism? God surely foreknew all of us & all of our choices, but I find it hard to believe he would not want our love to be unconditional just as his is, and that means we get to choose if we love him, even with the conditions of his "just" nature. He knew who would elect to choose him. God's movement in our life, post salvation, is conditional for our protection and spiritual growth. Salvation is a decision we make, prompted by the Holy Spirit, not something we grow into or are baptized into (in fact we are told to follow salvation with that as our public testimony), or acquire from our parents. Do you really think God "programmed" that into the lives of certain select persons and programmed the rest to spend eternity in hell? Does that even make sense? Scripture says that God is not willing that any should perish, yet he does know many will, and he knows who will. Is this important enough to worry about-it is if these doctrines shortcut evangelism and it indicates God indeed did not create us all equal. Scripture says God is no respecter of persons. He sees us all the same, so how does that resolve with Predestination? Hell we know is eternal separation from God. Would he really create with pre-determined separation from him? A final thought-if we are eternally secure & unable to fall away after salvation, what does that say about blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? I believe this sin is meant to address the believer. I do not believe many fully understand it, and I believe it is sin to the extreme that few would ever reach. Scripture states those who do this are not able to be restored. This is entirely different from backsliding where God tells us the person can be restored to a point of Lordship salvation where they are living a Christlike life.