"He's got the whole world in His hands...He's got the littleWith all the pain and turmoil rocking our world today, I would be remiss not to have a place to discuss these things in a godly context. At the outset, let me say I am not a theologian or a history buff. You will not find a learned commentary here, as I am not a political analyst. What you will find is an effort to relate God's character to some of what we see happening around us, whether the articles are written personally or by a guest author. In addition, it is an effort to see cause and effect according to God's Word. It is also an effort to see what God accomplishes through what He allows. It is a view of the world from the perspective of Christians who prayerfully seek God's wisdom and God's will for our times.
I know there are others of you out there who have different takes on what's going on. I do believe there is latitude within Biblical parameters for discussion, because each of us views the world from the perspective of our own personality, talent, and giftings. There are many sides to issues, just as God is many-sided. We cannot put Him in a box. We can, however, prayerfully share what we see, respectfully listen to one another, search God's Word, pray, and perhaps grow in our vision and understanding of our times. I invite you to email me with your questions and comments. I will prayerfully consider anything I receive, and answer it either by private email or in a discussion section I will put on this site when you send me something to discuss.
As this world continues to grow darker, I believe we Christians will have more opportunities to share our faith and hope in Christ in very real ways. The Bible says as the darkness grows deeper, the light will shine brighter. Just as the people in Los Angeles (and other places, I'm sure) had opportunity to learn in November '97 what preparations were needed for the heavy rainstorms El Nino would bring, we now have opportunity to prepare for the heavy spiritual storms that will be coming. We must do three things today to "get ready to shine." First, we must be sure we are grounded and settled in our faith. Whether we are new Christians or have walked with the Lord for years, a prayerful review of the basics is important. Secondly, we must know and trust our Father completely. Lastly, we must have His heart of compassion for this world.
In this section we will work on grounding and settling ourselves in our faith and receiving God's heart of compassion for this world. Working on these things will make knowing Father and completely trusting Him easier. (The best way to work on this is to have intimate fellowship with Him regularly. - How do you get to know an invisible God if you're saved, or find Him again if your heart has grown cold or weary and you feel you've lost that deep relationship you once had? Cry out to Him. Ask Him to find YOU and reveal Himself to you. Then wait before Him in quietness and listen - regularly. He probably won't shout, but He will come to you. He loves you. He's just that kind of God. - And if by chance you're reading this and you are not related to Jesus by new birth, CLICK HERE; you can find out how to receive Jesus on my son's webpage. Just bookmark this page so you can come back.)
To be grounded in our faith, and to gain God's heart for this hurting world, we must first know some things about our God - things like His sovereignty and His compassion, His righteousness and His wrath... . Any event we consider must be considered in the light of the truth about God and what He says about this world. We must also know our God personally enough to understand His mercy, His love, and His grace and experience them regularly. If we don't, we could easily be frightened as we look at the things that are happening today. The only antidote to fear is God - an intimate knowledge of Him born out of a deep relationship with Him. Since His Word says He has not given us a spirit of fear (2Tim 1:7), we must get to know Him enough to let His perfect love cast out our fear (1Jn 4:16-19).
I've been going through Kay Arthur's Bible study on Romans this year to review some basics about God. (See my links section for more information under "Precept Ministries".) We've been studying God's sovereignty. The point has been made repeatedly that God never expresses His sovereignty outside of a balanced expression of all His attributes. In plain English, this means that God is never lopsided in His dealings with mankind.
Whoever wrote that spiritual at the top of this page (if anyone knows the author's name, I would be happy to give credit where credit is due) knew God, had eyes to see God's activity in this world, and trusted Him. In addition, he had a heart knowledge of His sovereignty. This means that God's sovereignty didn't unnerve or upset him; instead, it comforted him because he knew God's character. He knew that whatever God does is balanced. He knew that God doesn't forget His love and mercy when He expresses His wrath and judgments. He knew that God doesn't forget His holiness when He extends His grace.
If we can just get a handle on them, these truths can transform our lives: God is not an absentee landlord . He is here and always at work. He is not arbitrary, and He never has a temper tantrum. He knows what He is doing. Regardless of what happens, it is safe to trust Him. Deut 32:4 expresses it this way: "He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He." Ps 19:7-9 tells us, "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes... 9 the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. (KJV) ... He truly has the whole world in His hands.
Another powerful truth we need to remember is that God is never cold-hearted in His dealings with this world He holds in His hands. He will, however, respond differently to His children than He will to those who aren't in His family. In Romans 9:15, KJV, God says that He will have mercy (the Greek word is "eleeo"), which means "to show kindness...by [giving] assistance" (Vine's Expository Dictionary), on whom He will have mercy, and compassion (oikteiro), which means "to have pity, a feeling of distress through the ills of others" (Vine's Expository Dictionary), on whom He will have compassion.
The Greek word translated "mercy" in this verse, which involves the active help of God, is found all over the New Testament. It is what we believers want, pray for, and receive regularly in one form or another - God's active help and intervention in our lives. The word for "compassion" on the other hand, is found only in that verse in the New Testament. It too is a feeling of sorrow over the "ills of others", but it does not involve God's help or intervention.
A good picture of this "pity", or "inactive sorrow" (translated as "compassion" in this verse) in operation is found in Mark 10:17-22, where it says in verse 21 that Jesus loved this man. His love, however, did not prevent the man's free choice. It did not keep him from making the wrong choice. Another example of this "pity" in action is found in Matt 23:37-39, where Jesus mourns over Jerusalem, saying what He would have done for her if she'd allowed it. John 3:16 is a third example: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." God loved the world - whether the world received the gift of His Son or not. However, that did not stop people from choosing to reject Jesus, and the consequences if they did. Verse 18 says, "but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
Note: Before I begin, please bear in mind that there are more sides to this subject than I can bring out here - I am merely trying to make one point, not give a perfect theological treatise on the subject. Personally, I don't believe anyone but God understands these things perfectly, so I think we'd all better keep an open mind, and better yet, an open heart.
It would seem from the above verses that God's "pity" or "inactive sorrow" is directed toward those who do not, or in the future will not choose Him. The Bible speaks in several places in both the Old and New Testaments of God's sovereignty intertwining with man's response-ability. Our response is very important to God.
The Bible seems to indicate that on our side hardening one's heart is progressive. In Exodus, the Old Testament tells us that during the ten plagues against Egypt, Pharaoh initially hardened his own heart. During the later plagues, however, the Bible clearly states that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. (See Ex.7-11.) Note the progressive nature of these other Old Testament verses: Prov 28:14 "Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief." Also, Prov 29:1 "He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." It appears that God's "pity" is aroused in such situations, but not His help. In fact, it seems that on occasion God became an adversary to someone who repeatedly hardened his heart - someone such as Pharaoh, and then he couldn't make any other choice.
Note: While it is true that God did sovereignly harden Pharaoh's heart after he withstood Him for a long time, I believe that is the exception. (Pharaoh had even asked forgiveness for his sin, but his motive was to get rid of the plagues, not true godly sorrow. He was trying to use God to get his way.) I also know of cold hearts that God has set on fire, and prodigals He has restored. Also, if you are a Christian who battles a cold heart, it doesn't mean you've committed an unforgiveable sin. If you have ever been tormented with that thought, realize that your concern over the situation is God's Spirit working to call you back to Himself and bring you to repentance. Ask for God's mercy, and allow Him to soften your heart through godly sorrow. As you do, He will deal with the blocks in your life and restore you.
God also speaks of hard hearts in the New Testament. Rom 9:22-23 says, "What if God, willing to shew His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory," (KJV)
On the surface, it seems as if these verses say that God prepared (predestined) both vessels of destruction and vessels of mercy. Now I'm not saying that no verses in the Old or New Testament say that, but I am saying that these don't. The Greek terms for "vessels of wrath fitted to destruction" indicate that these vessels fitted themselves for wrath and destruction. This is a picture of hard-hearted people who persistently locked God out, not a picture of people who battled sin and coldness toward God from time to time. Those people are described as vessels of mercy (chosen vessels God shows kindness to by giving assistance). God is again emphasizing the response-ability men have to Him.
I hope this quick study helps you understand the foundation under which I am operating. These things need to be prayerfully taken into consideration in any discussion of things that are going on in our world. From this base, I would like to prayerfully "launch out," seeking where the Lord wants to lead us.
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