John 6:37-40
"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."
All that are given by the Father to the Son....come to the Son.
This is interesting because right before Jesus says this to the unbelieving crowd, who were seeking Him and followed Him to Capernaum, He was telling them that it was not Moses who gave their bread out of heaven but it was His Father who gives them the true bread out of heaven. "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world." They, in reply, said, "Lord, always give us this bread." Jesus answered, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe." Wow! These people were seeking and following Jesus and even calling Him "Lord" but Jesus said to them that they did not believe (they just wanted the physical bread). The very Creator in human form stands before men who are schooled in the Scriptures and He points to their unbelief. He then explains the why of their disbelief in Him....."All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me." These are the first words to come from the Lord in explanation of man's unbelief.
The giving by the Father to the Son precedes and determines the coming of the person to Christ. The action of giving by the Father comes before the action of coming to Christ by the individual. And, Jesus will certainly not send that individual away; He is here to do His Father's will. And, even better, all who the Father has given to Jesus, He will not lose but raise it up on the last day!!! (Taken from The Potter's Freedom by James White)
The Father gives someone to Christ! I've never understood that my coming to Christ was because the Father gave me to Him first! This humbles me because I once thought I did something good for my life by coming to Christ on my own accord but I learn from John that the Father did the giving long before I did the receiving!
God's giving results in man's coming. Salvation is of the Lord!
Ephesians 1:3 (Paul writing to the Church)
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundations of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will."
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
The Will of Man (From the Potter's Freedom)
Does one choose to remain a slave to sin, and can, at any time, simply choose, by the exericise of free will, to become a believer and cease being a slave?
Can and would a slave to sin ask God to be free from his sin?
Can a slave to sin recognise their need for a Savior?
Are people really free in the first place if the Bible says that we are slaves to sin?
What are the inablities of man?
What is a slave? : a person held in servitude as the chattel of another 2 : one that is completely subservient to a dominating influence
John 12:39-40
For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, "HE HAS BLINED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM."
They are unable to believe because God blinded their eyes.
But 2 verses earlier in John 12:37 we read, "Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him". OK, this sounds like these people were unwilling to believe but why were they unwilling?
Yes, we do read of their unwillingness to believe 2 verses earlier. However, John then explains their unwillingness to believe in 12:38, by stating, "This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: 'LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?'" John's own interpretation of their unbelief was that it was a fulfillment of prophecy.
So, let me get this straight....Some people can not believe because God's prophesy would not be fulfilled! Is the fulfillment of God's prophesy more important than man's free will? Was their blindness "chosen and avoidable blindness"? If it was avoidable, does that mean the prophesy itself was avoidable?
Yes, they had been called upon to repent and believe. It does not follow that "they were able to do so" when verse 39 says they were not able to do so. People overturn the plain assertion of Scripture because it can't mean what it says. The assumption is that if God commands all men everywhere to repent, then that must mean that all men everywhere are morally neutral creatures with free wills who are able and who are not enslaved by sin. But this does not follow. God commands all men everywhere to love Him with all their heart, soul and mind and strength, but sin does not allow any of the fallen sons of Adam to do so.
Paul spoke of the spiritual inabilities of the natural man when he wrote to the Corinthins:
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
So, when people say, " Just accept Jesus into your heart", is this possible by the natural man? No! But with God, all things are possible.
Unregenerate man is fully capable of understanding the facts of the gospel; he is simply incapable, due to his corruption and enmity, to submit himself to that gospel. Man cannot respond in faith and repentance toward Christ without God first freeing him from sin and giving him spiritual life (regeneration).
Can and would a slave to sin ask God to be free from his sin?
Can a slave to sin recognise their need for a Savior?
Are people really free in the first place if the Bible says that we are slaves to sin?
What are the inablities of man?
What is a slave? : a person held in servitude as the chattel of another 2 : one that is completely subservient to a dominating influence
John 12:39-40
For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, "HE HAS BLINED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM."
They are unable to believe because God blinded their eyes.
But 2 verses earlier in John 12:37 we read, "Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him". OK, this sounds like these people were unwilling to believe but why were they unwilling?
Yes, we do read of their unwillingness to believe 2 verses earlier. However, John then explains their unwillingness to believe in 12:38, by stating, "This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: 'LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?'" John's own interpretation of their unbelief was that it was a fulfillment of prophecy.
So, let me get this straight....Some people can not believe because God's prophesy would not be fulfilled! Is the fulfillment of God's prophesy more important than man's free will? Was their blindness "chosen and avoidable blindness"? If it was avoidable, does that mean the prophesy itself was avoidable?
Yes, they had been called upon to repent and believe. It does not follow that "they were able to do so" when verse 39 says they were not able to do so. People overturn the plain assertion of Scripture because it can't mean what it says. The assumption is that if God commands all men everywhere to repent, then that must mean that all men everywhere are morally neutral creatures with free wills who are able and who are not enslaved by sin. But this does not follow. God commands all men everywhere to love Him with all their heart, soul and mind and strength, but sin does not allow any of the fallen sons of Adam to do so.
Paul spoke of the spiritual inabilities of the natural man when he wrote to the Corinthins:
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
So, when people say, " Just accept Jesus into your heart", is this possible by the natural man? No! But with God, all things are possible.
Unregenerate man is fully capable of understanding the facts of the gospel; he is simply incapable, due to his corruption and enmity, to submit himself to that gospel. Man cannot respond in faith and repentance toward Christ without God first freeing him from sin and giving him spiritual life (regeneration).
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Camping in Santa Ynez
The boys running around...careful not to fall in the poison oak!
Dishes, the ol'fashion way!
Big I LOVES to make dust clouds and Little A loves playing in the dust, so we sent them away to another camp site to have their boy "fun".
Daddy and Big I climbing Red rock and Big A to follow.
Daddy going for it! Make a big splash!Camping in the mountains right behind Santa Barbara is always such a treat! Each time we have been blessed to see so much wildlife, including families of wild turkeys, a bobcat, deer and more. I think we will be camping here for many more years to come. Big A's favorite activity is swimming the river and the boys is to throw rocks into it! My best time is singing songs by the campfire and Daddy's is making the fire!
Sailing with Friends at Newport Beach
This was a great day spent with good friends at their parent's beach house in Newport Beach!Big A's Nature Notebook
We are part of a Charlotte Mason homeschool group that takes Nature Walks once a month as a group. We have been going to the Batiquitos Lagoon (Carlsbad has many lagoons). There is incredible bird life here! This is a sample of Big A's notebook; part of her science education.
This was on our 1st walk....we saw a snake!! Thankfully, not a dangerous one. The kids really liked it.
Our Pet Frogs
A friend of ours gave us frog eggs (about 20 of them) that first turned into little black specks. Then they developed into tadpoles. Next, the back legs emerged turning them into froglets. Then the front legs literally popped out! So, we had frogs with tails which elongated ( very strange). And finally, the tail shrank and we ended up having 3 frogs for about 3 months. We now have none; 2 we gave back to the original person and 1 ended up dying :(
It was very interesting to watch this transformation....kinda gave me the willies but no homeschooling family would pass this offer up! They were beautiful frogs, emerald backs with black spots!
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Back to Desert Hot Springs
We got to come back here again this year with Poppi, Mimi, Uncle Tim, Aunt Anastasia, and Little J. We had so much fun! Thanks Poppi and Mimi for inviting us!
Riding Outside the Front of Our Home
This is almost a daily routine. The kids love the speed bump that's out here!
Reading Time with Daddy
Reading is at the heart of our home education. We are so excited to start our family "read-out-louds" next year. The list includes: Wind in the Willows, Little House Series, The Chronicles of Naria, Heidi, The Princess and the Goblin.
Easter 2009 Resurrection Sunday!
Jesus is not dead, He has risen and is sitting at the right hand of the Father making intersession for us! Let's sing about it!
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