Predestination vs. Free Will

Somebody said, "The difference between predestination and free will is: "Predestination is the hand you were dealt; free will is what you do with that hand."

Good point !!!

While we weren't responsible for, nor did we have any choice in what gifts and abilities we were born with, we are totally responsible for what we do about discovering and developing these gifts and talents and for how we use them.

Furthermore, regardless of our background, which I acknowledge has a profound effect on us, with God's help and the support of encouraging friends, we can refuse to allow our past to determine our future and we can overcome much of our past, develop our talents, and become the person God wants us to be and do what we believe He wants us to do with our life.

It all boils down to choice. Either by conscious choice or by default we all choose what we want to become and do what we choose to do. As another has said, "Everyone is self made, even if the rich are the only ones who will admit it."

Dear God,
please help me
to discover
what my gifts and talents are--
both spiritual and
natural--
and develop them,
and find a productive way
to use them
for the benefit of others and for your glory.

Thank you for hearing and answering my prayerz.

Changing Course?

The following was circulated in an email some time ago but has a timely message that is good to be reminded about.

As the large ship cruised ahead through the night darkness, a message from ahead was received: "Make a course adjustment to avoid a collision."

Immediately the ship responded: "I am an admiral. You make a course adjustment."

"I am a petty officer. You make a course adjustment," came the reply.

"I am an aircraft carrier. You had better turn quickly," the admiral commanded.

The petty officer responded: "I am a lighthouse. You are the one who had better turn."

God's Word is our guide through all of life, through the good days as well as through the dark nights. Every instruction is there for our protection, for our safety, for our well-being. We disregard it to our peril. Despise God's Word and find yourself in trouble. Obey it and succeed."

God's Word is the "course adjustment" lighthouse for us. If we're heading in a dangerous direction, we are the ones who need to heed the directions and change course.

Thank you God
that 'Your Word is a light unto my path.'
Give me the good sense
and the courage
to always follow in your ways
so my life will never be shipwrecked.

Thank you for hearing and answering my prayerz.

Parrot Talk

 

A man bought a parrot at an auction after some heavy bidding. "I hope this bird talks," he told the auctioneer.

"Talk," the auctioneer replied. "Who do you think has been bidding against you for the past ten minutes?"

Sad to say, we seem to be living in a day when a person's word has less and less value. Once upon a time a man's word was his bond. Not any more, I'm afraid. For many people today their word doesn't mean a thing.

We're pretty adept at parroting what we think people want to hear.

I remember one of my college professors teaching us that a person's character could be measured by what value he or she put on their word. People who don't keep their word simply cannot be trusted. This principle applies, not only to some politicians who promise anything to get votes, but also to every one of us who do not keep our promises or our word.

Fortunately, however, of one thing we can be certain, God always keeps his Word and always keeps his promises. We need to do the same! For after all, it's what we do, not what we say, that speaks the loudest of all.

Dear God,
please make me a man/woman of my word ..
so I can always be trusted to say what I
mean, mean what I say, and do what I say I will do.

Thank you for hearing and answering my prayerz.

Stepping Stones to Success

Many achievements in life have come from a setback, an accident, or some kind of crisis or even suffering. For instance, the first cars had to be started by cranking the motor by hand. At times the engine would "kick" back the crank handle. This happened to Charles Kettering and it broke his arm.

"There must be a safer way to start cars than this," Kettering reasoned and he went on to invent self-starters for cars.

Jacob Schick was prospecting for gold where the temperature fell to 40 degrees below zero. He had a hard time trying to shave with a blade without sufficient hot water--so he invented the first electric shaver.

Eugene O'Neill had no specific goal or aim in life until he became ill and had to go to hospital. While lying flat on his back he began to write his plays.

So, when things go wrong in your life and you experience a major setback, lose your job, or have an accident, not always, but perhaps God has something for you to learn, or something else he wants you to do. The important thing is to be open to what God is saying.

True, disasters happen because we live in a broken, sinful world. Sometimes, however, a disaster is "God's wake-up call" to teach us an important lesson, to help us grow, or to lead us in a different direction.

Most of us are not going to be struck down. Some of us, though, who are hard-headed have to be "hit over the head" as it were with a "four-by-four" for God to get our attention. But for most of us God leads through his Word, our circumstances, and through a "still small voice" within that gives us a sense of what God wants us to do.

Dear God,
help me to see/ hear/ learn
what you are saying to me
in every adverse circumstance
I may experience,
as I truly want to be
what you want me to be
and to do
what you want me to do.

Thank you for hearing and answering my prayerz.

Teachable

 

Seeing is not always believing. Old beliefs as well as old habits die hard.

For centuries people believed Aristotle's opinion that the heavier an object, the faster it would fall to earth.

I am not an engineer but according to a report I read, in 1589 Galileo challenged Aristotle's teaching. He invited learned professors to the base of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Galileo went to the top of the tower and at exactly the same moment pushed off a ten-pound and a one-pound weight.

Both landed at the same instant, but the professors still wouldn't believe what they saw. They insisted Aristotle was right.

To move ahead in life and to grow--intellectually, emotionally and spiritually--it is important that we examine all our beliefs, test them, hold to the true and discard the false. Admittedly, this is much easier said than done, but done it must be if we are to keep learning and growing. Unless we are open to and willing to change, we get set in our ways and cease to grow.

Dear God,
please confront me
with every issue in my life
I need to be aware of,

help me
to be teachable,
and give me the courage
to make necessary changes
in my life where needed.

Thank you
for hearing and answering my prayerz.

Lead by Example

On an occasion following a great victory Napoleon was asked how he made his army cross the Alps and he replied, "One does not make an army cross the Alps; one leads it across."

Whether a boss, a parent, a teacher, or a friend, the most effective way to lead others, to teach others, to motivate others, to train our children and/or to influence others is by example; that is, by who we are, by what we do, and most of all by how much we care about them. In other words, we need to model what we want others to learn and do. We need to lead the way, not by being demanding or controlling, but by showing through both our caring and our doing--by example not by telling.

Furthermore, "People don't care how much we know until they know how much we care," and as Carl Jung stated, "Where love rules, there is no will to power, and where power predominates, love is lacking. The one is the shadow of the other."

Dear God,
please help me
to teach others your ways,
not by my telling them how
but by showing them how
by my example.

Thank you for hearing and answering my prayerz.

Over the Edge

Back in 1911 a stuntman named Bobby Leach went over Niagara Falls in a specially designed steel drum--and lived to tell about it.

Although he suffered minor injuries, he survived because he recognized the tremendous dangers involved in the feat, and he had done everything he could to protect himself from harm. Several years later, while walking down a street in New Zealand, Bobby slipped on an orange peel, fell, and badly fractured his leg. He was taken to a hospital where he died of complications from that fall. He received a greater injury walking down the street than he sustained in going over Niagara Falls. He was not prepared for danger in what he assumed to be a safe situation."

Niagara  Falls has the breath-taking beauty and the incredible power of the millions of gallons of water rushing over the falls every second. Visitors have to be extremely careful to view the falls from a very secure position. If you stood in an unsafe place, one slip and you'd be gone.

When it comes to life's temptations, we're very much aware of and are careful to avoid the ones that "roar around us like the rushing waters of Niagara." But like Bobby slipped on an orange peel, it is extremely easy for us to ignore the seemingly "little" temptations that slip up on us silently but don't appear to carry any threat. However, a tiny indulgence in lust, can lure us and ever so slowly, little by little, draw us closer to the edge … and we wake up and discover to our dismay that we have slipped over the line into an addiction that has us hopelessly trapped.

No wonder the Scriptures warn us to be on our guard … and "If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!"

Dear God,
please help me realize
just how vulnerable I am
and susceptible to life's 'little' temptations,
and that daily I need to commit and trust
my life and way to you.

Thank you for hearing and answering my prayerz.

Insignificant Goals

 

Some years ago a headline told of three hundred whales that suddenly died. The whales were pursuing sardines and found themselves marooned in a bay. Frederick Harris commented, 'The small fish lured the sea giants to their death. They came to their violent demise by chasing small ends, by prostituting vast powers for insignificant goals.'"

Over the years I've asked numerous people how many of them believe that God has a purpose for their life. Almost all hands raise in agreement. But when I ask what their God-given life-purpose is, very few have any idea. I get lots of vague generalities, but very few have a clearly defined life-purpose.

If we don't know specifically where we are headed in life, instead of making life happen, we allow life as it happens to make us. That is, instead of directing our life, we are directed by life's circumstances. We become like a rudderless ship with no real sense of direction, wasting our God-given potential on pursuing happiness, riches, or insignificant goals. Unless we know where we are headed, there is a danger that we, like the whales, may make shipwreck of our faith or even of our life.

Dear God,
thank you that you do have a God-given life-purpose for my life.

Please help me to discover what it is
and, with your help,
do all in my power to achieve that purpose.

Thank you for hearing and answering my prayerz.

The Secret of Happiness

As said earlier , happiness is many things to many people. For one thing, it means we need to know and accept ourselves for who we are.

Happiness also means learning to accept my personal circumstances. Some of them can be changed. Others can't. And unless I accept the ones that can't be changed, I'll never be happy or content. As blind Helen Keller said, "I thank God for my handicaps, for through them I have found myself, my work, and my God."

Happiness is also having a worthwhile goal . . . a noble purpose for which to live . . . something of value to strive for.

I was once talking to a union representative. At the time he was also demonstrating for a cause that was popular back then. He told me he joined this group because it gave him something to live for. I don't know if this man is still demonstrating for a cause, but certainly everybody needs something to live for other than himself and his own happiness.

Happiness in itself is not a worthwhile goal to live for. To be happy all of the time is unreal, as happiness is only one of life's great emotions. To be in touch with all of one's feelings is more important than being happy all of the time. To feel sad, hurt, angry, afraid, and unhappy at the appropriate times is both normal and healthy. However, if one is unhappy most of the time, this is nature's way of telling him/ her that something is missing in his life or some conflict needs resolving.

To be happy, or at least fulfilled, one also needs to have worthwhile work (paid or volunteer) into which one can put one's best efforts. Note, too, that when our work is helping to meet others needs, this can be very fulfilling.

Everybody has some talents; so it is important that he/ she discover his/ her gifts, receive adequate training to sharpen them, and find a place to use them. This is equally true for both men and women.

It is a wise man who helps his wife find, develop, and use her special gifts. He will reap just rewards through his wife's increased fulfillment and happiness. And so it is for a wise woman for her husband.

Dear God,
please help me to realize
that happiness comes
much more through who I am
rather than what I do.

Help me to become the person
you want me to be
and then find further fulfillment
and happiness with what I do
with my life.

Thank you for hearing and answering my prayerz.

The Secret of Happiness

Already pointed out that happiness is many things to many people. It means knowing and accepting ourselves for who we are; learning to live with circumstances we are not able to change; having a worthwhile and noble purpose for which to live; and having something of value to do.

"If you find a really happy man," states one author, "you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his son, or growing double dahlias in his garden. He will not be searching for happiness as if it were a button that has rolled under the wardrobe, he will not be striving for it as a goal in itself, he will have become aware that he is happy in the course of living life to the full twenty-four hours of the day."

The happy person also has healthy relationships with other people. The person who lives only for himself is immature and usually miserable. Even the ancient Greeks had a word for the self-centered person. It was idios from which we get our word, "idiot." It means belonging to one's self.

To love and be loved is without question one of mankind's greatest needs for happiness. Without love all else in life is meaningless. Once again, however, love comes from within. If we give love we will receive love. That is a law of life. Unfortunately, many people, especially in childhood, were hurt because of a lack of love and as adults are afraid to love for fear of being hurt again. With effective counseling and the will to overcome, this fear can usually be conquered.

A well-integrated self is also needed for happiness. If the self is whole and mature, happiness will follow.

Finally, character and a clear conscience are critical for lasting happiness. To feel forgiven for all the wrongs one has done gives one a deep sense of freedom. Any wrongs, therefore, that we have done need to be put right and any impaired relationships resolved. Not only do we need our brother's forgiveness, but also God's (Toba). When we confess our sins and faults to Him (Allah), He always forgives us. We then need to forgive ourselves.

Remember, happiness is a process not an event. Diligently follow the process and happiness/contentment will be the rich reward.

Dear God,
thank you that you have given me
the principles in your Word
for finding lasting peace, contentment, and happiness.

Give me a love for your word
so that I will know how to live
and therein find the inner peace, contentment, and happiness
you promise to all who put you first
and follow your ways.

Thank you for hearing and answering
my prayers ..

The Secret of Happiness

The search for happiness is as old as mankind.

Hedonism, an ancient Greek philosophy, stated that the chief end of man was happiness. Democritus, who lived in 460 BC, said, "Happiness is the object of our conduct." And Aristipus, a pupil of Socrates, put it this way. "The most intense pleasure is the highest good and is the aim of life."

People today still long for happiness, but in spite of our greatly increased knowledge and achievements so many people still haven't learned its secret.

Some doctors estimate that over 80% of patients are suffering as a result of emotional distress. A world-famous psychiatrist claims that "the central neurosis of our time is emptiness." And according to the United Nations World Health Organization, depression is the world's number one health problem.

Marilyn Monroe had everything that many seem to think brings happiness--beauty, wealth, fame, and popularity--but she ended her life in suicide. I have read that actor Mel Gibson also had everything the world had to offer but he never felt happy or fulfilled. This is one reason he produced and paid to make the film, The Passion of the Christ.

And millionaire Jay Gould said when dying, "I suppose I am the most miserable devil on earth."

Actually, wealth, fame, power, or beauty don't make one happy or unhappy. They are externals. Happiness comes from within. It is a by-product of an inner condition. If one lives only for personal happiness, he will probably never find it. As one person said, "The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness."

In their mind happiness is many things to many people. It depends on one's particular needs, abilities, interests, and maturity. Happiness for one man is to be an accountant, for another a farmer. Happiness for one woman is not to have any more children, for another to have one. The reality is, however, that none of these in and of itself can make anyone happy.

For me, happiness begins with being honest with myself and learning to understand and accept myself for who and what I really am. This way I can utilize my strengths and work towards overcoming my weaknesses.