Question: “Is God sovereign or do we have a free will?”

Answer: When we talk about free will, we are usually concerned with the matter of salvation. Few are interested in whether we have the free will to choose salad or steak for our dinner tonight. Rather, we are troubled over who exactly is in control of our eternal destiny.

Any discussion of man’s free will must begin with an understanding of his nature because man’s will is bound by that nature. A prisoner has the freedom to pace up and down in his cell, but he is constrained by the walls of that cell and can go no further, no matter how much his will might desire it. So it is with man. Because of sin, man is imprisoned within a cell of corruption and wickedness which permeates to the very core of our being. Every part of man is in bondage to sin – our bodies, our minds, and our wills. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us the state of man’s heart: it is “deceitful and desperately wicked.” In our natural, unregenerate state, we are carnally minded, not spiritually minded. “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can it be” (Romans 8:6-7). These verses tell us that before we are saved, we are at enmity (war) with God, we do not submit to God and His law, neither can we. The Bible is clear that, in his natural state, man is incapable of choosing that which is good and holy. In other words, he does not have the “free will” to choose God because his will is not free. It is constrained by his nature, just as the prisoner is constrained by his cell.

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Anything would have to be better than the latest George Clooney film - “Micheal Clayton”. It is the most over rated, under delivering film of the year.

Alvin the chipmunk had better plot intensity.

The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything had a better script.

Underdog had a better plot development. (Can you tell I have got kids yet?)

National Treasure part 2 - had better special effects.

Ratatouille at least had some sort of moral value.

So, obviously to get nominated for an Oscar you got to have pull, parents in the game, money and have to be on the roster, like “Oh no, we forgot to give George one last year… what’s he done this year….well if we have to.”

“Oh Brother Where Art Thou” at least it had a sound track and hair nets.

But, then again it is a film about an nihilist who lives in the narcissistic center of the universe…. the other center.

3. God is Immutable

Immutable means : not changing

When we speak of God’s immutability, we mean that God is unchanged, and unchangeable as to His character and being.

The laws of God’s being are eternal and unchanging. In His mode of being as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God is unchanged and unchangeable.

In His essential and moral attributes, God is unchangeable. In all of the perfections of His character, God can never change. This is immutability.

God’s existence does not change.

He is eternal. He is indestructible.

He can never cease to be.

James 1:17

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change

God’s character does not change.

In the course of human life, things happen. Circumstances arise, be they good or bad, this effects a change in people – that does not happen to God.

In fact man must change. As God gets hold of a woman or a man and challenges them with who they are and how they live – we must change to be more like Him.

But, God is and shall always be.

Bad things happen to good people and good people become irritable and crotchety.

This does not happen to God. Continue Reading »

Vision is defined as: The ability to see

 A prophetic vision : is a picture of something that is going to happen, something that is down the road. It is the prophetic insight that will cause a people to discipline themselves because they are not longer living just in the moment they are living with a sense of urgency and legacy.

 I believe that vision is a tool for inspiration, no a weapon for manipulation.

 It is something that should inspire us to reach beyond ourselves for the good and betterment of those around us.

A vision is not something that you make up for an occasion it is something that you carry around inside of you that leaks out on occasion.

It is a manifestation of who you really are and all that you hold dear.

I believe there are four components to clearly communicating vision to anyone about anything.

·      Who are we?

·      Where are we?

·      Where do we want to go?

·      How are we going to do it?