ALL ARE PREDESTINED...BUT

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In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.”

Romans 8:29-30

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

What is it to be predestined?

Well, it’s simply being selected ahead of something, hand-picked for a certain opportunity.

Need an example?

Go back to the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament after God gave the Israelites what they wanted, kings to rule over them. As the kings went into power, they married and had children. If they were the firstborn male, then they were in line to ascend to the throne at the time of their father’s death. In other words, the king’s son was predestined to reign one day as soon as they were born. This is just one example of predestination in the scriptures but it’s all we really need to address Paul’s words in verses 29 and 30 of Romans 8, two verses that seem to breed a lot of confusion in the church but I think it’s because people make the concept too hard. Look at Paul’s words again here and then allow me to give a simple explanation for the message being conveyed.

“For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.” Romans 8:29-30

Here we find the scriptures telling us that God foreknows and destines people to be “conformed to the image of His Son”. Just as all are born into sin and therefore fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), all have also been predestined to find victory over sin and judgment through the salvation God offers in Jesus. In other words, God predetermines that everyone will have an opportunity to be saved. Out of His deep love and mercy, He calls for His people to accept His offer of eternal life by believing in His Son who has already paid the price for the sins they have committed.

But here’s the thing. Not everyone accepts God’s destiny for them.

It’s been true ever since Jesus came to this earth, the Messiah promised by the words of the prophets who brought a new covenant between God and His people. God proposed a way for everyone to have a chance to be pardoned from sin and live with Him forever.

Unfortunately, countless millions of people have rejected that offer. They willingly chose to decline the destiny God predetermined for them. They rebuffed their heavenly Father’s proposition of salvation and the justification it would bring through the sin-cleansing blood of Jesus, the sacrificed Lamb of God who died to provide atonement for any sinner who would believe in Him as Savior. And in turning away from the destiny God offered, they chose to exchange glory for damnation.

Perhaps there is no sadder story I could tell about people today, that although God predestined them for everlasting life, His people chose His judgment instead. They passed up Heaven for Hell.

Friends, I don’t know where you stand today but if you have not accepted God’s offer of salvation, I would change that right now. Please don’t pass on the greatest opportunity of this lifetime, an opportunity that God wants you to realize, the opportunity of eternal life through Jesus that He predestined you for.  

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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ALWAYS WORKING GOOD

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

Romans 8:28

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

“God is good.”

You hear people say this all the time, even people who don’t necessarily give God much of their life.

In these latter instances, when saying God is good even when He isn’t a priority, people speak about God’s goodness more as a matter of opinion than fact. You’ll know when this is true because the same people will wonder where God is in other times of their life when the certain difficulties of life fall upon them.

On the other hand, God believers know God is good, not based on their own view but rather because the scriptures tell us so. Consider these excerpts from the Psalms that declare the goodness of our God:

“Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom. One generation commends Your works to another; they tell of Your mighty acts. They speak of the glorious splendor of Your majesty—and I will meditate on Your wonderful works. They tell of the power of Your awesome works—and I will proclaim Your great deeds. They celebrate Your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of Your righteousness.” Psalm 145:3-7

“What shall I return to the Lord for all His goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.” Psalm 116:11-13

“Sovereign Lord, help me for Your name’s sake; out of the goodness of Your love, deliver me.” Psalm 109:21

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:13-14

“Surely Your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6

I could go on and on but you get the point. God is good and that goodness is proclaimed in His word. This is absolute truth. But as we expand our look at the scriptures, we find something else out about the goodness of God.

It never stops working for some people.

Note that I say some people because there are qualifying criteria for this always-working goodness. Look at this single verse from the eighth chapter of Paul’s letter to the people in Rome:

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

Here we see that there is a prerequisite for one to always have God working good in their lives and it’s not a hard one. For all a person needs to do is love Him, to love the Lord. That’s it.

Love the Lord and you can know that He, the One of infinite power, the One through which nothing is impossible, is with you, for you, and working things out for your good in all things. Not just certain circumstances, all circumstances.

If you truly love the Lord, then you see yourself as His as much as He sees you as belonging to Him. You have decided to receive His Son Jesus who He sent out of love to save you and in doing so, received His Holy Spirit and became His bonafide child. And just as any father has purposes for their children so too does God. Love and trust Him and He will purpose you in life, leading and guiding you in accordance with His will, not your own.

So why then do people who love God suffer and deal with hardship?

Because sometimes that is God’s purpose for our lives, that’s why. And while we are dealing with the struggles, He, God, is right there with us, providing the strength and direction we need to make it through. In other words, He is working all things for good, even in the bad times of life.

We all could be stronger in our trust in God. We all need to learn to place our hope in Him always, no matter what life brings our way. God refines us in ways that only He can by skimming away our faith impurities while we are in the fire and superheated by our trials and tribulations. He brings out of our challenges better than we were before went into them if we would only trust the process and allow Him to do His perfect work in, around, and through us.

Friends, God is good, perfectly good, and He is always working things for the good of those who love Him, those He has called and purposed.

Never forget that.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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HELP IN TIMES OF WEAKNESS

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Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”

Romans 8:26-27

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I don’t know about you but there are days that I feel I can do anything. I feel full of life and vim and vigor, able to accomplish whatever I put my mind to.

And then there are those other days, days when I am crying out, “Lord, please give me strength!”

Such is the ebb and flow of life it seems, right? We have times of strength and times of weakness. It’s in those latter times that we need help and thanks be to God that we have that in Him and the Holy Spirit he has sent to assist us. This is the point we find the Apostle Paul driving home to the people of Rome as we continue to look at chapter 8 of his letter to them. Paul writes this:

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” Romans 8:26-27

In times of weakness, when life brings us down and we feel like we don’t have the strength to carry on or even know what to pray for, we need to remember that we have the Holy Spirit on our side. He intercedes for us, coming to our rescue in times of weakness and provides what we need in accordance with God’s will. We all could use an advocate, someone to encourage us in times of difficulty, and we have this in the way of the Holy Spirit.

So the next time life is bringing you down to your knees, let the Holy Spirit lift you up and remember these words from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah who said this about the Lord we serve:

“Do you not know? Have you not heard?”

“The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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PATIENT WAITING

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In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”

Romans 8:22-25

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I’m going out on a limb here and say that I don’t think anyone likes to wait, even though you would think we would get used to it after having to do it so much.

We go to the grocery store or shopping elsewhere for things and we end up waiting in checkout lines.

We travel somewhere and inevitably, we end up getting stuck in traffic somewhere. This never comes at an opportune time and only serves to delay you from either getting to your travel destination or returning home.

We wait to be seen by doctors, to get our cars serviced, and for paychecks to hit our accounts.

We wait and wait and wait and wait.

But why does God build so much waiting into our lives? How would a perfect God impose seemingly needless delays on our lives through the things I’ve mentioned and so many other instances like them?

Well, anytime we ponder questions like these, we’re always led to the same place. For nothing God does in our lives is without purpose and having us wait is no different. Consider these words from Galatians regarding the fruits of the Spirit that God is trying to harvest within each and every person:

“…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23

Why do we get so upset when we have to wait?

It’s all about impatience and when we get impatient enough, we can tend to lose self control and peace and kindness and goodness and gentleness and joy and love. In other words, if we lose our patience, the rest of our fruits fall with it and that leads to us behaving in ways that are far from what the Lord wants from us.

So how do we keep from getting there?

We have to ask for the Lord to help us, to give us the patience during times of waiting, times I like to refer to as exercises in patience. You would be surprised how well this works for when we call on the Lord, He answers and will give us what we need to persevere through our circumstances as His will is being done.

With this in mind, let’s turn to our scripture passage for today from Romans 8 as Paul continues to address the people in Rome about the matter of salvation and eternal life. Note how the matter of waiting for eternal life to come is central to his message in these verses:

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” Romans 8:22-25

When someone accepts Jesus as Savior, they gain a blessed assurance of a future life filled with love and light and peace in the glory of God’s kingdom. They read the scriptures about this kingdom in the Book of Revelation and even get more excited about what’s to come, realizing that the things of this world pale in comparison to the riches of Heaven. And this eager anticipation for fully experiencing God’s salvation through Jesus can sometimes make a believer impatient as they have to wait for the best that is still ahead.

This is what Paul is getting at when he talks about people who have gained the first fruits of the Holy Spirit through Jesus groaning inwardly until that day when they realize the promised “adoption to sonship” and “redemption of our bodies” as they are delivered from death to life. All Christians gain this hope when they are saved, a hope for something they do not have.

As we deal with the things of life, maybe we could find ourselves getting inpatient, eager for God to just intervene and take us from this world into the better one He has promised. People every day will say that they are ready to go to be with God anytime but the real timing of this will always be in God’s hands. Glory awaits all Christian believers but God dictates when that time will come for a believer to receive their everlasting glory experience.

Until then, let us follow the guidance of the scriptures, reinforced by the power of the Holy Spirit, as we wait patiently for what God has in store. And while we wait, let’s spend our time seeking His will within those times of waiting, constructively carrying out His purposes.

They’ll always be more productive than complaining.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com