GOD'S  Sovereignty

 vs  

Man's Sovereignty 

 Ecclesiastes 1:15

What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

Ecclesiastes 7:13

Consider the work of God, For who is able to straighten what He has bent?

The old argument of free will over GOD's selection has been something I have studied for the past ten years. I bet every prophet in the OT begged to be relieved of their duty. Jonah did, Jeremiah did, Amos did, but GOD wouldn't let them go their own way. I have begged to be let go of this path GOD has me on, and the answer has been no.

In a way there is a freedom in not having free will. I can't mess up GOD's plan with my own stubborn insistence of having things my way. If GOD has given a man the ability to choose free will over GOD's will, then that free will has become an idol, and that man never really belonged to GOD. If we choose to make good choices with our free will, then that free will of choosing the right thing can breed a pride in our heart that only GOD can see. On the other hand, the fact that I can neither choose my free will over GOD's plan or even choose to walk GOD's path, (because many times I've tried to leave). He has always pulled me back on this path against my own will. That is humbling, because He chose my path, I did not. I have not been given the free will to leave it. I didn't choose to follow GOD, He imposed Himself on me, because He has a plan that I do not know. He has a work for me to do that I cannot see. He sees the ending, I cannot see. He sees the person He will mold me into that I cannot see.

I have rested in the assurance that what GOD called me to, He WILL finish and there is no way a man's free will to say no could jeopardize that. It has been too hard of a walk, flooded with tears. If the Adonai I have worshiped, leaned on, and trusted, could leave the results into the hands of a man, there would be no use in perseverance. I have to trust that His plan and path is better than one I would have chosen. I have to trust that I will be deliriously happy in the end, because GOD had His way and I did not have mine.

David did not have a choice, Joseph did not have a choice. Saul did not have a choice on the road to Damascus. He was called, and there was no way of getting out of it. He didn't plan to go to Macedonia, but GOD put a man in his dream to beg Paul to come. GOD gave Joseph dreams of where to take Mary and Yeshua.

I have studied that OT, inside, outside, and upside down, and I see people who were called to a task, sometimes against their own will, and GOD kept them on that path. He has done that to me. He robbed me of my original dreams, and put new ones in my heart and "forced" me to want them. Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Those words "shall give" in Hebrew mean "set/put."

I have pleaded to get off this road because it was fraught with Noah's Flood's worth of tears. I wouldn't be here doing this if I could have had my own way. I couldn't resist His Grace in 1989 when I became born again. My testimony will prove that. Every child I had, GOD put that desire into my heart, until Max. After that, I did not want anymore. I even found myself pregnant at 48 years old, and I was mad. I didn't want another baby. When I found out that I miscarried, I was relieved, because I knew Max was last, because we named him Max because we reached our Max, and eight is enough! (pun intended).

Proverbs 19:21

Many plans are in a person’s heart, But the advice of the Lord will stand.

KJ21

Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.

Psalm 33:10

The Lord nullifies the plan of nations; He frustrates the plans of peoples.

I tried to quit so many times, because I stopped believing He was going to do something, because the evidence proved that, but He dragged me back in kicking and screaming. He has to be Sovereign even over a man's decisions or He wouldn't be the Almighty, Creator of the Universe. He has to have that right to be GOD. He has allowed us a certain amount of free will, but it is subject to His Sovereign plan. I have leaned on these verses to keep me going, knowing that GOD will put all the puzzle pieces where they belong when they belong there.

 Psalm 24 

The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.

The Lord Considers the Heart

Proverbs 21:

The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord,  like the rivers of water;

He turns it wherever He wishes.

Here is how He taught me. GOD puts us on His Cruise Ship to Paradise and plans all the port stops along the way. We are free to move around the ship any place we want to go, even if that is a bad place. We will suffer the consequences, but we cannot jump ship. There are plenty of times man has thought GOD was leading him a certain way, and the end result was failure. It was the man who got it wrong, not GOD. Man's number one sin is pride, and it comes in all shapes and sizes, as well as resides in man's free will, to an extent.

Psalm 37:23 

The steps of a man are established by the LORD, and He delights in his way.

Job 42:2

 “I know that Thou canst do all things, And that no purpose of Thine can be thwarted.

Job 12:14

“To God belong wisdom and power;  counsel and understanding are his. What he tears down cannot be rebuilt;   those he imprisons cannot be released.

Isn't  GOD  Pro-Choice?

      For as much as you are not going to agree with me on this,  as a devoted lover of Yeshua, student of the Whole Counsel of GOD, and faithful servant of the Most High, in the Abortions debate, I am most assuredly pro-choice because YHVH is pro-choice. Point number 1: GOD put the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil INSIDE the Garden of Eden and gave Adam the choice, hence GOD is pro-choice. He wants us to choose the right path. Deuteronomy 28 supports this. GOD wanted his people to choose to obey, and he gave the consequences of obedience versus disobedience. 

     2. Every human created with a brain has a soul. As a woman who has had four miscarriages, I'm well aware that the brain is formed around week five after conception. What I lost was had no brain, because they were too early, yet there was "tissue" there. So, life does begin as conception, but it doesn't always survive. You may call that a weak argument, but thousands of processes have to occur for this to happen. That's why miscarriages are so prevalent. I birthed 8 children, but I had 4 miscarriages, so that is a 50% ratio. That's pretty high. Any abortion done before the brain forms may or may not have been a viable life anyway. (Weak argument, I know, but only GOD knows.) GOD's tests the heart, not the actions. 

    3. Who are having abortions? Is it loving Christian women? I dare say not. GOD told his servants to completely annihilate the Canaanites because of their evil practices. If those types of women had those babies, would they be loved completely? Maybe, maybe not. Would they grow up to become Christians? Maybe, maybe not. The likelihood is about 10% of them. Hence, nine out of ten of those babies born to secular mothers would likely perish. I can safely use that figure because I grew up in a secular family and out of six children, I was the only one called and born-again. I am not just talking my nuclear family but grandparents on both sides, plus aunts, uncles and cousins. I am the only lover of Jesus, and have been for 33 years. 

     This leads to point number 4. Why did GOD have His servants annihilate entire nations, including women, children and babies? 1 Samuel 15:3. Did GOD wipe out women, children, infants, and pregnant women at Sodom and Gomorrah, and at Jericho? Yes, He did. Why? Because those children would have grown up to become just like their child-sacrificing, pagan parents, because their parents did, and so on and so forth. So, when GOD wiped the children and infants out, He saved their souls. Are you following me here? Where do these babies go who are aborted who have souls? They go straight to the Father's arms, 100% of them. So, maybe GOD allows abortion in order to save souls. (Romans 8:28) 

     GOD sometimes allows sin to occur if in the end it brings about a good outcome, example, David and Bathsheba - Solomon and the Temple. He doesn't approve of it, but by His Sovereign will, He allows it. Consider the numbers. If say five people plus the mother are involved in a typical abortion, (Nurses, doctors, receptionist, office manager..,) it's likely that five out of those six people will likely end up in hell, whereas the 100% of the babies end up in the Father's arms. 

     LAST and most important point, the anti-abortion movement has become a Jericho's wall, a hill to die on, and sadly those dying are those outside of the church, because this hill and wall is nothing more than combative Christianity. It is keeping unbelievers out of the church, and church people behind their self-built anti-abortion-Jericho's wall.  Yes we are fighting for life, but that's not how the lost see it. As one who was saved at twenty-six and was very much a progressive feminist who was very much pro-choice/abortion then, I can tell you, Satan has filters on their hearts and souls to only see this as combative and hateful Christianity. I went from pro-abortion to anti-birth control.  Only GOD can change a heart that much. The Holy Spirit must come into a heart for it to be able to defeat the filter the enemy has put there to block the Gospel. How many women come to the LORD out of guilt for what they had done? There is the Holy Spirit at work. Again, GOD allowed sin to save a soul. 

     With all this said, the sale of fetus parts is abhorring and an abomination, and those who do this will be called to account. Yet, my arguments are more about the souls of these babies and where they end up, because isn't that what matters more? This life is fraught with pain, (Job 14) and those babies are being spared all that hurt.  It's not about being born, it's about where we end up when we die. Ecclesiastes 4:2. Even Solomon said, blessed are those who are never born. I was born into a horrible family and suffered emotional pain that is indescribable and still am and I am 58 years old. Even my husband bailed on our marriage after 36 years and ten times vowing to remain faithful to GOD, me, and his children. 

     You may think my arguments are weak, however, I don't think like normal people. I think in a different plane. Isaiah 55:8-9. I try to see things from GOD's point of view, and we all know that GOD's point of view is usually opposite of sinful man's point of view.

  Heaven's Walk of Fame

Just like there are celebrities in the world, music stars and all that, well in heaven there is also a group that are celebrities. Like all the heroes of the Bible, they are on Heaven's Walk of Fame. Well, I'm on it, also. I know this for sure, because GOD sees in us who He will make us, and that's who we already are in Heaven, regardless of who we are here.

Let's take Gideon for an example. 11 The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” The ANGEL of the LORD came down, sat w/the weakest runt in the weakest family in the weakest tribe and called him "Mighty Warrior." I love Gideon's response.

13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied,

His reaction was like total unbelief. He had no idea that he was going to be in the Biblical Walk of Fame, but GOD did, because GOD chose him and wrote his story ahead of time. THAT's how GOD sees us.

He sees us like He saw Gideon, not how Gideon saw himself.

15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

When GOD chose me to write LOVE'S MUSES, I said to Him, regarding myself, "Pardon me Lord, but do you know who I am? I am a total screw up." Yet, my name is on the Red Carpet of Fame in Heaven. I'm not delusional, I'm finally accepting the truth. The thing about being on that Red Carpet in Heaven, we don't get to walk on it until the work is done, and we are already gone from this earth and are in Heaven. Most of the time, people think we are crazy and they dismiss us or are mean to us.

One thing about us famous future heavenly dwellers is that while we are here on earth, in order to keep us humble, GOD will prevent our work from bearing much fruit, and no one recognizes us while we are still down here. Just as I wrote in an earlier blog post: CANCER, DEATH, AND GOOD HUMBLE PIE, AMONG OTHERS, there will always be a thorn in the flesh for anyone chosen to be walk on Heaven's Walk of Fame. A thorn in the flesh can be anything from a physical limitation to an emotional handicap. I can assure you, GOD will keep you humble by whatever means He needs.

GOD has graciously sent me two other of His heavenly superstars already on the Walk of Fame. That is both a gift and a burden, because it's my job to show them this truth about them. Who are you in the Kingdom of Heaven? Are you are a superstar in the making, or are you just happy to be among those chosen to be heaven bound. You are chosen, you realize that, I hope. You did NOT find GOD, He came for you.

The BEST Dream I have Ever Had.

    I once had this awesome dream. I had asked God one day what it was like those last day between death waiting for New Life. It was shortly after my mother died, and I don't remember if that it was that night or shortly thereafter, but I had a dream. I was laying in a bed. My family was all around me. I was "dreaming" and in this blank space, or so I thought I was dreaming. I was attached to a bed by my sleeve. I heard myself breathing loudly. That breathing was tethering me to that bed. I heard a man whisper in my left ear. "You can go now, Kristina."

    Then, a man started walking to me in this empty space where I was anchored to the bed. We didn't speak, but our spirits spoke to each other. I asked him, "Is it time to go now?" He nodded his head. I knew that total peace awaited me, and I was excited to go. Then, I looked up at the bed because I did not know how to detach myself. I asked him "What do I do?"

    He said, "You just stop breathing, because you aren't going to need that where we are going."

    I said, "Okay, but how do I do that?"

    He said, "Any way you want."

    I understood and I looked up at the people around my bed. I thought about it. I took one long deep breath. Everyone sat up and looked at me, and I saw them, and felt so sorry for them, because they didn't know it was my last breath, that there would not be another one coming. So, I let the air out really slow. They all stared at me me waiting to see if there was another one coming. I was sad for them, because I knew the crying would begin then. I looked at the man in front of me, and he turned and started walking away, so I gave them one last glance, and then I followed after him.

    Immediately, I woke up from that dream. It was so real, and I thought, We won't be breathing in heaven. We won't need our lungs. It was then that I knew God sent me that dream. Ever since then, I have wanted to go. I can't though, I have to finish my work here.

    As a cancer survivor from a very rare cancer, I know cancer lies dormant in my body, waiting to make its reappearance. My days are winding down, and I quite look forward to the end, because, the only scars in heaven are the ones holding me right now as I keep breathing here with the scars on my face; and on my heart.

I hope you enjoy this song, as it is so true. We don't have enough time with the ones we love, and we only know that after they are gone.

The Only Scars in Heaven

By Casting Crowns

 “Just Because” LOVE

    As some of you all know, I’ve been through the wringer all my life. It’s been one trial after another. I’ve had an experience where I got a tiny sip of the pure overwhelming love that comes from GOD in heaven. I’ve tasted that joy that can’t be described in words. I’ve felt every cell in my body light up just in His Presence, the couple of times that it has happened to me. I want it, and I want it, now.

    All my life, I’ve been the little girl who nobody loved, or so I saw that in myself. I was the black sheep of the family, the one they always blamed. I was the controversial one, the troublemaker, they said. I grew up in a very secular home where Jesus was surely NOT present, so of all six of us, who did Jesus pick to be the first to experience his encompassing love? Why me, of course. My mother was rougher around the edges than I am, if you can believe that. She did some horrible things because she was not in control of all her faculties. She had a mean streak, and a tongue that could slice leather if she was mad at the leather. 

    She loved me because I was her daughter, and that’s it. There was nothing about me that she loved, and she made that evident. My father loved me because I was his daughter, and the only one of the six who maintained contact with him all my life. The others have been estranged for over forty years. So, his is a grateful love. My siblings love me, because my mother drilled it into us that friends come and go, but your family is for life. So, theirs is an obligatory love because my mother told them they had to love me. She told them a lot of other things, that were counterintuitive, but she stressed obligatory love for family.

    My children love me because I’m their mother and I take care of their needs. My husband only loved what I could do for him during our thirty-year marriage. Whenever I asked him why he loved me, he couldn’t come up with a good reason except, “Because you’re a good woman.” In thirty years, that was the only nice thing my husband ever said to or about me. Most of the time, he drilled it into my head all the reasons why people did NOT like me. There is a love that is so pure that it can only come from One Place. 

    There was one person however, who loved me just because. It was pure, it was wonderful, and it had no other reason then just because. That was my Nana. That love died when she did sixteen years ago. Hence, I’ve lived without that “just because love” all these years, and let me tell you, life isn’t worth living unless there is someone who loves you “just because.” Yet, in all that, I’ve loved everyone in my life just because. I never understood why, because many were so mean to me, but I could never stop loving them just because. GOD put that love in my heart, I take no credit.

    As a cancer survivor, I am always on the lookout for my “ticket Home,” as I call it. I can’t take life loving just because and not having any “just because” love back. Someone asked me if all I needed was "just because" love to fight cancer for a second time, and why just that: 

   My answer was unequivocally. “Yes, "JUST BECAUSE.”