The Secret of Life

I heard a song earlier this week called "The Secret of Life" by Faith Hill. The lyrics showed how sad and hopeless the world's situation is. I should give the warning that there is a small bit of language in it, but you can read the lyrics here.

The song is about two drunks in a bar discussing the "secret of life" and they conclude that "the secret of life is there is no secret." It also lists many earthly and material things that don't have anything to do with the real Secret.

"Jesus answered and said unto them, 'I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by Me.'"

Praise the Lord that we know the Secret of Life.

However, to the rest of the world, He is still a secret. The question is, "why is He still a secret?" The answer is because us who know about Him haven't been telling people enough.

LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG!

The Doctrine of Election

The doctrine of election is the doctrine stating that God has chosen who will and who will not become a believer. This is very commonly a hard concept for Christians to understand. How can God choose for people to sin and still blame them for it? That's not fair. Even though it is hard, this doctrine is very important, so that we don't start thinking that we did something of our own will to choose God or earn His favor. This quarter, I'm helping out in our church's first grade SS class. We are currently walking through "Jobs in the Old Testament" and how they relate to our Christian life. For example, last week, we were studying the soldier and comparing their armor to the Armor of God.

This week we studied the potter. Everyone got a container of PlayDoh, and made a bowl and some other stuff. Watching all the kids: one of the most interesting things was that most of them started by mashing the PlayDoh as hard as they could. Also, some of them made their bowls fancy with little handles on them, and some made them plainer looking. Some of the kids after a try at making a bowl didn't like the way it turned out, so they smashed it and started over.

After everyone was finished, the teacher asked them about what they had done and began drawing similarities between the way that God is the potter of our lives (Romans 9). She pointed out how many of the kids had smashed their PlayDoh and asked why. They said that before they could work with the PlayDoh, they needed to make it soft so that they could work with it more easily. That is a way that God commonly works in people's lives. God will use a hard time to work and soften a person, so that He can mold them.

The teacher also asked why all the bowls were different. The only answer anyone could come up with was, "Because that's the way I like it." And that is the right of the Potter: to make what He wants, how He wants it. He makes people all different, physically and spiritually and we have no grounds on which to question that. He is the Creator, we are the creation.

We went on to talk about how some kids had smashed their PlayDoh and started over when they didn't like the way it looked and several other things that they did. We discussed the fact that God can do anything He wants with us and He is always right in doing it. We read through Romans 9 and talked about Jacob and Esau. God loved Jacob and hated Esau. On human terms that's playing favorites and definitely not fair, but God is God and He is always right. Then we talked about the way that God chooses if a person will be rescued from sin or not. A few of the kids didn't know what to think about God not bringing everyone into Heaven with Him, but it's the truth.

As I said earlier, this is a tough topic. I thought it was really neat that it is being taught in our church when, in a lot of churches, it's just skipped over. But even more than just that this doctrine is being taught: it's being taught to the first graders! I praise the Lord for the work that he is doing in the hearts and lives of those little kids.

Planned Talents

Exodus 31:1-5

Now the Lord spoke to Moses saying, "See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship,"

I found this verse in reading through the instructions for building the tabernacle. These passages are usually looked at as just plain boring, but it is all God's Word and we can learn from any portion of it.

I think these verses are a great comfort/reminder that we aren't in charge of our talents. They were given to us by God.

Praise Him for His marvelous gives!

Does God Condone Sin?

I was reminded today of Rahab in Joshua 2. Reading the passage, it begs a question asked of it.

Two Israelite spies have snuck into Jericho and have found the home of Rahab.

3 And the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.”
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.
5 “It came about when it was time to shut the gate at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.”
6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof.
7 So the men pursued them on the road to the Jordan to the fords; and as soon as those who were pursuing them had gone out, they shut the gate.

She is mentioned again in James 2:

22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;
23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God.
24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
25 In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
26 For just as the body without the spirit is , so also faith without works is .

Wait a minute. So lying is a good work?

Anyway, here’s the question:
Is lying okay (at least in some situations)?

An OT Example of God's Grace

Genesis 48:11
Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your children as well."

Background:
Jacob has journeyed from the land of Canaan to Egypt in order to be reunited with his long-lost son Joseph, who was sold as a slave by his brothers. After selling him, Joseph’s brothers reported to Jacob that Joseph had been eaten by wild animals. Jacob immodestly tore his clothes and went into morning for his favorite son. After many years, Jacob gave up all hope of ever seeing Joseph again, but Joseph, through a series of events, had become Pharaoh’s second in command and was set in charge of all Egypt. A famine brings Jacob’s sons to Egypt looking for food, and they eventually (though a course of events that won’t be detailed here) found Joseph and the family was reunited.

God bestows so much grace on us. He gives us so many things we simply don’t deserve. In this passage, we see Jacob’s (Israel) thanks to God for giving him something he never even thought to hope for. God gave him blessings, beyond the scope of His imagination.

This is simply one example of God’s love and grace. Praise Him for His marvelous works.

This Blog's Purpose

Welcome to F.o.r.m.e.r.l.y. D.e.a.d.

This, the first post, will be used to lay a bit of a foundation for this blog and its purpose.

First of all, this blog is not about me. This is a blog created for the purpose of glorifying God and allowing Christians to praise His name, discuss His attributes, and marvel at His works.

The setup of F.o.r.m.e.r.l.y. D.e.a.d. will be like that of a Bible reading journal. At least once a week, there will be a new post on some aspect of teaching or doctrine that God has recently pressed on me. I would highly encourage everyone to leave their comments.

Please notice that the purpose of this blog is to be a platform for theological discussions. Please, do not hesitate to comment on, bring issue against, or correct anything that I say in a post, but please do it in a kind and considerate manner, so as not to dishonor the name of God. I pray that this blog will inspire many enlightening, insightful, God-magnifying conversations and I pray that people of the Lord will grow in their walk with Him as a result of this blog.