We need to remember who directs the course of mankind...

It doesn’t take much reading in Isaiah, chapters 40-46 to come away with the distinct conclusion that God is in charge of the rise and fall of leaders, countries, and every other thing that Americans and other pagans get worried, excited, speculative, and gossipy about. A couple samples from Isaiah: "Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish” (Isa. 46:10); "Who has done such mighty deeds, directing the affairs of the human race as each new generation marches by? It is I, the Lord...” (Isa. 41:4). Saints, in light of this, please be very careful and self-controlled as you listen, read the news, catch the headlines, etc. Wars and impeachments tug on our emotions and carnal curiosity (I know; I’m feeling it), but just because some men are acting out the roles God foreordained for them does not mean we need to stop being simple, childlike worshippers of the Riser and Faller of presidents and countries. Please don’t let enamorment with "current events” or "history in the making” cause you to squander your time and your limited heart energy on something other than Jesus. And please, please love your children enough to not expose them to the droning of the news media about how godless men are treating each other. Their hearts (like ours) are vulnerable and very prone to get excited or anxious about such things. Let’s love Jesus and each other. There’s too little time to spend it any other way.

________________________

Happened across this and even though it was written some time ago, it still means the same today. Its so easy to get caught up in the distractions of the world around us, to be consumed by worry, fear, or anger over the events in this world but it is so much more important to remember to trust and have faith in HIM. There really is little time to be spending in any other way then on HIS KINGDOM...

God bless
maryjane

As it says in Isaiah, everything God does will come to pass.

God dealt with Nebuchadnezzar as He wanted to, and Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged it.

He sees and knows all that is taking place in this world. Even things which we have no knowledge of.

And He alone is worthy of glory.

God bless.

by just-in on 2013/10/14 9:21:05

Hi MaryJane,

This statement bothers me because it makes men sound like "puppets" without a heart or conscience, under God's hand.

but just because some men are acting out the roles God foreordained for them

__________________

Ok thanks for sharing.

God bless
mj

By enid :He sees and knows all that is taking place in this world. Even things which we have no knowledge of.

___________

This is so true, HE knows all things before they even happen that is why it is so important to be walking with HIM and trusting in HIM and not focusing on the the things around us. I want to be in prayer of course for others and be sensitive to HIS leading when dealing with others but not be so caught up in this world system that it distracts me from HIM and HIS KINGDOM.

Thank you enid for sharing

God bless
mj

directing the affairs of mankind,seting the the boundaries of there dwellings

the soverenty of god and the absolute power god has over creation ,is very hard for some to except ,but is a clear teaching of scripture ,and makes us rest at night trusting in a souvern god who is working all thing according to the counsel of his own will

amen to that maryjane

Chapter 5: Of Providence

5:1 God the great Creator of all things doth uphold (Heb_1:3), direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things (Job 38:1-41:34; Psa_135:6; Dan_4:34, Dan_4:35; Act_17:25, Act_17:26, Act_17:28), from the greatest even to the least (Mat_10:29-31), by His most wise and holy providence (Psa_104:24; Psa_145:17; Pro_15:3), according to His infallible fore-knowledge (Psa_94:8-11; Act_15:18), and the free and immutable counsel of His own will (Psa_33:10, Psa_33:11; Eph_1:11), to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy (Gen_45:7; Psa_145:7; Isa_63:14; Rom_9:17; Eph_3:10).

5:2 Although, in relation to the fore-knowledge and decree of God, the first Cause, all things come to pass immutably, and infallibly (Act_2:23): yet, by the same providence, He ordereth them to fall out, according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or contingently (Gen_8:22; Exo_21:13; Deu_19:5; 1Ki_22:28, 1Ki_22:34; Isa_10:6, Isa_10:7; Jer_31:35).

5:3 God in His ordinary providence maketh use of means (Isa_55:10, Isa_55:11; Hos_2:21, Hos_2:22; Act_27:31, Act_27:44), yet is free to work without (Job_34:10; Hos_1:7; Mat_4:4), above (Rom_4:19-21), and against them at His pleasure (2Ki_6:6; Dan_3:27).

5:4 The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God so far manifest themselves in His providence, that it extendeth itself even to the first fall, and all other sins of angels and men (2Sa_16:10; 2Sa_24:1; 1Ki_22:22, 1Ki_22:23; 1Ch_10:4, 1Ch_10:13, 1Ch_10:14; 1Ch_21:1; Act_2:23; Act_4:27, Act_4:28; Rom_11:32-34); and that not by a bare permission (Act_14:16), but such as hath joined with it a most wise and powerful bounding (2Ki_19:29; Psa_76:10), and otherwise ordering and governing of them, in a manifold dispensation, to His own holy ends (Gen_1:20; Isa_10:6, Isa_10:7, Isa_10:12); yet so, as the sinfulness thereof proceedeth only from the creature, and not from God, who, being most holy and righteous, neither, is nor can be, the author or approver of sin (Psa_50:21; Jam_1:13, Jam_1:14, Jam_1:17; 1Jo_2:16).

5:5 The most wise, righteous, and gracious God doth oftentimes leave for a season His own children to manifold temptations, and the corruption of their own hearts, to chastise them for their former sins, or to discover unto them the hidden strength of corruption, and deceitfulness of their hearts, that they may be humbled (2Sa_24:1; 2Ch_32:25, 2Ch_32:26, 2Ch_32:31); and, to raise them to a more close and constant dependence for their support unto) Himself, and to make them more watchful against all future occasions of sin, and for sundry other just and holy ends (Psa 73:1-28; Psa_77:1-10, Psa_77:12; Mar_14:66-72; Joh_21:15-17; 2Co_12:7-9).

5:6 As for those wicked and ungodly men whom God, as a righteous Judge, for former sins doth blind and harden (Rom_1:24, Rom_1:26, Rom_1:28; Rom_11:7, Rom_11:8), from them He not only withholdeth His grace, whereby they might have been enlightened in their understandings, and wrought upon in their hearts (Deu_29:4); but sometimes also withdraweth the gifts which they had (Mat_13:12; Mat_25:29), and exposeth them to such objects as their corruption makes occasions of sin (Deu_2:30; 2Ki_8:12, 2Ki_8:13); and, withal, gives them over to their own lusts, the temptations of the world, and the power of Satan (Psa_81:11, Psa_81:12; 2Th_2:10-12); whereby it comes to pass that they harden themselves, even under those means which God useth for the softening of others (Exo_7:3; Exo_8:15, Exo_8:32; Isa_6:9, Isa_6:10; Isa_8:14; Act_28:26, Act_28:27; 2Co_2:15, 2Co_2:16; 1Pe_2:7, 1Pe_2:8).

5:7 As the providence of God doth in general reach to all creatures, so after a most special manner it taketh care of His Church, and disposeth all things to the good thereof (Isa_43:3-5, Isa_43:14; Amo_9:8, Amo_9:9; Rom_8:28; 1Ti_4:10).

- the above taken from the WCF

The Lord does directeth mans steps, but we must becareful as not to go beyond Scripture and forget that a man's heart deviseth his way

Edit add : As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live

but who made mans heart ,and who decreed the fall of man and his heart into corruption who pronounces the curses on man ,,,the only ONE who has the authority to do so ,and thats god him self ,,,,we should let the scripture paint the true picture of god rather then our own heart

pslams
33:13 The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.

33:14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.

33:15 He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.

33:16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength

the heart god fashioned for men devise its ways ,and those ways are evil ,,,,the heart is deceitful , who can know it there are none who do good no not one

god cursed man into corruption and the heart and will stained by corruption ,,,operates according to the children of disobedience ,,under the power of the prince and the power on the air ,,,every thing and everyone is working according to the plan and pourpus of god

wow what I mighty god we have brethren 33;16 lets meditate on that verse ,,just think the of control god has over even the evil kings and the great ,men of the earth

33:16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength

brethren we rightfully give all credit to god for every good gift that comes down from the father of lights ,and every success and blessings and we know he works all things according to the councel of his will ,and he works all the for good toward those who love him and those who are called according to his pourpus ,,praise god brethren

but an unbiast study ,will see that god also works all things period ,full stop ,escalamtion mark

he is the first causue in all things that take place

you ment it for evil but god ment it for good ,said joseph

this bible is literaly bursting with the sovernty of god over creation and mans actions ,,just the atonement in its self is a dialectical dilemma of the gods sovrenty

acts2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

who crusafied the lord was he smitten my god ,,it pleased the lord to crush him or was he taken by wikked hands and slain by men

we see the first casue and the seconed ,and what joseph said cleary true ,you ment it for evil but god ,ment it for good

53:4 Surely he hath borne our grief's, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

gods ways are above our ways and his thoughts are above our thoughts as the heavens are higher the the earth so are his ways above ours

blessings

RE: ///but who made mans heart ,and who decreed the fall of man and his heart into corruption who pronounces the curses on man ,,,the only ONE who has the authority to do so ,and thats god him self ,,,,we should let the scripture paint the true picture of god rather then our own heart///

We should allow Scripture to paint the true picture of God and not allow an Augustinian traditional lens to do so.

brother consider history and the fruit that has been produced when men have become consumed with Augustinian theology.

1 Timothy 2:4
Who will ((desires NASB))have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

God is in complete control and His ultimate will is always accomplished, But man does not always conform to Gods desired will.
Lets not place Gods Sovereignty into a box as to blind our eyes from the paradox of God being in absolute control and at the same time having created independent thinking agent.

Lets not limit Gods Sovereignty nor attribute the evil in a mans heart to God.

Thank you for sharing here. For me this really just spoke to the simple truth that GOD is in control and there is no need for me to be fearful or worried. There is no need to be anxious or consumed by the affairs of this world. IT was just a simple reminder to put my faith and trust in GOD and know that the world is going to continue on its path but nothing takes GOD by surprise.

I just want to be about HIS KINGDOM and not be distracted away from HIM.

God bless
mj

amen proud papa ,,only I don't know what this Augustinian theology is ,,so spare me please ,,I like my bible thank you,,,,,the paradox is a paradox aint it ,and thats the way it should stay ,,I realise my talking about the one side of the coin seems to look like im forgetting the other side ,isee that side as well ,I just see that god created and upholds that side of the coin according to his will ,which might seem like a paradox that is unbalanced ,for me that is the the painting of scriptures ,, blessings

amen maryjane some how I feel we should be meditating on this type of truth daily ,,as a way of growing faith and dispelling fear

blessings

what sort of hypocrisy is that just in ,,you quote cslewis who was a theologian who many believe is a Calvinist,,and then condemn the word sovereignty and theology that is related to that ,,,and condemn those who believe this type of thing as idolaters

shame on you , ,,this web site indorses many brothers of that camp

we all know that in all the different theogigical groups that are many lost idolarters ,,but to make derogative blakent statement like that is shameful for a Christian to do in public ,and even in there own mind

brother the word trinity is not a biblical word and but it is a bible concept as is sovereignty why be legalistic like that

a great problem we have here in our churches is men making an image if god in there mind with out biblical attributes and,down playing the omnipotent power of god delegating him to some demented old man ,if I can exaggerate a little to emphasise my point ..making the infinite omnipotent IAM LESS AWSOME AND INFINITELY POWERFULL ,then he realy is ,,to suit a finite human brain ,,,that is a great problem

talk about deviding the body brother

we were having a little fellowship among the saints ,, amening one another and trying to find the silver thread of agreement ,among us who are obviously slightly different in our understanding about a great god and saviour,,,example our brother proud papa ,and my self ,,,,,and you come in to a peaceful discussion and throw a spanner in the works ,,which will do nothing but create division and dissention and argument at worst

why don't we all be quick to hear and slow to speak and slow to wrath ,,and leave the mud on the ground where it belongs ,,and talk in love about our differing views

god help us do that

blessings

Take note as deeply as you can to Just-in's word about theological concepts imposing themselves on Scripture. This is as old as Theology itself, and is the very root that makes Pharisees. Trust me I have been there, spent way too many years forcing the Scripture to conform to my theology! God Himself once told me I was much more like the Pharisees than the disciples! Ouch!

I know I am not alone here, it is natural man's keen desire to know how things work, and he has natural resistance to getting to know the One who makes things work! Creating a framework of Theology from which to confront the world and its confusion seems like a good place to start, going into one's closet to seek the face of God is considerably harder.

To begin with, if you have read Just-in's posts over the past weeks and months you would know that the man is very wise and a gentle proponent of grace and truth. You are fortunate to have him here, and as you can tell he does not back away from confrontation. For me, when I see he has posted I know I will be blessed reading it.

I may not agree with all his ideas, but I can tell that his spirit is kin with mine in the Savior! He probably thinks I am a bit nutso too...

My kudos and thanks to Just-in!

Charles Finney was about as brilliant a thinker as the church has ever seen, and has some wonderful words to say in his systematic theology about sovereignty- what it is and what it isn't. Some people regard the sovereignty of God to be so encompassing that they believe God can do good and evil at the same time because He is above all things. In reality there are many things God cannot do, even in His sovereignty. Finney does a nice job taking this apart and making it understandable... But he does write with painstaking detail and you have to pay attention.

For my part, I tend to see the world as under the control of man, that authority seems to have been in the providence of God since the world was first entrusted to Adam. Satan of course wasted no time in jerking the rug out and taking authority over the earth unto himself. But when men operate in league with the Holy Spirit and the Name of Jesus they can wrest that authority back from Satan, and bring the blessing of God back to the affairs of men. God seems to be particularly focused on finding faith in believers with which He can work, just as Jesus regularly said following one of "His" miracles, "Your faith has made you well."

What an amazing concept that finds God, the creator of the universe, scanning the world to find faith in a man so that He can do a great work!
2 Chronicles 16:9 where He is dealing with King Asa, He says His eyes roam the whole earth and as one translator puts it, "seeking someone in whom He can show Himself strong."

Weird. "Without Him ye can do nothing." And without a man of faith, God is rather limited in what He can do, too!

And you wonder why He pleads with us to pray??

im sorry Justin if you were not throwing a wet blakent over all Calvinist ,,,,the flow of the thread and you entrance in to the conversations with those statments you made made it seem very much as if you were ,,,,some times chat rooms like that are not easily to communicate in ,as you might already know

one thing I do know is that there are many lovers of god who hold to many of those different interpretation and theology's that you mentioned ,and Jesus is as real to them as he is the next Christian ,, or it is very very possible that he is more to them then he is to the Christian who thinks he has all worked out on a biblically level

as god as our witness who here on this sight can say he is not wrong in some of his interpretations,,and understands the bible perfectly

and if we are seeing through a glass darkly ,only knowing in part and prophesising in part ,till that which is perfect is come,,, we should watch out when we point all the wrongs that our precious brothers and sisters seem to be holding too ,and pray that we are expressing our selves in a loving spirit ,because we love them and want the best for them ,,due to the fact the we all fall short of knowing it all perfectly ,,,,,,,,,,always hoping that we will not become a stumbling block due to our zeal

that my friend is what I see as the uttermost important issue ,,,keeping the bond of peace ,in the unity of the spirit ,,and in that very way we can all be of one mind ,tho we differ in understanding

not to creat factions and take sides and esteem others for argument sake ,,but remembering that we were all purchased for the same price by the blood of god

in saying that ,I may not agree with what you say ,in the contex in which you are seeing things 100 percent but I under stand the concern you have because I have concerns in a similar way , in my mind , about similar issues

blessings to you