A Prevenient God

One thing that has always bothered me was the “doctrine of the elect.” In a rough summary it means that God chooses who is saved and who is not. The reason I have a problem with this is that means God rejects people. I never felt comfortable with the idea that God rejects people. I always felt God was a wellspring of grace that was beyond human comprehension. I always felt that with this kind of logic God becomes exclusive. That God is only reachable by a certain group of people. My theological leanings lead me to think that the only exclusivity with God lies in the fact that Jesus is that only way to know God. This in turn is really the choice of a person. That one chooses God and not God choosing one person over another.

I was reading A. W. Tozer and he stated some things that made sense and where interesting. He stated that God put in us the desire to pursue God. I can understand this because humans have an penchant for spiritually. This explains why there are so many religions. A desire for spiritually is part of human nature. This then means that God is that one who can take credit for salvation because He was the one who created that desire to pursue spiritually matters. But also on a practical level it is man who has to work to pursue God. One cannot just accept God and be done, but must engage in action towards God.

So God is the starting point. Everything comes from God. Yet human reactions are important. God does the hard part and there is a call for humans to react and respond. It is not the same as letting God do all the work and it is not Humans doing most of the work. So I find God has put it in me and God desires a response from me. Really God has done all the hard work and I am just participating in God’s creation.

First Post is About TeeVee

I guess every now and then TV has to get the negative post about it. I realize That there are times when I just watch too much TV when I have better things to be doing, particularly reading. I am at home right now where my library is and I have the chance to do all of this reading but instead I am spending my night watching TV. How disappointing. Sometimes I find watching it to be a nice way to veg-out and enjoy media. But really I just need to watch it less. At least when I am on the internet I could make the claim that I am probably reading something. I guess this goes to show I should not get cable. I would watch it all the time or something. I have heard a lot of messages about TV. That because I have grown up with TV I have witnessed so many murders and I have lost so many hours to TV. I realize that TV is not always that interesting or well written. I think this break I am going to take advantage of my books more and do some reading. It will be nice to have quiet.

I am starting to think that sometimes TV can be a little to captivating. That Life is not meant to be lived watching something. That I can produce things instead of watching items already produced. The reason I bring this up is that I was not able to think about anything to write until I turned off the TV. I was engaged and stopped to simply view something. I turned it off and then I was able to start writing. My mind was engaged and my creative juices were flowing. It is nice to simply write and get something out. I used to want to write more and this is my opportunity to get more out.

It is great to create. And with a reduction in TV viewing I hope to create some more here. To be stretched and become a little more useful to God.