Where is the ultimate human free will in this?

Ezekiel 36:27 (NASB): "'I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.'" All the major translations read essentially the same. This verse sounds like God's will is supreme over human will. If God wills us to obey, then we will obey. Contrary to what some may think, such behavior of God is the best example of love: causing someone to do good (i.e., to act in his/her best interests) when s/he would otherwise fail if left to his/her own devices.

What does it look like to trust and obey God?

Here's one example from the book of Ezekiel, chapter 24, in the Old Testament:

And the word of the LORD came to me saying,

16"Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you the desire of your eyes with a blow; but you shall not mourn and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not come.

17"Groan silently; make no mourning for the dead Bind on your turban and put your shoes on your feet, and do not cover your mustache and do not eat the bread of men."

18So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And in the morning I did as I was commanded.

Ezekiel's obedience reminds me of some lyrics in a popular contemporary Christian song titled "Blessed Be Your Name." Here are those lyrics:

You give and take away

You give and take away

My heart will choose to say

Lord, blessed be Your name

Do I (want to) believe this?

"Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?" (Lamentations 3:38, ESV) The NKJV translates the text as follows: "Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That woe and well-being proceed?" The NIV says, "Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?"

What does this verse mean? Does it mean all bad things, or just certain bad things? What could "from the mouth" mean, but that God is the ultimate cause of all reality?

Sharing the New Testament by Using the Old

I am reading through the Old Testament these days and I have been struck by how often and clearly I see the New Testament in it (or how I see the Old in the New:). For example, check out Jeremiah 2:22 (NASB): "Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me, declares the Lord God." I think the New Living Translation says it more effectively: "No amount of soap or lye can make you clean. You are stained with guilt that cannot be washed away. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!"

Isaiah 64:6 (ESV) is similar to Jer. 2:22: "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away." I like the imagery of "filthy rags" in the New King James Version: "But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away." It makes me think of how counter-productive it is to try to clean up a big mess with a dirty cloth; it only makes the problem worse.

The Great Commission

Jen and I recently met and fellowshipped with Pastor Gil Anger from Australia. Brother Gil travels around the world approx. 10 months of the year equipping the 21st century Christian church to understand and fulfill the Great Commission as succinctly stated in the Gospel of Matthew 28:19-20. Gil's websites are here: http://site.gilandjoyanger.com/; http://www.reachingbeyondborders.org/.

One of the many words of encouragement from Gil that has stuck with me is the following. When I ask God to reveal his will for me, consider that I have already been called to "Go" in Matthew 28:19. My question to God then changes from "Should I go?" to "How far should I go?" In short: all Christians are called to reproduce after their kind, i.e., to make disciples, whether in my local community or in a distant land.

Another convicting truth shared by Brother Gil is what Jesus will ask me when I enter heaven. I believe Jesus will first joyfully welcome me into heaven, praise God! But a little while later Jesus will ask me, "Where are they?" "Who Jesus?" I will respond. "Your disciples that I commanded you to make in Matthew 28:19-20." I pray that God gives me some to bring with me. I also pray that I take the call seriously.

Assurance of Perseverance

This morning I read the following verse in Isaiah chapter 14: "For the LORD of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it?" (verse 27a, NASB) I like the translation of the English Standard Version: "For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it?" Then my mind turned to the topic of the assurance of perseverance. Some believe that it's possible to lose your authentic salvation, meaning that some genuine Christians may not persevere to the end. One of the many reasons I don't believe that is the application of Isaiah 14:27a to Romans 8:30, which promises that "these [genuine believers] whom He justified, He also glorified." In my 6:10am translation: no one, not even myself, can annul the purpose and plan of God that He will send to heaven each and every genuine believer. Thank God.

Encouragement or caution, or both?

Proverbs 22:6 (NASB) says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it." What does this verse mean?

My NASB translation says that the literal translation of "in the way he should go" is "according to his way." This is perhaps why the Darby Translation (DBY) says, "Train up the child according to the tenor of his way . . . ", or why the Young's Literal Translation (YNG) says, "Give instruction to a youth about his way . . ." A second clue to the meaning of Proverbs 22:6 may be found in a few verses later in the same chapter: "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him." (22:15, NASB)

Conclusions? Proverbs 22:6 may be saying more about the need for a parent to be thoroughly aware of his/her child’s personality and about the significant influence s/he can have over his/her child. The NLT's translation of 22:6 may be misleading: "Teach your children to choose the right path, and when they are older, they will remain upon it." Of course as a parent I am to continue instructing my son in the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Ephesians 6:4), but in the knowledge and encouragement that it is only the Lord who can draw my son to Himself (John 6:44). I pray to that end.