Predestined Thoughts

When we were in grade school English class, we would read some short story and then answer questions like “What’s the theme? What’s the plot? What’s the main idea? . . . What is the meaning?” Ok. Consider the story of Joseph from the Old Testament book of Genesis. When Joseph’s brothers feared that he might pay them back for their past misdeed, he said “… you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…” (Gen 50:20).  I.e. There is/was this story of Joseph being sold off into Egypt. And the story is not meaningless or inconsequential. What happened was not in vain, when we consider a divine vantage point. The meaning of this story is Gen 50:20.  So stories have meaning. And Life is one big story - grand Metanarrative (CFRC) with meaning and we can ask what is the Meaning of Life?  The answer is Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Meaning of Life.  It is in Him, that the story of Life holds together (Col. 1:17).  And to the degree that we find ourself...

I think that in the Bible, there are two major ways that we see glory function. I will reference the New Testament books of the Gospel of John and Revelation to explore this. They correspond to Being and Doing. (1) Glory As Emergent (Doing): In the Gospel of John, Jesus or God is described as being glorified or as showing His glory when he performs a miracle such as turning the water to wine (John 2:11) or raising Lazarus from the dead. "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it" (John 11:4). *Note: In philosophy, happiness is often described as being a byproduct of some action taken. That is to say, you do something and happiness results. It emerges. Glory is also a byproduct of action. It is a result of doing. (Happiness is not something you pursue. Rather you live virtuously and happiness results as a byproduct. Likewise, glory is not something you pursue but rather you pursue living life accordin...

 Actual loss can be felt with the same force as imagined loss. 

Love is both a command and a feeling.  In romantic love, the feelings can run ahead of the commands.  In non-romantic love, the command can run ahead of the feelings. The commands involve commitment. The feelings involve intimacy and passion.

Here's the chronological list of biblical figures described as having divine blessing leading to success: 1. Joseph - Genesis 39:2-3: "The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did..." - Genesis 39:23: "...because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did." 2. Isaac - Genesis 26:12: "The Lord blessed him" - Genesis 26:24: "I am with you and will bless you" 3. Jacob - Genesis 28:15: "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go" 4. Joshua - Joshua 1:5: "As I was with Moses, so I will be with you" - Joshua 6:27: "So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land" 5. Samuel - 1 Samuel 3:19: "As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable" 6. David - 2 Samuel 5:1...

 ~ The following is excerpted from  Alexander Moody Stuart – A Memoir – Kenneth Moody Stuart