From Father to Son — J.R.R. Tolkien on Sex – AlbertMohler.com
Omnipresent
Omnipresent, is the quality of being present in all places. God is omnipresent. God is the creator of everything. He keeps everything from being destroyed. He makes the natural laws that we rely on to make sense of our world. Not only does He make those laws, He also keeps them enforce. God exists independent of the creation. Time and space are part of the His creation. He is not.
God is not, some unconscious universal force that permeates everything like what the pantheists believe. His presence is not, limited to any one time or space. He can specifically reveal Himself during a time, in a specific location, without ceasing to exist above all time and space.
Here is something we have heard Christians say from time to time, “Yeah man, like… God is everywhere… He is in the trees, the rocks, the water, and in us.” This in something a pantheist would say. We as Christians are not pantheists. A pantheist believes that God is literally permeating everything, and that everything, collectively is God. Kind of like the force from Star Wars.
God is present in all places, even Hell. He will pour out His wrath on sinners in Hell for all eternity. God is present to the person in the deepest, darkest, cave in the most remote mountains. He is present to the drowning person in the ocean. He is present, not because He is in them, and they are collectively Him, but rather He is above all things, in all things, and outside of them. It speaks to His sovereign will. He is present as a matter of His will, not due to it being in bondage to the creation, but because of His lordship over it.
Don’t be confused by what I just said. “How can God be outside of creation and in it at the same time?” you ask. In the sense that He is not bound by His creation, or subject to it, He transcends it. This is what is meant by He is outside of it. Of course to be everywhere He would need to be, well… everywhere, and He is. It is that He is sovereign, and transcendent. I hope this makes it clear
The Gilbert and Sullivan Mass – YouTube
We Visited Calvary Chapel in Ontario Oregon on 03/16/14.
We visited Calvary Chapel in Ontario Oregon on 03/16/14
- How approachable/welcoming, is the Pastor before and/or after the service? The Pastor was there, but he did not preach, as he was recovering from a surgery, and cold. It should be noted, that a congregation that size makes it difficult to have a Pastor greet everyone who comes in. They did have assigned, volunteers, greeting people as they walked into the sanctuary.
- How friendly is the congregation? The congregation was friendly, and welcoming. I was already acquainted with several of the congregants who I work with.
- How many congregants are there? There were approximately between 200 to 300 people there. They have two morning services, one at 9:00 a.m. and the other at 11:00 a.m.
- How do they take the offering? They didn’t take an offering that I noticed and I didn’t see where they had an offering box. I will try to find out how they do it.
- Where are they located? They are at 1775 Alameda Dr, Ontario, OR 97914. If you turn left just before Albertson’s, then go all the way down to the end of the street, it is on the corner to your right. Here is their phone number, (541) 889-2260
- How is the service broke down between, prayers, worship, and sermon? It seemed to be approximately 10% announcements, 15% prayer, 30% worship, and 45% sermon. The worship songs were all contemporary.
- What is the condition of their facilities? The facilities were above average. The main parking lot is not paved. They do have handicap parking up close to the sidewalks.
- What is the preaching style of their Pastor? The sermon was an exegesis of Haggai 1, and part of 2. It seemed expository. As I said earlier, they had a guest Pastor preach the sermon. If he is any indicator of the type of preaching their Pastor delivers, then I would say they do pretty well. We will have to visit again on a Sunday when he is preaching.
- Do they use a specific translation of the Bible, or prohibit any translations, if so why? Their web page indicates that they use many different translations. Everyone brings their own.
- Do they have a web page? Yes, here is the link, www.ccontario.com If so, is there a clear, orthodox, confession or statement of faith? Here is the link to their statement of faith page, www.ccontario.com/sof/index.php I didn’t see anything that would make me think they were not orthodox. I did notice that it seems they are Charismatic and Continuationists.
Frozen Pope on a Stick.
Omniscience
Omniscience is the quality of having all knowledge. The word comes from two words, “omni” meaning, “all” and, “science” meaning, “knowledge.” In the Christian faith we believe God to be omniscient. He is the creator of all things. This includes knowledge. Whatever can be known by man is only knowable because God has created it and given revelation of it to us, as well as the ability to perceive it and understand it. There is nothing that God does not know. This includes all things past, present, and future.
Some people don’t like the idea of an, “all-knowing God.” This idea threatens their sense of self-originating will and free agency. The idea, that God knows who will be saved, and who will not be saved, before He creates them, seems to them to be an offense. They object on the basis of God’s love. They say, “If God is love He wouldn’t make a man knowing he was destined to Hell.” What they miss is that all men since the fall are destined for Hell. We don’t deserve anything good. We deserve death, and Hell. This simple truth escapes them. They don’t see man as depraved sinners, corrupted through and through by sin.
I however, should take comfort in the omniscience of a sovereign and eternal God. The fact that He knows everything gives me great peace. I can trust Him in His complete, perfect knowledge. He, knowing everything and ordaining all things by His will, comforts me. I can sit by and not worry, because in Him is the primacy of His will and deity which by His nature is goodness and love for those that are in Him.
Theology
Theology
Theology is a Greek word that means, “The study of God.” The first part of the word is, “Theo” from, “Theos” (Θεός) which is Greek for god. The second part of the word is, “logy” from the Greek word, “logia” (λογία) which means, “The study of.” So to the Christian the word, “theology” specifically is the study of God. This is different for the lost person. They look at theology as a study of some deity that may or may not exist. In the secular world there are colleges and universities that have classes teaching this, dare I say, “Study of god.” Their sources are like ours, as far as many of the texts go, but they don’t know the true God, and as such study Him with incorrect presuppositions. It is imperative that Christians start with proper presuppositions.
First and foremost, is that God is the originator of all things, known and unknown to us. This includes what can be learned. All knowledge comes from the LORD. Our ability to reason, use logic, remember, recall, convey, communicate and feel all comes from God. We would not be able to know anything if He did not will it to be. This seems basic, but there are books of theology that never assert this truth. Think about this for a moment. What does a tree know of God? What does a child know of God? What does a lost person know of God? What do you know of God? Read through those questions again and ponder the implications of each one of them, replace the, “what” with, “how.” God is a communicative Creator. We know this by His inclusion of the attributes essential to communication being integral to our faith and existence. Without those attributes we could not know God the way He intended. He planned to give us the progressive revelation of His word, in the form of the Bible. He planned for us to be able to write, read, and relay the knowledge of Him and His good message. We can know Christ the eternal God through what is written therein. So it is supremely important that we ascribe God the Creator, primacy in originating all things, including theology.
We must not ascribe attributes to God that He Himself does not affirm in His word. This would be a very dangerous endeavor. We would be making a god for ourselves, which is not the same as the true God who reigns supreme over all creation. Idolatry is, and has been, an insidious and cancerous evil. It substitutes a counterfeit god who cannot save us. The attributes or perfections of God that are taught in His word reveal to us the things that can be known by us of Him. Let us study theology then, in true faith and repentance, humbly approaching the feet of God, giver of all things.
Is Jesus a myth? Episode 1332
Justice is restorative to the victims, and punitive to the offender.
Justice is restorative to the victims, and punitive to the offender. All of us, before salvation are offenders. That is the part people skip. They think they are pretty good, and don’t deserve hell, like the Bible says they do. We deserve death and hell, every single one of us. We are all sinners. Those that God made, even knowing they would reject Him naturally will suppress the truth in unrighteousness. (Romans 1:18-22) So if we all deserve hell, it is a miracle that God saves any. God didn’t need to do anything. He chose to create and demonstrate His loving kindness. How can a fallen creature look upon its Creator, who perfectly defines all things by His very existence, and have the impudence to judge Him as evil? It is ludicrous. Creations have no rights to their Creator. He has all rights to what He has made. God demonstrates His justice, by pouring out the rightfully deserved wrath, on the unrepentant sinners, in Hell for all eternity. This brings glory to God, because in punishing sin, He restores the victims. The victims are the people who have repented and put their faith in the grace of Jesus and His atoning work on the cross. The offense caused by sin would mar God if He did not punish it. The believers would be victims of this, if God did not punish the unbelievers. They would be victims, because God would be unjust and unloving to not punish the unbelievers in Hell for all eternity. So the wrath poured out on the offender restores that what would be done to the believer, by demonstrating that God is, in fact just, and will not let sin go unpunished. The fact that He is just, and restores those He has no need or obligation to restore, shows that He is also loving and merciful. God didn’t have to make anyone. He was perfect without creating a thing, but He did create, because He desired to do so. He is omniscient. So in His all knowledge, if He creates people, knowing which ones will not repent, and knowing which ones will repent, and even still creating them all demonstrates that some vessels were made for wrath, and others honorable purposes. Read Romans 9 for crying out loud people. For those of you that claim to be Christian, READ YOUR BIBLE!!! If He chose to do this then it is good because He defines good. He is the creator. We are the creatures. Saying He is evil because He judges and punishes creatures He made, knowing they would be in rebellion demonstrates how little you actually know about your Bible and God. You have believed the horrible Barney theology of, I love you, you love me nonsense. Open theists and Universalists shouldn’t even call themselves Christian. They are heretics.
So God is glorified in damnation by demonstrating His wrath for the purpose of His justice and He is glorified in salvation by demonstrating His grace for the purpose of His loving kindness. This grace is not a violation of justice because He came down from majesty incarnate as Jesus to suffer the cross. He had the wrath that you and I deserve poured out on Him on our behalf. He paid the penalty and satisfied justice so that you could be saved if you would repent and put your faith in Him. If you can’t then He didn’t die for you and you are not saved. You are not one of the elect and will be in hell for all eternity.
Snyder's Soapbox 