{"id":1693,"date":"2023-05-27T16:06:47","date_gmt":"2023-05-27T16:06:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/puredesigns.link\/?page_id=1693"},"modified":"2023-06-18T22:23:48","modified_gmt":"2023-06-18T22:23:48","slug":"our-choice","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/puredesigns.link\/?page_id=1693","title":{"rendered":"Our Choice"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"1693\" class=\"elementor elementor-1693\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-5f42f82 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"5f42f82\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-1c3d149\" data-id=\"1c3d149\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f036070 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f036070\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.7.8 - 02-10-2022 *\/\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}<\/style><h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Our Choice<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-ca85f85 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"ca85f85\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7f4d400\" data-id=\"7f4d400\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-884c49f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"884c49f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.7.8 - 02-10-2022 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#818a91;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#818a91;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<h6>June 12, 2023<\/h6><p>\u201c<span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering to us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.\u201d 2 Peter 3:9 NKJV<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">If Calv<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">i<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">nism was true, then we would see God\u2019s will happening all the time, <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">there would be no question whether we had a choice in the matter or not<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">. I believed I was Calv<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">i<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">nist for a few years, but the more I thought about what I saw in Scripture the more I felt Calv<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">i<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">nism didn\u2019t describe it. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">What I have seen in Scripture, and what I have experienced in my own life, as well as seen in other\u2019s lives, is that God opens our eyes to see our sin. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">B<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">ecause we are spiritually dead, <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">God has to open our hearts to understand that we are sinners in need of salvation from God\u2019s wrath. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">He does this through His law the Ten Commandments which act as a mirror to show us our sin.<\/span> <span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">When we see ourselves as lawbreakers on our way to death row, t<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">hen we must make the choice to either humble ourselves to fall on God\u2019s mercy or to harden ourselves to continue in our sin. If we allow our conscience to drive us to our knees, then, with a broken heart before God, we can receive salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">The heart change is what distinguishes a true believer from a false convert.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">In Scripture when it talks about repentance, it\u2019s always active; something we must do. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">Jesus said to \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">Repent, <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">f<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">or the kingdom of <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">heaven is at hand<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">.\u201d <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">Matt. 4:17<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">Calv<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">i<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">nism made me think it wasn\u2019t necessary to witness or share my faith, because if it\u2019s God\u2019s will for that person to hear the Gospel or be saved it will happen with or without me. Now, I\u2019m not saying that I can make someone believe in God, nor am I saying it is because of me that people <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">find salvation, but I am saying that it is our responsibility as Christ followers to tell others of the wrath to come<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">Why else would Jesus give us the responsibility to spread the Word of truth if He had predestined every soul already either to Heaven or to Hell? There would be no need for us to do anything since, no matter what, the will of God would be done. God would be like a tyrant choosing what everyone could and couldn\u2019t do. Why would such a creative God create robots to do exactly what He <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">wants<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">? <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">An<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">d<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"> why would He want to save some but not others? <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">That is what Calvinism teaches.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">T<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">he best example of free will is found in Genesis chapter 2 verses 16-17. \u201cAnd the Lord God commanded the man, saying, \u2018Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">When I read that, my question to God was \u201cWhy did you even put the tree in the garden if you knew ahead of time what they would do?\u201d The answer He gave me was \u201cfree will\u201d. God allowed Adam and Eve to choose either to obey the word of God or to disobey. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">He wanted us to have freedom of choice so that we could honor and praise Him with our obedience because we want to, not because He makes us. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">Like Adam and Eve we still have a choice in whether we accept Jesus or reject Him.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">Now, I do believe it is the Father that gives us to the Son for salvation. We see this clearly in John 6. God must draw us to the Son. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">It says in John 6:37 that \u201cAll that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.\u201d However, even this is active on our part. We must <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><u>come to Him<\/u><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">. The Father draws us, we must come to Him, and Jesus will keep us. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">I also believe what <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">Scripture <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">s<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">a<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">ys<\/span> <span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">about us being predestined to be sons through Jesus (look at Ephesians 1:3-6). <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">The Word of God is not contradicting itself, it\u2019s all true. Both God choosing us and our choice to come to God is taught in the Bible. If you can\u2019t wrap your head around it, ask the Holy Spirit for understanding. Don\u2019t go to a commentary for guidance. In fact I encourage you to question everything I write here, study it for yourself. In doing so, you must go to God for understand, <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">t<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">hat is the first thing to do when reading your Bible. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">Ask God that He will grow you in the knowledge of His will and in wisdom. (Col. 1:9 and James 1:5)<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">T<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">he thing I disagree with is that we are left out of the salvation process. God is not going to force upon us His mercy. We must <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">genuinely and<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"> willingly accept His mercy because we know that we are under God\u2019s wrath.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">Through the eyes of <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">Calvinism, <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">it<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"> makes me wonder why sin ever came into the world to begin with; if we do not have freedom of choice. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">God gave Adam and Eve a choice in the garden whether to obey or disobey. Some might say God predetermined for Eve to take the fruit so Jesus could come to save the many. I believe God gave them a choice, and in His <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">omniscience He saw what man would choose and made a solution for it so that <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">all who believe <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">might be saved. There is still a choice today. Each day you have a choice in what to do, whether you obey the Lord or disobey.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">When I put the doctrine of Calvinism into action, I was expecting God to fix me. If things were not right in me I would be tempted to blame God because He willed me to be that way. But instead, it was my own choices that lead me to those actions and temptations.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">Take for instance the whole Old Testament. Don\u2019t you think it was God\u2019s will that His people accept Him and turn away from their sins? He even told them that he would have gathered them together, but they were unwilling. \u201cJerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.\u201d Matt. 23:37 To say otherwise would be saying God led them to sin. James 1:13-14 says \u201cLet no one say when he is tempted, \u2018I am tempted by God\u2019; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.\u201d It\u2019s our responsibility.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">The last word I want to say is don\u2019t follow a man made doctrine, follow God\u2019s Word. Seek His truth through the understanding of the Holy Spirit. He will never lead you wrong, but man will. Study for yourself to see what God wants to show you. Don\u2019t take my word for it, take His.<\/span><\/p><p>\u201c<span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.\u201d 2 Timothy 2:15<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">It is on each of us to draw near to the Lord. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\">It\u2019s not our pastor or teachers job to make sure we have a knowledge of or relationship with God. It\u2019s our own personal responsibility and choice what we do with our life.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our Choice June 12, 2023 \u201cThe Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering to us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.\u201d 2 Peter 3:9 NKJV If Calvinism was true, then we would see God\u2019s will happening all the time, there would [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"page-builder","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/puredesigns.link\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1693"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/puredesigns.link\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/puredesigns.link\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/puredesigns.link\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/puredesigns.link\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1693"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/puredesigns.link\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1902,"href":"https:\/\/puredesigns.link\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1693\/revisions\/1902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/puredesigns.link\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}