Where Are You 'Camping' in the Grand Design?
9 Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it.12 After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country. 13 They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either.14 Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. 17 These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” 19 So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed. Mark 16:9-20 (NASB)
There are two basic camps of Christians; those who believe in Predestination and those who believe in Free Will. For those who are not familiar with these two basic camps they can be summed up as follows.
The Predestination camp believes that everything happens by the will of God. Nothing you do, have done, or can do, is by your own choice, but rather at the divine direction of God to fit into his grand design. The things you do or that happen to you, you cannot affect because they are meant to happen to you so God's plan will come to fruition.
The Free Will camp believes that God created each person in His image but gave him or her the ability to make decisions in their life. God then can orchestrate the world around us to make good use of our lives even when we make bad decisions. The things we do or that happen to us are a direct result of the decisions we make but can fit into the Grand Design given God's all-powerful nature.
By way of full disclosure I fit into the Free Will camp.
These two camps are important to understand when you listen to a Christian espouse their personal beliefs of what God meant by a specific scripture. It is also important to understand in light of the Greek Word of the Day for this devotion, Apisteo or Refusal to Believe.
One of the main definitions of Apisteo as it relates to the Mark passage above is the betrayal of trust. For the sake of discussion, let's accept the idea that Man has the ability to freely make choices in life. When we choose things not of God, then we betray the trust God placed in us when he gave us free will. God trusted us to do the right thing. He outlined what 'The Right Thing' is in His word. When we do things He doesn't like we are basically saying we don't believe Him that those things are bad, and the other way is good.
The good news is that God created a way for us to return to His favor. He sent us a Redeemer who can put all things right with God once again, if only we will believe in Him. Jesus came to Earth to erase our betrayal. In fact, Jesus came to Earth specifically for you because he believes in you. He came for you because God does trust you with His word. He came for you because God says You Are Worthy.
Questions for Reflection
Do you agree or disagree that actions contrary to what God has said is good is a betrayal of God's trust? Why or why not?
What are some obstacles in your life that lead to a willingness to disbelieve what God has says is good, really is good?
How could you strengthen your belief in God's declaration of what is good?
This devotion relates to the scripture used in the book You Are Worthy by Mark Malcolm, coming to Kindle soon. To be kept up to date on the release of this, and other writings from The Cavalier, join us on Facebook HERE or follow us on Twitter @FirstChevalier.
You are not trash. You are not wasted. You are not broken. You are loved. You are pursued. You are wanted. Because God says...