In Proverbs 21, the opening verse and the closing verse of the chapter both point to the same truth that isn’t readily acknowledged by many Christians, which is the fact that God is clearly in charge. God is in charge of the affairs of man. He is not distant and removed from day to day life on the earth. On the contrary, he directs the king’s heart. Look at verse 1:
The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.
God turns the king’s heart. “Heart” in this verse is the mind. It is the place where decisions are made, and God turns the king’s heart as He sees fit. Then, the closing verse reminds me of the same truth.
The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD.
In this verse, “the horse is made ready” refers to all that man does to ensure the outcome that he desires on a particular task, event, contest, battle, etc. Preparation is made to win the war. Training occurs to be victorious. Every effort is made to be prepared for the storm. Structures are built to withstand winds and weather. Safety and shelter are sought when weather alerts warn of danger. However, in the end “victory belongs the Lord.” In the end, safety belongs to the Lord.
Seatbelts are worn. Airbags are installed. Speed limits are followed. But in the end, safety belongs to the Lord.
This amazing tension between man’s responsibility to do right, to choose wisely, to prepare appropriately, to seek the Lord, to pray without ceasing and God’s sovereignty is seen throughout the Bible.
In fact, the more you study the Bible the more you see it. Look at Luke 22:22:
For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!”
In this verse, Scripture makes it clear that God determined before the foundation of the world the way that Jesus, the Son of Man, would go.
Yet, there is no immunity for the men who were involved in crucifying an innocent man. God will not turn a blind eye to their sin. Judas contributes to the predetermined crucifixion of the Son of God, yet he does not get a pass for betraying the Lord.
God’s sovereignty does not absolve man of his responsibility to do right, even when God uses the wicked actions of men for a good purpose.
Therefore, the more you study the Bible the more you will see this fundamental truth woven into the narrative of the history of mankind. With your heart focused upon this truth, search for it for yourself in Scripture, and you will begin to see it come to life.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Parents do you know what is in the movie you are letting your teenagers attend at the theater?
I have not seen this movie so I rely on websites like Pluggedin.com to give me a perspective I might not have. After hearing that the moview was clean I thought let me double check. Here is a portion of the review from pluggedin.com.
SEXUAL CONTENT:
An early scene features lingering, exceedingly close-up shots of Carly's backside as she's clad in skimpy bikini underwear and one of Sam's shirts. We watch as she climbs on top of him and straddles him in bed. Though we never see the pair in bed together after that, a sexual relationship is clearly implied between the couple. And even though they're apparently living together, both agree that they're not yet ready to say "I love you."
Carly's physique, including her long legs and cleavage-baring outfits, get regular attention throughout the film, though never quite as obviously as in the scene described above. Dylan has eyes for her, and he compares her curvaceous figure to the sensual curves of a vintage automobile in his collection. Someone makes a joke about wanting to frisk Carly, and a scene with her involving licorice is played suggestively.
Sam's mother offers him an explicitly titled book about female orgasm and says he won't be able to land another beautiful girlfriend unless he's well endowed and knows how to pleasure a woman. A male colleague corners Sam in a restroom to give him secret information, but a scuffle breaks out between them instead. Their melee (played for laughs), ends up with the man straddling Sam with his pants down in a men's room stall—something that looks like a violent homosexual tryst to Sam's boss, who happens to walk in as they stumble out. (His boss later mentions the encounter again, stressing that he doesn't care about what his employees do with others in a bathroom stall.)
Women frequently wear revealing tops, while skirts and dresses display a lot of leg. An office worker dubs a colleague a "hoochie mama" because she wears a very skimpy outfit. Sam and Carly kiss twice, as do one other couple. One character fondly recalls a secret tryst with a woman and makes a suggestive comment about her backside.
Read the entire review at:
http://www.pluggedin.com/movies/intheaters/transformersdarkofthemoon.aspx.
I have not seen this movie so I rely on websites like Pluggedin.com to give me a perspective I might not have. After hearing that the moview was clean I thought let me double check. Here is a portion of the review from pluggedin.com.
SEXUAL CONTENT:
An early scene features lingering, exceedingly close-up shots of Carly's backside as she's clad in skimpy bikini underwear and one of Sam's shirts. We watch as she climbs on top of him and straddles him in bed. Though we never see the pair in bed together after that, a sexual relationship is clearly implied between the couple. And even though they're apparently living together, both agree that they're not yet ready to say "I love you."
Carly's physique, including her long legs and cleavage-baring outfits, get regular attention throughout the film, though never quite as obviously as in the scene described above. Dylan has eyes for her, and he compares her curvaceous figure to the sensual curves of a vintage automobile in his collection. Someone makes a joke about wanting to frisk Carly, and a scene with her involving licorice is played suggestively.
Sam's mother offers him an explicitly titled book about female orgasm and says he won't be able to land another beautiful girlfriend unless he's well endowed and knows how to pleasure a woman. A male colleague corners Sam in a restroom to give him secret information, but a scuffle breaks out between them instead. Their melee (played for laughs), ends up with the man straddling Sam with his pants down in a men's room stall—something that looks like a violent homosexual tryst to Sam's boss, who happens to walk in as they stumble out. (His boss later mentions the encounter again, stressing that he doesn't care about what his employees do with others in a bathroom stall.)
Women frequently wear revealing tops, while skirts and dresses display a lot of leg. An office worker dubs a colleague a "hoochie mama" because she wears a very skimpy outfit. Sam and Carly kiss twice, as do one other couple. One character fondly recalls a secret tryst with a woman and makes a suggestive comment about her backside.
Read the entire review at:
http://www.pluggedin.com/movies/intheaters/transformersdarkofthemoon.aspx.
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