FREE WILL

Mankind has choices.
​They are called "free will."

​WARNING: Some parts of this blog are graphic and may not be appropriate for some readers.

This probably will not be a popular blog amongst some, but it is something God put on my heart this morning. Lord, let Your words always be mine, and let Your children with ears, hear. Amen.

Did you know that Biblically, historically, and literally, the choices made by mankind (men and women) were, are, and will forever be, the salvation or the downfall of men? We are able to make these choices because we have "free will": let Your Will [not our own free will] be done on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10

Ecc. 7 below tells us that among a thousand men, the preacher (Solomon) could find only one man who pleased God, but among a thousand women, he could not find a single one that pleased God. That is not a great reference for women, or men, for that matter, because, as God said, the thoughts of men's hearts are nothing but evil continually.

Ecc. 7

27 "'Behold, I have discovered this,' says the Preacher, 'while adding one thing to another to find an explanation, 

28 which I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one man among a thousand [who pleases God], but I have not found [such] a woman among all these [a thousand in my harem]. 

29 Behold, I have found only this [as a reason]: God made man upright and uncorrupted, but they [both men and women] have sought out many devices [for evil].'”

Free will plus evil thoughts seems like a bad combination, and as we can see from Ecc. 7 above, and see playing out in the world before us, it can be a bad combination, if we make the wrong choices.

Let's look at a few Biblical stories that show how man's free will plus evil thoughts greatly affected mankind. It seems appropriate to start in the beginning with Adam and Eve, whom was the mother of all mankind.

Now, the story in Genesis is that God told Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; Adam told Eve not to eat from it as well; but, the snake tempted Eve, and she ate it; and she gave some to her husband to eat, and he did eat it.

So, as far back as our history is written, the first man and woman made a choice for mankind, which disobeyed God. 

How different would our world have been if Adam and Eve had faith in God, and made a different choice?

The next notable story of choices for mankind is Abraham and Sarai, or Sarah. God specifically told Abraham that he would have a son from his own bowels. Yet, Sarah became impatient with God's Time, and thought God had forsaken them, so she told Abraham to marry her Egyptian slave, Hagar, and have a child through her. 

Abraham being a faithful husband (but where was his faith in God) did as his wife instructed him, married Hagar, the slave, and Ishmael was born, whom is the father of Islam.

How different would our world have been if Abraham and Sarah had made a different choice, and listened to God, and waited for God's Time?

Next up, we come to Rebekah and Isaac, Abraham's son after Ishmael. Now, Rebekah had twins: Esau and Jacob. Esau was the firstborn, and Isaac loved him more because he was a good hunter and did feed his father of his venison stew. But, Rebekah loved Jacob.

We probably all know this story: On his death bed, Isaac wanted to bless his firstborn, Esau. Rebekah overheard Isaac telling Esau to go hunt some venison and make him some stew so he could eat and bless him before he died. Rebekah made some stew, disguised Jacob with goat skins on his hands and neck, so he would be hairy like Esau, and sent Jacob into his father, Isaac, to feed him and steal Esau's blessing.

Isaac was old, and he could not see that well. He suspected that it was Jacob by his voice, but Jacob's hands were hairy like Esau, and he smelled like Esau, because he was wearing Esau's garments, so Isaac blessed Jacob instead of Esau. When Esau learned of this, he became greatly distressed and angry. He married Canaanite women just to displease his mother.

How different would our world have been if Rebekah and Jacob had made a different choice, and not stolen Esau's blessing? 

These are just three examples of Biblical history related to choices made by men and women that changed the course of our world forever.

WARNING: GRAPHIC

Lastly, man's most egregious and heinous free will choice: Abortion. The literal ripping apart limb from limb of an unborn baby, who may be able to feel pain as early as eight or nine weeks in the womb. With the most heinous of all atrocities, "Up-to-Birth Abortion" passed into law in NYC in 2019. Governor Cuomo lit up NYC in pink to celebrate its passing.

And, they all cheered.

GRAPHIC: Up-to-Birth Abortion (6-9 months): Up to nine months old in the womb, the day the baby is supposed to be born: The doctor (butcher) pulls the baby's body out of the womb, leaving only the head in the vagina. Then, the butcher jabs scissors into the base of the baby's skull and inserts a plastic tube, and sucks the baby's brains out. They then dispose of the nine-month-old baby's dead body in a trashcan. The only reason they leave the head in the vagina is because if they pulled it out also, it would be called murder, which it is.

Barbaric. Abominable.

And, they all cheered.

Did you know that the founder of planned parenthood (I refuse to capitalize the names of the ungodly), margaret sanger, was sued in a court of law for sterilizing unsuspecting Black women. Apparently, she got a slap on the wrist, and proceeded to open up planned parenthood. But, that was not enough for her, because one way or the other, she was going to exterminate the Black population, or weed them out, as she put it. 

Decades later, 79% of planned parenthood death clinics are located within two miles of a poor Black or Hispanic neighborhood. Black babies make up 38% of the abortions in the USA.

And, they all cheered. 

I think it is important to point out here that in the Esau and Jacob story above, before Rebekah and Jacob stole Esau's blessing, Esau had himself sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of red lentil stew. This greatly displeased God, as it says later in His Word: "Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright." Hebrews 12:16

How is this relevant to this blog? Actually, it is very relevant, because man has God's Spirit, and the blood covenant, and we are supposed to overcome the evil and wickedness of this world, as Jesus overcame. Matthew 16:25 "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."

Esau had God's Spirit also, but his flesh was weak. We  overcome by always remembering, and never forgetting, that "The flesh will return to the dust from whence it came; and the spirit will return to God who gave it."

Once Adam and Eve chose sin and death for mankind, Satan's goal was obstacles for man, to keep us from our inheritance, to keep us from overcoming.

To put it another way, it is not that God "lets things happen." It is that things were set in motion when Adam and Eve chose sin and death for mankind. The world would have been a completely different place if people had had faith in God and made different choices.

​Every choice we make sets in motion another path, good or evil.

So, we learn from this that we ought to have faith in God. “And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.” Mark 11:22

In a world that seems like the Twilight Zone meets Idiocracy meets War of the Worlds, how do we possibly have faith in God? Even though I have written about this recently, apparently God thought it was important to repeat this morning.

"Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17

What does this mean? These are not just words. God's Word, the Bible, is not just words. His words are alive and active and powerful. And, they are for us!

What the heck am I rambling on about? As I said in a recent blog, I have not felt much like writing lately, probably because I have not felt much like reading (the Bible). God speaks to us when we read His word. He proves it to me repeatedly. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by [reading] the word of God."

So, as I said, I have not been reading the Bible quite as much in the last month or so; still reading it, but only a verse or two at a time instead of chapters. Yesterday, however, I felt lonely for God; I'm not sure how else to describe it. So, I started reading Genesis, picked up where I had left off previously, and read 13 or 14 chapters straight, all the way to the end.

I felt so much better after reading it, and, since God talks to us when we read His Word, He showed me the content of this blog this morning. When you read His Word, He talks to you, which gives you faith in Him. THAT is what is meant by Romans 10:17: "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by [reading] the word of God."

If you want to understand His Word, and have faith in Him, then read His Word.

In closing, men and women have choices in this world; it is called "free will." We can choose good, or we can choose evil. There is no gray area.

Choose good. Choose God. Choose Life. Amen.