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Category Archives: God’s sovereignty

Moving on to Phase 2

I have been a bit lax in my weight management updates lately. So in order to remedy that I am going to write about my end to Phase 1 of the program and what I might expect in Phase 2, which begins in less than two weeks.

This past Wednesday I did the follow up nurse visit for the weight management program I have been on for the past 12 weeks. The results of this visit are very encouraging for a loser like me. Here is the list:

I have lost 43 lbs.
I have lost a total of 8 inches around my trunk.
I have lost 2 inches in my neck.
I have dropped 36 lbs of body fat.
My BMI has dropped 6 points.
I have dropped 7% body fat.

I will update the results of my lab work in a following post.

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Posted by barrydean on December 16, 2011 in exercise, fitness, God's sovereignty, HMR, Phase 2, weight loss

Remembering

11 Sep

9.11.2001 – I was running late for work that day. I said good morning to my friend Phil who was smoking outside the door and he told me “some idiot flew a plane into the World Trade Center” (American Airlines Flight 11). I thought, how could a plane get so close without some major alarms going off. I unloaded my stuff when I got to my cube and logged onto my computer to search the Internet for any news on this accident. The Internet was pretty jammed up and it took a good 10 minutes before I could load any info about the story. I had was beginning to get a very uneasy feeling knowing that the only thing that would create a long response time like that would be massive Internet traffic. By the time I got to a news source a second plane (United Airlines Flight 175) had hit the South Tower and I knew this was no accident. The office building was unusually quiet. The only sounds were an occasional hint of keyboard tapping. There was no talking for what seemed like 30 minutes. Slowly a few co-workers began milling out into the cubical isles to talk to each other. I called home to ask my bride if she was aware of what was going on. She and our children were right in the middle of their homeschooled morning. She turned on the TV an it was all over the networks. Two airliners had flown into each of the World Trade Center towers. We prayed. My bride prayed with the kids. A couple of my believing co-workers and I took the time to pray together. Someone brought a TV into the break room and we all stood in silence and watched the news footage and the stories unfold. We learned about the Pentagon (American Airlines Flight 77), and later about a plane that went down near Shanksville, PA (United Airlines Flight 93). Needless to say no one was working or being productive.

Around lunch time we all headed home to be with our families and loved ones. Robin and I prayed with the kids and then watched more news. We had some pretty serious conversations with the kids. Each one of us tried to process the days events. How could this happen? How could anyone want to kill so many? What should we do now?

All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. (Psalms 86:9)

Soli Deo Gloria

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Posted by barrydean on September 11, 2010 in 9.11.2001, 911, God's sovereignty

Professing ignorance?

17 Jan

For those who still wrestle with the sovereignty of God and that He chooses who He will save through His son, I found a very articulate response to this seemingly controversial theology. The posting can be found here. Please read it and use the intellect God gave you. If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ none of it will make sense, but maybe the answer to the following question will. What is the penalty for one sin?

Thanks go to John and the guys at Reformation Theology for posting the response.

Photo credit

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Posted by barrydean on January 17, 2008 in Christian ignorance, Ephesians 1, God's sovereignty, sovereignty

Evangelism and the sovereignty of God (Part 2); Apologetics

25 Sep

This past week we looked at the various forms of apologetics. But first I’d like to just throw in something from the first week. In the first week we looked at the definition of apologetics and the goal of apologetics. The short definition is the defense and proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The goal for using apologetics in evangelism is to glorify God by formulating an approach to proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ that is consistent with both biblical theology and biblical example. Now we can move to the various forms used in evangelism.

The “Classical” Method

A classical apologist uses a two step process by first using natural theology to establish the existence of God by observable data in the universe. Only after God’s existence is proven do they move on to presenting the case for Christianity, namely the person and work of Jesus Christ. All of this in an attempt to make Christianity the only viable religion. This method is called “classical” because it is assumed to be the style of apologetics of the early church fathers. The key assumptions for this style of apologetics is that man is capable of openly and honestly evaluating the claims of Christianity. The second assumption is that man’s heart is fully depraved, but his mind is fully functioning. The last assumption is that the proof of miracles are without equal in their defense of Christianity.

The “Evidential” Method

This method is much like that of the “classical” method in that it uses “proofs”to stimulates man’s ability to reason and search for religious knowledge. But unlike the “classical” method, “evidential” apologetics only needs one step to accomplish their goal. They will use historical “proofs” to prove Christianity, and the existence of God. A good example of the “evidential” method would be to begin the defense by arguing the historical factuality of Jesus Christ’s resurrection, thus proving that God exists as well as Christ’s authenticity. Key assumptions would be; the believer and the unbeliever can communicate effectively with each other, and the miracles of Jesus are compelling enough to provide the needed proof to reach the goal.

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Posted by barrydean on September 25, 2007 in apologetics, evangelism, God's sovereignty

Evangelism and the sovereignty of God (Part 1)

18 Sep

One of the most controversial aspects of Christianity is evangelism and the sovereignty of God. As believers we all know that we are commanded to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…”. (Matthew 28: 19) But understanding the sovereignty of God quite often creates a percieved paradox. In reality the bible teaches that these two doctrines are not in opposition to each other but allies. The sovereignty of God (and mind you the bible) teaches that a man is elected by God for salvation. That a man is dead in his sins and is made alive to righteousness only by the work of God. Many evangelicals claim that teaching the sovereignty of God in salvation deters Christians from evangelizing. This is actually the opposite for those who follow the doctrines of God’s sovereignty. If you understand that God is the One who saves and we are called to be obedient servants in this endeavor, we are more free to evangelize and let God do the calling.

In order to defend this doctrine and understand how to effectively evangelize I am attending an IBS (Institute for Biblical Studies) course at my local church Omaha Bible Church. Along with the bible we will also be using a book by J. I. Packer called “Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God“, go figure. The first session, which was last Wednesday, we focused on the introduction and the importance of evangelism for the believer. We were introduced to the reference materials we will be using and we went through the course syllabus.

This past Sunday I purchased “Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God” in the church bookstore and used the time during our adult bible hour to read the first couple of chapters. Packer lays the foundation of God’s sovereignty by going over some common beliefs in Christianity through prayer that are attributed to the belief in a sovereign God. When we take the time to pray to God, how do we pray? Do we pray with the belief that God will act in his sovereignty? Do we ask God to save John and Suzi down the street or do we pray that John and Suzi will figure it out for themselves and in so doing save themselves? When we pray do we ask God for our daily bread? Do we thank Him for our salvation? Indeed we do. Because deep inside we know that God is the one who saves. God is the one who sustains our life. We know through scripture that these things are true. God gives us the very breath we breathe. If God is sovereign in these things would it not hold that He is also sovereign in the salvation of men and women?

Next posting we will get into the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man, an apparent contradiction. Rock on!

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Posted by barrydean on September 18, 2007 in evangelism, God's sovereignty, IBS, J. I. Packer