Who is in charge here anyways?

In Norman Geisler’s book, Chosen but Free he discusses the question of who is in charge? I loved how he brought up different attributes of God, affirmed them by Scripture, and then showed how they point to the fact that God is in charge of everything. First, Geisler points out God’s eternity and the fact that He was before all things. Colossians 1:17 says that God is “before all things.” Next, he points out that God created all things. Genesis 1:1 says that “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Not only did God create all things, but he also upholds all things. Hebrews 1:3 says that God is “sustaining all things by His powerful word.”Geisler next point is that God is above all things. Ephesians 4:6 says that there is “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” As if that weren’t enough, God also knows all things and can do all things. Psalm 147:5 says “Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite. It is an incredible, comforting, and yet scary thought to know that the God that we serve knows our every action and our every thought. Having this is mind should change our actions and our thoughts. Luke 1:37 says that “Nothing is impossible with God.” This however brings up the question: Can God make a mountain big enough for him to move? This can easily be solved by clarifying that God can do anything that doesn’t contradict itself. In other words, God cannot lie because it is against his nature. Also, God cannot make a triangle with two sides because, by definition, a triangle is a three sided figure. All of these attributes clearly point out that God is in control of all things. This is called the sovereignty of God.

God rules over all things and is even called the “Great King” in Psalm 48:2. In Job 42:2, Job confessed to God: “I know that you can do all things; no plans of yours can be thwarted.” God even controls earthly kings. Revelations 19:16 refers to God as the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” Not only are all men under his control, but even the angels, both good and evil. Colossians 1:15-16 says that God is over all creation including “visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers.” Philippians 2:10 says that “at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow.” This includes the fallen angels. The story of Job tells us that even Satan himself is under the control of God. Satan wanted to take Job’s life but God would not let him do so.

It has now been made clear that God is in control of everything in heaven and on earth and under the earth. With this in mind, ask yourself the question: Who do you think is in charge?

Worship in the Church

When it comes to finding the right church, one of the big things that determines whether or not you like a church is the worship. Some people prefer only singing hymns. On the other hand some people only like it if there are drums and electric guitars. However, I think that with this mindset we are missing the point to a certain extent. Is worship really in the music? No! Worship comes from our heart of reverence towards our Savior Jesus Christ! With this in mind, I believe that worships should not be circumstantial on the type of music being played. Understandably, there are some types of music that are not enjoyable to people. For instance, the older generation who grew up with only hymns might not enjoy the harder contemporary songs that the younger generation sings today. This goes both ways. But just because we do not enjoy the music, does not mean that we cannot worship the God who created us. We should always be striving to worship and glorify God in all that we say and do. Letting a style of music get in the way of this comes from a heart of selfishness. When we become too concerned with ourselves and how we feel, we are robbing God because we are unable to worship Him. Worship is an act of selflessness that is done in humility, but it easy to become proud and arrogant in our own desires and preferences that we miss the point of what we are actually doing. God's glory is not circumstantial on what type of music is being played and we should keep that in mind when we are too stubborn to worship God with a particular type of music. We are on this earth to worship and glorify God. That doesn't mean, only when we feel like it or like the music. It means always, no matter what the circumstances! An understanding of this should change some of our attitudes towards how we worship.

My Testimony

From a young age I had always wondered about what was going to happen to me after I died. I had grown up in church and had a knowledge of who God was but I was still scared of what would happen to me when I died. One night, I was laying in bed and got really scared because I was thinking about this. Finally I came downstairs to my  parents and my mom explained to me what would happen if I died. She told me that I would be separated from God forever. Not only that, but I would go to a place where I would be tortured and tormented forever. I obviously did not want to experience that torture. The alternative of that was to believe that Jesus is God's son and that he died on the cross so that I did not have to go through that torture. It was at this time that I decided to believe that Jesus died for me and that I wanted to live for him and spend eternity with him in a place called Heaven. Here I would forever be in the presence of God and be able to worship Him forever.

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