War between Israel and Lebanon

The conflict started on July 12, 2006 when the Hezbollah abducted the two Israel soldier inside the Israel border. During the event, Hezbollah initiated a rocket and mortal attack that cause wounding to several civilian in a northern Israel town. The same date IDF soldier responded within two hours after the initial attack from the Hezbollah. The war between the two countries is still going on. For more information and update photograph Baleboosteh’s blog contain the day by day incident happen to two nations.

The clash between these two nations brings us the story of the city of Jerusalem in light of what the words of God said in the scripture. The conflict between nations to nation is not quite new in the scripture. Actually Ezekiel 38-39 gives us the idea what will happen in the future. In the end time bible scholars predict that Gog are military leader that arises from “the northern region” (from Israel vantage point) of Magog (ancient Scythia). According to Ezekiel 38-39 the nation that would help Magog to invade Israel are Meshech and Tuban (territories of Turkey), Gomer (Germany), Togarmah (Turkey), Persia (Iran), Cush/Ethiopia (Sudan), Put (Libya), and Egypt (according to Daniel 11:40-42). Even Israel is destined for disaster, destruction, exiles, holocaust, and enemies of every side for over 20 centuries, the Jews will returned to live in Jerusalem, because even it is ruin, it hold the promise of restoration and Jerusalem will recognize as God City

God can do, accomplish, and rule over all things.

God can do all things

God is all powerful He knows all things eternally and unchangeably, but also God is omnipotent.

• Gen 18:14 - All thing is before making a miracle, God told Abraham “Is anything too hard for the Lord?

• Luke 1:37 – in fact “nothing is impossible with God”

• Jer 32:27 - infinite in power “I am the Lord, The God of all mankind is anything too hard for me?

• John 6:19, 11:43-44 – Over power the forces of nature

• John 6:19 – God walk on water

• John 11:43-4 – raised people from the dead

• Gen 1:3,6; 9:11 – God’s omnipotent power was manifested in the creation of the world from nothing

• 2 Cor 4:6 – Paul describes Him as “God who said, let light shine out of darkness”

• Heb 1:3 – the writer of Hebrews declares that God’s “sustaining all thing by his powerful word”

Now let us shift gear for a moment and consider the following:

God cannot do what is “actually” impossible to do. Since it is impossible for God to do things contrary to His unchanging nature, that He cannot do any contradiction thing.

• God cannot lie (titus 1:2) because it is impossible for God to lie (Heb. 6:18)

• 1 Sam 15:29 “He who is the glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind.

Examples:

a. God cannot make a round square
b. God cannot make a triangle with 2 sides
c. God cannot create another God equal to himself
d. There is only one uncreated creator (Deut. 6:4, Isa 45:18)

Nonetheless, God can do whatever is possible to do. He can do everything that does not involve a contradiction. There are no limits to His power. The bible describes him as “almighty” (Gen 17:1, Ex 6:3, Num 24:4, Job 5:17)

God accomplishes all things

If God is sovereign overall things, it implies he can accomplish all things that he wills.

• Isa 14:24,27: “…surely as I have planned, so it will be and as I have purposed, so it will stand… For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out and who can turn it back?”

• Isa. 46:9-11 “…. My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please… what I have said, that will I do … “

• Eph 1:11: Paul adds “… who works our everything inconformity with the purpose of His will”

• Acts 4:28; 2:23: “… they did what your God power and will had decided before and should happen”

So a God who is before all things, beyond all things, creates all things, upholds all things, knows all things, and can do all things is also in control of all things is called the “Sovereignty of God” As the Westminster Confession of faith puts it “God from all eternity, did by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will. Freely, unchangeably ordain whatever comes to pass” Nothing catches God by surprise. All things come to pass as he ordained them from all eternity.

God rules over all things

The bible affirms God’s sovereignty in many ways.

• Ps. 48:2 Yahweh is “the great King”
• Ps. 29:10 “the Lord is enthroned as king forever”
• Ps 10:16 “The Lord is king for ever and ever”
• Ps 24:8 “the Lord is might in battle”
• I Chron. 29:11-12 “… everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours o Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are rulers of all things”

Now when we say that God “can” do all things, we mean that God can do all things that are logically possible, all things that makes sense, all things that are possible. Because God can do all things, and knows all things He cannot make mistakes, that is why in Heb. 6:18 “it is impossible for God to lie”, because lying in most cases has something to do with covering up our failures and sins, but God cannot make mistakes and hence it is not possible for him to cover up or lie simple because he never commit mistakes. Only human like us commit mistakes and most often we cover-up our sins (1 Sam 15:24)

Next, because God knows all things and can do all things. He cannot make mistakes, and the one mistake he can’t possibly do is to make self-contradictions.

1. He cannot contradict his own unchangeable nature which is “omniscience” (knowing all things) for him to do such a thing of covering up his blunder (lying). That is why in Titus 1:2 it says “…God cannot lie…” because for God to lies is to create a self-contradiction to his very own nature which is omniscience and perfection. So in Hebrews 6:18 is say in diff. tone “it is impossible for God to lie..”

2. Another contradiction a perfect, all knowing God cannot afford to do is to contradict Himself. Within Himself lies the very nature of knowing all things -> God doesn’t need to guess and hope and eventually commit mistakes by guessing. Doing all things -> God can do all things “in accordance to his very unchangeable attributes.

Another thing that God can’t do that confuses most detractors of believers is that God can’t do all things that are “actually impossible”

God cannot make Round Square. God cannot make triangles with 2 sides

With that in mind, let us settle down for a moment and ask a couple of practical questions.

If God can do all things that are logically and actually possible, then why is it that often times when we ask god for something through prayers things that are really logical and actually possible, He refuses to do for us?

Suffering in the eyes of God

I’m not sure if everybody would agree to me or not, but based on my observation the primal fear of human being is the pain of suffering. No one is free not to feel the pain of suffering, whether we like it or not sooner or later we are going to face the physical, psychological, and emotion pain of life here on earth.

The pain of suffering is not quite new in the scripture. Most of the theologians have struggled with the classical problem of why an all-loving and all-powerful God would allow evil to exist. But in Genesis chapter 1 clearly reveal to us that when God created everything it was very good. God did not create evil, suffering, or death. He created us to enjoy himself, each other and to celebrate his gift of life.

There are many kinds of pain and suffering in the scripture. One of them is the outcome of our wrong choice in life and sometimes when we are inflicted by others. The connection of sin with suffering is one of the correct assumptions of people who are now in pain. We cannot blame others and God for this kind of suffering because deep inside our heart we knew that the consequence of one pain is the result of the past sin. The guilty sinner is not allowed to protest that God is unjust in allowing us to suffer.

There are things happen in the lives of one person which is not direct correlation to his/her suffering and sin. In this world there are time people suffer not because of their sin but because he/she is the victim of others sinful act. If we are the victim of wrongfully causes by other, am I having the right to plead with God for justification like what Job did? Is it right to complain to God that He is in fault for allowing the suffering in our life? The answer depends on our relationship to Him. In the eyes of other human being they may conclude that we are the innocent victim, but if we are dealing with the justice of God it is another thing.

When People asked

I visited one of the chatroom once and I started telling them about Christ. I’ve posted some verses to share the goodness of Christ. Shocking reaction quite strike to my face when a lot of questions pop-up into my screen. One of the questions catches my attention is - when one the guy there asked me why innocent people suffer if there is a loving God. At first I felt I've lost my mind, I didn’t know how I establish my answer. What I did I say a little pray and beg God to give me wisdom to answer that kind of inquiry. But unfortunately that is not God's way of reveiling the truth.

Deep inside of me I know that question is one of the struggled of philosophers and theologian for a thousand years. Knowing that I am not a philosopher and theologian is quite hard for me to back-up my assertion that God is all loving and all powerful. Because of that the best defense which is I could do is to ask them back instead of answering him. I believe that is not what God wants me to do. The scripture make this thing clear, God said in 1 Peter 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” So sadly speaking I did share the hope and reason I have in my heart.

After that incident I decided to study and do some searching. And I am so proud to tell to all of you that God grant my prayer, He revealed to me how truly amazing He is.

My next posting is the biblical and philosophical view why do innocent people suffer.

The eternal punishment in hell for those who reject Christ

When people talked about the issue of hell, they couldn’t set aside that the bible has a tendency to certainly refer hell as a flames. Some believe that hell is physical place simply because people heading for hell will be reunited to their physical body. This hell would probably a literal place.

In Mar 9:43 the fire in hell never goes out. The Gnashing of teeth in Matt. 8:12. And if we look closer to Matt 25:30 it says “into the darkness, where there will weep and gnashing of teeth. This is the clear picture of hell.

In 1 Cor 3:13 the fire is used as metaphor for believers testing tools for the deeds they have done while they on earth. But to make things short I’ll go to the core of the issue.

If Jude 6 describe hell as utter darkness, and in v.30 of matt 2 hell describe as full of fire at the same time, the question arise now is how can that be? Fire would light thing up. The bible answers this inquisitive question. In the bible, when Christ returns, it says that he would come in flames and a sword in his mouth (Rev. 1:16, 19:15). Now if Jesus would be coming with a sword in his mouth, then would not say anything because he might be choked-up. If we take it literally, it doesn’t make sense. However in the bible sword is used as a metaphor for the word of God.

Heb 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Psa 45:3 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty

We don’t see a general with a sword being held by his mouth.

Pro 12:18 There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health

Mat 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God – So we can safely say, sword stand for the word of God.

In terms of flame let us see what the bible say, Heb. 12:29 God is called a consuming fire, and yet nobody thinks that God is like a jet engine. In Matt 3:11 John the Baptist was addressing those Pharisees to avoid the impeding judgment, he use fire as method of judgment (v.11)

Weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12, 25:50) is one of the real scenario pertaining to the people reaching to the pain of torture in hell. Actually there are 4 fold ideas why people weeping and gnashing of teeth:

1. it could be the reaction of pain of torture.
2. it could be a state of anger or realization of a great loss, it could an expression of rage at realizing that one has made a huge mistake.
3. have you ever experienced loosing something or someone that could have been valuable to your life and you realized that you lost it forever? Gnashing of teeth could an expression of that.
4. Have you ever seen people who are self-absorbed, self centered, they get angry and grind their teeth literally, when they don’t get what they want.

I believe that gnashing of teeth is an expression of the type of personality of people who will belong to hell.

Some say hell is not really a bad place. Let’s assume that the fire is a figure of speech. What is the figurative is the flame 2 sword. What is literal is that hell is a place of utter heart break. It is a loss of everything and it’s meant to stand for the fact that hell is the worst possible situation that could ever happen to a person.

If some say that hell is not really a bad place. Is it possible for heaven to become hell for some people? Well, the answer is yes, if we put this way. If we are around with people who are good looking, very attractive and a lot of smart than us, in one gathering the tendency is he/she is the darling of the crowd instead of us. Sometime we feel pissed off because we are set aside. Now, multiply those qualities a trillion times and that’s little God is like. He is real, real smart, he is morally pure than we are. And if people don’t passionately fall in love with Him, then to force people to have to be around Him forever would be a very difficult situation for them, heaven feels like hell due to discomfort.

So basically we choose our destiny and God grant our choice.

When my father leave inheritance

Yesterday, when I was looking at my mother - I remember how admirable my father was. He worked hard and did his best for us. He was faithful to my mother throughout his life. I am not saying this because he is my father, I am expressing this because I admire him as person - he remained wonderful and good man throughout his years.

The way I present my father seems like a perfect guy, but I and my siblings wouldn't hide some facts that once in his lifetime, my father brought difficulty in us. But the truth is I can’t relate to the obstacles he brought in us during those time. I know deep inside of me, he didn’t make some effort to relate with us - his childrens. He wants us to live according to the rules and regulation he nailed to his family. All I know it’s look like living in a military camp. He acted as a general, my mother was the leutenant, and we are the private soldiers. He created a wall instead of bridge. He didn’t talk to us. But sadly speaking we didn’t have a guts to talk with him too. The only way to commune with my father was throught the help of my mother, she acted like an interpreter. It was terrible that time, I feel so suffocated.

When my father pass away, I was so lost. I didn’t know how to start my life again, maybe because my life depend in him. It takes years for me to move on and live my life without him. But throughout the continuance time of ourlives we realized how important he is in our daily life. Those are the time I personally discover that my father give us the greatest gift. My father make sure that he will not left us empty. He thought us how to live and stand in our feet. He makes us strong to face the storm. He make us a real person.

Everytime I read Matt 25:34 when God said “Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” It reminds me of my father. He was like a king. He acted like a king to all of the family - he leave inheritance, he prepared us for the future, and he continued walking in us until now. But we need to accept the truth that he is no longer in us, he went back to his creator. The only things I shall do is to wait for the time that I will meet him again and thank him for the thing he has done in us

Tay, I miss you and I love you.