Chit Chats

Nico and his friend Felishia are here visiting. Felishia and I stayed up all night talking. We joked that it was like a teen girl slumber party, only instead of talking about hair and makeup and boys, it was more like justice, salvation, grace, and sanctification. Similar...

Anyway, on and off Pastor Tim's been engaging us on the implications of Isaiah 45:7, and we're going to talk about it more later.

I form light and create darkness,
    I make well-being and create calamity,
    I am the Lord, who does all these things. 

And I think we all know we're going here: 

You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—  
Romans 9:19-23

And then there's the fact that I'm reading On Grace and Free Will by St Augustine right now. Here's what he has to say:

"God uses the hearts of even wicked men for the praise and assistance of the good. Thus did He make use of Judas when betraying Christ; thus did He make use of the Jews when they crucified Christ. And how vast the blessings which from these instances He has bestowed upon the nations that should believe in Him! He also uses our worst enemy, the devil himself, but in the best way, to exercise and try the faith and piety of good men - not for Himself indeed, who knows all things before they come to pass, but for our sakes, for whom it was necessary that such a discipline should be gone through with us"

"Who can help trembling at those judgments of God by which He does in the hearts of even wicked men whatsover He wills, at the same time rendering to them according to their deeds?"

Of 2 Chronicles 21:16-17, he writes, "Here it is shown that God stirs up enemies to devastate the countries which He adjudges deserving of such chastisement"
and "For the Almighty sets in motion even in the innermost hearts of men the movement of their will, so that He does through their agency whatsoever He wish to perform through them - even He who knows not how to will anything in unrighteousness"


So you know, it's some nice light-hearted conversation ;)