Free Will

"Free Will" is made possible by choice. This not that... 

The ability to make a choice is "FREEDOM."

The choice to stay "FREE" is to accept responsibility for the consequence of your choices. You can say "No, thank you" to those who would limit your potential because of their expectation for you.

"FREEDOM, RESPONSIBILITY, CONSEQUENCE?"

Be free. And don't blame anyone else for the choices you've made in the past and the consequences that resulted. Seek the one who knows exactly who He created you to be. His plan for you, it's like no one else's. You can't imagine His hope for your future. Get to know Him. Trust His guidance and follow it.

The Great Deception.

It's not one lie, it's many. They come from every direction. Don't focus on the lies! There are to many to comprehend.

Know Truth Himself, you'll see the lie every time...

Proverbs 29:18 Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

Eschatology... Hmm.

Patterns of behavior.

Identity, Self-conception, interpretation, and a unique perspective.

Patterns of behavior are a result of who we perceive ourselves to be, our sense of identity. Our conception of self is derived from how we interpret our unique perspective that exists in the now but choice gives us the ability to break patterns of behavior.

Stop relying on your memory and reason alone. Embrace the Lover of your Soul's guidance. Discover who He created you to be, and overcome the lies that have led to destructive habits.

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 

John 8:31 Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teaching. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

The "Here and Now" and the Presence of God

The "Here and Now" is where we pay attention. To pay attention means to consciously focus on one aspect of that which we are aware.

We can be aware of many things in the here and now and still not pay attention to them.

Definition: the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others.

"Attention is the behavioral and cognitive process of selectively concentrating on a discrete aspect of information, whether considered subjective or objective, while ignoring other perceivable information"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention

"Attention is the cognitive process that makes it possible to position ourselves towards relevant stimuli and consequently respond to it. This cognitive ability is very important and is an essential function in our daily lives."

https://www.cognifit.com/attention

"Attention is a complex cognitive function which is essential for human behavior. Attention is a selection process for an external (sound, image, smell...) or internal (thoughts) event which has to be maintained at a certain level of awareness. It is not a stable but rather, fluctuating skill."

http://www.happy-neuron.com/brain-and-training/attention

From all this information we begin to understand that paying attention takes conscious effort.

Two Bible verses come to mind…

Romans 8:14 All that are led by the Spirit of God, they are the children of God.

John 10:27  My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

And this one…

Matthew 10:19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.

These verses speak of the present-tense indicative verb of paying attention to the Holy Spirit in the here and now. Not just acknowledging God's presence but recognizing Him and "choosing" to pay attention and to engage in your relationship with Him.

The enemy does not want you to do that. He will use distraction by trying to get you to focus, not on the present situation I call the "Here and Now" but on the past using condemnation/hopelessness or the future using speculation/fear... Or both.

Reality does not exist in the future or in the past.

We exist and have our being in the "Here and Now". It is where we make our choices and decisions that will shape our future. Do you trust in your limited perspective and understanding in your situation, or will you choose to pay attention to the Lover of your Soul and trust in His Guidance and Counsel? "Now" is the time, and "here" is the place we create the future God wants us to have.

Philippians 3:12 (NLT) I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.

Proverbs 3:5 (CEV) With all your heart you must trust the LORD and not your own judgment. 6 Always let him lead you, and he will clear the road for you to follow.

Choices

Choice is all about your ability to choose. If you say "I have no choice" than you believe a lie. In the old testament, God says "choose you this day, a blessing or a curse". Fundamentally, those are the two choices we have.

In The Sermon on the Mount Jesus speaks about making choices...

Matt 18:9 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

If your flesh causes you to sin, well you have a choice. From the hyperbole in the Sermon on the Mount to Paul's practical advice from his own experience...

Rom 8:12-14 "Therefore Brethren we are debtors not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh, For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if you through the Spirit put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the children of God."

Galatians 6:7-8  ESV  Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Col. 3:5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. 6 For which things' sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience.

Know this...

1Cor. 10:15. No temptation has seized you, except what is common to man. And God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but will also provide with the temptation the escape, to be able to endure it.

The only thing you have no choice about is about making choices.

You have a choice! Sow to the flesh and reap the curse. Sow to the Holy Spirit and reap the blessing.

Learning to overcome our fleshly nature through the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, this is the process of sanctification. God's will is for us to be overcomers.

Innocence

The Innocence of obedience? As a child it is unequivocal. But impossible to maintain. Parents are hardly an example to trust, but we are called to obey our parents "in the Lord".

And when you do, you fall into the trust of their own understanding.

Wisdom? The Bible is full of practical wisdom. Wait... Crap!  How does the book of "Job" fit Into your understanding?

Proverbs 3:5-6 makes more sense now.

Battle of the minds.

Have you ever considered your thoughts? Do you ever think about your thoughts? Why are your thoughts like having a conversation?  Have you ever argued with yourself?

Your thoughts are an integral part of your life. They reside in the realm of your mind. Every choice and every decision you make is a result of the "thought processes" that go on within your mind. The Bible says "as a man thinks in his heart so is he."

What you believe has everything to do with what you think. What you think will be revealed in what you say and what you do. These choices and decisions have their consequence, good or bad! They become unalterable facts in the gist of your life. Will they be lessons for you today?

So what you believe affects what you think, what you think affects your decisions and choices, which creates unalterable facts about you.

This all takes place in your mind. A battleground of competing thoughts, where a conversation is carried on and sometimes even arguments happen.

How do you explain it all? VOICES?

You are Becoming?

There's no getting around it. Change happens. Mostly deterministic. Everything is becoming something other than what it was. What it is, is not what it will be.

You are swept along by the interaction of mass and energy. But choice affords an alternative to determinism.  The truth for you and me, Christ died for us.

Now will you choose the Lover of your Soul? Because of what He did, you have a choice.

Let this mind be in you?

The mind of Christ...

Let it be in you...

Think like He thought... Thinks!

How does He think?

He said to the Father "Not my will but yours be done."

Swept Along!

How can I describe the current that sweeps us along? The key word is current. Is it a warm breeze that makes us sleepy? Do we see the storm clouds? Swept along? A force that takes me where I don't want to go.

We think that the choices we make determine our destiny. NOT! Your choices are not disconnected from all the other choices everywhere around you that others make. Choices that can have significant impact into your life.. This is the current that sweeps us along.

The operative word is "choice". The current that sweeps us along is powered by the choices everyone makes. Choice is also the word that gives us the power to overcome the current that sweeps us along.

How?    

Proverbs 3:5-6  Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Swept Along?

The interaction of mass and energy has an "inertia". Events beyond your control that sweep you along. Even when in the moment you make a wise choice, events transpire that seem to be detrimental to your situation. Your mistake is thinking you understand your situation.

Yes, we are swept along by the inertia of the interaction of mass and energy. And even though we make wise decisions, we can still find ourselves in a less than comfortable situation. Rejoice, if you find yourself there. It is there that the Lover of your Soul can reveal just how much He loves you, just how much He has "Got your back". Maybe then you will get serious about the pride that gets in the way of hearing His voice, understanding His heart, and committing yourself to His desire to bring everyone into the Kingdom.

Light the fire Again?

Swept along? Sure I am swept along by circumstance, events beyond my control. Everyone is. The issue is our position in the flow. The flow sweeps us along the line of circumstance, but do we see a different perspective? Does our "position" rise us above the circumstance to see the bigger picture. Christ died for us while we were yet sinners!

Who am I?

Who I think I am is brought into focus by the interpretation of my perception (5 Senses) which results from my perspective of what exists. This perspective is informed by truth or lies...

What is the source of your information? Is your perspective of reality interpreted from your limited perception, then you have reasons to be uncertain about anything you decide, or do you rely on information from a perspective high above your own? A perception that is not limited to the "Here and Now"?

Lets do some investigation...

I started an online course from Stanford on Artificial Intelligence. There's a free version available.

It seems that AI research has come up with “Reasons of Uncertainty” as they investigate “What to do when you don’t know what to do”. Here are the reasons for uncertainty...

• Sensor limits. Don’t see it all.
• Stochastic environment. Unlimited variables.
• Adversaries. An enemy dedicated to you failing.
• Laziness. Not being thorough in your investigation
• Ignorance. Not knowing and not caring.

Oh, crap! Christian, does this sound familiar?

Swept along.

Circumstance, it is a sea of turmoil. We all swim in it. We are swept along and most perceive not the flow. Flow? It is the current that inhabits the sum of every decision that those with choice make. Descisions break the bonds of determinism. But freedom to choose does not guarantee justice. Only the one who is everywhere, and sees all as it happens, can be the arbitrator of justice, who has already declared from the beginning, follow me!

Cause and Effect (As in "Swept along in the Now")

Cause and effect creates a flow within an inertial frame. Have you ever felt like you were in a rut? This flow tends to take the same path if free will does not exert a choice. The choice is hidden by a lie that presents unworthiness and concludes condemnation. And rightly so if we accept the flow.

Hope presents a promise and says, “you choose” 1 Corinthians 10:13 The choice is simple but most difficult. We can stay in the flow and trust in our own understanding or we can choose to trust the Lover of our soul and begin to see who He created us to be. The truth sets us free as we trust in the Lord with all our hearts.

Cause and effect appeals to self-interest. There the tension is manifest. The enemy clouds the truth that self-interest is ultimately fulfilled in giving.

Cause and effect if left alone ultimately will result in degradation, the second law. Life can overcome that degradation by accepting the truth that Hope offers. Choose the author of life and be an overcomer.

Have you ever thought, I just wish someone would tell me what to do? Have you ever wished someone would show you the way you should go?

“I am the way, the truth, and the light”
Jesus Christ

Most likely you’ve believed, as I did, that you have it within you to succeed. The problem is what you define as success.

Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. 

~ George Santayana ~ 

Remember the past? Each of us has a history. We reminisce with those we shared the past with. Remember when we say. Progress is not found there.

Our history viewed with clarity reveals the struggle. A struggle that gives us insight. The insight brings us to the realization that it is not within us to progress.

Come to an end of yourself. Humility is the fertile ground of a teachable heart. Allow the Lover of your soul to blast the light of truth into the darkness of your history to reveal the plan He has had for you from the beginning. He has one goal, to share himself with you.

Choices we make, as we are swept along. So why are we going in circles?

We can't stop making choices. Most of our choices we are oblivious to. We make them with little thought and they sweep us along a familiar path, mostly in circles. Ever feel that way,  doing the same old thing over and over again and you wonder why things aren't different?

Life is pointless without God. With God,... what's the point?

Life is pointless without God. I don't have a problem with that. Just read Ecclesiastes, but it falls short in telling me... With God, what's the point?

Okay, I am here in the now, where God is. I understand "now" is what exists and it is where I make all my choices and decisions. I also understand that my choices are unalterable once made. I understand that I am unable to comprehend the infinite complexity of Now and my relationship to it, here where I am.

So what's the point? With God, I have the one who is everywhere (Omnipresence) and therefore knows everything (Omniscient) that is happening. As my counselor, He Knows exactly how I should respond in any given situation I might find myself in because He is able to anticipate every possible contingency I might be faced with, in the now of my existence. So that in that very hour I will be given what to say.

So when you hear "pay attention" I pray you will be awake and not distracted.

Moments in the Now!

I had a moment tonight to talk with Hudson (he's 14). He wanted to tell me about a word he had come across that started with "N". He explained if I did a search on Google for "emptiness, Wikipedia" that was where he found the word that started with "N".  I asked "you did a search for "emptiness"? He said, "I think that is why I'm lazy, I just think what's the point"?

The word he found was "Nihilism" which means life is without objective meaning. 

Hudson's favorite book of the Bible is Ecclesiastes because it expresses so much of how he feels. 

I tried to remind him that the questions he is asking are important and that God is giving him the answer. Life is pointless without God. With God, what's the point? Then Harrison came in and wanted his DS connected to the wi-fi.

After I tucked Hudson in for the night, I asked God to help me understand what Hudson was struggling with. I googled "emptiness" and began to click on search results. I came across this. A video that answers the question...

WITH GOD, WHAT IS THE POINT? 

Swept Along 2

There is no stopping it. The cause and effect interaction of mass and energy, that changes and transforms our now, against our will. It seems choice cannot stop it. Change has two results for the observer. Good or bad, build up or destroy. Choice does not stop the change but it can determine a result. Somethings are predetermined by mass and energy's interaction. Somethings are open to choice and the result the choice brings. The creative ability of choice to destroy or build up is what presents each of us with our GIST.

Swept Along.

Determinism sweeps us along. This quality of existence that permeates reality and is only overcome by choice. Determinism is an overwhelming flux in the continuum of what exists. All around cause and effect spits out the facts that are created, and our choices add to the "Sum" of our "Now". Every choice is an unalterable fact that we are doomed to reap the results of (I mean that we are not able to escape). The tide never wanes, it sweeps us along in a synchronicity of complexity only God understands. Thus we are swept along by change.

The interaction of mass and energy results in a cause and effect, that creates an inertial flow that exerts a tendency to bring about a similar outcome. Commonly called a "rut" or habit.

But choice can trump determinism. True choice is made evident in the light of truth. It is the power to overcome the inertial flow of your history and to become all that God created you to be. No need to be blown along with every wind of doctrine. Ephesians 4:14

Hmm... Have you ever noticed advertising?