Category Archives: Spiritual Life

Reconciling God’s Sovereignty and Our Free Will

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From time to time, everyone misses the point. This happens in marriage, in the workplace, and even as we approach the Bible.

One place this happens is in the opening verses of the book of Ephesians. I would guess that more theological energy has been poured into this passage extolling or refuting concepts of free-will and predestination than energy poured into understanding what the text is intended to teach.

Unless we lay aside the consternation some have concerning the free-will / sovereignty debate we will miss the point regarding the blessings God has given those who’ve turned from their sins and placed their trust in Christ’s death to pay for their sins.

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Do You Ever Ask: How did I become so helpless?

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Bitterness usually doesn’t set in because of what happened to you; Bitterness usually sets in through your interpretation of why it happened to you. The brokenness that settles deep in your soul — I know this is going to be hard for you to believe but it’s not there because of what you experienced — of what happened. It is there because of your interpretation of your conclusion of why it happened to you.

It can cause you to take on a filter, a mindset of victimization for the rest of your life which will cause you to live a life of powerlessness for the rest of your life. It will cause you to misdirect your strength, trying to control the outside world that you have no control over, while relinquishing responsibility and control for your inner-world which you have full control over.

~Erwin McMannus, Artisan: Interpretation – Translation of Life www.mosaic.org

Life as Art…

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In a message presented at Mosaic, Erwin McMannus spoke words like these to those assembled:

Life is a work of art.

The canvas you paint first is your life.

Then your life becomes the brush
from which you paint
the world you touch,
while you are on this planet.
(Erwin McMannus in Artisan: Soul — the Essence of Art 2/12/2012)

Is that true? Is your life a work of art?

The book of Ephesians says that we are God’s workmanship — his handiwork. In a sense, we are his artwork, and we are created for good works in Christ.

This podcast examines several truths about how to live your life as a work of art. It discusses how to live well.

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