Free Will

A fellow social networker gave me some scriptures to read on ‘free will’.  Here are my musings on them – comments welcome J

Firstly, we discussed the Garden of Eden.  Adam and Eve were instructed not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge but they chose to eat of it.  They had been given the gift of free will – to follow God or go their own way.

One of the sins that the Bible says is not forgiven is the sin against the Holy Spirit, against God – the person of God himself – Matthew 3:29, Luke 12:10.  This means we have the free will to turn away from God if we choose.

Ephesians 1:4 God chose us in Christ before the Creation of the world … but we have the will to accept Him or not.

Ephesians 1:5 He had a free and generous will … as sons and daughters of God we have the same free and generous will.

Eph 2:8-10  God first called me – but I have to respond to this call.  We have to repent, be baptised and be born again of the Holy Spirit.  God gives us the gift of faith but I have to co-operate with that faith.  We put on the new self – Ephesians 4:17 onwards.

Eph 2 v 3 We obeyed the urges of our human nature and consented to its desires.  Our creation by God and our revolt against part of our daily reality.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus says ‘Not my will but thine be done’.  As in the Lord’s prayer – ‘Thy will be done.’  Luke 22 v 42

Romans 9 is interesting as it talks about predestination.  Reminds me of the verse – many are called and few are chosen.  How do we combine our will, our prayers with God’s divine will?

In Romans 9, Faith is always the ‘grace of God’.  “If God calls whom he wishes, will our act of faith really be free?”  This is a mystery.  Like Job’s friends who question God.  God can do what he likes and only Job recognises this.  He trusts God, despite the adversities.  It is nothing that Job has done – it is God testing Job.  John 6:44 backs this up – God calls those whom He wills.

However, God calls us into a relationship of love and faithfulness with Him.  (Hosea 2:21).  Sirach 15:14 says – “When he created man in the beginning, he left him free to make his own decisions.”  To keep the commandments or not, or to choose the blessing or the curse.” (Deuteronomy)  For Paul, predestination refers to the loving plan of God from the very beginning.  To lavish on each of us the riches of his love through His Son. 

Eph 1:5 In creating us free, God knows that our freedom is fragile.

Eph 1:7 For in Christ we obtain freedom.

Our salvation is a gift from God.  We have to be open to his action.  We don’t come with our hands full but open to receive.

Some verses on freely:

Gen 2:16 – Freely eat

Hos 14:4 – I will love them freely

Matthew 10:8 – Freely ye have received, freely give

Romans 3:24 – Justified freely by His grace

Romans 8:32 – With hime freely gives us all things

2 Cor 11:7 – preached the gospel of God freely

Rev 21:6 – of the fountain of the water of life freely

Rev 22:17 – water of life freely

Next Blog on the scriptures of ‘free’

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Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday)
Woodlands Junior School is in the south-east corner of England
Maundy Thursday 2012 falls on 5 April  What is Maundy Thursday? Maundy Thursday - also called Holy Thursday, is the beginning of the three day celebration of Easter - the most important time in the year for Christians. This period ('The Triduum') is one big celebration, remembering the last supper, the crucifixion and the death of Jesus, and the Resurrection to new life. Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles. The Last Supper On this day, Christians remember the Last Supper. During the meal Jesus took bread and wine and shared them with his disciples. Christians continue to share bread and wine as part of their worship in church. The Last Supper was probably a Passover meal – the meal which Jewish people share together to celebrate the time when God delivered Moses and the people from slavery in Egypt. The night of Maundy Thursday is the night on which Jesus was betrayed by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane.  When is Maundy Thursday? Maundy Thursday is the day before Good Friday. It is one of the lesser known days of the Christian calendar. Maundy Thursday 2012 falls on 5 April  What is the origin of the name Maundy? The name 'Maundy' is derived from the Latin word “mandatum”, meaning a commandment. Jesus Christ, at the Last Supper, commanded: 'And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.' John 13:34  The washing of feet During the Last Supper, Jesus washed his disciples' feet. This act has sometimes been followed literally in history as a good way of reminding rulers that they are here to serve their subjects.  What once happened in England on Maundy Thursday? In England, the custom of washing feet by the Monarch was carried out until 1689. Up until then the King or Queen would wash the feet of the poor on Maundy Thursday in Westminster Abbey. (You should, however, note that the feet were first washed by Yeoman of the Laundry before the monarch had to wash them and kiss them!). Food and clothing were also handed out to the poor. Maundy Thursday Ceremony In Britain today, the Queen follows a very traditional role of giving Maundy Money to a group of pensioners. The tradition of the Sovereign giving money to the poor dates from the 13th century, from the reign of Edward I. At one time recipients were required to be of the same sex as the Sovereign, but since the eighteenth century they have numbered as many men and women as the Sovereign has years of age. Every year on this day, the Queen attends a Royal Maundy service in one of the many cathedrals throughout the country. 'Maundy money' is distributed to male and female pensioners from local communities near the Cathedral where the Service takes place.

Chris Tomlin "And If Our God Is For Us" (Full Album)

Joni Eareckson Tada ● I'd Rather Be In This Wheelchair Knowing Him

I made a mistake

Matt Redman - The Cross Has Said It All

Moon is 97% full

The March 2013 full moon will be out all night on March 26, shining in front of the constellation Virgo the Maiden. However, you’ll see the moon closer to Spica, Virgo’s brightest star, tomorrow night.  For the Northern Hemisphere, this is the first full moon of springtime. We in this hemisphere call it the Pink Moon, to celebrate the return of certain wild flowers. Other names are Egg Moon, Sprouting Grass Moon, or Easter Moon. In most years, the Christian celebration of Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon of the Northern Hemisphere spring. So tonight’s Easter Moon heralds the coming of Easter Sunday on March 31, 2013.

Spring

At the equinoxes, the tilt of Earth relative to the Sun is zero, which means that Earth’s axis neither points toward nor away from the Sun. (However, the tilt of Earth relative to its plane of orbit, called the ecliptic plane, is always about 23.5 degrees.)

See your local Sun rise and set times—and how the day length changes!

Find last spring frost dates.

Vernal Equinox Questions and Answers

Question: Why doesn’t the vernal equinox (equal night) on March 20 have the same number of hours for day and night?

Answer: Our former astronomer, George Greenstein, had this to say: "There are two reasons. First, light rays from the Sun are bent by the Earth's atmosphere. (This is why the Sun appears squashed when it sets.) They are bent in such a way that we are actually able to see the Sun before it rises and after it sets. The second reason is that daytime begins the moment any part of the Sun is over the horizon, and it is not over until the last part of the Sun has set. If the Sun were to shrink to a starlike point and we lived in a world without air, the spring and fall equinoxes would truly have ‘equal nights.’”

View the reason for the seasons and why the seasons change.

Question: According to folklore, you can stand a raw egg on its end on the equinox. Is this true?

Answer: One spring, a few minutes before the vernal equinox, several Almanac editors tried this trick. For a full workday, 17 out of 24 eggs stood standing. Three days later, we tried this trick again and found similar results. Perhaps 3 days after the equinox was still too near. Try this yourself and let us know what happens!

Signs of Spring

Spring is also the time when worms begin to emerge from the earth, ladybugs land on screen doors, green buds appear, birds chirp, and flowers begin to bloom. The vernal, or spring, equinox signals the beginning of nature’s renewal in the Northern Hemisphere.

You can track when the seasons change by recording animal behaviors and the way that the plants grow. Listen to the new sounds and observe what you hear and see.

How do you know that spring is coming? Share your comment below!

Spring Pictures

Our ecards are great photographs to send to family and friends.
Browse our full Spring Ecard Gallery.

Tree Peony After Rain. Send as ecard!

Spring Folklore and Verse

One swallow does not make a spring.

Bluebirds are a sign of spring; warm weather and gentle south breezes they bring.

In spring, no one thinks of the snow that fell last year.

Don’t say that spring has come until you can put your foot on nine daisies.

Spring-time sweet!
The whole Earth smiles, thy coming to greet.

Spring Equinox

The Vernal Equinox - Ah, spring! This season brings increasing daylight, warming temperatures, and the rebirth of flora and fauna. The word equinox is derived from the Latin words meaning “equal night.” Days and nights are approximately equal everywhere and the Sun rises and sets due east and west.

St Joseph

Tomorrow is the feast of St.Joseph...

Glorious Saint Joseph,
foster-father and protector of Jesus Christ,
to you I raise my heart and my hands
to implore your powerful intercession.
Please obtain for me
from the kind Heart of Jesus
the help and the graces necessary
for my spiritual and temporal welfare.
I ask particularly for the grace of a happy death
and the special favor I now implore.

(Make your petition here...)

St. Joseph - Pray for us!

Mary

May My Fellow Blogger Rest in Peace

"Shadowlands". We recently heard that she had died on 20.09.2012. Please say a prayer and if possible arrange for Masses to be said for the repose of her soul. Thankyou.

http://tribute-to-fireoftheirlove.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/who-passed-away-recently-1961-to-2012.html

God Given Right?

I see all the ‘Catholic Bashers’ are out in force today – must really annoy them that we have such a beautiful Holy Spirit filled Pope.  I am so tired of people who think they have a right to bash the Catholic Faith when they would be first up in arms if we were ‘gay bashing’.  I respect everyone’s religion – Muslim, Atheist, Buddhist, Hindu – so why can’t people respect the Catholic faith?  Why do they think they have the right to post ill-informed and sometimes simply ignorant information?  Yes there have been sexually abused children in the faith and we are rooting them out.  There have also been sexually abused children in the secular society (more here than anywhere!)– most cases the police will tell you are known to the family member – a relative.  Did you stop listening to music or watching TV because Jimmy Saville and others like him abused hundreds of children?  Did you stop having families because you were abused by a family member?  No you try and have good families and treat your children right.  Did you stop having education because a teacher turned out to be a paedophile?  Did you stop getting involved in politics?  No, you don’t throw the baby out with the bath water and tarring everyone with the same brush.  You stop using ill-informed arguments to defend your own illogical hatred – no peace and love there then!  The Catholic Church does more good around the world than most governments – and individuals I suspect – and many priests were interned in concentration camps.  There are many, many humble Catholics just serving and praying.  What are you doing to end abortion, treat the elderly with dignity and end of life care, serving the poor in Africa or other caring works?  What are you doing about the sexualisation of young children in schools?  What are you doing to make this world a better place? And let him without sin cast the first stone.  You are the ‘Pharisees’ of today – I doubt you will get the irony.  If you haven’t got anything respectful to say then don’t say anything at all and get a life.  Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal works of mercy. The Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider of education and medical services in the world.  Catholic spiritual teaching emphasises spread of the Gospel message and growth in spiritual discipline through the spiritual works of mercy. The social Gospel espoused by Jesus and Catholic social teaching place a heavy emphasis on the corporal works of mercy and the spiritual works of mercy, namely the support and concern for the sick, the poor and the afflicted.  Church teaching calls for a preferential option for the poor while canon law prescribes that "The Christian faithful are also obliged to promote social justice and, mindful of the precept of the Lord, to assist the poor." The Church enumerates "corporal works of mercy" and "spiritual works of mercy" as follows:

Corporal Works of Mercy             Spiritual Works of Mercy

1. To feed the hungry.   1. To instruct the ignorant.

2. To give drink to the thirsty.     2. To counsel the doubtful

3. To clothe the naked.  3. To admonish sinners.

4. To harbour the harbourless (shelter the homeless).   4. To bear wrongs patiently.

5. To visit the sick.            5. To forgive offences willingly.

6. To ransom the captive.             6. To comfort the afflicted.

7. To bury the dead.       7. To pray for both the living and the dead.

The Catholic Church is the largest provider of health services in the world. In 2010, the Catholic Church's Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers said that the Church manages 26% of health care facilities in the world, including hospitals, clinics, orphanages, pharmacies and centres for those with leprosy.

HABEMUS PAPAM

"We have a Pope."  White smoke billows from the Sistine Chapel Chimney.