This Rejoice & Praise God Sunday Open Thread, with full respect to those who worship God on the Sabbath, is a place to reaffirm our worship of our Creator, our Father, our King Eternal.

It’s also a place to read, post, and discuss news that is worth knowing and sharing. Please post links to any news stories that you use as sources or quote from.

In the QTree, we’re a friendly and civil lot. We encourage free speech and the open exchange and civil discussion of different ideas. Topics aren’t constrained, and sound logic is highly encouraged, all built on a solid foundation of truth and established facts, and not by agenda-driven accusations and pronouncements.

We have a policy of mutual respect, shown by civility. Civility encourages discussions, promotes objectivity and rational thought in discourse, and camaraderie in the participants – characteristics we strive toward in our Q Tree community.

Please show respect and consideration for our fellow QTreepers. Before hitting the “post” button, please proofread your post and make sure your opinion addresses the issue only, and does not confront or denigrate the poster. Keep to the topic – avoid “you” and “your”. Here in The Q Tree, personal attacks, name-calling, ridicule, insults, baiting, and other conduct for which a penalty flag would be thrown are VERBOTEN.

In The Q Tree, we’re compatriots, sitting around the campfire, roasting hot dogs, making s’mores, and discussing, agreeing, and disagreeing about whatever interests us. This board will remain a home for those who seek respectful conversations.

Please also consider the Guidelines for posting and discussion printed here: 
https://www.theqtree.com/2019/01/01/dear-maga-open-topic-20190101/

On this day and every day –

God is in Control
. . . and His Grace is Sufficient, so . . .
Keep Looking Up

Hopefully, every Sunday, we can find something here that will build us up a little . . . give us a smile . . . and add some joy or peace, very much needed in all our lives.

“This day is holy to the Lord your God;
do not mourn nor weep.” . . .
“Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet,
and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared;
for this day is holy to our Lord.
Do not sorrow,
for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Que Sera, Sera?

Determinism: The view that every event has a cause and that everything in the universe is absolutely dependent on and governed by causal laws. Determinism is related to fatalism, since determinists believe that all events, including human actions, are caused by something else. Determinism is typically thought to be incompatible with free will.

Fatalism: The belief that “what will be will be,” since all past, present, and future events have already been predetermined by God or another all-powerful force, such as “Fate.” In religion, fatalism may sometimes be confused with predestination, the doctrine that God chooses those who go to heaven before they are even born. It’s important to note that the Bible teaches predestination but not to the exclusion of free will; thus, the Bible does not teach fatalism.

Free will: The freedom of choice or self-determination that human beings possess; those who believe in free will believe that, given any situation, a person could have done other than what he did. Philosophers have argued that free will is incompatible with determinism and fatalism.

Indeterminism: The view that there are events that do not have any cause; many proponents of free will believe that acts of choice are independent of any physiological or psychological cause.

Theological fatalism or theological determinism is an attempt to demonstrate a logical contradiction between an omniscient God and free will, where free will is defined as the ability to choose between alternatives. In this it is similar in purpose to the conundrum “Can an omnipotent God make a rock too heavy for Him to lift?”

Theological fatalism’s premises are stated as follows: God is omniscient. Since God is omniscient, God has infallible foreknowledge. If God has infallible foreknowledge that tomorrow you will engage in an event (mow the lawn), then you must invariably engage in that event (mowing the lawn).

Therefore, according to theological fatalism, free will is not possible, since you have no alternative except to participate in the event (mow the lawn). If you do not mow the lawn, then God is not omniscient. But if you mow the lawn, then you don’t have free will, on account of your inability to choose an alternative.

Here is an opposing argument to theological fatalism: God is omniscient. Since God is omniscient, He is also infallible. If God has infallible foreknowledge that tomorrow you will mow the lawn, then you will freely choose to do so, not out of obligation or lack of choice. You still have free will to mow the lawn or not mow it; God merely knows your choice before you make it. You are not obliged to mow the lawn tomorrow any more than you are to play tennis or bake a cake. If you were going to change your mind, God would have seen that also, so you still have free will in all matters. Also, you will still make the same choices (exercising your free will), even if God chose not to see the future. God’s passive foreknowledge of the future does not alter your free will.

There is a vast difference between fatalism, chance (or fortune), and predestination.

Fatalism teaches that there is a blind, impersonal force over which no one has control—not even God—and that events are swept along by this blind, purposeless power.

Chance (or fortune) is a capricious force that supposedly causes things to happen “luckily,” without any control or direction by God. In a world ruled by chance, God can foresee what will happen, but that is all. Everything depends on mere luck. And if the advocate of chance is asked why or how things come to pass, he has no reply except to shrug and say, “It just happened.”

Predestination, the doctrine of the Bible, says that God has a purpose and He is working all things out according to His own will and purpose (Ephesians 1:11; Daniel 4:35; Isaiah 14:24; 46:10). Predestination teaches that God neither does nor permits anything except what serves His purpose (Psalm 33:11). This means that GOD IS the SOVEREIGN of the world, the One who does all things as He wills.

Those who blindly believe que sera, sera, or “whatever will be, will be,” are as wrong as the advocates of chance. It is true that events are certain, but only so because of the sovereign God who fulfills His own decrees.

Serious students of the Bible do not believe that things “just happen.” Christians reject fatalism and godless determinism. Rather, they understand that a wise, holy, good, and sovereign God has control of every detail of life (Matthew 10:29–30). The man who does not really want God to have this control or who despises the truth of God’s sovereignty does not love God and does not want God in his life. But God is sovereign, and He cannot deny Himself.
xhttps://www.gotquestions.org/fatalism.html

From Chuck Swindoll –

Predestination. Just the word appears intimidating. It is perhaps one of the most difficult concepts in all of Christian doctrine because it appears on the surface to rob humans of their most precious treasure: their autonomy.

Although the doctrine challenges our notions of self- determination, it is ultimately what separates Christians from humanists, who proclaim that the fate of the world is ours to decide. The past, they say, has been fired in the kiln of history and cannot be altered, but tomorrow is still soft and pliable clay, ready to be shaped by the hands of humanity. Individually and collectively, we—not an almighty figment of wishful thinking—will determine our own future. Put in today’s terms, “It’s all about us.”

God’s Word teaches exactly the opposite. God not only created humanity and directed our past, He has already shaped our future. “Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases” (Ps. 115:3).

Coming to terms with the doctrine of predestination requires a dramatic shift in our perspective. We emerge from the womb and progress through childhood viewing the universe with ourselves at the center. Then something wondrous happens at some point in the process of maturing—for most healthy adults, anyway. We suddenly realize that the world extends beyond the circle of our own horizon and that others see the same world from a different viewpoint. Soon, the universe no longer revolves around us, and we accept that our little circle is but a very small part of a much greater reality.

The same is true of salvation! We faithfully share God’s “plan of salvation” with individuals—as we should—but we too often fail to appreciate that Christianity is not “all about us”; it’s about Him. If we are to proclaim the complete gospel of Jesus Christ, we must recognize and embrace God’s masterplan of salvation. The almighty Creator is fulfilling His own agenda for His universe, which cannot be altered; therefore, those who have heard and accepted the plan of salvation have become a part of something much greater than themselves, even if they don’t realize it.

Take a few moments now and reread Romans 8:28-39 in light of God’s master plan of salvation. We tend to claim the promises of those verses as individuals. God does indeed love us personally and individually, but note that Paul used the first-person plural, “we” and “us,” throughout the passage. This does not promise that God will alter the universe to ensure the highest good of each individual. On the contrary, God’s “plan of salvation” is a mighty river of destiny into which a believer plunges. This river of righteousness will eventually flood the world, washing away the old order to make room for the new. And when Jesus returns to set all things right, our belief in Him allows us to become a part of that new order.

Make no mistake: Paul’s letter to the Romans is not about our salvation. His primary subject is the righteousness of God, of which our salvation is a part. The Lord is pursuing His own agenda, remember. It is to remove death from the throne of creation and give it to His Son so that the righteousness of God will rule all things. And He will do this whether anyone decides to join Him or not.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. Romans 8:28-30