Rob's Thoughts

As I was walking out of seminary classroom today I stepped out onto the seminary lawn and there I met a older gentlemen handling some sort of yard tool and we began a conversation about what he was doing which morphed into his testimony and a challenge to be thankful.  He was addicted to speed and cocaine in his early years,  one day he simply gave it up and had no desire to have it anymore.  Since then he has found Christ, a wife, and 3 children and 4 grandchildren.  And he spoke to me about thankfulness, he didn’t have much materially, he worked at the seminary while his wife stayed home and helped with grandkids.  He told me that he was so thankful as he looked back over his life and the blessings of God.

The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 3 that he strains to look forward and forget about his past.  Yet there is an unhealthy way to look forward.  That is, we can look forward in such a way that we forget about all the blessings we already have been granted by God.  So often we dwell on our future ambitions: what will we become, what will our children become, how can we afford to buy this, what will tomorrow bring, I hope to have such and such, I hope to gain such and such position, I wish for this and that.  And not that all ambition is bad, but today I met a man who’s ambition was to be thankful.  I want to be ambitious for that also.

As a Calvinist I must go against the grain and say I love Arminians.  I think that so often we forget we are on the same team, so for all of you Arminians out there – let’s score some goals, together.  i think that most Christians would be well served if we all prayed like Calvinists, evangelized like Arminians, and did music like Pentecostals.  I am a Calvinist, I have dear friends and Family who call themselves Arminians (though I believe that they are secret Calvinists too – they just don’t know it), and precious relationships with Pentecostals.  I think that we must all remember that we’re Christians, and more specific conservative Christians who believe in the power of God’s inerrant word, and we battle those who deny the authority of God’s word, and work for those souls who haven’t yet believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ.