What is God's Plan
You might have arrived to this blog by accident, curiosity, or intentional. Regardless of how you arrived here - you are at a site where God is celebrated and one who believes God has a plan.
Will we ever know that plan - I doubt it. Well I should say here on earth anyway.
Before getting into that - I must apologize for starting this blog and then going dry for a week. Last week I came down with something. Here in Nashville it is usually an allergy but it drives us down for a few days and we get a little tired and have headaches. On top of that, I have a verily stressful job and right now we are in the middle of a big project. That takes a lot of time. Friday my 11 year old black lab had to have surgery to remove a massive tumor that is most likely cancerous.
On top of all of that - many of you might know I am a diabetic and God has really helped me turn things around in that area and I have a blog that discusses what I did and my journey from taking medicines to being medicine free. That blog is at http://robertdant.blogspot.com. In the life style change I have committed a couple of hours a day at the gym and I am letting all of that take some priority over other parts of my life.
So with all those excuses, I ask that you forgive me for starting such and important topic and then stopping. Hopefully we are back and can keep things going out here on a regular basis.
I think to set the stage for what God's plan might be for the United States, I think we need to get an understanding from the beginning of time. By the way - what if God does have a plan for the United States. And what if that plan involves us Christians providing dominion over the United States. I would hate to get to the pearly gates and be asked, "If you believed, why did you idly stand by while they tore me from your country?"
Now that would be a huge kick in the pants!
So let us assume, all of us are going to be smarter than that. We are not going to get trapped and we are going to do what we can to help keep God in this country.
Will we ever know that plan - I doubt it. Well I should say here on earth anyway.
Before getting into that - I must apologize for starting this blog and then going dry for a week. Last week I came down with something. Here in Nashville it is usually an allergy but it drives us down for a few days and we get a little tired and have headaches. On top of that, I have a verily stressful job and right now we are in the middle of a big project. That takes a lot of time. Friday my 11 year old black lab had to have surgery to remove a massive tumor that is most likely cancerous.
On top of all of that - many of you might know I am a diabetic and God has really helped me turn things around in that area and I have a blog that discusses what I did and my journey from taking medicines to being medicine free. That blog is at http://robertdant.blogspot.com. In the life style change I have committed a couple of hours a day at the gym and I am letting all of that take some priority over other parts of my life.
So with all those excuses, I ask that you forgive me for starting such and important topic and then stopping. Hopefully we are back and can keep things going out here on a regular basis.
I think to set the stage for what God's plan might be for the United States, I think we need to get an understanding from the beginning of time. By the way - what if God does have a plan for the United States. And what if that plan involves us Christians providing dominion over the United States. I would hate to get to the pearly gates and be asked, "If you believed, why did you idly stand by while they tore me from your country?"
Now that would be a huge kick in the pants!
So let us assume, all of us are going to be smarter than that. We are not going to get trapped and we are going to do what we can to help keep God in this country.
One God; three religions.
I think to look at God and his plans, we need to go back and link certain aspects of the world to God and what happened is a good way to frame up my argument, there is a God plan for the United Sates.
Abrahamic religions (also Abrahamism) are the monotheistic faiths of Middle Eastern origin, emphasizing and tracing their common origin to Abraham or recognizing a spiritual tradition identified with him. They are one of the major divisions in comparative religion, along with Indian religions(Dharmic) and East Asian religions (Taoist).
As of the early twenty-first century[update], it was estimated that 54% of the world's population (3.8 billion people) considered themselves adherents of the Abrahamic religions, about 30% of other religions, and 16% of no organized religion. The Abrahamic religions originated in the Middle East. The largest Abrahamic religions in chronological order of founding are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
So our beginnings appear to be linked and they definitely are. All three of these religions are called Abrahamic because they are all descended from Abraham as the founder of the Israelite nation or culture.
1 Now Jehovah said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto the land that I will show thee:
2 and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make they name great; and be thou a blessing;
3 and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
4 So Abram went, as Jehovah had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
So God called Abram and made a covenant with him - looks like there is a promise of land and a great nation.
Once Hagar conceived, Sarai became envious and drove Hagar off. In the desert an angel of the lord appears to Hagar and this story is in Genesis 16:7-12.
7 And the angel of Jehovah found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s handmaid, whence camest thou? and whither goest thou? And she said, I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai.
9 And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
10 And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, I will greatly multiply thy seed, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
11 And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son; and thou shalt call his name Ishmael, because Jehovah hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he shall be as a wild ass among men; his hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell over against all his brethren.
Now the God of Abram has seen Ishmael and has promised Hagar if she returns he will multiple her seed, he shall be wild, his hand shall be against every man's hand and he shall dwell over against his brethren.
Sounding a lot like God knows what he is doing with the strife between Jews and Islam.
The story does not end there - it continues as Sarai, now called Sarah and Abram is called Abraham, asks Abraham to drive Hagar and her son out of their camp. So he woke in the morning and drove them into the desert. While in the desert, Hagar and the boy were dying of thirst and once again the Lord sent an angel. The conversation is in Genesis 21:17-21.
17 And God heard the voice of the lad. And the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not. For God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thy hand. For I will make him a great nation.
19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
20 And God was with the lad, and he grew. And he dwelt in the wilderness, and became, as he grew up, an archer.
21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran. And his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
Now we have a descendant of Abraham, living in the desert, and promised a great nation by the same God. I do not see or have found - but will research, a promise of land as he gave to Abraham.
In Matthew, early on, Jesus makes it clear he is not here to destroy the Laws of the Prophets but to fulfill them, Mathew 5:17-20.
17 Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfill.
18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished.
As of the early twenty-first century[update], it was estimated that 54% of the world's population (3.8 billion people) considered themselves adherents of the Abrahamic religions, about 30% of other religions, and 16% of no organized religion. The Abrahamic religions originated in the Middle East. The largest Abrahamic religions in chronological order of founding are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
So our beginnings appear to be linked and they definitely are. All three of these religions are called Abrahamic because they are all descended from Abraham as the founder of the Israelite nation or culture.
Judaism
The call of Abram; as he was originally known, happens in Genesis 12:1-4.1 Now Jehovah said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto the land that I will show thee:
2 and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make they name great; and be thou a blessing;
3 and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
4 So Abram went, as Jehovah had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
So God called Abram and made a covenant with him - looks like there is a promise of land and a great nation.
Islam
Is also listed as an Abrahamic religion as it is based on the story or Ishmael - Abram's first born child from his wife Sarai's maid servant - Hagar. You see, Sarai had not been able to produce a child for Abram; thus putting in jeopardy his covenant with God of a great nation. So Sarai offered up Hagar to Abram as a way of gaining an heir to the Abram covenant.Once Hagar conceived, Sarai became envious and drove Hagar off. In the desert an angel of the lord appears to Hagar and this story is in Genesis 16:7-12.
7 And the angel of Jehovah found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s handmaid, whence camest thou? and whither goest thou? And she said, I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai.
9 And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
10 And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, I will greatly multiply thy seed, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
11 And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son; and thou shalt call his name Ishmael, because Jehovah hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he shall be as a wild ass among men; his hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell over against all his brethren.
Now the God of Abram has seen Ishmael and has promised Hagar if she returns he will multiple her seed, he shall be wild, his hand shall be against every man's hand and he shall dwell over against his brethren.
Sounding a lot like God knows what he is doing with the strife between Jews and Islam.
The story does not end there - it continues as Sarai, now called Sarah and Abram is called Abraham, asks Abraham to drive Hagar and her son out of their camp. So he woke in the morning and drove them into the desert. While in the desert, Hagar and the boy were dying of thirst and once again the Lord sent an angel. The conversation is in Genesis 21:17-21.
17 And God heard the voice of the lad. And the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not. For God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thy hand. For I will make him a great nation.
19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
20 And God was with the lad, and he grew. And he dwelt in the wilderness, and became, as he grew up, an archer.
21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran. And his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
Now we have a descendant of Abraham, living in the desert, and promised a great nation by the same God. I do not see or have found - but will research, a promise of land as he gave to Abraham.
Christianity
We believe that Jesus Christ was born and is the Son of God who came to earth to announce the Good News and to bring forth a new love of God and to remove any man-made bearers or laws that had been created to separate God from man.In Matthew, early on, Jesus makes it clear he is not here to destroy the Laws of the Prophets but to fulfill them, Mathew 5:17-20.
17 Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfill.
18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished.
19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed [the righteousness] of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus was not here to destroy but to fulfill. He was clearly a descendant of Abraham, and was here to fulfill the laws of the prophets.
However, Jesus was not the warrior that the Jews were hoping for - he was a peace maker, a gentle God, and one that preached Love not war.
So there we have three religions, all looking in the face of the same God - yet at war with each other. All three were blessed by God and had a covenant with God. All three felt they had a pathway to God.
However, their pathways were crossed and remain crossed today.
What does this have to do with Christianity in the USA - that is where this series will go, we will explore these three religions and see if the United States is a player in God's eyes.
I am no theologian - just one trying to understand and hoping can raise the level of awareness in this country that we need to hold onto God in this country.
We will pull build this series on each Sunday - the Day of the Lord our God.
May God grant us the ability to move through this series of posts and find a way to bring forth a potential view of his plan and the importance of the United States. may he open our eyes to the "true" relationship between God and the United States.
Bob,
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