I appreciate your post Shawn.
Arion I neither contend with Craig, phillip78, you or the Scriptures.
Regarding doing the best you can not being scriptural, I rest my view in the following Scripture and not as contention, competition or combat. It is just where I am coming from in my view of what I posted that I see is not seen to be edifying but is seen in contention.
Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. You ask : since doing the best that you can is not scriptural then should we live as pigs paying no attention to the common sense things such as exercise, diet and doing the things that we can do?
Reply : No as this is not what is meant by being spiritually minded is life and peace. Rom 8:6
If you have peace in exercise, diet and eating turnips, then be fully persuaded. Far be it, and God forbid I cause you to stumble. I mean no offence.
The things that you, think do and say, are all caused by and of God. Far be it for me to contend with or against you and God.
God is the influence on the mind causing billions of minds to do and prefer what they do and prefer.
You say : I see a bit of a tendency that since all things are preordained and that there is nothing we can do to change what God knows must be, then why even try to change anything?
That is a sumptuous question deserving of the beautiful edifications that I know can be more tenderly brought to your attention.
If God causes you to try then try you will. If God causes you to succeed or fail, then succeed or fail you will. God is the cause of all of our desires and the accomplishment is in the Power of the Spirit of God to whom rests all outcomes for He knows the beginning from the end. God doesn’t change. We have to! We all have to and God is working on exactly that ~ changing us into His Image.
Suffice to say, I believe that there is nothing we can do to change anything. I believe that Jesus Himself said He could do nothing of Himself and He said it , believed it and practiced it, and it was all due to the Spirit of God in Him that controlled Him and not as a robot either but as being one with the Spirit of His Father.
You say : It all revolves around God as He is at the center and our faith and trust must be in him and him alone....not in what we can do. But I still think we have to do what we can do and then leave the results up to him. I hope this makes sense.
That “but” word is a real killer.
It wipes out everything you so beautifully acknowledged before… the BUT word! Your thinking that you have to do what you think you can do, is caused by God and even thinking that you leave the results up to God, is a thought caused by God bringing into manifestation the condition of your heart that says to and of God, it is His job is to determine the results you leave up to Him after you have done the best you can. I just see that comment as a bit demeaning of our God who is before and after, the Alpha and the Omega.
No offense meant.
as for iron...I am not an iron lady....
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Arc