God' Permissive Will

Diane and I were talking this morning about the Princess Diana phenomenon. How this simply young girl married "the man who would be king", and how the world became taken with her. And now, because of her tragic death, she will be immortalized.

All of this monarchy talk started me thinking about God's permissive will. One of the greatest examples of God's permissive will is found in the story of Israel's desire to have a king (I Samuel 8). The Israelites lost sight of the fact that God was their king and they demanded a earthly king. They wanted to be like their neighbors and have a courageous, handsome, gifted man to lead them into battle. At first God resisted, stating the obvious drawbacks: a king would force them into servitude, take their best livestock, crops, and even children. But the Israelites were determined. So God relented, he gave in and allowed them to have a king. Their numerous years of pain and suffering from this decision are chronicled in the next 150 pages of the Bible.

What is God's permissive will? It is most easily understood when we first discuss God's perfect will. I believe that God has a perfect plan for your life and my life. He's omniscient and caring - he knows what is best for us, and has planned accordingly. We discover his perfect plan by seeking Him through his Word, His Spirit, and His people.

Unfortunately, in our flesh we often pursue a plan that is different from God's perfect plan. Yet we are sincere, desiring to follow God. We just don't have the omni benefits that God does. So, we earnestly pray, we beseech God, we are persistent, and God relents, he gives us our desire (even though it is probably not in our best interest).

How does this apply to our lives. It applies to relationships, to careers, to family decisions, to how we handle our finances, even to our physical health.

One of the Kings of Israel, Hezekiah, contracted a terminal disease, this was God's plan. The King cried (he was earnest), and prayed to God to be healed. The Bible says God heard King Hezekiah pray, saw his tears, and CHANGED HIS MIND giving the King an additional 15 years of life. That sounds great - well - during those 15 years King Hezekiah fathered a son named Manasseh. Manasseh became such an evil King that the Lord said, "I am going to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle". What's the point: If Hezekiah (a godly king) would have died according to God's perfect plan, Manesseh (a very evil king) would never have existed - and God knew all of these ramifications before he allowed Hezekiah to get sick.

So, the prayer of my life is for God's perfect will, not His permissive. I don't want to live His permission, I want to live His heart!!!

FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE SILLY

NEW ELEMENTS - sent in by Glen Johansen

In a recent contest, The Washington Post asked readers to dream up new elements for the Periodic Table. Among the best of the batch:

Limbaughium Lb

The heaviest known element. It possesses an ever-expanding mass. Very white. Acidic. Emits heat but no light. Instantly polarizes all elements that come in contact with it. Repels protons and electrons; attracts only morons.

Billclintium Bc

With a slick appearance and slimy texture, this element undergoes a series of interesting changes when in hot water.

Canadium Eh

Similar to Americium, but a little denser. Much more rigid. Often called Boron.

Newtium

Extreme irritant. Carries a strong negative charge. Does not

possess magnetic properties. Can be purchased cheaply.

Cabmium Cb

Found in abundance, except when needed. Exists in two states, in motion and at rest. When in motion, it cannot be stopped, no matter what you do. Cabmium has a charge associated with it. The charge is variable, and scientists have not determined the formula for calculating it.

Politicium Po

Contains a great deal of gas. Similar to radon in that it can reach lethal concentrations in the House.

Congress Cg

Atomic number 525. Can never be found in a solution.

Snot Sn

Bonds forever with corduroy.

TID BITS FROM JERRY VIOLETTE

Why isn't phonetic spelled the way it sounds?

Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations?

If a cow laughed, would milk come out her nose?

Why do they put Braille dots on the keypad of the drive-up ATM?

Why is it that when you transport something by car, its called a shipment, but when you transport something by ship its called cargo.

YUPPY JOKE - Duane Williams

A yuppie opened the door of his BMW, when suddenly

a car came along and hit the door, ripping it off

completely. When the police arrived at the scene, the

yuppie was complaining bitterly about the damage to

his precious BMW.

"Officer, look what they've done to my Beemer!!!", he

whined.

"You yuppies are so materialistic, you make me sick!!!",

retorted the officer. "You're so worried about your stupid

BMW, that you didn't even notice that your left arm was

ripped off!!!"

"Oh my gosh...," replied the yuppie, finally noticing the

bloody left shoulder where his arm once was,

"Where's my Rolex?!!!!!"

WORLD IDEOLOGIES

AS EXPLAINED BY REFERENCE TO COWS:

sent in by Melanie Hale

FEUDALISM

You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.

PURE SOCIALISM

You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in a barn with everyone else's cows. You have to take care of all the cows. The government gives you a glass of milk.

BUREAUCRATIC SOCIALISM

Your cows are cared for by ex-chicken farmers. You have to take care of the chickens the government took from the chicken farmers. The government gives you as much milk and eggs the regulations say you should need.

FASCISM

You have two cows. The government takes both, hires you to take care of them, and sells you the milk.

PURE COMMUNISM

You share two cows with your neighbors. You and your neighbors bicker about who has the most "ability" and who has the most "need". Meanwhile, no one works, no one gets any milk, and the cows drop dead of starvation.

RUSSIAN COMMUNISM

You have two cows. You have to take care of them, but the government takes all the milk. You steal back as much milk as you can and sell it on the black market.

PERESTROIKA

You have two cows. You have to take care of them, but the Mafia takes all the milk. You steal back as much milk as you can and sell it on the "free" market.

CAMBODIAN COMMUNISM

You have two cows. The government takes both and shoots you.

DICTATORSHIP

You have two cows. The government takes both and drafts you.

PURE DEMOCRACY

You have two cows. Your neighbors decide who gets the milk.

REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

You have two cows. Your neighbors pick someone to tell you who gets the milk.

BUREAUCRACY

You have two cows. At first the government regulates what you can feed them and when you can milk them. Then it pays you not to milk them. Then it takes both, shoots one, milks the other and pours the milk down the drain. Then it requires you to fill out forms accounting for the missing cows.

CAPITALISM

You don't have any cows. The bank will not lend you money to buy cows, because you don't have any cows to put up as collateral.

PURE ANARCHY

You have two cows. Either you sell the milk at a fair price or your neighbors try to take the cows and kill you.

ANARCHO-CAPITALISM

You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.

SURREALISM

You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

OLYMPICS-ISM

You have two cows, one American, one Chinese. With the help of trilling violins and state of the art montage photography, John Tesh narrates the moving tale of how the American cow overcame the agony of growing up in a suburb with (gasp) divorced parents, then mentions in passing that it watched its parents butchered before its eyes. The American cow wins the competition, severely spraining an udder in a gritty performance, and gets a multi-million dollar contract to endorse Wheaties. The Chinese cow is led out of the arena and shot by Chinese government officials, though no one ever hears about it. McDonald's buys the meat and serves it hot and fast at its Beijing restaurant.

Final Word From Ken - God Bless, see you in a couple of weeks!!