Hello, and welcome back, my beautiful readers.

It's mid June. How's the weather treating you? Good, I hope. I put in a bit of a garden this spring, and it is the one thing I've got going on that I am kinda good at, if you like weeds. Ha ha ha.

Fate

Definition: An inevitable and often adverse outcome. Fatalism is the belief that all events are determined by the divine will or by some force greater than man, that every event must take place as it does because it has been predetermined.

Not a Bible word or teaching.

The more research we do into the scriptures, the more knowledge we gain. On the subject of 'Fate' I have realized that there are a lot of people who believe in it. I guess for some, it would be easier to place the blame elsewhere, be it others and not themselves, which it sometimes is, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, which it sometimes is, or that there is an evil in the air, which it sometimes is. But what kills me is when God is blamed, WHICH IT IS 'NEVER!'

Life's water is free. You must
choose to drink it.

Let's examine this question, though: Does God’s ability to foreknow and foreordain events prove that he does this regarding all the actions of all his creatures?

Choice is not foreordained. As brought out in Revelation 22:17 - "Let anyone hearing say: 'Come!' And let anyone thirsting come; let anyone that wishes take life's water free," it is left to the individual.

And there is no forcing of individuals to pursue a prescribed course. That point is brought out, again, from the Bible, this time at Romans 2:4,5: "Do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and long-suffering, because you do not know that the kindly quality of God is trying to lead you to repentance? But according to you hardness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and of the revealing of God's righteous judgement." NO, there is not forcing individuals to purse a prescribed course, but there is accountability for what one does. As for accountability, I'm sure you've heard this expression: "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime." What does that tell us? We are accountable for our actions...WE.

And my last thought on this one comes in the form of a question. Would a just and loving God encourage people to do what is right, in hope of a reward, if... if he knew that they were foreordained not to succeed? Well, Zephaniah had something to say about that. Let's, together, read it at Zeph. 2:3: "Seek Jehovah, all you meek ones of the earth... Seek righteousness, seek meekness. Probably you may be concealed in the day of Jehovah's anger." Now.. don't freak out about the word 'probably' in that verse, cuz the 'probably' means that's it's UP TO US to do the right thing. Jehovah has set the standards, and it's us to us to follow...UP TO US!!!

Here's an Illustration: The owner of a radio can listen to the world news. But the fact that he can listen to a certain station does not mean that he does. He must first turn on the radio and then select the station. Likewise, Jehovah has the ability to foreknow events, but the Bible shows that he makes selective and discretionary use of that ability, with due regard for the free will with which he has endowed his human creation.—