IHeartLarrytheCucumber

God sees the bigger picture/the future. I know this and am trying to understand it more. But what about when God talks to us and we don't listen? Didn't He already know that we wouldn't listen? Let me put this in an example: Our church meets in 2 different places during the week for Bible study. I'll call them studyA and study B. For a year I've been going to studyA, but then I got the strong urge to visit studyB. But I never did. I don't know why, and I am ashamed that I didn't listen to God. (If that was God telling me to go to studyB? I'm still learning how to hear His voice.) But now I don't have that urge any more to go to studyB. Did God know that I would continue at studyA and not go to studyB? If so, why did he even bother telling me to go to studyB aside from teaching me a lesson? I'm guessing that if I go to studyB now, it's outside of God's timing. Plus I don't even get a reminder that I should go anymore.

In short, I messed up. But what I want to know is why God tells us to do something when He knows we'll mess up and not do it?

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Boanerges

God's perfect will for you life
God's permissive will for your life
Which do you want?
To say that He alreadys knows our choices is an understatement and yet making those choices is part of the growing maturing process for us. Aren't we proud of our young children when they make the right choices?

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Anything that dims my vision for Christ, or takes away my taste for Bible study, or cramps me in my prayer life, or makes Christian work difficult, is wrong for me; and I must, as a Christian turn away from it. – J. Wilbur Chapman

Fluffy

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Be transparent before God, He sees right thru you, anyway!
http://www.likepreciousfaith.org/testimony_val.htm
Please pray for your local emergency responders, daily.

Mark_18

Think about Him having and knowing an infinite amount of directions for you to take depending on EACH decision. Paths from where you are. He knows where they all lead and He's down all of them already, now you just need to choose the path. He does know what happens, but will still give you infinite paths to take and guidance SO THAT you have the choice to take them. He will always leave us this free will. It's a matter of taking as many of the right paths as possible. You might say he rates them, and you want to take the best one possible in each case. The amount of paths being infinite for even the smallest decisions. He knows what's down each one, how mighty He is!

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Luke 15:31 - And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
Joel 2:28 - I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
Matthew 7:7 - Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Psalms 126:5 - Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.

JOKE POLICE

mike4jesus

good reply. i have often wondered that myself occasionally,then realized,it is useless to wonder that at all.he knows everything. i just pray about it.

Atonement

Good question,

May I ask, are you still young in the Lord? The reason I ask is because not all thoughts come from the Lord and I must ask how do you know it was not Satan? Let me give you an example:

If you are going to Study "A" and you have been attending for a year and have touched people at this study. Or maybe someone looks up to you and see's how you carry yourself as a Christian, but that person has not made a commitment to the Lord yet, but wants to talk with you about accepting the Lord. However, you run off to Study "B" and that person leaves the Church because you no longer attend study "A". Would this be God's Will?? Of course not. So what do you do?

1) You pray about it
2) You seek the Church about it
3) You fast and read the Word

Your answer may not be right away, but you must be in a place where the Lord can use you as a vessel. Sometimes being in a place for awhile can be good. Other times it can be best to move on. So here are my questions:

1) Do you help anyone at study "A"

2) Do you offer prayer to anyone at Study "A"

3) Have you been blessed at study "A"

4) Are you being fed spiritually at study "A"

5) Out weigh the pro's and con's to both Study "A" and "B"

IHeartLarrytheCucumber

Gosh, this is all so confusing!! (Not what you said, just trying to understand it all.) Yes, I am pretty young in the Lord. But I don't see why Satan would try to get me to go to a different Bible study. If anything he'd try to convince me to stop going at all. Right?

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Atonement

Not necessary. If you can not be used in study "B" but would be just wasting time, this would be a perfect place to put a Christian in hopes that the fire inside of that Christian would die and that person stops attending Church all together. And better yet leave the Church with a bad taste in their mouth.. (Sort a Speak)

BreathOfGod

I am brain dead tonight and so you lost me with all the study A and B stuff....... so I'll just answer the question above.

God tells us because we need to be told. Period. End of story. Yes, he knows already if we will or will not do it, and yes we have a free will to decide to follow him or not. It's like Jonah..... God told him to go to Nineveh. He refused. God already knew that he would refuse, but it doesn't change the fact that God needed to tell him to go in the first place. Jonah was the one who chose to be out of God's will. Jonah could only blame himself for his circumstances that followed. It was Jonah's choice to disobey God. If God did not tell Jonah to go, then Jonah would not have been out of God's will and disobedient to God.

So, God tells us, but it is still our choice. Our free will. We can obey or we can disobey.

God tells us what to do so that we will know his will. Like a parent instructing their child. It is how we grow and learn. If we do not know God's will, then we can not be out of his will. We must know in order to be in it. He doesn't leave us fumbling around in the dark, trying to guess where the stairs are. Instead he gives us a light because he cares for us. He wants us to be in his will. He does not desire for any of us to be disobedient, even though he knows when we will.

Boanerges

Amen. And what seems perfectly good and right to the natural mind may be the opposite of what He calls you to. The Holy Spirit leads us deeper and deeper into death to self and newness of life in Jesus Christ our Lord. Our stumbling is part of the growing process and God is always the most glorified when He calls us to do something that is not within our natural abilities. All things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Even our disasters can be used to mold and shape our emerging faith.

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Anything that dims my vision for Christ, or takes away my taste for Bible study, or cramps me in my prayer life, or makes Christian work difficult, is wrong for me; and I must, as a Christian turn away from it. – J. Wilbur Chapman