His Power In Our Weakness

I laid out my inner self pretty openly in my last post. I guess I feel this is a safe vehicle with which to do so in ways I woudn't for many reasons, just like many of you. Miriam, who is a beautiful soul and has such keen insights to share, made a comment reminding me of the Apostle Paul and his ongoing struggle with himself and being caught in the vortex of this fallen world. Paul said very boldly that he did the evil he didnt want to do, and didnt do the good he wanted to do. His words are written in present tense so He indicates it is an ongoing dilemma. I feel in pretty good company if what i experience daily in myself is the same for the most part as the Apostle Paul!!!! As well as the rest of us.

I struggle with the way to interpret certain verses and match them up with the collective whole of the entire Scripture. Be holy as He is holy. He who loves Me obeys Me and keeps My commandments. Whatever is not from faith is sin. Taken individually, these verses seem to present a very strict standard that I fall far short of and I dont see most people i know meeting it either. Of course, many other verses are there talking of His love,mercy,forgiveness as well as His justice,judgment,discipline and wrath. Wesley taught of the exchanged life where we can actually become virtually sinless this side of eternity. HA!!!! I really wonder what world Wesley lived in to imagine such a thing possible??? The calvinists teach God sent Jesus to save the *elect* whoever they may be. The rest of us well, see ya wouldnt want to be ya we end up in hell. UGH. I said over at rachel held evans blog on the topic of calvinism that it makes the good news bad news and heres why. Calvinist theology makes Jesus more a hitman than a Savior. Sorry for such a strong statement but that is how i see it. God sends Him to ultimately save a chosen few and He does it, nothing can change things for those not *elect* because all has been predetermined.

The *elect* are those who are righteous and holy, made perfect in Christ. Hmmm, what did i just say earlier about the Apostle Paul?? Seems he struggled with sin and failing to meet Gods standard. I wonder if he was one of the *elect*???

To any who are calvinists, i do not mean to offend, i just have real trouble with the underpinnings of the theology and use some drastic examples to make a point. I believe hyperbole was used a wee bit in the Bible. LOL What do you think???