We seem to come, over and over again, to THE great spiritual question. Who can be saved, and how?

We quickly agree that only those whom the Lord chooses, for that is in Scripture.

We also agree that only those who “believe” are saved, for that is in Scripture.

So, is it by our choice or by His choosing? Is it one, or the other? Is it by Sovereignty, or by free will? Did Calvin have it right, or not? To further mess thing up, let’s throw in issues of holiness and obedience and confession and repentance and apostasy and denial. OMG

(Let’s admit here that our historical attempts to answer this are based on our first deciding which answer we like, and then developing a doctrine to support it. Let’s agree here that Protestants need to stop protesting so much, as it isn’t bringing unity, but discord. Don’t agree? Start another denomination. Command that you are right, by fiat.)

Let me ask: why must it be one or the other? Why can’t it be both, since both are supported by Scripture? Why must we accept one and exclude the other, which only leads to the accusation of someone not believing the Bible?

God is Sovereign, we agree. He chooses, we agree. Praise His Name that He chooses me!!! Has He chosen YOU? Of course He has. It is His will that NONE should perish!

Must we believe, in order to be saved? Of course we must. We must answer His call and pursue Him, following the path He lays out for us. We can deviate from the path, and find it doesn’t work out so well, and return to the path and again enjoy the Blessing of His provision. This isn’t rocket science! In fact, we’re discovering that rocket science is kids stuff to Him!!! It isn’t even rocket science; it is His science, from beginning to end, or, better, from ignorance to understanding!

His choice? Yes. Our free will? Yes. Who gets to Heaven? Everyone who does not reject the Salvation of God Almighty.

Have you ever said something and then wished you’d said it differently? Sure you have. That’s the blessing of writing. You can write, then read what you wrote, then reflect upon it and change it until you get it to say what you really want to say!

Texting isn’t a very good way of writing; it doesn’t give you that reflective opportunity, it just goes out like a spoken word, plus it’s a bit short. Email is a good way to write, but so often people don’t read their emails. Letters have been a great way to write for centuries, and remain so, even though they are greatly reduced in use. Books, of course, remain the best record, followed perhaps by magazine or newspaper articles, each allowing the reader the time to digest what is said, ponder it, and then accept or dispose according to the will of the reader.

“The will of the reader.” Think about that. Now remember that we have The Bible, God’s Word, a book, available to us at all times in many forms. These are letters written by humans, yes, but under the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit.

God has written to us what He wanted to say, and we have the opportunity to reflect upon it! He doesn’t need to change anything He’s written, because He is sure of what He’s said and meant to say every word of it. It is “the will of the reader” that determines any result. The efforts some have made to discredit the Bible quickly fail, because the reader still has to decide 1. whether to read it or not? and 2. what to do about what’s been read?

I may not like what I’ve read, or I may not understand what I’ve read, but it’s still up to me to act upon it or not. Perhaps we would do well to read with an attitude of discernment, asking God to make clear what has been written, both secular and spiritual. This would minimize the amount of secular stuff we feed on, perhaps, and allow us more time with His Word.

I don’t have an iPod, or and iPad, or even an MP3 player. I don’t have a smart phone. I don’t have a laptop, a notebook, or a netbook. But I do have a PC, and I do go to the internet every day to do research of one kind or another, so I’m not a totally out-of-it relic. I’m sort of a hip relic, I like to think.

Awhile ago I discovered Youtube. I go there from time to time to listen to songs, and mostly I go there because one of you sends me there to listen to one of your favorites. That happened today, while I was taking a short break from some Bible study, getting ready for Sunday. And then I got lost.

Lost can be a good thing. I revisited my youth and got lost listening to some Elvis songs. His spirituals are terrific. Then I got lost for awhile with John Denver, riding our motorcycles down the George Washington Parkway in Virginia, and then the Mama’s & the Papa’s and my “friend” Cass Elliot, as we revisited nights of singing on M St. in Georgetown. Then I lost it a bit with Celine Dion, who could sing the phone book and make it wonderful, and finally for awhile with the incomparable Willie, as in Nelson.

The time flies by when you’re lost in memories; lost in Youtube.

I can’t be alone in this. Every song you pull up on the screen has a dozen more on the right panel, to make the losing it easier. For the million of songs on Youtube there have to be multiplied millions of people selecting them, posting them, and listening to them. They even have neat little counters showing how many times each has been listened to. They are keeping track!

It strikes me that perhaps God is keeping track too. Perhaps He is wondering why we don’t come to His page more often. A visit to church on Sunday may cause the counter to go up, one count. Worshipping during the week may move the meter a bit. I hope so. A quick read in the Bible certainly gets a notch or two of movement. But we could hardly call these visits as “being lost” in Him, like in Youtube.

What would it be like to be lost in Christ? To be lost in His Word? To be lost in worship?

As great as Youtube is, maybe we should try to move the meter with Jesus, because He’s there. He too is free. He too is an easy download. He too has a vast assortment of stuff to “click on” and discover. Go ahead, give it a try; get lost.

Blink. Ok, blink again. Natural stuff, blinking. Right?

Well, life is like blinking. I move from amazing times of His Presence where all I can think of is Him, and blink, I’m only focused on my problems. Great faith, huh?

I get some horrible phone call and I blink. Then I get some unexpected repair bill, and I blink. Then Carol give me a kiss and I BLINK! I like those blinks best.

We may not be able to call the shots in life, but at least we can determine our response to them. I choose Jesus. You choose Jesus. So blink away, until that Great Day of His return.