His grace creations!

Offering Directions for the Journey

Has it ever occurred to you that nothing ever has occurred to God?

If God exists and knows everything, he’s not experienced that stray thought that pops into your mind every now and then.

After you’ve let that bounce around for awhile, feel free to write us and give us your impression.

God doesn’t franchise his sovereignty!

Per Webster’s,  ‘sovereignty’ is a supreme and independent power or authority. In other words, if God is sovereign and there is only one God, he must be in complete control.

Imagine the workplace of our dreams. At the start of every shift, the floor supervisor tours the assembly line. Employees are encouraged and listened to, machinery is inspected and supplies are monitored. More than a daily tradition, these tours serve to demonstrate the thorough yet caring control the manager wields over the plant. Tasks are completed on time regardless of interruptions, personnel problems are quickly solved and profitability rarely falls below company goals. He is sovereign.

Do you think this could be a picture of God’s caring and thorough control over the people he shepherds? Don’t keep us wondering, write us and give us your opinion.

Had any good

Wonder Thoughts?

Fine Print:  Wonder Thought is a wholly owned subsidiary of Examplanations, a place to exam questions intellectually and discuss explanations thoroughly.

What is a Wonder Thought? (WT)

It’s the question that comes to mind about a religious quote you hear or the spiritual thought that echoes through your mind after the unspoken words, "I wonder." Ever have one?

If you have, we’d like to hear it.  We’ll pick one Wonder Thought every so often (or select one of our own) and write about it on this page.  If you submit one, we’ll forward you a link to an online Wonder Thought Prompting Tool as our way of saying thanks.

Everyone knows kids have Wonder Thoughts.

 We’d like to hear yours.

We hope you’ll keep thinking not only about the Wonder Thoughts we’ve posted but one you’d like us to consider.  Send it to us and yours might be WT #8.

More than likely, they’d assume that an intelligent being created it and placed it exactly where they found it.  So why not apply the same reasoning to the ocean in front of the bench?

I’m convinced the designer option is true but not because of my thoughtful evaluation of all the facts.  The reason I believe God created what we see...is a Wonder Thought for another day.

Should Christians be more ‘adverbial’?

Recently I read about a man who was called a humane, compassionate Christian and thought what a nice way to be recognized.

Suddenly it dawned on me that the polite sounding words were adjectives identifying this particular Christian and making him the exception. 

Since I believe every Christian is supposed to act humanely (adverb) and compassionately (another adverb), it was troubling to have one identified so differently from the rest. 

I’ve always thought most people viewed Jesus as humane and compassionate and recognized that Christians should major in the behavior of their Savior.  But I wonder what it’s like in the real world.

What’s been your experience with Christians?

Can God be pleased with us?

A friend at work made this statement: "Everyone has to answer to the man upstairs so you have to be good." 

It got me thinking but rather than share the questions that popped into my mind, it seemed better to hear from you.

If someone made that statement to you, what would be your first question or would you have any at all? Let us know what you think.

We may even decide to post some of your responses for others to read and comment on. And, if you don’t want to participate by sharing your thoughts, but would like to know what ran through my mind when I heard it, send me an email. I’ll be glad you did.

Could there be similarities between heaven and a vacation?

I thought of 10 reasons why heaven for a Christian is like a great vacation for a weary worker.  See what you think.

1. It’s something to joyfully anticipate.

2. You can get to a point where you know for sure you’re going.

3. When you reach that point, it makes the anticipation better.

4. We expect life to be better when we’re there.

5. We’re not disappointed when we go.

6. The expectation of something better helps us forget today’s problems.

7. The greater the expectation, the longer we can go in our current situation.

8. It gives us something exciting to share with others.

9. Some people who hear about it will want to make the trip themselves.

10. We can help them get to the same location.

Shouldn’t God determine who he allows in heaven?

Almost universally, religions see a better future for adherents of their particular religion.  Christianity, Judaism and Islam call it heaven or paradise, while Buddhists name it Nirvana.

Buddhism - “Buddhism teaches that humans are trapped in a repetitive cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth. One's goal is to escape from this cycle and reach Nirvana...Suffering ends because desire and craving -- the causes of suffering -- are no more.”

Islam - “To attain paradise, at death, their good deeds (helping others, testifying to the truth of God, leading a virtuous life) must outweigh their evil deeds.”

Judaism - “Jewish believers are able to sanctify their lives and draw closer to God by performing fulfilling mitzvoth (divine commandments).”

In other words, being good enough is good enough.  I have heard the same from people and groups that label themselves Christian, and I used to think it myself. 

Here’s the point to ponder…if heaven is a place where God dwells, wouldn’t it make sense that he determines who gets invited? 

A student missing half his test questions isn’t allowed to give himself an A; baseball players don’t elect themselves to the Hall of Fame; and politicians can’t cast a solitary vote and be elected to office.  Why?  Because there’s a standard that someone in authority has set.

Has God set a standard?  Do you know what it is?  Have you kept it?  Is there hope for someone who hasn’t?  Contact us with your answer to any of those questions or ask one of your own.

All quotes about various religious beliefs in this Wonder Thought have come from the pages of Religious Tolerance.

Can chance explain the immensity of creation?

Here’s a link to a scientific web page showing the outer reaches of the universe compared to the smallest portion of a leaf cell and everything in between. 

Some will view that site and contend that everything depicted came into existence by chance through the Big Bang or some other theory.  Those same people would probably not make that conclusion about the bench below, if they came across it during a walk.