Breaking Through in 2021
2021 can be YOUR year! 2021 doesn’t have to be a repeat of 2020. You can break through. You can be different. Your faith can transform you in the midst of the challenges. You can exercise your God given gift of your Free Will! Why? Because Christianity is inherently oriented in Faith and NOT Fatalism.
Fatalism believes that you have no control over your life. You can’t really change or control anything. Fatalists say, “It’s just the way I am. I can’t change. I’ll never be able to beat this. It’s just the way it is.” There are fatalists everywhere.
For example, material atheism is fatalistic. Atheist author Sam Harris calls freewill nothing more than an illusion. He explains that what you think feels like freewill is nothing more than just chemical processes. There is no inherent meaning for life in atheism. I went through an atheistic period when I was young. I recall how the fatalism of atheism leaves you empty.
There are also theistic systems of fatalism. One example, the religion of Islam leans toward a fatalistic belief system. Muslim author Mustafa Akyol wrote in the New York times, that in the codes of Islam, “…human free will is easily sacrificed to fatalism, science and reason are trivialized, and philosophy is frowned upon.” (Sept. 24, 2015 in The New York Times International Edition.)
Christianity is different. Christianity isn’t fatalistic. We believe that our loving God has created us for a personal relationship with Him, and He gives us a free will to choose and enjoy that relationship. Christianity is loaded with hope.
Instead of fatalistic, our view of life is Faith oriented. We know our destiny is not controlled by an uncaring universe, an impersonal power or a god who has determined everything in advance. Rather, the gift of a free will means your destiny is the end result of your choices. Your destiny is an open course where you may not control all events, but you do control your responses. And through Christ, you can do all things (Philippians 4:13). Your life is God’s gift to you. What you choose to do with it is your gift to Him!
The Christian faith is built upon the God of Hope (Romans 15:13). We have hope that tomorrow can be different. We can change! We can make new choices and go a new direction in life. And God even wants to help you! He offers us the promise of change and transformation (II Corinthians 5:17).
Yes, 2021 can be YOUR year. You can break free from addictions. You can be the change in your relationships. You can let go of hurts and hang-ups and start living again. At Family Worship Center, our 2021 Theme is “Breaking Through and Building UP.” If you wish, you can view our messages of this on YouTube – Family Worship Center Door County. We wish you God’s very best in your breakthrough year. Love to hear your thoughts at drmark920@gmail.com
Fatalism believes that you have no control over your life. You can’t really change or control anything. Fatalists say, “It’s just the way I am. I can’t change. I’ll never be able to beat this. It’s just the way it is.” There are fatalists everywhere.
For example, material atheism is fatalistic. Atheist author Sam Harris calls freewill nothing more than an illusion. He explains that what you think feels like freewill is nothing more than just chemical processes. There is no inherent meaning for life in atheism. I went through an atheistic period when I was young. I recall how the fatalism of atheism leaves you empty.
There are also theistic systems of fatalism. One example, the religion of Islam leans toward a fatalistic belief system. Muslim author Mustafa Akyol wrote in the New York times, that in the codes of Islam, “…human free will is easily sacrificed to fatalism, science and reason are trivialized, and philosophy is frowned upon.” (Sept. 24, 2015 in The New York Times International Edition.)
Christianity is different. Christianity isn’t fatalistic. We believe that our loving God has created us for a personal relationship with Him, and He gives us a free will to choose and enjoy that relationship. Christianity is loaded with hope.
Instead of fatalistic, our view of life is Faith oriented. We know our destiny is not controlled by an uncaring universe, an impersonal power or a god who has determined everything in advance. Rather, the gift of a free will means your destiny is the end result of your choices. Your destiny is an open course where you may not control all events, but you do control your responses. And through Christ, you can do all things (Philippians 4:13). Your life is God’s gift to you. What you choose to do with it is your gift to Him!
The Christian faith is built upon the God of Hope (Romans 15:13). We have hope that tomorrow can be different. We can change! We can make new choices and go a new direction in life. And God even wants to help you! He offers us the promise of change and transformation (II Corinthians 5:17).
Yes, 2021 can be YOUR year. You can break free from addictions. You can be the change in your relationships. You can let go of hurts and hang-ups and start living again. At Family Worship Center, our 2021 Theme is “Breaking Through and Building UP.” If you wish, you can view our messages of this on YouTube – Family Worship Center Door County. We wish you God’s very best in your breakthrough year. Love to hear your thoughts at drmark920@gmail.com
Pastor Mark Schwarzbauer PhD
Lead Pastor of Family Worship Center, Sturgeon Bay and
Algoma
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