Christmas in July #1

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This is one of the most beautiful Christmas songs out there.  And it deserves to be played all year.  It's so beautiful, it brings me to tears.  And I imagine that this is how heaven will sound ...

Christmas Canon by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. 

 (And for the equally-great, more rockin' version - Christmas Canon Rock. Oh my goodness, it makes my heart want to burst! Too much beauty!) 

Most Popular Posts of the Week:

Updated: Alana L.: 5O (author vs author)

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[I redid Point #5 and #6 in the Alana L. series on my other blog (and re-lettered the posts).  But instead of going back and changing the already-posted points on this blog, I'll just add the posts in their own little "series."]   Point #5 still :   O:  "Sovereign, sovereign, sovereign, sovereign."       This is not technically a conflation (or maybe it is), but it's a sidenote triggered by this sentence in the last post: "[Calvinism]  truly makes God the author*/cause of all sin and evil, despite a Calvinist's insistence that it doesn't." *Bonus Note: Author vs Author When confronted by the fact that their theology makes God the author of all evil, the cause of all sin, Calvinists will inevitably refer to the Westminster Confession:  " God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass:  yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin ." [...
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List of Calvinist Preachers, Authors, Theologians, Websites, etc.

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I  found a lot more names to add to my list of known Calvinists (found in my various  "How to Tell if a Church, Pastor, or Website is Calvinist"  posts).  But instead of adding this huge list to all those posts, I am going to put it here, and I'll just provide a link on those posts to this one.  [FYI: I added a note at the bottom of this post on May 5, 2021.] So here it is, a "master list" of known Calvinists to help you be careful and discerning about who you listen to and where you get your theology from.  There are plenty more Calvinists out there, but these are just the names that I ran across the most.   These are either definite, self-professed Calvinists or "most likely Calvinist," in my estimation.  (I haven't heard of most of them, but it's good to know their theology before I do.)   After finding these names in various places online, I looked up each person to see if they are Calvinist.  If they did not self-identify ...
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Pray for Meghan and Harry

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I am.   This interview with Meghan (at least the tiny segment I saw in this clip ) absolutely broke my heart.   You can tell that the little bit of emotion she revealed is only a tiny speck of what she's really feeling inside.  And when you've been in that kind of pain before, you can't help but be heartbroken when you see others who are hurting that badly too.  And so I am praying for them.  Please pray for them too.   God can reach into places that no one else can and heal the pain that no one else sees. (And I give her enormous credit for being honest and vulnerable.  Takes a strong person to do that!) (For anyone else who's hurting, click here for some ideas that might help.)
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Is The ESV (English Standard Version) a Calvinist Bible?

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Just in case anyone missed this post (the longer title made it easy to miss the "ESV" part) ... "A Random Verse That Destroys Calvinism (And "Is The ESV a Calvinist Bible?") In that post, I write about a bunch of verses that I believe were intentionally translated to be more Calvinistic or based on manuscripts that are too corrupt to be trusted.  (Click on it to see the verses.)   And why would I think that the translators of this Bible version would do that? (From that post...) The ESV and ESV Study Bible are majorly preferred by Calvinists.  In fact, it's often considered "The Calvinist Bible."   Why?  And why would translators of a Bible make these kinds of Calvinist tweaks to Scripture? Wayne Grudem and J.I. Packer were editors on the  ESV Study Bible   (this is for the ESV Global Study Bible).  Grudem and Packer are both popular, strong, dogmatic Calvinists.  Very Big Names in the world of Calvinism.  Grudem in the General...
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#12 God's Word (shortened)

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(For full version of this Bible study "lesson," click here .)             Okay, I am assuming here that we have all been Christians for a long time and that we all know the importance of God’s Word.   Now then, raise your hand if you live like the Bible is “extra-credit”?   Or do you live like you really believe the Bible is crucial to your day, your life, your walk with the Lord?                I fear that in our day and age of being too familiar and comfortable with God and His Word (in America), we have lost the sense of awe and fear of Him and His Word.   It’s too familiar, and we are too comfortable.   We have heard the Bible stories again and again.   We pick them apart as objects of study, to be looked at closely under a microscope.   It is educational and academic.   Or we pick them apart so that we can piece them back together again in a way we like better.   We twis...
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If They Mated ...

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I think I stumbled upon the perfect "If They Mated ..." scenario for who I look like and how I act.  (You know, when they take two people and morph their faces into one to show what their offspring would look like if they mated.)  I wasn't trying to figure this out or anything; it just came to me as I was watching The Hobbit recently.  And once I saw it in my mind, I couldn't unsee it.  Then after I thought about possibly sharing it with all of you, my mind won't let it go until I do.  And so here it is, much to my chagrin... I kid you not, if you mixed these three characters - their looks and their personalities - you would totally have me.   Frankie Heck from The Middle (Someone once told me I looked like her, when I was a lot younger.  Actually, it was when she was in Everybody Loves Raymond , but we're both a lot older now.  And I was told once I looked like Winona Ryder, for a split second.  Ah, to be young again!) Bard...
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#11 Be Still (shortened)

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(For the full version of this Bible study "lesson," click here .)             Psalm 46: 10 :   “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”             That is one of my favorite verses.  To me, this verse is all about humility.   A humble person is one who has learned to trust in God’s goodness, love, and faithfulness so much that - despite the storms that rage around - they can “be still” because God is God!   A humble person desperately desires to be near the Lord and to bask in His presence, and so they have learned the importance of being physically and mentally still with the Lord at regular times.   And a humble person also knows that everything is about God’s glory!   He will be exalted!!!             Oh, I love this verse!!!
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So this is what we've come to!?! Wrongful Birth Lawsuits!?!

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Yeah, all of this Social Justice stuff and the "entitlement attitudes" and the lack of taking responsibility has made us Much! Better! People! Wrongful Birth Lawsuits (Because apparently having Down's Syndrome is a good reason to abort a baby.  And if you didn't get the chance to abort, it's a good reason to sue and get money for having to deal with the fact that your Down's Syndrome child lived, much to your dismay.  Which, of course, will drive the medical prices up for everyone.): Queensland Couple Suing For "Wrongful Birth" After Daughter Was Born With Down's Syndrome Angry At Down's Syndrome Baby, Mom Sues Hospital For Wrongful Birth Update: Couple Wins Down's Syndrome "Wrongful Birth" Suit The "right to abort" an unwanted child now means we get the right to have people give us money if we missed the chance to abort an unwanted child!  So ... those who would...
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Celebrating with Rob Schneider!

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"... there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."   ( Luke 15:10 ) I don't really pay attention to the personal lives of actors or actresses, because I don't really care what they do. But I do pay attention when anyone comes to the faith in Jesus Christ, because I really care about people and want everyone to experience the forgiveness, healing, hope, and eternal life that can only be found in Jesus.  And I especially enjoy the testimonies of people who come to Christ as adults.  They usually have such rich stories to share, such thoughtful reasons for why they left the life they had to turn to Christ. And so today I am writing this in honor of actor Rob Schneider who recently came to faith in Jesus .   The angels are celebrating his salvation right now, so let's celebrate it too! (And I had no idea he had such deep thoughts about some really significant things until I read this message from him on X .  It's really g...
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