When You're Discouraged By The Hard Days

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For an encouraging reminder that we don't always know why things happen or how they will work out, but we can trust that God is always working all things for good:  
The White Horse Maxim by Ann Voskamp.

Most Popular Posts of the Week:

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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An Angel and a Wink

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I try not to think too much about the death of my 30-year-old sister-in-law last week (she left behind 3 kids under age 6 for my brother to raise alone now).  I'm afraid if I think about it too much, I'll start crying.  And if I start crying, I might not stop.   In fact, I couldn't even go into the room where her body was during the funeral because there were so many pictures around of her and my brother and their happy, smiling children.  My goodness, to see the happy family in the pictures - the children who have no mother now - absolutely breaks my heart.  So I watched the children in the kitchen while the funeral happened. Thankfully, the children seem too young to really understand.  When I first got there, my 5-year-old nephew told me, "Come on and see my mom.  Come see my mom."  And he dragged me up to the casket.  And as he said, "There's my mom," his voice cracked ever-so-slightly with sadness.  But then he skipped out ...
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Hardest Spiritual Lesson #7: Accepting Love and Forgiveness

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Another lesson that's really hard for many of us:  Letting Yourself Be Loved or Forgiven (note: there's a bonus section at the end of this post). Not everyone will face this lesson, but those with broken pasts will know what I’m talking about.    One of the hardest lessons I have had to learn in my spiritual life (and in my earthly life) is to let myself be loved by someone ... by Someone.   I come from a very dysfunctional home.    Three dads by the time I was 8.    And then another dad (after a  very messy  divorce) when I was in my late-20's/early-30’s.    I didn’t grow up with my bio-dad or his family.    I didn’t even really meet them until my teens.    And then after that, I’d see them about once or twice a year, sometimes less.    I never really felt like I belonged to a dad or had a place in my extended families (or that my mom was an emotionally-safe person, so I never went to her for enco...
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Sermons by Tony Evans (repost)

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(I recently fixed the broken links as well as I could, had to switch some out for others) Tony Evans is my all-time favorite pastor.  He always gives messages that convict, challenge, and comfort.  Here are some sermons that I have listened to or am going to listen to.  For more, simply go to his website by clicking here .  There are so many great ones to choose from. You can't go wrong with any video of his.  I found him to be the most biblically-accurate preacher (especially as I researched Calvinism and found out how wrong it is), who is also great at helping us practically apply God's truths to life. Reversing Anxiety Consequences Keeping the faith when life gets hard Trusting God in a storm How to have strength in your struggles How to overcome your worry How to Get Your Prayers Answered Trusting The God You Believe In God knows what He is doing How the enemy tries to distract you from God's plan Grab your sword The Secret to Powerful Prayer Spiritual W...
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Though they have eyes, they will not see

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[I originally posted this on one of my other blogs , Oct. 2021] So   according to this article , it appears that scientists have found evidence of the type of biblical destruction that happened to Sodom.  They say they found a town that was destroyed by a blast of heat so hot that it pretty much melted everything.  They say that there's no earthly natural heat source that could do this, so they speculate that it must have been an asteroid that exploded over the town, melting everything.  Oh, and they speculate that the reason no one lived there afterward was that the asteroid impact might have brought over so much salt from the nearby Dead Sea that nothing could grow.  This, they say, must be what inspired people to make up the story of Sodom in the Bible. But I say that here's your "asteroid," scientists: "The Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah - from the Lord out of the heavens.  Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, incl...
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Help for Anxiety, Depression, and Suicidal Thoughts (repost)

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It's so sad to hear about all the celebrities who have recently committed suicide (or about anyone who has committed suicide, for that matter).  My heart breaks for them, for the pain they went through, and for the ones who love them, for the pain they are now going through.  It is truly a tragedy. To anyone who is hurting really badly, who is struggling with overwhelming anxiety or depression, who is considering taking their own lives ... I dedicate this post.  Please, take some time to look through some of the links here.  This is a round-up of some on-line resources or posts about dealing with anxiety or depression, particularly as a Christian. But first: Quick tips for help: If you are desperate for some immediate help and don't want to look through the links I have below, try some of these (or if it's really bad and you're afraid you might hurt yourself, call 911 or go to the emergency room): 1.   Put on a worship song right now.  Or sing a...
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Alana L.: 1c (faith/salvation); 1d (seeking God)

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This series is  loosely   based on this 14-minute video from Alana L.:   5 Signs Your Loved One is Becoming a Calvinist      Point #1 Still: C.  Alana  said that, according to the Bible, faith comes by hearing and believing the Word.        She's right.  The Bible teaches that faith comes by hearing the Word.  We hear the Word, and then we believe it, and then we are saved. But not in Calvinism.   In Calvinism, faith comes by election only, by being saved first.  As   Calvinist Loraine Boettner said in  The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination :  "A man is not saved because he believes in Christ; he believes in Christ because he is saved."    And  A.W. Pink  in  Doctrine of Election :  "... [faith] cannot be the cause of our election... the reason why any believe is because God gives them faith."   As he says:  "[faith] was a gift of God (...
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Hypocritical Liberals! A Fundamental Problem in America

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So ... when it comes to prayer in schools, we have to abide by the "separation of church and state" thing:  "Kentucky School Removes 'Prayer Locker' After Anti-Religion Group Complains"   (So it doesn't matter if the students wanted it or were helped by it, does it!?!  All that matters is that the anti-religion group gets their way!)   When someone chooses, out of love and compassion, to give their Bible to a hurting person who's at the end of their rope, the liberals cry "Separation of church and state!":  "Left-Wing Group Files Complaint Against Christian Judge Who Hugged, Gave Bible To Remorseful Killer"   (So it's not enough that the Left-Wingers lack compassion and love and would rather see broken people stay broken, but now they have to force others to be just like them too!  To stop others from showing compassion and love and from helping hurting people! ) Christians want to help tutor struggling students?  ...
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How to Make a Right Decision

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This weekend (FYI, this is a repost, written long ago), I was struggling with a decision I made, wondering if I made the right one.   I do this a lot.   I always doubt myself and then have to re-evaluate my choice before I can feel confident that I made the right one (unless, of course, God lets me know that I was wrong.)   In this post, I want to look at ways we can evaluate our decisions and do our best to figure out which one God wants us to pick.   How can we know that we are making the “right decision”?
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Is God Drawing Lines in the Sand (repost)

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(R eposted from a few years ago, updated slightly.  Part of the "End Times" series.) It’s amazing and disturbing how brazen our society is in attacking everything about God and everything He created:  marriage, monogamy, sex, family, sexuality, the scientific reality of gender, morality, modesty, the value of a person, the right to life, the existence of "right and wrong," the Bible, Jesus, and Absolute Truth.  Not to mention God Himself, His very existence. We are destroying everything associated with Him (except nature – we worship that), and then we call ourselves "progressive." But you know what I think about it all?   I think that God is letting it happen because He is drawing lines in the sand.  Through all these divisive issues and all the immorality, God is saying “Pick a side!  I am forcing you to decide which side you want to be on ... because I am coming back soon to take My people out of here.  So I need you all to decide: ...
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