Oh, the ways this could go wrong!

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So apparently, China is starting a new program - a social scorecard , a rating system for all its citizens where your score determines what kind of things you have access to.  

 Yeah ... I don't see how this could go wrong at all, do you!?! 

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Spiritual Warfare: Satan's Schemes #9 (bitterness, unforgiveness)

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This is the next-to-last of the "Satan's Schemes" posts in the Spiritual Warfare series (and it's a repost from something I wrote elsewhere)... and then I'll  move on. John 10:10 :  "Jesus said, ‘The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy...'" To steal our peace, joy, and contentment.  To kill our hopes, passion, and Christian witness.  And to destroy our friendships, family, faith, and futures.  Among many other things.   And I think one of Satan's biggest tools for this is the snare of unforgiveness and bitterness.  If he can get us to focus on - and constantly ruminate on -  all our hurts, all the ways we’ve been cheated in life, the ways people let us down or treated us poorly, the ways God let us down, the ways we let ourselves down, all the things that've gone wrong, etc., then we'll grow more and more  bitter, discouraged, defeated, and closed-off... and farther and farther from God, His truth, other people, and any hope f...
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White horses and a cup of tea (part 1)

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I generally don't make New Year's Resolutions.  I mean I do sometimes, but I don't really see the point because they never last.  It's often more fun making the resolution than keeping the resolution, isn't it?  And so what started out as a grand idea on January 1st becomes a grand flop by January 31st.  We can waste more time planning and daydreaming about our resolutions than actually doing them, am I right?😁   (Besides, if it's important enough, we'll do whatever it is when we're motivated enough to do it, regardless of the time of year.)   And so instead of any grand resolutions these past several years, I've been trying to think of more light-hearted things to "resolve" to do throughout the year, relaxing things.   Who says resolutions have to be lofty or serious anyway? Such as these resolutions from the past several years: 1.  In 2024, my resolution was to wa tch lots of  sourdough videos , s tart growing my own sourdou...
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#1 Wrestling With God, 2015 (repost)

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[ I wrote this post in August of 2015.  But I am reposting it because I need to read it again.  I guess I need to read it again because life sometimes feels like one big "wrestling with God" match.  Wrestling with faith.  With life.   As I look back on these past several years, I am kinda amazed at how things turn out.  Or ... how they don't, I should say.  How real and raw and messy life can be sometimes.  These next numbered posts are taken from over these last few years, showing the progression of life, of the unexpected, of the "wrestling with God, faith, and life" moments.  This one goes up to August 2015, how beaten up I've felt over the years up till then.  And then comes the post about the hope I had that 2016 would be better.  And then comes 2016 - the worst summer of my life.  A life-changer for me.  And then, well, I'm not sure yet what I am putting after that.  But I'm reposting these because it's fasci...
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Prayer, Faith, and God's Will

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(repost, summary of “Understanding God’s Will,” Question 9, Q9a -Q9i)             “‘Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered.   ‘I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.   Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.’” ( Mark 11:22-24 )                    I have to be honest.   I struggle with this verse more than any other.   I really do.   I mean, it sounds pretty straightforward to me: believe that you’ll get what you ask for and you’ll get it.   Name it and claim it!   Sounds great!               But there’s a problem.            ...
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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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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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Calvinism: False Gospel or True (but warped) Gospel?

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Here are some new comments  which were recently added to the Soteriology 101 post  Calvinism Obscures the Simple Gospel .  It's kinda a  friendly "debate" among non-Calvinists about if Calvinism is merely a warped version of the true gospel or if it's a false gospel.   (These are lightly edited for clarity.) Kay made this comment: In my opinion, Calvinism is a  different  gospel, not [merely] obscuring the gospel.   How can [Calvinists] believe what they do and still be considered the true gospel?      Brian   (non-Calvinist) replied: Welcome Kay!  Thank you for the question.  Here is my take for what it is worth.  Calvinism, imo, has a deformed view of the true gospel, but still the true gospel. Calvinism’s Gospel – God has provided salvation sufficiently for all and planned for it to be “freely” and irresistibly accepted by some. NT Gospel – God has provided salvation sufficiently for all and pla...
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Are We Forced To Be Obedient or Disobedient?

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(Part of the "Predestination vs. Free-Will" series) Does God cause us to be obedient or disobedient?   If you believe in predestination – that God has predetermined that some people will go to heaven but that most people will go to hell and there is nothing they can do to get to heaven – then you have to say that God ultimately causes us to either be obedient or disobedient.       But I strongly believe that we have the responsibility to decide if we will obey or disobey.   And I think the whole Bible attests to this, from the Fall . . . to the fact that God lays out “the blessings path” and “the curses path” for the Israelites to choose between . . . to the many calls to “obey” and “choose whom we will serve.”  
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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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