What Real Encouragement Looks Like Sometimes!

-
Who would've thought that "encouraging each other in the Lord" would take the form of two hours of telling each other, "Yep, that crap's hard!"?

- A text I got from a friend after a long conversation about the trials we've been through, the heartaches we've known, and how difficult life can be sometimes.  It made me smile!

Most Popular Posts of the Week:

Anti-Calvinism Links

-
This is the last half of the post "What's The Best Way To Make People Agree With Your Calvinist Views."   But I put it here in its own post so that it's easier to find. These are some links to posts which are against Calvinism, the belief that the Bible teaches God has predetermined from the beginning of time who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.  It's no secret from my writing that I strongly disagree with this view.  I believe the Bible clearly teaches that God offers us all salvation, that Jesus's death paid for everyone's sins, and that we have to decide if we will accept Him or reject Him.  And here is some of what others have to say about Calvinism: (FYI, I haven't read everything in all of these yet and I don't necessarily agree with every point they make, but I needed to link to them before I lost them online.  And for the record, I came to my belief about what the Bible says by reading the Bible, not extra-biblical books or articles...
Read more

Be Wary Of The Christian Post

-
(Written 6/15/18)  Occasionally, I check in with the Christian Post to see what's going on in the world that specifically relates to Christians.  And generally, I've never really had any red flags go up about this website ... until now. A recent article by Stoyan Zaimov, with a title that starts "Christian Lesbian rock star ..." goes on to share this woman's story about being assaulted by a male priest when she was young.   However, I don't think the reason for this article is to talk about the abuse she suffered and her courage in speaking up.  I think this is a deliberate attempt to affirm Christian homosexuality.  The very fact that they put "Christian" and "lesbian" in the title makes it sound like it's indeed possible to be a Christian and a practicing homosexual who sees no need to change. And it seems to me that this article paints her in a heroic light, as though she is in the right and should be applauded and e...
Read more

Feminism Nonsense (repost)

-
Image
(Oh, how we love nonsense in our country!) We women are fighting so hard to be like men, to downplay femininity, to be perceived as more masculine, to overtake any "men's realm" we find.   Because it’s “cool” and “progressive” and “strong.” But do we not realize that we are not “leveling the playing field” so much as we are destroying ourselves , the things that make women special? Women can be strong, too.   And they don’t have to be like men to do it.   Trust me, I know.  I've had four children, one by c-section and three by natural, drug-free homebirth (with over 15 hours of labor for each one).  And then I work in the home every day, all day long.  No pay.  No vacation time.  No weekends off.  No bonuses.  No overtime pay. But I do it because my family and I value my position, my role.  Even if the world doesn't. W e women can be strong and capable and accomplished in our...
Read more

Sermons by Tony Evans (repost)

-
(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...
Read more

Hardest Spiritual Lesson #7: Accepting Love and Forgiveness

-
Image
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...
Read more

And Yet Again - 21 More Anti-Calvinism Memes

-
Image
I giggle making these.  Helps me blow off steam. Only if you're elected ... So you're a Calvinist? Except for you ... "I love being a Calvinist" First I'll tell them ... Said Jesus Never! We Calvinists say ... The bookcase Researching John Calvin Snap Out Of It The Pro-Calvinism Meme Absolutely Sure ... Calvinist Lunatic If you want people ... Another Predestination Sermon It's called "Calvinism" Lucky Dude "All" Means "Some" God "In Control" "Total depravity" (AKA "Total Inability" - a concept NOT found in the Bible anywhere!) It's be...
Read more

List of Calvinist Preachers, Authors, Theologians, Websites, etc.

-
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 ...
Read more

Update to "Letter To Our Elders," About Teaching Predestination in the Kids' Classes

-
I added this update to the post  "Letter To Our Elders Regarding Calvinism That's Growing In Our Church,"  but I wanted to put it in it's own post too.  Just because.   (FYI, Our ex-church is an Evangelical Free Church, and these churches are being taken over by Calvinism all over the place.  Nearly 40% of EVFree churches are Calvinist, and I believe that number will grow.  See  this post  for more on that.)    In that letter, I didn't have any real requests for the elders other than that they try to reel in the pastor about how dogmatic he is about his Calvinism ... and that they did not teach predestination (the Calvinist version) in the kids' classes without at least notifying the parents or asking their permission first.  Because this is a highly debatable issue.  And so the parents should be able to decide what they want their kids to hear about it, especially since it strongly affects people's faith and view of God....
Read more

What does "God is Sovereign" mean?

-
Image
“God is all-wise and all-powerful, so He always does whatever He wants.   And everything that happens is because He wanted it to happen and made it happen.   Since God is in control, He controls everything.   And we have no influence on Him and no ability to exercise our own free-will.” I think this is how many of us view God’s sovereignty.   We think that because He is all-powerful, He always uses His power and controls every detail.   And this view of “sovereignty” is used to support the idea of predestination, that God decides who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.   And so i f you end up in hell, it’s because He wanted you there . . . because He always does what He wants.   We don’t have any real free-will because He is all-powerful.   If we sin, it’s because God made us sin, because He wanted us to sin, for His purposes.   And this view is also used to support the idea that He controls every detail on earth.   If there is ...
Read more

Songs to Encourage

-
I woke up this morning with that sinking feeling of "Everything's going wrong in the world.  Everything is falling apart." Falling apart? Or falling into place? I truly think we are headed towards the end times.  In fact, I have been sure for years that it's almost here, whatever "almost" meant.  And so none of what's going wrong in the world surprises me.  I would actually be more surprised if the rapture doesn't happen by the end of the year than I would be if it did.  But that's just me. Anyway, these songs were on my mind this morning, a comfort in troubling times (godly music, along with prayer and immersing yourself in God's Word, is one of the best ways to fill your heart with hope when the world offers none): Lord (I Don't Know) by Newsboys  [We don't have to know what's going on or where it's all headed ... because it's enough that  He  knows!] Fell Apart by The City Harmonic  [One of my favorite ope...
Read more