She Died Too Young!

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Please say a prayer for my 30-year-old brother.  His wife just unexpectedly died this morning of heart failure (after months of recovering from a near-death illness in March of this year).  Apparently, she woke up this morning feeling bad, and she asked him to rub her back ... and then she died.  She was only 30 years old, too.  And she left behind a 5-year-old, 3-year-old, and 7-month-old (I think those are the ages).  

My brother is not a believer, but please pray that God reaches out to him, comforts him, puts His saving truth in his path, protects him and their family from evil, and gives him wisdom in how to move forward.  Such a heartbreaking time!  I can't even imagine!  

 He's just the nicest, sweetest guy there is.  And their wedding anniversary is in two days.  So sad!  Last night when they were going to bed, she told him, "I wish I could marry you all over again!"  He's so thankful that those are some of the last words she said to him, but ... my goodness ... such a tragedy!

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Another great sermon: What if love meant more than you thought?

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Before I get to part 2 of   "White Horses and a cup of tea,"   here's another great sermon from Willow Creek (they're on a roll):  What If Love Meant More Than You Thought? A sermon like this is especially needed in this "outrage culture" where people spend their days looking for things to be angry about, for people to lash out at.  Ugh. But there's a better way.  It doesn't have to be like this.  We don't have to let the news and social media lure us into an ever-increasing spiral of hopelessness and discouragement, antagonizing us into hating life and everyone around us. If you've already spent enough time letting the online world break your heart and blood your boil, why not take a break and try something else, something relaxing and encouraging for a change?   L ike reading the book of John in the Bible, followed by the rest of the New Testament.  Or talking a walk and enjoying nature (start a collection of interesting things you find on ...
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Help for Anxiety, Depression, and Suicidal Thoughts

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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 think you might hurt yourself, call 911 or go to the emergency room): 1.   Put on a worship song right now.  Or 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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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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TULIP's Totally-Depraved Doctrine (a snippet)

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[This is a snippet from  another post (but slightly updated here) that will be coming up later.]  Calvinism's TULIP petals are all built on each other, one after the next.  And it all starts with "total depravity" (their bad definition of it) : R.C. Sproul  ( Total Depravity part 1 ) :   "... if a person really embraces the doctrine of total depravity, the other four points in this five-point system more or less fall in line. They become corollaries of this first point." And so if they can get you to buy into their view of total depravity (as "total inability"), they can easily get you to buy into their whole TULIP, ensuring that you will become a Calvinist. Because if we are "totally unable" to believe on our own, then God has to decide who believes (unconditional election)...  which necessarily implies a "limited atonement" because Calvi-Jesus wouldn't die for those predestined to reject him...   which then requires "irre...
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Sleeping On My Sword

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“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.   After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.   The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’’ Then the devil took him to the holy city . . . ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down.   For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you and they will lift you up . . .’’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’’ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.   ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan!   For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him onl...
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Alana L.: 1a (inability); 1b (belief is a work)

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This series is loosely based on Alana L's 14-minute video:   5 Signs Your Loved One is Becoming a Calvinist    Point #1:   A.  Alana pointed out how Calvinists say "I could never choose God.  I would never choose God.  I can't even want God or seek God, so He had to choose me."    When Calvinists say this, there are (at least) two possible things going on: 1.  They're repeating what Calvinists have taught them to say and believe, convinced that it's what "humble, God-honoring" Christians believe and what the Bible really teaches.  It's part of their doctrine of "total depravity," that humans are so terrible - so "spiritually dead" inside - that they can't do  anything  on their own, not even think about God, want God, seek God, or believe in God - not unless and until God regenerates them by giving them the Holy Spirit who makes them born-again and injects saving faith into them, causing them to want God, seek God, and be...
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It's Time To Be Horrified!

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(Published on my other blog in 2015.  And it's only gotten so much worse since then.) As our society seems to be going to “hell in a hand-basket,” do you ever wonder where God is in all of this?   The economy sucks.                Our religious rights are being trimmed away.                Schools are focusing less on academics and more on creating an anti-God worldview and the “morality” and social characteristics that they want.                Laws are being made which are having detrimental impacts on people, families, businesses, and economics.                Morality and modesty are “old-fashioned” concepts.    Flagrant sexuality is rampant, and society encourages it as being “open-minded, progressive, and ...
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A Coronavirus "Plandemic"? A 26-minute video you need to see

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Everyone should watch this 26-minute video: Plandemic Part 1 by Dr. Mikovits .  (FYI: I watched this video yesterday on a different YouTube link.  It had something like a million views.  And it's already been removed today.  Big surprise!  This is why I watched it right away and wrote up a short summary of my thoughts on it.  Because I figured it would be silenced!  So watch it soon, before this is removed too.) A friend found it yesterday and shared it with me.   While it’s scary stuff, it didn’t shock me because it coincides with what I’ve already thought about this whole virus situation, among other things: ... That there’s something fishy about it and it’s not natural … ... That there are unhealthy and dangerous connections between Bill Gates and Dr. Fauci and government health agencies (CDC, FDA, WHO, etc.), among others … ... That there are shady coronavirus reporting practices in the hospitals, such as financial incentives for doctors ...
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