A Broken Hallelujah

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The song that's making me wipe tears from my eyes this morning...

 I don't know what all the lyrics mean, but I do understand that life is often a broken Hallelujah.   

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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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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Christian Testimony: Gordon - "How I Became a Christian"

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This is Gordon.  He is a new believer in his 40's (I believe).  I love that!  I love to hear when adults come to the Lord.  Children believe and trust much more easily, but adults have so much that gets in the way of believing and trusting.  And so whenever an adult comes to the Lord for the first time, I find it amazing and inspiring.  And I love to hear about where they came from, what drew them to the Lord, and how it changed them. Click here for Gordon's testimony (6 minutes long).   And click here for his view on what's really going wrong in the world today.  He's got it right.  Such great wisdom and insight for a new believer.  If only all Christians had this accurate perspective and focus - about the reality of the spiritual world and the spiritual battle - then maybe we wouldn't be in the mess we are in! Welcome to the Family, Gordon!  And God bless you!
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The Gospel Project: Calvinist or not?

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Disclaimer: I have never gone through The Gospel Project for myself, and so this post is based on articles I've read about it and - mostly - on my knowledge of Calvinism and how it operates.  And this post doesn't even have to do just with The Gospel Project, but with anything Calvinists write or teach, especially if they claim that they're not trying to teach Calvinism. I had a question come in the other day  on my  "comment corral" blog   from a reader called  MPenny: " The Gospel Project: Do you or anyone here have specific wordage or examples of non-biblical or calvinist material within this Bible study.  I know it was written by mostly calvinists so I would never do this study myself...but would like to warn others with more practical data....and save reading the entire thing myself...has anyone else read through the curriculum and have any thoughts.  Or know of any critical articles on the subject.  Also, THANK YOU HEATHER for making a blog ...
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Giggle Translate #1: Random Facts About Me (Skydiving, Flashlights, and I'm a WHAT!?!)

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I'm bored.  So I've been running some paragraphs I've written through a bunch of randomly-chosen languages in a row with Google Translate and then back into English, just for giggles.  (I'm not serious, uptight, and a deep-thinker all the time.)  It's like a funny, terrible game of "Telephone."  (FYI: Bad word ahead.  Not my fault.  Blame Google Translate.  But I did bleep out a couple letters.)   Here are a few of the first ones I've done so far (the original writing was taken from my post  "Random Facts About Me, Just For Fun" ):
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Songs About The Rapture and Heaven

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I'll be doing a short series on the "End Times" during the rest of August.   But how about we start with some music! First things first ... God's Not Dead  (by Newsboys). I assure you, He's not.   And Jesus is coming back again soon In The Sky  (by Bob Carlisle and others) I know that my family and I are ready. Are you? ( I Wish We'd All Been Ready ) My prayer:  Lord, please,  break open the sky   (by Toby Mac) ! I Can Only Imagine  (by MercyMe) what it will be like  on the day that we rise ( I Will Rise  by Chris Tomlin). How I long for that day ... when we finally make it  Home  (by Chris Tomlin)! We can't wait for the day  that we'll be singing Hallelujah  (by Newsboys)! And to all the scoffers:  Are you so sure He's not coming back again!?! Enough to bet your soul on it?   ( People, Get Ready  by Crystal Lewis)  Grab onto God's  Amazing Grace  (by Chris Tomlin)  while there's still...
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On Spurgeon's "Calvinism is the gospel"

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In the comment section of the Soteriology 101 post   "Calvinism Obscures the Simple Gospel" , Jeff left this comment, sharing an article that had the famous sermon from Calvinist Charles Spurgeon: Jeff writes:   “Charles Spurgeon: “Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else.”   JULY 4, 2014 / DREW MERY If there is any doubt in anyone’s mind as to whether or not the so-called “Prince of preachers” was a Calvinist, let the following quotation, taken from his sermon on 1 Corinthians 1:23-24 (“Christ Crucified”), settle it in your minds–Spurgeon was most definitely a Calvinist. "And I have my own private opinion, that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and him crucified, unless you preach what now-a-days is called Calvinism.  I have my own ideas, and those I always state boldly.  It is a nickname to call it Calvinism.  Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else.  I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach justification by fai...
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Spiritual Warfare: Resources

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I'm not done with the Spiritual Warfare series yet.  Not even close.  (I totally intended it to be short and sweet, but ... oh well).  But I figured I'd share some resources now, in the middle of it.   I told a friend (whose young child recently experienced a probable demonic attack in the middle of the night: The child woke up screaming and thrashing around wildly, screaming that she couldn't control her body, and she continued doing this for an hour.  Nothing could sooth or stop her until the mom commanded demons to leave in Jesus's name, which caused the girl to calm down immediately and fall asleep.  The girl couldn't remember any of this in the morning.)... anyway, I told my friend that it can be overwhelming to search "Spiritual Warfare" online (or in books) because you get all sorts of different websites, and you're not sure who you can trust.  And so I thought I'd share some resources I like.  (Just because I recommend something doesn...
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The Evans Family Discusses Faith and Loss

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I have been feeling fragile lately.  Too many heartbreaks.  Too many losses.  Too many feelings of "Bad things always happen.  Where is the hope?  Where is the peace and joy?"  I wake up with anxiety in my stomach (and I have for years), and it takes time and lots of conscientious, biblical thought and prayer to subdue it.  And because of this mental and emotional overload, I have been unable to write much.  I know I need to write less for now, even to think less, and to instead just spend time in the Lord's presence and in the Word, being filled instead of trying to fill others.  (So bear with me as I repost things and share links to other people's writing.  I just can't write new stuff myself right now.)  I am working on wrestling my anxious mind, to take my thoughts captive (long-term, ingrained, negative thoughts and fears) and to replace them with God's Truth.  It's a slow process.  But I'm working on it. Anyway, I ...
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