Pray For Tony Evans' Wife

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Please say a prayer for Tony Evans' wife, who is battling cancer.  This is my favorite preacher, and it makes me sad to know they're going through this.


Most Popular Posts of the Week:

The Very Most, by Renee A. Betancourt

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This is a poem my friend wrote which she read to me over the phone the other day.  And it was so beautiful that I asked her if I could publish it on my blog.  Enjoy.  (I will publish it just as she sent it.)    The Very Most   Good morning, Father, Son and Holy Ghost I love you all the very most With my life layed down, I don’t want my own crown   Lead me, guide me, show me the way Thank you, Lord for this brand new day I Thank you Lord  for giving us your son  thank you Jesus for being the only one Who could save me  deliver me and raise me up Because you lifted your own cup.   Thank you, Jesus for the garden  For it led to my full pardon The road from there was fully destructive And from that walk my pain was abducted And at the end upon that cross You gave Your life so none would be lost   And when you rose on that third day With Your new life you made the way So on your journey with no thought for yourself you lived an...
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#2 IN the World, Not OF the World (shortened)

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(This is a shortened version of my Bible study.  For full version, click here .)             Philippians 3:18-20 :   “. . . many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.   Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame.   Their mind is on earthly things.   But our citizenship is in heaven. . . .”             As Christians, we are citizens of two different worlds – the world (including our own country and society) and God’s Kingdom.   And o ftentimes, these worlds are in conflict.  So ... how can we as Christians best live out this verse about being in the world but not of it?                   Let’s break down some of the challenges and differences we face.
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"Are Calvinists Saved?"

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(I added some new notes to the end of this post, August 23, 2020.) Here's a video from  Beyond the Fundamentals  that's well-worth watching:   Are Calvinists Saved? The most thought-provoking part (for me) was when he asks (paraphrased) "How do Calvinists know they're saved, that Jesus died for them?" You see, I would say that I trust in the truths of the Bible.  I trust that when God says He loves all people and wants all people to be saved, He means He loves  all  people and wants  all  people to be saved.  I trust that when He says Jesus died for all people and all sins, He means that Jesus died for  all  people and  all  sins.  I trust that when He says that we will find Him if we seek Him with all our hearts, He means that we can seek Him and find Him.  I trust that when He commands us to choose whom we will serve, He means that we have to choose whom we will serve.  I trust that when He ...
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Calvinist Hogwash #4 (hell and justice)

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I think that Calvinists who deny double predestination are fooling themselves.  To not choose someone for heaven is to choose them for hell, especially if those are the only two options and if God created them to be exactly who they are for certain reasons (which He didn't, except in Calvinism).   Instead of just admitting that Calvi-god predestines people for hell, Calvinists soften or obscure it as much as possible to make it seem less harsh, less deliberate, than it is: "God passes over people... He just lets them be the sinners they already are... He leaves them to themselves... He doesn't force them to reject Him, He just doesn't give them saving faith..."  (I wonder if they'd try so much to soften it if they thought themselves one of the non-elect.)   It's  really just haggling over terminology because it all amounts to the same thing: I n Calvinism, God predetermined that the non-elect would be who they are and do what they do, and He made sure ...
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Updated: Alana L. 5P (conflations: natural vs moral)

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[I redid Point #5 and #6 in the Alana L. series on my other blog (and re-lettered the posts).  But instead of going back and changing the already-posted points on this blog, I'll just add the posts in their own little "series."]  Point #5 still :   P:  "Sovereign, sovereign, sovereign, sovereign."   Natural vs Moral On a slightly different track:  If you listen closely when Calvinists talk about God's "sovereign control" over things, they'll often emphasize His control over nature, even bringing up verses about it.  And since we agree that God caused/controlled something like a storm or famine or illness at some point in biblical history, Calvinists will then make us think that we must also agree that He causes/controls human decisions and moral evils too.  That if we accept one, we must accept the other. Vincent Cheung  ( The Problem of Evil ):  " God controls not only  natural events , but he also controls  all human aff...
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Random Facts About Me - Just For Fun

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I figured I'd move some posts from my other blogs over to this one - posts that I haven't seen in a long time or that I'd like to update a bit.  Here's one I occasionally add to, a whole bunch of random things about me.    Just for fun.   B ecause it amuses me.    Some of these are found throughout my blogs and some are not.    Some are serious and some are funny.    And some are embarrassing because ... well, that’s life .   (Friends or family or fellow church-goers who respect me and hold me in high regard might not want to read this; it's probably the most "improper" post on my blog.  But once again, that's life.)    Anyway, here goes, so enjoy ... 1.    Did you know that I once got spit on by a clam?    I was swimming in a lake as a child when I found a clam with my foot.    I thought it would be cool to get a pearl out of it (hey, I was just a kid!) and so I tried to open it. ...
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Prove God's Existence?

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So the president of the Philippines says that if anyone can prove that God exists with a photograph then he will resign.  ( Click here to read that article.) Okay, then ... I would challenge him to prove that God doesn't exist.  Prove that there is no supernatural activity.  Prove that miracles don't happen.  Prove that there is nothing out there but what we can see.    And prove it with a photo or video.   If he can explore every inch of this universe and take pictures showing that there is nothing else out there ... if he can travel back in time and get video evidence that this universe started without God ... if he can prove that there is no spiritual dimension ... if he can come back from the dead and prove that there is nothing after this life ... then maybe I'll consider the possibility that there is no God. "Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked."   ( Galatians 6:7 )  If some national tragedy happens in the Philippines in ...
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Calvinist Comments: A God Who Loves Everyone is Weak and Untrustworthy

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In the comment section of the Soteriology 101 post, "Romans 8:29-30: Or How Can We Trust God At His Word?," :    (FYI: The highlighting wasn't intentional.  It happens when I cut-and-paste sections, but I can't undo it.  Oh well!  But I did recently switch it from white to orangish because it's easier on the eyes that way.) ...  I made this comment (updated for clarity and better understanding):  I absolutely believe that the God of the Bible is trustworthy and can be taken at His Word. But I wonder how Calvinists can ever trust their Calvi-god when he never means what he says or says what he means - for example, "Seek me (God)" translated into Calvinism means "You can't seek me unless I make you seek me, and I will only cause those I have predestined for heaven to seek me." ...  ... when he has "secret double-meanings" and "hidden double-layers" for everything he says and every term he uses.  For e...
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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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Starting the new school year with Creation vs. Evolution

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I'm not starting this blog up again, but I did want to add this post from my other blog (the one I still occasionally add posts to: Heather's Garden and Home ) because it very much has to do with faith, which is what My Crazy Faith is all about.  I don't know about you, but I could use a little boost to encourage and strengthen my faith, considering what a hopeless mess this world is right now.  So here it is ... If there's one thing I would go back and change if I could when homeschooling my older two children (grown and graduated now), it would be that I would have them watch more great educational videos online, instead of focusing mostly on textbooks.   (And I would let them have more time to pursue something they were passionate about.  I'd rather have a kid who was passionate about something, anything - studying bugs, piano, building, classical literature, writing stories, etc. - than have a kid who did all the boring bookwork but never developed a passion...
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