When God Breaks You to Remake You: Encountering God Through the Hard Times

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A great sermon by Tony Evans:  "Encountering God's Process," about how God breaks us of our self-sufficiency to remake us stronger in Him.  I've been there before.  I totally understand. 


And here are some more "Encountering God ..." sermons worth watching.  (Come on, now, I know you've got the time, stuck at home, "social distancing."  You've got plenty of time for a "God encounter"!):





 

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Anti-Calvinism Links

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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...
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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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Are We At The Very End?

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I'm not the only one who thinks that we are at the very, very end: https://www.raptureready.com/2019/01/11/loving-exhortation-alice-childs/ At least, that is my prayer! Hallelujah! by the Newsboys In The Sky by Bob Carlisle and others Coming My Way by City Harmonic Break Open The Sky by TobyMac People Get Ready by Crystal Lewis I Wish We'd All Been Ready I Have This Hope by Tenth Avenue North Holy (Wedding Day) by City Harmonic Oh, What Love by City Harmonic. Sweetly Broken by Jeremy Riddle
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Be Wary Of The Christian Post

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(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...
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The Case for Christ

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If you haven’t seen The Case for Christ , the movie based on Lee Strobel’s life, you should see it  ( here's the movie trailer ) .   It’s good.   It’s about his journey to Christ, from being an atheist who was very skeptical about Christianity and who only responded to “facts” to finally finding the evidence for Christ so overwhelming that he couldn’t help but believe.  [Here's the hour-long documentary: The Case for Christ. ]  What I liked about it was the two different ways that we see him and his wife come to Christ.   She came to Christ through her emotions, through the pull on her heart, as though she knew it was the truth without needing the facts first.   But he came to Christ through his mind, through researching the facts about Christ’s death and resurrection and the validity of the Bible. One was led by their heart, and one was led by their mind. I love that.   I love that God has different ways of reaching different people,...
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Keep it simple

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Just wanted to pass along this quick, wonderful testimony from someone who came out of a commune/cult (the 60's!):  Why I Believe in a Biblical Worldview (A Testimony)  by Rick Segoine.  I loved it when he said "...  along with all of the study and knowledge that comes with it, my dear and precious Jesus always reminded me along the way to never forsake the simple things.  The simple faith of a child. The gratefulness for my salvation and what He did for me. My heart filled with His love..." This resonated with me because after leaving our church (because of Calvinism - lofty, convoluted, contradictory, soul-deadening, love-destroying, faith-suffocating garbage), I have been longing to get back to the simple things.   Simple truths.  Simple joys.  Simple relationship with God.  Simple Gospel. "For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."   ( ...
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White horses and a cup of tea (part 2)

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(picking up where we left off in part 1 ...) And that brings us to this year.   This year I wasn't going to make any New Year's resolutions.  I was like "meh, who cares?" But then, two things grew naturally in my mind, goals for this year.  (The first one will take three posts, and then I'll share the second one after that.) (Plus, I think I'll keep trying the "talk less, listen more" resolution, too.   I could always use more of that.   And I think I'll add "try to stop speaking negative things."  That won't be easy.  I do far too much of that.): A Theme:   This is going to be my "white horse" year.   "What's a 'white horse'?" you ask.   Well, I'm glad you asked.  I'll tell you.   Here's the thing: I'm an overthinker.  A massive overthinker.  And it causes me lots of anxiety.  Of course, I have some very real things to be concerned about, but I also overthink little things and not-eve...
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Spiritual Warfare: Satan's Schemes #6 (half-truths)

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(We're getting closer to the end of the "Satan's Schemes" section, I promise.  A few more to go, then we'll move on.)   Okay, so last post  in this series we saw that Satan "planted" thoughts in Eve's mind, enticing her with new ideas.   But it wasn't against her will, for she was a willing listener - willingly engaging in conversation with him, willingly contemplating what he said, willingly entertaining things that she knew contradicted what God said. “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’    For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.    Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”    ( James 1:13-15 ) [May I suggest praying right now that God shows you if there's something you're dabbling with that may lead you astray or if you're ente...
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Will Revival Lead to the Rapture?

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In this article , Greg Laurie speculates that the revivals we are seeing in America may be leading up to the rapture, when Jesus comes back again to take His people out before the tribulation.  He says that many millions of Americans disappearing would explain why America is not described in the Bible in the end times.   I pray this is so! I myself wondered this just the other day when I was thinking about the revivals going on recently.  I was thinking how amazing it is to see thousands of people come to Christ in the past months, especially in a culture that's becoming increasingly hostile to Christians.   And then, I was wondering if this is God's "last call" before Jesus comes back again.   Our country - our world - is so polarized right now.  Everyone's taking sides, even churches.  They either choose to reject God's Truth and God's ways, or to accept them.  To make God into who they want Him to be, or to worship Him for who He is. ...
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