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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Why is Calvinism so dangerous? (Introduction)

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[In this series, I'm breaking the long post "Why is Calvinism so dangerous?" into bite-sized pieces.] Why is Calvinism so dangerous? Because it  appears  to teach biblical truth while actually teaching  the opposite  - while using  manipulation and cult-like tactics to suck you in!  And it's spreading.  Stealthily, fast, aggressively. (We watched it happen firsthand in our church, which is why I wrote this blog.  See  "What's the best way to make people agree with your Calvinist views?"    Sadly, we ended up  leaving that church , a place we attended almost 20 years.) [ I updated this November 2022 to try to shorten it.  I failed.  But I hope it's more readable and streamlined at least.   If you only read one anti-Calvinism post of mine, I think it should be this one.  But I'm warning you, this post is long.  Very long.  So pack a lunch and bring a sleeping bag.  But it has to be long because...
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Spiritual Warfare: Sword of the Spirit 2 (the bedrock)

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It was hard to watch my friend struggle through her deep emotional pain (see previous post ), and I couldn't really do anything to stop her difficult trial or make it all better for her, especially since the battle was mostly in her head.  And I know what that's like: Anxiety is a bully who doesn't play by the rules.  Unfair, unruly, and aggressive.  Running roughshod over you, your mind, your life. I couldn't fix it for her because she was in a battle she was forced to fight herself.  But I could at least try to encourage her by letting her know that I understood, that I got through something similar and that I know she can too... but that she has to want to get through it, to fight it and not give in.  She has to refuse to succumb to the Enemy's lies and destructive tactics. And to help her do this, I shared with her one of the things that helped me get through my hardest times: My "sword of the Spirit," my own personal list of favorite verses that I wou...
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My Panic Attack (repost)

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(Reposted from my blog, https://myimpressionisticlife.blogspot.com , from 2016.   A really bad year for me.) I wrote this in the post called “Random Facts about Me.  Just for Fun!” on my other blog.  It’s #64 on the list.  But I think it deserves its own post.  So I am reposting it here, because it fits with the theme of this blog.   If you’ve ever had a panic attack, maybe you can relate.  I hope not, though.  Because panic attacks suck!             64.   I had a small panic attack three days ago (May 30, 2016).  It’s the first one I’ve ever had and I don’t plan on ever having another one.  [I also once had a minor nervous breakdown during my parents’ very messy divorce.  It was so bad that the only way I could start breathing and stop crying was to flee from everything, to jump in the car with my husband and two kids and run away to the middle of nowhere for a little while.]
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Tony Evans Preaches on Prayer and God's Will

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I am always thankful for Tony Evans' preaching.  He understands the Word and God's character correctly.  He preaches a view of God and Scripture that accurately reflects truth, that affects us and our faith in practical ways, that fills me with hope, and that makes sense ! Unlike Calvinism.  Unlike my Calvinist pastor.   I have been so discouraged by the constant hammering of Calvinism at our church - the sick twisting of Scripture, the damaging distortion of God's good character and amazing gifts, the hopelessness that Calvinism is - that I don't listen to our pastor anymore.  Because when I did, it would leave me angry for days.  (Angry ... but motivated to see what the Bible really says.  So that's a good thing.) And so I listen to Tony Evans' sermons online instead.  And it feels like a breath of fresh air.  Like I can breathe again.  Like I am not so crazy for disagreeing with Calvinism.  Because Calvinism is wrong! ...
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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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War Rooms, Praying Scripture, and Spiritual Warfare (repost)

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I strongly believe that there are angels and demons.  That prayer matters.  That there is a spiritual battle going on around us all the time ... and that we need to get involved in it, actively and consciously.  (Something I haven't been doing lately.)   Regardless of if we want it or not, we are constantly facing spiritual battles.  But if we don't acknowledge it - if we stick our heads in the sand, refuse to get involved, fail to put on our spiritual armor or to use the spiritual weapons available to us - we open ourselves up to deceptions, to defeat, to being very vulnerable to the strategies and attacks of the evil one.  You can't win a battle you don't even know you're in.  You can't defeat an enemy you pretend isn't there. What I have done here is compile a list of posts on spiritual warfare, on praying Scripture, and on creating a War Room (or War Journal). Have you ever seen  War Room ? You should.  It's a great movie.  And it is...
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Calvinist (Bad Logic) Comment #5: We Can Trust A Controlling God

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5.   A Calvinist says:   “That being said why would anyone trust in God who isn’t in control of all things that come to pass, the only way to have unreserved faith without doubt is to pray, hope and believe in God who is on the throne.” [My note:  Of course, all Christians believe that God is on the throne.  But what he means - what Calvinists mean - is "Why would anyone trust a God who isn't actively controlling all things?"  Like Calvinist James White basically says in this clip , we can supposedly trust and have faith only if we know that God is controlling ("causing") all those evil things, such as child rape.  But if they happen without God causing them, then they are supposedly meaningless evils and we would be left in despair knowing that meaningless evils can happen outside of God's "control." Umm ... yeah ... so instead it's SO MUCH BETTER to believe that we have a God who actively causes us to sin in ways He for...
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Why I Hate Calvinism So Much!

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  Wanna know why I hate Calvinism so much? Watch a few of these songs.  Listen to the words.  Think about how much Jesus sacrificed for us.  The incredible price He paid.  The love, grace, forgiveness, help, healing, and salvation He died to give us.  How true hope and life is found  only  in Him. Oh, What Love  by The City Harmonic I Am  by Crowder Hallelujah Christmas   by Cloverton Sweetly Broken  by Jeremy Riddle  (God draws  everyone  to Him.  He calls  everyone  to come out of death and into life!  Will we listen?  Will we respond?) Secret Ambition  by Michael W. Smith Fell Apart  by The City Harmonic Confession (Agnus Dei)  by The City Harmonic  (Calvi-Jesus did  not  take away the sins  of the world , but of just a few people.  But the Jesus of the Bible did!  And that's why I love Him!) Healing Begins  by Tenth Avenue North A...
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Leaving Calvinism: Video - Former Calvinist Testimonies

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Here is an almost hour-long  "Testimonies of Former Calvinists"  video from  Soteriology 101 .  This is a website I highly recommend and one that my family and I have learned from immensely.  (I haven't finished this video yet, but I wanted to link to it anyway before time gets away from me.  If I have comments to add to this post after watching it, I'll add them later.)  
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"Without You"

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For King and Country is fast becoming a favorite band of mine.  They have such beautiful music and such meaningful lyrics. I just found this song ... "Without You." It came out of a time of serious physical sickness, from wanting to not die, wanting to be able to stay with those you love.  But I think the deeper meaning is not wanting to lose God, even when we are struggling with our deepest aches and trials.  It's about choosing to cling fiercely to Him, being brought to our knees in humility, even when everything is bad.  It's about saying, "No matter what, I won't leave You."  I know how that feels.  In 2016, I went through my worst year ever .  I got to a point where I didn't want to wake up in the morning because paralyzing panic flooded my mind the moment I woke up, and depression enveloped me the rest of the day.  Where I couldn't pray anything but "Please, come back, Jesus.  Just come back now and end it all."  Where I wan...
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