My Crazy Faith

Understanding God's Will #4:   (And sorry about the highlighting.  I can't undo it.) Is  there danger in believing that God will always work His plan in our lives, regardless of what we do or any responsibility we have?   Definitely.  And I think this is a big pitfall for Calvinists.   Because if we think that everything that happens is God's Will, that He'll always work His Will out regardless of what we do or don't do (because in Calvinism, God essentially preplans and controls everything we do, so everything we do  is  His Will, even our sins), then we don’t think so much about what we do and about our responsibilities.   We won’t take seeking righteousness, wisdom, His kingdom, prayer, and obedience, etc., as seriously as we should, because we don’t see the effect it has over our lives.    If He’s just going to do whatever He’s going to do anyway, then it doesn’t matter what we do or don’t do, think or don't...

Some more "Random Facts About Me," run through many different languages with Google Translate, just to see what happens: 1.  Original Paragraph: I had an embarrassing moment the other day.  I was checking out at Trader Joes and chatting politely with the teen boy who was ringing up my groceries.  And I decided to quickly pop a Tic-Tac in my mouth.  But as I opened my mouth to say something (and, of course, he’s looking directly at me), the Tic-Tac comes flying out of my mouth and lands on the floor.

This one is a MUST READ.  It's a very in-depth (19 pages) look at Brenda's journey into and out of Calvinism, giving a very good picture of what Calvinism is, where it goes wrong, the suffocating, vice-like grip Calvinism has on people (essentially making them slaves to its theology), and the damage it does to someone's heart and faith: Brenda's Testimony: My Journey Into Calvinism The great thing with this testimony is that, even though it's long, it reads like a story.  It's quick and easy to read and understand.  So don't let the length of it scare you off. If you pay attention, you'll notice that in most "How I got into Calvinism" stories, like Brenda's, the people got into Calvinism by listening to Calvinist preachers and theologians.  They did not find Calvinism in the Bible all on their own.  They had to be taught it, taught to read verses in a Calvinist way.  This should be alarming!  It's cult-like behavior. And they truste...

This is Joshua's testimony about meeting Jesus (25 minutes long).  And it's a really good one.  It's not extremely dramatic or out of the ordinary or anything like that; it's just very real and touching.  From the heart. In his testimony, he takes us on his journey from being an aimless young teen with no sense of purpose or fulfillment or joy, trying to fill the void inside with drugs ... to how he found purpose, fulfillment, and joy in Jesus when God reached out to him in his pain, calling him to draw near. And he urges people to remember that one day we are all going to die (unless Jesus comes back first).  Do you know what matters most?  Do you know why you're alive ... who made you ... who your Father is? Finding God is not about religion; it's about relationship.  And no matter how lost you are, God knows where you're at.  He's calling you.  He's pursuing you.  He's been trying to get your attention.  Because He loves you (e...

These are two posts I wrote over 4 years ago on my other blog (updated slightly for this blog), but they seem so fitting right now. Do You Grieve? “... Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen ... and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”              As [Ezekiel] listened, he said to the [other men], “Follow him throughout the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion.... but do not touch anyone who has the mark....”     ( Ezekiel 9:3-6 )                Do you grieve over the condition of our country?    Over the ways people are trying to erase all signs of God, to make Him illegal, to excuse immorality, to change biblical black-and-white into fifty shades of gray?    Do you ...

If you want to see the whole "Understanding God's Will" series in one post (with notes on Calvinism), click here to be taken to it on my other blog.  I put it all together in one post for those who prefer everything in one place and for those who don't want to wait till December to see the last posts in the series.

"... true worshippers will worship God in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and  in truth ."   ( John 4:23-24 , emphasis added) Calvinism teaches a different Gospel. 1.   The God of the Bible truly loves all people and truly wants all people to be saved ( John 3:16, 2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 2:4, Ezekiel 18:32 )   Calvi-god does not.   He only really loves the elect and only truly wants the elect to be saved.  Or as my Calvinist ex-pastor said, "The Bible says God loves people.  He loves  peoples .  But the Bible is clear that He doesn't love  all  people and that He doesn't love all people  equally ."  (Oh, it makes my job so much easier when they just come out and say what they really think, instead of sugar-coating it!)    But Calvinists will say Calvi-god still "loves" the non-e...