Christian Testimony: Joshua - "How I Met Jesus"

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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 (enough to die on the cross for you, so that you could live) and He wants a real relationship with you.

 Do not resist Him or ignore Him too long.  You might not get another chance because you never know which day will be your last.  But even if you do live a long time, if you resist Him for too long, He may hand you over to the hardness of your heart, finally giving you what you want - a life without Him!

 "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts..."  (Hebrews 3:15)

 "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near."  (Isaiah 55:6)

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Alana L. on how to recognize (and defeat) Calvinism (series intro)

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Introduction Here's a great new video from Alana L.:   5 Signs Your Loved One is Becoming a Calvinist    I've been wanting someone to make a video like this for awhile now - to help people recognize Calvinism when they hear it, to help them realize it's a big deal that they should take seriously and research, and to help them know why it's wrong and how it spreads. Those who've studied against Calvinism know how very tricksy it is.  But those who  don't know anything about it, or how to recognize it, or how it takes over, or how it sounds like it's teaching one thing when it's  really  teaching something totally different, or how it twists or misinterprets Scripture... well, they  are sitting ducks, fish in a barrel, who become easy targets for a Calvinist pastor (especially a stealth Calvinist pastor) who slowly and strategically indoctrinates them into this twisted theology, before they ever see it coming.   [Note: I am not judging the hearts of Calvin
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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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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 as a Calvinist, I
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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 Warfare playl
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Feminism Nonsense (repost)

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(Oh, how we love nonsense in our country!) We women are fighting so hard to be like men, to downplay femininity, to be perceived as more masculine, to overtake any "men's realm" we find.   Because it’s “cool” and “progressive” and “strong.” But do we not realize that we are not “leveling the playing field” so much as we are destroying ourselves , the things that make women special? Women can be strong, too.   And they don’t have to be like men to do it.   Trust me, I know.  I've had four children, one by c-section and three by natural, drug-free homebirth (with over 15 hours of labor for each one).  And then I work in the home every day, all day long.  No pay.  No vacation time.  No weekends off.  No bonuses.  No overtime pay. But I do it because my family and I value my position, my role.  Even if the world doesn't. W e women can be strong and capable and accomplished in our own ways. We can be strong in our feminine grace.   We can be confi
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"But predestination!" (16B: sin, evil, suffering)

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In this series, I'm examining some things that Calvinists (especially my ex-pastor) say about predestination.   Here's the whole series on my other blog:  the pastor's sermons  ("When Calvinists say 'But predestination!'"), and my comments  1-4 (election)  and  5-6 (Romans and sovereignty)  and  7-9 (depravity, Book of Life, predestine)  and  10-11 (shaming tactics, Feb. 2015)  and  12-14 (dead, regeneration, born again)  and  15 (total depravity, manipulation)   and  16A (God's Will, babies)  and  16B (sin, evil, suffering)  and  17 (double-speak and the gospel) . Sixteen B (I broke #16 up into two halves, so picking up where we left off in the last post...) And now, moving on from the bulk of my comments to the bulk of the Calvinist quotes, showing you Calvinism in its full glory.  (And you thought you were almost done, that you already read the bulk of the Calvinist quotes.  Oh, no, we're just getting started.) Buckle your seatbelts, ladies and
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And Yet Again - 21 More Anti-Calvinism Memes

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I giggle making these.  Helps me blow off steam. Only if you're elected ... So you're a Calvinist? Except for you ... "I love being a Calvinist" First I'll tell them ... Said Jesus Never! We Calvinists say ... The bookcase Researching John Calvin Snap Out Of It The Pro-Calvinism Meme Absolutely Sure ... Calvinist Lunatic If you want people ... Another Predestination Sermon It's called "Calvinism" Lucky Dude "All" Means "Some" God "In Control" "Total depravity" (AKA "Total Inability" - a concept NOT found in the Bible anywhere!) It's be
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UGW #13-15: Limiting God's Power? Does He Cause Nations To Sin?

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Understanding God's Will #13, 14, 15 #13: But aren’t you limiting God’s power when you say that He’s not in total control of everything?               No, I don’t think so.    And yes, He is in control of everything as far as everything that happens to us has to go through Him first.    And I am not saying that He’s not all-powerful.    I believe that He is indeed all-powerful.    If He chose to wipe out the earth in a second, He could.    He could do whatever He wants to do.   He could control every movement we make, if that's what He wanted to do.   But I don’t think that He  does  do whatever He wants to do or control every movement we make.  Because that's not how He wanted things to be.    I think that when He created the world, He decided to make man with a free-will that He (generally) will not override, even though He can.  Because He wanted people who would choose to love Him and worship Him, not who  have to  because they have no choice.             And i
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80+ Bible Verses for Spiritual Warfare (repost)

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Do you ever feel like Satan is beating you down ... with negative thoughts, temptations, trials, struggles, fears? Do you know that there is a weapon available to help you fight against him and his schemes? It is the Word of God! The Sword of the Spirit! But I just learned something about this  Sword of the Spirit  from Tony Evans.  According to the concordance, the actual meaning of the "Word of God" in this verse ( Ephesians 6:17 ) doesn't have to do with the whole Bible, the written Word of God.  It's about the spoken word, about speaking the Word of God, about using Scripture out-loud to battle the lies of the enemy. The power of this weapon is in speaking it, not just knowing about it or reading it or having a Bible on your shelf.  It's vocalizing specific verses about your particular struggle or temptation or fear or whatever ... to defeat the enemy and make him flee. Jesus did this when Satan was trying to tempt Him in the w
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