My Crazy Faith

There are a couple videos I recently linked to of someone sharing the spiritual warfare they've gone through.  It was good advice and on-track biblically.  But since then, she's done videos more along the lines of "prophetic messages," sharing dreams she's had and what she thinks God is saying through them to the people watching her videos, including the prophecy that God is going to bring someone an unexpected business opportunity.  This makes me leery, and it makes me want to share a quick warning about those kinds of "prophetic" messages.   I don't want to quench the Spirit or limit His work, or anything like that.  And I don't know exactly what this specific woman is experiencing (so I'm not writing this specifically about her, but about things like this).  And I don't know exactly how the Spirit works nowadays through spiritual "gifts."  So this is just my opinion, a word of caution.  (There's a note about the "gif

Do you remember the scene in  The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug  when the dwarves are about to enter Mirkwood?   Mirkwood is full of dangers, distractions, and deceptions that will try to confuse them and get them off-track, lost.  And so b efore Gandalf leaves to attend matters elsewhere, he instructs them about how to get through the evil forest successfully.  He tells them what they need to know about the dangers they'll face and the path they should take, and then he warns them,  "Stay on the path."   But while in the forest, it's up to them to do it, to be on-guard and wise, to remember and follow what Gandalf said instead of trusting themselves.   Well, life is our Mirkwood, full of spiritual dangers, distractions, and deceptions that try to get us off-track in life, away from God's best.  But God has created a way through, a path that He wants us to walk for the best life (and eternity) possible.   But w here is this path?  How do we stay on it and avoid the

  [In this series, I'm breaking the long post   "Why is Calvinism so dangerous?"   into bite-sized pieces.]   8.    The Bible says ...  We are to evangelize because it's how people will hear the Gospel so that they can believe.  By hearing the Gospel, we can believe, and by believing, we inherit eternal life. Romans 10:14 :   "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?  And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?  And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" John 20:31 :   "But these are written that you may believe ..." But Calvinism says ...  Evangelize because God told you to,  even  though God's already decided  where   everyone will go.  The elect will be  saved and the non-elect will be damned,  no matter  what, but we still have to obey God's command to spread the Gospel. Makes no sense!   Calvinism says that we are elected/born-again before we can even respond to the Gospel, that

Some basics The Nature of the Battle part 1   (audio, 25 minutes long) The Nature of the Battle, part 2   (audio, 25 min.) The War Revealed and Strongholds Defined   (video, 29 min.) Finding victory over Satan's tricks and traps    (video, 44 min.) Take authority over the spiritual warfare in your life   (video, 28 min.) How the enemy tries to distract you from God's plan   (video, 50 min.) Overcoming Satan Series How to Overcome Spiritual Warfare with the Armor of God   (audio, 57 min.) The Powerful Weapon of Peace   (audio, 47 min.) Overcoming Satan's Strategy Through Faith   (audio, 41 min.) Grab Your Sword   (audio, 44 min.) Well-dressed for Warfare   (audio, 49 min.) Armor of God The Belt of Truth   (video, 31 min.) Breastplate of Righteousness   (video, 31 min.) The Shoes of Peace   (video, 32 min.) The Shield of Faith   (audio, 25 min.) Helmet of Salvation, part 1   (audio, 25 min.) Helmet of Salvation, part 2   (audio, 25 min.) Sword of Spirit, part 1   (audio, 25 m