Links to "Understanding God's Will, with notes on Calvinism" series

-

 I've been meaning to do this forever, but here are the links to all the posts in my "Understanding God's Will, with notes on Calvinism" series (I finally got around to doing this while updating my "Healing your soul from Calvinism's damage" post, which I will repost next):


Introduction part 1 and part 2

1.  Our Impact On God's Will 
2.  Cause versus Allow
3.  God's Will Is A Verb
4.  Taking Our Responsibility Seriously
5.  Prayer Matters
6.  But God Can Read Minds
7.  But God Already Knows Our Needs
8.  Advice About Prayer
9a.  "Name It and Claim It" Nonsense
9b.  Help for the Journey
9c.  Considering Other Prayer Verses
9d.  Idolatrous Prayers
9e.  Unanswered Prayer
9f.  Maybe God's Not Listening
9g.  Other Convicting Verses
9h.  Summing Up Effective Prayer
9i.  Still Waiting For An Answer
10.  Why Do Bad Things Happen?
11.  Does Everything Happen For A Reason?
12.  God Works All Things For Good
13.  Limiting God's Power?
14.  Does God Cause Nations To Sin?
15.  Is God Sovereign?
16.  Can We Change God's Mind?
17.  But God Can't Change His Mind
18.  Our Responsibilities Regarding God's Will
19.  Praying For The Wrong Things
20.  Missing The Path
21.  Will God Lead Me To Where I Don't Want To Go?
22.  So What, Ultimately, Is God's Will? 

Most Popular Posts of the Week:

Tony Evans Preaches on the End Times

-
I posted this on another blog in 2018, but it seems like a good time to repost it.  I haven't listened to all of these yet (and there may be repeated info in some of these), but here are some "prophecy and end times" sermons from Tony Evans, my favorite pastor to listen to.   Prophecy & End Times The End Times, the Rapture, and the Church The Coming Tribulation part 1 The Coming Tribulation part 2 Prophecy and the Rapture The Second Coming of Christ part 1 The Second Coming of Christ part 2 The Great White Throne Judgment The Millennial Kingdom What Happens When We Die? The Agony of Hell part 1 The Agony of Hell part 2 What is Heaven? The Glory of Heaven part 1 The Glory of Heaven part 2
Read more

The Calvinist Gospel Project? (their podcast/the gospel)

-
Image
Since I added this update late to the end of my post " The Gospel Project: Calvinist or not? ", I figured I'd repost it here too (with some additional information), in case you missed it: Update: Here's something from Lifeway about (from?) The Gospel Project, answering the question  "How do human actions and God's plans work together? ":   "... God is in complete control over all things. This is what Christians mean when they call God 'sovereign.'...  the Lord’s plans go forward through the choices of human beings as moral agents, including our freely chosen sinful actions!   Everything we do is what we want to do, while also being a part of God’s plan. They are what we want   and   what God wants." To me, this is Calvinism.  It's a little veiled, but it's Calvinism.  It's  saying that all our actions - even our "freely chosen" sins - were wanted, preplanned, caused, controlled by God.   You see, in Calvinism, ...
Read more

Is God Drawing Lines in the Sand (repost)

-
(R eposted from a few years ago, updated slightly.  Part of the "End Times" series.) It’s amazing and disturbing how brazen our society is in attacking everything about God and everything He created:  marriage, monogamy, sex, family, sexuality, the scientific reality of gender, morality, modesty, the value of a person, the right to life, the existence of "right and wrong," the Bible, Jesus, and Absolute Truth.  Not to mention God Himself, His very existence. We are destroying everything associated with Him (except nature – we worship that), and then we call ourselves "progressive." But you know what I think about it all?   I think that God is letting it happen because He is drawing lines in the sand.  Through all these divisive issues and all the immorality, God is saying “Pick a side!  I am forcing you to decide which side you want to be on ... because I am coming back soon to take My people out of here.  So I need you all to decide: ...
Read more

"My Corona Blend": An Essential Oil Blend for Diffusers

-
(Great, now I'll be singing "My Sharona" all day!) This is an essential oil blend I made to put in our diffusers at night while we are facing this coronavirus pandemic.  I picked oils that are known for their powerful anti-viral properties, that are good against colds/flu/fever/infectious diseases, that are good for lung/respiratory health, and that help stimulate the immune system.  (I call it "My Corona Blend" for my own reference, but I make no promises about its ability to defeat the Coronavirus.) The smell of oregano and thyme really come through in this.  It smells a bit strong, but pleasant, like a lemon thyme herb plant.  If you want a less oregano/thyme smell, add about half of both of those oils. (Check out safety recommendations for each essential oil to see if they are safe in a diffuser for your family, depending on the age of everyone in your house and whether they have compromised immune systems or not.  And then adjust accordingly, a...
Read more

Christian Testimony: Kyle - "Suicidal Atheist Finds Jesus"

-
Instead of reading the depressing news lately, I've been spending some time listening to hope-filled, truth-filled, uplifting testimonies from other Christians online.  It's been far too long since I've heard some good, godly, inspiring life-stories from other believers.  And we could all use every little bit of hope and inspiration and goodness we can get right now.   I really enjoy hearing people's testimonies of when and how they came to the Lord.  I like when they let us deep into their worlds, into their hearts, giving us a full picture of how they were before, what drew them to Jesus, how it affected them, etc.  And this guy's shares it all, from the heart.  I really enjoyed it.   Suicidal Atheist Finds Jesus (22 minutes long, and totally worth it!)   And here is the video of his wife's baptism (the YouTube channel these videos are on is hers).  It's beautiful. [And fyi, linking to someone's testimony does not necessarily mean...
Read more

Giggle Translate #1: Random Facts About Me (Skydiving, Flashlights, and I'm a WHAT!?!)

-
I'm bored.  So I've been running some paragraphs I've written through a bunch of randomly-chosen languages in a row with Google Translate and then back into English, just for giggles.  (I'm not serious, uptight, and a deep-thinker all the time.)  It's like a funny, terrible game of "Telephone."  (FYI: Bad word ahead.  Not my fault.  Blame Google Translate.  But I did bleep out a couple letters.)   Here are a few of the first ones I've done so far (the original writing was taken from my post  "Random Facts About Me, Just For Fun" ):
Read more

Be Wary Of The Christian Post

-
(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...
Read more

List of Calvinist Preachers, Authors, Theologians, Websites, etc.

-
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 ...
Read more

Links to "Some Carman Songs for Halloween" and Posts on Spiritual Warfare

-
For some "fun" songs from my younger years: "Some Carman Songs for Halloween" And here is a bunch of links about Spiritual Warfare, from my post called "War Rooms, Praying Scripture, and Spiritual Warfare": 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 them - if we stick our head in the sand and refuse to get involved, to put on our spiritual armor, to use the spiritual weapons that are available to us - we open ourselves up to deceptions, to defeat, to being very vulnerable to the strategies and attacks of the evil one. What I have done here is compile a list of posts on spiritual warfare, on praying Scripture, and on creating a War Ro...
Read more

My Everyday Prayer (part 3)

-
            “Pour out on us Your love, grace, and mercy, for we are bankrupt without these.   Protect us from evil and surround us with Your Heavenly angels, for we are desperate for Your care and protection.   We cannot fight this battle without You!”             I have a hard time praying that God pours out His blessings on us, like the “prosperity gospel” preachers teach.   Instead, I am learning to pray that He helps me be content with the life He has given me, to notice the blessings that are already there.   To find Him in it.
Read more