It happens more than you'd think

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Hardest Spiritual Lesson #8: Matthew 6:33

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The second to last "hardest lesson" that many of us will face on our spiritual journeys (though I know there's more I haven't covered): Seeking God’s Kingdom and Righteousness (This will be a long one because there is much to say about it.    And I am drawing in a lot that I wrote in other posts because I think it is all worth repeating again and again.) Matthew 6:33:   “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” We all know that we are supposed to be seeking righteousness and God’s Kingdom.    But are we actually doing it?    And do we really even know what that means?   The reason I ask is because our country is getting so lukewarm and relativistic about spiritual things.    Whole denominations are drifting away from Biblical Christianity and becoming social clubs where the speakers tickle the ears of the congregation and make them feel warm and cozy and comfortable.  ...
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#10 Understanding God's Will (shortened)

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(For the full version of this Bible study "lesson," click here .  And if you want to get deeper into this huge t opic, check out the “Understanding God’s Will” series.)             “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.   Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.   Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.”   ( Romans 12:1-2 )
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Alana L: 6m ("We're so depraved!")

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This is the last post in the series  that's loosely based on this 14-minute video from Alana L.:   5 Signs Your Loved One is Becoming a Calvinist .   Point #6 , added to the end of her video  (Update: I totally redid Points #5 and #6 on my other blog, but instead of changing the already-published posts on this blog, I am adding them after this series as it is.  Look under the Alana L. label for the "updated" versions of these posts, numbered 5K-6Y, plus Z/Conclusion.  They'll be published between December 2025 and Summer 2026.): M .  At the end, Alana points out how you can recognize a Calvinist by how they constantly refer to themselves as depraved, wretched, worthless, etc.    Calvinists are taught to see themselves this way as a way of being humble, of honoring God and His "sovereignty."  It is drilled into their heads repeatedly. From  my ex-pastor's   February 1, 2015 sermon on unbelief:   "Why would people rejec...
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Only the Links from "How to Tell if a Church, Pastor, or Website is Calvinist"

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We just left our church of almost 20 years because of the dogmatic Calvinist pastor who recently came on board.   ( Read my "Letter to Our Elders Regarding Calvinism Growing in Our Church" here.)  And I wrote a post on what "red flags" I would look for in new churches to determine if they are Calvinist or not, and what steps I might take to help me determine it.  (Click on these links for the extended version or the simplified version .   New :  For the super-short version,   click here .   And FYI:  I found a couple times when the Calvinist author of an article I linked to changed the article after I linked to it.  So if an article doesn't seem to match what I said about it, it may be because they altered it. ) B ut since those posts have so many good links to posts about Calvinism, I decided to provide all the links in their own post, so that you don't have to sift through all the writing in the other ones.  So here they ...
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Pause, breathe, smile

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(Happy New Year!)  Please, allow me to vent and to listen to myself rant.  And come along, if you want, on a trip through m y mind  (I apologize in advance for how the messy it is😉) : Are you exhausted?  I am.  I am sick and tired of all the craziness out there, all the chaos, fighting, hate, lies, fear-mongering, violence, increasing prices (for less product or services), natural disasters, wars, rumors of wars, AI this-and-that, Big Pharma, social deviance/immorality, efforts to force people to tolerate social deviance/immorality, political posturing and mudslinging and nonsense, etc.  ("You can stop the world now, God.  We wanna get off.")   I am sick of both social media and the news - because everyone just wants to fight, scream their opinions, demand their way, calls names, make accusations, and force everyone else to agree with them and do things their way.  E verything's an "us vs them" thing, and "if you don't agree with 'us' ...
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Why Would Anyone Follow Jesus?

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As I was listening to a Christian radio station, they interviewed a random woman on the street who said, “I think the writers of the Bible just made it up to get people to follow them.” And I laughed out loud at the thought of that.  I wanted to ask her if she ever really read the Bible, if she knew what it teaches.  Because if she did, she would have to wonder why anyone would make up some of the things we find in the Bible and think it would cause people to go, "Oh yeah, that sounds great to me!" If you were going to make up a religion and try to get followers, you certainly wouldn’t tell us that ... 1.   We are sinful and cannot rescue ourselves. (How judgmental, discouraging and helpless sounding is that?) 2.   We need a Savior to rescue us. (How humbling!) 3.   Some of the early leaders of the faith were persecuted and killed for it, and we also should expect to be persecuted and hated by the world. ( Who in their right mind...
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Afraid to Pray?

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Have you ever been afraid to pray? I’m in this place a bit right now.   Don’t get me wrong, I do believe that prayer matters.   That it’s crucial.   I do pray about things.   Prayers of thanksgiving.   Prayers about immediate concerns.   Prayers of “I’m sorry.”   But more and more, I find that the words don’t come easily.   I guess I am afraid because it seems that every time I pray for something, the thing I pray about gets attacked.   Or I feel like my request gets denied, just to teach me a lesson.   Or I feel like the request will be granted, but it will cost me and I will have to pay in some other area. Or I feel like the answers have been coming so slowly and that I have to pray about things for years … so “Why bother starting now when it will just lead to years of anguish?”   Or I think “I’ve already prayed about that for years.   Why ask again?”   Or it feels like when the answer...
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#18 Expectations and Contentment (Happiness vs. Joy) (shortened)

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(For full version of this Bible study "lesson," click here .)             Philippians 4:12 :   “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.   I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”               1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 :   “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”             Contentment and Joy.   Aren’t these two things that we are always looking for?   Actually, what I should say is that we are usually looking for happiness when we should be looking for joy.   And we are not usually content with the way life is because we have too many expectations about what it should be.   Isn’t this more like it for most of us?   ...
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Predestination Does Not Mean "No Choice"

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(These next four posts are reposts of my original, long, unbroken-up posts on predestination vs. free-will.  The previous posts on predestination all come from these posts, so you don't have to read these long ones if you don't want to.  For more on this issue, see "Links To Other Anti-Calvinism Posts." )             Imagine that I walk into your church and say, “I am taking a group of people on a mission trip with me.   We are leaving sometime soon, and you have to decide which group you’ll be part of: the one that goes or the rest that stay behind.   I have a destination picked out, a way to get there, I’ve already paid the price to take a group with me, and I’m now asking for those who want to go.   It’s up to you if you want to come or be left behind.   And if you do not deliberately choose to come with me, you will be left behind.”   This, in essence, is the way I view the whole “predestination or free-will” deba...
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Winning the Battle

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(Reposted from my other blog ... because I needed to be reminded of it often.) I have been in a “funk” lately.  I get in them often, comes with being a child from a broken home.  (This is a repost of something I wrote years ago, but it still strongly applies.)   Prayer has felt futile.  I’ve been wanting to pull back from people.  I am struggling to accept certain “life problems” that I wish I didn’t have.  And I constantly deal with feelings of failure and not mattering. I know it’s not proper for a Christian to expose the fact that they are dealing with depression and frustration with God and disappointment with prayer and unhappiness with life.  I know we are supposed to plaster on that “good, happy, Christian smile” and act like we are full of joy and peace and contentment.  (Or are we?)   But this is the truth about how I feel.  And if I can’t be real with God and other Christians (even anonymously on this blog), then who can I be r...
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