The Importance of Brokenness

Such a great sermon, one we can all learn a lot from and be encouraged by (it doesn't relate to Calvinism, but that's okay):

"Encountering God's Process" by Tony Evans

(And here's a great 10-minute video from his daughter, Priscilla Shirer: "We're Desensitized to our Blessings."  It just seemed to speak so well to the crazy world we're living in right now, maybe because now seems like the perfect time to dig through all the distractions around us to find Jesus.) 

And it's funny because just the other day, I was updating and typing up a "Bible Study/workbook" thing I wrote years ago, called "Through the Refining Fire: Your 'Sweetly Broken' Journey," and the stuff Dr. Evans was saying in the beginning was almost exactly the stuff I had just typed up, about how God usually has to break us to rebuild us, how it's part of the process of spiritual growth.  

I am sending this "Through the Refining Fire" workbook to my relative who's in jail because she shares the Bible things I send her with other people on her floor.  I figure it's one way I can try to help turn this whole bad situation (her arrest) around for good, at least for someone.  She might not want what I send her, but maybe a fellow prisoner will get something out of it.  Who knows?  But it helps me to know that I'm not just wallowing in despair, but that maybe I can help some eternal good come out of this bad situation for someone, even if it's not her.  

Of course, all my efforts might not make much difference for anyone, might not help anyone find God's love, healing, truth, etc.  But if I don't send it then there's a 100% chance of not helping anyone.  And so I'd rather try, doing my part to get God's Word into a hopeless place that desperately needs it.  I mean, what an open door!  What a bittersweet blessing!  What a heart-breaking opportunity!  I'd be a fool to not take it, to not dive in as deeply as I can, to not go for broke.  How many people have someone "on the inside"?  How many people have an opening like that to get God's Word right into the middle of the mess, right into the hands and hearts of those who need it most?  

Yes, my heart is broken and I have to fight off anxiety every day (I'm tired, so very tired), but there's work to be done, Kingdom work.  If you've got to walk the painful path anyway, why not do whatever you can to squeeze some eternal good out of it!  If you don't, then all you've got is the pain.  And so I'd rather try, praying that God can use it somehow, someday, for someone. (Besides, getting busy doing what you're supposed to do and helping others are some of the best ways to fight anxiety.  That, and singing.  Out loud.  Even when you don't want to.  Another great way to fight off anxiety.)   

[Also, the officers have to read the mail that comes into the jail too.  So how cool is it to know that they are probably reading the letters I send my relative, all about God and faith and all the Bible verses.  Talk about a captive audience!  Talk about hitting two birds with one stone!  Not only do I have the opportunity to reach the inmates but also the officers (who, despite the fact they had to arrest my relative and make me testify against her, seem like really great people who I could've been friends with under other circumstances.  I have prayed for them too.).  That's my hope and my prayer anyway, that God's Word and Truth reaches whoever needs it, inmate or officer.  What an amazing, unexpected ministry opportunity.  Even if it's surreal and bizarre and disturbing and still doesn't feel like real life.]  

Anyway, I am updating this workbook, section by section, to make it shorter, more concise, and with better questions and verses.  If you're interested, check it out here.  (I will add the new sections as I update them.)  It's something you can do alongside another believer or just between you and God, but hopefully it will help you grow deeper in your walk with the Lord.  

Since I might not be adding new posts here for quite awhile (I've got a couple more scheduled for tomorrow, but I need a break, to be able to just rest and read, maybe paint or learn to draw, hopefully enjoy some snow, if we ever get any), I figured it might be nice to leave you with the link to this workbook.  Maybe it's something you can do as part of your New Year's resolution (as if we ever actually keep those).  Take care, and God bless.  And have a blessed Christmas tomorrow!  


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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).  [FYI: I added a note at the bottom of this post on May 5, 2021.]    And 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 Calvinists," 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 tried to figure it out based on the statements of faith of the groups/churches they belong to, the books they write, the things they say o
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Because it  appears  to teach biblical truth while actually teaching  the opposite  - while using  manipulation and cult-like tactics to suck you in!  And it's spreading.  Stealthily, fast, aggressively. (We watched it happen firsthand in our church, which is why I wrote this blog.  See  "What's the best way to make people agree with your Calvinist views?"    Sadly, we ended up  leaving that church , a place we attended almost 20 years.) [ I updated this November 2022 to try to shorten it.  I failed.  But I hope it's more readable and streamlined at least.   If you only read one anti-Calvinism post of mine, I think it should be this one.  But I'm warning you, this post is long.  Very long.  So pack a lunch and bring a sleeping bag.  But it has to be long because Calvinism is so deceptively convoluted that it takes time to peel off the layers so that you can see it for what it really is.  My hope is that with this one long post, I can show the deceptiveness of
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Here is the last of the ex-Calvinist testimonies.  The first one is from this post:  X-Calvinist Corner .   (It's an Arminian website, but I am not Arminian.)  I am going to highlight some of the comments that stood out to me the most.  If you want to read everything that everyone said, click on the link above: Dana Steele writes: I grew up in a Calvinistic Baptist church from age 11.  The 5-points of Calvinism (TULIP) were taught regularly with great enthusiasm ... But it wasn’t until college that I began to understand and embrace the “Doctrines of Grace” and TULIP more fully....  I also learned to love the doctrine of election because it meant that God loved me personally and specifically in a unique way.  Though it made me a little embarrassed to think that God did not love everyone this way, I was content to leave this as a mystery.  Who am I to question God?  I was just glad I was one of the lucky (I mean chosen) ones. ... [As A Calvinist]   I had developed a sense of theologi
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[A.k.a: Snippets to Ponder, part 4 (#19-20).  This is such a long "snippet" - too many horrific quotes, couldn't resist adding them - that I decided to just make it a whole post.  (I might break this down into smaller pieces in future posts.)  Topics in this post: Calvinism, babies, and unreached people. Click here for snippets  part 1 , part 2 , and  part 3 .] #19: Calvinist comments about babies   [ buckle up, hang on tight, and have a barf-bag ready] : About the suffering and abuse of babies and children:   [ And remember that these are not my words.  These are Calvinist's own words , and so you can see that we are not misrepresenting them or putting words in their mouths.  This is hard stuff to read.  Really hard.  But you need to read it.  To know that they really do teach this garbage.  (And "garbage" is the nice word.  I was gonna use a stronger one.  Oh, yes, I was!  Note: A ll bold emphasis in all quotes has been added by me. )] a.  Gordan H. Clark
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(For just the "Is the ESV a Calvinist Bible" part of this post, click here .) In my normal Bible reading today, I came across a verse about "singleness vs. marriage" that destroys Calvinism in a few short words: "But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but who has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin - this man also does the right thing."   ( 1 Corinthians 7:37, NIV ) When you get past all the layers Calvinism wraps itself in to disguise the bad parts, it ultimately teaches - at the heart of it all - that God causes/controls  everything , even controlling our wills and causing our sins.  (But He then punishes  us  for the things He caused us to do, which would make Him unjust, no matter how much Calvinists try to deny it and cover it up.  See  this post  for some links about that.)  Calvinism ultimately teaches that everything we do is because God preplanned it, ordai
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(For the extended version of this post, which I recommend, click here .  It is loaded with lots more information.  This simplified one is just the highlights.  And feel free to copy this and share it with others, to help them learn to identify Calvinism when they see it.  Just make sure to share the link to this blog so that they can find the original post.  Thank you.  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 their article after I linked to it.  So if their article doesn't seem to match what I said about it, it may be because they altered it. ) 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 was thinking about what precautions I might take to make sure we didn't end up in another Calvinist church (that is, whe
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A note I recently added to my posts on "How to tell if a Church, Pastor, or Website is Calvinist" : On a personal note : After having seen firsthand how Calvinism stealthily infiltrates and takes over a church, I want to share with you something that Kevin from Beyond the Fundamentals said in the video   "Stealth Calvinism in Oklahoma"  (my paraphrase): "By the time you realize what's going on and start looking up information about Calvinism online, it's too late."   Calvinist pastors who set out to take over non-Calvinist churches are banking on the fact that most people don't know what Calvinism is, giving the pastors plenty of time to weave in Calvinism in sneaky, subtle, tricksy ways before people catch on to (and research) the red flags.  (*See note at bottom about deceptive pastors.)  By that time, too many people in the church have been suckered into Calvinism (without realizing it's called Calvinism), believing that they're just
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A friend of mine recently sent me a link to an article that she says is one of the best overviews of Calvinism and its errors that she's read.  And after reading it, I agree.  I think it's a great one to share with others because it's got all the basics in one place: The Bible vs. Calvinism: An Overview by Patrick Myers There are some great rebuttals to Calvinist proof-texts in here, and some eye-opening quotes from Calvinists.  Something like this might help Calvinists understand what their theology really teaches and what the Bible really  teaches - and that these aren't saying the same thing.   FYI: If you click on the "about/contact" link at the bottom of the article, you can send him an email to request a PDF copy of his article.   And after I contacted him by email to tell him how much I appreciated his article, he graciously put a link to my blog at the bottom.  Thank you, Patrick, that was very kind of you. 😊
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