Christian Carnival CCL (250)

It is an honor to once more be hosting the Christian Carnival - especially such an important number like 250. This is very close to the 5th anniversary post, and it is such a nice round number.

Certainly, as many who have watched my blog know, I am pretty inactive as a blogger right now. Indeed, this carnival may (or may not) be the last I host - and my time constraints are apparent in its lateness (for which I apologize). Also, I have had to withdraw from the team that manages the Carnival because of those time constraints.

Which is the point of the introduction here. The Christian Carnival always needs help:

• It needs posts
• It needs hosts
• It needs folks to do the work behind the scenes
• It needs to be promoted

As with any ministry (and this is both a ministry and a mission), there are never enough folks to actually do the work. If you appreciate the Carnival on a weekly level, then there are many small things that you can help in. Contact Jeremy Pierce if you want to know what they are.

The posts are in the order in which they were received; and it is another great batch of submissions:

Tiffany Partin presents "God Is Still On The Throne!" posted at Fathom Deep: Sounding the Depths of God.

Am I bummed about the results of the election yesterday? You betcha! Am I sad that our country elected someone who supports the murder of our unborn children? No doubt about it! Am I crying in my coffee and chewing my fingernails to the quick over it this morning? Never!

You may say, "WHAT?"

Erica presents "A Call to Prayer" posted at Erica's Bible Study and Journal.

Many of us who call on the name of God spent time praying about this election. I would like to encourage you to continue to pray for this nation and its government and let it become a part of your regular life.

FMF presents "How You Handle a Little is How You'll Handle a Lot" posted at Free Money Finance.

Whoever can be trusted with little can also be trusted with much.

Martin presents "Theism implies Open theism" posted at Enigmania.

. . . this post may seem a bit philosophical, but its a simple enough thought-experiment about how the God of the philosophers ought actually to be closer to the God of Abraham et al. On the other hand, Open theism is regarded by many as heretical (either way, the post could probably use some criticism :)

Jeff presents "Word of Faith Healing Promises" posted at ReturningKing.com.

Another entire category of defective doctrines stemming from the Word of Faith movement are those doctrines concerning the guarantee of physical health.

Good Thing presents "A Million Good Things" posted at A Million Good Things.

Editor: There is no particular indication that this is a Christian site, or author - but it seems like a worthy project; and a great future resource for Christians who are taught to focus on God's blessings - but, like all humans, may lose track of those "good things" in the midst of real life

ChristianPF presents "5 Bible verses about money every Christian should know" posted at Money in the Bible Christian Personal Finance Blog.

Drew Tatusko presents "Hell is Not Populated, but its Existence is Among Us" posted at Notes From Off Center.

Hell exists and has its effects felt on earth now just as with the Kingdom of God (also a vivid image of Jesus - a future fulfillment of the Kingdom of God with present effects). However, it will not be “populated” until the general resurrection which again Jesus describes vividly.

Trent Cotton presents "Leading through Turbulence- Moses" posted at Christian Business Consulting.

With all of the news about the layoffs, the market crashing, international woes, or even just the fact that your car didn’t start today, it’s good to know that God gave us leaders to look to.

Annette presents "prayer that makes sense to a little boy" posted at Fish and Cans.

Prayers are answered for a toddler. :)

Weekend Fisher presents "The Triumph of God over Chaos" posted at Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength.

Have you ever gotten your days and nights switched so that you were sleeping and waking out of your habit and pattern? At times like that I often feel tired, and even when fully awake and energetic, I tend to be unhappy that I am fully awake at such an odd hour, knowing that it will only perpetuate another day out of rhythm.

The Bible Archive's Rey takes a break from heresy by having Guest Blogger Scott from Prodigal Thought post some very orthodox thoughts on the local church in "Church 102: A Further Step Forward".

Now that we have somewhat established a foundation from which we can work with, it would probably be best to move on to more practical matters. If church is truly about the people of Christ, obviously committed to God’s heart and kingdom purposes, then we have to ask what that means for our everyday lives, right?

ChrisB presents "Mercy vs Sacrifice" posted at Homeward Bound.

Hosea told us God desires "mercy not sacrifice." Does that mean God didn't require a sacrifice to forgive us of our sins?

Henry Neufeld presents "On Being Christian and Killing People" posted at Threads from Henry's Web.

Some rambling reflections on being a Christian veteran on veteran's day.

Jody Neufeld presents "Why Do Some Marriages Survive and Others Perish?" posted at Jody Along the Path.

There seems to be one key factor in keeping a marriage together.

Diane R presents "The Progressives" posted at Crossroads: Where Faith and Inquiry Meet.

The term Progressives is being used today both in politics and in Christianity. What exactly does it mean?

Wickle presents The annual war on the "War on Christmas" posted at A True Believer's Blog.

Wickle hopes that this year we might spare the country The annual war on the "War on Christmas" and instead act with peace and charity.

Jeremy Pierce presents Divine Supererogation posted at Parableman.

Are there things God does that he has no obligation to do? Does God always do the best possible thing to do? Surprisingly, commonsense answers to those questions might lead you to opposite views.

One nice thing - other than these great posts - about the Christian Carnival is that there is always one forming: send your submissions to blog carnival for the next Carnival.

Enjoy