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A few years ago as part of the journaling I sometimes do, I narrowed some historical and recent causes of trouble down to these three things: 1. Unrealistic expectations. 2. Unreasonable demands. 3. Unbearable burdens. The solutions to these are found in the Bible, particularly in the Psalms, the Beatitudes, and Paul's Epistles. There is a temptation to blame others for causing trouble and sorrow etc., but pondering my past and praying for guidance, I have realised that actually I have caused all three of those things in the list to occur at times. The Lord has called me to minister spiritual life and growth through various means, and for many years I have led and participated in groups and teams to that end, as well as ministering to employees with that in mind, and I now understand how unrealistic some of my expectations have been. So you do a lot of training, study a lot of courses, gain a fair bit of experience, and then make the mistake of thinking that doing the work of ministry should be plain sailing because you have such a passion for it and have an expectation that because the Lord has called you to it everything will go smoothly. When it doesn't the disappointment can stay with you for years, and the memory of difficult demands, and heavy burdens can lead to thoughts of "Where did I go wrong?" I've been greatly encouraged of late in the knowledge that rather than plain sailing and smooth running leading to spiritual growth, it is the disasters, disappointments, and difficulties that do. What's your story?

I had the last one. In my 30`s (`80`s) I was teaching, playing music and teaching Sunday School at the meeting, playing sport, flying small aircraft, skiiing, etc. Then I contracted a debilitating sickness, I couldn`t move much. So for a few years I was mainly bed bound. Then over time I have gradually gained some strength but only 4 hours in the morning and 4 in the later afternoon. Other sickness on top of that, but through it all I would not change a thing for I have learnt that the Lord is very close and taught me so much. Hospital visits are my popular times for I get to talk to doctors and nurses about the Lord. I have had so many opportunities and I delight in having meals prepared and people come and help you. Life surely is exciting with the Lord.

Love you bro! I can only say that, of course, because of His love for me and in me! (and I was homeless and drugged-out too, many years ago, but by His graceful supply . . .) And besides, I have rough edges as well, as we all do, but just in other areas . . . Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

I read a little book* this morning that really simplified my thinking. It said that there are really only two religions in the world - the religion that says we must do something to please God; and the one that says it has already been done in Christ! Put another way, one is a religion and the other is actually a relationship. Therefore our role is simply to believe (in Christ & His wonderful & complete atonement work) and let (Him operate in and through us)! What great blessings He has bestowed on us . . . this is truth and The Truth is making us free! * "done." by Cary Schmidt

@Michael37 You end your post asking "What's your story?" so allow me to share a 4th topic that changed my perspective in all areas of my life: Sense of entitlement. More than a decade ago, a few things were not going well for me and I didn't know why, until I came across one of those silly lists that people share, with a title like "5 things that are preventing you from being happy". I have some prejudices against this kind of stuff, but the last topic was "Sense of entitlement" and my scornful smile was immediately humbled. Most of my issues had roots on that "sense of entitlement". And then I remembered Joseph, Daniel, Jesus(!!), the prophets, the disciples, the persecuted... and thought "Who am i?! who am i to think that i am owed even the air that I breath? Some people are in jail for being Christians, for doing what is right. Who am I, with this plate of cookies in front of me?" We know what sailors say: Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.

The Lord does not approve of complacency on our part. There is something worth writing about, things I do not share otherwise. Have I endured hardship? Indeed. Hardship was my life in this world until everything except for the life in this body was taken away. This can happen to some in combat zones: the zone changes them so that they can never go home again. There was a soldier during the Gulf War who said this to his section chief: "I can never go home." He never did. Something similar happened to me in this life. After the Lord raised me up to be a man again, He promised that nothing would be the same. I didn't understand His words until they started unfolding before my eyes. Whereas in the past I lived life waiting for the hammer to fall --- it always did, sometimes sooner than later --- the opposite was happening. I would wait for the hammer to fall and instead of disaster, blessings would fall like rain all around me. My adopted mother defeated cancer and the damage to her liver was miraculously "rolled back" so that she wasn't in danger any longer. Her heart softened toward the Lord. No one and nothing disturbed the peace on her land again, and this was the promise the Lord made after He poured His Spirit upon me. She would live the rest of her days in peace knowing that she was loved. Not long before sudden illness took her, the Lord sent a dream wherein He displayed that my time on her land was coming to an end, and that He would take her. When I woke from that dream, He told me not to despair. Nothing on this earth endures forever, said the Lord. I would not remain on her ranch. That's how nothing was the same again. I was no longer ignorant of His will and instead of calamity, the Lord encourages me to stand and walk confident not in myself, but confident in Him. When I said, "Lord, I can be a terrible man." He assured me that I would not lack for a teacher in Him. I continue to overcome the war zone I lived and breathed in for so long, and I learned the wise alternative to expecting the worst: Accepting that whatever befalls me is according to His will and purpose.

Having been raised in the RC church, then becoming born again when believing the Gospel, I am rather prejudiced against the system that held me in bondage and pretended to provide salvation through penance and good works. I cannot see anyone's heart and would never condemn nor affirm someone's status before God. Was he saved? I don't know either, but I do know that his status as a monsignor nor his good works could play any part in salvation. The RCC does not teach salvation by grace through faith alone in the death burial and resurrection of Jesus. They teach another gospel as Galatians 1 warns us about. Individuals within that system can be saved but not because they have followed RCC doctrine. I refrained from naming the denominations that teach false gospels lest I be misunderstood by individuals in them and lessen my witness to them of the true Gospel at a future date, but yes you are correct about the movie and I saw it as propaganda for them while telling the true account of this man. Being the Pope, Billy Graham, or Mohammed with a million good works won't save you. God judges man's heart as to whether he has believed the Gospel. Faith releases God's power to save. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." Romans 1:16

Figure of eighty = blue Jayne = red "I've been baptized twice. I feel I don't have a true love for God like other people. Instead I'm very angry and hateful towards God( in my heart)" Baptism doesn't save you. We know you are angry and hateful towards God. You keep telling us this over and over. When you repeat something long enough, ad nauseum, it becomes a truth to you. The DEVIL is the father of lies and he has made you believe the biggest lie of all - that you hate God and God cannot and will not help you. "I can't change. " Nope, you can't. None of us can. Only God can change us. "I feel like avoiding any ignoring God so I won't rack up more sins for myself. " "Racking up sins"?!? All it takes is one. That why everyone on the planet is a sinner. "I still remember the dream I had. I don't think church is a place for me anymore ... so now I'm going to willfully self isolate " I had a dream once that my almost perfect and loving father wanted to kill me. He turned into a monster. Another time that a dinosaur was chasing me. This "dream" of leaving other Christians behind and DANGEROUSLY "self-isolating" is NOT from God. God did not send you that dream. "I think once I finish my nursing school and things are less of a struggle with my kids and work ect then maybe I'll go back to God." What makes you think you are guaranteed anything beyond today? None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. So you are throwing God in the trash can until YOU "feel" like talking to him? It doesn't work like that. "I can't with my hateful heart right now. " Then STOP convincing yourself that you hate God. You don't! You are alone, afraid, unable to tend to the children, and mentally ill. At least that's what you keep telling us. "So this is my solution. I don't want to be toxic. So I'm just gonna take alot of time to myself and be alone." YOUR solution? I know that this is bringing you a false, FALSE sense of relief. I've been there. I, MYSELF, have "self-isolated", "took a lot of time to be alone", and even self-medicated. I thought i was doing what was best for me, because it made me feel "safe" in that cocoon of "aloneness". I am STILL paying a price for all of that SELF, SELF, SELF to this day. Only God brought me out of it. "I think I'll spend time with God when I'm less hateful." Then you will NEVER come to God. The hate you harbor - that the devil keeps POUNDING and POUNDING like rusty and hellish nail in your heart - cannot be overcome with SELF or when "things" get better. Without God, things will never "get better". I've told you in private before that you are on my personal prayer list. I am NOT going to take you off.

Different circumstances (I never had kids) and issues but otherwise, identical to what I went through a long time ago. I was in the same place as you are, my friend: My family and relatives hated me; my mother wished that I had never been born. They taunted me. Religion made me perfectly ill. I had never grown up with anything remotely like it so when I encountered it in others, I wanted nothing to do with it. It was phony and tiresome. I believed that God hated me. Everything I did --- or tried to do --- was a disaster. I watched it fall apart before my eyes and there was nothing I could do to stop it from happening. Trying again only resulted in the same thing happening... over and over. It's the fiery trial, and don't think for a moment you're going through it because of sin or because the Lord despises you (I believed the latter). The fiery trial can last for a very long time... mine lasted a little over 20 years. I'll tell you what it means. It means that you are blessed beyond measure. Ah, but the blessing won't come until the fiery trial comes to an end. There is indeed another side of this that you will emerge into. Something to remember in the days to come: Losing religion is a wonderful thing. The Lord is not religious at all, but we certainly can be. Remember that.

This is not "truth". When the Arab extremists responded to the declaration of statehood with terrorism, all peaceful Arabs were invited by the Jewish government to stay where they were. There was no such thing as a "Palestinian" at the time. The "Palestinian" label was later adopted by the Arabs for purely political purposes - i.e. to give the false impression of indigeneity. In reality, the overwhelming majority of Arabs in Israel at the time migrated from the bankrupted Ottoman Empire in the late 1800s, or from Egypt in the 1920s. In the early 1800s, the land (called Palestine by the Romans) was mostly uninhabited. This is a lie. Jews purchased abandoned land from the diminishing Ottoman Empire and cultivated it. Arabs then moved from the north to where there were opportunities. With a few exceptions, Jews and Arabs largely coexisted peacefully in the land for the following few decades. The "colonial" narrative is antisemitic gaslighting. Only those unfamiliar with the facts would fall for such deception. Jews accepted the two-state solution offered by the United Nations in 1947 (General Assembly Resolution 181). Arabs rejected this plan in favor of terrorism. Prior to this, Arabs unanimously rejected the Peel Commision partition of the land between Arabs and Jews (1937). In 1993, the Arabs rejected the offering of a separate Arab state in the Oslo Accords. In 1998, the Arabs again rejected an attempt to reestablish the Oslo principles at Wye River. In 2000, Arabs rejected an offer (by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barack) to control 10% more land than was currently under Arab authority. In 2008, Ehud Olmert offered the Palestinian Authority near-total withdrawal from the West Bank, as well as the Old City part of Jerusalem. In all these instances, the Arabs rejected "a two state nation" in favor of intifada, or Jihad, or some other form of Holy war from this supposed "religion of peace". It is completely disingenuous (a.k.a. a demonstrable lie) to suggest that Israel have been the ones standing in the way of a "two state" solution. In 2005, Israel forcefully removed its own people from Gaza in order to give the Arabs a mini state under their own authority. Instead of using the opportunity and billions in Aid to establish a thriving state, they used the incoming wealth to turn Gaza into a terror state against Israel. Finally - something true. Yes - it is completely "justifiable". Sadly lacking in these protests is the demand for the Gazans to return Jewish hostages. Thereby demonstrating the innate susceptibility of these protestors to evil lies. 1 John 5:19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

The answer is here: 1Co 14:1-3 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. (2) For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. (3) But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.

I Believe in what He did, done, then I work. (created to do good works for what God has done) vs... I work, done, believe in what I did. (created to believe in my works for what I have done)

Similar in most ways. Difficulty has been the means by which the Lord teaches me. When I was younger, it was His discipline but now, He counsels me after the fact, reminding me of lessons learned through much hardship. I'll furnish a pertinent example. Normally, I'm silent toward all save for the Lord Himself. I use words sparingly unless He moves me to speak to another; my calling is different in focus and yet similar to your own. I usually find myself ministering to the desperate and those who have nothing left to lose. Over the years I have come to admire those whom the Lord places in my care, for their honesty and lack of pretense is encouraging. Indeed, I prefer this dangerous part of the city to locations of high real estate value. It has been my observation that comfort and plenty breed insolence and arrogance... and this is where difficulty arises, brother. Silence served me well for so long! By remaining silent, I controlled my tongue perfectly. Ah, but silence cannot serve as an escape route to avoid the hardship our Lord uses to for our benefit. The Lord knows how I struggle to treat those whom I perceive as pretentious or religious in the manner which I wish to be treated myself. My answer was silence and for years, this sufficed. There were other matters that the Lord focused upon. These days, the Lord bids me to break that silence and speak... in other words, I must take the risk of treating others poorly on account of my prejudices and flaws. Heh. Surely that last sentence sums up the learning opportunity in the Lord that breaking my silence affords. I criticize others on account of prejudices and flaws that I perceive... and I'm not oblivious to how this springs forth from my own prejudices and flaws. I'm not oblivious because after the deed is done, the Lord reveals the resounding irony of my actions and words. What do I say? "Lord! Why do I open my mouth or keyboard? I'm an idiot." No, I'm just a man... just like my brother is. Treat my brothers and sisters with the greatest care... that lesson which Christ delivered to me through the darkest of times in the desperate places. I forgot about that lesson.

Satan is a great deceiver. So much so that at the very end, HUMAN BEINGS created by God try to kill their own loving Creator at Armageddon whilst being led by the great deceiver Satan and his minions, the very same one who is responsible for death, mayhem, murder, rape, lies, greed, hate et al. Anytime I hear something like this I know right away the problem is the liar is whispering to the person. It is what it is, if we put on the world, our hearts will meld into worldliness, if we put on God our hearts will meld into Godliness and hate this evil world. It comes down to CHOICES.

Reminders – Neither Rank nor Works can Save I watched an old movie this week about a high-ranking religious official who risked his life during WWII to help allied soldiers evade capture by the Nazis. This true story featured a very likeable actor portraying a very likeable hero, who helped save thousands of lives. (He reminded me of the factory owner Oskar Schindler, in the movie “Schindler’s List” that many of us are familiar with.) What affected me most about the movie was the ending that infered that this man was a virtuous Christian because of his rank within his denomination and the good works he performed to help others. Though perhaps admirable, neither of these things are requirements nor guarantees of salvation and Christianity. The elevation of ‘special people’ within a denomination or sect, as a sign of God’s favor is a false assumption. There have been many who have gained high esteem, who have then been proved to be charlatans. They usually have charismatic personalities and assume intellectual or spiritual power over unsuspecting and gullible sheep. Mary Baker Eddy, E.G. White, Joseph Smith, and Charles Russell, were all 19th century creators of today’s major non-Christian cults. Jim Jones, Sun Myong Moon, and Acharya Rajneesh come to mind as more recent cult leaders. Of course, the mastermind of them all is Satan, who started out as the highest, smartest, and most beautiful of all God’s angels. Another false assumption is that good works are a conclusive sign of God’s salvation. When Adam fell, his sin nature was passed on to all mankind so that all are born spiritually dead. Being spiritually dead makes one incapable of doing ‘good,’ or ‘God originated’ works. Why then do many non-Christians seem to have good works? Adam ate from the tree of the ‘knowledge of good and evil.’ In the place of his living spirit that died when he ate from that tree, he, and all his descendants received a conscience, that thing within us that discerns right from wrong. Some people have a very high or strong conscience that produces morally good deeds. Others have their consciences so seared that they are moral reprobates only producing evil deeds. A subtle lie of Satan is that our consciences decide our destiny, telling us that more good works than bad earns us heaven. The problem is that it is not our conscience, but faith in what God says that decides our fate. Proverbs tells us, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Proverbs 14:12 The people going in by the wide gate think they are going to heaven. Final Thoughts: There are two prominent truths in the Bible that must be believed to become a Christian. 1) “There is none righteous, no, not one. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. For there is no respect of persons with God.” Romans 3:10, 23; 2:11 Our celebrity in government, society, or church does no one any good in the sight of God. From top to bottom, we are all equally guilty. 2) “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 It is only by faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for eternal life that any man can be saved. No membership, prominence, lineage, inheritance, or desire can earn God’s salvation. John 1:13 It only comes by faith and experiencing the new birth of God. It is His ‘good work,’ not ours. His is finished. Ours is to believe it. John6:29 ph

I am going to go on a short tangent of what a prophet is, and what it entails. Prophesy is a gift of the Spirit (1 Cor 12). A prophet is one who has this gift, and shares the wisdom of God as the Spirit moves him, in a way that is understood by his listeners. The wisdom of God is not limited to foretelling future events, which is how the world perceives the idea of prophesy. Most true prophesy today deals with us, and our relationship with God today and forever, in all of its aspects. The gift of prophesy is greater than the gift of tongues. 1 Corinthians 14:5 I would that ye all spake with tongues but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying. If prophecy were merely the telling of future events, particularly end times events, we would have no need for prophecy or prophets. We have already been given these prophesies. And anyone who would seek to alter them, would not be held blameless by God. Revelation 22:18-19 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. Prophets today interpret the events today in the context of the past, present, and future that God has already foretold. With that said, was this man you met a prophet? I don't know. But if he loved God, and Jesus was, and is his Lord, then he is a son of God. And it doesn't get better than that. And it's forever. And so is the love of God. The Spiritual gifts will someday be unnecessary. We will see Jesus face to face. 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. Jesus is the perfection to come in his fullness of power.

Indeed. When I think of religion, I think system and organization . . . man's idea how to follow God and get His approval, rather than trusting Christ and having a relationship with Him.

Both Canadian and American government, including Germany have allowed a lot of Muslims Arabs to enter their country especially since a few years ago when they had no place to go. Interesting the other Arab countries did not welcome any of them as the above mentioned countries have. Germany has had a hard time controlling the Arab guetoes and the sharia laws being implemented by their own underground ways of managing. I know in Canada better laws where implemented so that these Islamic guettoes do not impose on the provinces laws and I think the U.S.A. also have some laws implemented to prevent the Sheria laws to take over. And they are free I guess to protest like any legal protest is allowed. Another danger that people are not seeing coming is the imposition of the Naohide Laws, They are creeping in and will be the end to many Christians. People need to research for themselves what those laws truly are about.

Religion is a complex concept with no single definition due to its diverse manifestations across cultures. Scholars identify seven common characteristics shared by most religions, including stories/myths, belief in supernatural beings, use of symbols, rituals, clerics, altered states of consciousness, and evolving beliefs/practices over time. Religion is intertwined with culture and plays a vital role in preserving collective memory and identity. Despite variations, all religions share a mystical core that involves a profound connection with a transcendent reality. The study of religion involves understanding its multifaceted nature rather than reducing it to a set of universal principles or ideologies. Embracing the diversity of religions can foster mutual understanding, humility, and peace among different belief systems.1 1 New Testament Theology and Its Quest for Relevance: Ancient Texts and Modern Readers This technical definition reminds me of the successful ecumenical propagation of Pope Francis and his success in bringing back the “protesters” under the umbrella of the Catholic (Universal) Church. The “letters of agreement” were signed by the Vatican and some Muslim sects, and Abraham's commonalities were shared, leading to the One World Religion. As we all know, Christianity is not a religion. It is faith, trust, and a personal relationship with a person, and we know who and what that Person is.

The wine press of the wrath of God is compressing. There is stress and pressure worldwide and just since the new year events seem to be compounding. Edit: Changed a word.

I am reminded of Isaiah 48.10: "I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction".

Trouble, Sorrow, Need, Sickness, Or Any Other Adversity. 1. Unrealistic expectations. 2. Unreasonable demands. 3. Unbearable burdens. My three are: People, places and things. I haven't been to an AA meeting since I was still partaking of alcoholic beverages many years ago and this is what they teach. Every problem can be categorized within these three headings. To me trials reveal how unspiritual I am. If I can practice patience by waiting on the Eternal God to show me the way or outright bail me out as He as so often done, I manage through the ordeal. The trouble with practicing patience is that I'm always in need of some to begin applying it to my situation. When I lack, I see that I also am lacking in other fruits of the Spirit. And this is how I notice that I'm lacking in spirituality. I find that waiting upon the Lord will also humble me and surprisingly, I'm able to bear the burden of the trial.

While still here on this earth, we are soldiers in the army of God. Boot camp/infantry training regiment. "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" Ephesians 6:10-12 Doubts (fiery darts) vs Faith... "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked" Good one warrior12.....

That's the irony of my predicament, @Vine Abider. I'm patient with those who struggle with addiction but everything changes when I find myself faced with someone who doesn't; or, someone who attends a church. I'm too comfortable in those places where I have dwelled (the gutter, or just down the street from the gutter as it were) but when I find myself outside of my comfort zone, I can be a real piece of work. I look down upon those who don't scrape and struggle to survive... or rather, those whom I perceive in such a way. That's important to confess to you: it's all about my own perceptions, brother. Who am I to judge anyone? I'm merciful to the addict but my tongue is like a razor blade toward others who don't meet with my approval. The Lord has forgiven me of so much that the manner in which I have treated you and others recently is shameful. I not only need to get over myself quickly, but I must never forget that I'm here to serve others. I know what I have to do next: I must visit a church. There's one across the main road a few blocks away. Time for me to learn the lesson. I hope that I can regain your trust.

"disasters, disappointments, and difficulties" A butterfly when still in the cocoon stage struggles to get out to fly. If you cut the cocoon and let it out, no struggle, it will never fly. The struggles and difficulty push blood into the wings, growing/strengthening them. God designed the butterfly to go through the struggles for his intended purpose. This applies to his created people also. Growth, strength, wisdom, etc comes at a price. God's ways are not man's ways.....

Psalm 94 17 If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. 18 When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.

Psalm 62:5 My soul, wait you only upon God: for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: He is my defense, I shall not be moved .

But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:13

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:34-35

How do you respond when someone disagrees with your views, and, or challenges them? If they are too weird I ban them

Once again, if you do not mind! Get by yourself and just let go and let God. There is no magic words to say… don’t look for any external sources to relieve you of your circumstances. I wish I could explain it to you just how easy it is to let go and let God! I wish I could explain to you how I understand just how impossible that must seem to you. I will bet that EVERYONE in this has sat in the seat you are sitting now. It is a very dark and ugly place to be. Please take the advice of the folks in here - just go into private place and just CRY until you can’t cry anymore… I promise you when you are worn down by your tears you WILL LOOK UP AND SINCERELY ASK GOD TO TAKE OVER. Ask Him for His peace that goes beyond any understanding. Once you do this you WILL find Him and He will begin the healing process. God bless!

In fellowship this evening with a couple others, I realized that one other thing is needed that I wanted to convey to you - declare scripture out loud. That is, take a verse you think is good and speak it, even pray it back to the Lord. His word is living and operative, and by speaking it, it changes you. (and also puts the lying enemy to flight) Do you have any favorite verses?

I hope God gives me a new heart. So I can enjoy God like everyone else and not have issues.

God is still there while you `sit in the corner,` and when you come to the end of yourself, (like we all do).

They never ask of what they do not know to be the answer. God does the same thing does he not? Seems He asks many a rhetorical question. It's also kind of a Jewish mannerism to make a statement but to do so in question form.

Like one said it depends. I would love to believe I try to always hear what He the sweet sweet holy Spirit is saying. Since were told to be in prayer always and praying about all things. But it depends. For me sometimes when I talk at the end I hear "what in the world were you talking about?" haha.. yeah haha

You may ignore God to show him your anger. But he won't ignore you. He will never leave you! He will never forsake you! God doesn't lie. Trust is best when things get hard. Wait upon the Lord...And his timing. EDIT, PS: Those sins you mention have been paid for, washed away!

Shalom! I don't exactly know how many people who are visiting this forum daily, but I would like to encourage you to participate in praying for the few prayer requests which comes in regularly, and click on the prayer "button" to show that you've prayed. 😊 I know that there's a few faithful prayer people in here, but I believe we can become more, and especially if we dwell about how grateful we are when someone pray 🙏🏽 for us, right? I'm very grateful for those who are praying for us, and I believe that a prayer of a righteous person is powerful, and especially if we are praying in unison! 😊 I wish you a blessed day still there!

Rdj, Michael, never take sides! ever! Familiarity breeds contempt because of our faults and sins. My wife has a cousin and how she and her husband interact is always in an argumentative manner. Always. So very tiresome being around them. Haven't seen them in years! Hahaha.

There's always an interplay in our bodies between the physical and the psychological. As a general rule, stress does make symptoms of illness worse, whatever illness it is. On the other hand, severe acute stress can block out symptoms temporarily. I recently read about a couple of guys who were trying to escape a war zone in a car. One had injured his back and was unable to get in or out of the car without help. As they drove, the car came under fire and the fit guy jumped out and ran for his life, forgetting about his companion. Reaching the safety of a ditch, he looked round - and his friend was right beside him.

Yes, I agree when Satan is thrown from heaven with his fallen angels Contrary to what people say, I believe this has not happened yet it is future Woe to the Earth! 30 minutes is an expression of time, not literal Finally, heaven does not have to hear Satan gripe anymore, how peaceful it will be and quiet in heaven

You are angry at God because you think He ignores you? I backslid. A judge took my 3 month old baby from me. My dad said: they did that in Nazi Germany. I prayed that God would give my kids back, but He did nothing. I did not get mad at Him though, because I was always taught in church that if something bad happens it's never God's fault. It's your own fault or someone else's fault, but never God's fault and because I got Word of Faith teaching instead of the calvinistic 'God is omnipotent and can do whatever He wants, so if He doesn't He is not willing', the God image exchristians hate, I just thought God could not help me and later I doubted if He even existed, but I wasn't mad at God. Now had they told me that He can do whatever, but He was just like: oh they took your kids? Ah what a pity. Not nice eh? Haha but what do I care. Yes then sure I would have gotten furious. The thing was: I did not realize it, but I lived in sin. Maybe also because they put me full with pills that made my conscience work less. My ex dumped me after he chatted with an über holy American woman who was divorced herself and the daughter of some minister or maybe she was even one herself, but she didnt mind ruining a family, so I ran off with a guy I met in the mental hospital where I came after a suicide attempt caused by Prozac and we married ourselves there in the back of a car of another patient who was our witness. So I really believed God saw us as married. We couldn't legally marry, because I just got dumped and ran off with the next one a week later, so I was still legally married. I saw a preaching then, when I lived together with that guy, from Carlos Annacondia. He said he was preaching once and a woman yanked his tie and said: Mis hijos! Mis hijos! Why? Why? Why? My kids! My kids! Why? Why? Why? And he said: Because you turned your back on God. And then he preached about the widow from Nain whose son got buried and she got her son back, cause Jesus raised him and he said: God will give you back what you lost. I did not understand it though at the time. I was deceived. I thought God was fine with it and saw us as married. Then I was legally divorced and we would marry for the law, but then all of a sudden he didnt want to cause he'd have to pay my ex child support. Then I saw that I had been mislead, broke up and repented and asked Jesus back in my heart. I said sorry to my ex. He said sorry. I got my kids back. God could not help me because I had turned my back on Him. When I returned to Him He could help me. If you want God to help you it's not smart to leave Him. Don't listen to satan. What if the rapture is next week? Then you miss it if you leave Him. What about your children? Don't hinder them. Let them come to Jesus.

Welcome to the club, called "The children of God who still have the flesh!" Four bottom-line facts: 1. He loves us regardless - period (and we can tell Him anything!) 2. Christ died in our place as God's appointed One to forgive ALL our sins - claim that! 3. If you've accepted Christ at any point, He lives within your reborn spirit (where everything good is) and you're therefore His child with His life in you 4. We still have the flesh (where nothing good resides) The deception comes in to say we have no hope - BIG LIE! Christ in us in an incredible hope of glory! If we focus on all the bad stuff our self/flesh produces it just begets more bad feelings and attitudes. But, as Romans 8:6 points out, "The mind set on the spirit is life and peace." You have a free will. You can choose to have your source in your flesh, or your regenerated spirit which is one with Him ("He that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit with Him." 1 Cor 6:17). From your spirit will come reality and truth; from your flesh will only come a lie and destructive feelings. The Lord is with you!

I'm not a councilor, but one thing God loves is the truth. Well said. It's refreshing. I've got hope for you. Jacob wrestled with God and limped fore ever after that. At the end of his life Pharaoh asked him how old he was. Jacob answered; "my days are few and evil". Then he blessed Pharaoh. Hebrews tells us that the greater blesses the lessor. God had still done His Work and made the "Supplanter" greater than Pharaoh.

Very good farouk, We need to always start with the WHY God is doing something - His Eternal Purposes for the Body of Christ, for Israel and for the Nations. Get those muddled up and you have `soup.` (All in together.)

Hi @deva1 If someone is going to be converted, it's the Word of God that is going to take effect; Acts 16: 'Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened'.........

Hi @RdJ Biblical Theology begins with God being Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient. This means that in Eternity and Infinity He always exists and always knows all that is knowable, so that each second of time and everything that exists in that second is examinable by God in Eternity and Infinity. If this were not so God would not be God. The fact that God put the Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good And Evil in the Garden of Eden proves He knew beforehand what evil was. God always knows everything regardless of time.

Why do we melt iron? It purifies the iron to make steel. Why do we thresh wheat? It separates the wheat berries from the unusable stalks. Why did God give man the opportunity to sin? It gave man the choice to serve Him or reject Him. Angels were created to serve. Only the greatest of them have the ability to accept or reject God. For the others, it's their nature to follow. Satan rebelled and was cast out of Heaven, taking 1/3rd of the angels with him because they followed him. So, cast out of Heaven but not banished from it, Satan roamed the newly created realm. He deceived Eve and caused her to sin, but Adam was not deceived. He willingly broke the law. Because of that, the new creation was cursed. Sickness and death came into the world. The animals, created to eat plants, began to eat each other. Still, God had a purpose for Satan. He was there to tempt Jesus at His moment of weakness. To demonstrate that a man could resist the temptation to sin, Jesus had to do just that. Thus, Jesus showed us that we can resist the devil in exactly the same way. He showed us that Satan could be defeated by using the Scriptures, which even Satan knew were accurate. Sadly, many Christians don't have the faith in the Bible that Lucifer had. We have a choice to follow God's word or to reject it and follow Satan's temptations. Man is being tested from birth to death to determine his worthiness in eternity. Most will fail. When Jesus returns following the tribulations, Satan will be bound for a thousand years. After that will come his judgment and final condemnation. He hasn't gotten away with anything. Every sin will convict him, just as our sins will convict us unless we have someone to take them away from us. That's where Jesus comes in. Only through Jesus can sins be forgiven. Can a Muslim who sees Jesus only as a prophet go to Heaven? No. Can a Buddhist who strives to be a moral person go to Heaven without Jesus? No. God provides us with an example of holiness and an example of evil. The choice is ours. When our time on earth has ended and there will be no more time to choose, Satan will go where he belongs. Until then, we are in a war. Will you fight on the side of Jesus, or follow Satan into damnation? You have a choice until you die. Then there is no second chance.

I used to try to persuade them of my view and honestly felt pressured to convince them . Now I pray as we are talking and if I feel led to continue the conversation I will but if I feel this is not a genuine interest but maybe just an attempt to annoy me etc I just say we'll have to agree to disagree and leave it. I usually ask God to direct me with this person.