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I'm not sure where to start with this.... but I want to keep it short and sweet. I have been struggling with alcoholism for the past two years. I'm sick of myself. I'm sick of drinking. I'm tired of feeling guilt and shame after waking up from an all night drinking session. I really love God and my biggest desire is to live in a way that is pleasing to Him. But I don't know how to stop. I've tried AA and walked away feeling more discouraged than helped. I've tried addiction counseling and she said she couldn't help me until I stopped drinking. I'm just tired. And I want a change, but I don't know how to do this. I know all things are possible with God. I believe this to be true. I have people who I keep myself accountable too and I feel like I have done everything in my power to fix this, but it's... my life is a mess. Things could be worse, but it could be better. I don't know... I'm starting to ramble, so I'll just stop

A little boy was spending his Saturday morning playing in his sandbox. He had with him his box of cars and trucks, his plastic pail, and a shiny, red plastic shovel. In the process of creating roads and tunnels in the soft sand, he discovered a large rock in the middle of the sandbox. The boy dug around the rock, managing to dislodge it from the dirt. With a little bit of struggle, he pushed and nudged the large rock across the sandbox by using his feet. When the boy got the rock to the edge of the sandbox, he found that he couldn't roll it up and over the wall of sandbox. Determined, the little boy shoved, pushed, and pried, but every time he thought he had made some progress, the rock tipped and then fell back into the sandbox. The little boy grunted, struggled, pushed, & shoved; But his only reward was to have the rock roll back, smashing his chubby fingers. Finally he burst into tears of frustration. All this time the boy's father watched from his living room window as the drama unfolded. At the moment the tears fell, a large shadow fell across the boy and the sandbox. It was the boy's father. Gently but firmly he said, 'Son, why didn't you use all the strength that you had available?' Defeated, the boy sobbed back, 'But I did, Daddy, I did! I used all the strength that I had!' 'No, son,' corrected the father kindly. You didn't use all the strength you had. You didn't ask me.' With that the father reached down, picked up the rock and removed it from the sandbox. Do you have 'rocks' in your life that need to be removed? Are you discovering that you don't have what it takes to lift them? There is always someone such as a loved one or a friend available to us and who is willing to give us the strength we need. Isn't it funny how in life we often try so hard to do things ourselves, when all we had to do was ask for help? Our Heavenly Father is always there to help us....

MOVE CLOSER Not long ago I heard a story about a young man and an old preacher. The young man had lost his job and didn't know which way to turn. So he went to see the old preacher. Pacing about the preacher's study, the young man ranted about his problem. Finally he clenched his fist and shouted, "I've begged God to say something to help me, preacher, why doesn't God answer?" The old preacher, who sat across the room, spoke something in reply, something so hushed it was indistinguishable. The young man stepped across the room. "What did you say?" he asked. The preacher repeated himself, but again in a tone as soft as a whisper. So the young man moved closer until he was leaning on the preacher's chair. "Sorry," he said. "I still didn't hear you." With their heads bent together, the old preacher spoke once more. "God sometimes whispers," he said, "So we will move closer to hear him." This time the young man heard and he understood. We all want God's voice to thunder through the air with the answer to our problem. But God's is the still, small voice... the gentle whisper. Perhaps there's a reason. Nothing draws human focus quite like a whisper. God's whisper means I must stop my ranting and move close to Him, until my head is bent together with His. And then, as I listen, I will find my answer. Better still, I find myself closer to God

1 Corinthians 3:9 KJV(i)9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. ACV(i)9 For we are co-workmen of God. Ye are a tillage of God, an edifice of God. My thoughts. We are the tools God uses to build the Kingdom and Him keeps us going by giving us the gifts of the Spirit and increasing our faith in Him.

I'm sure she did. I'm more willing to believe mental illness is a factor. Why? Please explain.

Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. Possibly this passage represents 2 groups of people. 1. All resurrected Saints 2. The Saints who died during the tribulation

It surprised me because many people think the Big Bang occurred without God. There are many of them. There are. I don't see how that is relevant.

Yes, but you can test C 14 radioactive decay against other dating methods. i don't understand what the special attention on carbon dating is, as there are many other radioactive isotopes that are used for dating, all of which give a consistent picture. I see the reference to at least one other method, so are you an Old Earth but no evolution type?

Any believer who marries an unbeliever is rebellious and disobedient...and as such steps out of The Lord's blessing...He will not bless disobedience. Getting married is a huge step to take and there is no excuse for the believer to go ahead and marry an unbeliever totally disregarding what God's word instructs us.

I suspect that it would refer to the four 24 hour days 1-5 as being the "in the day before the plants" since the heavens and earth were created in those particular days. Day 6, the day of the creation of mammels and herbs and plants is now explained in greater detail. The days of creation are 24 hour days because of the emphasis of the evening and the morning were the first day. But in this case it seems to refer to an era or "in the time before the plants", which it can also mean when no specific framework of evening and morning is mentioned.

Blessings to you Thomas! It's funny but I never considered this particular verse to mean a day(literally)...I always perceived it to mean"at the time"....like when I say,"in my Grandmothers day"....I am not talking about 1 of her particular days but rather in her time...... With love,in Christ -Kwik

Simply Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD. Psalms 116:12-13

Blessings to you Drummer_Boy! Oh dear,Gods Mercy endures forever,praise & glory to our Loving Father!How many times?As many as it takes while the blood still flows in our veins!You see,God already knew we could do nothing to be worthy,to be Holy ,to be acceptable,to be anything but filthy rags....our works could never be good enough...but He loves us soooo much that He sent His only begotten Son,Jesus....to take our place on the cross....everytime you have broken your promise,Christ has already suffered the punishment that you DO deserve...but the price,the debt,has been paid for in full!My God,Worthy is the Lamb of God....praise Jesus... My Brother,does this mean you should go & do it again...of course not!So repent...sin no more & don't make promises you cannot keep....but Christ died ONCE for all of our sins....past ,present & future....do you deserve punishment,absolutely...but you will not be because you have unmerited Grace of God....if you have asked Jesus to be the Lord & Savior of your life believe in Him.....then He has done just that,He has saved you from Gods wrath & covered you with His Precious blood reconciled you back to the Father, when God sees you He sees His Son.......WOW,makes you really want to drop to your knees and give your whole heart & soul to Jesus,doesn't it?You are feeling conviction in your heart by the power of the Holy Spirit....ask Jesus to help you to be more sensitive to that same Spirit that you will feel convicted before you sin,to lead you not into temptation...... Do not let the enemy bind you in sin condemnation...it is a lie,seek God in His Word & strengthen your relationship with Him....put on the full armor of God(ephesians)& get to know Jesus,not just about Him...read the Book of John & see how much He loves you.... Just remember,young Brother.....you have no guarantee you will awaken to see another day,so repent(sin no more)& seek God in all you do.......Christ promises us we are born again,new creatures in Him....submit to Him & let Him change your heart & mind.....Is Jesus your Lord & Savior?if you have not asked Him then do it now! With love,in Christ-Kwik

You forgot one... (God is strong enough to save everyone) + (God does want everyone to be saved) = Everyone that wants to be saved is saved

IMO most Believers forget that God has Foreknowledge, so who He Foreknew would come to His Son Jesus as their Redeeemer, He also predestinated. But we as Christians do not have His Foreknowledge so we need to be out working His harvest (Matthew 9:36-38). Romans 8:29 For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. I remember a story of Charles H. Spurgeon being asked why did he preach the Gospel to everyone, and not to just the Elect, he replied you show me the Elect and I will preach to just them, but otherwise he didn't know who they where and didn't want any blood on his hands.