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In addition to all the advice that have been given here, I think you also need to take practical steps to change some things. Don't think that just because you come out of a service feeling so good, that the world you live in has changed. It's the same world. But there are some things that you can change. I don't know what sinful or hateful behaviour you say you keep coming back to. But whatever they are, then maybe try to get rid of things in that area that cause you to sin. If you are in bad company, maybe it's time to seek new friendships. If there are things around you that cause you to sin that you can get rid of, then get rid of them. If you are stressed, find out what really stresses you out and deal with those. And don't just read God's word. Meditate on them, ask God to open your eyes to the truth in His word. And don't be afraid to ask God to search your heart and to show you whatever is offensive in you (Psalm 139). Ask the Lord to cleanse and purify your heart. All of these He can do, and He will do. Ask Him. Blessings...South

I think that when you pray, you should have the faith in your heart that the God you pray to hears and answers. Power is not in the prayer, but in the One you pray to. Secondly, when you pray, you should have the faith that when (not if) God answers, it may not always be the answer or outcome you expect it to be, but you must have that faith and conviction that whatever the outcome may be, the God who answers is an all knowing God, a loving and faithful God, a God who does not withhold anything good from those who love Him, and who knows what is best for His children. And thirdly, when you pray, surrender to the Lord's authority that He will do what will glorify Him the most. Blessings...South

I honestly dont know where to begin, or to what my problem is. I just have so much on my mind right now, that I have to just release it. To start off I just cant seem to get a good connection with God. I go to church, sing and pray and feel great. But when I enter back into the world, it just consumes me. I try to change. Read my bible more, become more of a role model. Try to live my life the best I can for God. But I always fall in the same pit again. And live a sinful, hateful life fro another month or so, before I repeat the above steps. And as the days go by, my stress levels just sky rocket. Schools, Girls, Football, and my rocky relationship with God just raise my stress to the max. Also doupts keep creeping in...To the point whenever I think of God, i think of him as a made up person. Its just so confusing, I dont Know what to do, who to turn to, where to look... I just feel so helpless. I'm scared suicide thoughts might creep in, because of just how sad and depressed I am for the last few weeks...Im close to my breaking point, and dont know how to react. I really need some advise. Anyways thanks for taking your time to read this.

Does the defense justify the actions? You who love to correct others, do you receive correction as you wish others to receive it? That's not answering my question. If I were walking in error I would expect someone to say something. If we notice something that we believe to be wrong or out of place and do nothing, what does that say about our compassion for our fellow man? I would rather hurt someones feelings with the truth than comfort them with a lie.

Does the defense justify the actions? All I see here is piling on with irrelevant comments......man, you were correct in asking about h.r.'s actions that were intended to annoy 'them'. Don't let those who constantly critcize others tell you that YOU shouldn't criticize; provoking or annoying people isn't a Christian attribute so what kind of nonsense is that? H.r. will do as he thinks is best and I'm sure he will come to the right conclusion. We need to stand on our convictions and be examples for the Word, regardless of attempts to silence us.

Before you go too deep spiritually in this, I must ask a question becuase you are describing my life about 20 years ago. How much sleep do you get every night on a weekly average....... it may sound like a really dumb question, but I can assure you that it is not.

The purpose of this devotion is twofold. The first is to realize that God's children can please Him. And the second is developing a mindset where we consciously choose to make Him glad. Before we start I want to make sure the words "please God" are not misunderstood. When I say "please God" I am not suggesting that you can earn Heaven. Because the only way to Heaven is by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. So for sake of confusion lets look at this devotion from the standpoint of someone who has already received Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The Bible tells us many wonderful things. One wonderful thing is the knowledge that we can please Him. Lets first read Hebrews 13:16. 16 And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. This verse talks about doing good and sharing. And there is no mistaking the last three words in this verse "God is pleased." But at what point in time do our actions please Him. If we look carefully at this verse we'll find we can please Him right now. The word "is" talks about the present time not some point in the future. "God is pleased" as He watches us show love. It is so encouraging to know that we can make God smile today. ( note: in Matthew 25:14-30 there is mention of our master being pleased with us at a future date as a result of faithful service ) And we should make pleasing God one of the motives of our actions. We can set one of our motives to be a blessing to people. And we can set another to please God. Whenever possible, I like to set my motives before I actually show kindness. Lets use an example of giving some cookies to my neighbors. I first set my motives as to why I am giving them. I make a conscious decision that I will express love. I do self-talk and determine in my mind, "I will do this to make God smile and I will do this to bring good to my neighbors." Additionally, it is a good thing to set our motives to please God while doing routine tasks. Why? One reason is to build our love for Him. The more we act on love the more it becomes part of our character. Another reason is to maintain a joyful attitude. When we do a task as an expression of love to God we can rejoice in that task . And when we rejoice in our work it can keep routine tasks from becoming monotonous or burdensome. Finally, lets sum things up. Start with a conscious decision to make the motivations of your heart to bless others and to bless God. Then realize that your expression of love is bringing good to others and is pleasing God too. Then, rejoice over the good you are bringing to people and the gladness you are giving to God. As soon as you are done reading this devotion I encourage you to show love towards God. Bless Him, do something that is pleasing in His sight and make the Lord smile! Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)

~ The Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven ~ Hi all! I have recently been studying Matthew 13:10-11 & Several of the Pauline Epistles -- Matt. 13:10-11 -- 10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. So first... What is the 'Kingdom of Heaven'? Well, some have said it is Jesus Christ Himself; This is true in a sense, but more specifically, it is a literal kingdom, the kingdom that is to be set up here on earth during the Millennial Reign. Matthew 3:2 -- And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Remember the Lord's Prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13 ? Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. In Daniel 2:44, we can see the Kingdom of Heaven defined --> "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." ~ The Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven ~ Now, let's move on to the mysteries... (I have only found four so far, questionably three.) Mystery # 1 - The Mystery of Christ Ephesians 3:3-5 - "How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;" Romans 16:25-26 - 25 - "Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, 26But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:" This can also be linked to Colossians 1:24-29 which is, according to C.I. Scofield... Mystery # 2 - "The Mystery of the Indwelling of Christ" 24Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church: 25Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; 26Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 29Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. (You can choose whether these two mysteries are one in the same or not. ) Mystery # 3 - The Mystery of the Church Romans 11:11-25 (King James Version) 11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. 12 Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? 13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: 14 If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. 15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? 16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; 18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. 19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. 20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? 25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And finally, last but certainly not least... Mystery # 4 - The Mystery of The Rapture 1 Cor. 15:51-53 - 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 (King James Version) 51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. I appreciate all the study aids out there such as Scofield's Notes, Biblecc.com, and God Himself. I know this is probably nothing new, but I felt led by God in a sense to post this. Thx All! God Bless! --S2S 3/25 [uPDATE] - Mystery # 5 - The Mystery of the Gospel Ephesians 6:19 - 20 -- "19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel," 21 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Mystery # 6 - The Mystery of His Will - Ephesians 1:9-10 Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 4/3 [uPDATE] - Mystery #7 - The Mystery of iniquity (lawlessness) - 2 Thessalonians 2:7 "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way." This is cross refrenced with 2 Th. 2:6 - "And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time." * If you read 2 Th. you will find out that Paul is referring to the anti-christ. 4/4 [uPDATE] - Mystery # 8 - The Mystery of faith - 1 Tim. 3:9 "Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience." *This is prerequisite for the position of deacon in a church. The Mystery of Godliness - 1 Tim. 3:16 "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." * The mystery of godliness seems to be that great work of Christ and how it was accomplished.

All the replies are right on, but I will add just one thing that have been pointed to. Being a true son of God requires a relationship, not a religion. Get to know God and allow him to change you through the guidance of His Spirit.

There are times in our Christian walk when we need encouragement and strengthening but there is nobody to lift us up. At those times we must be able to grab a hold of the word of God by ourselves and encourage ourselves. We must strengthen ourselves in the Lord. David had a situation where he had to do just that. We find this account in 1 Samuel 30:1-6 . While David and his men were away from their families the Amalekites made a raid on the Negev and on Ziklag. During this raid they took captive the families of David and his men. In addition to the grief of having his own wives taken captive, he also was distressed because the people were angry and talked about stoning him. David is very troubled and has no source of encouragement. He couldn

Trust Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalms 139:23-24 Head Over Heels In Love Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: Deuteronomy 6:4-6 Trust 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 Eat Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. Jeremiah 15:16 And Be Blessed Beloved Of The KING The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them. Numbers 6:24-27 Love, Your Brother Joe ____________ Praying~!

Dude, God loves you! He loved you as a sinner and now your a Christian He loves you much more! Here is a good mp3 on God's unconditional love My link Hope this helps. God Bless you

Just know that God is not drawing away from you. Your problem is you are leaning upon your "feelings." Don't do that. Feelings change and have nothing to do with God's promises to you. God hears your prayers in spite of whether or not your feel He is listening. And don't be so stressed out by doubts. Jesus never rebuked Thomas for honest doubting, and He won't rebuke you for it. Doubts lead us to search the Scriptures and seek other believers for help. (Like you are doing right now ). Doubts help us to grow. Without doubts, we would never question, without questions, we would never look for answers. You are not alone in this. Every single believer has doubts. Go to the Lord with your doubts and ask Him to direct you for the answers. Praying for you! Just one insertion point... Knowing God is only good and perfect Being in all of eternity- I always approach whatever as my lack or inconsistency with His Word! It shortuts a lot of delusions to other non probable reasons such as others and God...

Thanks guy really cleared some things up. I understand what you guys mean by "feelings". I know I shouldnt based my faith around them nor seek them. But I still am not sure what to now...

Thanks for your replies. Yes I have. I have truely repented and placed faith in Jesus Christ to save me. I know I was repenting from my sins of this world, and Jesus had to die because of my sins. Without Jesus, I would be damned because im evil, and sinful, which seperates me from God. He had to die so I can be saved from damnation. I think your not understanding my problems. And its most likely my fault for not making it clearer, as Im just so frustrated right now. I know im saved. Because I know he has been with me ever since I got saved. Its hard to explain. My problem is that Im am so stressed out. More stressed out then I ever been. And its scary. And Because of this stress Im growing to be more distant from God then ever, and fell endless doupts everytime I try to pray or come close to him. I feel like a totally different person. And im confused and dont know what to do. Hope this clears it up better. It seems to me, and you can correct me if I am wrong, but it feels like part of your stress is not feeling the "emotions" anymore., thats where simple obedience takes over. Remember you show him your love, not buy mushy gushy words, and emotions but by obedience. Also I would say stop trying so hard. The walk with the Lord does sometimes include wilderness times, where God seems distant, but yet he is always there. You just need to walk through and don't let go and don't give in to emotion but instead, just rest knowing that no matter what he has your back. Just wait on the Lord. Lets look at Elijah First lets look at the day he had. He calls down fire from heaven, Has all the false prophets of Baal Killed Calls rain from heaven then beats the kings chariot on foot back to the city. You would think he would be happy. but lets look at his response!

Thanks for your replies. Yes I have. I have truely repented and placed faith in Jesus Christ to save me. I know I was repenting from my sins of this world, and Jesus had to die because of my sins. Without Jesus, I would be damned because im evil, and sinful, which seperates me from God. He had to die so I can be saved from damnation. I think your not understanding my problems. And its most likely my fault for not making it clearer, as Im just so frustrated right now. I know im saved. Because I know he has been with me ever since I got saved. Its hard to explain. My problem is that Im am so stressed out. More stressed out then I ever been. And its scary. And Because of this stress Im growing to be more distant from God then ever, and fell endless doupts everytime I try to pray or come close to him. I feel like a totally different person. And im confused and dont know what to do. Hope this clears it up better.

Three part answer, sometimes we are to pray once and then its done, and let the Lord use this. the "shotgun" prayer approach and yes it's Biblical, a quick cry out to daddy. Not always recommended. See Nehemiah 2. Then there is the persistent prayer when you have burden or a need, see Daniel 10. When the Lord puts a desire for prayer on your heart, I say pray until an answer comes or a release of the burden. Then there is the Praying with out ceasing being in a constant state of prayer, of being in his presence of all time, and that is much easier said then done, I found the book "A Short and Easy Method of Prayer" by Jeanne Guyon. Helpful in this.

Here is something I wrote a few years ago, hope it helps

Good for you. It's good to have goals.

I think mizzdy answered this quite well. I would add that faith is found in trusting that what you're praying for is God's will. That is, it is in the service of love that we are seeking God's guidance, or providence. The Holy Spirit is most likely the inspiration for such prayer. Faith is not believing you will get what you want. Faith is believing what you're praying for is right. We might pray for someone who is ill, yet God may have a better plan than us. These are always complicated issues, trying to guess God's will, but I know prayer works. Once I was driving down the Highway and passed a van on the side of the road. There were maybe ten people standing out side the van and I mentioned to my wife who was with me, "I wonder what is up with those people?" Immediately, I heard a voice inside me say, "These people are praying for someone to bring them a jack". So I got off the highway got back on going the other direction, got off and on again so I could come up behind them. I pulled up behind them and when I got out, I walked up to them and said, "God told me you were all praying for someone to bring you a jack". They all began jumping up and down, raising their fists in victory and shouting unto God with great joy. It was a wonderful experience.