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Abortion is murder, and murder can be forgiven through Christ. If that is in your past, yes oh yes it can be forgiven easily through faith in Jesus. Because of Him, all our sins are forgiven. If however you are considering an abortion now, please do not do that. Please carry the baby to term and give it up for adoption if you do not wish to keep it.

There are times for feasts and times to fast but our desire for Christ should never be over shadowed by a desire for food. Seek yee first the kingdom of God and His righteoussness and all else will be added unto you. such as victory over the flesh. I'll pray for anyone with this battle to overcome.

Jesus Said, As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Please! Listen for The Lord Jesus' voice and let him in.

1) I am not defending terrorists, as anyone who knows me can vouch for. 2) I am not brainwashed by the mainstream media, as anyone who knows me can vouch for. 3) You made a personal attack, which is against the terms of service of this site that you agreed to when you signed up.

With the amount of firepower, equipment, even the shooting location prove it was well planned. A guy goes to Cabela's buys a gun or 2 and charges into a crowd shooting on the same day...he may have snapped. But picking a shooting location, buying more then 10 guns legally, some of which are full auto (no easy feat to obtain legally, and not hard to illegally modify weapons to shoot auto, but does require knowledge and for thought) and truckloads of ammo, plus security cameras....and finding a way to sneak all that hardware up there with no one wondering what he was up to...awful lot of work, ingenuity, and prep for someone who just snapped. So yes you are 100% right it had to have been planned.

The great evangelist and teacher Charles Spurgeon had a plaque on his bedroom with the words written on it, "I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." The post You are chosen in the furnace of affliction! appeared first on Worthy Christian Devotional - Daily Devotions. Read the entire devotional.

I'll pray for you. Alot of foods we eat have no nutrition. So we are still hungry after we eat. Also so many foods have addictive additives so I will also pray the Lord guide you in what to eat and what not to eat. He is good He will help. I'll pray for comfort for you in your time of need and people in your life that love you and pray for you. Sometimes food is bordom. So I'll pray the Lord blees the work of your hands and give you more opputunities to minister and less time to focus on hunger.

Jesus said... "Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock." "But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. And its collapse was great!" Please! Listen to the Words of the Lord Jesus Christ and act on them. Storms are coming.

I think a good study for people right now is, ask for eyes that see the truth and ears that hear the word of our Lord and read every scripture that starts with "do not be decieved" and see it and hear it and say, Amen Lord Jesus, don't let me be decieved.

I hate to change the subject , but such a tragedy occurred today. over fifty dead and two hundred wounded in las vegas by a gunman. the now worst ever in American history. I pray the suvivors come to Christ .

The Spirit and the word agree.........and even God magnifies His word above His own name. We are to love the word of God, love truth. I wouldn't think in those terms of which is greater, Jesus or His word........the two are inseparable. I believe a good question though is whether we are serving in the old way of the dead letter or in the new way of the Spirit......how we handle His word is important, whether we are wielding it with our flesh or by His Spirit, out of a heart of love and obedience, or vanity/pride, self-righteousness, anger etc.

Im guilty of misusing it in the "last" thread, which is a joking around type of thread. So no one takes it seriously there. But I have used it for real in a couple of threads where folks were baiting and fighting.

This is a long post, one in which I've given a LOT of thought. Somehow or another, I believe suicide is my destiny. I don't know how or when, but it is inevitable. There's two elements that lead me to this conclusion, both mentally and spiritually. I've always been fairly melancholy; there's always been a deep void or a sense of emptiness. Metaphorically, there's always a dark haze within my consciousness (think Batman's Gotham). I am not now nor have I ever been abused by family, lover, or church. There are friends/family that love me and I'm sure would miss me. Life has its wonderful and beautiful moments. As I speak now, the golden Sun and the autumn rustling wind and aroma outside is wonderful! Yet, it all pales to the void within. In the last decade, I've tried to push past this by seeking purpose, something to be passionate about, and even wealth. So far, to no avail. My business endeavors have failed, cannot find anything to be passionate about, and certainly no purpose. Just, nothing, emptiness. As I get older, my family will be dying off; after a failed relationship I do not have the time nor patience for marrying. As early as age 15, I thought about the mudaneness of life. What is life? You go to work most of the week, come home attempting to savor the few free hours, and on off-days you catch up what you couldn't accomplish the rest of the week, only to repeat the same cycle over and over. For what? To keep the cycle going? Why do it? Suicide is the most logical answer, 18 years later even. Ecclesiastes touches on this very issue, of course, the point being life is nothing without God. However, that is not working out either. As Christians, when we accept Jesus as Lord & Savior, to save us from sin and to give us eternal life, we should gradually be becoming more "like Him", the relationship should become more of a living (maybe even obvious) reality, and our desire should be growing for Him. Frankly, I don't see that as the case with me. When searching my heart, I inevitably see it as self-centered, not really desiring God, and certainly not as a Living Reality. The efforts I have made to have a relationship with God, there seems to be no reciprocation, despite prayers to change my heart/desires, lead me in a meaningful direction, and to make the relationship more of a meaningful reality. Faith has never come easy for me to begin with. Underneath it all (and I'm not proud of it), part of me resents God for not only my creation, but ALL of Creation. Considering God is totally self-sufficient (does not need us), knowing full-well that most of mankind would not choose Him (even if it is by man's own free-will) and most likely suffer for eternity. That may be justice, but how does having that foreknowledge and moving forward with it anyway make for a God of love? Eternal fate aside, even the tamer "God grows us through suffering" line of reasoning, why have us endure it when God was perfectly content without us? It is quite hard to love a Being in that vein, even if He did offer to redeem us. Yes, I may accept His gift of salvation, but why create me in the first place? What's more, at my birth there was the chance I would not be born; my mother had a vision assuring her I would be born and healthy. So, obviously "God formed me in the womb" knowing the state of my future and had ample opportunity not to move forward with me. Why did He do it?? The only thing that has prevented me actually "fulfilling my destiny" is the fear of the afterlife as a result. Theologians can debate on whether or not there's a Biblical basis for suicide as a ticket to Hell or not, but that is immaterial here. Given my take on things above, personally, I wish for non-existence (suicide at the soul level). Unfortunately, I know it's not that easy. Christ is not going to redeem us only to end in non-existence, at the same time, I know the alternative is somehow worse. God will not allow non-existence without payment for sin in this life. So, either way, I lose! This fact only compounds my harsh feelings towards God and about life! I'm sure some here will probably say I was never saved or born again. For those that do think that, perhaps I've hardened my heart past the point of no return? The angst of living, the thought of it going on decades more, it almost makes me want to "weep and gnash teeth" here and now. I want to be redeemed by God, but at the same time I absolutely resent Him! Perhaps, I want redemption from existence itself more. In the end, I don't really know the response I seek in posting this. I know no responses will advocate suicide. Though, the thought of non-existence is absolutely euphoric! Counseling will not help, as I would be shut away in an institution or be doped up on meds and slapped with an outrageous bill to add insult to injury. Not sure if it is possible to see life any other way in a fully conscious and rational way! I welcome feedback in any case; thank you all.

https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/phys.org/news/2017-07-present-day-lebanese-descend-biblical-canaanites.amp Present-day Lebanese descend from Biblical Canaanites, genetic study suggests

There is nothing in angel's post here that was directed at or to raven. Or even judging anyone in the thread. Angels was speaking of herself and what dying to self meant to Angels herself. We need ( we as in general, not anyone specifically here) to read posts a second or third time before responding to a post any of us thinks was directed towards a single person. Posts are often misread specially if the reader is tired, had a hard day, problems at work, don't feel good, etc . . . I know there are other threads that get heated when people are passionate about a subject. But I would like to point out, that just because someone is a stickler in one thread, does not automatically mean that another poster is being singled out and criticized in another thread. We all need to allow others to have a chance to speak their thoughts or opinions without immediately going on the defense because someone didn't agree on a topic in another thread or multiple of threads.

Hi again, I just reread this thread and it occurred to me that I used the" Why fear death, I don't" argument when my doctor told me I must take my two pills a day, one for blood pressure and one for cholesterol control. He trumped my argument with his retort and question- "but what if you don't die, what if you just end up paralyzed with a dribble cup under your chin?" I started taking the two pills.

Hello Gothamvision, I can feel your heart break. I'm sincerely sorry you've had years of this dark feeling. I don't really know how to advise you (others here have done that) other than to let you know my family has gone through a suicide and for the people left behind, really there's no words. Its just tragic for All involved. I'm glad you have opened up and are sharing these feelings of yours. Talking and communicating helps to let light in. I sincerely pray that you will eventually feel the joy of living.

Isis has made false claims before. It looks less like islamic terrorism than just domestic terrorism or some guy who went mental. The facts are not all in yet. Until then, I personally reserve judgment on the motive.

Hi, I think you may have reached an errant conclusion about what I was repeating. What I have pointed out is that buying a gun is not a great answer, least not for many people because they will not learn and they will not train. For most people there are better solutions. But to say never defend, no I think that is silly too. If one is not to defend themselves then there is no need of any police force either, for you certainly aren't going to call them to defend you for you never defend yourself. The manner in which a person defends themselves or instead chooses to suffer injury and death of family friends and self is between them and our Lord far as I am concerned. There may be martyrs called to be such, and there maybe just plain foolish people that do not plan for their own safety. As for me I will rather share of what I have in time of need, but if a person wants to enter my home, harm my wife or me, it is all bets are off. There will be no racking of the shotgun, no chambering of a round in the handguns. There will be just the muzzle flash. I do endorse the training offered via NRA, and I do enjoy the practical wisdom of Gunblast.com Jeff Quinn on social work. I also suggest that for some the Philippine knife fighting style is a great defense to know and practice. Without practice, nothing in life is much good use, including prayer for safety and prayer for enemies.

I have horrid grammar. If anyone understands what I write it is a Miracle:)

Thanks for sharing this, inacitivity and the food itself (how its processed) is part of gluttony problem. But as you said discipline is key. I say disicipline and disciple are close for a reason.

I cannot remember of a time when a preacher talked about gluttony in the church. I believe most of the gluttony is due to ignorance or lack of discipline of the individual. We often see people who eat every time at irregular intervals, sometimes they are not even hungry or in need of energy but they can't resist that piece of food which is tempting and go buy or pick it. It seems the occurrences of gluttony have increased with the highly addictive foods we have nowadays, making easier to eat without measure. Not falling in gluttony is much easier for the poor individual who have just the basic to survive every day. But for the people who have resources and every kind of food in abundance, it is much harder. I believe the secret to both is discipline, we can eat different things at regular intervals at sufficient quantities, not to the point of stretching our stomach daily or getting too much of the wrong thing.

I've been searching deeper within me and pondering the need and capacity to be more obedient as a follower of Christ. All these Scriptures keep coming to mind like, John 14:15 Mark 12:28-30 Ephesian 5:1-5 And I think of teaching in the Old Testament about obedience bringing God's blessings and protection in the lives of the Israelites. I have friends who are gentile Christians who believe in keeping old Testament laws for this reason. Then I think about grace, and mercy, and forgiveness of all sins... I know that I can never be perfect, and there will always be shortcomings in my life, old lessons that have to be learned again, or renewed, or applied in ways I have not had to before. However, if would be nice to have a more tidy, righteous, and steadfast life. It would be nice to feel closer to the Lord and more confident in my walk with Him. I wonder if I should try to focus more on obedience and discipline, or if I should trust in His grace and rest knowing that I've tried. If more obedience is warranted, how far does one go with that? Old Testament Law? New Testament teachings only? Seeking perfection in devotion and setting my mind, body, and heart aside for Him? How hard do I take it when I fail? I can imagine myself being devastated on a daily basis with my faults and weaknesses. I can also imagine myself shaking it off and trusting in grace. I guess my question is, at what point is this balanced? Is there a balance?

What you are asking takes us straight to the heart of the gospel. I would express the good news in two parts. Part 1: Through the work of Jesus Christ, all of our sins are forgiven, God adopts us as His children, and He no longer counts our sins against us. Part 2: The Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us and will transform us into a new creation (the unique person God intends for us to be) from whom good works naturally flows out and over whom sin no longer holds us in bondage. Part 1 occurs instantly. Part 2 is a process. The challenge is to learn to walk with God and be changed by God's power. To the extent we make it only about our own willpower, discipline, and efforts, we are attempting to bring about transformation by our own efforts. To the extent God changes us, good works and deeds start to flow freely; sins and bondage start to vanish. When we are focusing most of our attention and energies on worrying about sin and duties, we tend to start fighting sin with our own efforts and trying to please God through our own efforts. When we focus on knowing God more and growing spiritually, we tend to focus more on what God wants to do to change us. Now this sounds nice, but what does it look like in practice? Speaking for myself, I've noticed that transformation occurs both as gradual improvement and growth and with sudden changes where God does something unexpected. There are some things in my life that just changed slowly over time and some things that happened in an instant. I found that faith, trust, and confidence in God were things that grew over the years. These came about from just seeing God do things in my life and other peoples' lives, and just getting used to walking with Him over the years. I found that the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) just started becoming more and more apparent in my life over time. It was that these things just started emerging more and more over time. It wasn't that I started disciplining myself to be more patient (by learning to count to 10 or taking anger management classes), it was just that I found myself not getting angry as often about things. Regular spiritual disciplines such as prayer, Bible reading, spending time with other Christians, and similar things lead to spiritual growth. It is the spiritual growth and maturity in our lives that leads to us being more Christlike. I also found that some things in my life needed to be fixed directly by God. All of us carry spiritual and emotional wounds and injuries and bondages from before we were Christians. These things often cripple us and prevent us from walking, jumping, and dancing in our walk with God. Sometimes (not always, but sometimes) addictive and compulsive behaviors that have us in bondage are symptoms of needing spiritual healing. I found a few long-term sins and problems I seemed to struggle with for decades simply vanished when God carried out some emotional healing in my heart. I've heard many people (who suffered abuse or neglect) testify to how certain sins and unhealthy thought patterns and similar things just vanished away when God brought them to a point of being healed of the deep injuries that they had born for many years. Sometimes to walk, dance, and jump in our walk with God, we need to be healed or freed from some crippling bondage. A final thing I found is that I needed to learn how to walk with God the unique way He created me to. I used to try to schedule my prayer life, Bible reading, etc. the same way everyone else did; and I always seemed to struggle with it. I then eventually learned that God made me into a person that needs variety and change. I've found that for a period of time (often 3 to 6 months), a particular schedule and emphasis is very fruitful and fun, and leaves me energized and growing. Then in a period of a few weeks, it is like that thing just dries up and doesn't yield much for me. I used to think it was my fault and tried to force myself to work harder at it, but that rarely worked. I simply discovered that when something dries up, it is time to move to the next thing God has for me. In contrast, I know people who've had the same prayer and Bible reading routines for decades and it works well for them. I've come to see that we each need to learn how to walk with God in the way He made us to be. I've found that it is best to focus on where God is taking me at a given time. I used to have a long list of things I thought I was supposed to be doing for God. Then I found His list was usually quite different and usually a lot shorter than mine. Sometimes it's a matter of settling into a comfortable pattern for awhile; other times it's going through some type of change or transition; sometimes it's something we need to challenge ourselves, step outside the comfort zone, and take a step in faith; sometimes it's facing things that are hard or painful because God wants to fix something. In any event, our walk with God is about following where He guides and enjoying His presence. Anyway, I hope this helps. If something isn't clear or you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

but Self is never on the throne but Jesus is if we are a Christian and believe He is our Savior..right?

He didn't just say a word He gave us The Living Word. Christ in us. my Texan' is showing. He gave us, perserved for us, established for us the written record of His words and eye witness accounts and prophetic uterance through mankinds history showing his presence with man from the begining.. We also recieve from Him The living Word Christ in us and His presence with us now and always. get it? He didn't "just" say a word! He Gave us the living word? how do you see im not saying he gave us both?

I do think it is important to warn people about possible infiltrators, particularly with Muslim Taqqiya (where they lie and infiltrate, and can lie that they are Christian). As the Apostle Paul said, "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them." (Ephensians 5:11). That being said, my biggest concern about trying to find and expose infiltrators is the return of The Inquisitions, both Spanish and Roman Inquisitions (1478-1614 A.D.). In Spain, during the Reconquista to Reformation Times, the Inquisitors began to interview recent converts from Islam (morsicos) and Judaism (conversos). Eventually, the 'witch hunting' of the Inquisitors became so austere that they trusted no one was truly converted for right reasons and was a possible infiltrator and so subjected them to torture, and all it took to have an audience or Inquiry of Inquisitors (courts) was a friend accusing you of strange practices [even if you did nothing wrong, imagine how this could be abused, someone wants your land and accuses a person of being relapse heretic or morisco or converso who never really converted in truth and is secretly practicing their pagan faith]. Eventually it became you were guilty, even though you received a Trial it was slanted against you. It got so bad under inquisition that you had to prove you converted, but even then they would suspect you weren't really converted, so those who converted to assure Inquisitors they aren't Muslims or Jews anymore were still subjected to the Inquisition; this is where I believed the adage "your are darned if you do, darned if you don't," because if a Muslim or Jew didn't convert they were suspect, if they did convert they were suspected of not truly converting [paranoia on steroids with torture devices, fires, and more]. -Source, Spanish Inquisition, 1478-1614: An Anthology of Sources, Lu Ann Homza (translator). Actual documents from Inquisitors and Trials. My biggest concern is the Church veering into 21 Century version of Inquisition or the Salem Witch Trials. For we are told by LORD to love our enemies and pray for them: "Jesus told us to love our enemy, "But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. 30 Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you. “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate." (Luke 6:27-36) "24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’ (Matthew 13:24-30). As for encounters with sorcerers, the Apostles did the following (they didn't go looking for them in every flock, they addressed the problem as it arose) "She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that moment the spirit left her." (Acts 16:18) "But Peter replied, “May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought! 21 You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God. 22 Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, 23 for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin. 24 “Pray to the Lord for me,” Simon exclaimed, “that these terrible things you’ve said won’t happen to me!”(Acts 8:9-24). Paul did mention Coppersmith, "Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm, but the Lord will judge him for what he has done." (2 timothy 4:14) "13 These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve." (2 Corinthians 11:13-14). Evil should be addressed, but notice that it is as it appears and attacks people, not going and looking for wolves under every bush. An example, I don't go looking for Dan Brown and his heresy, I wait for it to come up, condemn the heresy, and pray for man; but don't look for more Dan Browns who could be hiding in sheep clothing. Above all else we should keep our fixed on Christ (Hebrews 12:2). The goal of this post is balance, yes expose evil but beware of becoming worse than evil while trying to expose like the Inquisitors did.

Didn't He give us both, Reinitin? Christ in us (His Spirit) revealing His written word? Or how do we test that spirit? I dont' see it as a question of either/or, but as both.....we need both together. And neither add nor take away from His word........where it says do not got beyond what is written. He has even represented His word, holy scriptures, to me as His sheepfold where my thoughts are (willingly) taken captive to.

I agree with not trying to force people, but what do you mean by "hunt and destroy what they deem as error by their legal standard". It's not our legal standard to begin with.....it's GOD's standard, what His word says. And we are to correct, rebuke, exhort, instruct etc with all longsuffering. It's just unfortunate that there is SO MUCH error now, the gospel has really been lost to this generation, so it's a constant battle to keep the leaven out of the lump rather than an occasional thing.....which is what we are supposed to do. (Or perhaps you are talking about how you have seen people approach those who are outside the church, the lost?) But for those who know the Lord, many do not understand that part of sound doctrine is something to be endured, it doesn't make us feel good and isn't meant to, but searches out and confronts leaven within the hearer. Jesus comes like refiner's fire and fuller's soap until we are good and purged, and only then does it cease to hurt. 2Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not ENDURE SOUND DOCTRINE; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears Hebrews 13:22 And I beseech you, brethren, SUFFER THE WORD OF EXHORTATION: for I have written a letter unto you in few words. We live in such a soft age, and with soft humanistic ideas we have forgotten that we need to endure hardship as good soldiers.

I've weighed the pro and cons of acquiring a handgun (since my state now allows concealed carry). I still haven't decided. The main reasons I am considering it is that it would give me other options to consider in a bad situation and it would potentially allow me the capability of influencing the outcome of who is or is not injured or killed in a bad situation. It's interesting to note that among the first Gentile converts was a career military man (and quite possibly a few men under his command). It's not recorded in scripture that Peter told him to change occupations. I find that interesting given that Cornelius and his men were part of an occupying military force.

Oh no. This was well planned out. He rented the room ahead of time and brought 10 (maybe more) guns up to it. He even made some sort of "deer stand" that he stuck on the window so he could lean out and get a better shot. There was nothing random or spur of the moment about this

Can't judge but can be curious, thanks for responding.

I see you are coming from angle that Christ has paid it all and that is true; and we are under Grace. I am not saying gluttony keeps you out of heaven (I can't find it in the lists like Revelation 21:8). I am saying however, it can prematurely send you home to heaven, just as suicide does. And that this struggle with food is something many battle. Another side of this to look at is not just premature death, but rather quality of life. Does it help or hinder Jesus' call on our life to be overweight? What if he says go and hike in Congo to reach a tribe for Him? But you are then 400lbs? Worse, how does it look to world when we are preaching the Word (Jesus) and we overweight and they are not? Does this hinder our ministry? I think it does, and I say so from a place of struggling with food. By the way the verses you quote about all food goes through intestines and Jesus made all food clean (Mark 7:13-23, Romans 14:3) is in direct context of Levitical Law, and that Jesus and Apostles said we no longer have to observe strict laws about what we can or cannot eat to be holy [and shun the Gentiles and their food is no longer necessary because everyone can come to God through the God Man Jesus Christ Acts 15:9-11]. That was not free license to destroy our bodies with endless feasting and binge eating. In context, I am talking about overeating where it effects your health, and marginalizes your ministry to others; lets be honest are you going to approach a person who has unkept hair, torn clothing (like a Hobo) and is overweight or are you going to approach someone who has kept their hair in good order, wear modest but good clothes, and is not obese nor is skeleton weight anorexic? This isn't a question to demean, but to discern the heart. We say "its alright come as you are," and yet what do we surround ourselves with or expect? Perfection. Hmm.. discrepancy that. I can tell this topic is uncomfortable, but you know what Jesus sometimes makes us uncomfortable, "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent." (Jesus, Revelation 3:19), "5And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, or lose heart when He rebukes you, For the Lord disciplines whom He loves, and He scourges (chastens, punishes) every son whom He receives," (Hebrews 12:5-6), "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. But I have this complaint against you. You don't love me or each other as you did at first!Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place." (Revelation 2:1,4-5), "48 But if that servant is evil and says in his heart, ‘My master is taking his time [he will not return for a long while],’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards; 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour of which he is not aware, 51 and will cut him in two and put him with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger]," (Matthew 24:48-51), gnashing/grinding of teeth is hell, "and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 13:42). I appreciate you are trying to emphasis we serve a loving (1 John 4:8) and merciful God. I totally agree. I do not want to represent Christ as severe, especially with so many being enslaved to severe baal named Allah. However, there is tension in Scripture. There is we are saved by Grace and Faith (Ephesians 2:8-9, Philippians 3:9), and when Jesus says to those who think they are saved by works and who did all this good in His name but did not know Him, "Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws," (Matthew 7:21-23), which is Ginosko (know God in person experientially way), " And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth." (John 17:3). So from what you are trying to do is avoid anything from becoming the law and salvation in it because then a person gets cut off from Christ (Galatians 5:4), however, I am not saying Gluttony (overeating, spending lots of money of expensive foods instead of helping those who need food), is a sin that is harming people's lives, but is not going to keep you out of heaven. I preface again, from what I can tell gluttony is not sin that leads to hell, but can prematurely kill you or at least hinder your life and ministry.

Amen, He didn't just say a word He gave us The Living Word. Christ in us.

Let me first off say I think this is a horrible tragedy, and agree with you that much is not known. While I can't rule out Muslim involvement, neither can I blame isis as there is simply to few facts. As to answer your question, I'll answer it the same way I answer a friend of mine who is very anti gun, as to why I start pushing my second amendment views after shootings like this. And that is this: it does no good for fight a battle if you arrive late to the battlefield, by then you've already lost. The left, after every shooting immediately starts screaming for gun control. And it's always nonsensical, and they rely on emotions, not facts, to push their message and sway the populace. If we wait to fire back, it will be to late, gun control measures will already be in place. So yes I start pushing my pro gun views immediately and start calling the left out on their garbage immediately, because that's where and when the battlefield is-right now. Regardless, my prayers are with Vegas tonight, it was a horrible tragedy. We actually have someone from where I live who was wounded in that tragedy, while I don't know him I have a co-worker that does.

His father was diagnosed as a psychopath (or whatever the official term is) but he was never diagnosed with that, from what Im hearing on the news.

Yes, that's a good idea.

I am un-following this thread and ignoring Gator. Carry on.

Unless I've misunderstood, it seems you believe there is a way to non-existence, and that is false. When we die, it's heaven or hell; either way, eternal existence. Again though, I might have misunderstood, correct me if I'm wrong about your beliefs. If that is correct, you do realize that suicide would simply speed you into eternity, whether heaven or hell, correct? You would not cease to exist. I think maybe it boils down to this; clearly God thinks that life is valuable enough to create it despite knowing what a mess we would make of things when given free will. You seem to think otherwise; essentially, it would be better for nothing to exist if existence was going to be this bad. Despite everything you've tried and sought, you've been unable to fill the void within you. But if there is an unfilled void, I would say it might be an indication of a lack of salvation. You certainly seem to have no joy of salvation in you. I guess I might ask what you think of heaven? Do you believe it exists? Do you believe you would be happy and at peace there? Praying for you!

Come up in the morning . . . and present thyself unto me in the top of the mount (Exod. 34:2). The morning is the time fixed for my meeting the Lord. The very word morning is as a cluster of rich grapes. Let us crush them, and drink the sacred wine. In the morning! Then God means me to be at my best in strength and hope. I have not to climb in my weakness. In the night I have buried yesterday's fatigue, and in the morning take a new lease of energy. Blessed is the day whose morning is sanctified! Successful is the day whose first victory was won in prayer! Holy is the day whose dawn finds thee on the top of the mount! My Father, I am coming. Nothing on the mean plain shall keep me away from the holy heights. At Thy bidding I come, so Thou wilt meet me. Morning on the mount! It will make me strong and glad all the rest of the day so well begun. --Joseph Parker Still, still with Thee, when purple morning breaketh, When the bird waketh, and the shadows flee; Fairer than morning, lovelier than daylight, Dawns the sweet consciousness, I am with Thee. Alone with Thee, amid the mystic shadows, The solemn hush of nature newly born; Alone with Thee in breathless adoration, In the calm dew and freshness of the morn. As in the dawning o'er the waveless ocean, The image of the morning-star doth rest, So in this stillness, Thou beholdest only Thine image in the waters of my breast. When sinks the soul, subdued by toil, to slumber, Its closing eyes look up to Thee in prayer; Sweet the repose, beneath Thy wings o'er shadowing, But sweeter still to wake and find Thee there. --Harriet Beecher Stowe My mother's habit was every day, immediately after breakfast, to withdraw for an hour to her own room, and to spend that hour in reading the Bible, in meditation and prayer. From that hour, as from a pure fountain, she drew the strength and sweetness which enabled her to fulfill all her duties, and to remain unruffled by the worries and pettinesses which are so often the trial of narrow neighborhoods. As I think of her life, and all it had to bear, I see the absolute triumph of Christian grace in the lovely ideal of a Christian lady. I never saw her temper disturbed; I never heard her speak one word of anger, of calumny, or of idle gossip; I never observed in her any sign of a single sentiment unbecoming to a soul which had drunk of the river of the water of life, and which had fed upon manna in the barren wilderness. --Farrar Give God the blossom of the day. Do not put Him off with faded leaves.

Guys........do you know that this goes against the teachings of Christ? It has a seductive appeal to our flesh and reason, however the carnal mind is ENMITY with God and our flesh WARS against the Spirit. Our weapons are not carnal. Which kingdom are we preaching, and which kingdom do we want to belong to? .......Christ's, or the world's.

Suicide is no one's destiny. As believers we have the promise of an abundant life here and now. Yes, at times life can be mundane but that is certainly no reason to end it. I don't share much of my personal life here, but there was a point in time where I pondered suicide. Looking back now I am so glad I didn't end my life, for even the most mundane of days are gifts. We are here for a purpose and only God can determine when and how our lives will end. If we take them ourselves we are in a sense playing God. Friend, Jesus is your answer. I know in your post you mentioned seeking after things to make your life "better" but at the end of the day the only One who can truly give our lives meaning is Him. I encourage you to truly seek the Lord, evaluate if you've met Him as your true Savior and Lord. I am praying for you.

Hi Gotham I don't think taking your own life will bring peace im no expert I certainly don't have all the answers I'm a backslider which I suppose makes no difference to your situation maybe the only reasonable thing I can offer is you, me and everyone else we are only here once in the bigger picture how long is eternity given are life span 70 + years it's a grain off salt in comparison my advice would be to hang in there let God take you home in his good time well you don't know me or I you I've only been on the group a few days I've gotten a lot off comfort from all the folk I've met so far however I'm going to go personal here my business was going under I felt I had let a lot off my employees down long story short I took one off the vans round the back off our premises hooked up a hose to exhaust and into drivers window locked the doors left a note on my desk for Jane police were searching every were for me unknown to me my thought process waiting for the fumes to take me was torture I then blacked out next thing I remember is waking up in A&E a WPC had resuscitated me at the seen smashed van window to get in and drag me out that was the 10th off April 2017 ive been given a second chance at life and I'm taking it I hope you will find your way Gotham

It might be better to help them within their own lands rather than overwhelming a host country with them. One needs only to look at countries that have taken in large numbers of them to see how badly it is going.

Hi Harry's Girl ; just found this post. yes I can so relate, I also lost my parents at a relatively early age. My father when i was 13 years and my mom when i was 38 years. What is left of family ( is an atheist brother) who lives completely by different sets of morals. So I to have no real family of origin left in my life. I enjoyed reading you and also many answers from other posters that have given great advice and great biblical passages. I am middle age and still single. Like you I met a lot of (non christian) Mr. wrongs and mainly when you are a christian its not always easy to find a good christian man. At least that has been the case with me. And trying to change a man into a christian is not an easy thing to do,( I would not recommend it -been there done that-) because, if the Holy Spirit of God does not lead them to Him, you certainly will not. Because of my own past, I have also been more attracted to bad boys. ( because bad boys are unattainable) And this goes perfect with my abandonment issues and my problem also of being afraid to get to close with anybody) But in the playing/finding a mate process, part of the things for me was to bring them to God. -Big mistake and a lot of set backs to get back unto my good stable footing with God. I have had to go through a lot of my own personal healing. And i had to go through it on my own. Its only in the quietness of your own being and with God, that God is abled to heal us of our past and of our past grief from our initial family. At least this has been the case for me. Now i desire more than anything a good christian man,( no more bad boys) but only if God places one good man in my life. If not, I am now totally content with my single life, have enough hobbies and interests that keep me occupied. I don't place so much importance on people making me happy anymore like i once did. I have learned to place my trust in God and He is the ONE who is restoring me and bringing me peace , joy, and comfort, despite being alone and really with no family other than my animals. Anyhow, what has been written so far I have had to come to learn on my own, through the school of hard knocks. God is the only One who will fulfill your heart and give you peace. If you are miserable alone, you will also be miserable with someone, especially if you have has not completely made the Lord your God ruler over all of your life. I can understand however if you are still young in your twenties or thirties or even early forties, the time is ticking for making a family of your own, ( I myself at one point panicked about this and placed myself in a position to meet the wrong person for me) but like others said if its not in Gods plans for you, it is for a reason. I made the mistake of following my own will a couple of years ago in 2010, looking for Mr. right 9 again another bad boy, mr.wrong).( As i saw it, it was my last chance to make a family of my own) He was not a christian, and with many red flag warnings from the Lord. I could have saved myself a lot of heartache, that I consequently had to go through. Had I listened to God warning me, not to proceed further, it would have spared me a lot of grief and also a lot of effort that i later had to go through to get myself back into good footing with the Lord. So just to say, you are not alone being alone and that God is always with you. and thank goodness for social resources that can help us ( like here on "worthy") that can encourage us to keep on looking forward in our christian walk with the Lord. May God love, keep and protect you always; 1 to 3

Hi Harry's Girl! I'm sorry to hear that your heart is hurting, (((Hugs)))! I can't say that I know exactly how you feel, but I do hear the pain and longing in your heart, and I can pray for God to comfort you. I did lose my mom in my late 20s, have been unable to have children, and have had 17 years of chronic illnesses. Sometimes life is just plain hard. My chronic health issues had left me bedridden at times which created isolation and loneliness. It turned this social butterfly into a hermit practically! But God lifted me up out of that pit. I still struggle with chronic health issues, but He has given me a purpose in spite of them. I do know that God is the only one that can truly bring healing to any of us. Psalm 9:9-10 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you Lord have never forsaken those who seek you. I've been keeping a list of my favorite Bible verses by topic. When I am struggling in a specific area I read over all of the verses to help comfort me with God's own words. Some verses that could help with loneliness are: Isaiah 4:10, Matthew 28:20, 2 Timothy 4:16-17, Lamentations 3:22-24, Jeremiah 31:3, & Philippians 1:6. Feel free to look those up and maybe add some of your favorites if you'd like. As far as the guys are concerned, rejection plain hurts. It's very unfortunate that so many were not in it for the long haul. But, in a way it's good that you've weeded out the ones that are not dedicated and would not treat you the way you desire. I had a friend once that was in and out of bad relationships. They committed a year to focus solely on pursuing God and that they wouldn't date anyone. When they did that, they became closer with God and focused on Him and His purpose for their life. During that year they met someone, but wouldn't date them until the year was up. They eventually got married and now have 2 kids. You never know what God's purpose is during this time of loneliness. God has never left you, cause he tells us that He won't in His word. Hebrews 13:5 I will never leave you nor forsake you. Something I have learned is to not base my decisions on my feelings. Our feelings can be misguided and lead us astray. Sometimes I have to choose to believe what the Bible says to be true even though it may not feel like it at the moment. Also, God longs to give us the desires of our hearts as long as they align with His plan for our lives and His timing. Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. I encourage you to keep pouring your heart out to the Lord. Sometimes we see God answer our prayers quickly and other times it takes awhile. Part of that is us learning to trust God and releasing control to Him. Prayers that your heart will stop hurting and you will have peace! (((Hugs))) ~ Gem

There have been lots of things I did not get in my life. I was fretting when I was young but only now I realize the wisdom of seemingly cruel words: if you don't have it you don't need it. Sometimes you can see that lack of something saves you from something much worse. I was suffering from hernia. Is there any positive about it? Unexpectedly when there was a major conflict and war (it was the USSR then) it helped me to avoid conscription and I think it saved my life. Think again which is better to have a bad marriage or not to be married at all? Or have a child with mental deformity or remain childless. This world is not about pleasure and happiness for most people. I am sorry to tell you this bitter truth. I am 71. I try and find solace in God. That is my happiness Things of this world are usually less than reliable. Praying for you. Wishing you all the best.

I understand your struggle honey. I also lost my parents at a very young age and have been on my own since I was 15. It can be very lonely and it brings a struggle some will never truly understand. I have learned the hard way to guard my heart - many will prey upon your emotions and sadly some (even Christians) are solely out for what they can receive from you and nothing more. I will be praying for you! Like others have said, you truly must find contentment in Christ and Him alone, no one else will ever fill the voids you have in your heart. He is a Father to the fatherless, we find our adoption in Him. You're His beloved, and in time, He will be faithful to send the right one for you. But until then, I encourage you to learn and grow in the love of the Father, He has such good plans for YOU! I'm always here if you need to chat. Be Blessed!

You have to be happy with yourself. Finding a partner is not going to make you whole. You are not alone as God is always with you. You need to give this to God and tell Him everything that is on your heart. You need to not have control over what happens in your life and if and who God will bring into your life for a Christian relationship. God's timing is different than our timing. You need to sit back and see what God is going to do. What plans he has for your life. Have faith and trust.

Do you want an honest answer, or are you looking for the one you want to hear?