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  1. I am a 23 year old female. I've been struggling with my gender and sexuality since I was around 13 years old. I "came out" as gay in highschool. I "came out" as "transgender" a few years after that. I started dressing like a male around that time. I cut my hair short. I wore really baggy male clothes to hide my feminine figure. I even bound my chest. Everyone in my family knows me as a transgender. They know I like male stuff (Like video games, sci-fi, and fantasy stuff). They started calling me my "preferred name" a few months ago. I don't want to be known as a transgender or lesbian anymore. I want to be a woman. A godly woman. A woman who wears women's clothes, and covers her head like women are told to in the Bible. I believe pants were made for men. And, 99% of women's pants are too tight and not modest at all. I want to be a modest woman. I want to start wearing skirts and dresses. I want to grow my hair out. I dont want to sin like this anymore. Is there anyone here who has been suffering the same as me? I really need help right now. I feel so lost. I prayed to God for help, but, so far, nothing's happened. Well, I don't think anything's happened. I've been watching people's testimonies on YouTube, of ex-transgenders and ex-homosexuals. I think that is God's way of telling me that what I am doing is a sin. Is it? Do you think so? I've never acted on my homosexual thoughts, but I have watched porn before, and I feel really ashamed, guilty, and disgusted at myself for doing so. I believe masturbation and pornography is a sin, but I can't stop. I'm addicted to it. Please, anyone, help. Any ex-transgenders or ex-homosexuals, preferably women, on here? I would really like some advice on what to do about this situation. Thanks in advance, God bless, and sorry that this post is so long! ♡
    4 points
  2. Hi Tigger Here is some scripture that might help with how you are feeling: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1:2-8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ It is on my heart to tel you that sometimes we need to go through some stuff to be shaped into the person God wants us to be. I always think of it like this: if we where made of wood, and to be shaped into something beautiful we need to be grinded, chipped away at and sanded down before we can be polished. So some days and phases in our life, God is merely using a massive grinder to shape us and sometimes He is using a soft buffer. The joy of this is that when He is done, we will be what He wants us to be! I hope you understand the anology. May peace be with you! You are beautiful!
    4 points
  3. Praise God that you want a change in your life with the Lord's help! I think this shows the Lord has been working in your heart. There are many in the world today that are confused about these things because our society is leading people down the wrong path. So if you have already believed on the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior, now you need to realize that you are a child of God. You have a new identity in Christ, you are a new creation in Christ... your sins have been washed away and you are forgiven. When you feel tempted to sin, learn to pray about it right away and ask the Lord to help you. As you keep resisting evil, I think you will have an easier time of walking more and more like a child of God. But even if you sometimes fail, remember that you are still God's child and He loves you. Btw, we all have different interests...I enjoy a good sci-fi movie and sometimes play a few video games. I also usually wear slacks since I'm not working anymore and they are more comfortable. So I wouldn't worry about those things too much. But perhaps you just feel the need for a total change? And that's ok, too. The Psalms are comforting and tend to speak to our hearts. If you are a new Christian, you should read the Gospels, in order to learn of Jesus and His words and deeds. God bless you in your walk with Him.
    3 points
  4. You trust period. If your trust, your love for Him is based on what He can do for you, then its not wholehearted sold out for Him type of trust. Look at the psalms, at how david when he was facing all sorts of turmoil would cry out to the Lord but then He would end with trusting the Lord in all things. Its not easy tigs. And sometimes you have to remind yourself over and over again to trust Him, but it is what you have to do. Im going through trials now. And its rough. But remember .... Psalm 23 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
    3 points
  5. I ran across a message by Ed Smith yesterday. It is one of the few sermons I'm going to go back and listen to again. He made some accurate observations about how Christians actually behave at times. This is one of them. He made an interesting distinction between "head belief" and "heart belief". (He used different terms for these. I decided to use these terms to avoid some confusion.) He pointed out that when we feel negative emotions (fear, hurt, anger, frustration, disappointment), it is often because our head belief and heart belief do not match up. One example he gave was this, how do we feel if we lose a job? We can read many Bible verses about God caring for us, loving us more than sparrows, providing our daily bread, meeting our needs through His riches in glory, etc, which is head belief. The real test of what we really believe in our hearts is whether we sleep easy at night or lay there worrying about things. To the extent we believe that yes God is willing and able to meet my needs, we'll rest easy and not worry; to the extent that we believe that God is either unwilling or unable to meet our needs, we'll worry and lose sleep. He also observed that many of our most negative emotions come from heart belief in lies. The remedy is for the Holy Spirit to make God's truth come alive to us in some way that we become convinced of the truth. (I'm now introducing my take on things and not repeating what he said.) Often, our approach is to memorize Bible verses, repeat things to ourselves, and in general try to use head belief to make up for heart belief. When we are worrying about a lost job, memorizing every verse about God's providence is for the most part feeding our head knowledge. The real issue is that our heart believes something false. That false heart belief might be something like "God is punishing me" or "I'll be lucky to ever find another job" or "God cannot really take care of me, I must take care of myself", or "My wife and family think I'm a loser now". There is frequently some core belief we hold (often without recognizing) that is the real source of our negative feelings. It is not until God shines His light onto that particular false belief that we are holding that we can resolve this. The very same situation (e.g. job loss) can produce strong negative feelings in people for different reasons. Another interesting example he gave is having negative reactions when someone asks us to do something we do not want to. Our choice often seems to boil down to "say no and feel bad" or to "say yes and feel mad". (Again, my take and elucidation on this now.) Having only negative feelings reveals something wrong inside of us. We may falsely believe "I need to do this for people to like me", "I need to do this to be a good Christian", "I cannot trust anyone else to do things right so I have to do it myself", or some such other things. Instead of making our choice based on a heart belief conviction of "this is an opportunity God has placed before me" or "this is a distraction away from the path God has for me" in which cases or yes and no will be accompanied by neutral or positive emotions, the presence of strong negative emotions indicates we've got some sort of mismatch between head belief and heart belief. Having only the options mad or bad as reactions indicates something is wrong inside of us. As he noted, this surge of negative emotion in response to a person or situation often reveals problems inside of us. For example, having only the options to feel bad or mad when asked to do something we do not want to is not the fault of the person asking us. It is revealing a problem within us. This is something I'd sort of been aware of for some time, but he explained it fairly clearly and succinctly. When someone makes us angry or frustrated, we should ask ourselves what is wrong inside of me that I am reacting that way. I'll be blunt and perhaps step on some toes now. A post or response to one of our posts can cause a strong reaction such as anger or hurt or frustration. Why? What is it that wrong heart belief inside of us that leads us to that reaction? Perhaps things like, "I cannot trust anyone else to save this site from error", "People will think less of me because of what someone said", "God wants to smite me if I believe the wrong thing", "God only conditionally loves me so I have to be careful", "God is not capable of helping me to change", "People suck", "All Christians have something to hide", "All <fill in the blank> have something to hide", "God really cannot change someone, I need to step in", "God likes me more than that person", "God cannot protect me or others from that person", or a multitude of reasons that we don't recognize or admit to ourselves. When what someone else says or does triggers a strong negative reaction, it usually signifies something is wrong inside us. When our internal reaction to "error" or an "attack" (as we see it) are feelings that are predominantly calm, gentle, patient, kind, and caring, we are in a position to positively help and contribute. When our internal reaction to "error" or an "attack" (as we see it) contains anger, frustration, or other negative feelings and causes us to want to immediately fire something off, it's probably indicative that there is something wrong inside of us. We are then not responding from a position of God's leading and ministry but rather a position of doing something to try to reduce our own negative feelings. Other people's posts and responses do not cause our negative feelings and reactions, they reveal what is inside us. Often, those things reveal false heart beliefs or problems inside of us that are negatively affecting us. Reactions? thoughts? confessions? (Some of the examples of false beliefs given above were in my life at one time. Some were things I've observed other people admit to at times.)
    2 points
  6. I have thought, concerning the Ten Commandments. Jesus did expounded on a couple of them. Brought forth the true intent of two of them, i.e. “not committing adultery.” Bringing forth the truth that even to “look with lust” is committing adultery. And again bringing forth the truth about “being angry with your brother” how that it itself is sin. Have thought, that if He had continued to expound on the rest of the commandments. When He got to the “Sabbath day” commandment, He might say “the Sabbath was made for man, that he might rest from the works of his hand and enter into the rest of God” Could it be that those that have trusted Christ for salvation and ceased from their own works, have entered in the rest of God. Are thereby keeping the Sabbath every day of their life’s? A question I have pondered, so I thought I toss it out. Much love in Christ, Not me
    2 points
  7. Your post was fairly concise and informative. Unlike the tomes I write that masquerade as posts. Often, what we see in our lives can be symptoms of deeper issues. Frequently compulsive behavior, addictions, mental obsessions, and the like are symptoms of things. Some of us carry around spiritual and emotional wounds and pain from trauma that injured us in some way. Often, associated with these things are lies that we start believing about ourselves. These things can start to define reality for us. When we try to deal with things through will-power, self-discipline, or other coping mechanisms, we can mitigate things to some extent, but the root causes remain. Spiritual and emotional wounds are every bit as real as physical wounds (and indeed, deep emotional trauma can produce measurable physical changes). In the same way, a physical injury like a broken leg prevents us from freely running, jumping, and dancing, spiritual and emotional injuries can cause behaviors that go beyond our our willpower to change. The biggest question is what is God's priority in your life right now? While the transgender and sexuality issues may seem at the forefront, perhaps God's first priority for you is spiritual growth. Maybe starting to establish a regular prayer and devotions time and starting to read the Bible or other devotional books, or maybe going prayer group, or women's ministry, or something like that. Perhaps there are other things in your life that God wants to work on and heal inside of you. To some extent, we all carry these types of things around inside of us without being aware of it. I spent years having panic attacks going to the dentist. I prayed about it, and tried about every mitigating thing I could, and it didn't help much. Finally, one day as I was going in, God convicted me that I did not trust people to help me. Instead of seeing the dentist and hygienist as two competent people who were there to help me, I was distrusting them. I walked in, realized that I was placing myself in the hand of two gentle, friendly and caring women who wanted to do something to help me that I couldn't do for myself, and for the first time actually believed and felt that, and I no longer had issues. I also realized that I had been doing that my entire life. It produced a big change in my life because I was willing to start trusting people in all aspects of my life. This one extreme symptom (almost passing out at times in the dentist office) was simply an indicator that there was a root problem in my life that God wanted to deal with. I was oblivious to all of the other effects that was having in my life and relationships. I think that the big question is what are the things that God wants to free and liberate you from in your life? There might be a few things He wants to heal or change that are affecting several aspects of your life. One of the biggest challenges all of us face in life and as Christians is coming to see ourselves through God's eyes. He made each of us to be unique treasures and works of art that reflect His glory in some way unique to us. We need to learn who God created us to be and then to learn to walk consistently with Him as that person. I've often observed that when people create a strong part of their identity in activities, belonging to various groups, relationships, and causes, it is because they do not have a sense of who God made them to be. They try to create value and meaning by things from outside of themselves. Instead of seeing themselves as the precious handiwork of a Loving Creator, they see themselves having value by external things. Related to this is that some of the things inside of us are indeed a part of that work of art God is creating, and some of the things inside of us are garbage dumped onto us by others and added to by ourselves. We need to let God haul out the garbage and clean out those things that are not a part of the work of art. I've seen some people cling to the garbage and have done it myself. For example, I had been proud of being independent and not needing much help. I wasn't independent, I was a distrustful fool who prevented many people from doing things for me in my life. That was part of the garbage God hauled out of my life. We all have garbage that we mistake for virtue and value that God needs to get rid of. So anyway, you are a precious treasure created by the Almighty. He wants you to learn to consistently walk with Him and become that unique person He intends for you to be, and to walk together with Him on a grand adventure through life.
    2 points
  8. 2 points
  9. The Holy Spirit. John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
    2 points
  10. This thread really has me thinking now. And I think it eventually also runs into deeper matters like bearing one's cross. By that, I mean this: I've recently come face to face with my biggest hinderance in general to being used by God: My emotional side. As men go I am deeply emotional, and this comes out not only in things like irritation and anger but also in a need to be loved and appreciated. I have encountered some truly nasty opposition over the last year since getting involved in Christian Forums - really hateful stuff on occasion - and have realized my need to have people around me who can counter these emotional attacks with praise. I have even been considering the need to draw closer to the Lord Himself for such needs, so that He is able to supply whatever healing others may not be able to provide. I can come off as very aggressive on the surface (I am in ways), but underneath it all is a very loving and kind-hearted man who only wants to minister for the betterment of others, regardless of whether I am able to do so or not. What I'm saying is, the more we come to understand ourselves as we were made, the more we recognize our strengths and weaknesses acutely. And this makes things like bearing our cross and walking with Christ a little easier as well, because we have come face to face with what gets to us the most.
    2 points
  11. For over 30 years as a Christian, I took this verse along with Gen 6:5 and 8:21 as being proof that the heart was not to be trusted and never thought about it anymore than that. Perhaps 7 or 8 years ago, I ran a word study on "heart" throughout the Bible and was shocked at what I found. There are several hundred times the word heart is used. Here are a few that surprised me when I first seriously read them. 10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Prov 2:10 NIV Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; Prov 3:5 NIV Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Prov 4:23 NIV My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart. Ps 7:10 NIV The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; Ps 15:2 NIV I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. Ps 16:7 NIV Though you probe my heart, though you examine me at night and test me, you will find that I have planned no evil; my mouth has not transgressed. PS 17:3 NIV Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. Ps 24:3-4 NIV A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Luke 6:45 NIV But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. Luke 8:15 NIV Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8 28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” 32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions. Mark 12:28-34 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”[d] that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. Romans 10:8-10 NIV After reading through various lexicons and other references, I found that scripturally, heart often refers to our inner life, our thoughts, feelings, will, and volition. Our western mindset of the mind being good and rational and the heart being wild uncontrolled sin and emotion is not the same as scriptural usage. The word heart seems to be most often used to describe what a person is like inside. As in Luke 6:45, a good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. My understanding is that in the same way that scripture speaks of those who are righteous and those who are unrighteous, the inner life (or heart) of people can be righteous or unrighteous. As I see it, there are many verses in scripture describing the hearts of both the righteous and unrighteous. With regards to forming a definitive doctrine about the heart, I think that several dozen if not a few hundred verses need to be considered and compared. I spent literally decades of my life treating verses such as Jer 17:9, Gen 6:5, and Gen 8:21 as the definitive descriptions of Christians rather than as descriptions of the unsaved and unrighteous. As a Christian, I was rational (which appealed to the academic and scientist in me), always suppressing anything that might possibly be sin or the flesh, and basically trying to be a Mr. Spock from Star Trek to rationally understand, believe, and be accurate in all matters of truth and to make every decision in accordance with truth. Over the past decade, God has been freeing me from that bondage. I wasn't suppressing sin and the flesh in my life. I was suppressing who God intended me to be. I spent decades of my Christian life being more ashamed of who God made me to be than of confessing sins. Those times that the person God created tried to come out, that I pushed it back down because no good thing could be in me. Those times in my life where ministry seemed to naturally flow and I felt alive, I'd quickly panic that I was getting into the flesh and shut myself down. God finally released me. He stuck me in front of a mirror, showed me who He made me to be, and I left behind that caricature of a "good" Christian who was nothing more than a generic collection of gifts, talents, and time spent doing the right activities with the proper measure of control and reserve. Over the past decade, I've seen more sins, addictions, compulsive behaviors, and more unhealthy spiritual and emotional behaviors drop from my life than I had in the previous 3 decades. I've seen my ministering go from difficult labor to a natural outflow. I've found that Christian living is enjoyable and natural. I've found walking with God to be an adventure through the wilderness, not a dangerous minefield where I'm tasked with dragging heavy burdens according to a divine to-do list and schedule. I used to walk the Christian life like painting by numbers and painstakingly worrying about crossing each line rather than being an artist learning how to actually create works of art. I've seen God touch more people through me just being me in the past few years than in decades of carefully prepared lessons and teachings. Life is now about just walking with God and seeing the cool stuff He does. It is about living life as the unique individual God created me to be with my entire heart and being reflecting His glory in the way He created me to.
    2 points
  12. Glory to God Almighty! If I could have voted several "Praise God"s to that one, I would have filled an entire page with them, LoL. Thanks for sharing! @GandalfTheWise Same to you, brother. Wonderful testimony of the power of God. I find He has to bring us ALL back to our childhood in a sense, to the very heart of who we are, so as to create anew in us what we were designed to be from the very beginning.
    2 points
  13. How is it that your suppose to trust God to make things better, but there not. I been trying to trust God to make me better and to make my leg pain go away so I don't have to keep taking aspirin. Maybe God wants me in pain. Maybe God wants me to die or send me to hell. I don't know anymore. How can I trust when he is not helping me to trust him.
    2 points
  14. Before I say this, know that it is what your personal relationship with Christ is telling you, that is important here. If your heart is telling you something different “please” ignore what I write. That being said; I am not convinced tithing is a new covenant command. I think it was changed to “God loves a cheerful giver.”So I’m of the mind that whatever God puts on your heart to give, give. I realize sometimes this is hard to tell. This is why our personal relationship with Christ is so vital. The closer we get to Christ the easier it is to hear His Spirit. My understanding here is. Scripture says by “dying with Christ” we have been freed from “the law.” Now we’re under the “law of Christ” which means listening to whatever the Spirit of Christ is speaking “in you” at any moment of time. But there is nothing “wrong” with tithings and offering, if it’s something your heart tells you to do . But no longer a “law” for we have been freed from the law. If this causes a issue, please ignore what I wrote. For obedience to “your” relationship with Christ is what’s important here. much love in Christ, Not me
    2 points
  15. @Abby-Joy I never had deep chronic trauma in my life. However, there were two lies that seemed to be constantly hammered into me. "You do not know what you are doing" and "You are not a real man." Over time, I had come to believe those and I had internalized them as "I really don't know what I'm doing" and "I'm not a real man." I never called myself a man, I called myself a guy. I never called myself a man of God, I was a Christian. I could never bring myself to call myself a man. I also never stand up for myself in any situation where there was the least bit of conflict. One night (during a time God was doing a lot of stuff in my life), I was sitting quietly in prayer. There was one event that happened to me in high school that I felt like God wanted me to deal with in some way. As I sat there, I just simply remember what happened. Basically, I had an abusive HS football coach that was trying to get me to quit the team, and one practice he singled me out to embarrass me and physically pound me. He left me in a particular tackling drill letting the entire team get free shots at me. A few hits to my helmet had hit my glasses to my nose and I had a streaming bloody nose and was crying after awhile. (Why I stayed on the team the rest of the season I'll never know.) It seems like after each hit, he'd come up and start cussing at me about how I wasn't doing it right and how I'd stay there until I did. At that point, in prayer, I really wasn't sure what was up, but I felt like I heard God asking if I wanted to see that whole event through His eyes. I said yes and started thinking about it again. At once, I realized, the reason I had a bloody nose was that the idiot coach had no clue how to teach proper tackling technique. I remember thinking to myself, "I do too know what I am doing!! I had a bloody nose because he was teaching me wrong!". I also then realized, I had hung in there and took the worst that a team could inflict on me and I was still standing there waiting for more. Instead of being a man and facing me himself, he had a bunch of other people do it for him. I remember thinking something to myself like I'm no wimp, I *am* a man. In that instant, my heart rose up and completely rejected those two lies. Another side effect of this, was that time on the football field was the last time I had ever cried publicly for decades. After that prayer time, I found myself comfortable both feeling and expressing emotions that I had kept bottled inside and never let out. Within a few weeks, my wife and teenage daughters started commenting about how different I seemed. A couple weeks later, I was consoling a coworker who'd just lost a family member and actually felt comfortable shedding a few tears myself. That was one of the most transforming perhaps 10 minutes of prayer time in my life. It was simply God shining some light on a few lies that had held me in bondage my entire life. When I started that prayer time, I had no clue the bondage I had been in my entire life up to that point. My relationship with my wife changed because I was no longer depending on her approval to be a man, I was already a man. My professional career changed, I was willing to stand up as the expert in the room and tell people (tactfully) when they were clueless. I found that my emotions were no longer unwelcome annoyances that hindered me, but were something God intended to be one of my greatest strengths in ministering. I've heard many people tell similar stories. I think God uses many different ways to shine His light and truth into our lives to make lies and bondages apparent.
    2 points
  16. Often those most frustrating and painful (be it physical or emotional) times for us are times that God is preparing and changing us. I used to believe that ministry to others flowed from a position of strength and having it all together ourselves. I now believe that our most effective ministry comes from walking with people in places that we've walked ourselves. We maybe did not walk through very gracefully or thankfully and frankly God often had to drag many of us kicking and screaming and whining through those places, but it causes us to change and grow if we let it. “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. (Isaiah 43:1-2 NIV) God does not promise there will be no fire or waters to walk through, but rather that He will be with us. Most of us wish that there would be no fire or water, but the presence of fire and water is not an indication that God is not there, but rather that He is teaching us how to swim and do fire walking, and then to be able to teach others to swim and do fire walking. Hang in there. Tough situations are often God's way of revealing those things inside of us that need to change. A refiner heats gold in a furnace until it melts, then the impurities come floating to the surface. The heat makes the impurities obvious and allows them to be skimmed off and removed. I am not making light of leg pain. I did something to my neck and shoulder a few years ago where I could not move (or merely sit still) without pain and there were a few months I was lucky to sleep a few hours at a time at night. My impression is that your frustration with this situation is perhaps revealing some things about how you feel about God that He wants to work on. As it turns out, my neck and shoulder stuff never tested my faith much, it was mostly an annoyance to me. But, I've had other things that don't affect other people (severe panic attacks going to the dentist for checkups) that God used to force me to deal with things that needed to change. As it turns out, God was showing me that I didn't trust myself in other people's hands which had led me to shut myself off from letting other people minister to me or do things for me. I had been doing that much of my life, and it was the trips to the dentist God used to get my attention and change it.
    2 points
  17. Mind > will > emotion... We are to reason with God alone through His Word and setting our will toward reasoned directives. The emotion is such a willy nilly to surface reaction and cannot be trusted to make decisions on.
    2 points
  18. Hello.I might not be the best help but i cant help but try ...first i think you will be just fine...your post tells me you have some great understanding already.Well i know the Word says some where to over come evil with good.What is good?God and his Word...What i think you will find as amazing help is the Word(any part/parts)..The power of the Word is so great in so many ways im not sure i can explain it right.Its like you read a verse that you might think has nothing to do with lets say lust...but then all of a sudden you get this great understanding of lust from the verse anyway. If your comfortable with the Old Testament i would suggest any of the major Prophecy books ,like Lamentations,Isaiah ect.Once you begin to understand the writings they show you in great detail basicly that what you see is not always what it seems.Which in turn will have you looking at things in a different light.(by the way im no expert or anything like that so i want you to know this is just my opinion on things to try and help from your post.but i can tell you these things helped me big time with lust .And even though are problems could be a little different i can tell you for sure that lust had me BIG time...And i still dont think im perfect but through the Word i have came i very long way. incase you want a free download Bible you can get one here http://www.e-sword.net/downloads.html and if you like to listen to the Word more or at different times you can go here(free also) https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/audio/ i use them both myself along with this site.they have the Bible here too i think. I did forget to ask if you have ever accepted the Lord into your heart?If so great .If not and you would like too no worries you can do it at any moment you would like...day, night, morning,afternoon ect...And you can even do it by yourself.In case you havnt and would like to ,here are 2 verses that explain how... (KJV) Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. if you already truely Let Jesus in before than i would suggest repenting if you mess up...that helped me a lot when i had same kind of battle(i was getting soooo tired of repenting so much that it helped me alot because i didnt want to repent so much. What ever your going through may seem very hard but dont think your by yourself .The Bible says (KJV)1Co_10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Well i hope this wasnt to long and hope something was helpful.Agape
    2 points
  19. Blessed are you than. To enter into the rest of God is a “pardon the pun” a very restful place. But it is so much more than that. It is a place of true growth and increase. Blessed is anybody that finds the way in. Much love in Christ, Not me
    1 point
  20. Thank you so very much. It’s always nice to get a confirmation of the things of God. Much love in Christ,Not me.
    1 point
  21. Very well put, I stand with you on this one. Jesus is our Sabbath.
    1 point
  22. Tithing is an old testament thing. It is an Israel thing. It was their theocracy's equivalent to modern day taxes. Christians don't tithe. They give. And one poor woman in the gospels gave everything she had: a penny. In the U.S., the closest thing we pay to a tithe would be our federal income tax. And, oddly, it's a lot more than 10%.
    1 point
  23. Tithing is by definition 10 percent; but of what, and how often, and to whom or what? Gifts are just that, gifts. Christians have reached all sorts of differing conclusions on what is proper for them individually. A widow with absolutely nothing might give it all, as has been the case, while another with great assets might careful calculate 10% of gain only, of first fruits only, or only on net income after taxes have been paid to earthly governing bodies. If one is to emulate conditions under the Law of Moses, then there are tithes and more tithes, and additional tithes, adding up to about 23.3% per year. Plus double portions. And there is also calculation of values leading to the year of Jubilee. Plus there was still room for gift giving. Christians do all sorts of variations, making pledges, giving offerings each week, funding benevolent work, directly giving to missionaries. Some tend to concur that they are not under law and give freely to whatever they give. Some others tend to value a local body of Christ and value the pastors and teachers/elders deaconesses and deacons and so they want their local church to be well funded. As to my own way: I think a 10% tip to a waiter or a waitress to be a terrible insult to them even for mediocore service, so how do I measure what I value about learning of God and the opportunity to worship him? I think my giving at corporate services to be a part of my personal worship! I give as I am led, and yes I often do not know what the left hand is doing nor the right. And I don't worry one way or another about receipts for USA income tax deductions. - though I take what is recorded properly. Over the years God has led to having me give a specific amount to a particular cause, and I have later learned it was His moving of me to properly fund a good cause by others. That's pretty cool, in fact I treasure it for it tells me of God, and I am overjoyed for it. Guess I can only recommend that another read the information in the Bible, pray, think, pray again, and do as they are then led, and never let another person bother them over it.
    1 point
  24. Excellent post. My strongest negative reactions have always come in dealing with those who showed a significant level a education in the scriptures, yet who were deluded by falsehood in some way. The higher level of eduction and intelligence made them extremely difficult to persuade (having a better ability to find weaknesses in my arguments, scrutinize verses I used, redirect to huge, convoluted arguments of their own, or worst of all, use debate tactics on me). Those showing total obstinance against and refusal to hear anything that contradicted their opinions have always brought out the worst in me... or at least they did until I realized this was my weakness. I began dealing with this better by just recognizing it was a weakness of mine and staying on guard against it. But that isn't really enough. Holding one's tongue yet being irritated is only solving half the problem, and still leaves one vulnerable to temptation. So I think the primary question becomes, "What promises of God deal with my particular situation? What verses imply that one day this situation will be set straight?" For me, I think the promise that falsehood will one day no longer be allowed to be championed as the truth was found in Matthew 5:19: "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." In other words, even among those who truly belong to Him, those who taught accurately will one day be recognized for having done so, whereas those who taught falsely will likewise be recognized for having not, despite assuming they were. The trick, however, is in remembering the specific promises of God that apply to our individual situations, so as not to forget them when the Devil comes rearing his ugly head again, LoL.
    1 point
  25. It helps me to always keep in mind that God is perfect and thus i can trust in Him because He is perfect.. It also helps me not to count on God keeping me from the pain and suffering that goes with being a human in a faulty flesh body on a planet that often throws hardships and disasters upon me.. I trust in what God says He will do for me.. And when it boils down to the basics God says He will Redeem me so that i will not be cast into the eternal lake of fire.. God says He will give me a perfect body upon the day of Resurrection and a perfected spirit so that i will live forever in a perfect state.. I look upon receiving anything extra to those things in this world as being a bonus.. So if God gives me a reprieve from suffering in this world or does not give me a reprieve from suffering in this world neither ending affects my trust in Him.. Because i am not expecting God to keep me from pain and suffering.. I do not believe and trust in God so as to obtain advantage in this world ( Sometimes i do obtain advantage in this world and thats great but thats a bonus) I believe and trust in God so as to obtain eternal advantage in His perfect Eternal existence.. God does not want to send anyone to the eternal lake of fire.. And we should not look at the suffering or advantages we are experiencing in this life as indicators of the quality of our relationship with God in regard to our eternal destiny.. Most of the Apostles suffered greatly and most ended up being killed because of their faith in the LORD Jesus.. But they where loved by God and saved from the judgement to come.. So when we are in pain or suffering sickness we should pray to God for healing and relief.. But we should trust that Gods will in regard to all our requests are good..
    1 point
  26. Ah trust. I could go on and on about this. However I will just say that we should not expect brownie points for trusting. It is like faith. We are all given a certain measure of faith, and we have to use it without expecting a pat on the back. The disciples said to Yeshua, that they felt their faith was insufficient, "Increase our faith" etc. Yeshua replied that what is impossible with man is possible with God. So faith and trust is really a declaration of intent that we hope God will use and cause to have a good effect. We are called to Love the Lord. To draw close to Him. So when the alligators are snapping at out heels that is quite a chore. He never said it was easy or would be a continual rose-garden. In fact He said that they hated Me, so expect them to hate you as well. One thing is sure. The Lord God does not have any kind of plan for us to suffer and feel down. He does not want us to die in sin and go to hell either. Those concepts come from the dark side and should be opposed as such. God is good. All the time!
    1 point
  27. Interesting, thanks very much for a different insight. I suspect humans are quite different from each other in that regard. I have been trained from my youth to suppress feeling, substituting efficiency. My training forced that. I could not be of assistance to a person if I became emotionally involved. My absolute duty was always to stay calm matter of fact and to give choices and guidance that are compassionate but not emotional, and not sit and cry along with a person that is suffering. And so perhaps I am more inclined to do that particular learned technique in much of life's situations as life comes at me. I think I learn the rules of Christianity and then apply it. That leading any emotions, and not emotions leading the way of applying Christianity. I do not see that the two must be in synch, one must give way to the other. But that is just me. It may not be for anyone else at all, less of course you worked for me at our responsibilities. Then it would be an absolute must for you. As your efficiency and your job would depend upon it.
    1 point
  28. I think I need to clarify the terms I am using for things. I am using "head knowledge", "head belief", "intellectual belief", "and "rational thought" fairly synonymously. I am using "heart belief" more in line with the biblical usage of kardia (heart) as the center and source of our whole inner life including thinking, feeling, and volition. I'm not using the idea of the head is rational and can be trusted whereas as the heart is only about unthinking and uncontrolled emotion. I'd liken head belief to looking at a musical symphony score and heart belief to going to a concert, or head belief to reading an obituary or marriage announcement in contrast to actually going to a funeral or wedding of a loved one. As I am using the terms, head belief consists of facts and opinions we deal with on a mostly detached level whereas heart beliefs are the deepest convictions we hold that shape our choices and actions. Head belief consists of telling ourselves that the bungie rope is perfectly safe and will stop me from hitting the ground as we try to convince ourselves to jump. Heart belief (which very well may follow a few successful jumps ourselves) is cowabunga I want to jump! A heart belief that bungie jumping is safe is reflected in enjoying it and anticipating it; a head belief only that bungie jumping is safe is reflected by fear and trepidation. Head belief is telling ourselves while lying awake worrying that God will provide all our needs whereas as heart belief is sleeping soundly convinced we are in our Father's arms. I do not believe it is a matter of being guided by our emotions or feelings (which as well said in the quoted post are unreliable guides), but rather that our emotions and feelings are often indicators of what is happening inside of us. Strong negative feelings can often be an indicator that our head belief does not match our heart belief. I would completely agree that our feelings and reactions often do not match what we rationally know we should be believing. I would go a step further and then say that this disagreement between feelings and rationality means that I am not fully convinced of the truth of what my rational mind believes. It's my sense that it often requires God's active intervention in our lives in some manner that moves us from rationality only to being fully convinced so that our entire being follows that belief.
    1 point
  29. Well I certainly don't want to follow my "feelings". If I do that I am much like a jellyfish on the tides of the oceans, going to and fro without purpose other than to feed myself as the moment brings food in range of my mouth. I do want to follow the discipline of rational thought built upon the foundation of the wisdom of the Bible and the experiences of practice. My feelings will submit to and be under authority of my rational thought led by the word of God and the enlightenment of that word through the Holy Spirit. Will my feelings be in synch with rational thought? Not always. Does that mean there is something wrong with me? I don't think so. Feelings are near instinctive reaction without much thought if any. That is fine for immediate safety in dangerous situations, but it is not to rule over longer term situations. What I feel may not be what I believe.
    1 point
  30. Hello all, I'm new here. I hope you all are as well as can be and I'm also hoping I can get there. I apologize for coming right on out of the blue with complaining. I've been looking for answers to this question for awhile now (Google searches=not helpful) and the question has only gotten bigger and more pressing. I am aware that it may be my current situation at the moment that is the cause of my concern. I look forward to changing it as soon as I can. Here goes, I guess: I am 19 years old. I suffer from social anxiety and depression, and anger is a problem with me as well. I've thought of suicide quite a bit, but I know that I'll go to Hell if I do. I've had suicidal and homicidal ideations and they scare me. As much as I want to tell my parents about it and get help, I'm sure they'll tell me I'm being dramatic (based on 'conversations' I've had with them before). I feel really trapped and sometimes I wish I could erase my entire being from existence altogether. I've been raised in a Christian household since birth. Both my parents, especially my mother, are Christians. Though they aren't perfect and don't have the best way of handling conflict, they are good parents. However, I harbor some resentment towards them and my younger brother. I am still trying to forgive them a bit each time as I feel they were inconsistent and hurtful with the way they interacted with me and each other. We don't sit and talk things out. It's usually a yelling match where the one with the most authority (dad or mom) decides everything and everyone else has to shut up and go with it. As a result, things were/are somewhat out of order and feelings were/are stepped on. My brother, who is the youngest, does things to aggravate me but my parents don't care unless it affects them somehow. He does things that are less than considerate and less than sanitary. It has been this way since he was old enough to walk. He'd destroy my things and get excused because 'he did't know better'. None of my things were replaced and some of those things were one of a kind (artwork I made) . Back then, I hated that he'd destroy my stuff. Now however, I don't think it's the fact that my stuff is gone, but the lack of respect for me that really upsets me. He is now 16 years old, things haven't changed much, and he just does not listen. My parents are tired of my 'complaining'. I can't talk to him and have him take me seriously because he has (indirectly) been taught that it is ok to take everything as a joke, including me. It hurts. I don't like him. I share a room with him. I want to get away from him. I want to move out as soon as I can because I think distance will do me good. I can't take so much of this stress anymore and I'm scared that it will greatly impact my health. I already have digestive problems and get frequent migraines. I'm not interested in college, however because of the fact that it seems to be getting more expensive but the degree one might get from it is less credible to future employers. I've people at my church on my case about it and even random people (who hop right on that subject once they hear my age or when I graduated). I just want to leave and be in peace. My circle of friends is small and shrinking by the moment and I'm sure I'm losing my best friend right now, as we are both on different paths. I feel very alone, though I have been assured that God is with me. I am numb there. I cannot feel him. I cannot feel anything for him or anything I've read in the Bible. I pray and I pray and I end up sobbing because I just can't feel anything but frustration and upset. I am not sure I will be able to make any new friends as I have never been an interesting person. No matter what I do, I never seem to be able to attract others' positive attention. I regret having been the 'good student'. My brother misbehaves and everyone pays more attention to him. He has lots of friends and people who like to be around him. The one time I did feel the least bit important was when I was in middle school and telling 'not so clean' jokes. Lots of people wanted to hang out with me then. When I stopped (I heard that 'coarse joking' is wrong), my 'friends' left me. No one wants to hang around with the 'innocent' Christian girl. People treat me like I'm 5 because they think I haven't heard/seen NSFW things before. I feel excluded and I hate it. I am bored with life. I want to have fun but there isn't much I am able to do until I am able to get a job, save up enough money to move and sustain myself, and find something that I can do as a Christian that is actually fun. I'm volunteering at places right now and that's a nice feeling (seeing others happy because they've received help). I want to be happy too, though. I can't remember the last time I truly felt gleeful. Life has lost it's thrill and I am not sure when or how I will be able to find it again. I apologize that this is so long. Thank you for reading it, though. I will be glad to receive any helpful feedback on this.
    1 point
  31. My first thought here was " typical families " and believe me I have a large family but I am also rather concerned that at 19 you are expected to share a bedroom with your 16 year old brother ( it is actually illegal in this country for siblings of different gender to share after the age of 10 ) so I really understand your need for some privacy However if it is not possible for you to have your own room at home then you need to get a job that pays what you can actually live on as whilst you are living under your parents roof and they are supporting you then you don't get much say on what goes on Is this right ???? NO but it is a fact of life that we cant all be perfect nor live in a perfect world here and add in teenage hormones and normal anxiety and no wonder you feel the way you do One day your brother will grow up but don't hold your breath whilst waiting as boys take a lot longer than girls to mature Stop looking for friends and try to BE ONE ...look around you and I am sure you will find other lonely people that may be just waiting and hoping for someone to befriend them. You say your parents were " less than perfect " well in this world that goes for every human and especially parents. Have you thought that they may have felt your criticism and resented it as they were doing the best they could ? You admit you have " anger issues " so you too are " not perfect " IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE PERFECT what we find acceptable behaviour others may not . What we find obnoxious in one person may be just a source of mild annoyance in another especially when we don't have to live in close quarters with those people Try with starting to REALLY forgive and let go of past hurts as in truth holding on to resentments only hurts YOU ( yes I know so not easy to do ) Get a book and write down things that have made you happy and things that have made you really unhappy each day and see if you can change just one thing about YOU that could help to make you happier WE CANNOT CHANGE THOSE AROUND US BUT WE CAN TRY TO CHANGE OURSELVES FOR THE BETTER and by doing that we set a better example for those around us You want to leave home and that is natural but the grass is NOT always greener on the other side ... I left home at 16 and believe me I could tell you some horror stories as it is not always easy to live on your own nor be the only one responsible for your needs let alone your wants but it is normal to want to" leave the nest " so get a job ..any job and go from there Praying for you and your family that you may find peace and happiness xxxxx
    1 point
  32. I think they never truly committed, they may have learnt and gained knowledge about the Word and the Truth but they never gave their hearts over. It can sometimes be challenging to say no to the sin but it feels good to say no. It feels good to not sin. ““Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations.” ‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭14:6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
    1 point
  33. As we enter into Holocaust Remembrance Day later this evening in Israel, I want to share a touching story about an exceptional woman who assisted 2,500 young Jewish children out of the ghettos during World War II. The post Never Forget! appeared first on Worthy Christian Devotional - Daily Devotions. Read the entire devotional.
    1 point
  34. Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth."
    1 point
  35. Galatians chapter 3 verse 24, 25,23 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed.
    1 point
  36. Nighttime (nocturnal) panic attacks can occur with no obvious trigger and awaken you from sleep. As with a daytime panic attack, you may experience sweating, rapid heart rate, trembling, shortness of breath, heavy breathing (hyperventilation), flushing or chills, and a sense of impending doom. While driving to a hospital construction site of which I was a subcontractor with crew, I was rehearsing the days schedule and time frame, anticipating problems and delays, and suddenly I became very anxious, sweating, hard to breathe, heart racing, and had to pull over off the expressway to the side, cut on AC full blast, rolled down the window, stuck out my head and gulped all the air I could get. And prayed. Lasted about five minuets. Drove to work, everything OK. One week later, almost the same place on the freeway to the job I was rehearsing again, the same thing happened. Told a friend later and he told me same thing happened to him and he thought it was a heart attack and went to the emergency room, and found out it was only a panic attack. Not uncommon. I was simply overloading my brain with the stress and anxiety of my job. I have felt only a couple coming on since, but will immediately give the problems to God, pray, and have never had any more. Reading online, they can occur during sleep. I realized it was a mental problem, I over think too much, worried about my job performance to the extreme, causing overload. Now I immediately go to memorized scripture (hid in my heart) when I get anxious, realizing my trust in God is the answer. Hope this may help.
    1 point
  37. You're most welcome sister, so glad the psalm was of comfort to you.
    1 point
  38. There are more aspects to consider than just how to start. Effective use of spiritual gifts (and here I am including the entire range of things) rests on a combination of spiritual maturity and character, God's timing and empowering and direction, practical guidance and mentoring, and experience. Ultimately, our effectiveness in using gifts, talents, and experience is rooted in the depth and quality of our spiritual walk with God. Depending on the gifts, some are most appropriately and effectively used in the setting of a community of Christians, others are used on an at-need basis as God leads with other individuals or situations. Depending on the gifts, the best place to start might be to talk with a pastor or ministry leader about getting involved in a particular ministry, or it might just be stepping out in faith and starting to do things as God leads. In any event, it's usually a matter of learning to crawl before we walk. Expect to make mistakes and potentially feel embarrassed at times. We all go through it. Spiritual gifts are not so much something the God gives to us as individuals to use, but rather something He has given for the purpose of building up other believers and ministering to people. Our focus needs to be on people and their needs and how a gift can minister to them rather than on the gifts themselves. So anyway, be bold and willing to step out in faith. Depending on the gift and situation, this might mean offering to pray for someone as God prompts you, it might mean volunteering to do something new, it might mean joining a particular ministry team or group, it might mean stepping out in faith and doing something for someone. As much as possible, keep yourself within the fellowship of a group of Christians (which might be a church, small group, prayer group, or Christian friends and family) for encouragement and a good support structure for you, and ideally maybe having some people who have the same or similar gifts around you to learn from.
    1 point
  39. Let me give you a short word of encouragement here. I and my wife are friends with a family who have two daughters and a son, and the son used to be absolutely obnoxious sometimes when we would go over there for holiday gatherings and such. One day, I was sitting in the living room with a plate of food (Too many guests to sit at the table, and besides I wanted to watch TV anyway). So here he comes. He stops and stands right in front of me, stares at me, then looks down at my plate and starts taking things off of it that he wanted. I think I was hungry at the time, and combined with all the other stuff he used to do, it set me off. I didn't react, but BOY did I want to. I told my wife I was afraid to go over there much anymore, for fear of potentially striking a child, or at the most giving him a very demonstrative lecture on how rude it is to just walk up and start digging in someone's plate. Then the parents would get upset, and possibly a rift would be created between the two families. Well, long story short, the father went through something of a spiritual conversion to getting far more serious about his Christianity a few years later, and one of the things that changed was the extent to which he began disciplining his children. That boy has grown up to be one of the sweetest, kindest and gentlest young men to be around. I think he was actually longing for someone to take authority over him at the time, and his behavior was a way of reaching out for it. But I would not have done it the right way, whereas God found a way; the right one. The upshot to the whole thing is that I am very grateful I kept ahold of myself with him, or today I might be remembered as being a hot-head. So trust God to deal with them. As the scripture says, "in meekness [we should] correct them that oppose us, if peradventure God may grant them repentance unto an acknowledging of the truth." Or in other words, keep your behavior pure, so that if they do come to a place of repenting of the way they treated you before God, they will remember you as someone who was merciful to them in their sins and acknowledge you for it. I do recommend you do this, and I would begin asking the Lord in prayer regularly, daily, to help me find a way to do so. I agree. A college degree is more overrated these days than it once was. Unless you feel very much led without question to go in a certain direction that requires a college education, I would focus more on just finding a job where you can support yourself, then maybe worry about more career-oriented things once you have gotten yourself established. I've responded to this one in a similar thread. I will see if I can't find it and repost it here. Oh, please! That's just Satan's nonsense. You don't need friends like that anyway. Follow Christ and He will give you friends you don't need to use crude humor around to be liked. So PRAY about these things, all of them, specifically, and keep praying until you start receiving some answers to your prayers. You are in some ways in a good position, because you are in a place with many needs. And if you will lean on Him increasingly, you will see those needs starting to get met, which will increase your faith. You're 19, for Heaven's sake! Things will be fine, you just need to start leaning increasingly on God in prayer for these concerns, and then focusing on the positives in your life. Read Philippians 4:8 daily, even hourly. It will keep you in the right Spirit. I'll see if I can find my other post, and please forgive any typos. This was a long answer to write out.
    1 point
  40. Pray dear friend. Before you sleep ask God to send a hedge of Angels to protect you as you sleep. In Jesus Name.
    1 point
  41. Just because a belief is ancient, doesn't make it wrong. In fact, it's stood the test of time. "Is it right that my beliefs stop another being open with me". Do you believe murder is wrong? I'll presume you do. Suppose you had a coworker who was also a murderer. I would guess that if you were vocal about your beleiving murder to be wrong, that coworker wouldn't open up to you..... Should you not have beleifs at all so that others can you relate to you better?
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  42. well for What God says i can tell you being an Disciple of Jesus Christ who is God, and this is the final Word. Sodomites are an abomination to God, they are an enemy putting themselves ahead of the creator to worship there lusts and carnal minds. God does not believe in 'rights' and neither do i. They are a man made thing to justify there desires, in the NIV in John chapter 1 it says: "He came unto his own and his own received him not, but to those who received him , he gave the RIGHT to become the Sons of God, even to those who believed on his name." This is the only 'right' i know of. This makes me a Son of God, and Heir of God and Joint Heir of Christ. I am now the Temple of God and the Temple in Jerusalem is no longer needed, for this is where God dwells. God cannot live in a Temple defiled, i.e. sodomites, only in one purified and Sanctified by the blood of the Holy one of God. His Lamb who paid for the whole worlds sins. By believing Jesus is the Son of God i have set to my seal that God is True. It is Written , let God be True and every man a LIAR! All i said comes from God, i do not believe in the things of this world , not the constitution, rights, courts or politicians to save me, only Jesus.
    1 point
  43. a-hah, get a grip, mate, my beliefs aren't archaic, they're biblical.
    1 point
  44. Well anyway you view it, homosexuality or paedaphilia it's ludting after the flesh in a devious perverted manner and the same can be said of hetrosexuals who indulge in the reading of or sale of pornographic material.Lots of people have struggled with theses desire I know because I have, but nothing is impossible for God and He can reverse the trend if you are sincere with your desire to change. I can testify to that and the Lord did such a job on me, that any sort of sexual immority is repugnant and repulsive to me and I don't care who knows it. Had to get that off my chest. e
    1 point
  45. I think he's just seeing a co-relation here. Sometimes pedophiles go after same sex children, but sometimes they don't.
    1 point
  46. Yes, it's true that most pedophiles had been sexually abused when they were young. Not to say every person who was every sexually abused will abuse either. I'm a foster parent and it's very well known that if we have a child who was abused in the past sexually, we have to watch them like hawks around younger children because there is a good chance they will abuse. It's very sad. And another subject that no one wants to talk about - that there is a relationship to homosexuality and early abuse. I've known two men who were sexually abused who both stated that, while they are heterosexual, they struggle with homosexual thoughts. Both men are also very angry people, down deep.
    1 point
  47. I'm not comparing the two any more than I'm comparing pedophelia with heterosexuality. Both of these plus homosexuality and bisexuality all are sexual preferences. I'm trying to figure out which ones people think are genetic and which ones are learned and how you can tell. What is the problem?
    1 point
  48. If scientists are trying to say we are born with our sexual desires, then a big can of worms is opened up. Are bisexuals born with the desire to have sex with both sexes? What will stop pedophiles from making the claim that they were also born with this desire? Personally, I used to be attracted to tall, dark and handsome men because that is the way I was raised to think men should be. So I married one. After being physically abused, my preference suddenly changed. I was then attracted to a much shorter man with lighter hair. Weird, but I do think our experiences shape our desires.
    1 point
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