LoveGeneration

I feel like you're talking about a prophet. Problem is that there are many false prophets, but true prophets that were appointed by God himself fit your description. That's not say that God is only looking for prophets; I think that God wants his children to follow his commandments and do His work. As simple as that. If you start thinking about holiness and purity, you're only setting yourself up for failure. Love and preach the gospel and everything else will fall into line.

Yeah, it's horrible. The rapture is near.

Repentance involves not repeating the sin again. You have not repented, you have simply asked for forgiveness. God will continue to forgive you, but you need to ask Him for guidance and help to quench your addiction before you attempt to repent. Nicotine is an addictive drug, so through your own strength you will not be able to overcome your addiction, you need to pray and ask God for help.

Very good question. In my opinion, forgiveness is when you forget. If you wake up every morning thinking about what that person did to you, you haven't forgiven them. You need to no longer holding a grudge against that person, and you need let it go. Not just consciously, but in your heart as well. For instance, you may think you have forgiven someone because you made a conscious effort to forgive them in your mind, but whenever you see that person, you feel a tiny bit of loathing in your heart, which means you have not forgiven them yet. Now, as for how to know whether you have forgiven someone or not... I would say that you need to talk to that person and ask God for guidance as well. My dad always tells me to apologize to the person, regardless of who hurt who, and that's one way to show forgiveness. Also, if you practice agape love, forgiveness should be second nature to you. If you're still struggling with forgiving and letting go, then you need to not focus on building your forgiving nature, but building your "love nature". As soon as you learn to love, you'll learn to forgive. If you are personally affected by the event, and feel any kind of hatred or loathing to the person, then you also need to forgive them. Forgiveness is not only when someone does something wrong to you directly, but if they hurt you in any way (even through your child) and you are no longer able to love them, you need to forgive them. In addition, trying to explain this to non-Christians will be very difficult, because they have not inherited God's love, therefore they are more likely to hold grudges and not let go. If I were you, I would preach salvation to them first before trying to teach them how to forgive, otherwise you're fighting a losing battle.

Well, I have much work to do here in Earth, saving souls and whatnot, so I have no time to feel fernweh for Heaven when so many people are going to Hell. But that's just me...

I understand your anxiety, putting God before anything or anyone else in your life takes serious dedication and sacrifice, especially if you have a family of your own, as you mentioned. My advice to you is to follow God's commandments and do His work. What are his commandments? See Mark 12:29-30 and John 13:34. What is His work exactly? See Mark 16:15-16. I want to put extra emphasis on doing His work, because a lot of people think it's enough to go to church and read the Bible once in a while, but it isn't. You're supposed to take what you've learned and teach others, that's the only way to save souls. Do not be ashamed of His word but go forth and declare His name to all who are willing to hear. As Apostle Paul beautifully declared, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16 NKJV). Be blessed!

The 10 commandments are associated with the Old Testament; when Jesus came onto this Earth, He gave us two new commandments to follow: 1. Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. (Mark 12:29-30 NKJV) 2. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. (John 13:34 NKJV) I'm not entirely sure what you're asking clarification for, but what I'm going to tell you is to look only at God. Forget what TV shows or books or anyone says about your denomination, just focus on doing God's work, which is preaching the gospel to every nation. Not smoking or not drinking means nothing if you are not doing the work of Christ, so just focus on that. Be blessed!

Or it could be a "no". You need to ask yourself whether what you are asking for is what you really need. Sometimes we want certain things, but don't really need them. Furthermore, God has a plan for each and every one of us, and if we ask for something that could interfere with that plan, there is no reason for Him to give it to us. Sometimes, it is really hard to tell, as you said... but you have to take a realistic look at your life and decide whether what you asked for would help you preach the gospel, which is our main duty as children of God. For example, I wanted to attend this university in the US but my application was rejected, despite spending countless nights praying to get in. At the time, I was bummed out but through that rejection, I discovered another amazing school that both me and my parents liked, and that's where I'm going in a couple of months. So, sometimes God says "no" because He knows it will lead to something better for us.

That doesn't really apply here. And I would not trust anything Joyce Meyers has to say. She is a false teacher and a false prophet. How is Joyce Meyers a false teacher and false prophet? Also, I wholeheartedly agree with the rest of your point.

1 John 4:1 (NKJV) Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. Yes, there are people who put a pretense of being Christian when in reality their behaviour proves otherwise. In my opinion, there are two types of Christians who fit this category: 1. The first kind honestly just do not know the meaning of being a child of God. They may or may not be saved, but they seem to believe that it doesn't matter what they do or how they act because God will "always" forgive them. They are still too attached to worldly pleasures and cannot take a step in trying to seek Christ; they are on the wrong path and just do not know it. I do not think that these kind of people are actively trying to act against what the word of God says, but rather they are unknowledgeable about who a Christian is and how he or she should act. 2. The second kind are more of what I associate as "false prophets". They pretend to be holy and full of love on the outside, but on the inside they are wicked people. They consciously sin and do wrong because they want to, and could care less about seeking the Lord. I know so many of these people, and it saddens me. They preach about love, forgiveness, faith, etc and yet they themselves do not practice what they teach. These are the kinds of people who give Christians a bad name, because they are often as wicked and as filthy as people of the world. My advice is to forget about people like this. Your job is to preach the gospel to every nation, so do just that. Do not bother yourself with hypocritical Christians, because they'll just bring you down. Take heed that you do not judge someone based on their outward appearance, but based on what's on the inside (1 Samuel 16:7). That way you will avoid false prophets and find the right kind of Christians to seek Christ with.