BK1110

Praising God for this wonderful update! The more we realize how involved God is with us and the world, the better. God wants every part of us and our lives and thoughts and heart and desire. “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible... all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” -- Colossians 1:16-17 Let that rolls over you in waves again and again. Tell it to yourself over and over in times of doubt: "I was created for God. FOR GOD. He made me FOR HIMSELF." That is infinite purpose and value! You will never cease to exist. God purposely made you, exactly the way you are, for Himself, to be in His kingdom, for all eternity. There will never be a time when He grows bored of you being in relationship with Him, providing for your every need and (holy) desire and receiving heartfelt love and thanksgiving from you. NEVER.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:2-13) Notice the flow of thought: Paul first tells us broadly how to live, then he grounds it on Christ and His example. Again, notice how broad it is; do NOTHING from selfish ambition or conceit. Quite literally then, we should be constantly asking ourselves if what we are doing, saying, and thinking reflects evil selfishness or Christlike selflessness. Notice at the end Paul tells us to work out (live out) our salvation because God is working in us. God is, by His Holy Spirit living in us, supernaturally causing our desire to live selflessly to grow and increase, and because of that we should be working (living) that reality out. It sounds like a chicken/egg paradox. A pastor once said that sometimes we have to do our way into feeling; we realize what we should do, we realize our sin nature makes us not want to do it, but our justified nature wants our sin nature to be changed. The solution is to DO what we know we should and PRAY each day that God would work in us and through us, in and through our doing, to supernaturally change our desires so that more and more it becomes natural and not forced. The praying is key; ask God each day to help you live selflessly. Ask Him to keep His promises to change and grow you as you obey Him. Tell him you want Him to change you so that you increase in your desire for His ways. Remember the cry of the father of the demon-possessed man: And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:21-24) He realized the truth but also realized he was having trouble accepting the truth. He didn't just try harder; he cried out to Jesus to help him fight his unbelief. Jesus responded with a miracle in front of his eyes.

Happy (belated) birthday, and thanks for all your service on Worthy!

Woof, my expectations were low but WOW, what a sham. That was practically a second assassination attempt. The bias was so bald-faced that if Harris still wins the only reasonable conclusion is that so much of this country is so inured and brainwashed that there's really no hope for a return to American greatness anymore. Fortunately this world is not our home because the spiral is just getting faster and crazier.

Yes I agree. If in a culture you are trying to reach a tattoo is taboo and would hinder your Gospel work, you should probably not get one. On the other hand, if you are trying to reach some tribe or village in which tattoos are required (depending on the reasons why), that might be a situation to strongly consider getting one. Just in short, the Biblical texts people use when trying to claim it's definitely always a clear sin to get any tattoo for any reason are old testament Mosaic laws. In order for those passages to still apply, they have to be grounded on God's created order (like homosexuality always being against God's created order from the beginning in Genesis) rather than just being part of the Mosaic law given to Israel to set them apart from surrounding pagan nations and serve as their "guardians and managers" until Christ's redemptive work was completed. I have never seen anyone make a convincing case against tattoos by that standard.

I wish I had known about that beforehand. Despite being on X every day I never heard about it so I just watched the debate with just the two of them.

The process and production and format and even the host were all much better than expected. That allowed it to really just be the candidates answering questions. Unfortunately there was a lot less answering the question and a lot more accusing the other one of being a fiend and the worst president ever. But clearly Biden is not mentally fit. Citing his 10+ year old golf handicap in answer to the question about his fitness (and then having Trump correct him when he said it was lower than it was) was a notably head-slapping moment. Blessedly we can say after watching that debate: Praise the LORD that this nation is not really our home, because the flames just keep getting bigger!

Sister, you are ever in my prayers. As you said, you are trying! Do not discount that as being a glorifying testimony to your faith in God. Even in these incredible trials, you know His will, you desire His will, you are fighting tooth and nail to stick to His will, resisting the devil telling you to give up, resisting the evil one's temptation to end your life before God is ready for it to end. You are fighting hard. You are a warrior. The devil has not defeated you. You are standing for God's truth and His will. Do not think for a minute that God is not very pleased about your show of faith in this time of great darkness in your life. God is allowing the devil to test you, and so far, you have not given in. You have not let the devil convince you to distrust God, you have not let him to convince you to orphan your precious children. You are an inspiration to me (and I imagine everyone else here). When I think of the struggles in attitude I have had at times over the past few months and days with the stress of moving, despite it being nowhere near your level of stress, I can only stand in awe of your faith. I hope one day to grow to be able to fight as hard and as successfully as you have been. Do not hold in those tears. "JESUS WEPT" (John 11:35) Did you get that? Let me say it again. "JESUS WEPT" (John 11:35) Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, very God of very God, Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, Light of the world, Prince of peace...he wept! Your tears are not shameful. They are not weak. They are not displeasing to your loving Father in heaven. And guess what the very next verse says: "So the Jews said, 'See how he loved him!'" (John 11:36) Jesus wept openly, in front of others, in front of his disciples, in front of believers, in front of non-believers! Do not be ashamed of your tears. Do not hide them. Do not hide your pain. Do not think it makes you weak or a failure of a Christian. Do not hesitate to keep seeking help. God is not finished with you yet!

"Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses." -- Psalm 25:16-17 Lot of stress and uncertainty about my short term and long term future with the move across the country my family is going through, and worrying for my family's salvation. These verses are precious.

I can't read through all 26 pages of this thing, so forgive me if I repeat others. I think the old Leviticus passage is Mosaic Law that is no longer binding. I think this means it is not an outright, definite sin, at least. More of a matter of conscience. There are some things we should not do because they could affect our witness, even if they in-and-of-themselves are not sins. For example, if I were going to be a witness in the nation of Japan, where there is still a very strong negative cultural perception of tattoos due to their usage by the Japanese mafia (Yakuza), it could very much affect my ability to be a witness to those people to get a tattoo. To get one then would be unloving, as I would be placing my own desire for a tattoo above what is needed to show love to others in sharing the gospel as effectively as I can. However, on the other side of things, I just recently read a passage I had not taken notice of before: "Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek." (Acts 16:1-3) Look at that! Paul himself, the one who openly rebuked Peter when Peter was wavering towards the Jews who were insisting on circumcision, actually had Timothy circumcised! Despite being the one who most vehemently opposed the circumcision crowd, and went to great lengths in his teachings and letters to tell people that they were no longer under that commandments. Why? He did it specifically to remove anything that could have caused the Jews to reject them off-hand. He actually had Timothy undergo a permanent, painful, bloody modification to his body, even though it was not required, for the sake of making sure Timothy could reach the people he would be witnessing to. Could I see a Christian who is going to be witnessing to a certain people group, whether a tribe in some jungle or members of some subculture, who think tattoos are great, getting a tattoo to help them reach out to those folks with the gospel? Hmmmmm.............. I think people considering tattoos should think/pray long and hard about their motivations.

You can tell her honestly, if she does ask, that you confide about your troubles with fellow believers for comfort and advise. You do not need to go any deeper or more detailed than that; if she asks, you can simply decline to answer further. You do not owe her any deeper answer. Something came to mind that might help, at least in some small part: remember that forgiving someone is about whether you hold a grudge against them, whether you demand "payment" from them. It does not mean you simply forget who they are or what they've done, or act as though they are not who they are. It means you no longer consider them in debt against you. You can do this without trying in vain to wish away feelings. What she is doing to you is sin. She is sinning against you. Imagine if this sin were something that is considered sin even more, like physical violence. You would be required to forgive her of that, but would you feel guilty if, even while forgiving, you took steps to protect yourself from further physical violence? Would you think it was your Christian duty to continue to allow her free reign to assault you each day and not protect yourself? Probably not. So yes, forgive. But there is nothing wrong or sinful about you privately, mentally wishing to be free of a person's sinning against you. I do not think it is sinful that your heart sinks when she shows up. It is not her herself that you wish to be rid of, it is her sinning against you that you wish to be rid of. God forgives us of our sins, but only because Jesus has paid the price for them. The sins themselves DO get paid for. They are not handwaved as though they never happened. It is right to hate and loath and want to be free from sin, both yours and other's. That shows you treat sin as seriously as God does.

Admit that you can't. Come to God as a little child, which you are to Him. Admit that you have no power of your own to hold yourself back. Pray for His strength to enter you. We are asking for a miracle here...but it is a miracle God has promised to us: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” -- John 14:15-17

Praying for strength from God to keep it together. May I advise you to pray to God to help you battle the sins of gossip and bitterness? Being around her must make it so hard. Rely on God's strength to see your heart and mind through these trials.

True Christians cannot be demon possessed. Why do you think you might be? It is normal to go through seasons of struggle, seasons of feeling more distant or more close to God. We will not be perfectly committed and together with God until our sin natures are removed from us in the next life. Do you attend a local gathering of true believers for teaching and fellowship?

Without getting into specifics, may I suggest that if you feel distant from God, ask Him to close that gap? Admit your own inability to feel and desire as you should, and ask Him to change your heart and mind by His power, for the sake of His glory.

Part of the purpose of marriage is to image the relationship between Christ and the church (his bride) to your surrounding community. I would encourage you to consider whether you can accomplish this mandate through living together without being legally married. In what way would you be imaging something different and better than a couple who has no intention to marry and is just living in a sinful relationship?

Unless you are getting a strong, consistent leading of the Spirit that a certain something you are praying for should no longer be prayed for (like if God is telling you clearly that the answer is no and you need to move on), I would continue praying for it. This assuming that the thing in question you are praying for was something right to be praying for in the first place (I.E. not winning the lottery or something bad happening to someone else etc.)

Some of mine: Desiring God, Mike Winger, Reasons To Believe, Cross Examined, Cold-Case Christianity, Sean McDowell

This page, while not claiming to know for certain, breaks down why this is not an impossibility. https://arkencounter.com/animals/how-many/

Praying for you. Romans 8 is one of the more powerful/important/famous etc. chapters in the Bible. This section may be of some help: "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." -- Romans 8:26-28 Look at that! God doesn't just ask us to pray, and he doesn't even stop with knowing that we are imperfect in our prayers. Knowing that we many times don't even know how to pray, the Holy Spirit Himself, dwelling inside of us, prays on our behalf! God Himself prays for us to God Himself, on a level so deep that human words could never communicate so powerfully. And these prayers are always according to the will of God, and that will, that purpose, is always for our good. Aside from our salvation, is there any better news than this in the Bible? Try praying something like this: "Father, I am at my wit's end in this situation. But in just these three verses, you have told me the following: everything I am suffering now is being used by you for MY GOOD, and even though I do not know how to even pray about it, I know that the Holy Spirit is interceding on my behalf! I praise you an thank you for that glorious, comforting truth, and I pray that your will continues to be done in this situation, and that you give me the wisdom and strength to do or no do whatever it is that will please you in this situation."

Glad to be of any small help. Will pray for you. God has good purposes for all trials and sufferings we go through. Perhaps due to your difficult childhood, you will be able to grow to love and appreciate God as a Father on levels deeper and more wonderful than those of us who were blessed with good parents and so too easily take it for granted!

Our purpose is to glorify God in all we do. When we come to him with our problems, little or big, we are coming in humility, admitting that He is God and we need and desire Him in all aspects of our life. When we come to Him, fully trusting Him to hear even our smallest prayers, we are letting Him know that we understand and appreciate that He is omnipotent and omniscient (He knows what is best in all situations, and He has limitless power to hear and answer ALL the prayers of ALL the people in the world). We are letting Him know that there is no area, large or small, of our hearts and lives that we do not seek His aid and His guidance and His glory. We come to Him in childlikeness, total dependence, as Jesus commanded. Do you remember this short episode? Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” And he laid his hands on them and went away. -- Matthew 19:13-15 Now you would never hinder a child coming to their father, right? Why would you then hinder yourself coming to your heavenly Father? Meditate on what it means to be the child of a Father of infinite love and power; how strongly does He desire you to come to Him at all times and for every need of yours? Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. -- Romans 12:12 Be constant in prayer. Constant! This may also help, sister: https://ofthehearth.com/praying-about-the-little-things/

Ignore what "the majority of people are saying" and ask what the Bible is saying. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. -- James 2:14-24 You say you believe that Jesus went to the cross for your sins. Good for you. Simply believing something like that is not enough. "Belief in Jesus as savior" as simply believing a historical fact will save no one. You must actually turn your heart and mind and life to Him. That is the act of repentance. Let me say it again; simply believing in a fact will not save you. You must actually admit the wrongness of your sins (not just that God considers them wrong, but that He is right to consider them wrong, and you now consider them wrong as well) and commit your heart to loving and following Him. Do you think God will be mocked by being forced to let people into His kingdom who do not love Him and refuse to obey Him? Do you think you can just say "hey, I believe in Jesus! Doesn't matter if I don't want to obey him and instead live like the devil!" and God will just say "oh shoot, he said the magic words, I can't help it, I have to let him in!" “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ -- Matthew 7:21-23 Read this passage carefully. (1) "Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven." Notice that there are people who call God "Lord" but will not enter the kingdom. This isn't talking about people who don't believe, the Richard Dawkins of the world. This is people who say that God is God, that the Bible is true. But that does not save them. Okay, who DOES enter the kingdom then? Surely it's "those who believe that Jesus died on the cross for sins," right? (2) "but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." Jesus Himself says the only people who enter are the ones who DO the will of His father. Action! Deeds! It it not simple belief that a statement about Jesus is true! (3) "in that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’" Oh but wait, those are actions, right? They were doing things, right? Not just belief, but really acting on it! So what gives? Why was even that not enough? They were going to church, claiming to be Christians, maybe even telling others about Jesus. They weren't committing "big" sins like murder and theft etc. Shouldn't they be in? (4) "And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’" So then here it is; God never "knew" them. But God knows everything, right? He wouldn't be God otherwise. What does this mean? Ginōskō is the word translated "know." It doesn't only refer to head knowledge. It is also used in ways like "a husband knows his wife" sexually. It is an intimate, relational knowledge. God is saying "I never had a real relationship with you." Paul makes this clear: "But if anyone loves God, he is known by God." -- 1 Corinthians 8:3 Those who are known by God are those who love God. Not believe He exists or that Jesus is Him or that Jesus died to save sinners or anything else. It's those who love God. Paul in a similar fashion to the Galatians (4:9): "But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?" It's a rhetorical question; Paul is clearly expecting the obvious answer to be "you can't!" In Isaiah 29:13 God talks about people who "draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me," They say the right things, the admit that God is real and Jesus saves and so on, but their hearts are far from God. They do not love God, they do not love His ways and rules. They look for any excuse they can find not to actually follow Him. So again I return to questions for you. You know some facts. Do you LOVE them? Do you LOVE God? Do you LOVE His laws and rules? Do you DESIRE to actually follow Him? Your heart exposes who you really are. What does your heart say about you?

It depends on if we have truly repented and accepted Jesus as our Lord. People who have done so don't continue on saying "it's doesn't matter how much I sin because it's all covered." Like the unforgiving servant, they show that their heart has not truly been transformed. Are you willing to answer some questions? First, do you believe getting drunk is a sin, according to the Bible? Second, do you think it's not a problem to continue living in willful sin without any hint of remorse or fighting against it? If the answer to both is yes, I have bad news for you.

Anyone who has this attitude proves they never understood sin and salvation in the first place. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” -- Matthew 7:21-23