BK1110

Praying for you. Dad, who had been the rock of our family for years, broke down with utterly crippling depression in the last year of his life. Mental illness can shake us much more than even terrible physical illness. We must not forget that all are trials that are intended to grow our faith and reliance on God, and not indications that we are failures as Christians (at least, no more failures than everyone is a hopeless failure without Christ)!

Yes, 15 seems too old. I feel like corporal punishment works on children because there is real fear of the pain then. By the time you're a teenager you're not going to have any fear/respect for that level of pain (if the level of pain is enough to cause fear of it then it's probably the parent going too far physically). Corporal punishment seems good when teaching young children to respect authority and expect consequences for misbehavior/sin/law-breaking etc. This raises red flags in my mind regarding the mother in this case, even without the suspicion from you that she may enjoy it. Of course, obedience is very important, as long as she's not telling you to do sinful things.

As a fan of role playing, RPGs and the like, this definitely has my attention. Like just about everything, you certainly could do it in a sinful way. But I think there is also potential for good, as you have said. If you can write it well, in a way that glorifies God and brings to light to falseness, emptiness, and sinfulness of other religions/false gods etc. then it could be an interesting tool to get people thinking about deeper matters.

Praying for you!

I hope this doesn't open a can of worms, but is sprinkling some water even really a "baptism?" They won't be dunking your baby fully in the water, which is real baptism (as far as I can tell from scripture). If it's just symbolically vowing to raise your child as a Christian, well, is it wrong to vow to do something scripture clearly teaches you to do? As important as it is to not be involved in anti-Biblical things, I'm not sure this is such a case. Something not be in or prescribed by the Bible doesn't necessarily mean it is against the Bible.

Fortunately there are some great Christian metal bands out there. Theocracy and Tourniquet are my favorites.

Just to offer a counterpoint, I found that simply having a chapter or chapters to read and reading them daily did not do much for me. Much more important than reading is studying for meaning. I have grown more from studying a 1-3 verses per day with good commentaries than I have from reading 1-3 full chapters a day. This is not me saying not to use the plan you are wanting. It may work well for you when it did not for me. Just some food for thought. God bless you and grow you in His word, in whatever way He wills!

Fellow Christian gamer as well, and familiar with the series in question and it's spinoff, Persona. If it makes you uncomfortable then you probably should just give it up. You can fuse away the characters in question, but you'll still encounter them and fight against them etc. even if you do. If it's a stumbling block or takes your mind where you know it ought not to be, then delete and move on. A good practice for other forms of media as well. E.G. I enjoy some heavy metal music, but must be selective about themes, content, language etc. The Iron Maiden song "Aces High" is one I enjoy, being about airmen and their struggles during the Battle of London in WWII. This content is not objectionable and there is no foul language. Same band, however, has "The Number of the Beast" as one of their famous songs. Although I recognize that they themselves are not Satan worshipers and probably view it as innocent, the content of this song does not sit right with me at all, and I don't want those themes, words, images etc. being sung in my head. So I choose not to listen to that song. We should all be in prayer and careful thought about what we put in our hearts and minds to make sure our thought life glorifies God and reflects who we are as Christians. There is such an amount of media available. This can lead to idleness and sloth if we spend too much time on it (we must fight that), but the good side of it is that we can refuse to partake of problematic content when we come across it, knowing that there will be other options.

He will be fine from this. It's the internet filled with perversions that you need to guard him from.

I run into this all the time. Being disabled and home-bound, 100% of my witnessing happens online. I try to put myself out there, posting a Bible verse in response to a post quoting from some famous thinker, or a political situation etc., to give a Biblical point of view on it. Virtually 100% of the non-believers who reply are clearly not seeking truth, but just looking to mock. Some are truly vile about it as well. We ourselves cannot save people, and cannot change their hearts. Only God can awaken someone's heart from spiritual death and make them soft-hearted and truly seek truth. I have learned to make my witness, and if it's clear the other person is not interested in listening or seeking but is only looking to mock, to not continually cast pearls before the swine. I politely end things before they can keep sinning by mocking God, letting them know I'm always willing to talk if they are truly interested, leaving them with a book recommendation or two, and then moving on. Finally I then pray for them, because only God can change and save.

Personal life experiences certainly play a role. And I think people are gifted variously; some are good at "reading the room" and "reading between the lines," understanding the subtleties of the emotions and thoughts of others etc. Being a Christian and studying God's word is probably the best way to gain insight into others. When you begin to understand how sin affects everyone, you can't help but see things differently than you did before. I'd also like to point to a specific passage, which I just so happen to be in the middle of with my daily Bible study today: "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth." -- Ephesians 1:7-10 Emphasis is mine. Notice that Paul says the way (at least one way) God has lavished his grace upon us is with wisdom and insight in regards to his will. In other words, when we become a Christian, not only are we saved by grace, but that grace grows us in our understanding of God's will and all that goes along with it. We come to grow in our understanding of what he is doing, and why, and how that affects people and the world. I think it would not be incorrect then to say that growing and changing to have a more robust and accurate "Christian insight" as you have called it would be one sign of the realness of salvation in a person.

20-30 minutes of Bible and apologetics study, 20-30 minutes of prayer in the morning. Prayers before bed, and prayer throughout the day as nessicary. May I suggest that, in addition to reading the Bible you have purchased, you also find a good Bible commentary? This, especially when you are new to the faith or just looking into it, is so key to helping you understand things. A couple of resources that I personally use and have grown and helped me are the Desiring God channel on Youtube, and the Got Questions website. Both totally free and readily accessible online. I pray God blesses you in your search for him. Don't forget perhaps the most important thing; pray to God and ask him to reveal himself and his truth to you. Tell him you want to know him and are willing to follow whatever is true!

I would say no probably. We are taught to respect legal authorities. We would probably agree that speeding or running red lights because you are late would also be wrong. I would advise you to try to work out some other kind of transportation, like asking for a brother at your church to give you a lift or some kind of public transit, if at all possible.

I think you may be right. As I've thought about it, maybe these kinds of situations are used to remind us of our total dependence on God. Even after a life dedicated to God, we are still full of sin, and can still easily fall away. It is God working in and through us, with his power and his grace, that saves us. We are powerless on our own. All glory goes to God for granting both our dads their victory and rest in the end!

We experienced similar things. Something, whether physical or mental or spiritual, happened to dad's mind around the beginning of 2020. For the last 15 months of his life he had terrible mental problems, hearing voices, believing we were plotting against him, believing he was not saved and going to hell, etc. Finally getting a psychiatrist's treatment helped, but he never fully recovered mentally and emotionally before he passed. I was (and perhaps somewhat still are) where you are. I do not understand why it was allowed to happen, and worse, I do not know for sure if that means he really wasn't saved. Everything within me, and what I saw from him in living with him for over 30 years, tells me that he was saved for real, and that if he wasn't saved, who in the world could be, as he dedicated himself so fully to the Lord and following Him and leading his family as a Christian husband and father is called to. He was a completely changed man from his youth when he was not following God and was foul mouthed and sinful, etc. But then occasionally it still gnaws at me, wondering "if he was really saved, why didn't he 'finish the race' more strongly? Why did his mind go like it did, to where he pulled away from brothers and sisters in the church, and struggled with so much doubt in the end?" I will pray that God gives you strength and peace about this.

Then you've done what you can aside from witnessing and praying. Pray for her and leave it to God. But do not think that you need to continue to expose yourself to abuse.

Although you are still her daughter, your primary worldly relationship is now with your husband and your children. You are an adult, you have left your parents and have cleaved to your husband. You are not obligated to follow your parents advice and leadership as you were when you were a child living under their roof. Things like naming your baby and where you live are only her business so far as you make them her business. I would consider writing her a letter explaining the ways that how she treats you affects you. Tell her that after your phone call you were physically ill and wept and felt very hurt. Things cannot get better if there is no effort to confront the problem in a healthy and respectful and loving way. Your other choices are to do nothing and continue being abused, or cut off the relationship without trying to improve things. Neither of those are very good options.

Porn is definitely evil and damaging. But yes, it is very possible to recover from it, even from an addiction to it, and certainly from the "dabbling" that many do with it. The problem of "living up to those images" is a real concern, and is probably one reason that even fantasizing in one's mind is a sin (Matthew 5:28). That said, think of it this way; a man who has never engaged with porn or such things marries a very beautiful woman and has a wonderful, God-honoring relationship with her in every way. Then his wife dies. Sometime later, he remarries, and this time his new wife is not nearly as outwardly-beautiful. Would we be concerned that his second wife cannot "live up" to the physical attractiveness of his first wife? Well, I suppose it's possible, but we don't really think about such things. As we grow up, we (hopefully) grow in the understanding that outward beauty is just one aspect of beauty, and is not the most important aspect, and is an aspect of it that changes and fades over time. Maybe she is less outwardly beautiful, but that doesn't mean this man can't be attracted to her, or their intimate physical relationship cannot be wonderful and fulfilling to both of them, etc. As a former "dabbler" I am thankful that God did not allow me to plunge into those kinds of images regularly or become addicted. Even then as I remember how they affected me back then I can see how very easily damaging they are to the participants, and the viewers. But as God has led me away from that, and to a deeper meaning of Biblical marriage and love and relationships and intimacy, he has grown me to realize the beauty and worthiness and desirability of his design for those things, and to eagerly anticipate having a God-honoring, dedicated marriage of my own one day, if he is so willing to bring that into my life. And one aspect of that growth is to be far less preoccupied with standards of physical beauty (and certainly with physical beauty alone as any kind of important component). I see this as just one more way that God's word and truth and working in a person's heart can change and grow them in ways that are not possible otherwise. "But Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'" -- Matthew 19:26

If you have tried talking and witnessing, then there is nothing left but for you to pray daily for her and this situation and leave it in God's hands. We cannot change hearts and minds; only God can move in such a way. Keep praying daily to God changes your mother's heart.

"When the books of the Bible were originally written, they did not contain chapter or verse references. The Bible was divided into chapters and verses to help us find Scriptures more quickly and easily. It is much easier to find "John chapter 3, verse 16" than it is to find "for God so loved the world..." In a few places, chapter breaks are poorly placed and as a result divide content that should flow together. Overall, though, the chapter and verse divisions are very helpful. The chapter divisions commonly used today were developed by Stephen Langton, an Archbishop of Canterbury. Langton put the modern chapter divisions into place in around A.D. 1227. The Wycliffe English Bible of 1382 was the first Bible to use this chapter pattern. Since the Wycliffe Bible, nearly all Bible translations have followed Langton’s chapter divisions. The Hebrew Old Testament was divided into verses by a Jewish rabbi by the name of Nathan in A.D. 1448. Robert Estienne, who was also known as Stephanus, was the first to divide the New Testament into standard numbered verses, in 1555. Stephanus essentially used Nathan’s verse divisions for the Old Testament. Since that time, beginning with the Geneva Bible, the chapter and verse divisions employed by Stephanus have been accepted into nearly all the Bible versions." Source: https://www.gotquestions.org/divided-Bible-chapters-verses.html

The good ones are few and far between. One good one is Ed Young's "The Winning Walk" which is from his church here in my hometown of Houston, TX. I know it's broadcast on some TV and radio stations outside our area as well.

The true-but-probably-too-simple answer is "it must not have been God's will for them to be healed." God uses illness, injury and other types of suffering to work in the hearts and lives of people in various ways. Paul's own "thorn in the flesh" is a prime example: https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/what-is-a-thorn-in-the-flesh.html Read and ponder the passage about Ephaphroditus. Doesn't it seem like God used this incident to inspire joy in the Philippians, and in Paul himself? Paul then writes about it in his letter, and we can learn and benefit from this story, even nearly 2000 years later. How many people over those 2000 years have read that and grown in their (1) desire to follow God even to the point of death in their ministry, (2) ability to recognize healing as a glorious gift from God and praise and glorify him for it? What an amazing use of Ephaphroditus' suffering by God!

Remember that God is the one who moves in heart and saves, not you. It is your role to teach and guide, but God does the work. Don't put it all on yourself! For all parents, but especially the Christian half of divided households, it's critical for the Christian parents to study apologetics. Your husband, you kids' teachers and schools, and eventually college professors, not to mention society in general, will have many good-sounding arguments that will continually hammer on your kids and try to draw them away from what you've taught them. Most church's kid's ministries are not equipped and prepared to train children adequately. You are your kids' only line of defense. I say it not to scare you but just to hopefully spur you to get serious about it. You need to know this so you can pass it along to them. Always in a respectful way of course. Who knows; God may want to use you educating your kids in that way to bleed over into your husband's heart as well. Here is a lot of information about how the church is just hemorrhaging kids when they go off to college https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/are-young-people-really-leaving-christianity/ And here is a great place to start with your kids https://coldcasechristianity.com/cold-case-christianity-for-kids-by-j-warner-and-susie-wallace/ Along with Wallace, I would recommend you look into the McDowells (Josh and Sean), Hugh Ross, John Lennox, Michael Behe, Frank Turek, and Lee Strobel. All of these guys are still-living and have books, websites, and either their own Youtube channels or their lectures and Q/As can be readily found on Youtube for free. For an easy way to start, look up "Science Uprising" on Youtube, it's an ongoing video series that answers common ashiest objections and questions with short vidoes that serve as a great introductory level. If your kids do not get it from you, they will not get it from anyone. Will be praying for your family!

They may indeed be receiving messages in dreams, God still uses that avenue in some people's lives. The thing though is that they won't be able to know unless they compare those dreams with Scripture. Studying the Scriptures is the way to know if those dreams are just dreams or if they mean something more.

It will wax and wane over the course of your life. Continue on, while praying to God to restore your hunger and joy for and in his Word. I would also discuss it with a trusted pastor or elder at your church. Praying for God to restore you!