BK1110

One of my favorite songs from my favorite band (Theocracy): ---------- So the candle's gone out, it's been soaked by the rain And the cold winds of doubt have extinguished the flame The lighthouse sits idly in darkness again As the ship sails ocean alone The sun's frozen over and all has gone cold And the fires of the past have been bought and then sold And the light on the porch is abandoned and old So the child cannot find his way home Arisen Forbidden We keep our candles hidden Born leaders That follow, floating with the tide "You are the light of the world," He said But we've blown out our candles and left men for dead, Singing "we are the light of the world, He said" As the darkness descends on us all If we were the light of the world today Would we hide in the shadows and scare them away? Are we the light of the world or are we failing to answer the call? Men love the darkness much more than the light For their deeds can be kept out of mind and of sight And the line has eroded between wrong and right Like it's all relative after all To stand like a wall and resist the temptation To sell ourselves out for hollow acclimation And cheapen the message, a weakened foundation Revealing the cracks in the wall No power No glory No one to tell their story No wonder It's all unraveling "You are the light of the world," He said But we've blown out our candles and left men for dead Singing "we are the light of the world, He said" As the darkness descends on us all If we were the light of the world today Would we hide in the shadows and just look away? Are we the light of the world or are we failing to answer the call? To lift up the fallen To stand for the downtrodden The poor and the hurting Are our ministry "You are the light of the world," He said But we've blown out our candles and left men for dead Singing "we are the light of the world, He said" As the darkness descends on us all If we were the light of the world today Would we hide in the shadows and darken the way? Are we the light of the world or are we failing to answer the call?

Sin is sin, crime is crime. If your husband asked you to cover up a murder, would you do that? This is a much lesser crime, but still a crime. If no one asks you, then I guess you haven't lied. But lying is a crime and a sin, and just because it's not about something ghastly does not take away from that. Jesus warned his followers that following him would be costly. Following God can cost you friends and family members. https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-sword.html You know what is right and wrong. The question is will you do what is right or wrong, whatever the cost? Praying for you each day!

You cannot control your dreams. Carry on following Christ. Praise him for the ways in which he has changed you, like helping you adjust the kinds of media you consume, and how he has helped you not think these wrong thoughts willingly during the day.

I do not think anyone should be forced to vaccinate, but I also do not think that the COVID-19 vaccine is the MOB. This article may be helpful: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/how-should-we-respond-to-christian-conspiracy-theories

I cannot speak for the UK, perhaps things are different there. But there are plenty in the US, indeed in my own family, whose skepticism is born of fear and politics, rather than reason and research.

They are indeed legitimate questions. But many people (perhaps not you) allow legitimate questions to simply stop them. "Since there are questions, it's bad/wrong" without actually going to lengths to try to answer those questions, or to simply allow a media figure to spoonfeed them their answers, and trusting them without thinking because they are conservative instead of liberal, etc. We all need to examine ourselves and discern what the reason for our skepticism is; is it because we have found really good, sound reason to be skeptical, or because we are caught up in the polarized political civil war going on in this country?

What makes you believe you are doing the right thing by not getting it? What is it about it that concerns you? Likely you have some vaccines already, yes? Smallpox, polo, mumps, measles etc. What is different this time? It seems so many Christians are living in sinful fear and anxiety because conservative media outlets and pundits and friends are doubting the vaccine. Everything has become so politicized. We accept the government's control when it comes to traffic laws, and wearing seatbelts, and so much more, but suddenly being required to wear a mask is a sign that the government is trying to oppress us. I see many actually comparing it to the yellow stars that the Nazi's forced Jews to wear! Goodness. When did we become to prone to fear and hysteria? I would advise you to go to the Reasons to Believe channel on Youtube. They have videos from scientists who are Christians who debunk and address many of the concerns about the vaccine that are coming out of right-leaning media.

With just this information, it's hard to know what to say. You can get the police involved, to try to find out if he's disappeared due to some kind of foul play. Beyond that, I don't know what to advise. Typically a Christian probably shouldn't be marrying a convict unless they're deeply convinced that the person has renounced their sin and turned to God fully (of course that goes for any potential marriage candidate). Maybe this is God's way of protecting you from making a mistake?

If you truly live for God, expect resistance. Some will do it on their own accord, some while being used as tools of the devil to oppress and hinder you. However, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." -- Matthew 5:10-12 Don't forget that the God you follow has conquered sin, death, and this whole world. If you are truly following God, he will see you through. You have an eternity of perfect happiness and joy and peace ahead of you that no one or thing in this life can damage in the slightest.

If you won't go to rehab will you at least meet with a pastor or go to church? You're trying to do something very difficult completely alone, and when you fail you start doubting God and your salvation. Addiction is a serious issue and you need help. God gives us professionals and others around us to help us. Could it be that you are rejecting the help God is wanting to give you?

Get some of the older families together and have a meeting with the pastors to explain your concerns, in a loving way of course. I remember hearing one time that John Calvin's style was to just preach directly through the Bible, instead of picking and choosing topics or having "series" like a lot of modern pastors do. It was almost like a Bible commentary. I think many modern pastors need to be reminded that "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." -- 2 Timothy 3:16-17

https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/does-jesus-commend-dishonesty-in-luke-16

Prayer and Bible study, of course. Also perhaps pick up a new hobby? With the Internet you can learn to do just about anything. If there's any skill or hobby you're interested in, look up some tutorial videos on Youtube.

The earth is not flat.

I'll be totally frank; after years of teaching and study, I don't know which view about end times is correct, or exactly what to expect. Maybe none of them are completely correct, even. I do know that if you have given your heart to Christ, you have nothing to fear. Even if the beast comes and takes over the world and persecutes Christians, the worst they can do to you is to send you straight to glory and life in heaven. That's all you really need to know and focus on. Glory to God!

A Christian can easily twist themselves in knots with unhelpful and even harmful hypotheticals. Jesus was God so Jesus could not sin. In order to sin, he would have to not be God anymore. There is no point to asking this question; you're only going to keep twisting yourself up over it. You got angry, you broke something, you sinned. Yes you did. And you seem totally aware of that and repentant of it. The dangerous sin is the one we feel not shame or guilt over. It's so easy to tell yourself "I sinned. I knew it was wrong but I still did it. Why would I do that? I must not really be changed. I must not really be saved!" But this is a torment you need not suffer. Some focus too much on God's love and forgiveness and not his holiness and calls for killing our sin; they end up living in unrepentant sin, making no effort to change. This is wrong. But others are stuck on the other side; they continue to torment themselves over their sin, not being able to fully embrace God's forgiveness and freedom from the shame of their sin. This is wrong. You know that Jesus died for your sins, correct? To pay for them once and for all. Each and every single one of them. Your part in this is true repentance; apologize for what you've done, ask forgiveness, make every effort to not do it again, ask God to help you to not do it again, and start over when/if you stumble again in the future. God knows if you are truly sorry on the inside. He is concerned with your heart and mind. If we ignore God's holiness and live in wanton sin, we say that sin isn't really that bad, and thus that Jesus' death on the cross wasn't really nessicary. We slap him in the face. If we ignore God's forgiveness and continue to beat ourselves up, doubting our salvation with every failing, we say that Jesus' death wasn't really enough to cover all our sins and we must hold ourselves to some higher standard. We slap him in the face. Continue fighting sin without ceasing. But do not let your failings steal the joy of your salvation from you. Continue praising God for the freedom from condemnation brought about by Jesus' sacrifice and your acceptance of it. But do not let this lull you into sinful complacency. This is how we live the Christian life in our hearts and minds.

God has blessed many people with talents relating to research, studying his creation, doing science etc. The product of that is a lot of great techniques, equipment, and substances (drugs) which can be used to ease the suffering of many people. While these things can be abused, we should be careful in calling them wrong, sinful, or assuming they will always be abused. I would advise you to listen to medical advice about the usage of drugs. Get a doctor (or more than one) to really diagnose your issues and tell you what and how much of certain medications you need for whatever conditions you have. Enter rehab if nessicary. What's your definition of "getting addicted?" Because if you mean you started taking a medication as prescribed by a doctor and it started helping you as "addicted" then that's far too harsh on yourself and others.

Since Ephraim is not one of the 12 main tribes I don't think it's too unusual that they aren't included. There is no way to know for sure why Dan is missing, the Bible doesn't say. But this article offers a few possibilities. https://www.gotquestions.org/tribe-Dan-missing-144000.html

Satan is the devil. He was the greatest angel before he rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven. About a third of the angels also rebelled with him and were cast out. Satan/the devil is one specific fallen angel.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." -- John 1:1-5

Even after being saved, we must be constantly vigilant against temptation. The sinful nature, the old man, the flesh etc. continues to try to draw us into sin. I believe this verse speaks to that dual nature, that war within us.

I am praying for you. God has put you in a unique position to witness to your family though your being different. I pray he will use that to draw them away from their abusive ways and into a relationship with him!

I simply don't know you well enough to say. What I can say is that God does not want you to make excuses to not do what he is leading you to do. And I think we can all agree that God does not lead people to stagnate in drug addiction.

I would like to recommend you go to Youtube and watch content from good teachers, like John Piper (Desiring God) and others. I have found it extremely helpful to get my daily Bible study from good pastors and teachers in that way. I am growing more and more capable of my own independent Bible study, but having those resources is a huge blessing. Doing a search on the Desiring God channel for those subjects you've asked about could be a great way to get some good teaching on them.

Because you are. But we've always been in that time. There's been a period in which it wasn't as obvious in America, but now America is becoming more and more like the world has always been as it's forgotten, or willfully rejected, it's Christian roots.