Sanctum

Hello Scott Free, Thank you very much for your concern. Maybe you're right I should have been hospitalized, but by now the crisis is passing. Moments like this come all too often in my life and God has kept me through each one.

In the denomination of the church I used to attend it was an accepted teaching that all Christian youth should get married except in extraordinary situations. I heard it taught from the pulpit that single young men were selfish and consumed with a love for money and worldly pleasures, or else they would settle down and raise a family. In private conversation singles were gossiped about as if there was something wrong with them. As an older single girl, I often felt like the object of pity and embarrassment. Divorce was next to nonexistent in that church, but I can't think that kind of pressure toward marriage is healthy.

"Jesus is praying for you" - that hit me hard. I know you are right, and by pushing Him away I am separating myself from my only help. He's the only friend that we can count on 100% and He must be hurting that I'm blaming Him for this whole mess.

It's been almost a year since I left my church (the full story isn't important now, just that my trust and self-confidence was shattered by people I considered to be friends, mentors and Christian giants.) In my never-ending fight with mental illness, this year hasn't been a good one. On top of depression I've basically developed agoraphobia and a fear of making any sort of relationships. I haunt my house and can barely work up the courage to go out to the store, never mind attempt to go to a strange church. I signed up for a program at a Christian university but pulled out the week before classes started. The worst part is, it's not just my trust in people that's broken. It's my trust in God also. I struggle with resentment of Him for what happened as well as for the issues in my own brain. I've been suicidal a lot this year, not actually hurting myself but wishing more than anything to die. I've even prayed for it, and when I find myself still alive my resentment of God only grows. I haven't been on "speaking terms" with Him in quite a while. This has spiralled into something bigger and deeper than it ever should have been and I'm afraid of where it will end up, but I don't know how to change things. How does one rebuild trust that's been broken and learn to hope and connect again?

Because we're saved by faith and not works, we can do anything we like, let sin abound that grace may abound, refuse to warn sinners to repent? "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." In plain speech, if you support someone in their sin rather than calling them to repentance, you are sinning.

So women can commit adultery but men can't?

Matthew 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. I don't see much room for loopholes in this verse. If I had previously been married before becoming a Christian, then no, I would not feel free to marry again.

We are a new creature, but sadly, we will continue to reap the consequences of some choices we made before. Not that the sin is not forgiven - it is, but vows made cannot be unmade.

Fornication is a serious sin, but adultery is on a different level because it's a breach of a sacred trust. If you had been married to someone before your current marriage, even if it was before you were a Christian, yes, according to my understanding of the Bible, your current marriage would have been adulterous.

A gay marriage is really no different than an adulterous one, which is what it is when a divorced person remarries.

When the marriage itself is against God's commandments, attending the wedding ceremony is a type of tacit approval.

That's not the same as attending a sinful wedding. I was in the bridal party at my dad's third marriage, and I was convicted of it just as if I was aiding in his sin. I can't speak for others, perhaps, but the Spirit laid it on my heart that what I did was wrong.

Hi Aldo, This sounds like a tough situation. I know how it is to feel led by God in one direction but have the disapproval of my parents. Sadly prejudices run deep and can be hard to break, but nothing is impossible with God! Pray over the situation and consider how to approach your parents. If they are believers, studying the Bible, particularly the NT, and writing down what it says about races (Jews vs. Greeks) and prejudice, may be helpful. Sit down with them and talk over the situation, find out just what their concerns are and see if there is something you can do. It is NOT wrong to date a woman of a different race, but the Bible says to respect your parents. All the best!

I thought your reply was rude and totally unnecessary. The OP was asking for advice about his parents. There was a time when most young men lived at home until marriage, and I personally think it should stay that way. Also, just because someone lives at home doesn't mean they have no job. And I don't see anywhere that he says he is an invalid. Please exercise a little compassion and understanding?

Usually it's the one looking on, and seeing two red-faced people waving Bibles and questioning each other's salvation.

It's both an encouragement for younger Christians and a very high calling to live up to.

It's usually about "proof texts." Zeal is good, but it is easy to misplace.

Um... It doesn't have text?

Hi Chris, I am so glad that you've been able to move on in life despite your depression. I know what it is to feel hopeless and out of touch with God. The devil takes advantage of our depression to feed us lies - and it is a lie, that we can't possibly go on, that God doesn't care, that life is meaningless. The truth is, God is right there beside us in the darkest times, just waiting for us to lean on Him. He won't take the depression away, necessarily (sometimes He does, but He hasn't for me) but He will give the strength needed to keep on walking. Remember the story of Elijah in the wilderness, when he begged God to die. God didn't just miraculously take away his depression, but He gave the teaching and encouragement he needed right at that moment.

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=91494 This is a better link. It's a beautiful image, really puts things in perspective.

I'm in my mid-twenties, the type of person this music is supposed to attract. However, between feeling that it's absolutely irreverent and suffering migraines from the light and sound, I actually left a church mainly because of this issue. There's a "worship team" up at the front that screams out indecipherable words while the "audience" (the church actually called the congregation an audience) stands and watches - doesn't even sing. The next church I attended was the exact opposite. No lights, no worship team. Not even any instruments. We sang acappella hymns from hymnbooks with only a "song leader" beating time. It was beautiful, reverent and peaceful. Now I'm not against instruments in church but I do think that they should always be an aid to worship. The congregation should be the ones to sing, not a choir or worship team. If worship is overpowered by noise that's meant to appeal to the senses, who are we singing to?

Hi Marry, It's good that you're looking for the truth and want to be accepted by God. Others have posted plenty of Biblical references, so I'll just urge you to pray and study those. Also study what the Biblical role is for women in the family and church. Can you fill that place by marrying another woman? It might help you to know that I struggled with exactly the same things as you are, at one point. I was in high school, a few years older than you are now, when I realized that I had never once felt any attraction for a boy. Like you, I was convinced that I must be lesbian, and was frightened and confused about God's will for my life. Now, ten years or so later... I'm still single. I believe I always will be. But honestly, the question of whether or not I'm lesbian has ceased to even be an issue. I don't seem to have attraction to men, but that's okay. Not everyone does. Maybe things will change for you. Maybe, like me, you'll have to make a choice. But doing what's right is so worth it.

A good part of Jesus's earthly ministry, along with the disciples, was casting out demons. After that, not much is said about the topic. I'm trying to understand more about spiritual warfare, possession and the power that evil spirits wield. Do demons still possess people, and can they possess Christians? What do they do - does a person know they are possessed? How can they be cast out - by the person themself, the prayers of others, the ministry? Does it take special exorcism? Also, can the devil read a person's mind?

Isn't that a bit redundant? Especially since the wording is "let her also be covered"?

Thank you so much, Heleadethme. When I spoke to the ministry and told them I was withdrawing my membership, they asked, "Don't you see this is a step away from God? You are deceived." It's frightening to hear such a thing from the men of God I have come to highly respect and look to for advice. So to read your post just now... thank you. I believe God was speaking to me through you just now. This is only a step away from Him if I allow it to be. And it can be - many people leave the Mennonites and, lacking any moral compass of their own, lose their way almost immediately in the world. But if I can remember what I've learned, and that God led me into and out of this purposefully, and seek Him carefully, especially in this time of transition - this will indeed be a step toward Him.