ReneeIW

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If we believe it is likely to result in good fruit that honors God and blesses others.

Covetousness. Oh gosh how that has harmed my faith journey. Coming in a close second would be irritability. Seeing the people I love walking on eggshells is hard. I have become light years better since the Corona virus though since I am sleeping 8 hours instead of 3.

I was where 99% of Christians were- at home praying for peace, taking care of my family and not sowing discord. I was also hoping there would be an honest discussion about the police in this country, the untrustworthy press and how politicians exploit bigotry for their own gain.I notice that after Biden was elected, we didn’t hear anymore about BLM because the democrats didn’t need them anymore. I try my best not to get involved in this stupid stuff because that would make me just like the world, instead of the salt and the light. I don’t understand why Christians join these worldly movements that are not edifying. And I apologize for my ignorance, but I don’t know who or what Antifa is and don’t want to know. I just want Christians to separate themselves from this mess unless they have a peaceful solution.

I apologize, but I didn’t read the entire post but I hope it’s okay to comment anyway. The last thing we should do is make this an issue about race. Don’t play into the media’s hands (or politicians) that wish to divide us in that way. Christ loves all of us equally. I have two problems with what happened last week: 1. The president had to have received intelligence that an attack on the Capitol was imminent, yet he told them to go there; and five people, three of whom served our country, were killed. 2. Do foreign terrorists now know how vulnerable and insecure the Capitol is? Imagine how scared some would be if the rioters had been Muslims from another country and Obama was the sitting president. Something has to be done and accountability is needed. And we need all new leadership in Congress.

I struggled for a bit in my twenties to believe that Jesus was God. This verse helped me along with the verse “bring me back into the glory WE shared before the world was.” As far as why we believe people are good- we look at their fruit. When good/fruitful/Bible-believing people who are the salt and light if this earth are taken from us, out of grief, we question God. But I think we all know that us mortals are not “good” according to God’s standards.

It’s been dominating the news here in Illinois. There are confirmed cases in California and I believe Colorado and a couple of other states. It’s said to be more contagious but not deadlier. The current vaccine is said to be effective toward all of the variants that have been identified. The fact that it spreads more easily is scary especially since they are claiming we still have a post Christmas and New Years surge to go through and the hospitals are all ready running out of space. To me, it’s just a reminder that man/scientists can come up with vaccines and other solutions, but at the end of the day, the Lord will decide when this is over.

I actually like this topic because I will never forget the first time someone came at me very hard about my faith. It was a very passionate philosophy professor who was causing a lot of students to doubt their faith, and of course one of his arguments was to call into question when Christ was born and how it was implausible that He was born in December. Some students react to that by thinking it does sound implausible, therefore, Christianity is implausible, and they don’t bother to do any research- they trust the college professor their parents are paying thousands to. Fortunately for me, I had taken a summer New Testament class prior to landing in that horrible philosophy class, and the NT professor made a very strong and intelligent argument for Christ being born on September 11. He of course explained why we celebrate it on December 25. In the end it may not matter, but nothing wrong with seeking to know all we can about the Lord if the information is out there. And kids these days are asking a lot of questions and we should be ready to provide answers (even if incomplete) if/when we can. just my two cents.

Are you suggesting that entertainment in and of itself, even if appropriate, is sinful because it does not lift up Christ?

This is such an excellent question but one I can’t really answer. I loathe fiction but I don’t know why. First, I will never understand why people get offended when I say that I don’t read fiction, but they do, so it’s always been kind of a sensitive subject. Even my high school daughter said it didn’t make sense to her since I watch movies that are fiction. I don’t know what the answer is but I can tell you I am greatly repelled by it. I’m not name dropping when I bring this up(I’m a total nobody and can count on one hand the people who love me) but the Christian author Paul Young did a favor for me, and in exchange he asked me to read his book The Shack. This was over a year ago and I still have not read it. I opened it up to a random page and almost wanted to cry when I saw the dialogue. I’ve heard he is a gifted writer, so I wasn’t repelled by his writing, I just cannot read fiction at all. I’m obsessed with real people, real stories, and of course faith-and that’s all I read. I remember being judged because I would not read CS Lewis’s “Screw Tape Letters” which is fiction. It was like I was a bad person because I chose not to read something that could be “immensely helpful to Christians.” The Bible is plenty helpful enough!

I can’t bring myself to read fiction. I’ve read Pilgrim’s progress to my kids but besides that, I have only read half of a fiction book (because I loved the movie) since college. I can still remember the two fiction books that were assigned to me in college and those are the only two I have read as an adult. I own five fiction books and promised myself I would read them because two were written by people I know and the other three were said to be outstanding legal dramas, but I just couldn’t get past page one. As for your book, it sounds extraordinarily offensive and I would not read anything about a demon, much less a woman being a demon and tempting a man even if I did read fiction.

It doesn’t remind you of the information that has come out about the Catholic Church? As far as Obama, I thought that he caved to political pressure. He definitely should not have threatened to withhold funds. There were companies and sport teams all speaking out about this issue and I can’t remember what happened to cause the conversation, but it’s hard to come up with an easy answer over night. I’m still confused as to why anyone was showering at school in the first place.

I’ve actually experienced peer pressure from other moms who beg me to allow my daughter to go to sleepovers. They’ll say that our kids are suffering from isolation. I received hours worth of texts and then a phone call with pleas to allow my daughter to attend a sleepover with about five girls. And the sad thing is that photos from the sleepover were posted on Facebook and, two weeks later, another sleepover has been planned and I was asked again even though COVID cases in our state are among the worst in the country. There are even parents upset that in-person learning was canceled by schools. I can’t imagine what it would be like if kids were in school here. It’s overwhelming when it’s adults making poor decisions.

You have already received excellent advice. Just wanted to add that if it’s an actual addiction, I would treat it as such. You may benefit from reading the book titled “Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.” You can find the PDF free online. Although it’s about alcohol addiction, the steps are applicable to addiction in general. I would pray all day long, even after you have given into temptation. Continue to ask for help and forgiveness. The fact that you feel guilty about it and want to change has to be coming from a spiritual place; which hopefully means that same spirit will lead you to recovery. And if you can confess it to someone you know who can hold you accountable, that may help as well. That has always helped me with things I’m struggling with. ”Confess your sins to each other so that you may be healed.”

Did you guys call the police? Sorry, I couldn’t help but ask. That’s been asked a lot of me lately by men.