OBEY

I feel really confused. my parents came home from a party extremely drunk last night.. not that i've never seen my parents drunk before but they definately were more sick then i had ever seen them before. i got really upset and stormed out of the house. then i went to a friends house and stayed the night there. since then my parents have been acting like nothing ever happened but i've lost alot of respect for them. i know i probably didn't handle everyhting like i should have but i don't know how to fix everything. should i just accept it as the past and forget about it even though i don't have any respect for my parents anymore? -Joel

It's been awhile since I've been on these boards but I have a question... is it okay to listen to any form of secular music? My pastor always bashes secular music and says that it messes you up no matter what it is. I love rock music (both secular and Christian) but I rarely listen to anything that has cussing in it. My pastor still says some of the lyrics could be about looking for answers and lonliness which still makes them bad to listen to (regardless if they have cursing or not). I'm giving up secular music for lent to prove it doesn't have a stronghold over me but I was wondering what the ppl here thought about the subject... if it's okay or not to listen to secular music. -Joel

I was going to reiterate what Annette said. Many go through these slumps. They will not think lesser of you if you tell them what you are going through. They've probably gone through it themselves. Take Annette's advice and I have a few more. Some simple things. Go out and enjoy God's handiwork. Take a look at an ant colony, watch how they work together and appreciate how God made it. Savor the beauty of the sunsets. Walk by some flowers in the park. Take a look at each different one and think of how creative God was when he made so many things simply for us to enjoy and for us to appreciate his creations. Personally, I love going to zoos too, to take a look at all the different animals - the unique stripes and designs on snakes, the feathers of the peacocks etc. The list is endless as you know. Just be still and know that He is God. Tell God you want your zest and zeal for him back. Tell him you want to enjoy talking to him. Tell him all of your problems just like you would a friend, even if you are having negative thoughts about your Christian life. Just starting talking. Thank God for everything you possibly can. Did you have breakfast today? Are you living in a country where we are free to worship him? Do you have clothes, electricity, running water? Many don't have this. We take it for granted. So thank him. Is there a particular passage you like to read? What about the Christmas story? The story of Noah? The story of the ressurection? Just read it. There will be insight there. Something you've never seen or noticed before. Something that will apply to your life somehow. We'll be praying for you. Keep us posted. And we DO care. :hug: i'm really sorry for being rude. this is killing me and i really want to get through this. the thing that is frustrating to me is that all the emotions and passions are completely gone. it isn't just my spiritual life either but my emotions and passions are gone altogether with anything. i thank god for the things i have and that makes me feel a little better but then i just get depressed all over again. i'm sorry if it just sounds like i'm complaining but i really don't know what else to say. i'm going to try to talk to someone i know about this but i have a hard time with discussing my feelings in general. it's going to take some time probably... thank you everyone for hearing me out.

yeah... no one really cares... this sucks.

yes... i have a few male christian friends but it's really hard for me to openly talk about this. everyone pretty much knows me as a good christian... and i feel wierd saying that i'm struggling with my faith as much as i know i am. to be honest it makes me feel better to pretend i still have as much passion as i used to although i know it's wrong. i sin all the time now without repenting and i don't normally feel bad about it until sometimes like now... but even right now i still feel as though i don't feel bad enough about all my sins. i don't even feel like i have a conscience anymore... just emptyness. i've gone through stuff like this before but this might be the worst i've been spiritually. it scares me to think that one of the main reasons i go to church is probably to feel like i belong... but i know it should be about worshipping and growing through the word of god. the whole thing is so messed up. -joel

awhile back i posted in a topic saying that i was going through a spiritual slump... and i hate to say it but since shcool started it hasn't gotten any better. i know that the problem is that i'm not reading the word enough... but i'm weak and lazy and often not willing to make the time to. i feel so messed up right now i feel like i've been acting and talking like an unbeliever. but the thing is i haven't been acting that differently around my christian friends... i don't know if this is wrong. i still act like i have more fire then ever when i know this is not true. should i just act myself and be open with them and talk to them about it or keep this between me and god and try to overcome it on my own? i don't want my faith to die but i feel like my prayers don't mean that much anymore. someone please help me. -joel

wow... i'm 17 and honestly would just about give anything to move out but that's something my parents are strict about. i hate it sometimes but... when i really think abot it... i've changed so much since being a freshmen in high school and feel that i'm more mature now... and i feel i'll be equally changed in a year or two when i finally do move out. honestly i've different than i was at 16 and in in year you'll find that you'll be drastically more independent. i think especially going through high school ever single year matters in regards to maturity... that brings me to my next point... i know people my age and even 16 who've already graduated and skipped they're senior year. i think this is a horrible idea enforced by a society that forces kids to be adults to quickly. you may dissagree and know people who are different but i find people who go through with this and get completely messed up. if you want to skip a semester and graduate then fine... but be careful. you might not be able to see the impact but there will be an impact. heh... i talk like i've already graduated... but i would deffinately think about the long term effects of your decisions. good luck... and remember to pray that god will lead you in the right direction... -joel

Thank you... the reason i ask is because i like to defend my faith if an unbeliever asked me the same question... i probably should've known that one... i appreciate your help.

I apologize if this topic is misplaced but I have a question that I have been thinking about for a long time. Does anybody understand where sin came from? Is it even possible for us to understand this. As a little kid I used to think it came from the devil but even satan himself used to be an angel before he fell into sin. Is sin something that has been around for an eternity before us? I'm extremely curious about this and I was wondering if maybe some of the smart people here could help me out on this one. Thanx. -Joel

try spraying ax on the guy when he isn't looking... that might help.

Like you and Trinity my name is Joel also... crazy! I definately know how you feel because I graduated 8th grade through a public school/homeschool hybrid type program and when I went into a public high school I was somewhat in shock. It takes time to adjust but pretty soon you'll make friends... don't worry about it. Believe me... I could't have been any more anti-social that year but I managed to get through it all. I managed to overcome my fears and started to talk and get to know everybody.. and realized that there were some cool people. Now I'm a senior, and I just transfered to a HUGE school (one of the largest high schools in San Diego county) and I only know a few people there. I don't worry about it though... because God got me through this situation before. Just don't think about it too much and have trust that God will lead you to some new friends... and enjoy life... because I think right now you're making it harder than it needs to be... just have fun... that is the best advice I can give you. Good Luck! :t:

I'm sorry for your pain... I think you should be in constant prayer about this and listening to what God has to say. In a situation like this Satan will try to tempt you like crazy... but I think you already know what's right. God Bless and the best of luck to you.

Wow. That is awesome :wow:

Differences That Are Impossible To Fix? "With God all things are possible" (Matt. 19:26).

i don't think you needed to tell that to the pastor... he didn't know about it but god knows everything... so i think if you tried repenting to god and praying every waking hour of the day before going to anyone else about an issue like that. you should understand why he is so freaked out... he probably doesn't want to see you during service and then think of what you told him and in turn bring the entire sermon down. he is human and probably doesn't know how to handle this. try going to him later and seeing if he's over it and asking for forgiveness. anyways best of luck to you i haven't been through all the stuff you have so i don't know much more advice i can give you. pray, pray, pray. -joel

the pastor has some issues. he just doesn't seem educated at all in the word. there is no arguing that the bible comdemns sex before marriage... so you should stop and repent. then you should explain to her that what you were doing was wrong because i honestly think now you're messing her up even more. you're sinningand making her sin in order to get her out of another sin? that's rediculous. anyways best of luck to you but i seriously think you need to reconsider your church. -joel

poptarts!!!

I've often thought about that myself... but just think: without him at all this planet would just consist of eternal suffering. By this I mean no good things happening EVER because everything good comes from God. It isn't like he finds some kind of sick pleasure in torturing us... but when people and societies start abandoning Him how are they going to recieve his grace and the good things that come from faith? They won't... sin will have overtaken them and brought them to rock bottom. -Joel

i don't think i've lost my faith but i'm definately going through a shallow stage. this is really the first time this has happened but i would recommend what everyone else does for me: read the word, meditate on it and pray, pray, pray. it's what helps me. -joel

this is my opinion: is johnny saved? yeah. is johnny stupid? definately. if you really want to be truely consumed in the lord you need to have fellowship and you definately need to read the bible. there's no way your relationship with god can really grow without these two things.

Zao and As I Lay Dying are both metal bands and I'm pretty sure they're both Christian...

No... No... No... I'm sorry but a guy like that has something that he wants to get from the girl and he probably won't stop until he gets it. She might not understand... no... she probably won't understand but this is not a good guy. The mindsets between the two partners is so different here... even if they were just 10 years apart there would be a major problem. The fact that he got mad that others knew about the relationship only confirms that he has unholy thoughts in his mind. Run. Run far away.

I think any style of music can be Christian as long as it's sung with a passion for God and the lyrics are right. Look at bands like Zao and As We Lay Dying... they have spent years making clean Christian music and they are considered two of the heaviest bands of all time. I think it's cool as long as it glorifies God and not the devil, black majic, worldly things, ect.

That's awesome. I think like anything just pray about it and let God take over. Eventually you will have a good idea if this is really something you wanna get into. Just make sure you're doing it to glorify God and not yourself... because you are living for an audience of one. -Joel