I feel so alone and condemned

In my early 20s my views were all over the place. I was mostly scared and confused but I knew God was real (I just didn't want Him to be cos of hell)

In the space of a year (2016) I would share the Gospel and say that I wasn't afraid of God anymore and I understood why He punished evil and then a few weeks later I would say He was evil and wanted nothing to do with Him. I would go back and forth in total confusion and existential pain like this.

I even verbally said something horrific about the Holy Spirit despite knowing better.

How could I ever be welcomed by Jesus? I want to be free, I want to to forgiven

I see a lot of people asking why their prayers weren't answered, upset or angry that they weren't, etc.

I'm currently reading a book of Charles Surgeon's writings titled Gleanings Among the Sheaves, and I just found the perfect answer for them:

Persevering Prayer.

Do not give up those prayers which God's Spirit has put in your hearts—for remember, the things you have asked for are worth waiting for. Besides, you are a beggar when you are in prayer; therefore you must not be a chooser as to the time when God shall hear you. If you had right ideas of yourself, you would say, "It is a wonder that He ever listens to me at all, so unworthy as I am. Does[38] the Infinite indeed bow His ear to me? May I hope He will at last listen to me? Then I may well continue my prayers."

And recollect it is your only hope: there is no other Saviour. This or none—Christ's blood or else eternal wrath. And to whom shall you go, if you turn away from Him? None ever yet perished pleading for mercy; therefore keep on.

Besides, better men than you have had to wait. Kings, and patriarchs, and prophets have waited; therefore surely you can be content to sit in the King's antechamber a little while. It is an honor to sit as Mordecai did at the gate. Pray on—wait on!

"Ah!" says one, "that is just what I have been doing a long time." Yes, yes, there are different kinds of waiting. A man says, "I have been waiting:" but he has folded his arms and gone to sleep. You may wait in that way till you are lost. The waiting I mean is "getting all things ready"—the waiting of the poor sufferer for the physician, who cries[39] out in pain, "Is the doctor coming?" I will be surety for my Master when I say that none such will be sent empty away. He will never break his promise. Try Him—try Him!

A word of encouragement

I just wanted to share something I found today. I had started recently reading through the psalms as my part of my daily Bible reading - Such as it is… I struggle too keep it consistently every day.

What I found today was the amazing Psalm 25. When you are feeling down, under the weight of your sin or your issues, or your anxiety, I read through this and see David praying for the same things I want. It was great comfort to hear him talking about forgiveness for his iniquities, and for Help in his anxieties.

Instead of doing my normal prayer, today I prayed Psalm 25 and it helped me to remember that even the great king David had his own issues and just like him, God loves me and will help me, and will forgive me.

I struggle sometimes with the title of this subreddit. I’m not some super Christian or incredibly wise individual. This is just one beggar pointing out to other beggars where the bread is.

Be well, pray, love God. Take care

A character occasionally mentions the abbreviation version of the d-word when he gets hit and idk if it would be ok for me to share videos of the game if the character mentions it. What do I do?

I know Jesus was Jewish and in the NT he is referred to as a Rabbi or teacher of Judaism so I'm wondering if anyone else is diving into Jewish teachings in order to better understand Christ and what he taught? It gives Christ teachings so much more context.

Sadly I married a man who would commit adultery with no interest in stopping. I see my future being we separate once I'm financially able to and most likely we divorce because, again, he has no interest in stopping. I'm just sad because obviously most Christian men will look at me and probably see me as "used" or that something is wrong with me because I divorced so young. I just didn't want my child growing up having such a toxic marriage as an example for what love is. All I wanted was a big family and to be a sahm to my many children (only have 1 right now). Now that seems unlikely to happen.

I (27F) was talking to several women at church, and we all agreed it was difficult to find community or a category of activities at church if we were unmarried.

We agreed that viewing singlehood as ‘pre-marriage’ was quite problematic. We also all shared the view that we maybe wanted marriage, but it wasn’t our priority, and we wanted to contribute and be an integral part of the church. However, where there are young adults, youth, couples and families, we just… didn’t have a place.

I don’t know if marriage is for me, and if it’s not down the line, I don’t want to just twiddle my thumbs in church and collect dust. How do you guys, who aren’t really wanting or directing towards marriage, find your place in the church and Christian community?

I’m a little lost, and I want community without having to get married to gain it in a church.

Any advice or anecdotes highly appreciated, thanks

I've been thinking of using multiple translations for my Bible reading journey. I'm planning to start NIV then move to KJV as my main one.

However, some people say certain translations are corrupted.

So is it true? Will these corrupted translation affected my relationship with Jesus? And can I just read multiple translations to cover the "mistakes"?

Does anyone know the true significance of this verse. I have an idea but I’ll post my response afterwards

Hey guys! I’m a 17m and have been struggling a lot with doubt. I have recently turned back to Christ and I feel like I have been getting relentless spiritual attacks from every angle. I don’t know how to navigate through this. I feel so lost and I feel like it is blocking me from growing in my faith. If anyone has some advice, it would be greatly appreciated!

Since these two countries are neighbors and Palestine claims Jerusalem, was Palestine referenced or mentioned in the Bible or was it non-existent?

How should children go about honoring their parents in cases of abuse or neglect? This is personal to me and I might end up making a longer post about it, but I’m in need of some guidance on this issue. I hope my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ can point me in the right direction. More context: I’m somewhat of a runaway, escaped my home situation when I was 16 and I’m now 33. My mother has never admitted to her abusive of me. I still need to do right what’s right in the eyes of God, and this is a big issue bothering me. How am I supposed to honor or respect my mom? We don’t live in the same country and I’m never returning to my home country. So how would I even go about doing this, and what would honoring her entail? I would be extremely grateful to anyone willing to help me with understanding this. Trolls will just be ignored or blocked so don’t waste your time.

I wanted to get a new tattoo soon and wanted to get a Lion on one leg just above my knee, and a Lamb above the other knee.

But I was thinking I wanted a permanent cross to symbolize for me what it means to me and don’t know if I should just get the cross with rope holding it together, or Jesus on the cross also.

Thanks in advance for the feed back.

I hate that it is the core manifestation of Sin, that it makes us rely on ourselves instead of God. I hate that it makes us look at others with haughty eyes, with the next step being to belittle, crush or abuse others in some form because we mistakenly believe ourselves to be better. I hate that pride isolates because it makes us look inward. I hate that I succumb to it. I hate everything about it.

I am so thankful that we have a such a kind Shepherd to discipline us with his rod and staff

Sometimes when I am tempted to sin, I felt like if I fell to that sin God would take something away from me, and make it a sin for me to enjoy it (something that isn’t a sin by itself, and a hobby of mine) is it my own overthinking or is it a conviction/ warning from God?

anybody who’s fasting/going to do daniel fast here soon? i’m looking for someone who wants to keep each other accountable. also a fellowship would be great. please let me know!

basically, denying any fact of science, such as gravity, the speed of light, and the laws of the universe is calling God a liar, because the only way we knew and know these things in science is by observing and experimenting, and later on confirming our idea of the phenomenon.

if the universe came from nothing (which is literally impossible, nothing can't make something, just like nothing can't make a car, beliving this irrational belief is illogical atheists, this isn't just common sense and logic, is a fact, NOTHING can't create SOMETHING, is NOTHING, there must be a creator or creators of the universe), than there wouldn't be a universe because this hypothesis is impossible, thus no universe exists, like how a car can't be made from anything and thus not exist ever.

this is just about the universe, is about any universe, or in other words, the multiverse, the multiverse also must have a creator or creators in order to exist, and thing is, we don't even know if there is a multiverse, we just know there is def a universe, and is this one

Truth: God is our rock.

Verse: "The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer." – Psalm 18:2

Reflection: God is our unshakable foundation. He is a place of security, protection, and strength. When life feels uncertain, remember that you stand firm on the rock of God’s love and faithfulness. He will never move or fail.

Prayer: "Lord, thank You for being my rock and my fortress. Help me to trust in Your stability and find security in Your unchanging nature. I lean on You today for strength. In Jesus’ name, Amen."

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Taken from the book Seeds of Truth
Available at Amazon.com
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TLDR: Exactly what the title suggests. I accepted Christ in 2010. I received a text that said “tomorrow is not promised, and I don’t want you to miss heaven” and am confused by what this means.

I grew up in the church and started my own relationship with Christ on 08/15/2010. By no means am I a “perfect saint”. I’ve had my fair share of feeling so close to God that I can almost touch him (metaphorically of course), and feeling so far from him that I question whether or not I’m truly saved.

Even in the midst of deconstruction (and rebuilding my faith on solid ground vs religious dogma/agenda from the denomination I grew up in), and figuring out what exactly it is that I personally believe (when it comes to the extra things outside of the “non-negotiables” if you will, I still believe in Jesus Christ as my Savior. I still believe that God is with me, even if I can’t see, feel, or hear him…

I’m walking through some major life changes and quite trying times, and I will say that I’m definitely in one of those feeling far from God spells, and finding it hard to pick up my physical Bible, but I still talk to God (and complain a lot about what I’m going through), I still believe.

But today I got a message from a dear friend that ended with “Tomorrow is not promised, and I don’t want you to miss heaven!” What exactly is that supposed to mean? Is this person saying that my lack of being in the Word and simply put being “on fire” for Christ is merit for me to not make it to heaven? I thought that salvation was faith-based, or a gift, not work-based. I’m confused now.

From the very instant I was born again, I have been tortured unrelentingly.

It's been 5 years, there's has never been any respite; God abandoned me from the womb; and I am so bitter and angry about it.

I had the joy, but never the peace (because the devil has never ceased from trying to kill me). But after 5 years of pleading with a brick wall for help, I have had enough.

I have lost everything; my health, peace, and sanity (along with everything else).

Why would a good God hand a newborn babe over to the enemy to torture them without ceasing (when He knew they'd never be able to withstand the barrage, and become as bitter as wormwood)?

Why does He give vague instructions that are impossible to follow?

Why does He say things like "He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.", and NEVER back them up with any action whatsoever?

Why did He tell me to count the cost, then tack a few extra zeros on the bill?

I started this journey so earnestly; all i ever waned was to be pleasing in God's sight, and to just win souls; but clearly I was always a vessel reserved for wrath (seems fair....)

If I was to give my testimony now, I would tell people "Don't do it. Whatever you have been promised it's not worth it. The path/gate is impossibly narrow, fraught with danger/landmines, and God's not going to help you. Only 8 made it in Noah's day, so you have no chance of getting in anyway. And when you inevitably fail (because you were always going to), you will never be able to have any semblance of joy or peace ever again. Best of all, your judgement will be worse than a murderer's or kiddie fiddler's because you knew the truth. Whatever you do, don't do it"

Feel free to tell me it's my fault, mock and scoff, and cast stones. I expect nothing else from the "brethren"

Sin is just crazy, overall you do things you hate and know are wrong no matter how hard you try, you gain nothing but pain and hatred for yourself by doing it. I’m not gonna sit here and say I struggle with lust I need help I’ve done that a million times and I get the same answers on videos and on here and they might be right but I and all of us sometimes just can’t put it into practice. Pride,wrath,lust,sloth,gluttony,greed,envy and so on, we get comfortable in our sin not cause we want to but because you get to a point where you feel like you can’t do anything, no matter what you do. Even if you know those sins drive you crazy so much so you’d want to harm yourself and the entire world. Envying relationships people, envying so much it gets to a point you envy fictional things and can only feel hate in your heart no matter how hard you try, that’s why you and I get comfortable in our sin cause it’s hard almost impossible you give up and let the pain happen. You might wanna say in your head I’ll be forgiving I won’t be lazy but we do the entire opposite. It’s like your in a time loop, this discourages you so much you don’t even wanna ask for forgiveness or repent cause your like bro I do this repentance thing all the time I do a sin I really hate like lust or whatever it is for you but we focus so much on that sin we don’t notice the others and don’t repent for them. You wanna change your life but you can’t. Jesus is there I think many of us know that and many of us may try but we don’t wanna pray or read our bibles no motivation, he’s there we just been in a circumstance so long you despair and you can be stuck there forever. It’s harder when you’re young a teen like me you can’t make drastic changes in your life like going on a mountain and leaving the internet etc. sin is crazy and the war is long the battle between the flesh and the spirit it’s greater than anything you or I can comprehend and even when you feel like the spirit has won it hasn’t cause you and I are still unironically sinning. It’s sad man being all good not wanting to masturbate and watch porn, or eat a lot or hate people but after those couple days it all comes back and your back at square one and it keeps repeating, despair that’s it that’s the real purpose of sin.

-Prayer and begging hasn’t amounted to anything

-Staying away from or fighting temptations/sins has just left me exhausted and bitter and resentful towards God

-I’ve gone back to the Bible, have read a chapter a day for nine days now, nothing’s changed

-Can’t afford therapy or get access to meds as I’m undiagnosed

-Can’t go get help for sexual abuse because it would ruin the lives of my parents and siblings

-read Job, Ecclesiastes, and whatever book with a depressed Bible character. Nothing.

-Attending church regularly; only reminded of how God works wonder in other people’s lives and ignores me

-Gym four days a week has not helped, only boosted my sex drive and made addiction problems and anger issues worse

-I have been getting so close to reaching out to an “ex” I should not be talking to ever again

I’m reading the book of John. Was gonna read Genesis but didn’t want to put up with OT’s vagueness. Been considering S/H again for physical relief.

Does anyone have an idea why honey wasn't to be burned also no leaven? Anyone have any ideas? Also why Green ears of corn? If you have any thoughts l.k please. God Bless and Shalom

Leviticus 2:11, 14 KJV [11] No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire. [14] And if thou offer a meat offering of thy firstfruits unto the LORD, thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears.

I'm not saying all video games are sinful. They are probably ok ones like back in the day Wii Sports, that was big and families played it, but I used to play a lot of Call of Duty, not only is it focused on killing human beings but what's also bad is the amount of insulting, cussing and making fun of people through the chat, I can't be part of that anymore, I need to love people.

I see the slavery issue come up often, usually by atheists trying to use it as a club but also from Christians who just can't come to grips with it. It's for them I'm going to take a crack at this....

After looking at everything the bible says...I'm ok with what happened...and I believe I can explain it in a way that clears God of the charges against Him. I'm not trying to justify slavery but show that there was compassion in God's response to it. This won't mean anything to atheists because they aren't willing or even able to look at the big picture. They aren't going to start from a place of "God is good" and then look at what could have been done...and what was done....while keeping the plan of God for Israel in mind.

Some key points to remember as you read....this will be long but hopefully worth it.

1. There is a difference between what God allows and what he approves.
2. How did the laws given to Israel impact slavery as a whole
3. Were slaves better or worse off as a result.

First of all we need to differentiate between servitude and slavery. The laws around servitude are grounded in mercy and compassion. They support and protect those who were put in such a position, needing to sell themselves or their children to survive or settle debts. In the passages below...we see that they are to go free at Jubilee....wages were determined by how many years were left of the 7. We also see that provision was made for those servants who were wanting to stay...and that servants from within Israel were not to be treated as slaves, but brothers and sisters.

Ex 21:2-5 “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free. “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life."

Leviticus 25:39 “If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves.”

Is this ideal? No, but what was the alternative. If someone was unable to pay their debts...they would just lose everything and be destitute...is that better? They would be forced to beg or steal...so I'm ok with this portion of the problem. God made a way for improvement of their circumstances and enacted laws to make sure they were protected and not taken advantage of.

Now we get to the real issue....outright slavery. Remember the 3 key points as I go through the verses and give my opinion.

1. There is a difference between what God allows and what he approves.
2. How did the laws given to Israel impact slavery as a whole
3. Were slaves better or worse off as a result.

Slavery was part of the world...and it was bad. Why didn't God eradicate it? How? Why? Child sacrifice was bad (worse)...and allowed. War was terrible...allowed. Murder and rape...allowed. Men had freewill to do whatever they wanted, and like everything else evil, slavery was allowed but not approved. At this time, God was not trying to correct and lead the pagan nations. He would however judge and destroy them if their sin reached full measure.

Genesis 15:16 "In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

The people who attack God on slavery aren't sincere...remember that. They use "slavery" in the same way they use "child cancer".....because it's emotionally charged and they believe it makes their argument more forceful...but it's just a facade, there were worse things. At that time...God was not in the business of correcting the nations, he was about bringing forth Israel....to prepare a Messiah.

So now let's look at slavery and how God dealt with it and Israel. First of all...is there anything that gives us an idea of whether or not God authorized it, or only suffered it? Yes...we can see clearly it was not authorized.

Exodus 21:16 “Anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death, whether the victim has been sold or is still in the kidnapper’s possession.

Leviticus 25:44 “‘Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves."

Israel was not allowed to kidnap people to take slaves. Kidnapping in order to take or sell slaves carried the death sentence. Slaves were allowed under two circumstances...they could be bought or taken as captives from war, sparing their lives. Let's unpack that a little...

It's a huge point in defending God here....to see that the taking of slaves was forbidden in the strongest terms. So why allow Israel to buy them? Or why allow Israel to take them as war captives? Mercy...

Slaves in the pagan nations had no protections, they could be murdered or raped indiscriminately.....even tortured for sport, made to fight to the death or sacrificed to their gods. They were at the mercy of their captors. But...if they were bought by Israelites....they were given protections, they were introduced to the God of Israel.... and as a result a better station in life...even as a slave. Were slaves better or worse off as a result? I would argue better...and it justifies God's actions in allowing Israel to buy them...it was mercy.

Ex 21:20 “ Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property.”

Ex 21:26 “An owner who hits a male or female slave in the eye and destroys it must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye. And an owner who knocks out the tooth of a male or female slave must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.”

This "sounds" terrible...but think it through. What do you do with a slave who is beating other slaves, stealing food, raping women? There had to be discipline...but God made a way to hold those accountable who were administering it....this was mercy. Imagine knowing that if you over did it, you yourself would be punished or forced to let them go free? There was nothing like this where they came from, were they better or worse off in Israel? God did everything he could...within the parameters in which he was working at that time...to ease the burden of these people....it was mercy.

Here is another key verse....that shows how God felt about slavery.

DT 23:15 "If a slave has taken refuge with you, do not hand them over to their master. Let them live among you wherever they like and in whatever town they choose. Do not oppress them."

Wow...he obviously didn't endorse the institution of slavery. They were to be taken in ...and cared for as a foreigner or stranger. This was mercy...

Leviticus 25:35 “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you."

The final circumstance here is slaves being taken captive in war. This one is a no brainer....which would you prefer, slavery in a land there you had protections and even a path to citizenship? Or death? Sure...God could have set "just let them go"....but was that better or worse for Israel and the plan to establish them....in order to bring forth the Messiah (Plan A at this time). We can't judge God for this then...in the same way as we would judge him now....it's not the same. Would you want these enemies running around....maybe regrouping to come take revenge somewhere? No.. the best thing for the country would be to kill them in war....but, they were given the choice to also take captives, spare their lives...protect them and bring them close to the God of Israel. Mercy...

Finally...the last verse people will use to attack God on this.

DT 21:10 “When you go to war against your enemies and the Lord your God delivers them into your hands and you take captives, if you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife. Bring her into your home and have her shave her head, trim her nails and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured. After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month, then you may go to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife. If you are not pleased with her, let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.”

Ideal? Of course not...but better off than dead? Better off than being taken captive by pagans? Oh yes...so much so. If their towns were destroyed or taken over, their husbands and fathers killed in war, what would be the future for these women? This was normal for the time.....for women to be taken captive in war...but only in Israel were they given an opportunity to join the community, be given the rights of a wife, and even set free if that didn't work out. Mercy...

I think that's it for the verses I wanted to address. We get hammered with this argument over and over but most of the pertinent details are left out....as well as looking at it through the lens of "were they better or worse off as a result of God's actions?" Hopefully this helps you see it in a different light, this is a good example of needing to use all of what scripture says on a topic, rather than just throwing out a verse that makes it appear as if God authorized slavery. In reality he only put up with it along with everything else, while still addressing it in a way that we could say was for greater good....in a terrible part of history.

Bookmark this for next time someone says God isn't real because of slavery!

Be blessed!

I'm curious, what brought you to Christ? No matter how mundane or miraculous, I want to hear your journey!

Hello, this weekend I will be heading to a young adult service at a church I found out about on google. It will be my first time at this church, I just need some advice on making friends or building meaningful connections there. Any tips on starting a conversation without making it seem awkward? Or approaching someone without making them feel uncomfortable? Sorry I’m not good at making friends at all (let alone christian friends) and it’s the one thing that attributes to me having ___ thoughts. It’s a goal that I am hoping to accomplish this year. Again any tips/advice would help. Have a great day/night

Ok so I'm not a religious person but my family is Christian, just for some background info. Anyway I have three questions that I have about christianity and the people that believe in it.

Question one: How do you know what is described in the Bible actually happened what separate it from just being a made up story that people chose to think actually happened and not just misinformation. Like someone walking on water back then and now no one else has.

Question two: does god actually intervene in things on earth/ does he actually cause things to happen?

Question three: Is all science fake then? Because science doesn't necessarily help support things that were said in the Bible.

These are my questions That I hope are somewhat thought-provoking. Thank you

His burden is so light! His yoke is easy to bear. I just followed and obeyed the Word of God again in Philippians 4 and suddenly I got the mind of Christ and was talking about the fact that material riches dont go with us when we die, and that rich people commit suicide. I have so much joy in Jesus! Woooo!

Would it be a disrespect if I called “God” “Heavenly Father” ? I’m probably overthinking

Edit: Thank you all for incoming confirmations. I appreciate everyone in this sub and beyond! 🙏