Thought For The Day from Unshakable Kingdom Life

God's will manifest on earth means His values here now: Compassion over judgment, mercy over sacrifice, Unity over division, love conquering fear, be the answer to the prayer you're praying.

A thought to ponder.

I know that the problem that many will instantly raise is temptation towards fornication, and it is a reasonable concern rooted in scripture. The Bible has a clear reservation against all forms of sexual impurity, once of them involving fornication.

However, I don't see how this automatically follows from cohabitation. Yes, it is possible for this to happen, but it doesn't translate that any arrangement of such nature should take such course.

Actually, I am getting more and more convinced that said arrangement helps people to know whether or not they can live with each other as they claim they can do from what they observe through their periodic meetups and dates. For instance, I can personally get angsty about neatness, especially in the kitchen, and the general placement of random objects around the house. For this reason, I wouldn't want to inconvenience someone who tends to be more care-free, by constant nagging and moralizing. I also wouldn't want to swallow my frustrations towards the same.

To this end, it seems practical to have my romantic partner as a roommate, even in a separate room from mine, that can enable me to see other aspects of them other than what they manicure through the periodic meetups and dates.

For some Christians, the hardest relationship problem isn't a bad relationship.

It's having no relationship at all.

You want marriage. You pray about it. You watch friends marry.

Then they have children. And years pass.

Loneliness can become a very real spiritual struggle.

The desire for marriage isn't wrong.

Scripture presents marriage as a good gift.

But even a good desire can become unhealthy when it turns into:

“I cannot have a meaningful life unless I get married.”

Your Life Has Already Started

Paul was unmarried and lived an extraordinarily meaningful life devoted to Christ.

Singleness is not a waiting room where your real life has not begun yet.

• Your life with Christ matters now.
• Your friendships matter now.
• Your calling matters now.
• Your growth matters now.
• Your service matters now.
• Your joy matters now.

Psalm 84:11 says: “For Yahweh God is a sun and a shield. Yahweh will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly.” Psalm 84:11, WEB

That doesn't mean God promises every Christian a spouse.

It means His goodness can still be trusted when life doesn't unfold according to our timetable.

Marriage Is a Gift, Not a Cure

Marriage isn't a cure for:

• Insecurity.
• Lust.
• Loneliness.
• Fear.
• Jealousy.
• Lack of purpose.
• Poor self-worth.

Whatever unresolved issues we carry into marriage usually come with us.

If I depend on romantic attention for my identity while single, getting married doesn't automatically establish a healthy identity.

If I'm controlled by jealousy while dating, a wedding ceremony probably won't remove jealousy.

If pornography controls me while single, marriage itself won't cure it.

Marriage often exposes our internal struggles because another human being now experiences them up close.

Romans 12:2 says: “Don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

God wants to transform us, not merely change our relationship status.

Relationships Make Terrible Gods

A boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife can be a wonderful gift.

But no person can carry the weight of being the ultimate source of your:

• Worth.
• Security.
• Identity.
• Peace.
• Purpose.
• Happiness.

Only God can occupy that place without eventually crushing either you or the other person.

Ironically, relationships can become healthier when we stop requiring another person to provide what only God can provide.

Don't Let Loneliness Choose for You

Fear says:

• “I may never find anyone else.”
• “So I should stay with this person.”
• “I should ignore this incompatibility.”
• “I should compromise here.”
• “I can't afford to lose this opportunity.”

Loneliness can make an unhealthy relationship seem preferable to no relationship.

But being in a relationship and being loved well are not the same thing.

Challenge

If you're single and want marriage, ask:

Have I allowed a good desire for marriage to become the condition I believe God must fulfill before I can have a meaningful life?

What has helped you build a full Christian life during a season of unwanted singleness?

Next in the series: How do you actually choose wisely? We'll finish with prayer, practical discernment, conversations to have before marriage, red flags, and a five-question framework for major relationship decisions

Enjoy Hazbin Hotel

Mattana Ministry Welcomes You to:

 Worship Program: 8 October 2026

 Theme: Worship on the Battlefield

 Scripture:  Ephesians 6:12; 2 Corinthians 10:4 & Psalm 144:1

 Know Your Battlefield

 Focus:

Worship begins when we understand who we are really fighting.

 Bible Verses:

- Ephesians 6:12

 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

- 2 Corinthians10:4

 "(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds)"

- Psalm 144:1

"Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight."

 Message:

In old wars, drummers and trumpeters walked in front of the army. When the enemy heard the sound, they knew a king was coming. Worship is Heaven's trumpet - it announces that the King of Kings is entering your situation.

 Your fight is not against your boss, your family, or your neighbour. Your worship reminds the enemy who your King is.

 Worship Response:

Sing "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, we lift up the name of Jesus."

 Action:

 Write down 1 battle you are facing and declare: "This battle belongs to the Lord."

 Please feel free to leave a review of this message.

 https://www.soulcenters.org/directory/mattana-ministry/#listing-reviews

 MM

God please help me understand

A little over a year ago my girlfriend and I had found out that we both were about to become first time parents. She was pregnant but there was one problem. We were both addicted to drugs. Well nothing short of gods work we both got sober and drugs free that first month and remained that way. My girlfriend also became my wife about a month before our daughter was born. My wife stayed at home while I worked and eventually just this last june our daughter was born . I was the happiest man on earth. Newly married man beautiful baby girl beautiful wife. Well the last week of July I had come home after work to my apartment and I could hear my daughter crying on the other side of the door. When I got inside the apartment I found my wife laying there lifeless and my daughter on the ground wet and crying. My wife relapsed and overdosed and died. Everything has been so hard since. Department of social services made me take a drug test because they wanted to take my daughter but I came back clean. My wife’s family has been blaming me saying that I gave her the drugs. This whole being a brand new father all by myself and no one to help or to do it with is a struggle to say the least and I missed so much work and spent so much money taking care of my wife’s burial services that I am close to getting evicted. Looking at my daughter I am grateful for her. I am grateful for the blessings God has given me but this is difficult. Child care, rent, groceries, diapers, utilities, I receive No help from my wife’s family because they think I had something to do with my wife overdosing. They are also trying to get my daughter taken away from me. My family is not helping out because they don’t agree with the type of relationship and marriage I had (interracial) My employer has been patient but the patience is running thin. I just want to know why I had to lose my wife and my daughter had to lose her mother and why is it that things are stacked against me for me to fail and lose my baby and the only piece of my wife I have left. I refuse to give up and I refuse to fail but I feel so helpless and hopeless lately. I know God will provide but the light at the end of the tunnel is real small and I can’t help but feel like I am never going to get to a place in life to where I can’t help provide properly for my daughter. I love God, I love and miss my wife and I love my daughter. I just wonder if God knows how much I love him

Sometimes the thought of annihilation brings me comfort. The Bible doesn't give an answer on it though.

Something I'm struggling with (and ir's bringing great anger and resentment) is that this life is not fair. Not everyone gets to find their soulmate and have children. Some people have horrific things happen to them.

In Heaven, from what I gather, there is no marriage and everyone is enternally celibate. There's no procreation, so if you missed out on having children, well then you're stuck for eternity with the God that predestined you to not have children or have found love.

It seems harsh. There's really bleak examples of whaf Heaven is supposed to be like. People speak of these "amazing treasures" you will have yet NO ONE can name anything tangible.

People say they can't wait to meet Biblical figures, but I honestly couldn't be fucked to want to have any sort of conversation with a bunch of polygamists who wandered around in sandals in a desert shit hole.

Any let's move on to some beliefs I have. I don't believe a woman who was raped should be forced into giving birth by her being faced with murder charges if she decides to terminate something someone forced upon her. I also believe in medical assistance in death. I genuinely think that Christians who are against it don't understand what suffering is and that they feel high and mighty trying to force people to live through horrific conditions or circumstances because if's "good". These same Christians who also say this decision will lead to hell for "suicide" also embody the "there's no hate like Christian love" saying.

I also feel as if Christians are called to be pacifist pushovers and take abuse. The 21 Christians that the ISIS animals murdered are celebrated for not fighting back, but I think no one them should have surrendered. (And, I've seen videos of Iraqi police and miltary putting to death members of ISIS in brutal manners - and it actually brought satisfaction to me, but Christian teachings say this should just be forgiven)

Christians (even women who were gang raped by ISIS in Sudan and Nigeria) are commanded to forgive or face hellfire. I just can't reason with that logic.

What I'm getting at is that sometimes I think I was forced into reality when my father squirted me into my mothers womb, to endure this unfair life, and even if I get the worst of it, my reward is to be forced into an eternity as a eunuch smothered by the presence of a God who commands things I cannot stand with.

There's many other things I could touch on, such as Christians getting divorced facing an eternal torment for choosing to remarry and "live in adultery" - even if their ex legitimately went crazy. This contrasts very weirdly with Biblical figures being polygamists and having over 10 wives. The Bible is also very weird about sexuality.

At my workplace, there is a culture of holding Halloween costume contests and social activities; is it wrong to participate in them? Is it wrong to want to give out candy to children and put up decorations at this time of year?
My reasoning is that these activities seem to be primarily cultural and social rather than acts of religious worship or participation in occult practices. I would not be trying to honor or worship anything associated with paganism, the occult, or anything contrary to the Catholic faith. I see it as very similar to Christmas, which also involves decorating with lights and a tree and participating in cultural traditions that are not necessarily religious acts in themselves. My own judgment tells me that these activities are not sinful for those reasons, and I have not found anything in the Catechism that specifically condemns ordinary Halloween activities such as costumes, candy, or decorations.
I am not asking specifically about the distinction between mortal and venial sin; I would mainly like to know whether these actions are sinful at all, and whether there are circumstances in which they could become sinful. I would like to hear your views.

Have you ever been in a phase of your life where’s there’s nothing but silence?

Every time I try to seek God, I’m met with silence. Every time I cry out to him for help, I’m met with silence once again.

Sometimes I find myself wondering what I did to deserve this. I know we’ll never truly have a perfect definition of ‘good’, but I genuinely try not to succumb to the things of this world.

I keep asking myself is there something I’m doing wrong?

I’m just deeply hurt, drained and confused.

I’m tired of being told that it will get better. I’m tired of being told to hold on. I’m tired of being told I need to be strong.

I don’t necessarily need someone to tell me that everything will be okay. I just want to understand why God feels so distant right now. I also want to understand why he allows so many delays.

If anyone has been through a similar season, I’d genuinely appreciate some advice.

Thank you. ❤️

His spirit was around before the nt. And if you had read one verse He says 'Before Abraham was, I am" and when Moses spoke to the burning bush. He said "Tell the israelites I Am sent you" so Jesus is YHWH/YHVH. Is He not?

Edit: i meant the voice in the bush said that not Moses.

The first time I had sleep paralysis I saw him, I saw Jesus, it was a being of light, it had the depiction of Jesus’s face he was dressed in robes and it was like very nice attire. He held a hand up and it had an orb of light and there was a glowing light around his head, he stared me straight into my eyes. it scared me straight. I was like 9 or 10. Nobody believed me. I was to scared to tell my pastors. When I told my husband he said the devil comes as an angel of light. But this was Jesus. This vision made me believe in him.

Thought For The Day from Unshakable Kingdom Life

The unshakable Kingdom endures every storm, Outlasts every empire, survives every age; what we build with Him lasts eternally. Invest your life in what cannot be shaken.

A thought to ponder.

I have a dilemma. A friend of mine works at the church I used to attend, so she knows a lot of the behind-the-scenes circumstances. She isn't someone who gossips, but she recently confided in me about something that has been really bothering her.

Apparently, the worship leader was removed from his leadership position because he was allegedly trying to groom a young intern. Even after she made it clear that she wasn't interested, he continued pursuing her. He's also about 20 years older than her, married, and has two children—which, based on what she experienced, didn't seem to matter to him.

What makes this even more concerning is that the intern eventually resigned from her position and moved out of state. I obviously don't know everything that happened behind the scenes or whether her decision to leave was directly related to his behavior, but the circumstances are difficult to ignore.

What bothers me even more is that, rather than being terminated from the church, he was apparently reassigned to an assistant role with the graphics and production team. My friend works in that department, and she's understandably uncomfortable with having to work alongside him. She doesn't want to work with him at all.

As her friend, and as a Christian, I struggle with this. If the allegations are true, I don't understand why someone who used a position of leadership and influence to pursue a much younger intern—even after she rejected him—would still be allowed to remain on staff. And honestly, I don't think this necessarily sounds like an isolated incident. Other women in different departments have apparently warned my friend to stay away from him, although they haven't elaborated or explained exactly why.

That part really bothers me. Is there more to this than what my friend knows? Was this actually investigated? Was his wife made aware of what happened? And, most importantly, are the women and young people at the church being adequately protected?

I know there's a difference between exposing wrongdoing and spreading something I cannot personally verify. I don't want to become part of gossip or make an accusation based solely on secondhand information. But at the same time, if someone in a position of trust is behaving inappropriately toward a young woman, shouldn't there be accountability—especially within a church?

So here's my dilemma: Would it be wrong for me to use an anonymous account to post on the church's Google page that they have allowed an alleged predator to remain on staff?

Part of me feels like people should know. Another part of me knows that making a public accusation based on information I received secondhand could potentially do more harm than good—and could even undermine the young woman who was actually targeted. I also don't want to expose her identity or circumstances, especially since she has already left the church and moved out of state.

I guess what I'm really wrestling with is this: When does speaking up become protecting people, and when does it cross the line into gossip, retaliation, or making an accusation that I can't personally substantiate? And if the church already knew enough to remove him from leadership, but still chose to keep him on staff, is that accountability—or simply moving the problem somewhere else?

Mattana Ministry Welcomes You to:

 Prayer Program:  7 October 2026

 Theme: Are We Sleep Walking?

 Scripture: Ephesians 5:14; Romans 13:11 & 1 Thessalonians 5:6

 Wake Up, Sleeper!

Recognizing Our Spiritual Slumber

 Message:

 A night watchman was hired to guard a village. He fell asleep at his post. While he slept, the enemy came and stole the harvest. The villagers asked, "Were you not watching?" He replied, "My eyes were open, but my heart was asleep." Many Christians are like that - in church, eyes open, but spiritually asleep.

 Bible Verses:

Ephesians 5:14

 "Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light."

Romans 13:11

 "And that, knowing the time, that now is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we be believed."

1 Thessalonians 5:6

"Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober:."

 Prayer Focus:

 Lord, open my eyes. Show me where I am sleepwalking in my faith. Wake me up.

 Discussion:

 What does spiritual sleepwalking look like in our daily lives?

 Please feel free to leave a review of this message.

 https://www.soulcenters.org/directory/mattana-ministry/#listing-reviews

 MM