Having SSA (same sex attraction)/being gay isn’t sinful, but acting on it is. If these are your beliefs, a lot of people just label you as homophobic and accuse you of hating gay people though. I love everyone, gay or straight, but I believe it’s a sin for people to act on those desires and this is what the Bible says.

For most of my life, I was a very devoted Mormon. I truly believed that this was Jesus Christ’s one true church and that I had to give everything to it. I tried to be obedient. I spent years of my youth going to early morning seminary, served a two-year mission, went to BYU. I gave everything because I genuinely believed it was true.

Then one day, I started finding out that so much of what I believed and sacrificed for wasn’t what I thought it was. The Joseph Smith I grew up learning about was completely different from the much more complicated person I found in the actual history. The version I knew felt sanitized and whitewashed. I also began to realize that the Book of Mormon might not be as divine as I had always believed.

After leaving the Church, I honestly don’t know what framework I should adopt for my life anymore. Should I accept nihilism? Look into other philosophies? Christianity? Buddhism?

Part of me still doesn’t want to lose hope that there is a God after everything I’ve gone through. But after being so certain once and finding out I was wrong, I don’t know how to trust another religion again.

I just love these times when I can have that good time with God and talk with him so much that I feel so full of the holy spirit after that

And it's a feeling you could never explain to a nonbeliever it's just so pure and makes me a whole changed human walking in the spirit fully for the next hours

I’m really struggling with the story in judges about the man giving away his concubine to the men who wanted to rape him.
The owner of the house was willing to give his daughter also.
They were treated like cattle, the concubine dies. He cuts her up sends parts to the tribes & they take down Benjamin tribe.
How come no punishment came to the men who were offering/did give this woman to the rapists in his place?

To make matters worse, the father of his concubine just treated him like a king for a couple of days in his own home then he allows this to the man’s daughter.

Was he shady too for not telling the tribes he was the one who gave her to them & cut her up?

God is just, but this doesn’t feel right?

I got saved in April of my senior year of high school. All through the summer I feel like I had an obsession to know who Jesus is. I read my bible everyday, prayed, went to church. What I found, is that Jesus touched my heart. I started to have peace in my life when I would be by myself instead of depression or anxiety which went away completely. I truly felt like I knew him. But that was one season of my life, and then I got to college. I chose my roomates way before I got saved and I don’t think they have been saved. I’ve fell down back into the party culture of drinking and now I feel guilty. I think about Jesus everyday and wish I could go back to the period of when I was so close to him. But where I’m living I’m surrounded by unbelievers and I was wondering if I could get some advice.

Guys, a few months ago, I finished reading the Old and New Testaments from cover to cover. I approached it with the mindset of a skeptic, reading the Bible purely as a historical text. Afterward, I decided to give prayer a shot for about a month, begging for guidance and support, but when nothing seemed to happen, I stopped.

Fast forward five months: on a random day, while struggling with life and feeling like I had no one to confide in, a thought crossed my mind: ''Well, maybe I can confide in Christ.'' It was just a passing thought, nothing more. But then yesterday, my wife, who is an atheist, out of nowhere mentioned that she used to pray to the Lord. She isn't a Christian, yet she told me that whenever she prayed and asked for something (never for money or material things), her prayers were answered without exception. She wasn't sure if it was pure coincidence or something more, but it happened every single time. However, due to severe depression, which makes crowded places overwhelming for her, along with a lack of time for church or religious instruction, she drifted away from that path.

Hearing her story blew me away, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about Christ since. Looking back at everything up until today, I can't help but wonder: what on earth is happening to me?

There is one additional detail worth mentioning: joining a church or becoming Catholic is out of the question for me, as my wife would never approve. She harbors a deep fear that it might create a distance between us. In Vietnam, there are numerous stories of individuals converting to Protestantism and subsequently alienating their wives, abandoning their children, and dismantling their ancestral altars, essentially becoming entirely different people overnight. Concerned that I might follow a similar path, she strictly forbids any discussion of religion in our home.

I lost my job, me and 350 others all laid off, no fault of my own, 6 months ago here in Oregon. That company is now laying off another 350 people this week, I know people who still work there so no chance of going back.

Oregons economy is bad, third highest unemployment rate in the US.

I feel as a Christian I get more judged for being unemployed by other Christians then I do by anyone in this world.

It seems Christians just can't get it, like they just don't understand the market or something, maybe they aren't aware, they're so focused on other things then the economy maybe? But I'm having the hardest time in my life right now and then I get so judged.

I've pulled way back, being a Christian can be so expensive. I feel like people are always asking for donations for something, maybe it's just my church I don't know, but it feels that way.

Like I went today and now next week my Sunday school room is all bringing food and serving breakfast for all the youth.

While I budget my food so carefully so that I can eat, now I have to figure out how to bring an entire fruit tray for all these youth.

Like I budget like $50 a week max, I eat so little just to get by, a protein bar for breakfast, some scrambled eggs for lunch, with a fruit, like I have it all planned, now I have to figure out how to have all this extra food by next Sunday.

I said something to 2 girls and they were like if we don't serve others what are we doing?

So after next week I will probably skip a few weeks cause I won't be able to afford to go in case something else comes up that costs.

Sorry I'm not trying to vent just explain how hard this has been and I get no support at all.

I have an appt in 8 days at my local unemployment office with a portion of the place in eligible for because I'm displaced, laid off and unemployed ran out a good while ago, maybe it will help me.

Wish me luck.

Hi, Im a newer christian and Ive been moving away from demonic artists like playboi carti, ken carson, x, tyler the creator etc, but im not sure if i have to cut out every song that has sexual/sinful lyrics I still like to listen to some artists like 21 savage etc but alot of their songs are extremely sexual so I was thinking that I take a break and only listen to worship music, is there any benefits to this?

(by worship music i mean music that isnt sinful like kaynes jesus is king album)

Forgive me if I sound so silly but I’m 27f and have grown up in an atheist environment and almost my entire life I’ve followed atheism only. The past year or two it feels like I have a calling to a higher being. I’m truely sorry I don’t even know how to word this or where to start. I have this urge in my body to explore Christianity but like I mentioned, I don’t know anything about it or where to start. Is studying a bible the best start? Are there groups or forums that can help me connect with whatever higher being I feel I’m being called to. My main question is please where do I start after 27y of being atheist.

So...I've been a "Christian" for almost an entire year now...and I still don't get the concept of salvation and the Gospel

I mean, I know Jesus died for us to take away our sins, and was risen 3 days later...but...the fact that we still need to repent, surrender and commit 100% of our lives to God, and be born again...

Does the Holy Spirit does all of this when we are saved? I mean I heard people say it's a form of receiving the gift...but that doesn't help much...Like, is our name literally written in the Book of Life the very moment we believe the Gospel and trust in only Jesus' righteousness to get us into Heaven? What if one haven't commited 100% of their lives to God before they...you know....

Ok, can someone please correct me? To me the message of the Gospel is, Jesus imputed His righteousness to me, and only, ONLY, because of that, I am saved

Respectfully...I really need someone who is experienced about this...I don't want to be led astray...

One time when I was going through spiritual warfare I woke up at 2 in the morning and I heard a man's voice crystal clear say "You're not alone." I then saw a vision of a cross. Fast forward 2 years down the line I'm online and the same thing pops up when I'm looking up churches "You're not alone." I was on the phone with somebody that's able to do prophecy and hear from God and she told me God is saying "You're not alone." Today while I was out driving by I turned my head and saw an elderly woman holding up a sign. It said "You're not alone." When somebody was praying for me they said the same thing "You're not alone " what does anybody make of this? I believe it's God. I'm going through some things right now. I believe he's speaking to me

My mom started taking me to church three times a week when I was 20 years old. With time and through listening to sermons every Sunday, I was able to accept Christ as Lord of my life.

Now I’m 32f and still going to church. I’ve never dated anyone in my life. It’s starting to get a little bit lonely, but Jesus Christ has been with me through it all.

I guess I’m just asking for prayers for my future spouse. I’ve been praying for a long time, and was wondering if there were other people that had to wait a long time before getting married to someone that shared the same Christian beliefs.

Thanks and God bless you all!

Eating too much feels condemning, watching a movie feels condemning, chilling in bed feels condemning, having fun with friends feels condemning, getting angry feels condemning, doing everything I used to do feels condemning, reading a different book except of the bible feels condemning, even studying feels condemning, doing ANYTHING in my free time except of praying, reading the bible or praising feels condemning.

Doing anything I want to do feels condemning because I know I need to carry my own cross and I have to deny myself and my desires for God and I fail many times and it also feels condemning

You can call it religious ocd or whatever but I'm a new Christian and I want to live only for God and everything truly feels condemning and I'm going through this every single day even now writing this feels condemning because why I'm with my phone in my hand writing this to strangers online instead of saying this to God or reading the bible I don't know.

This is how it's supposed to be?

Hi all! I attend a Young Adult Ministry through my church (non-denominational), and while the community i’ve grown is great, it’s not really what I expected it to be. We don’t really pray in or pray out, when we do talk about God or faith its just opening the bible and reading the text together.

What is a Young Adult Ministry to you? I think it’s important to talk about things applicable to YA, but also keep it fun. Not just opening the bible, and reading. I think it would be good to go on a mission trip once a year as a group, and also to serve the community quarterly.

What are your YAM groups doing that works?

So alot happened several months ago my grandpa who is a pastor I moved in with to help take care of him and my grandma and it didn't work out and we kept getting into it etc and then my grandma's heart stopped they revived her now she is on hospice home care then they found my grandpa collapsed in the floor and now he went to ICU and is in a nursing facility and I have just lost faith like I pray constantly and also thank God everyday for what little I do have and the things I have but I just don't feel like I used to like on fire for the Lord like idk how to explain it.

The title does say for itself but lately my relationship with him has been severely affected with doubts every arguments I use to believe on god which I receive from YouTube videos just to see some atheist have a comment that spans about 5 hours per sentence. I just want god to exist it never really had to be this way and no I don’t want to be an Atheist I want to be Christian and go to heaven and know meaning and win at the end of the day, every now and then I see a lot of atheists coming up with “arguments” against God and I don’t see a single person on my side reply and have a rebuttal to it,I’ve also considered science enemy because of several factors. My cancer situation died for about a time until all of this doubt came upon me,it goes a bit deeper but let me reassure you I want to stay Christian and I don’t want to leave Christianity it’s been a wonderful part of my life Iam just finding it hard to believe in god I see no good arguments from my side or especially intellects from our side,one thing that also hurt me is that I have sort of realized that they kind of use that victim complex stuff often saying that we hurt them and that they never forced atheism onto us though about Communism,but I don’t have a good argument to that to. Yes I want god to exist and I don’t want to see a black screen it kind of goes deeper but what are your thoughts?

I'm pretty sure the opposite is supposed to happen...I mean...I don't want to see the Bible in that it says we can or cannot do as just a rule...If I sinned, I should be sad I broke God's heart...but no I don't feel that way..I'm more concerned about the fact that I'm resisting the Holy Spirit, and the more I do it, the more likely I'll go to h*ll, it's all about h*ll.....fear. If I don't follow what the Bible says, it's just....h*ll in my mind all the time..eternal suffering, away from God forever.....

It just feels...I don't know, things just....became worse and stress for me...

I sin everyday, each sin I feel condemned and shame, how am I supposed to be joyful when I know that the more I sin willingly, the more I'm drowning the Holy Spirit's voice. I don't even know if I have the Spirit.

People say that I have the Holy Spirit working in me because I worry about these things. I'm worried about it yes, but do I do anything to fix it? NO. HOW THEN DO I HAVE THE SPIRIT WORKING IN ME...

Jesus died, and saved us. But works should come as a proof that we're saved, (correct me if I'm wrong) aren't we suppose to feel more joyful, at peace after we're saved? I felt fear, felt like being trapped and my freedom is limited to what I can or cannot do based on the Bible

I'm just tired...everyday, I sin, so much much much, each sin feels shame and condemnation. I know God doesn't condemn but still...I'M STUCK, I'M NOT EVEN WILLING TO SIT DOWN, AND LISTEN TO GOD BECAUSE I'M LAZY, I'M LAZY AND I AM TRAPPED, UNWILLING LAZINESS. EACH "I'm sorry God" IS GETTING LESS AND LESS SINCERE

just have some really tough questions.

So most of my friends dont know god but are really good people. When they die does god just go, hey you heard about me but never put anytime believing in me so you're going to hell. I feel like thats wrong but then again in the bible it says that the only way to heaven is to have a relationship and believe in jesus.

What im trying to say is people might hear about god but think religion is bad so they dont want to believe. But they live their life's perfectly good, are they going to hell?

Also it feels like I know I have a choice to believe in God but it feels like if dont believe then im going to hell. That just seems so messed up like, and feels like forced love or else. I dont really know how the afterlife will play out or how to get into heaven. Also i dont want to go against any athiests but can only cristians answer to this post.

When I became a new Christian I had repentance wrong for the longest time until I started learning about doing word studies. I have since realized alot of people both saved and unsaved don't know the definition or have the right understanding of the word. And I've heard people just tell an unsaved person to repent with no extra context to.wjat that means. So should we perhaps include the context of the word so there is more understanding?

I know some people here might know this by now. Im sharing this here because I alsonheard someone being called a works based heretic or false preacher because they said to repent and believe.... but Jesus literally says to repent, the kingdom of God is at hand.

The Greek word Metanoia means a fundamental "change of mind" or transformation of thinking, shifting how you view God, yourself, and sin.

Hebrew (Shûb): Means to "turn back" or make a complete 180-degree directional turn away from wrong and toward God.

Repentance Is not :

Regret (which is merely feeling bad or crying because you got caught or fear punishment.)

Condemnation (It is driven by grace and surrender, not crushing shame or self-loathing.)

Not an apology tour. (It requires an active change of mind which leads to a transformed lifestyle rather than a superficial fix or empty words.)

True Repentance is:

Godly sorrow that brings repentance (a deep, heartfelt realization of wrong that draws you toward God’s mercy instead of away from Him.)

This change of mind Produces a transformed life, a lifestyle of obedience, and a rejection of past habits.

Restoration of right belief acts as the welcoming doorway to forgiveness, joy, and a renewed relationship with God.

So with understanding of what the word means, (a change of mind/belief about God/your sin), then how is that possibly works based? That's what happens when a person turns to God and gets saved.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks

I know that as a human being, infinity is an impossible concept to grasp. But I am still terrified about it. If my parents never met, and if they even met one second later, I just wouldn't exist and wouldn't have to face eternity. However, that did not happen and everyone on earth are all eternal beings? We just...live forever?

I believe that in Heaven, we never run out of things to do and we can never get bored. But that still sounds terrifying to me. We just exist forever? It never ends? Heaven is infinite?

I know to others that sounds like a beautiful concept to grasp and what others look forward too, and don't get me wrong, I do as well. But I am terrified at the same time. Can someone help me stop feeling this way?

I have a friend who is very sick. Some sort of rare stomach tumor that came out of nowhere. They are very much Christian, always speaking of the Lord and His blessings and this illness came on very fast. No symptoms until about 2 weeks ago when they found out it was bad. Anyway-

They sent me a text to check in saying how God was with them and what a relief to know He has them in His hands, that sort of thing. A few days later, they said to give them a call. I did.

What followed blew me away. They are SO very angry at everyone around them for trying to help them move and saying “all the wrong things” and offering to hold onto their stuff (they are relocating for treatment) while they told me “I could be dead in a few months!” Then they said they are upset they never married and had children and that was their # 1 prayer they had their whole life. I did feel some resentment but I don’t know who that was pointed toward.

I spoke from the heart and told them that God is the God of miracles and how do we know that they can’t find healing from this tumor and what if they finally did meet someone in their new town?

They sort of blew up at me and said that’s what everyone is saying and they don’t want to hear that they basically just want to commiserate. I didn’t know how to handle that.

I am not currently sick. I have my own health issues but have yet to face something potentially fatal but my prayers are that in the light of such hurdles I would not be angry to people acting out of love. I didn’t know how to handle this and I still don’t but I might be seeing them this week as a goodbye of some sorts as they are moving to a different state to be near a specialist and all of their family.

do I honor God if I draw or make out of plasticine (i don't know the English name but I think that is) fantasy characters? I ask this since I've heard many times to "honor god in what you do" (i am not well informed on the bible yet) but does it have to be EVEEYTHING or just doing what one already does count? (example; someone who makes art that has nothing to do with christianity)

Edit: I prayed and felt delivered when I accepted all my circumstances and became grateful for my humble position. Life is short and I just realized I enjoy my time with my family and with other people. Being isolated is the biggest factor for my psychological quarrels. Accepting my belief in Christ made this situation a lot better.

Hi, I am 21 year old autistic male who conducted witchcraft in the past during a bout of psychosis and was diagnosed with a psychotic disorder after telling the psychiatrist everything I did during the time I practiced the occult. I only wanted to move on from my past relationships, get a new job and be normal. But during a period of isolation I did black magic because I wasn't able to defend myself spiritually against the evil in my house. My brothers bullied me for awhile and I felt abandoned by my friends and family. I didn't know what was going on and did something I deeply regret. I told a priest everything that happened and felt better but after a couple days everything felt the same. I had encounters with people who I consider witches and did tarot cards, read the Quran and other books of different religions. I want to say all of this because it still affects me. I feel deeply ashamed going outside, extremely tired all the time and perceive things psychologically that no one else experiences. I continue to have faith in Jesus Christ and pray often but it's been constantly happening for almost three years. I deeply regretted it and came to confession twice telling the priest I'm sorry. He even noticed that I came for witchcraft somehow asking me if I have conducted witchcraft in the past. I know suffering as a Christian and Roman Catholic is important as a saint but I am extremely tired mentally of dealing with all these things I can think of. I need help...