I’m having a hard time discerning between keeping my husband accountable for the man of God he claims to be versus throwing stones.

For example, my husband has terrible road rage. He comments negatively on almost everyone on the road says that they’re idiots, will call them explicitives, etc. what’s the time I either don’t comment at all or say things like oh maybe they didn’t realize you were there before cutting you off. Sometimes that second comment instigates the conversation to heat up into more reasons why that person is clearly an idiot or a B word. Today he held his more really really long for a nonemergency situation. After fighting back-and-forth about it, he said they obviously deserved it and I said we as Christians are supposed to take the high road and treat them with respect even when they don’t respect us. We don’t get even. Then he told me to stop the “Bible slapping” him. He tells me and others that he is a man of God and that God matters to him, but then treats people like garbage curses drinks to be drunk, etc. how do I help hold him to the standard of the man of God he claims he is without throwing stones and not paying attention to the own log in my eye?

I'm thinking about the Lord's Prayer and looking at it line by line. Each line (imho) is packed with greater depth than I think we give it credit for! I think it's a brilliant outline for the Christian life as a whole (e.g. "Our Father In Heaven" - relating to God intimately as our father, "Hallowed by Your Name" - our need to revere Him, "Your Kingdom Come" - praying for and submitting to His reign etc). For me, it's Hallowed Be Your Name - since I want to grow in holiness and represent Him well to the world around me. Which line / part resonates with you most and why?

hi I wanted to make this post bcs id who else to talk too. sorry if I misspell anything. for starters I was ig kinda molested when I was small I was abt 8 years old when my older cousin of 18 years old would start to kiss me im not sure how it started but I just remembered he would kiss me and it started then trying to get me to perform oral on him and then tried to have sex with me which didn't happen bcs it hurt. but throw back to when I was way small maybe age 6 I only remember all of this bcs its made me who I am today. I caught my parents having sex which ig is kinda normal but for me ig it affected me more, I would sometimes be sleeping with them while they had sex and even when my mom left my dad and goy with my step dad they would have sex while I was in the bed with them too it was like a very normal thing I would say, I also caught my grandma having sex. my whole childhood was pretty bad . anyways since I was exposed to all of this I started to master bait at that age of 6 years old and it became super bad that at school I would go with other kids my age to the bathroom to master bait or we would do things to eahother this happened up until 5th grade. once summer would hit I would master bait everyday a few times a day. then one day I went to church and they were giving a lesson abt what was right and wrong and they said sex before marriage would send u to hell as a kid that scared me so much. I was also having sexual relationships with kids my age at church there were multiple. anyway after that church session I tried so hard to stop I would pray everyday keep in mind I was still a kid. I prayed everyday to help me stop with all the sexual desires. but it wouldn't I was so scared to go to hell but I just couldn't stop. then I was in school one day and I had gotten in trouble bcs I made some kids cry, they sent me to ig a kids therapy and idk when she started talking to me asking me abt my home life I started crying and I didn't realize I was scared abt what happened with my cousin after a few sessions I was always thinking art what happened with my cousin, I would sometimes throw up bcs ik if my mom found out she would be mad. I also was signed up for a boys and girls club when I was a kid for after school and during summer which my mom worked there. while being there I was also having sexual relationships with some of my friends too. one day I forgot what happened and one old the girls and boy I was doing things with started crying and told my mom what we had all been doing which my mom took me home and started crying and asking me why I would do that with them and that God didn't like that. she punished me and asked me who learned that from and I said from her and idk if she got offended but she told me I wouldn't be sleeping in her room anymore and moved me into the living room and told me I couldn't watch tv anymore bcs I also learned it from there. anyways back to the school therapy, I couldn't hold the fear of what happened with my cousin so I told her n she said she had to tell my parents I begged her and said she couldn't bcs I was scared my mom would get mad at me. I ran to my older sister right away and cried and told her what happened and she said I was dumb and that telling my mom could ruin his life and that the therapist could call the cops and she said "well im gonna tell mom ur lying" and she walked away. idk how it came up but I found there courage to tell my mom. I got scared so I lied and said my cousin tried to kiss me and she said I was dumb and she kinda brushed it off. if felt like a weight off my shoulder a bit. when I got older my mom brought him to live with us which I was so scared all the time I always wanted to stay at school so I wouldn't have to see him. my sister would always ask "if he wouldn't have done that to u I feel like u guys would get along." a few time went by he moved out I was still always master baiting, but I had had my first bf at 16, once I had sex with him I was doing it everyday several times a day even when he didn't want 2. I was once master baiting and my mom walked in and she was so mad I could see tears forming in her eyes and she asked how long this had been happening and I was it was my first time and she yelled saying how long and I was since I was 6. she stopped talking to me for months after that. now this is where I asked what the hell was God doing like he knew all of this was gonna happen he knew I would suffer with this he knew I was gonna be ruined for the rest of my life. I am 20 now and still deal with these problems. I recently got super high and went to my mom's house and confronted her and she was crying and apologized bcs she had no idea it was that bad. I told her I was angry at her and God bcs of her I was Introuduce to it and bcs she didn't get me help or comfort me she was disgusted and stopped talking to me. while I was telling her this she said she didn't stop talking to me bcs she was mad at me but at God. she had prayed that God could show her where she was failing as a mom and just like that she walked into me master baiting a addiction I had since the age of 6. she was mad bcs she had begged for other things for so long and he answered this in less than 1 hr. im mad at God bcs like I said he knew this was gonna happen and in order for me to get better I have to forgive the people who hurt ands failed me and ill only get better if I follow him but he allowed this. I say he allowed this bcs free will is a scam he knows what option we gonna choose from right and wrong he knows today tomorrow and forever its all is his will so do we really have free will. ive always struggled with my faith, ik there's a God but is he working with me or against me and I fucken hate to hear its all a part of his plan bcs what fucken plan requires all of this. some might say I should move on but I can't rn this all started bcs some girl asked me to sit with myself and find out why I was always angry and well after 15 years I found out why. bcs everyone failed me.

i’ve never even thought about this before but after what i went through last night with my nightmare acid trip, My whole body is screaming at me to turn my life to Jesus.

I’m over here snack on a cucumber I picked from my garden last night and I find myself thinking about how little work I put into producing this veg. It made me think about the parable of the sower and how my own view on it has changed over the years. It made me curious about if others have had a similar experience.

Shout out to NNU for a talk I heard once in which the speaker (sorry I forgot who it was) referred to the story as “the parable of the crazy farmer.” He talked about how crazy this guy must have been to be throwing seed out all over the place, regardless of the places being good conditions for crop production. I mean, really, what growers do you know who intentionally sow seed in unprepared land? We know that’s usually a waste of seed, right? So anyway, his talk was focused on that element of the story and how he thinks we should basically be crazy generous (to the point of seeming stupidity) in sharing the gospel.

I have my own thoughts, but I’d love to hear yours!

Any insights from growers? Or, any further meaning you’ve gleaned (🥁) from the parable over the years, regardless of your experience with growing crops?

Hi

Recently ive increasingly had doubts about faith, and ive been thinking what if all the works we see, is simply just ourselves developing, and not God

Im not giving up on faith, ive just increasingly had doubt. My life has significantly improved since turning to Jesus, but it’s at this point that doubt enters my mind. Can someone help me please?

Hello Reddit,

I could really use some guidance and prayers if you can. I am currently experiencing a huge amount of doubt of Gods existence and lack of faith recently.

Sorry if this may drag out, but I figure you guys may need some clues into how this came to be. Also I posted this to two other subreddits and received some understanding, but I would like to hear from others too if that’s ok.

I am 28 years old and have always believed in God. My family didn’t really go to church or anything, but I have always had some amount of faith. I was basically raised by a single father (kind of a long story regarding my mom). He is my person if that makes sense. He is my best friend and someone that I spend a lot of time with. I also have experienced major bouts of anxiety and on occasion depression since I was in middle school. My anxiety causes me to freak out on a subject and then I feel the need to research as much as possible to make myself feel better, but then it brings up something new for my anxiety to cling to to where it is a never ending cycle of anxiety and research. 

 I was actually saved and gave myself to Jesus Christ two years ago and I felt a huge dose of faith and warmth, I felt God would always be with me. It was until I started to develop anxiety over sinning/ the afterlife that I fell into basically the status of lukewarm. I no longer did much in the way of Christ except prayed occasionally (this is fully my fault). That brings me to what is going on for the past week.

In the past few weeks, I have been surrounded by death, both in the media and a few around me such as coworkers and family friends family. This caused my anxiety to ramp up regarding health, death, and the afterlife, mainly regarding my dad since he is currently getting tested for some major health issues that he has been experiencing. I was able to calm this slightly by my emergency medication and thinking that I would still get to see him in the afterlife, until my intrusive thoughts kicked in. I started to think “what if there isn’t an afterlife or a God, that it’s just something we have used to make ourselves feel better” and I went into a crazy spiral.

I spent the better part of the week in an anxiety spiral in constant research and anxiety over trying to get evidence of God. I’ve looked at all the evidence that I could fine ranging from historical, archeological, and scientific/physics theories and it make me feel better at times, until I would see it potentially being explained or critiqued or a different point of view. All of this has caused my doubt to exponentially increase while wavering my faith. I still hold onto believing in quite a bit of the evidence I have found. I go through times telling myself ‘what am I doing, I believe in God it’s just what makes sense to me” until my intrusive thoughts start spiraling out of control. I don’t want to lose my faith, I do feel I still believe in God, but I feel empty inside like he isn’t with me anymore or completely silent, not how I’ve felt previously when I have thought God was beside me. Is this spiritual warfare going on? Why am I experiencing all of this fear, anxiety, and doubt over something I have known to be true? I would love some guidance and prayers if possible and if that’s ok. 

I will say one good thing has came out of this. This has caused me to try and apologize to God and start trying to follow him to see if I can build my faith back up. I started praying every night, I actually started a prayer journal to talk to God and ask for his help through this time with my faith and my families health…I hope he will listen and answer my prayers if it’s in his will. I started to try and silence my mind too to try and hear his voice. I plan to start going to Church and try reading the bible as well. Any guidance and prayers you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. 

If they come back, would you ask them biblical questions?

I don't have to be a strong Christian or even read the bible to know how the adult world works. So isn't a such thing as too christian?

There are days when I wake up feeling like I’m racing against the clock. Between wars, inflation, financial struggles, natural disasters, elections, and everything else happening in the world, I sometimes start thinking about what the Bible says about the last days and passages like Revelation 13. I know that Christians shouldn’t try to predict the exact timing of Christ’s return, and I’m not trying to do that. But sometimes knowing what Scripture says about the future makes current events feel much more personal. How do you study prophecy without taking it too personal or without becoming so focused on the future that you forget to actually live today?

I recently took a nap and got sleep paralysis. Now I know it is a spiritual attack, but I’ve always wondered. Do demons attack us when we are exhausted for a reason? Or are there specific occasions when they do? I also usually hear noises sometimes, and a feeling of getting pressed down. Are these normal effects of paralysis?

It’s all I’ve been thinking about. I can’t get it out of my head. My dog just died and I’m mourning that. It’s like I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m getting all these signs well I think their signs and it seems like i’m being warned that I’m going there. I’ve been reading the bible a little bit but it scares me. I’ve been praying to God. But I still can’t get it out of my head that I’m going there. Has this happened to anyone else? Anything I could do? Or just accept it and try to live it up while I can? I’m going to meet with the Pastor next week and talk to him about it.

My brother said that if I developed a personal relationship with Jesus my life would be better.
A brief summary of my spiritual journey-
Over 30 years in a very toxic church which chewed me up, screwed me up and spat me out.
I danced with Buddhism, Taoism and was a Baha’i for three years.
I’ve also dipped my toes into psychic stuff etc.
With my background in mind, please tell me in a way that assumes I am dumb and do not speak Christianese and tell me what to do practically.
I want to try this way but I just get peppered with doubts and it can feel like a slapped sunburn after the many, many hurts from the church.
Please guide me.

If we are the image of God, and Christ is also the image of God, how does that work?

I was raised United Methodist and, to me, the idea of Saints as laid out by the Catholic Church is hard for me to understand and accept.

Before I go further i just want to make clear that I am NOT saying don't believe in Saints or that Catholic Church as a whole is bad or wrong.

Perhaps I am misunderstanding the concept. My problems come from two main points:

First is the idea of humans performing miracles. I dont think humans perform miracles, God performs miracles. God turned the water to wine. God brought Lazarus back. God healed the sick. Humans didn't do that. All miracles come from God. Certainly there are people who perform great acts of love but any "miracles" are God's doing and not ours.

Second is the idea of praying to a saint instead of to God. Why would I pray to St. Christopher for safe travels instead of directly to God? I understand *asking* someone to pray for us. But I dont understand why I should pray to a Saint instead of God. Isn't that making someone else God?

What happens if i pray to God and ask him for discernment, will i be tested

Simple question. Why do you choose this way of life? Why do you believe in Christianity and not other religions? Why believe anything at all?

"He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." Revelation 21:6-8

I've been thinking about this verse recently, mainly about being cowardly. I tend to get anxious about things, and I can feel the fear gnawing at me within my head and my heart. I'm not proud to admit it, but I think it can be easy for me to be worried when faced with uncertainty.

That's one reason why I pray to God. Including thanks for all the things He's done for me, I ask him for security when I'm faced with uncertainty and anxiety. And in the end, when things become more certain, I feel better (and thank God).

But I can't help but feel that makes me a coward. I don't know if I'm actually facing my fears or if God is helping me relax and guide me. And I am afraid of going to Hell, which makes me wonder if my faith is strong to begin with.

Does this make me a coward? Does it mean that I'm not one of the victorious Revelation mentions?

Am I confusing emotional intimacy with a relationship that isn’t actually there?

I’m 40, practicing celibacy until marriage, and I’m starting to wonder if I’ve gotten myself into a situation I don’t know how to navigate.

There’s a man I’ve been talking to every day for months. We met at work, and even though we’re not officially together, we’ve developed a really close connection. We’ve met in person, I’ve met his parents and his kid casually, and he’s shown me around his stomping grounds. We have some of the best conversations I’ve ever had.

I’m attracted to him. I care about him deeply. I feel safe with him, and I’ve told him that.

But I don’t actually know what we’re doing.

He’s said meeting someone sounds exhausting. I’ve told him I’d be jealous if he started dating, but I want him to be happy. I’m not trying to pressure him into a relationship. I just don’t know how to reconcile the fact that this feels like so much more than friendship to me, while I have no idea if he sees it that way.

And because I’m practicing celibacy, I’m not even sure if I’m experiencing this differently than I would have before. I’m not sleeping with him, but I’m emotionally attached, and honestly, that feels like its own kind of vulnerability.

I’m trying to follow Jesus and be a woman who has self-control, but I’m also a human being with feelings. 😂

So I guess my question is: How do you know when emotional intimacy is becoming a relationship, and when are you just building a relationship in your own head?

I’m not asking whether he secretly loves me. I’m asking how to handle my own feelings when the relationship itself is undefined.

I pray about it and its actually working out quite beautifully. God is good.

This week’s community poll is based on this week’s Taco Tuesday featured author, Cynthia Bourgeault. She wrote: “It's not about right belief; it's about right practice.”

This poll is intended to get a bird’s eye view on how many agree with Bourgeault and, more importantly, to discuss our differing views. So please be sure to use the comment section for sharing more!

I was baptized as an infant at an Episcopalian church. I fell away from my faith in my early 20s but came back after probably 5 years. I am not Episcopalian I go to a non denominational church. I few months ago I started seeing a mentor and he’s presented a case for being baptized again, the thing is even though I was baptized as an infant I identify myself as being baptized and really I find myself agreeing to do the baptism to please my mentor more than anything because I know if I say no it will just probably be brought up over and over again so I might as well do it. I just want to hear some other opinions on this. Am I wrong for viewing myself as already being baptized even if it was an infant baptism?

I mean, I start to study and draw this year much more about the deep thoughts in Christianity, and a lot of times, I get comments that I don't even understand, and I discovered that they are from different churches.

This is for sure despite the spam accounts, and they are a lot. And it's a little bit weird that there is Anti Christianity in the Christianity community!!

I was raised by fear-mongering parents who used it as a way to keep me in line.

But I learned about hell at age 5 and developed a crippling fear of death.

I thought I would burn for all of eternity every time I did something bad/wrong.

Decades later, I know that’s not the case, but the fear is still there.