Christians, I am a christian and really struggling with some things right now, any advice?

So what is the bonus to being a Christian other than attaining heaven at the end? Why is it you have to just 'believe' that God is good, when around you screams that He isn't?





I see the devil having power over us, if satan can go to God and petition Him to attack us, why is it we can't go to God to petition Him to say no? So who has greater power then? If God gives satan the power to do us wrong, where does the power lie? Its not with us then......





If God allows free will to rein on earth and then allows those people to use their free will as they see fit, then God has no control over free will? If God has power over free will, then He would use His Power to actually protect His children from satan instead of giving satan the go ahead to whomp us.





I realize God doesn't create evil. However He creates those that will be evil, knowing full well the catastrocities they will cause.Christians, I am a christian and really struggling with some things right now, any advice?
Don't just listen to the preacher and TV. Read the Bible, History books and seek your own truths!Christians, I am a christian and really struggling with some things right now, any advice?
i was raised in church half my life, Ive always believed in God but not always serving Him. Ive had a hard time as far back as im able to remember. witnessing things a child should not have to and as an adult didn't want to. i have never given up on God. i dont care what the reasons were i had to go through the storms cause i survived! there are different shoes i walked in so there are different things that i can tell ppl ';i know what your going through'; and sincerely mean it. i can give ppl hope when they hear my stories and seen i overcame. dont always treat the bad as bad but look at it as who it made you and how you can help others.
You have experienced a great loss in your life, it is apparent. I grieve with you. That is why as Christians we must do everything we can for the living - right now today. Life is short. And people are fragile.
I don't have a ';traditional'; Christian belief system. So while my intent is not to offend anyone, I usually manage to do so anyway.





I believe God created an ordered universe. I believe the means were through a series of laws, through which He spoke the universe into exisitance. Science discovers these laws as it advances. Science tells us that at the speed of light, time stands still. Imagine God moving as a creative force at the speed of light...well, anyway.





I believe that true justice means ';rank'; does not have its privilege. The ';laws'; apply to the highest the same way they apply to the lowest. The fall of Satan? He thought he found a loophole. I believe we were created to prove it false, to defeat his evil nature. The message of Christianity, its essence, if you will, is that God did not exempt Himself from the law, even at the expense of His own flesh and blood.





There is a bigger picture.





I don't see the purpose of Christianity to be ';getting into heaven.'; It's the redemption of mankind. Our part is to follow the example of Jesus, in humility and service to others. Our redemption ';proves the devil wrong.'; And he's rather p*ssed about it.





Scripture consistantly describes the conflict between good and evil as a war. The corporate church, historically speaking has had a tendancy to bounce between extremes: either preaching hellfire and brimstone and creating the image that our motivation should be the fear and avoidance of Hell, or the love and acceptance and grace side that tends to soft pedal sin, ignoring its consequences and effects in THIS life.





I would recommend a book by Brian MacClaren, called ';A different kind of Christian'; that tells the story of a man in the midst of a spiritual crisis, and his journey.





I am sorry for you and your friend.
I am very sorry about your friend. God is good. He is not in control. Please pray and ask him about this he can handle your anger.
First, God never said life would be easy (John 16:33). Second, as a Christian, I can petition God for any need. Sometimes He delivers me and sometimes He gives grace to face it (read Job, 2 Corinthians 4:8-11, Romans 5:1-8, Hebrews 4:15-16). God will one day, in His time, will bring final judgment upon the wickedness of this world, and only those who are His will find an eternity of life and the fulness of true pleasures with God Himself. Until then, remeber, He is with us always, even to the end of this world (Matthew 28:20).


He knows exactly where you're at, closer than you think.
I'm sorry for your loss. :-(





God isn't to blame for the suffering of mankind and the devil isn't doing it either.





Mankind suffers because his fellows aren't showing love and caring for their well-being.





We do have free will. The problem is, many don't execute their free will in an appropriate manner. It's not God's choice when a person doesn't have good intentions. They're exercising their free will.





God has a divine plan and all parts do equal the whole.
Look, I can give you answers of the truth but you must be able to receive them. First, there are only two wills in this world, good and evil. Which one are you? Second, satan is defeated and has been since the garden. God cursed him above all the beasts of the earth and made him crawl on his belly eating dust the rest of his days!! Third, man has had dominion over the earth since the beginning. Never does it say that man lost it. It is a deception when it is taught man lost his dominion. Fourth, the power that man has to have dominion over the earth is only available by God's grace. His grace is accessable only one way and that is by one humbling himself under God by thanking Him in all things(thoughts) regardless of what the circumstances may be. So young one, just thank God and let grace take care of the rest. Thank Him and keep your mind on Jesus.
There's lots more to Christianity than the bible alone.





Just about everyone who fails to fully and actively participate in all of the work, worship, sacraments, and devotions of the authentic church ends up feeling the way you do.





When you isolate yourself from other members of the church you're easy prey for the devil.





Get baptized. Get fully involved in the church. Get involved with other good people. Get involved doing God's work in the world.





Satan no longer has any authority over you.
you get more from it than heaven at the end, the bible is a guide to good behaviour. it teaches humility %26amp; honor %26amp; how to be good to your neighbor. you can petition god any time you want, that`s called prayer. i don`t think he micromanages peoples lives or destinies, he just drops us here %26amp; leaves us to do the best we can. some odviously do better than others.
One could easily argue that life is a living miserable existence (mine included) But when in the spirit and, looking at life from the perspective of God Life is Great!


I am at the very least getting the Best education available, because I am living the lessen.


With A View To The Future!
First of all I'm sorry that you have to go through this and it's understandable. It's normal because when God created us he gave us emotions. And God knows your frustrations and although we may not understand it all, but one thing we do know that God is still good. Know this, that Jesus is with you and crying with you. And he still loves you and He will take you through this pain if you allow Him. It is okay to yell at God and ask Him all these questions. He may answer it in due time or He may not. He is not mad or angry at you. Finding the answer to these questions will not bring your friend back. Only His presence with comfort and give you peace in the midst of the pain. In the same way Job was questioning God why all these things happened to Him. When God finally speaks to Him, Job repented. It was God's presence that gives Job peace and puts him in his place.





There are so many things that happen to us that we have no control over. For example, your friend committed suicide. You have no control over that. And does many other circumstances in life. It is just part of life. We do have control on how we respond to the circumstances.





You can say this may be the testing part of your faith. Do you believe in God only when things are going right and when things go bad ';I'm out ta here';? I believe you already know the Scripture and I don't want to quote Scriptures to you because you don't need that right now, especially in the midst of your pain. I believe if you respond well to this situation, your faith in God will be build up.





How should one respond to situation like this? The devil may use this situation to stop you from believing in God and God use this to test your faith. You respond to this by drawing closer to Jesus Christ.





Christianity is not just about going to heaven. It's about a relationship that you can have with the maker of universe who desire to be intimate with you. So many people see Christianity is a religion. A religion is something that you have to do in order for you to get something. Many people think if they go to church every Sundays, pray five times a week, give to the church and do all those churchy things you get to go to heaven. If you does all these thing to get to heaven you are mistaken. Christianity is about relationship with Jesus Christ. You do these things because you love Jesus. It is so easy to be stuck in religion because religion is easy because no relationship is involved. Do you know how hard it is to be in relationship with someone? If we struggle with relationship with our fellow human being, how much more can we say the same thing about God? Especially, when we don't see Him, but that doesn't mean He's not there. We don't see electricity, but that doesn't mean it's not there.





What I'm saying is don't allow the circumstance to cause you to drift away from God. Use this circumstance to draw closer to Him and only through this kind of event where we can know that God is real. And you know where you stand with Him. Since he knows everything about you even the hurts and the pains. Let it all out and release it to Him and tell Him how much you hurt. He's not going to strike you. He rather have you let it out rather than stuff it in.





Blessings! And may you respond in a positive. Feel free to email.
I know your frustration. The problem is, that we ';are'; in the 7 year tribulation. Let me tell you about some pain of tribulation. 6 months ago My wife of 17 years left with our 7 year old son, cleaned out the house with the help of my only brother, then they both filed false domestic violence claims against me, called the police on me 8 times with false reports and forced me into a mental health facility with false claims to destroy any amount of my credibility, and she divorced me. I am now waiting to be arrested for not paying child support as I now have no car, no job, no home and no phone. They stole everything (I never was abusive to my family, they did it for money). It's called socialized brainwash, and it comes through church and state. If we want to defeat the devil, we need to destroy the beast.


First of all we need to understand that we've been lied to our whole life by people who conform to the system for money (teachers, preachers, politicians etc.) freedom ';is'; bought for slave wages, a sum or tax. (Acts 22:28) And the chief captain answered, with a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, but I was free born.


Also, American liberty ';is'; slavery. (2Peter 2:19) While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of


corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought into bondage.


Now the 2nd beast in Revelation worships the first beast. Wouldn't it be good to know who the first beast was, so we would know what he stood for? (1 Kings 10:14) Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was Six Hundred three score and six talents of gold. (Revelation 13:18) Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six Hundred threescore and six. Do you understand that King Solomon is ';truly'; the most influential person in scripture, due to his pillars of Boaz and Jachin (Strength and Establishment)? All carnal law (both) in church and state come from these basic elements of Strength and Establishment. Therefore the establishment of the church finds ';law'; in its strength, and does so through ';money tithes';. ';Tithes'; in scripture were never ';money';. They were ';meat'; offerings. (Malachi 3:10) Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be ';meat'; in mine house.


The ';meat'; offerings were grass, herbs and fruit. (Genesis 1:29) And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.


Organized religion is the greatest tool for the 2nd Beast! It insures ';domestic tranquility'; through outwardly liberal panzies that maintain hidden conservative interests. The only way to destroy the beast is to tell people the truth so they will stop supporting the church and the state. Please pray that my son can see his daddy again soon.





Go to: www.thekingdomofgodministry.blogspot.com





Thanks, Gregg
What greater reward is there than eternity with your Lord?





God never promised that life here on earth would be easy. Many times he said it would be hard.





We do not know why God allows bad things to happen. We may look around at the evil and cry out to God, 'why did you allow this to happen?' but God knows what he is doing. Everything happens according to God's will. We might not see the effects of it for a long while, but it is there. Good will triumph over evil.





May the Lord watch over you and bless you in your time of struggle.
God IS good. But this world and this life are not the point of Creation. Yes, Satan has power to petition God. BUT SO DO YOU. It's called prayer. And fasting. You as a Christian have more than equal access to God's Throne. Most people simply don't bother. And that's a shame.





Yes, the free will of men can cause great harm, and they will pay for the harm they cause. Your friend was pushed past the limits of her endurance. God will not punish her for that. But God cannot stop anyone from exercising their free will. To do so would not only make Him a liar, but would open the door to accusations against God Himself of spiritual rape.


God is no rapist.
satan has absolutely no power over anyone if they resist him in Jesus name and believe and I promise you that
being Christian = relationship with God in the now -- as well as in the here-after...





Free-will means we (Christians as well as non) can make choices which are contrary to good/what is right.





I empathize with your pain (re losing your friend).





Cordially,


John


http://www.GodSci.org
You are more than this sinful flesh which will perish.


There is a greater truth than that which you can see with your physical eyes.


All of us are evil it is the reason for the atonement.


Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world.


There is a greater place for us than this world and by faith we will be there.


God is an eternal spirit and teaches us to think spiritually with a greater understanding.


This world is an evil place and that is true but it is for reason that we have this time of grace that many will come to know God and be changed.


God Bless You...You are in my prayers.
I am sorry to hear about your friend. I will be praying for you and your friends family. Why God allows such things I do not know. I was listening to a Christian radio station today and the man on it mentioned that Jesus cried out on the Cross God why have you forsaken me? All's I can think of is Job and all he lost as well. I don't know what to say...God be with you and my prayers are with you.
That's where only God Himself knows what resides In the heart of people. God can't take back the gift of free will or that would make Him a liar. The Giftings %26amp; callings of God are Irravocable. Just trust In God and Know that He Loves You. Please read your Bible. Renew your mind daily to the word of God. Remember we all have the choice to do good or evil. It's called free will.
I could feel your pain and distress ...... *sigh*...... I am soooooooooo sorry about your friend....... I am nearly speechless right now, and if you knew me, well , ........ I know no other thing to say than this....... the Bible makes it clear who is god of the earth, and that is satan...... why God did things this way, is a mystery....... but, in faith I stand...... I have to.......... no one gives me the strength to live but Jesus, with all this going on around me....... pray that God will *hide* evil from you........ pray for strength of faith, borrow faith from Jesus................ he will gladly give it.............. and NO God will NOT interfere with free will...... it would not be free will then would it ?????????? go in peace........ God bless
havingadifficulttime, it seems to me God is calling you to a higher purpose in Him.


One of your paragraphs suggested that the Devil can bargain with God to give us trouble. That was Jobs ordeal. After Jesus died and rose again He enabled us power over the Devil.


The Devil has no bargaining power at all. The only power he has over us is our ignorance of him. Brother, we live in a fallen world.


I'm sorry about your friend.


You need a mentor, a Pastor or youth Pastor to spend time with that has no time for games, but is serious about the Gospel.


You may be the very one God uses to change those around you.


I pray God will send people into your life to help strengthen your faith. Agree with me in Jesus name. When we pray according to His will He hears us and gives us what we ask for. THIS IS HIS WILL! Now look for those He sends.
Sorry about your friend. we as humans don't know all the answers especially when it comes to suffering. I believe God does love each and every one of us. He is with us and feels our pain. He is hoping that we call on him for help. God allows Satan to test us but this should strenghten our faith. When I feel hurt or stressed I read the poem the foot print in the sand. or the Dash. It help me. Also pray for answers. God bless
as a christian i have tried suicide myself. i did die and


was brought back. this life is at times too hard. it


wasn't until i found the HOLY SPIRIT/ RUACH HAKODESH


that i found any comfort at all. this world kills, steals,


destroys because satan rules it. i'm so very sorry for


you and your friend. hell never makes sense to me. but


ADONAI does. this is not our home nor can it ever be.


don't allow satan to steal your faith through this. whom


ever did this to her WILL pay for it. YESHUA knows the


truth. it will be revealed.
I think as humans we forget what our purpose is and that is to serve God and sometimes serving God is difficult. I think we all struggle to follow him and because we are sinners and because we as humans have free will he allows things to happen to us and the people we love. I have had a few people close to me die some reasons known others I think just get in such a dark place or go down a wrong path and the Lord just takes them out of that situation. He wants us to never stop believing and hoping. There is good out there it may not always feel that way but I think God lets us go through trials and suffering so we can experience his mercy and love and compassion even when we feel all is lost. It's not lost. The Lord creates and unfortunately sin destroys. Its the sinful nature that hinders man but God's mercy and love restores. Satan is the creator of hate, evil and confusion and if it weren't for Satan we would be perfect. God gave us the mercy of Eternal Life through his son Jesus Christ and if we choose to follow him then we will be saved. God does give free will and he will one day destroy satan. God gave Lucifer a choice and he chose to try to become more powerful than God, He gave Adam and Eve a choice and he gives us a choice. Obey or you will die. So he does give free will but at a price. Some people just find it easier to believe than others. We all make mistakes but at least we can ask for forgiveness and God will have mercy.
I use to pray every night my parents would get along and wouldn't fight. I use to pray for God to protect me. Both my parents were crazy. I was always getting hit for something. God never really answered my prayers. Still, I was at peace. With God I felt like I could go through anything.





Later I became agnostic during which time I always left open the option of athiesm. Those 3 years were the most miserble years of my life.





After I started believing in God again my life is so much better. I still have hardships everyday. Still I enjoy life and welcome it's daily challenges. I don't understand God. No one does. I don't know why he allowed your friend to kill herself.





I have to believe there is good in this world. I have to believe that ultimately good will win. I might be wrong, but if I am... I don't want to know about it.
its called a choice everyone has one god gave each of us a choice be good or bad.and why shouldn't we believe there is something better after this crappy life.god does not protect people from Satan he gives us the choice to choose what we do with every and every day i know this is only temporary there is something better after this world.
As a Christian, you are only rewarded with Heaven, if it actually exists. If it doesn't, you wasted your life persuing a fantasy.





Doesn't this seem important enough to get informed?
i am obvioulsy not a christian, but i would advise you to consider that god is not going to help you with anything ever and never has helped anyone. It's up to you and whatever support your community gives you.
The only rational explanation that I can see is that there is no God, no Satan. Just a impersonal and uncaring universe.





This may not be what you want to hear but it does explain life much better than the Christian hypothesis. reality is how it is, trying to change reality with belief will just lead to despair.








Some may say that this makes their lives pointless. To me it makes my life have even more point.





There is no supreme being to love us, only our friends and family. And they only have us. We need to take care of each other.





There is no life after death. What you do here and now is all that you will ever do, so make it something worth doing.





There is no one to catch mankind when it does something wrong. We need to fix our problems ourselves and do it here and now.
advice? Yeah, get out of religion while you can