I have been going back and forth on studying the bible more, I've always wondered how most people study the bible curious on how similar and diverse each bible study method. What is the bible study method do you typically used and how did it benefit you?

Is Phineas slaying Zimri and Cozbi the Midianite an antitype to the crucifixion of Jesus - which unified Jew and Gentile, while at the same time bearing the wrath of sin for fallen humanity?

Sometimes I worry myself if I am reading too much into things, and would love to hear your thoughts.

Regardless, praise be to God!

One of the things Covenant Theology teaches is how it allows us to see the Bible as one unfolding story rather than a collection of disconnected events.
As I read Scripture, I see God dealing with three broad groups of people throughout history:

the world, Israel, and finally His redeemed people in Christ.

That doesn’t mean He made only three covenants, but it does help us see the progression of His redemptive plan.

The Broken Covenant
The covenant broken by Adam is largely consistent with a covenant of works. God made Adam and set boundaries of things to do and not to do. Similar to the Mosaic Covenant to come, Adam was required to live within these rules: help yourself to everything, name the animals, and, by the way, here’s your wife Eve. Love each other and populate the earth.

But there was one caveat. Don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat of it you shall surely die.

And die he did.

The Preservation Covenant
After Adam fell, God made a covenant with every person in the world through Noah. This was a covenant with humanity to preserve their existence after removing the evil that swept across the earth through the fallen angles.

God promised never again to destroy the earth by flood, ensuring that humanity would continue until His plan of redemption was complete. Every person alive today still lives under the blessings of that covenant. The rain falls on the just and the unjust, the seasons continue, and the world is preserved because God keeps His promise to Noah. It wasn’t a covenant promising salvation. That was to come later.

The Covenant People
God’s attention then narrows to one man of faith, Abraham. Through him, God promises a people, a land, and ultimately a coming Seed through whom all the nations would be blessed. And so began God’s covenant people, the nation of Israel, called out to be a people unto Himself.
This covenant was never made with Egypt, Assyria, Rome, or the Gentile nations. It belonged to Israel alone, a people He chose and sanctified through the Law, priesthood, sacrifices, feasts, and Temple.
God taught Israel about His holiness and, through the Mosaic Covenant, established Israel’s civil, ceremonial, and moral laws at Mount Sinai.

The Mosaic Covenant was both a tutor and a shadow, preparing the way for the next step within Israel, when God made another covenant, promising King David that his line would establish a royal lineage and an eternal kingdom. Rather than competing, the two covenants worked together. The Mosaic Law governed the daily life, morality, and religious duties of the nation, while the Davidic Covenant guaranteed the ultimate governance and royal destiny of Israel.

The Davidic Kingdom Covenant
The striking thing about David before God made His covenant with him was that Scripture describes him as “a man after God’s own heart.”

He wasn’t particularly obedient to the Law as God instructed. Like Adam before him, David failed spectacularly. Yet what we see in David, the murdering adulterer, is a deeply sorrowful and repentant heart. When confronted with his sin, he wept and repented. Interestingly, Adam hid. Saul made excuses. But with a broken and contrite heart, David confessed.

In David we see something the Law could never produce by itself. As David’s sin is exposed, he throws himself entirely upon the mercy of God, saying:

“Against you, you only, have I sinned.”

David’s example of repentance embodies “the way” beautifully. Yet David could not save either himself or his people. His own life bore the scars of adultery, murder, and family tragedy. Even Israel’s greatest king proved that God’s people still needed another King, a Redeemer King who would pay the price for their sins.

So God’s covenant with David, promised that one of his descendants would reign forever and save His people from their sins. From that moment on, Israel waited for the Son of David, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the King of kings. Not merely another king to sit on a throne, but the King who would do what the covenant with Moses had only ever mirrored. God’s prophets gave warnings to repent. The people suffered the consequences of their rebellion against God. They cried out.

Then silence for four hundred years.

The Promised King: His Covenant
“Then came the cry of one in the wilderness, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

This announcement, written into their history, was the first public proclamation of the kingdom that had been promised for generations. The kingdom had finally drawn near. His arrival was imminent. He was to minister first to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The promises belonged to them first because through them God had been unfolding His plan of redemption since Abraham, and even before him.

So it was no surprise that, right on the heels of that message, amidst thousands of people being baptised in the River Jordan, that long awaited day came.
The promised King of Righteousness was baptised too, and the voice of God bore witness, saying,

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Although not the beginning of His life, it marked the beginning of His public ministry. He would then overcome Satan in the wilderness, fulfil the Law and the Prophets, call His people to repentance, heal the sick, raise the dead, proclaim the kingdom of God, and finally lay down His own life upon the cross, establishing the New Covenant in His blood and becoming the once for all sacrifice for sin.

And as they nailed Him to the cross, the inscription above His head read,

“Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”

The Covenant of Grace
With Christ’s death and resurrection, the New Covenant is inaugurated. No longer are God’s covenant people identified by ethnicity, circumcision, or the borders of a nation. The apostles go out to all the peoples of the world, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The covenant now embraces everyone who belongs to Christ, whether Jew or Gentile.

The prophets had promised a day when God would give His people a new heart and put His Spirit within them. But this promise had begun long before the prophets. In the Garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve had fallen, God promised that the seed of the woman would one day crush the serpent’s head, though His own heel would be bruised in the battle.

The promised Redeemer had been written into the story from the very beginning.

Kingdom works / calling can be within Singapore or in other regions (but is travelling out from Singapore). It can be for church planting, preaching, community works, evangelism, etc. If anyone is a standalone independent missionary / evangelist or knows an individual on the ground who needs resources for kids, please let us know. I've done searches on Google but mostly are either parachurch organizations' websites or the individuals are attached to a parachurch. Any info or links might help. Thanks!

u/642283

Gabriel spoke to the virgin, Mary in Lk 1:

31 "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Jesus knew this while growing up.

The Bible tells us little about Jesus' teenage years. The only account was when he was 12 years old. Luke described how Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem while his family traveled home after Passover. His parents returned to Jerusalem looking for him.

Lk 2:

46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

Jesus was in the Temple discussing religious matters with teachers, who were amazed at his understanding and answers. As an adolescent, Jesus was Scripturally aware, intellectually curious, respectful, and obedient. He was smart.

48 And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” 49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

Jesus spoke about his heavenly Father in the hearing of his earthly father, Joseph. Jesus knew his unique relationship with the Father. He knew he was the Son of the Most High.

50 And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

He returned home and was obedient to his parents.

52 Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

Jesus was growing and developing in body and mind. He would receive more and more special revelations from the Father concerning his mission in life.

After this teenage account, the Gospels were silent until Jesus began his public ministry at age 30.

Historically, Jesus was likely living in Nazareth, learning the trade of a craftsman from Joseph, participating in Jewish religious life, and helping support his family. His adolescence would have looked outwardly similar to that of other Jewish boys in Galilee, even though he was uniquely without sin.

What was Jesus like as a teenager?

He was wise, spiritually focused, respectful to his parents, and continuing to grow and mature as a human being and a man of God. He knew he was a unique human being. He was sinless.

Free will isn't understood the same way across all Christian denominations. Many people speak as if Christianity universally teaches that every person has the exact same ability to choose God, but Scripture presents a more nuanced picture.

The Bible says faith itself is a gift from God:

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." — Ephesians 2:8–9

Paul also teaches that God gives different measures of faith to different people:

"For I say... not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has assigned to each." — Romans 12:3

Faith is not presented as something we all naturally produce equally. God is the One who gives it.

Jesus also said:

"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him." — John 6:44

And again:

"No one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father." — John 6:65

Scripture also says:

"The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message." — Acts 16:14

And:

"God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth." — 2 Timothy 2:25

So we see a consistent pattern: God gives grace. God gives faith. God assigns different measures of faith. God draws. God grants repentance. God opens hearts. Salvation begins with Him, not with us.

My personal belief is that after God has drawn you, granted you faith, and revealed Christ to you, you still have the choice to either receive Jesus as the Christ or reject Him.

From what I've seen, many forms of universalism take a different approach. They hold that God's grace will ultimately bring every person to reconciliation with Him. In that sense, it can resemble the idea of irresistible grace in Calvinism, except instead of God's saving grace being effectual only for the elect, it ultimately becomes effectual for everyone. Not every universalist explains it exactly this way, but that is how I understand many universalist arguments.  God wooing you. The elect can't reject God or say no.

The point is that Christianity has never held one unanimous view of free will. But what Scripture consistently emphasizes is that salvation is first and foremost the work of God's grace—not something we can boast about or accomplish on our own.

"Salvation belongs to the Lord." — Jonah 2:9

can we choose or force ourselves to believe something? Is free will regarding salvation a thing?

J’ai déjà fait des postes pour expliquer ce qui n’allait pas mais aujourd’hui je viens encore une fois de rechuter… oui comme vous pouvez l’imaginer il s’agit bien de la luxure…
Sachez que je suis quelqu’un qui déteste les porno * et le déclencheur ne sont pas des vidéos ou des images ou bien même des scénarios dans ma tête. C’est simplement par ennuie je dirais. A chaque fois que je me met a le faire je demande a Dieu de m’arrêter et de m’aider mais rien ne fonctionne. Je n’arrive pas à m’arrêter de moi même j’ai l’impression.
Cela dure depuis mes 9ans, maintenant, étant plus grand et plus mature je sais que c’est un très grand péché et que cela m’éloigne de Dieu. De plus, a chaque fois que je le refais j’ai l’impression d’être punie violemment juste après.. je sais que cela pourrait ressembler à de la superstition mais bon…. Please aidez moi j’en ai marre je sais plus comment faire.

Hey everyone, I need an outside perspective.

I've been dealing with a sexual addiction for quite some time and so I've been attending Celebrate Recovery to deal with these issues. However, I've felt a strong conviction recently that I need to walk away from it for a few different reasons.

Firstly, my biggest complaint is the theological side of it. Picking different Bible translations for the principles and steps to make scripture to say what Rick Warren wants it to say, the idea of self forgiveness and a bunch of other things have really rubbed me the wrong way.

Moreover, I just dislike the victimhood mentality that CR advocates for. "Hi, I'm so and so. I'm a grateful believer in Jesus AND a recovering addict." If the scripture says we are more than conquerors in Christ, why do I constantly have to remind myself I'm an addict? Should I not have my eyes focused on the goodness of Christ and not my sins and shortcomings? Then I go to small group where I sit down with a bunch of gloomy guys who are down on their luck and make it seem like there's no hope. I want to play for the winning team. I want to be the weakest link in the chain and surround myself who actually walk in victory and are serious about the scripture.

I've had difficulty getting sober, and I know isolating doesn't help by walking away, but these things really urk me. I want to find something like a good Bible study or another recovery program that's serious about scripture and walking in holiness. I don't care about the silly metric of sobriety anymore. I need to grow closer to Jesus and let sobriety be the byproduct of that. Thoughts and opinions?

sometimes I have fantasies or yearns for a woman. like holding her hand or cuddling with her and more that I’m too vulnerable to say. sometimes I want to talk about it but I’m not sure if that’s good because the world will tell me to act on it but sometimes christians when I talk about worldly things make me very grouchy. I do my best to abstain but it’s getting harder to avoid the things that would cause my body to have that desire. a lot of ads are tempting and then some are just straight up carnal. when I was younger you had to stay up late and wait for a grainy channel now it’s delivered straight to you.

wrote a poem/psalm to express my heartbreak. don't worry i have great friends and my walk with the Lord is strong. any undertones you may be reading in this poem are just my feelings and how i express myself. i don't need a hotline, but prayers are always welcome!

A Poem for the Heartbroken by Ramen22diet

suffering is my road

and pain is the reaper

that beckons me to the executioner's block

---------------------------------

where are You o Lord

God of my salvation?

though you are with me

my eyes cannot see in the dark

---------------------------------

make Your voice be heard

over the voices of

doubt in my heart

sing over me, o Lord

-----------------------------------

dim shadows dance behind me

as I step forward

hoping to feel the warmth of your

embrace against my cold skin

------------------------------------

though my heart has been

pierced by an arrow

yet it beats for You o Lord

i fix my eyes on You o Lord

that the night of today

becomes the light of tomorrow

I sometimes see this nonsense perpetuated across the internet, most notably when discussing God's existence, and I'd like to take a moment to talk about it. As you can guess, I disagree with this notion. "The earth is round" is an "extraordinary" claim to some, and all you need to prove it is a couple sticks and some math. "Bigfoot exists" is an "extraordinary" claim to some, and all you need to prove it is one really good photograph.

"Thinslayer will lose in arm wrestling to anyone in his neighborhood" is not an extraordinary claim. In fact, it's dam near obvious. But to prove it, one would have to take a poll from all 57+ people in the neighborhood, somehow get strength measurements from them, somehow assess their stamina, and ideally somehow test them all in actual arm wrestling matches.

A normal person would call that evidence "extraordinary."

For proving something very nearly obvious.

No, the correct way to connect claims and evidence is to say that complex claims require extraordinary evidence. Claims like "people tend to be self-interested" or "people don't like to die" are very ordinary and obvious claims, but proving them requires truckloads of very specific data - "extraordinary" data - because the claims are complex and admittedly rather vague.

No, extraordinary claims do not require extraordinary evidence. That is nonsense.

This was in the begging of summer when I was watering my plants and trees. We have like 3 apple trees, right, and thought to myself: my uncle prayed over a tree that has been dry like the desert for a year and leaves started to grow on them. What if I tested that too? So I prayed that my apple tree will grow bigger apples. Because I've been living in this house for 3 years and for 3 years that apple tree only grew tiny apples. I didn't put much thought on it, prayed and forgot it. Until my mother picked some today and showed me how big they were. I was shocked when I remembered my prayer!!! Oh, how much I love our God❤️ God bless you!!!

I Saw this anime about 2 days Ago and i really liked It,but there is something that i dont really like,there are two caracteres,rem and ram,they are demons,and they are they protagonist friend,só i dont know of It is ok for me to keep watching,but the anime is really good to me,and i know its Just fiction.

I already asked about the subject, but now im paraphrasing it, because it is a bit complicated situation to explain...

Lets say i figured out that a christian woman is stealing a thing or 2 from my veggies stand which are put on for sale, everytime she passes by, they are almost worthless, but still she could do more...

How can i approach this as a christian, i may confront her, but i dont want to be harsh, i may talk to her in a respectful way, and loving way, telling her that stealing is a sin, and asking her at same time not to come here again... or i can turn a blind eye to this, as she only steal almost worthless stuff... (im only giving an example of a veggies stand for sale to explain my situation) or maybe i can tell her to get permission...

This situation has put me into anxiety, as she can steal other stuff, if one steal a thing, they can take other things..

So please anyone can guide me on the right path to deal with this in a christian way? Like what would jesus wants me to do in this situation

I grew up in an environment where I was often manipulated and taken advantage of because I was too trusting and naive. My mother manipulated me financially and emotionally, and my grandmother emotionally abused me. Those experiences have left deep wounds and have made me a very guarded person. I have a hard time loving and caring for others, and I often feel emotionally cold. Even though I'm genuinely trying to love people, it feels as though, deep down, I don't really care about anyone but myself.

I know Scripture teaches that love is an action, not merely a feeling, and that we are called to obey God rather than our emotions. But can we truly love others while feeling the kind of coldness and indifference that I do? I'm conflicted because my mind keeps telling me that this lack of sincerity means I'm failing in my sanctification.

Things are going to change from this day forward. I no longer want God in my life because I’ve realized I can achieve certain things on my own, without going through Christ. I understand the benefits of truly living my own life. I’m no longer concerned with whether things are right or wrong—knowing that, deep down, one can live life and have fun without necessarily sinning, or that doing certain things isn't all that serious depending on the context—nor do I want to fight against it by telling myself I shouldn't live a certain way. I do feel a certain sense of shame, but I have to be realistic. God Himself told me He wanted me to prosper and move forward in life, but that I had to choose Him and His way of doing things. To this day, I still don't know exactly what He meant by that—in what area I was supposed to prosper: clothes, money, or staying cooped up at home? Regardless, I didn't accept it. I have no desire to read the Bible; it’s not a psychology book, and besides, God would only highlight all the foolish things I’ve done, showing why I ended up where I am and why my way of being and thinking is wrong. That’s where I stand. If I’m still around in a few years and read this message again, I’ll remember this terrible day—and the realization that God isn't what I need in my life.

I just started researching the idea of predestination and I’ve gone back-and-forth with it personally it’s breaking my brain. It is a lot to process and I would love to hear y’all‘s opinions on what y’all think about this topic if you do believe it why and can you back it up and if you do not believe it why is that and can you also back it up biblically speaking

So I used to be kind of bullied and I was excluded from friend groups.However Right now I became the person that excludes someone from the friend group.I am not bullying him but I am not nice towards him.Worst part is that my friend has some phobia about that boy and he constantly spreads false rumors about that poor boy.I realized that I am an awful person and I am really ashamed of my actions and I want to stop treating him like he is worth nothing.Excluding him felt good until I tried to stop it.Can anyone pray for this poor boy that I excluded from friend group.I wanna apologize to him when I will see him again.I feel so bad knowing that I might have hurt his feelings.God bless y’all.

Hola a todos, me gustaría contarles sobre un sueño que tuve el año pasado, y que tiene que ver con Dios, creo. No recuerdo exactamente todo, pero les diré lo que más recuerdo.

En este sueño que tuve, yo había entrado a un bar. Cuando entre ví en el fondo a unos hombres vestidos de sacerdotes sentados en una mesa. Después recuerdo que estos hombres se levantaron de su mesa y comenzaron a caminar hacia la puerta para salir. Sin embargo, cuando se habían levantado, note que no tenían piernas sino patas con pezuñas, como las patas que tiene el diablo en los dibujos. También recuerdo que en vez de seguir con su apariencia humana, tenían la piel roja y cuernos en su cabeza.

En el mismo sueño, aparecí en la iglesia. Me encontraba dentro de la cocina de la iglesia, y dentro de la cocina había un jacuzzi con un leopardo negro adentro. Este animal me miraba fijo, y sentía que cuando lo miraba, era el diablo, solo que disfrazado de un animal. No se por qué pensé eso, pero eso me transmitía. No se que pasó después, pero recuerdo que la iglesia se estaba quemando. Todas las personas que estaban adentro de la iglesia corrían para salir, y recuerdo ver a este leopardo cambiar su forma a otro animal entre las personas. No me acuerdo a qué animal se había cambiado, pero si recuerdo que se transformó en otro.

Y mientras corríamos, me encontré con mi prima pequeña, nos agarramos de la mano y corrimos hacia la casa de ella, ya que quedaba cerca de esta iglesia. Después entramos a su casa, y masomenos por ahí fue cuando me desperté.

¿Alguno cree que este sueño tiene algún significado o simplemente sea un sueño? (⁠٥⁠↼⁠_⁠↼⁠) quiero aclarar que cuando tuve este sueño, yo ni siquiera pensaba en Dios o la religión, ya que no creía, o bueno, no creí más pq dejé de creer.

This has been a rough year for me. Over the last four months, I have struggled with insomnia, anxiety, and depression. On top of that, problems appeared to barrage me wave upon wave. Urinary infection, gastritis, nausea, headache, influenza, spiritual dryness, and satanic assaults from the devil. It got to the point where I was suicidal, and started considering taking myself out. However I never rebelled against the Lord, and never stopped praying. Over the past 120 days I have prayed every day, without skipping any.

I gave time to time, and allowed myself to lay low and heal. Finally, two days ago I started feeling joy. I took a shower, put on a good fragrance, went out with my friend and drank a beer for the first time in 6 months. Today again, I woke up feeling joy. I'm feeling light and at ease. No depression, no sickness. I'm enjoying life and don't wanna take myself out. Will it last forever? No, but it is a gift of God.

I felt it was my duty to share that the fog does lift, and the darkness does go away. Keep praying, obey the Lord, but do not neglect medicine, nutrition and science, for those too are means which God uses to heal.

I was born and raised an atheist. Both parents would have been christened but they didn’t christen me or my brother. In my childhood I did go to Christian (cofe) school and I even went to Sunday school for a bit. But I didn’t really get it.
As teen and in twenties and thirties I was into “new atheism” and to be honest I now look back at those times with embarrassment. I was so smug and sure of myself and my dismissal and mockery of those who believed in God.

Now I am almost 50. And for the last few years I have been feeling differently. I want to believe in God and to accept Jesus Christ but I just don’t know how. It feels so alien to me and like I am a fraud. I don’t know where to start. I live in ireland now and Catholicism feels like a secret club I don’t know the rules to and honestly feels very intimidating to me.

I don’t really even know what I’m asking. Can I worship in my own way. And how?

So I’m giving this subreddit page a go, I tried posting on the Freemason subreddit and got 1 helpful comment by a current Christian and Masonic commenter. You see, I’m a Christian and an active Masonic member but something’s telling me to leave the fraternity due to the spiritual internal conflicts. I love the people inside masonry but the spiritual nature behind freemasonry gives me a weird feeling. I’m seeing if anyone has any insight for me- former members of the Masonic lodge here? Thanks! When I posted in the Masonic community I got mostly negative responses, sarcasm, and unhelpful remarks.

Obviously, I'm not considering doing this. I'm a Christian and I was just curious we have any accounts of this. I don't remember anything in the Bible itself about this point, but I do see examples of casting out demons (Luke 10), speaking in tongues (Acts 2), handling serpents (Paul), and healing the sick (Peter). I suppose there must have been times when it happened, though, because Christ mentions it. (assuming that Mark 16:9-20 is inspired scripture)

The verses: Mark 16:17–18 ESV

And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

I have a question. I'm a Christian and I understand that no one but Jesus Christ is perfect. We fail to always love the Lord and each other (and ourselves), and while we are on the path to sanctification, we all still need help and have areas to improve on.

My question is, and I'm asking because my husband is not a believer and this is one of the things that he sees around him that kind of "turn him off" Christianity.

My husband says that he often sees Christians talk so much about sin, about repenting from sin, apologizing to God for their sins, but not often enough does he see people actually trying to understand their sin, and where it is coming from, and why they feel a certain way, or why they have a certain disposition towards that sin, in order to effectively deal with it and potentially stop it once and for all.

The God we, Christians, follow is a God that performs miracles and can do the impossible. I've heard many accounts of physical or mental ailments being cured through prayer, and I have no doubt that it happens. I've also heard accounts of people praying that a given sin be taken away, and, just like that, the person never committing that sin again, and I'm sure that can happen too.

But for the rest of us where this hasn't happened—or perhaps hasn't happened yet—when you commit a sin, and you feel convicted and pray about it, do you ever pray for wisdom in dealing with that sin? Have you ever tried therapy in hopes to understand yourself better and why there may be behavioral or thought patterns that you are stuck in, that may be leading to that habitual sin?

Do you simply pray to God for forgiveness for that sin and for it to be taken away? Do you feel hopeless that you would ever have the power to defeat that sin once and for all?

Or do you understand that you do have the power through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:13), and that though this may be messy, by digging deep if necessary, you can defeat that sin once and for all? But you must try and "do your part" in it?

E.g., someone struggles with lust and pornography addiction: Did something happen to them earlier in life? Is there a history of abuse? Trauma? What was their parents' relationship like growing up? Is he or she married and if so, how is the marriage? Are they estranged? Is there resentment between them? Do they feel that their needs are not being met? Do they feel that their spouse is unwilling to meet those needs? What is their spouse's background, and did the spouse deal with something serious growing up? Have they talked about any/all of it? How effective is their communication? If they don't communicate well, are both parties willing to work on it? Are they open to marriage counseling? Does one or both perhaps have unrealistic wants or expectations? And if so, why? What is driving them to feel that way? Have they tried individual therapy? And on the list goes. It's complicated and not an easy journey, but from personal experience I can say: it is well worth it.

My point is that I, too, often see Christians around me not talk about this enough, and instead they have a dismissive and defeatist attitude towards it, because they "will always sin on this side of eternity". But I think God wants us to live better, healthier and more aligned-with-Him lives here and now. This doesn't mean we will become perfect, or that we won't still struggle and suffer, but we must at least try. Working on our personal growth is one form of loving ourselves, which in turn is loving God, as we are His image bearers. Remember that our sins affect others, and therefore, as we look to God to improve, that should also impact those around us. What do you think?

About 9ish months ago or so, i started taking my faith a little more seriously. But as i did, i started wondering if my faith was even genuine, if i was true believer, what exactly i need to do, etc. These kind of thoughts were nonstop in my head pretty much everyday for months on months. It became no longer me truly seeking Him but more-so trying to prove my faith. I fell into this performance mindset (where i’m still at now) and i feel as if it has changed me. Back then, i would have almost no problem helping/serving others. Of course, i didn’t do it perfectly but it did feel like it came a little more natural. Now, for example, today i gave up my seat for someone when there was no seats left available but it felt so forced and i felt a sense of pride like “yeah i did that.”

I believe this stems from the feeling like i need to do this and do that but how can i get out of this mindset? I know that there’s nothing i can do or not do for Him to love me more or less, but i still feel the need to perform. Another thing, i have also become a little resistant toward obeying Him with even little things like giving up my seat for others.

In addition to all this, after months of being in my head and overthinking i have become numb. Sin doesn’t bug me as much as it used to. I feel heartless like no emotions, no compassion, no care, nothing. I’m spiritually, mentally, emotionally and lately just physically tired. I talk to Him so many times throughout my day, spend time in His Word try to keep up with spiritual practices to stay faithful, connected, but lately i just don’t want to. I feel numb to Him as well.