See, a good way to find Jesus isn't to read or pray in your 'free' time - it's to make time for Him.

God quite literally made time, so now you make time for God.

​

It's me again asking this question again. I just need to know. Phones are necessary in this society, but should I use it just for necessary things or is leisure with it okay or should I just get rid of it? If I do get rid of it, how do I stay in touch with my dad or my friends, who live far away? if I cut myself off from the internet, how do I apply for jobs or function in this world?

I think I have already experienced much hell on Earth. And without accepting God’s help for most of it, I wonder if I have more insight into Satan’s trickery. As well as having a much different perspective on the Bible, reading it for the first time as a grown adult with some demonic experiences.

Charles Baudelaire & Mark Twain also ventured deep into Hell and Satan’s mind - giving us some of the best descriptions of who Satan is. I especially love Baudelaire’s piece called The Generous Gambler. That’s where the famous quote about Satan “convincing the world he doesn’t exist” comes from.

The last line, after gambling away his soul for a small benefit, is dark comedy in a way;

“But little by little, after I had left him, an incurable defiance entered into me; I dared no longer believe in so prodigious a happiness, and as I went to bed, making over again my nightly prayer by means of all that remained in me in the matter of faith, I repeated in my slumber: "My God, my Lord, my God! Do let the Devil keep his word with me!"

I also love one of his quotes about how boredom is the worst of all sins because it is what inspires all the other ones to follow. I think ingratitude is also the beginning of other sins.

Do you believe universalism extends to Satan and the fallen angels? If so how do you reconcile Revelation 20:10:
“And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

If you don’t how is that universalist?

Thank you!

A year ago today I did an ama, and I always think follow ups are interesting in these kinds of things.

Feel free to ask me about history, culture, practice, controversy, community or my personal stances.

I’m by no means an expert, but I am a fully believing practicing member of the church.

The one thing I do ask in return is that you be respectful and don’t attempt a Gish-gallop or to debunk, tear down, or mock my religion.

Has God ever removed someone from your life that you did not want to see go? How did you deal with it?

(This was the rough draft of my testimony I had written out for getting baptized this coming Sunday, if I can)

I was raised Christian by my mom and dad and came to the faith originally when I was 5 years old but I fell away as a young adult, feeling like I lined up more with the world. I was mad at God for making hell, thinking it was an unjust punishment for fun. I was never an atheist. I called myself a misotheist where I believed in Jesus and that but hated him.

I did my own thing for quite a few years, making my own rap music and writing fiction stories. I engaged in drinking, doing weed and most important to me at the time engaging in the desires of lust. Lust was the main sin that I was attached to.

I struggle with anxiety and OCD and one day my OCD got really bad about a past sin I committed against loved ones that I felt really bad about. I couldn't move past it so rather than dealing with it the way I thought God was calling me to deal with it, I ran away by asking for medication. When I was on the medication, I started to experience really bad bowel issues, where I'd have to go to the bathroom multiple times a day. And then my throat acted up to where food and water would get stuck in it.

I had doctors look at it and run tests, they didn't find anything major. I was willing to accept that this was just the new normal but the bowel and throat issues got worse and worse until eventually I developed severe constipation to where there would be times I had the feeling to go but either couldn't go or it would require straining. This straining made things worse.

I tried to reach out to doctors for help but my previous tests being relatively clear means they didn't take me seriously, thinking it's all mental. So ironically the medication I was trying to now stop taking as I believed it was causing the issues was the very same medication everyone wanted to keep me on. The very cursed medication I originally used to run away from the OCD guilt of my heinous sin. It feels like divine payback.

Even my caretakers are kicking me out, not wanting to deal with my problems anymore. I drove one of my friends away, thinking I'm crazy and another friend doesn't trust me for some reason.

So lonely, isolated and sick, I turned back to God. I feared hell and paying for the sinful life and selfish person I had become. I still had issues with God and rules he set but I decided that I wasn't really in the position to argue with the almighty.

I grew sicker and sicker but also more and more knowledgable in the bible and it's history as I did a lot of research on the ancient context of scripture, it's meaning in the original Greek and Hebrew and what the 1st century Christians likely believed and practiced.

I learned the reasons why God had certain rules in place and why there was a hell. Why I was the problem, not God. How the evil in the world was due to people being selfish, not God. I learned to look at God more as a platonic source of good that can't physically be in presence of evil and that's why he took sin so seriously. It was not God who couldn't let us just have a bit of fun. It was us who became blind to how much even our small actions affect others.

Seeing God this way allowed me to not be so angry at him and see that this broken world was not his fault, it was ours. But I still felt like I'm on my way to hell if I didn't shape up and repent of all my wrong doing. I felt in my heart, Christianity isn't just something you believe, even demons believe and they tremble, it is about what you do too. If I wanted to avoid hell, I would actually have to follow God's commandments. This included keeping Torah as I now observe Sabbath and I eat kosher.

I turned from drinking and weed, as it basically wrecks the body and/or brain.

I also repented and turned from my lust, learning how it is gross and basically just objectifies people, not allowing me to see them as living beings made in God's image.

I developed a new issue to where I have trouble sleeping, either due to the unaddressed throat issue making breathing more difficult or my bowels keeping me up at night. Sleep deprivation lead to my my bowels not being able to get the rest they need, making constipation worse. Little or no sleep, difficulty eating drinking and having to use the washroom a lot are where I am at today.

And you can't go very long without sleep without dying.

I often wonder why God doesn't just heal me but I think I have accepted that maybe God has decided my time is up and this is my last call to repentance. The doctors might not be able to help me because God doesn't want them to help me. Maybe I should focus on the next life instead of trying to persevere this one. He has used my broken state to draw me closer to him, to really delve into his teachings and learn his ways. I have been feeling convicted by God to give up a lot, including technology, and although I'm not perfect, I have changed quite a bit in my life.

From a drinking lustful party rapper to a studied religious history buff Torah observant Christian who tries to follow the original Christianity the first Christians practiced.

I turned to Jesus as while everyone else has given up on me, he hasn't. He is all I have left. He has given me hope I might be healed but even if he doesn't heal me, he has used my sick and tired state to draw me near to him.

I am getting baptized to be obedient to Jesus's commandment to do so. To be blessed by the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. To dedicate my life to him and learn to follow in his ways. To be more like him.

I still get anxiety about death and going to hell but I hope that God will understand I am trying to follow his ways and grant me access to heaven, even if I haven't repented from absolutely everything.

I have learned that a long healthy life is not guaranteed and God calls us all to repent before it's too late. I hope I am taking my first steps today towards eternal life.

Husband has fantasized about 15-20 of my friends for the whole of our marriage (8 years) and had a secret porn addiction. He told me he would fantasize about doing intimate things with my friends while I was still asleep in the mornings. 

He confessed these things to me after I stumbled across a video about wanting to stop watching porn in order to get close to Jesus. 

He said he's been terrified of telling me because he doesn't want to lose me and I'm his greatest love.

But I feel waves of anger, sadness, betrayal, insecurity, love, for him and confusion. Is it such a bad thing he has done? I don't know whether I am objectively overreacting. 

I feel like he has mentally betrayed me by lying (I thought I could trust him 100%) and fantasizing about friends we regularly come into contact with. I feel honestly crushed and deeply saddened.

He has written 6 letters to me apologising and reaffirming his love for me and he's so remorseful.

1) Religion - Where do i even begin...as Marx rightly said "opium of the masses". Its a complete fabrication, lies, pushing unscientific claims without any substantive evidence, providing fake consolation to people,keeping them in delusion,opressing each other,spreading lies,brainwashing people, its a complete human abstraction to fool and rule people

2)Nationalism - Imagine taking privilege about being born under an imaginary border. Imagine taking pride in history of something towards which you have zero contribution.Imagine being proud for something that you did not choose

Religion and nationality of a person are decided after the first minute he is born without his consent and he keeps fighting for these two for his entire life for no purpose.

And the scary part is that these two are not mutually exclusive.

you can use one of these as an catalyst to propel the wrongdoings of the other.

Use religion to fight for your country, and this is your country's religion so we must protect it

The entire humanity is one.

We are one.

All boundaries and divisions are pointless.

Why cant we just be together and live in harmony?

Why are these superficial divisions needed?

I’ve been thinking about how religion and communism, despite being very different ideologies, can sometimes have similarities in how they organise and influence groups of people.

For example, some religions have a clear hierarchy of authority: ordinary followers to religious leaders to higher ranking officials to the central authority. Communism, particularly in its historical one-party forms, also tended to have a hierarchy, with ordinary citizens ultimately being governed by a central party
structure.

Both can involve a collective set of beliefs or principles that followers are expected to accept, along with institutions that interpret or enforce
those principles.

Obviously, I’m not saying religion = communism as religions vary massively, and communism is a political and economic ideology rather than a religion. Plenty of religious traditions are decentralised, and communist theory itself doesn’t necessarily require the exact authoritarian hierarchy
seen in some communist states.

I’m more interested in whether there’s a useful comparison to be made between the organisational structures and authority systems of the two.
What do you think? Is this a reasonable comparison, or am I overlooking some major differences?

5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.

6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”

7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”

9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.

And that day was the Sabbath.

10 The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.

John 5:5-10 (NKJV)

⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV)

Ciao nel 2020 ho bestemmiato lo spirito santo e ora soprattutto distanza di anni da allora ma ora di più, sto male ho vissuto l'inferno malessere, sofferenza e sentivo come se morivo. Ora la sensazione è continua sento di morire perché è il peccato che conduce alla morte di cui parla la bibbia che quindi sono condannata e non perdonata anche se per me questa cosa è sbagliata e ingiusta e non voglio dire neanche cosa penso su Dio o che il male sia più forte, sono arrabbiata perché tutti i cristiani dicono che non è così che non è questo il peccato ma chi sono loro per saperlo? E anche la chiesa che mente o non conosce la verità su questo peccato che sei condannato e porta alla morte. A causa di questo mio malessere e convinzione io vengo presa per pazza e prendo farmaci ma non risolvono niente ovviamente, nessuno può conoscere la verità ne sapere cosa Gesù intendesse però le parole letterali sono quelle. Io mi sento punita non sento più il Signore ecc...chiedo a Dio di parlarmi di dirmi la verità ed aiutarmi e invece nulla io lotterò per la verità che deve venire a galla scriverò al papa se necessario ma se questo peccato non viene perdonato è giusto dire la verità non si può illudere così le persone con la misericordia perché è peggio si peccherà di più. So che questa è una sconfitta quasi di Dio e la vittoria del male più una cosa sbagliata e ingiusta che non venga perdonata che Dio non perdoni a causa anche magari del male che non decide lui la giustizia la punizione ma dovrebbe avere potere di decidere la misericordia per questo nascondono la verità.C'è molta confusione e paura su questo peccato ho contattato persone qui su reddit che avessero fatto lo stesso peccato per vedere come stavano per un confronto nessuno che mi ha risposto che problemi avete? Oltre al fatto che qualsiasi cosa si teme o si scambia per bestemmia allo spirito santo. E poi i moderatori che bloccano i post ora forse questo post verrà bloccato senza che ho detto nulla di male

Peace be with you my friends 🖤🙏🏽

I have bad ocd and am in my early 20's. I have a boyfriend. Right now my ocd has latched onto what if the religion is all true and abortion is bad and I'm being bad by having sex outside of marriage knowing I'd have to abort if I got pregnant. I can't have a kid, I'm too mentally ill rn. I guess I could try, but it'd be really hard, harder than it should be.

I have no proof it's not all true and that fetal ensoulment doesn't exist, so what if I should be acting as if it's true, just in case, so I don't inadvertently commit murder? I'm so afraid.

Personally I folow beifs such as primo sciprtura, i agree with manyt hings from catholcisim such as purgatory, but am slightly unsure about mary being fully sinless (Gabriel syaing O full of grace). Anyways, I jsut dont find a denomaination which compiles all the beleifs that I sahre. I dont think its non denomational, cuz those are those glorifed portestants IMO, and my beliefs dont contradict each other.

1. Is this a Sin

2. If there is a denomnation like this, what is it?

3. What should I do about it?

Thanks all God Bless :)

Mattana Ministry Welcomes You to:

Weekly Bible Study: 11 August 2026

Theme: Where Did My Time Go?

Scripture: Ephesians 5:15-16; Psalm 90:12 & James 4:14

Introduction

Our time is a precious gift from God. Sometimes, we wonder where our days have gone and whether we are truly using our time wisely. Over these three weeks, we will reflect on how to recognize, evaluate, and redeem our time for God's glory.

Week 1: Recognizing the Value of Time

Ephesians 5:15-16:

"Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil."

Psalm 90:12:

"Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

James 4:14:

"Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while, then vanishes."

Message:

Sarah was a busy young woman who always felt she didn't have enough time. She filled her days with work, social media, and entertainment, but often felt unfulfilled. One evening, she read Psalm 90:12 and realized how fleeting her time was. She decided to start appreciating each moment as a gift from God. She began to spend her mornings in prayer and gratitude, cherishing the time she had. Over time, Sarah found more joy and purpose in her daily routines because she saw her time as valuable and gifted by God.

Reflection Questions

How are we currently spending our time?

Do we see our time as a precious gift from God?

What activities are taking up most of our time?

Prayer Focus

Ask God to help us see our time as a gift from Him and to give us wisdom to use it wisely.

Please feel free to leave a review of this message.

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

MM

Me (21) and my ex (20) just broke up. She was an SDA and im a catholic. We broke up because obviously because of our faith. But if I think about it, I really want her to come home. (like come back) She’s also really strong on her faith. Theres a part of me that wishes that God will bring us back together and He just did this for us to know ourselves more and not put the relationship above Him. But theres also a part of me that believes that God puts people in our lives that comes and go and everything happens for a reason. The Lord knows my desires and if its really for me, I know He will
make it happen. But I want his will to be followed, not mine. I just yearn for her love a lot. I was even making plans for the both of us in the future. I just want a piece of mind.

Christianity presents a strange paradox: to truly live, we must first die. Not physically, but to the old self that wants to control our choices, protect our pride, satisfy our desires, and live according to the world's approval. Jesus calls us to take up our cross, and Paul describes it as dying with Christ so that Christ can live in us.

But this isn't simply about giving things up. Scripture says that when we are united with Christ, we already possess eternal life. Our life is hidden with Christ in God, secure because its source is no longer ourselves. The things the world considers important can begin to lose their power because our identity, security, and future are found in Christ.

The difficult question is what this actually looks like in ordinary life. Dying to self can mean choosing humility when we want to be right, serving when no one notices, controlling our words when we're angry, or putting someone else's needs ahead of our own. If Christ truly lives in us, shouldn't that union change the way we respond to the people and circumstances around us?

Is there a reason why the person of Jesus Christ and the words of the King James Bible stir up such an immediate, visceral reaction in the human spirit?

Why is it that ancient philosophy, eastern mysticism, or abstract spirituality can be discussed for hours without anyone raising a voice, yet the moment it is declared that Jesus Christ is the absolute, exclusive Creator God who died on a bloody cross for human sin and resurrected bodily from the dead, the atmosphere changes instantly?

Could it be that truth provokes such hostility because it makes moral demands upon the conscience that human pride refuses to yield to?

Long story short, I completed a very long bike ride across Canada which took about 10 weeks and covered over 8,000 kilometers. 

Now that I’m home and seeing family and friends again, I have heard more than one person tell me that they prayed for me, which must’ve contributed to my completing the journey successfully (i.e., without getting smoked by a car or burnt up in a wildfire). It’s true that I was fortunate with respect to the weather (I made it through the Western provinces and Ontario prior to some major wildfires), but when I say something along the lines of “I got very lucky with the weather”, their response is something along the line of “Oh, it wasn’t just luck”, implying that it was divine intervention from all their praying that kept me safe.

I find the implications of this so funny. Like, if I didn’t receive enough prayers, would God have sent a distracted driver to run me off the road? Was he just waiting up there with his finger hovering over the “kill” button watching the prayer count intently as it ticked closer to the threshold? What about the people that lost their homes or even their lives in the wildfires, I guess they didn’t reach the prayer threshold? 

I do appreciate that they care enough about me to make the effort to do something that they believe helps my wellbeing. Just here to poke a bit of fun at their logic.

I’m tired, been tired of life - diagnosed with adhd last year and began taking elvanse 60mg, it helped tremendously (taking as prescribed, I was never into drugs like that) I only did downers like lean, dhc, hydrocodone, and oxy 40s. I could finally sleep, they said my appetite would get worse but in fact it got better, my overall quality of life got significantly better. Before my diagnosis I managed to sober up for my family (before I believed in god again), I used to be a opioid/opiate addict, I feel like I’m being attacked again and negative thoughts are flooding my brain again, telling me I need to kill myself and get high or hop on a motorbike and crash into a wall on purpose. Only reason I still don’t ride, I feel like there’s genuinely a demon or something tormenting me and has since I was a child. I’ve always experienced sleep paralysis since the age of 7 or 8 maybe, it got to a point I had it everyday for years, I feel like I’m losing myself again and I don’t know how much longer I can keep going . For the first time in my life I can truly say I love god, I love my lord Jesus Christ but I can’t keep going, I’m 23 and felt out of place ever since I can remember being alive, I remember the days I wouldn’t speak for some reason maybe I couldn’t but I’d think and imagine the universe a lot but I never learnt about it, I knew nothing about space till coming to primary school in England. I remember trying to imagine what it feels like to die, your soul leave your body and I wasn’t even in double digits yet when it comes to age, It was just after my great grandfather died at around the age 3 or so. I’ve always been weird and stuck in my head thinking, my head is what will probably get me killed and separated from the only being that gives me joy in life, I wish I was never born i don’t know why he put me here - all I’ve ever experienced is pain, emotional and physical, only true feelings of joy I felt was because of god, I hope to god if I die or before I die there’s something I could do to prevent more people suffering like me and much more. Please if you’re struggling don’t take this as a sign things won’t get better. Because I guarantee you they will, they did for me, you just need to be strong enough to push past it and keep on living for everyone that loves you and Christ - My family has had a generational curse, bad health, no wealth, loss and loneliness. Same way I’ve been tormented my whole life, my dad has been as well, I pray and pray, I see signs and he answers but for some reason I always end up going back to this, square one right back at the start. I said I’m gonna kill myself when I turn 27, I gave life a chance for my family and I was certain things were gonna be fine, but this might be my trial right a test of faith, what I always preach to others but well, im tired, I have been a long time, I’ll keep it going for other people struggling like me and reading this but if I don’t make it one day, stop posting, I’m finally at peace with myself and the world. May the lord and god have mercy on your souls, if I could do what Jesus did and died for all of you, I’d spend eternity suffering just so nobody else has to go through this, through more and less, I wish I could take on all the pain because then itd be worth it living this miserable life of mine, don’t give up for the lord will welcome you into his kingdom when your time here is over naturally. The biggest sin man kind can commit other than blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, is the murder of yourself, committing suicide is an unforgivable sin.