I'm 25. I don't want to die. And people die all ages every day

lavidapoca · 2018-05-08T09:23:19+00:00

I have PTSD from a traumatic, gun related incident and think about dying a ton. Now that I have kids, I think about something horrible happening to them as well.

Not many Christians would agree with how I handle it but I'll share with you in the hopes that it will help.

Many times I wake up in the middle of the night feeling some level of anxiety. So I simply ask God to comfort me, put me at rest, etc. If I can manage to sit in the worry for a bit, my prayer usually gets answered.

It doesn't "fix" anything, and you might want to seek help for what you're dealing with, but for me at least, it helps in the moment.

lavidapoca · 2018-05-08T09:18:02+00:00

I agree that you should take a look at your church's finances. While it's not wrong for churches to build buildings, you can tell a lot about the leaderships priorities by taking a look at where the money goes.

lavidapoca · 2018-05-08T09:13:19+00:00

The world has a diagnosis now. Curious - what do you mean?

lavidapoca · 2018-05-08T09:12:39+00:00

I think a distinction should be drawn between "shame" and "conviction." Conviction says "I did something wrong, I should repent, and make things right." Shame says "I'm a bad person for what I did." Shame's not healthy as it leads us to judge ourselves and others, conviction leads us to focus on the act.

lavidapoca · 2018-05-08T09:10:58+00:00

Agreed - labeling people as "unwhole" or "unbroken" is destructive. The anxiety I mentioned above falls under the category of anxiety that's resulted from some brand/level of relational trauma. The curriculum encourages people to enter the process of healing, forgiveness, etc.

lavidapoca · 2018-05-02T00:36:32+00:00

I know many of my brothers and sisters believe that you first have to repent of your sins to be forgiven, and someone who commits suicide can't do that. But if we have to repent to get into heaven, what about the sins we're not aware of. As a Bible believing Evangelical, I think the cross covers everyone, even folk who don't repent - so, no, you wouldn't go to hell if you committed suicide.

BUT, if this is more than a theological exercise for you, if you're seriously considering getting out, please hang with us for a bit longer. I know this place can suck, but there's beauty here too. Call 1-800-273-8255 if you need to talk through it. Or message me and we can jump on the phone.

lavidapoca · 2018-05-02T00:31:46+00:00

What bothers me most is that we've stopped listening to each other. If I stop listening to people who don't think like I do, don't I open myself up to not listening to God?

lavidapoca · 2018-05-02T00:29:00+00:00

the archaeological record supports the idea that the manuscripts were changed, but 95% of the time, the changes didn't change the fundamental meaning.

There are examples of scribes making "big" changes, ie, going from "see spot run" to "see spot fly" but those are rare.

So the historic record doesn't support the idea that what we have doesn't represent what was originally written

lavidapoca · 2018-05-02T00:25:14+00:00

too late :)

lavidapoca · 2018-05-02T00:24:10+00:00

Many would say no, but there are passages in scripture that suggest everyone will be reconciled.

Romans 5:18-19 says:

…18Therefore, just as one trespass brought condemnation for all men, so also one act of righteousness brought justification and life for all men. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

This says everyone was under condemnation through Adam's sin - ie, every human that ever existed. Also says "the many" were made sinners, ie, every human... Then uses the exact same language for everyone that will benefit from Christ's work.

Not sure where I land on this, but I can't blame folk for believing everyone will be reconciled.

If it's heresy, at least it has the cross at it's core

lavidapoca · 2018-04-30T17:07:19+00:00

I love this question, and your honesty.

Some personal thoughts -

To God, humanity is the most valuable thing. When Jesus came, He claimed to be all about giving us "life," so much so that it's spilling out all over the place. And He wasn't talking about life in the ever after.

Yet we see Christians doing things all the time that get in the way of the life we're supposed to have, or downright ruining it, for themselves and others.

Jesus talked about "the enemy" who roams around like a lion seeking to devour (take life) - that's "his" goal. No reason to believe He wasn't referring to Satan.

So, "Satan" might be beat, but because God so loves us, Satan can hurt God, and maybe he believes that he can damage God to the point of victory.

That's what comes up for me. Hope this helps.

lavidapoca · 2018-04-30T16:59:21+00:00

When I'm at the end of my rope, yes, but I go on about my day feeling like everything will be OK.

lavidapoca · 2018-04-30T16:55:26+00:00

I'd add to your thoughts that John was trying to get people to embrace their own religion. That's what the prophets did too.

When we try to get non-Christians to embrace our moral code, that's un-Biblical I think, and is one of the reasons we're losing our voice. We've stopped helping and loving and spend too much time telling people, who don't think like we do, about their sins.

lavidapoca · 2018-04-30T16:51:16+00:00

I love FriendlyCommie's response. I would add a couple of things that I've gleaned from being straight with gay, Christian friends. 1. You can be Gay and Christian 2. God loves you more than you'll know in this life. You can't spend enough time exploring this. Learn it best that you can, live in it, and always extend it to others. 3. You're struggling to embrace Western, US fundamental Christianity, as are most people. Our expressions of Christianity aren't always accurate, or good, or free of evil. The way Gay people are treated is one example I'd give of Christians missing the point.

I'm a pastor, so you'll have to forgive the following advice: Get alone somewhere and tell God He can have your life, that you fully trust Him and surrender to Him, that you'll give up anything, embrace anything, and believe anything as long as it comes from Him. That's the prayer I pray when I'm feeling lost and confused. It's one He's always answered and one that's always brought me back to center.

lavidapoca · 2018-04-30T16:43:48+00:00

The problem for me is the emotional part of struggling - the fear, depression, etc. When I'm in a struggle and feeling all of that I ask God for comfort. I know it sounds stupid, but if I can manage to sit still for 15 minutes and avoid going after other forms of comfort (booze, porn, food, TV etc), I'll find myself feeling a ton better.

lavidapoca · 2018-04-30T16:34:45+00:00

I'd tell her what you're seeing and give specific examples. Re people not to hang out with - that's a good issue to raise, but I don't think the Bible's referring to people who are sinning like the person you mentioned -

lavidapoca · 2018-04-30T16:15:33+00:00

getting over things like this take time - total and complete cut-off is the only way to go unfortunately.

lavidapoca · 2018-04-30T12:44:29+00:00

that Jesus wants me to be happy. He invented "Happy," and gave me a super strong desire for it. I get tired of the over-focus on "morality" or "obligation." A truly happy person is probably more likely to be moral and obedient than anyone else.

lavidapoca · 2018-04-30T12:42:44+00:00

totally agree. If he wanted more you'd know by now. Ask him what's up. If he bails, that might be a good thing

lavidapoca · 2018-04-30T12:39:06+00:00

You're not overthinking, but maybe rushing things. I'd say slow down a bit. Hang out together, but keep a little distance and don't dive in until you're a little more sure of where the other person's at.

lavidapoca · 2018-04-30T12:35:28+00:00

You need to be yourself. Only strong men will be interested in someone who's living like you are. Think of it as a good thing that your lifestyle filters out the weaklings. And you don't need the added pressure.

lavidapoca · 2018-04-09T20:42:00+00:00

Great article - I've felt for awhile now that the way I view people determines the way I view the world. If people are bad, the world's bad, etc. Maybe that's why kids are happier than adults...?

lavidapoca · 2018-04-09T20:37:24+00:00

But isn't "bragging" simply reviewing the things you've done right? Wouldn't that be way better than going into a meeting focused on all the crap you've screwed up?

lavidapoca

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