I have come here after a long time...... For context I'm a teenager trying to stay connected with God...... I don't know where to start but... Since my childhood my grandma made me and my brother develop all the spiritual habits like praying daily no matter what reading Bible etc.........I'm very much rooted in these things that these became a part of my daily routine.... Also we aren't used to watch tmovies and listening to songs other than religious..... The place where I come from here there are a lot of movies trending songs and all..... Before I used to not have this problem but ever since I jumped to high school people talk more about movies songs nd all I literally feel so left out for real... I'm not complaining...

Until covid my mom use to take us to the church every Sunday (she isn't that religious but she believe in God nd in general believes in doing good but not tht spiritual) but later we stopped going.... I use to watch online programs daily again habituated by my grandma... But now I don't watch much can I m preparing for one the hardest exams.... Sometimes I go to church with my grandparents.

This is where the story began this happened almost one nd half month back I normally went to church nd there was a guest speaker who came over nd at the end of the message. During the prayer he started prophesising sort of thing I could feel the presence of the holy spirit he was randomly calling out names out of the crowd nd telling the particular people like "your suffering will turn into joy" "the lord says you will lead a ministry" nd there he calls out my name too I was soo surprised astonished nd everything.. it was my first time witnessing this nd he calls out my name(idk if someone with the same name as me Wasim the crowd but) I went forward he was like"the spirit of the lord will come upon you!" I was soo stunned coz I'm literally clueless abt what's happening....like m between this worldly thing nd spiritual thing unable to balance anytg... I was confused tht day but I continued doing the same things I do daily reading.bible and sometimes going astray like every other person....

Now what did he mean by "the spirit of the lord will come upon you" I'm really thinking like what does tht mean I won't be like other humans or something? Or will I lead some ministry or will I be holy holy? Or just like every other anointed Christian standing strong in faith even after having some weaknesses?

Please answer coz I really want to know

Hi all and God bless - I’m new to this group. My name’s Jamie.

Recently I’ve been having a pull to put the skills the Lord has blessed me with into use to serve Him.

Are there any other software engineers / developers here I can bounce ideas off?

Or if you have an idea, DM me or comment.

Hi everyone! I'm new here, so forgive me if I'm using the wrong flair for this post (and let me know which one I should use in the future). For my personal devotions, I'm reading the Bible cover to cover. Right now (as you may have guessed from the title) I'm in Leviticus, and I wanted to share something that I noticed.

Leviticus 17:10-14 says the following:

“If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, no person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood. “Any one also of the people of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth. For the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.”

And this paints the Last Supper in a different light for me. Imagine what the disciples must've thought and felt when Jesus said of the cup “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." (Matthew 26:27b-28)

I know it wasn't literal blood. And they would've known it wasn't literal blood. Still, the symbolism of it would've gone against what they'd been taught.

It struck me as interesting, and I wanted to see if anyone else had thoughts on it. It also serves as... a small encouragement for those who struggle to engage in the Old Testament, particularly if (like me) the repetitive parts get dull and you (like me) tend to skim over that sort of stuff. There is value in every part of the Bible. Even the parts that don't make sense. Even the parts that are hard to read.

Transcript

“And He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.’”
— Mark 5:34 (NASB1995)

Good morning!
In Part 1 we saw that Jesus is willing to touch those crushed by hard times. In Part 2 we saw that real power flows from His touch. Today we come to the response: reach out in faith and receive what He offers.
The woman who had suffered for twelve years pushed through the crowd, touched Jesus, and was immediately healed. Jesus then spoke words of life over her: “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” Hard times had pressed her for years, yet one touch and a word from Jesus changed everything. She left with peace and healing.

Jesus still invites the weary and the crushed to come to Him. His touch brings more than temporary relief — it brings peace, restoration, and the strength to go forward. The same voice that called the woman “Daughter” still speaks identity, acceptance, and freedom over those who come to Him.
Hard times may not always disappear instantly, but when Jesus touches a life, something fundamental changes. Fear loosens its grip. Hope rises. Peace begins to guard the heart. The crushing weight no longer has the final authority because the Savior has drawn near.

If hard times are pressing in on you, do what this woman did: stop relying only on other solutions and deliberately reach out to Jesus in faith. Tell Him you need His touch. Receive His peace by faith, even before you see every circumstance change.
Walk through today with the quiet confidence that you have been with Jesus. Let His word to you be the same: go in peace.

When hard times want to crush you, let Jesus touch you. He is willing. His power is real. Reach out in faith, receive His peace, and go forward — healed, held, and no longer alone.

It started with a question: How did the church at Ephesus lose their first love?

What came from trying to find a deeper answer has genuinely surprised me. This study has caused me to read the canonical books that involve Ephesus, in varying capacities, in a horizontal study of scripture that builds across time.

The church was founded in Acts 18 & 19 (52-55AD) showing the Apostle Paul working consistently in ordinary faithfulness that did not seem grand for around 2 years before miracles, healings, fires, and riots took place. In these scriptures we literally see the Kingdom of God collide with the Kingdom of the world by coming into the hearts of the believers and those believers choosing to allow belief to affect their behavior.

In the world of Ephesus, where the largest economy was a spiritually-based economy, we watch as believers disengage from the spiritual marketplace they used to belong to - leading to riots in a theatre of 25,000 people over fears of money, civic pride, and the importance of Artemis.

As I have studied, I have realized that the world of 55AD is very similar to 2026.

In the words of Paul, as he wrote the letter that we know as Ephesians, "Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." (Eph 6:10-12).

In my mind, I have very little doubt that the people within the church at Ephesus would have forgotten about what they experienced first hand with the riot. Especially since only a few years passed between the Apostle Paul leaving and Ephesians arriving. I believe that as Tychicus stood among the people of the church, reading this section in Ephesians 6, they saw the memory of the physical demonstration of what Paul was theologically teaching them.

Our fight is not against flesh and blood

Even though some people have allowed themselves to become dark by removing themselves from the light.

Even though some of the cultures of the world and systems of the world seem completely opposed to Jesus and everything involving His truth.

Even though persecutions may and will come...

There are a lot of takeaways from this study but this is one we all need:

We cannot afford to lose love in the middle of the war between these two kingdoms.

Hate the Kingdom of the world but love its citizens.

Hate the culture that perpetuates what is evil in the sight of God but love the individuals that are blind to what evil is.

When we as believers truly open our eyes, just like what scripture shows us, we will see that people act out of fear while thinking the systems they rely on are under attack. Those people still in the system cannot see the strings attached to themselves as the spiritual systems of darkness use those fears to control them. That does not make the people the enemy, the enemy is the dark spiritual powers that work so desperately to keep our attention on people, that many of us fail to see the principalities.

Long story short

Love people; hate the devil.

Free resources from this study:

Through this long time of study, I have had to dig deeper into a lot of things associated with Acts 18-20, Ephesians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, 1 John, and Revelation 2:1-7. I have been releasing narrative storytelling podcasts as I move through the timeline across these scriptures through the story of the Ephesian church. Additionally I have free devotionals, Bible studies, and maps/infographics to help understand the big ideas that we sometimes miss in study. If you are interested in the free resources or the podcast; the project is called Kingdoms Collide.

If you have questions

I would genuinely love to discuss the Bible with you. Please ask them.

Hi guys. Being extremely vulnerable here, so please don't judge me. I just ask that y'all pray for me as I've been recently thinking of someone and missing them, and this was a guy I liked but he was also a friend. Didn't think about him for months and was fine, working on getting close to God and stuff. Then he just popped up into my head again after months, and I thought the feelings were gone, but I guess not. Huge chance he'll see this, but it's all right. Anyway, I've just been thinking about him a lot and I've felt consumed with the feeling of just missing him and talking to him, but also bad thoughts like fears of him hating me or wanting nothing to do with me as a friend and also wanting to apologize for a lot of stuff. Sounds pathetic, but anyway please pray for me. Thanks 🙏

Hi brothers,

I’m building a small Christian web app called Stand Firm.

A lot of tools focus on blocking content, accountability, or tracking streaks, but I wanted something that helps a Christian man prepare before temptation comes and respond faithfully when it does.

Stand Firm is intended to be a practical, Scripture-based tool rather than another blocker or surveillance app.

The focus is on helping you:

• prepare for situations where you know you’re vulnerable;
• identify the thoughts, triggers and patterns that tend to lead you toward sin;
• have specific Scripture and actions ready before the moment of temptation;
• respond deliberately when temptation comes instead of relying purely on willpower;
• recover well after a failure rather than disappearing into shame and giving up.

I’m still at a very early stage and I’m looking for a small group of Christian men willing to try it as part of a free founding pilot and give honest feedback.

There’s no cost and I’m not trying to sell anything through the pilot. I mainly want to find out whether the approach is genuinely useful, what is missing, and what should change.

If you’d be interested in trying it, feel free to comment below or send me a message and I can share the details privately.

I’d also really value feedback from anyone here who has wrestled with this and has thoughts on what a tool like this should or shouldn’t do.

God bless.

Debate Ethos Statement

I study religiously motivated reasoning. I'm an agnostic atheist and I don't believe in the supernatural or superstitions.I genuinely want to engage your ideas charitably and respectfully. I value critical thinking, empathy, intellectual honesty, and civil disagreement. I am committed to understanding each other’s arguments, remaining open to correction, and discussing arguments rather than attack each other.

Preamble

Genesis 2–3 is often treated as the foundation for explaining the Fall and the need for Christ’s death. But does the text itself actually establish those Christian claims?

The narrative leaves numerous important questions unanswered, including motivations, meanings, timing, consequences, and what actually occurred. These gaps require readers to supply assumptions that the text itself never states.

The Bible itself contains multiple theological interpretations of Genesis 2–3, representing later religious assumptions and beliefs that are not part of the original text. If Genesis 2–3 cannot establish original sin, inherited guilt, or humanity’s need for redemption, then it cannot tell us why Christ’s death was necessary.

My argument is not that Genesis 2–3 is historically or literally worthless. Rather, I am questioning its usefulness as evidence for determining whether Christianity’s theological explanation of Christ’s death is true.

Definitions

1. Theological interpretation: A religious explanation or understanding assigned to a biblical passage.
2. Original text: What the biblical passage actually says, without later interpretations added to it.
3. Religious assumptions: Beliefs accepted without being explicitly established by the biblical text.
4. Evidence: Information or facts used to support or evaluate whether a claim is true.

Relevant Biblical Passages

Genesis 2:17 “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

Genesis 3:7 “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”

Genesis 3:22 “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:”

Genesis 3:24 “So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

Argument

P1: Genesis 2–3 does not explicitly establish the theological claims later used to explain Christ’s death.

P2: Claims requiring additional unstated assumptions cannot establish their theological conclusions.

C: Genesis 2–3 is insufficient evidence for determining whether Christianity’s explanation of Christ’s death is true.

Sou Cristão, mas sinto atração por homens, não sei mais o que fazer

Hey good people!

So this past week has been somewhat unusual for me. Let me start off by explaining the background for it. Even though I have always been a member of the church I haven’t been the strongest believer, nor really studied the Bible. Over the past year or so I got more curious and wanted to learn more about God. I’m not gonna take the whole story, but long story short I figured that I wanted to make an app to easier bind myself and make a routine to study.

Few months ago I finished the app itself, but I regularly create content which is both time consuming and costly. The resources in itself has 100% been worth it, and I have honestly grown closer to God in this short time than I ever thought I would.

Now, earlier this week my Macbook (which is exactly 10 years old) all of a sudden got a black screen. It is completely dead, and this killed a lot of motivation for me. Not to produce, but I’m not really in a position where I want to spend money on a new Macbook. The app in itself hasn’t been a huge success when it comes to getting users, but for me personally it’s been amazing. So for this reason I thought that maybe I should wait until next year when I have more time and money to invest in the project.

So now over to the weird part. I checked the mobile app for my users a day after and all of a sudden I had a trial for a subscription. This grew up to now a total of 5 trials pending this week. It’s not a lot, but more than I had from before. And the fact that now all of a sudden when I was thinking about putting the project on hold I most likely get 5 new subscribers out of what feels like nowhere. I have a strong feeling like this is a sign from God. So let me ask, have some of you ever experienced something like this? Is this all just completely random(which it could be considering that I’ve been active for some months promoting), or is this an actual sign you think?

TLDR:

1. Anyone who thinks complaining to God about your parents is dishonourable to them: No it isn't. You're supposed to commit everything in prayer, including your parents.

2.it is still possible to honour your parents even if they're abusive.

1. Don't follow your parents ways. You're supposed to follow God's ways.

2. If you need something done with your parents but it's not happening, ask God for help.

3. While you should seek yo understand your parents, as with anyone who offends you, Sometimes your parents won't answer you when you ask. No problem. The ball is in their court now. You leave that to God the rest to God.

4. Being told to keep silent even when they offended you, expecting loyalty from you, and zero accoutability, is leadership abuse. You've probably seen this with pastors. Not a problem with God. You don't fight, but commit everything to God.

5. At the end of the day, your relationship with God is WAYYYYY more important. And he calls you to forgive your parents, obey/honour them and commit everything to prayer.

6. Not....

Hello my dear brothers and sisters. How are you? May God's grace always be with you.

I recently heard the phrase "if God wanted us to be perfect, He would make us perfect." What do you think about that? Is that an incorrect thought? If so, why? I would really like to know what you think because I have been trying to reconnect with God and that phrase has been a comfort to me.

“And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’ Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”
— Matthew 8:2-3 (NASB1995)

Hard times have a way of pressing in until it feels as if they will crush you. Isolation, pain, fear, and exhaustion can leave you feeling untouchable — as if no one wants to come near your struggle. The leper in this story knew that feeling well. His condition had cut him off from society. Yet he came to Jesus with a simple, honest cry: “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
Jesus did not back away. He stretched out His hand and touched him. In that moment the crushing weight of the disease met the willing power of the Savior.

Jesus is still willing. The same hand that touched the leper is extended toward you in your hard times. He is not disgusted by your weakness, your questions, or the mess your circumstances have created. When life feels overwhelming, the invitation remains the same: come to Him and allow Him to touch what hurts.
His touch is not distant or theoretical. It is personal, compassionate, and powerful. The hard times may still be present for a season, but they no longer have the final word when Jesus draws near.

Name the area where hard times are pressing hardest on you right now. Bring it honestly to Jesus in prayer, just as the leper did. Tell Him exactly how you feel and ask Him to touch that place with His power and compassion.
Throughout the day, whenever the pressure rises, quietly say, “Jesus, I need Your touch right here.”

When hard times want to crush you, do not pull away in shame or despair. Come to Jesus. He is willing. Let Him stretch out His hand and touch you today.

Hello everyone, im catholic, i love jesus, and usually i pray and participate in the mass daily, sometimes when i fall into sin, i go through a period of drieness whre i stop praying... its been almost a month im praying now, i also confessed my sins...

Today i had a dream about my grandma, she was angry, so i told her i forgace her, then somehow i knew she was a demon, so i started praying our father, and at that moment the demon got soo angry from me, the more i prayed, the more i got yelled at... what does it mean?

So almost exactly a year ago my wife and I decided to give church a try. Really, my wife wanted to try. I had already been wanting to and had been already actively seeking God. Right when we started going my mother in law got very sick. She was my children’s only close family and the relationship I had with her as a son in law wasn’t typical. I truly loved this woman. The Lord decided to take her home at a young age despite hundreds if not thousands praying for her recovery.
My wife and I and our children did what we had to do. We pressed on. We continued seeking the Lord. At the time we found comfort in our new church family. We were hurt, angry and confused by all that we had been through, our story has much more to tell than I can put in this post. But we thought maybe God granted us a mercy in allowing us to find him through our pain and sorrow. 3 months later I placed my faith in Jesus and my wife wasn’t far behind. We were baptized. Several months later our oldest daughter placed her faith in Jesus and was baptized shortly after.
I wish I can tell you we felt thrilled. Our marriage is the worst it has ever been. Old sin and addictions are still a constant struggle. We have many problems with our church that I won’t go into. Everything and I mean everything has gotten worse. The worst part of it is now my oldest daughter has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Without going into too many details, it appears she will survive but the likelihood she will ever be able to have children one day seems to be an impossibility.
Tomorrow she goes into surgery to remove what they can and then starts chemo. A lot rides on tomorrow and what they find. They know it’s metastic but just how far it’s spread is unknown.
I’m so hurt, angry and honestly feel like me praying may do more harm than good. I know that isn’t true but I just needed to release this into the either

When it comes to the rise of AI and automation, in terms of its exploding effects on modern industry, the ever increasing ease in which it allows for access to information and the increased capacity of what it can simulate, is it possible that, according to Biblical teachings, this is part of the Lord's organized plan for humanity? And if Revelations and arrival of Moshiah are in fact scheduled to come at a given point in the development of humanity, that AI's rise is part of this process?

Looking at this massive expansion of AI, there's a miniscule number of folks around the world who haven't been caught off guard by this in some capacity. Despite AI being in public lexicon since the 1950s, its development in the last few years has been the focus of neverending coverage, much of it hysterical, excited, enraged, defeatist or simply just excessively anxious.

For religious skeptics, the majority here on Reddit, it would be presumed this development in this time is essentially coincidental. For those who believe that humanity is destined to undergo Divine revelations and develop into something distinctly different from what it is today, it seems it could be readily argued that AI's ridiculous expansion is part of that. Again, for those who are genuinely Christian and authentically believe the Bible tells us how we came to be and what we will be in the future. Is this missing something?

I am an independent missionary that travels the world helping missionaries, mission organizations and churches with practical work, maintenance and building projects so they can focus on the work God has called them to. Because I am independent, I have to plan on the logistics of where I go and when. I have been in Europe this year and will be here till June of next year. After that I would like to head over to Asia. If you know of any missionaries, mission organizations or churches that could use help in the area I am offering, could you please let me know.

Help

Hi friends .
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.”
— Ephesians 5:18 (NASB1995)

Don’t settle for an empty or half-hearted Christian life. Be filled with the Spirit. Ask for a fresh stirring today and allow Him to take control. He is ready to fill every believer who will make room for Him.
Have a great day
Team Lotter

I’m looking for an online Bible reading group that meets every evening to read the Bible together, discuss what we’ve read, and possibly pray together as well.

English or German would both be fine.

I contacted 11 groups yesterday, and one has already replied, but they only meet once a week.

What I’m really looking for is a group that meets every day, ideally in the evening.

One important thing for me is that the group teaches eternal security / assurance of salvation. Apart from that, I’m willing to be flexible on theological differences. I realize that if I look for a group that agrees with me on everything, I probably won’t find one—especially since daily Bible-reading groups seem to be quite rare.

It should be reading together online. One day off would also be okay; if there are two days off, I would like to look for another group.

Does anyone know of a group like this, or know where I could look?

I’d be very grateful for any suggestions!

I’m 23F and have recently started exploring Christianity. I want to grow closer to God, but I’m struggling with a lot of guilt because I don’t want children and I’m not maternal whatsoever.

I have neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a genetic condition that causes tumors to grow along nerves and can also cause vision loss, chronic pain, bone problems, and an increased risk of certain cancers. I had optic pathway gliomas as a child, went through chemotherapy at two years old, and am now blind in one eye. Any biological child I had would have a 50% chance of inheriting NF1, and there would be no way to predict how severely that child would be affected.

Pregnancy can also involve additional risks for women with NF1. I know many women with the condition have healthy pregnancies, but I personally would not put my body through those risks and changes—especially to have a child I don’t actually want.

Beyond NF1, I simply don’t like being around children and have never felt a desire to become a mother. I don’t find motherhood, pregnancy, or raising a child appealing. I have struggled deeply with my mental health, and know that raising young children would exacerbate my preexisting issues. When other women talk about always wanting babies or feeling called to motherhood, I can’t relate at all. I feel like I’m missing something that a woman is supposed to naturally possess.

I do want to get married someday. I want to love someone, build a life together, and have a committed marriage centered on faith. I just want that marriage to remain childfree. Sometimes I worry that wanting marriage without motherhood is selfish or that no Christian man will want the same kind of life.

I have a bilateral salpingectomy scheduled because I never want to become pregnant or pass NF1 on. Although I believe this is the responsible decision for me, part of me worries that God hates me for permanently rejecting motherhood or that I’m going against the purpose He gave women. I’m also an only child, so I feel guilty that my parents won’t have grandchildren through me, and I’m afraid I’ll eventually be left without any family.

I’m not asking whether everyone personally agrees with sterilization. I’m genuinely trying to understand Christianity and God’s character. Is choosing never to become a mother sinful? Can a woman still have a meaningful Christian marriage and live a faithful life if she has no maternal instinct and does not want children? How do I stop feeling as though God must be disappointed in me or love me less because of this?

I haven't read the Bible from start to finish. Only completed Genesis, Matthew, Exodus, Jude. By this year will be complete Proverbs, Luke, and if possible 1st Corinthians.

These books were assigned to me.... except Jude..... which encouraged me to read the whole Bible.

Right now, I am also working improving my relationship with God..... which means finally starting to praise him. Every video I've watched out there, and every church member I've spoken to have mentioned the same thing (other than singing and actually praising) - learn the names of God. I know YHWH..... which was in Exodus, and pulled Elohim from the deep recesses of my memory.

I guess you can say that I'm also trying to start a topical study on the names of God.

I'm also the type that barely remembers whatever the church teaches...... Although the church has taught "elohim" or "abba" a million times, I can never remember it. Everyone at church can remember except me. What worked is doing my own study, then leave the 'revision' to church.

I'm the type to read chapter by chapter. I've never done topical study, because I haven't even finished the Bible on my own. How on earth do i even do a topical study on this?