For the past 9 years my emotional, mental & physical health has been suffering from all of the stress & losses I have suffered. I stopped going to church & went cold toward God because of the pain, anguish & grief I have suffered for so long. My heart is broken. I have been having serious doubts that God even exists as I heard only silence when I reached out to God over & over for intervention & healing. I have thrown myself into the Word, reading many good Christian books & have sought counsel from friends & a Christian counselor for the past 6 months. I can’t even find a mustard seed of faith. I have doubts all day long about if God even exists. I don’t know what else to do. I don’t want to ever give up but it is such a difficult struggle. Is there anything you can suggest beyond what I am doing now? I have been filled with anger & rebellion toward God as to why he did not help me. Any help you can give me would be so appreciated. I am running out of hope!

I know that Jesus’ death on the cross paid the price for all of my past, present, and future sins. And I know that nothing I have done or ever can do could help me earn my salvation. It’s already been done by Jesus. My question though is this: Does God get angry or upset with us believers for things we do or times of doubt? I know all I need is to repent/ask forgiveness but I still wonder if we do things that make him mad and want to discipline us the way a loving dad would their own son?

My sister lost a baby girl through crib death over forty years ago, and still the pain persists. She has often asked me why God took her daughter. I have to admit that I don’t know, even though I know my niece is with our Father in Heaven. For all these years, my sister has been very angry with God about this. How do I answer her question without getting into an argument?

For the past twenty years I have worked in a factory. I have been wanting to change my career but I don’t know where to start. I decided to find out what my Spiritual gifts are and see if there is something professionally I can do with them. The results from online tests I took indicates showed me to be gifted as a teacher who also has the gift of discernment. What can I do with these gifts which God has given me to provide for my family at the same time glorifying God? I have been praying and am simply waiting for an answer; for a door to open. What wisdom can you give me in this situation?

I’m trying to help a friend who is having this issue – He and his dad have had a rocky relationship in the past, he has forgiven his dad for past events but his dad keeps talking about the past to sort of joke about the negative events. It seems that this is how his dad deals with the past but it hurts my friend very much having to relive these things.

He’s afraid to saying anything to his dad because he’s feels like it could re-injure their relationship, in fact, he is frightened of his own temper and is afraid that it could escalate into a huge fight. So he’s stuck in a place where he doesn’t want to lie but can’t bring himself to tell his dad that these discussions are hurting him, so he usually acts as though he can’t recall the event.

I told him to seek the Lord’s help through prayer and that I would pray for him too but he also asked if there were any scriptures I could point to for help. Any suggestions?

I have been a believer for 27 years. Something has been on my mind for a long time and have never had the guts to ask. But here goes. In the case of rape, murder, abuse, etc. it seems God sometimes intervenes and sometimes He doesn’t. I know God loves both the victim and the criminal with a love we can never understand this side of eternity. Can you please help me understand why it’s OK for Him to stop attacks like this sometimes and not others?

Since I also believe in a pre-trib rapture, I don’t anticipate being here for Daniel’s 70th week. But plenty of newly reborn Christians will be here in the days, weeks and months following the rapture. Those new Christians are going to need all the help they can get. So we do some doomsday prepping, but not for us, because we know we won’t be here. We prep for those who won’t make a decision for Christ until it is too late to be part of the Church. We’ve stockpiled some food, water purification and storage supplies, weapons, winter clothing, medical supplies, firewood, backup generator, barter items and other things we think will be needed post rapture. But most importantly, we’ve put together a library of Bibles and Bible study resources, both hard copy, and electronic media, because those new Christians will need these kinds of hidden Bible resources in a world hostile to them and all things related to Jesus Christ. I think it is possible to do both things, doomsday prepping and laying up treasures in heaven. What do you think?

My question is related to eternal security. In one of your responses, I read that when we are saved, it’s for eternity and there is no way we can be “unsaved”. However, several passages in the Bible warn against falling off or having to “work out our salvation” (Philippians 2:12), or “save ourselves through continuing in the doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:16), or loosing the reward (2 John 1:8), even the book of Revelations mentions “taking away the part from the book of life” (Revelations 22:19).

These passages and many others show that one may loose his reward if he falls off. As a saved person, I will still sin because of my human nature. However in 1 John 3:9, the apostle says that whoever is born of God does not sin and cannot sin. This is a bit confusing too. Suppose after I am saved, I sin and die before confessing my sins committed before I die, what will happen? Will I loose my reward?

Thank you so very much for your wonderful bible teachings. I have been extremely blessed by them. I have found in my own bible studies and extra biblical books a very distressing interpretation of judgment about crowns/rewards at The Bema seat of Christ. One book by a popular writer quotes 2 John 8 “Watch yourselves that you do not lose what you have accomplished.” It goes on to explain that many Christians who have served the Lord for many years, will lose their rewards and crowns which they have already earned if they backslide into temptations of carnality, sensuality, or other temptations of the flesh.

Am I wrong in understanding every time we sin, we are forgiven but our rewards are taken away? I am heartsick to think anything I might have earned in the way of rewards was lost because of a sin (no matter how big or small) even though the sin was confessed.

Please help me to understand this because I want to serve the Lord in Heaven based on my rewards, and I want to please him, but if every time I get angry at my husband or adult children, or think a bad thought or bad attitude (though confessed and forgiven) I have to start all over again and that takes the joy out of serving the Lord. Is there something wrong with my thought process?

Thank you for your awesome website. I have recently been baptized, when I was prayed for the lady praying for me had a prophetic word. She said I would stand tall like the trees of Lebanon. I’m not really sure what that means. Is there any scripture in the Bible about this topic?