I’ve been reading about how Jesus said all who are not willing to pick up their cross and follow Him are not worthy of Him and also II Timothy 3:12 That all who desire to live a godly life will suffer persecution. I have told the Lord that I desire to surrender my will to Him and want to follow Him completely. I want to carry the cross I am given. What if I’ve deceived myself into believing I am doing this when actually I am not? I do not suffer persecution. I’m a disabled lady who is housebound unless I have help from the husband to get to the car. The surgery I need for my hip was denied due to my weight. I’ve had difficulty all my life trying to lose weight; from the time I was a child. This to me is not persecution in Christ Jesus.

Am I disobedient because I do not lose weight when this has always been a problem for me? Am I deluded into thinking I am a Christian when possibly I am not? Will the Lord say to me He never knew me one day? I am sorry if some things it would seem I should know better but I am easily upset. I came from an abusive childhood and have PTSD and depression and anxiety. When I read Scripture like this all the compassion and mercy I thought I saw in Jesus is gone.

Something I’ve been concerned about lately (to the point of severe distress) is the arguments I’ve heard against images of Christ, and how that is clearly in violation of the second commandment. Arguments I have heard include that Aaron and the Israelites created the golden calf to be representative of THE God, not a non-specific pagan one and that God was clearly against ANY representation of himself since in Deuteronomy it’s pointed out that no one saw the face of God on Mt. Horeb and that in the New Testament it says that the Godhead cannot be likened unto gold or stone. I’m familiar with the iconoclasts and am very much afraid for the people I care about who genuinely love God, but have images of Christ (although they do not worship the images) in their homes. Even my church has a drawing of Christ in the sanctuary. I don’t want to be idolatrous. (I’ve also heard that to represent the symbol of the cross is sinful –I’m talking about the empty cross as well as a crucifix.) What do you think about these issues?

I used to be able to hear God not in audio but I always knew when he was talking to me but after a medical issue I cannot hear him anymore and it is very bothersome. The medical issue was the worst time of my life although it turned out just to be stress. Since that time I have felt so abandoned. It was the only time in my life that I felt Jesus actually left me and said your on your own. It has been about 6 months and I have not felt like that “Praise God” but he has still not revealed or communicated himself to me the sameway he used too. I know he loves me (and he knows I love him), I know I’m forgiven, and I know the end is soon but should I be worried about this? Maybe I failed a test when I was sick?

I have just read your article on tithing and I still have questions that are unanswered. First, the tithing for New Testament believers is very questionable to me. I find that in the entire N.T. there’s no place where Jesus instructs the church (except for the Pharisees) to tithe. The apostles do not mention tithing either. I was of the idea that N.T. believers were under grace and not Law.

In my entire life as a Christian, I have never been blessed because of the tithe but God always blesses me when I give. I believe that when I give I am making a covenant with God and He never disappoints me unless I did not give in the right spirit.

My wife and I have decided to tithe and put it first in our finances. We have been sending some money to a missionary for a while now, but not the full ten percent. A week after we made this decision and were going to start my father calls and says that he and my mother would like to stop by and talk with my wife and I. After some persuading he tells me it has to do with their finances, and that things are not going very well. My wife and I prayed that God’s will be done, and to let us listen with love. My parents came over the next day and proceeded to tell me that they were falling behind by a few hundred each month because of one large bill, and that they are going to file for bankruptcy. My wife and I listened then excused ourselves for a few minutes and quickly agreed that we had to help. We told them of our decision to tithe regularly, and the amount that would put us at a full ten percent was only a little less then what they were falling behind every month. We also met with them the next day and helped create a budget that they could stick to, and got their bills up to date.

My question is this, will God see this as tithing, or did I just put my earthly wealth into earthly things until this large bill is paid for? We did not give them the money with the hope of being paid back, and have decided that if they feel the need to pay it back, then the money will go to the Church.

In the Mosaic Law, the clean animals are the ones that both chew the cud and split the hooves. I understand why animals that chew the cud are clean — they eat grass, not other animals or dirty things — but what does the split hoof mean? Do animals with split hooves also tend to have multiple stomachs to filter out toxins?

I’m from India. I’m a Christian believer. I used to attend church, meetings everything which belong to God. But since a couple of days one question is killing my faith and burning my soul. Please clarify this doubt.

What is the real name of our Lord Jesus Christ? For example there are several Muslims around the world. They all call their God as ALLAH only. But in our mission, English people call as Jesus, Hindi people call as Iesa, Greeek People call as Iesus Christos, Telugu people call as Yesu, etc., This made me think thoroughly that what might be the real name of God.

When I began studying the bible the spirit guided me and gave me a reply. God of the Scriptures talked with Moses near a fiery bush.There he spake with Moses and told his name in the language HEBREW. In new testament also God spake with Apostle Paul in Damascus and told his name in HEBREW again. This made me understand that God told his name only Hebrew. That might be his real name. I think that we all are praising him with pagan names. But anyhow I’m afraid a lot in dealing this subject. Please help me and save me from this feelings.

Thank you for your insight that must be God-given. My parents were instrumental in my spiritual growth, and are very knowledgeable. However, they belong to a church that doesn’t recognize Israel’s rebirth as prophecy fulfilled, don’t believe OSAS, the bodily resurrection, the rapture…I could go on. They (my parents), however, do believe these things. When asked why they stay in that church, they say, “there are many people within that church that believe as we.” I believe that they remain because they’ve gone there for so many years. Should they leave that church for one that adheres more closely to scripture? Thank you.

Did Jesus create wine at the wedding, saving the best for last? Or did he create Grape Juice out of water? It’s my opinion that he made wine. What’s yours?

I found an article on a Christian site where the author claims that the Old Testament contains many prophecies that cannot be fulfilled and promises that have been forfeited because God’s promises to Israel were conditional. He uses Exodus 19:4-6, Leviticus 26, Rom. 9-11 and Matthew 21:42,43; 23:38,39 to back up his teaching.

He states,”God has implemented a “new” covenant or Plan B, because “Plan A” (the original promises and prophecies given to ancient Israel) could not be accomplished because of Israel’s apostasy. Plan B is a bigger and better plan. It contains a brighter set of promises and prophecies and unlike Plan A, it is unconditional!

He also makes this statement: “There is no prophecy in the Bible indicating a third temple will be built and the reason for this silence is simple. God abandoned the nation of Israel at the end of the seventy weeks (Daniel 9) and He has no need for a third temple.” I thought only 69 weeks had been fulfilled.

Am I correct in interpreting his teaching as replacement theology? What would you say in a rebuttal to this? I personally don’t believe in replacement theology and think it is a heretical teaching and was interested in your view. Thanks for your wonderful insight.