Whether or not Q is real, whether or not the military will save us, it cannot change your actions today. You have control over what you control, and no control over what you cannot control. You will be held to account to God for how you decide to act within the realms where you have power to act. Thus, you must focus exclusively on what you can do and should do, and how best to execute on it.
At the top of the priority list should always be your devotion to God. God demands we worship him and him alone. This means you must study out who God is and how to properly worship him. This is not for the faint of heart -- even studying and practicing for a lifetime is not enough to understand what this means. Every thought must be directed to him. Every prayer to him. Every action to him. Every offering to him.
From here, all things branch out. The Two Great Commandments, available both in the Old and New Testaments, is to "Love God" and "Love your neighbor". How to love God? With all your heart, might, mind and strength. How to love your neighbor? As yourself. What does love mean? We in modern society think of love as a feeling, but it is an action, and act, something you do and not feel.
The Ten Commandments branch from these, and cover the most basic elements of proper actions. It is clear from these commandments that God values honesty, fidelity in marriage, family life, and property ownership. Of course, we can go through the Old and New Testaments and find multiple explicit commandments or punishments for disobedience. Again, a lifetime of study is not enough time to learn how to act rightly before God.
Let's bring this home to our modern times and our modern understanding.
- Get married, stay married, and practice sexual activity only in marriage. Any extra-marital sexual act is forbidden. That means no porn, no adultery, no pre-marital sex. No divorce! But on a higher level, this is a devotion to family life. No greater happiness exists than fulfilling your duty in your family. And the reverse, No greater sadness exists than failing your duty in your family. Bear lots of children, more than you can handle. No one ever said, "I wish I didn't have so many kids!" Spend all of your efforts teaching and raising your kids. No physical treasure compares to well-raised kids.
- Get rich. This isn't optional. How do you get rich? Write a budget. Spend less than you earn. Earn more. Build an emergency fund. Get out of debt. Acquire investments assets -- real estate being a major one. Become truly self-sufficient with a garden and animals you raise and eat. Dave Ramsay has a lot of advice on how to get rich and how to behave as a rich person.
- Get educated. The idea that the purpose of education is to learn "practical skills" is absurd. Real education is about developing the proper and right character and attributes. Real education starts with the Bible and a whole lot of time praying and seeking truth. Of course you are going to incorporate other methods and materials.
- Get strong. "Physical strength is the most important thing in life" as Rippetoe says. It doesn't matter what you have if you are physically incompetent and require a wheelchair or medicine just to cope with life. People bound to wheelchairs and who require medicine just to live know what a great gift it is to have a body that works -- so keep your body in the best physical condition you can get it!
When we have enough people living rightly, with strong families, personal and familial real wealth, and a true and real education, physically fit, then we can talk about become self-governing. Until that point, however, we are far to weak in one way or the other to matter, and easily manipulated or controlled.
The first goal is to learn to govern yourself, then to govern your family, then to govern your community and finally your nation. If you cannot govern yourself, you cannot govern your family. And so on.
Beautiful post.
....regarding point 1. I'd love to get married....can't find m/any redpilled grown up men on dating sites or in the wild.
Even "conservatives" usually means republican/RINOS or not reaalllyy redpilled.
Too many Libtards. And being brown...most think I am a dem?
If it weren't for a series of miracles, I wouldn't be married either.
All I can say is pray a lot, and live your life the way you know you should, and let God do his thing while you focus on doing yours.
?
It’s true - God works miracles. I’m happily married for 12+ years. In retrospect I see finding “the one” much like marketing.
You need qualified traffic.
You need to be in the right room.
Where are “your people” now? Then go there. <3
Stayhumanme, You sound like a beautiful person. I have faith youll find the right person. Myself i am in a relationship with a Dem... Maybe it’s wrong to talk about it here but I need to get out. All I keep doing is trying to red pill him and all he keeps doing Is trying to blue pill me, or worse, have me believe the lies about the right! It’s as frustrating as it sounds, but worse, because his kids are virtual, even though we live in Florida, a mini land of the free. I need me a conservative!
I smell a match!
Jesus covered your sins. Don't believe Satan's voice telling you you're horrible! Absolutely not! What an awful accusation he's hurling at you. Laugh at his pathetic attempt to tear you down.
Oh good ?
Singleness is also a blessing and Paul actually urges many people to remain single and serve God singularly because marriage (while also a beautiful blessing) splits your focus.
I am married and very fortunate to have an incredible marriage and a very loving husband. But marriage to the wrong person would be a nightmare. And I know many people in marriages like this. No marriage is perfect, but being on the same page makes things soooo much easier. So it is worth it to wait for the right man and in the meantime, pray and serve the Lord and take advantage of being single and being able to focus on Him.
If it’s any consolation, it’s comments like this that still give me hope. It lets me know there are still based and patriotic women in this world. I wish you the very best. Don’t give up and I won’t either. God bless ya miss.
I wish I could have stayed married, but sadly my ex put me in a battered womens shelter more than once. I had to make an escape when I had a baby and he got worse and threatened her life too. He was in Jail, but only for a few months. Now I live alone with her and it's been this way for many years.
Stay safe fren!
You lost me at no divorce. So women who are treated badly have to stay?
Jesus gave adultery as permissible exception for divorce. And my husband and I were talking about this, recently, and he thinks that can easily be extended to include physical abuse. Because in both instances, your spouse broke their vow.
The problem is, people nowadays treat marriage as if it's any kind of dating relationship and not a vow you take before God to be with your husband/wife and be faithful until death. I am married, and I take my vows VERY seriously. My husband and I went into marriage saying that divorce was NOT an option. And we fight sometimes and get frustrated with one another, but our commitment to each other is so high that we both try and work things out. For better or for worse.
We have been married for 10 years and we have an incredible relationship and are more in love and devoted to each other than ever. It just takes some work. Learn each other's love languages, spend time together, forgive each other when you mess up because we are all sinful humans. Communication is HUGE. 99% of all relationship problems can be solved with good honest communication.
At the end of the day, it is God's wish for marriages to remain intact as much as possible. That is a fact. You become one with your spouse when you get married, but this is why he tells people not to be unequally yoked and gives tons of marriage advice in the Bible. It isn't always easy, and marriage should be treated very seriously.
If there was a reason to get married in the first place, then there's a reason to stay together. Marriages don't deteriorate because some magical force has left the household, it's because one or both of the members have given up on the core tenants of marriage.
Love is a decision, not a feeling.
There might have been a reason to get married in the first place, but it doesn't always follow that there's a reason to stay together. You might have married someone who seemed lovely at the outset, but who has become abusive, unfaithful, addicted to a dangerous substance or habit and refuses to get help, has an anti-social personality disorder they were able to hide with a charming social mask, or engages in serious criminal activity.
Love is an action and a decision you make, not a feeling. Here is God's definition of love:
Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
If you read that, you can clearly see that these things are all actions. This is the biggest lie that has been perpetuated in our culture. Loving feelings an ebb and flow depending on life circumstances, but those feelings are temporary. My love for my husband is permanent because I try my hardest to be patient and kind with him. I put his needs above my own. I don't provoke him to anger. I try really hard not to keep accounts of wrongs suffered (this one is hard lol), etc.
This is why it's so important to choose the right partner BEFORE you get married. Choose someone with the same values and beliefs on marriage, love, and commitment. My husband views love in the exact same way that I do, so even during the hard times, we still try our hardest to love one another (through actions). And the beautiful thing is that the loving feelings ALWAYS come back. We work things through, communicate, and come up with solutions and compromises to our problems and things come back around. And when one of us screws up, we apologize and forgive each other instead of holding things over each other.
So I guess to summarize, I don't believe there are only 2 courses of actions as you stated in your comment:
Stay together and be miserable or Leave and be happy apart
And what do you do when there are problems in your new relationship? All relationships face hard times. Every single one. If you don't stay and fight in the first one, why would you stay and fight in the next one???
Again, this is not for extreme cases like domestic violence or adultery.
Actually, that's Paul's definition, and while it's important to grasp how God speaks to us through his word, through his instruments, like Paul, it's still Paul, and Paul isn't God. IMO.
Just saying.
My marriage was full of difficult, painful challenges for both my wife and myself. We stuck together because of our dedication to God, and his Blessing on our marriage. At least, I did, and I think my wife too.
It was only after 20 years of lots of hard work, trial, tribulation, and perseverance, that we came upon what could only be described as the Oasis in the desert. And the reward of our marriage is greater than anything I really imagined. I'm so grateful now for my wife, and for our marriage. My conclusion: it's ONLY by working on the marriage, and yourself, that true happiness comes. People rarely understand the blessing God has prepared for them because they become overwhelmed with the difficulty, and end up turning away, from God and themselves.
Despite my own theological quibble above (Paul), I really liked your comment.
well stated.
I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, so while Paul physically wrote those words, I truly believe they came directly from God. I do understand what you mean and of course you're welcome to your own theological interpretation.
I am so happy for you and your wife! It is so beautiful to hear stories of hard work and perseverance leading to beautiful blessings. And you are completely correct, most people don't want to put the work in. It makes me really sad. I am so thankful for the beautiful marriage I have with my husband, but we have built it through being intentional with each other and really working on our communication and compromising. I feel like things are soooo much easier now because we took the time and put in so much effort in our first few years. We don't have to work nearly as much, now, because we have settled so many issues and come up with solutions to them. And while we still get into a funk now and then or have an argument, we resolve it so much quicker just because we know each other so much better.
I just think it's so sad that people are constantly looking for something better instead of working on improving what they already have. And you're so right that people run from God. God has helped us in our relationship so much. I can see such a difference when we are both praying and seeking God and asking Him to help us in our marriage. May God continue to bless you and your wife. Thank you so much for sharing <3
BTW, I can also accept the view that the words of Paul came directly from God. I mean, that's how it is with an instrument. On the other hand, I also think that God speaks and shares through other words too, so I guess I'm saying that this particular passage is not the only view of God; God expresses different aspects of His nature through different instruments and people, etc.
But that's belaboring the point, and beside the point, in the end; I think we can both agree, God certainly spoke to us there!
BTW, both my wife and myself became engaged on 'God's recommendation' - that is, we were introduced via our pastor who prayed and was guided. For me, my motive in getting married was really to receive that blessing from my Father, and to strive for it to be fulfilling for Him. That lead to frustrations along the way, and I thought my frustrations were justified, became I'm trying to do this for God. After a while it clicked in - wow. This is really about me being put in a relationship that forces me to grow, challenge and restore / fix myself through his Grace.
Conclusion: a true marriage is a 3-way deal. It's a husband and wife centering on God, and making God the center of the relationship. In our union, God experiences the most profound joy a father can (despite our shortcomings)
You too, KB.
That's awesome! Wow! What a beautiful and amazing way y'all were brought together.
My husband's sister introduced my husband and I. We were having a sleepover. I was laying in her bed and saying how much I wanted to get married. Out of the blue, she said, "Huh, I think you would be good for my brother." She ended up setting us up, and the first time we met was for the three of us to spend the day hanging out.
By the end of that day, I knew he was my husband. It's the weirdest and hardest thing to explain. I swear it was like the Holy Spirit spoke to me. I can only describe it as a deep knowing. It actually freaked me out, but I was right. And while things have not always been easy, in fact in our first ten years of marriage we have dealt with losing 3 of our parents, infertility, PTSD and some other mental health issues for him, family issues, and a lot of other really stressful and difficult situations. But God has used these things to bring us so close together. We have learned so much about each other and how to communicate better and understand one another. I feel like our marriage has been forged in fire and is now stronger than ever. I am just so thankful God brought us together, and I completely agree that making God the center of your union is crucial. <3
What I'm saying is that love is a choice and an action. It should be unconditional with your spouse. My husband is my family. I could never NOT love him. I don't understand love just disappearing like that. He is part of me. Even when we fight or are going through a hard time, my love for him transcends everything.
I just can't comprehend that ever happening. We have been married for ten years and my love has only grown deeper and my appreciation for him stronger over those years. And it has been work, but that work is so worth it.
I don't think people should stay together in a loveless marriage. I'm saying they should work on their marriage to rekindle the romance and love they had in the beginning of their marriage. You can build that trust and intimacy and those deep loving feelings again. It just takes work, but most people seem to lazy to put the effort in, and they want infatuation instead of deep meaningful love and commitment. It just makes me sad.
It's not. Infatuation is a feeling. Love is a choice and an action.
Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
The lie that is told is that love is a feeling. Feelings come and go. They change on a whim. You're happy, you're sad, you're infatuated, then you're not. True love is constant. It is a state of being. I love my husband because I choose to love him. I choose to be patient and kind to him. I choose to support him and serve him and take care of his needs. I choose to build our relationship by taking time and putting energy into our marriage. That's love. All of those actions are love. Thinking love is a feeling is shallow and it makes me sad to think about how many people don't really experience true deep meaningful love and commitment because they are too focused on the feelings of infatuation/lust and not on what real love is.
The misery can be unbelievably real and never seem to end - for years/decades.
I love my mother but I don’t talk to her or have anything to do with her because she is a toxic narcissist who is looking to find ways to get other people to do things for her. I don’t hate her but I had to remove her from my life because she is so emotionally destructive to me. I went to see her after ten plus years of not talking. The only thing she could talk about is how I should sell my house, but one with her and take care of her and the child she has. He’s twenty years younger than I am and likely was used as a means of manipulating other people. A long string of broken hearts behind her and she is losing the battle to age.
She isn’t aware of herself though so I don’t blame her, I don’t hate her but there are times where a person must look at life objectively and say: “This person cannot be in my life because of the danger they pose to my family.”
100%
You are right. I see people dating or living together and mingling finances and I then see people married and acting like they are dating (seperate finances and social lives). Both are getting it equally wrong biblically speaking. More pastors needs to preach on biblical relationships.
Tommy Nelson has an AMAZING study on Song of Solomon that I recommend to everyone. It is incredible and so funny. I watched it before I got married and my husband and I watched it together after we got married. It's phenomenal.
100% agree!
u/killerbunny88 has written a beautiful reply to your question.
I would only add that this question of yours is similar to the one about abortions for rape victims. (I'm not equating the two, but there are similarities in your question.) I think abortions are terrible, miserable things that should never happen, but exceptions exist for exceptional circumstances. The same goes for divorce.
Read the bible, talk to those you trust, find therapies that work for you, pray on these issues, confess your sins, etc... In sum, always treat the decision (whether abortion, divorce, etc) with the caution and consideration it deserves.
I will say that the ONLY exception for abortion I agree with is if the mother is going to die without one. And even then, if the baby is past the point of viability, all attempts to save the life of the baby should be made.... (an emergency early delivery/C-section vs an abortion).
But there are some circumstances (ectopic pregnancies for one) where this is necessary because the baby is going to die in either circumstance, so it is being done to attempt to save one life instead of losing two.
Rape/incest while terrible do not give people the right to murder an innocent baby. As horrible as that is, two wrongs do not make a right and that baby should not be murdered because of the sins of his/her father.
But I do understand the point you were making, and I agree with your premise that exceptions exist for exceptional circumstances.
I’ve become of this opinion. Abortion is painful for the baby. It’s cruelty. You wouldn’t treat a dog that way. She or he couldn’t control the reason for her or his creation and doesn’t deserve to be dismembered and horribly destroyed for it. Once you think of it in very basic terms of even just animal cruelty, suddenly the shades of gray get much closer to the contrast of black and white.
Yes, exactly. I didn't want to make it a "moral war", so I avoided including my own opinions on the matter. I agree with you on all points.
The problem is officially statistics show very small percentage of abortions are rape...
But people forget that most rapes are not reported or confirmed. Many women will get an abortion and not mention rape.
Religiously motivated social piety is still social piety. When prolifers as a whole condemn IVF and champion adoption, I'll respect their position a lot more.
There are waiting lists for unborn babies being given up for adoption. The children that have a hard time being adopted are those in the foster system. And many children in foster care are not cleared for adoption. The foster system's primary goal is to reunite biological families. This can be heartbreaking for people who have children they want to adopt taken away from them. It's a big mess.
But in the case of a woman not aborting her baby, the baby would be given up at birth and there are waiting lists of potential parents. Some parents wait for years to get a baby.
But adoption is incredibly expensive. Like insane. And you as the parents pay for the health expenses of the mother. But, if she changes her mind after the baby is born, you lose all the $. So you can be out thousands and thousands of dollars and not get a baby. It's quite a mess.
And of course there are success stories and everything is fine, but there is also some horror stories and I have friends who have gone through them, so it's not as easy as just saying "just adopt." There is A LOT to it.
Source: Trying to conceive for 10 years and have looked into adoption
Again, my point isn't to argue the morality of abortions (although my feelings on this should be clear from above posts)...
The point is that exceptions exist for exceptional circumstances.
This goes for divorce, too.
It's equally important to understand that not all circumstances are exceptional, and divorce should be a serious (not spontaneous) decision.
My whole argument with abortion actually stems from the fact that the government has no right to force us to pay taxes, and then take that money and commit a horrible act. I believe instead of teaching people abortion is wrong (which is what I believe), teach them how we (conservatives) do not condone state funded abortions. I often say to leave it up to the free market, and yes it is ultimately a womens choice that they will have to live with and deal with god. I believe if we left it to the free market you would see a dramatic change in the number of abortions because no sane person invests millions of dollars into a clinic that directly kills babies. And even if they are, the market would be small and prices would be high creating a small market for abortions to only affluent families. And most abortions are lower income women. Yes there might still be abortions, but the number would dramatically decrease and that is a win. We might not be able to stop all abortions, but not allowing the state to fund them will definitely decrease the number significantly. Personally no I don't believe in abortions, but when I argue it I try and make it a political issue and argue that the government does not have the right to fund abortions.
that is where discernment comes in, an no not disshing you my sis is going through issues because she finally married the kunt after 10 years, nothing changed but their second child had a married couple before theyeased apart.
they are allowances for husband/wify not honoring biblical basis. but today has become no fault divorce it isnt about relationship its about, something, less.
I would say, given the context, the OP is saying "Do NOT consider divorce as an easy option, or as any kind of option, except under extreme circumstances." I'd like to think so, anyway.
The fact that divorce is seen as an escape route by people who are not happy in their lives, or in their marriages, is one of the greatest cultural blights on modern Western society. If something is not right, first check yourself, and invest yourself. Take responsibility.
Being treated badly, for either men or women, is painful and difficult. If you are using that as a euphemism for "being physically / mentally / emotionally abused" then OK. That's is NOT acceptable.
(Why do you focus only on women, tho?)
Personally, I think divorce is only acceptable under very extreme circumstances. To damage and hurt created by divorce often lasts generations. Overcoming difficulties is how generational success is built.
Ok. I'll stop the lecture now. Sorry. Verbose. If there's something here that makes sense to you, keep it. Otherwise, just ignore.
A blessing on you and your house. wwg1
Some of this is not great advice.
Getting rich isn't a thing God people should be striving for. Even Jesus said a rich man will have a hard time entering the Kingdom of Heaven. In the passage he seemed to be pretty upset about it as well.
You can't serve God to your fullest if you're busy getting rich. serving yourself.
In my opinion it should be get out of debt and live in your means while save that way you can walk in God's plan with out being hindered down by debt or finances.
Getting educated at a basic reading, writing, and math is good, as well as the Bible. But the most richest people in the world are not educated. They're just smart and (most the time evil).
I believe you are incorrect.
There is a difference between getting rich and being greedy. I see no issues what-so-ever being rich and following Jesus. The problem is if you’re greedy then how can you follow Jesus?
If you use your skills to bless others (through jobs, donations or helping less fortunate) and God blesses you there is nothing wrong with that. It's when you covet wealth and become miserly and grasping (persuing wealth rather than having a spirit of service) that it goes against biblical priciples. Compare Mike Lindell to hedge fund trader. One wants to serve by making a great product as the latter pursues wealth for wealth's sake.
this x1000
Indeed there's a huge difference between greed and riches. Everyone here is already more rich then any kings through out history.
You have heat, lights, AC, bathroom so many food choices and most people never have to worry about food. Not to mention soo many other conveniences.
Now tell me the richest people through out history's past wouldn't give up most their wealth for these things?
I believe most people in USA are more rich then we even know. I just feel really bad for people living on like 2 dollars a day in other places. Or how about everyone in the poor neighborhoods still having i-phones, nikes and what ever else made by slaves in china. Those people are also rich they just think they're poor
We just have a very different world view to what we perceive is rich, and I just want people to know that you don't need all that stuff to follow Jesus
I think it’s easy to follow Jesus when you have nothing or when your world is collapsing.
It’s difficult when you’re rich because where is the motivation to admit your failings?
It is easier to follow Jesus when you have nothing. It is harder to follow Jesus when you're rich and I commend the people that can do both, it's also even harder to give everything to the poor.
When you gain riches from being poor, it's hard to give it up. You worked hard, you focused, put in more time then everyone else. But my guess is your riches will be crazy in Heaven if you gave it away to serve God's kingdom. At the end that's what it's about.
I wonder, at what point does giving it away constitute trying to buy salvation?
Jesus gave his life for our sins so we wouldn’t have to live like he did.
I believe we’re supposed to take care of ourselves and our family, to help those that would help themselves, be generous where justified and stingy where necessary.
Giving it all away or large sums away is another way to virtue signal. I think building a business, paying a better than average wage, ensuring the job security of those people, helping to build your community without seeking fame and attention is the right way to live for Jesus if you’re rich.
Jesus also said his followers would have to suffer sometimes. Which makes sense if you look through out history. Everyone who preaches truth is persecuted always. Jesus is the Truth.
To get rich most people need to focus most of their time and energy on to getting rich. Now factor in having a family. There's not a lot of time in the day for most people to give all their focus on multiple things. I know some can do it but most cannot.
Which takes away time and energy from worshiping, seeking Jesus
If you are indeed rich and do those things you have said I think is a very good thing. I just don't think it's sound advice to tell someone to seek getting rich and seeking Jesus. Seek Jesus, and then if your rich then great, if your poor then great.
IMO you should have no expectations to be rich or poor, just ask him to be comfortable, because after all rich and poor is only a perspective of the person.
Spending too much time worshipping Jesus the person takes away from admiring and praising God’s workmanship.
You remind me of my Dad, constantly being taken advantage of and being stepped on, well in the next life there will be heaven! Yet what about this life? I can’t believe a creator would give us freedom, encourage the growth of freedom yet demand we be destitute slaves to him.
How can Christians lead a lifestyle that is enviable if we don’t show drive and initiative?
There is nothing wrong with wealth, or being rich. There is nothing wrong with ambition. To suggest there is, is to misunderstand the teachings of Jesus, in my opinion. The threshold is greed and lust. When you would steal, lie, cheat or commit other crimes to satisfy that greed when there is a problem.
Aspire to be rich in spirit, family and wealth. I do, but then I’m not rich!
Parable of the talents disagrees with you.
The servant who buried his talent had his talent taken away and given to the servant who turned 5 talents into 10.
If you are not producing wealth, you are doing something wrong.
Note: WEALTH, not filthy lucre. Do NOT sell your soul for money. But put your honest effort in, and create something that makes the world a better place, and get paid for it, so you can create more things that make the world a better place.
Jesus said a rich man will have a tough time getting to heaven.
Jesus also views wealth differently then we do, IMO try to get wealthy in Heaven for when you're there.
If you focus on getting rich here you're not giving all your heart to God, the first commandment.
God will provide comforts, but riches I don't think that's for everyone.
The rich man has to pass through the eye of the needle. The "eye of the needle" is a side entrance to Jerusalem. Merchants had to unload their camels before entering the gate as it was too low and narrow to put a burdened camel through.
Rich people have to shed all their assets before going to heaven. It's best to live life knowing that your assets are temporary, and at best, you are like a steward for resources that God has given us abundantly. You can't take your wealth with you when you die, and it's pointless to try. What's better is to lay up for yourself treasure in heaven. Use your assets and resources today to exchange them for assets and resources tomorrow. IE, take care of the widows and the poor, be generous with people around you, etc...
I found it to be off-putting as well.
No one's insights or perspective is going to be the right thing for everyone.
Personally, my belief: Yes, we ARE forgiven, but we also continue to sin anew. Forgiveness is a doorway constantly offered to us by God and Christ, a doorway that leads from the realm of sin to the realm of re-union with God. However, we have to walk through that door again and again and again. So yes, we are still very much accountable for our choices and actions.
Forgiveness liquidates Christ's barriers to us, but does not liquidate our barriers to him. Receiving the forgiveness is an ongoing process. In my view.
Thy kingdom come, on Earth as it is in Heaven. God's kingdom fulfilled is not just an afterlife thing, imo.
But most certainly, be glad that your name is remembered and beloved by God. Gladness is a very good thing.
I'll add some advice for those who still haven't found God - become a seeker. Look for Him, speak to Him, open your heart and mind to Him. He loves you and wants a deep and personal connection to you, but it's something that you must choose to seek out. Faith starts as a small seed and can grow into a mighty tree, but it's your job to nurture it and make it grow.
I could never find God and also I never wanted to call out his name in public, the way people were telling me how to find him.
Someone told me you can call out his name and ask for guidance in private. I loudly called out for him when I knew no one was listenting. I won't go into details but the guidance was almost instant. I quickly knew the answer to my problem in a way I had never thought of. If I ever go out into a stressful situation I now know that I can always call on God and he will keep me comforted. I still have to deal with my problem, but I can feel his presence like a suit of armor or a cloud of love as if to say "you're not alone, you're never alone."
Because I was allowed to call out to him in private, I feel way more confident in talking about him in public or asking for his protection aloud.
Same here. I tried church and it just didn't connect with me. I tried listening to other people, following their advice, and still, didn't get it. I got frustrated and gave up.
Years later, many years actually, I tried a different approach. I spoke to God privately. I told him that I wasn't sure what to believe, but that I wanted to believe in Him and His love for me. I spoke to Him as a man who was lost and looking for guidance. Much to my surprise, He listened. I didn't hear any words or anything in my mind, but a profound sense of peace and calm just washed over me. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off me.
Now, I speak to God privately all the time. Most of the time it's just casual grattitude or asking for a bit of guidance. This private, deeply personal relationship is, in my opinion, the ideal one. I need no church or congregation to worship Him. He's with me at all times and I have a direct connection to Him that I can use in any situation or moment in my life to ground me and give me strength. It's truly a blessing and it's changed the way I see everything.
This is what I’m currently going through, I’m in the process of purging some demons out of my life and for the first time about two weeks ago you can say I “prayed”. I asked for guidance and the drive to finally conquer this thing.
Two weeks later I haven’t watched any porn, coincidence I think not.
That's great, glad to hear you're on the mend. You have way more power and control than you think, you just need to learn how to use it and leverage it towards good things. Keep up the good work, you're doing the right thing for yourself.
I couldn't have said it any better. Almsot thought I replied to myself for a moment because our stories are so similar. I think one problem is that too many people see their interpretation of God as the only one allowed, when God speaks differently to each person.
On a side note/rant, I got a little heated with a YEC the other day because he accused me of thinking God is worthless simply because I believe that genes pass down through procreation and that if too many people affected by something die, they won't procreate and therefore that gene will slowly disappear. I was very calm and listened to his opinion, well, he couldn't explain himself so he just played a Kent Hovind video making jokes about people coming from rocks (from dust were ye made), and he almost wouldn't let me get a word in. He said I must be worthless since there will be a human better suited for his environment in the future, to which I (not too proud of it) threw a gotcha back "well then God must be worthless since the devil roams the Earth even though the bible says one day he will finally be defeated." That's when I got shouted down with "Nu uh thats what YOU BELIEVE" I realized then we were probably never gonna see eye to eye because, honestly like those lefties on Reddit, he twisted what I said into what he believes people like me believe in order to prove to himself that I believe that ridiculousness. It reeked of cognitive dissonance and was honestly like trying to debate an atheist who only argues in bad faith and who takes counter arguments like personal attacks.
I finally got to explain over his shouting how, if anything, I think God is more glorious for setting in motion all of the events of our universe and he said "well you should have just said that in the beginning", you know, when he kept interrupting me and subtly accusing me of blasphemy.
Basically I would say the same to many on this board of what I said to him, "don't go around accusing people of heresy just because they see God in a different way if they have an equal level of faith as you." Matthew 7:22 probably applies there, it's worthless to declare God and Jesus as one's savior if they then go around doing the devils work of dividing the church to make themselves feel superior.
It's odd tribal behaviour that people seem to instinctively engage in. People will create an "us vs them" mentality even when they believe in the same general thing.
I personally believe that science and religion in no way contradict each other. The idea that they can't co-exist is a modern secularist idea that has only been around for a couple hundred years. Western science got it's start in Christianity and for centuries it was viewed as a way to understand the deeper workings of God's universe and our place in it. The church funded and promoted scientific study and a lot of the great scientific minds were also theologians.
The atheist idea that the church has always been against science and persecuted scientists is nothing more than modern propaganda. Science has always been the slow realization of God's workings in the physical realm.
That's also why it's laughable when atheists demand empirical evidence for God. How are you supposed to produce evidence that's based on the natural and material laws of the universe for a being that exists outside of those laws? You simply can't, God exists outside the scope of that knowledge. Science and human reason have hard limits and outside those limits is the realm of faith.
If you are reading this as a new anon or pede, and feel attacked by the first part (the sex part) please DO NOT be discouraged. My wife is the most true Christian I have ever known and the kindest, most incredible woman. She is also incredibly based and understands conservatism for what it is. When I got into Q she didn't roll her eyes either, even though at one point I told her I doubted Q. Every Q proof I've shown her, she's mindblown. Mg wife is the biggest blessing I could have ever asked for and one of the purest, most noble creatures ever.
And she was a major slut in college. Before she met me she seriously slept around. We've been together for 10 years. Our "fights" consist of debating what art supplies to buy next or who came up with a cool idea first. We are inseparable best friends and closer than most married couples. Christ condemned adultery but never sex itself. God designed humans as the only species that use sex as communication and as recreation. Even rabbits (an animal pagans worshipped for fertility) engage in constant sex only for reproduction.. and don't forget, Centipede #1 was a playboy until he met Melania. So please don't think if you've slept around or were divorced or something that all hope is gone for you
If strict religious life makes you happy, go for it, but there are plenty of us who don't fit that mold but are still vital parts of this movement.
EVERYTHING ELSE? YES YES AND YES. GET RICH, LIVE OUTSIDE THE SYSTEM, BE YOUR OWN BOSS, LIVE LIFE ON YOUR TERMS AND YOUR SCHEDULE. Plenty of sideline patriots who have the excuse "but my job" or "my kids" and fall prey to the left. Remember, rich is not a strict definition. It doesn't mean just millions. Own your home, own your car, no credit, hard cash in savings, own plenty of collateral, that's rich. You won't depend on the system or charity ever. You're set.
And never settle, always seek emotional and physical growth. This could be learning an instrument, perfecting an art medium, mastering a trade, becoming the strongest man, running ultra marathons, etc. Let the normies rot with their Netflix, while you continue to grow in faith and light!
Instead of "Thou shalt not commit adultery" think of "Cleave unto your spouse". Have lots and lots of sexual relations with your spouse.
Please don't tell me about it, though.
Great post. I also am not religious anymore. Think too much corruption in the leaders of churches. Hopefully in 10 years they’ll start rooting out all the corrupt leaders.
No, you really can't.
The evidence is the state of our world.
If we had more faithful people devoted to God and nothing else, we would be way more bold and firm in our stance against evil, way less yielding and compromising with it.
We need the strength of God on our side if we are going to win. We cannot do it alone.
Used books are a near endless source of inexpensive knowledge and entertainment. I've been building a library and getting hardcover books in good condition for like 3-5 dollars each.
Amen.
ALL MEDIA is propaganda.
Be very careful, as free media is not free. And sometimes we are fooled into buying things that poison us!
Honestly, this is brutal advice rooted in some old wisdom that doesn't make logical sense.
What the eff happened to land of the free?
No sex pre-marriage? That is a choice for each person. Again, it doesn't hurt anybody so why would you preach that? How can you claim to be about patriotism and America when you preach these types of "rules".
Get rich? Seriously? I know people that make it by paycheque to paycheque and they are happier than anyone. You don't have to be "rich". Money management is a skill.
You do realize that while Christians are the majority, they are not the monopoly right? Q always states doesn't matter what your religion is. So what do you say to someone who is Islamic? They aren't educated because they don't believe in the bible? They have their own method of morals and values (that are perfectly fine btw)
Get strong? You don't have to be "strong" just be fit. Exercise regularly. It's good for your body and mind. It's all about being healthy, not strong.
Jeez. Freedom of choice means doing what makes you happy. As long as you aren't being a prick or hurting other people, honestly who gives a damn about everything you just said. Different people enjoy different things.
Religious social piety. It's a plague on our movement. Read my comment, I agree with the sentiment but judging people based on essentially Judaism is ridiculous
Jesus hates actors (= hypocrites.)
We should be inwardly pursuing God, not outwardly. If piety is an outward expression, it should follow an inward devotion, not the other way around.
Precisely, this is why Christ mentions the conscience so heavily. For what it's worth, I think a large portion of evangelicals are today's Pharisees
"Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly. ." Corinthians is the true redpill
I have learned to trust those claiming to be the most sincere Christians the least.
This is why our country is in the shape it is.
Happiness does NOT come from mindlessly pursuing your passion or desires. Every philosopher since the beginning of time has recognized this fundamental fact of human nature.
No one is free to choose the consequence of their actions. Everyone is responsible for the choices they make, and the consequence that follow, ignorant or otherwise.
I try syoeor hard to only concern meself with what I know I control. It's why this whole mod fight we have now is disconcerting to me. I now find myself concerned with the direction of this site. It's the last place I thought I would be concerned about.
Drama = distraction. The cows don't care who is president. The goats don't care who is mod at GAW. Does it really affect us?
Great stuff! I would also note that Ramsey’s “save until your rich” strategy misses a huge part of the puzzle.
Yes spend less, but Ramsey does not focus on the urgent need to increase your capability to earn more. This should be #1 in my book.
Find the quickest path to increasing earning potential. What are the obstacles between you now and this? Then make the series of decisions or actions to remove those obstacles - as your new to do list.
I find that people who look at their budget and find they are spending more than they are earning generally have a spending problem, not an earning problem. Yes, earn more money, but the key is to spend less than you earn, all the time. No excuses. Foregoing expenses now and putting them off until later ALWAYS leads to healthy attitudes towards money.
Wonderful post And the way we should all strive to live. God has always been a part of my life. I gave myself over to Christ years ago. I will have been married for almost 46 years.
My hubby and I are not perfect and we still have our arguments (mostly over petty things) but we still are together in spite of all we have been through. Sometimes I think my hubby just likes to argue for arguments sake. No one will ever know the struggles some couples go through but we have stuck through it all.
The only advice I can give you for a long marriage is to make sure you trust the person you marry. We were together for 5 years before we actually got married. Take the time to get to know the person you want to marry and make sure you can TRUST THEM and give them all your trust, too.
Everything else requires a little give and take. Keep your sense of humor. It will come a long way in ironing out those wrinkles. And always be respectful even when you fight.
My mom (RIP) studied at a university to become a marriage counselor. There was a professor, I think from University of Washington, back in the 90s, who could predict with something like 90% accuracy whether a couple would stay together or not.
The trick?
Couples that are nice to each other stay together.
It takes a lot to be pleasant and forgiving almost all of the time. But it is generally enough.
In my own ministry, I have seen that marriages that last last because both husband and wife put 100% in, and leave nothing behind. 99% is not enough. And it doesn't work if only one spouse is putting 100% in. "Til death do we part" should really be, "I refuse to surrender and I will do whatever it takes to make this marriage work."
“This means you must study out who God is and how to properly worship him. This is not for the faint of heart -- even studying and practicing for a lifetime is not enough to understand what this means. Every thought must be directed to him. Every prayer to him. Every action to him. Every offering to him.”
Nope. It’s simple and not hard. As Jesus sad, his yoke is lite. You know you’re doing it wrong if it’s hard. I use to be hardcore. Wasted so much energy. You don’t have to study to know how to worship. You have always known how. The Kingdom of Heaven is inside you. You’ll not find it anywhere else.
What part says it is a hard road? I am preaching the easy road.
You can't be 99% devoted to God. It's not enough. No man can serve two masters. Choose one and only one. Choose wisely.
Liked your first paragraph... The rest reminded me of a young naive self before experiencing the horrors of the real world.
Look, if you choose to love and worship Jesus unconditionally, then good for you. I hope you never have my experiences.
But I also hope you extend God's unconditional love to your secular friends who may have been turned off by any number of reasons such as kids getting cancer or horrible shit like that.
as I like to say, "why would God put us on Earth if we are suppose to be in heaven the whole time?"
Earth is a mix between Heaven (Good/Light/Clarity/Peace/Love) and Hell (Evil/Darkness/Confusion/War/Hate) where both angels and demons can visit. It is up to us to choose which vibrations to tune into and focus on and which to tune out and ignore.
Life sucks. We all die.
That doesn't mean we should give up prematurely.
That last paragraph hit me especially hard. I’ve been trying to reason how self government ever was a thing. Thank you so much.
When you have a population of men and women devoted to God, devoted to making their lives better, devoted to each other, self-government is completely natural.
We do not live in that world. The responsible are few and far between. We are told since birth to yield to our passions. This is the result. WE should've been told since birth to worship God and none else.
Dude this post is 10/10. This truly is my community
Not bad advice but it's a little religion heavy and then a little heavy on Christianity within that religion. Not everyone is religious and not all those who are religious are Christian. You don't need to worship anyone or anything to have a fulfilling life.
I have bad news for non-Christians: Life sucks, then you die.
I have bad news for Christians: Life sucks, then you die.
In truth, too many non-Christians are borrowing Christian morality and living accordingly. You know what I call people living according to the teachings of Christ? Christian.
The New Testament is nice, the Old Testament can be quite monstrous. In truth there are pretty much zero Christians actually living up to all the ideals that the Bible touts. And morality itself isn't Christian in origin, the idea of it predates the religion itself.
Regardless, morality is a human idea. It's not fundamental to the universe. By whichever way humanity arrived at it I am glad it's here.
Good houses produce good kids. Every great person had good parents.
We used to have long-term thinking like this. Good mothers and fathers are more valuable than presidents and ministers.
Eat healthy!
I’ve read many of the comments below, and I will speak out of experience. I have been married to my best friend, and the love of my life going on 44 years. When we got married, we knew everything possible about each other, had no money so that was never an argument. My opinion since the middle 60’s during the Vietnam war, one of the deferments were if your married. There were many guys who married their girlfriends, subsequently had children, then divorced. Come the 70’s we had the me generation with the advertisers, government and lawyers making easy divorce available to many. The government through their women’s first movement bombarded the airwaves with this, constantly saying you don’t need anyone. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in rights for all individuals, women, men and all nationalities. All along through the 60’s to current, our government has created the drug culture, families were separated do to one partner or another using drugs, individuals moved away from their religion, and there was no need to stay and work things out, it was easier to leave. I agree with the main post, and the comments, but in my opinion this was a planned attack on the family, that many failed. Keep praying, for me I speak to God when ever I want, I don’t need a intermediary, and a simple thank you, never hurts.
THOTs are a waste of time.
If a woman isn't dressing modestly, she's telling you everything you need to know about her self-image.
Y'ALL ROCK!!! This is why I come here...
Great post. Found Dave Ramsey years ago, been preaching the get out of debt theme to anyone who will listen. Been working on it myself with some success too. Also a good get rich book he recommends is called “Thou shall prosper” by Daniel Lapin. Awesome read.
Once you set your mind to getting yourself into a financially sound position, you start to realize how many of your problems were created by your own bad decisions, decisions fueled by lack of foresight, knowledge, or experience. It's really not that hard to make a decent wage and save for the future, it just requires a little bit of discipline to do it.
And once you've done it -- you are free forever from the woes of financial issues. It's a huge weight off your back. I don't wake up in the morning wondering if I can pay my bills. My biggest worry is that I'm not putting my resources to their greatest value. Should I be doing more with my money and time and education and experience?
I'm jealous of your problems. I bought an education I couldn't afford. I like my work, but my wealthiest clients never even went to college. Paying off debt isn't fun, but I'm looking forward to that weight being gone!
Financial Peace University Graduate! Love Dave Ramsey.
I've prayed on the problem of mastrubation and sex and can say with confidence that the answers I receive have been that, just as with anything fun or tempting, don't let it become an addiction that drives you away from God. Same with alcohol or marijuana.
Eventually I got the understanding that it displeases God more for me to do something harmless like masturbate and then beat myself up with feelings of shame rather than to just do it within reason. I have been made aware that most porn isn't to be trusted and is made by evil people, but that's more of the addiction part and less about the sex part; it is brainwashing.
edit: downvoted for praying
My wife of sixteen years, we went through a rough patch. Completely cured me of porn and masterbation addiction.
We went to consoling and we’re stronger now than we have ever been.
We’re not frequently intimate(not teenagers anymore) but I have significant pride in the fact that when my hardware goes through its self cleaning cycle, it’s her I dream of.
My heaven would be something along those lines. Every dog, cat, horse, pig, chicken, cow or whatever other animal we had in our life. My wife at my side. That would be my heaven too.
this is true
I was just trying to refute point 1 in the OP. Too many people feel shamed for engaging in sex and I wanted to share what I have learned through prayer. I would "shout from the rooftops" (not really) a similar post if it was an LDS poster who made a point to never drink alcohol.
I don't see how Romans 10:3 or 10:10 apply here though.
??? Im still confused because all I said was that God doesn't like it when I beat myself up in shame, and that seems to be what you're saying too.
And Sunscreen...
https://youtu.be/sTJ7AzBIJoI
Outstanding! ~{°¡°}~
This is great advice! It all falls under the umbrella of clean up your room before you try to change the world.
Yep.
If you can't make your bed, you have no business trying to help the world.
Make your bed, clean your room, and then think about taking care of yourself before taking care of others.
I feel like you've been sitting in our living room! I have to admit, loving (some of) our neighbors and pursuing wealth (the ramsay way) are very challenging for us!
Thank you for posting this?
Thank you for this!
EXCELLENT ADVICE.
Thank you so much for this post. ?
@ StayhumanMe:
Pray that God sends you the perfect man that He picks out for you. His timing is Perfect! After I lost my fiancee in a car accident I thought I would never find another person that was meant for me but I was wrong. God had another plan for me and took years for our lives meet on God's timeline. I had given up because I was never one to want to marry just to be married. But his plan for us was truly a Godwink!
I will pray for you to meet the Godly conservative man that will fulfill your life! You deserve the Best and that's exactly God's plan for you! ?
Thanks for this!
Faith, Family, Country.
Let it be.
This post is awesome. Hands down, I love it. I realized this last year, that I did not know the ten commandments, and so I learned them together with my 4 year old daughter. It has helped me so much writing his commands in my heart, and her too. I love this post and agree 100% with it. Praise Jesus!!! Glory to The LORD Almighty forever and ever amen!!
Funny how literally NONE of your advice gets taught in school.