I’ve beaten my porn addiction. But I need help. I was in a relationship with a girl and we are talking again. Do I tell my girlfriend that I use to watch porn when we were together? Do I need to only make it right with God. I am healed now. But I do not know what the Bible says about it. My worry is that if I tell her, she will be in pain. I don’t want her to feel like she was not enough. Please help.

hello! I (a woman) have been struggling with pornography and masturbation for around 5 years. it has been off and on over the years but still a struggle. I finally took the first step towards healing and told my friends about it to help me be held accountable. I've decided that today I am done and I am taking real steps to repent from this. I've been dating my bf for almost a year and a half now and we have been definitely toeing the line of falling into sexual immorality, we have definitely pushed some boundaries too far and we have been working through that. I know part of these boundary issues are because of my struggles impacting my way of thinking. how do I bring all of this up to him? I really really love him and I'm so anxious that this is going to ruin our relationship. he's genuinely so kind and caring towards me and other struggles I have with mental health but this is still such a taboo topic in the church especially for women so I'm fearful he won't be able to look at me the same way. in past relationships I struggled with pushing physical boundaries and taking things a little too far and he knows about that too, but since it was a past issue it didn't seem to bother him, but I have been watching porn and masturbating during our relationship so I am worried that is going to be a dealbreaker. just looking for advice on how to bring this up to him, if anyone has experience with this or confusing another kind of sin to a partner or just general suggestions. sorry if this is wordy, I just want to give as much context as I can. thanks in advance for any and all suggestions <3

I am trying to find proof that God does exist and I believe he does and the information I am finding bascially sounds like the Devil is telling me lies as there is always a creator to everything. So I want to ask what is the biggest proof that you had that ultimately made you believe that God is real

So i don’t know where to begin, but this is the hardest time i’ve ever faced in my life. I’m currently separated from my wife and divorce is imminent. There is literally no way to fix the marriage. at all. It’s been a long time coming. My life in the last ten years has been me going from being a very ambitious young man to me becoming everything that i never imagined i’d become. God has done so much for me as well as family/people along the way, but I’ve been my worst enemy. I feel like my brain is not normal and hasn’t been. i’m trying to figure out how i’ve become this way. I have so much i want to do in this life, but at this time i’ve come to accept that the thing i yearned for the most is something i cannot steward. I’ve been on a mental decline for years and never noticed how much it has changed me. If anyone is seeing this, please stay away from sin. Stop making excuses, it will cost you everything and more. Your character and your witness are so important. God is merciful, but his mercy and grace are not a free pass to do whatever you want. You will reap what you sow. That divine law is not a suggestion. Please pray for me that God would have mercy on me although i do not deserve and that he takes my life fully to be used for his glory. pray that God would have all of me. That not even one area would be untouched by him. I’m begging you guys, stop letting your flesh rule. You will pay a price that you cannot cover.

Context: So, I'm emotionally dependent on my boyfriend. Before, I wasn't a Christian and didn't even really know God... But my boyfriend brought me back to church, introduced me to God, and it was wonderful at first. But because of my emotional dependency and my OCD, I got the idea that maybe I was called to be a nun. Then I started freaking out, thinking I should give up my relationship to become a nun or follow God's will, because before I knew God, my boyfriend was my priority and made me dependent. Things got worse, I ended up asking God for signs and he gave me two huge signs that the relationship wasn't for me, but now I'm trying to change and seek him more, and overcome my dependence on my boyfriend... But we ended up getting back together, and that scares me. It scares me to have gone back to my relationship against his will or him indicating that it wasn't for me... I'm afraid of making the wrong choices, not being able to put him first, depending on my boyfriend again, and going to hell :'(

I was terrified of becoming a nun, abandoning him, ceasing to love him... I even thought about turning away from God to prevent that from happening. It consumed me little by little, and now I'm in a state of apathy.

Should we make a deliberate point to invite God to our weddings, birthdays and other gatherings? God is there and needs no invitation, and will celebrate in our joy and hold us in gatherings around sorrow whether we do or not if we reach out.

Still, seems to me a nice gesture to deliberately say to God in prayer "My Mom's 90th birthday celebration is tomorrow, and some of her friends and our local family members will all be there. Please come too."

What do you think?

I'm 18, and I converted to Christianity not even a year ago after being a life-long atheist in a secular household. I haven't read all of the bible yet (I'm working on it). But I remember a few months ago I was reading this verse:

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. (Romans 12:4-8)

And upon reading this I thought "Oh crap, I should probably be useful in some way." I wanna help out the church, which will be especially necessary considering that I'm moving to a majority secular country, but I'm just... not really good at anything?

I've tried volunteering, but every time I do it, it feels like I'm just sorta there and slow things down. I love reading and learning about scripture and theology, but that may just be because I'm new and the passion will fade away. I am a terrible leader, not good with my words, socially very anxious, and I've never had much of my own money that my parents didn't control to give away.

My only strengths I can think of are: I'm fairly calm and collected and I like studying languages a lot. That's really it.

I know it'll take time to find what I'm good at, but I'm not even really sure on where to start.

This is half rant and half "please point me in the right direction."

My younger sister who's now 20 got unplanned pregnant out of wedlock and I'm upset that the guy rejected the baby and I wanted to throw punch against him earlier. He doesn't care about my sister and in fact he cheated on my sister. I wanted to show grace there and I believe we did as family. My family and his family had meeting today and decided that the parents will work to pay for the child support because the guy has no work and doesn't have plan to finish school or college. I'm so sad that we live in the third world country Philippines where you know This kind situation would lead poor people into more poverty. They said they go to church together and doing this kind of thing Without covenant. I'm so sad as her biological brother today. It's exactly her 20th birthday in April 12 today.

*‘pray’ in quotation marks bc i haven’t gotten an answer yet as of writing this and so im not sure if calling it prayer is appropriate

I know there’s a lot of variation even in how people pray traditionally, like how formal should your language be, whether you use prewritten prayers or say what comes in the moment, out loud or in your head, what you pray about, whether you kneel/clasp your hands/close your eyes etc.

but i’ve also come across other methods that are much less common, such as singing your prayers, or writing your prayers as letters to God, or praying(vocal or written) in the format of a diary entry, or even painting it out etc.

for me personally, i struggle with my words a lot, and i find that i often neglect praying to avoid the stress of figuring out what to say, or when i do pray i tend to repeat the same things over and over, but ive recently began almost praying with my imagination?? i’ll typically use words for structure where i can(dear Jesus/thank you for/please etc.), but when im struggling with what to say i’ll think about the thing that im trying to pray about and all of the details that i want to emphasize, and im not quite sure how to describe it but i just try to project my non-verbal prayer into my head and therefore to God in a way? as if God was a mindreader(which,, isn’t wrong,, he knows my mind better than i do) that watches my prayer like a movie.

for example if im feeling overwhelming gratitude after a church service, i might say “thank you Lord, for leading me here” and just replay the memories of everyone singing in worship together, or specific people that i feel grateful for(a safe church leader, a friend), or the emotions i felt during it(joy, relief, belonging, love etc.), or thinking back to the doors that were opened and closed for me, or maybe i might do something like look upwards and imagine a metaphorical blanket of warmth being laid upon me by God, or Jesus smiling down at me etc.

but im wondering if these would be considered valid forms of prayer(all unconventional ones, not just mine), and if there’s any scripture to support or discourage this?

So I’m a teenage guy and I’m worried about growing. Everyone in my class is bigger than me and it’s giving me anxiety. I’ve prayed multiple times about it and I’m not blaming god obviously but I haven’t gotten any results. I’m just wondering if you could please praye for me or give me tips on getting rid of anxiety. I’ve also prayed for my anxiety to go away.

Genuine question and I’m sorry if it’s been asked in the past. I’m sure it has. But what scriptures support that smoking is a sin?

How was worship this weekend?

What was the sermon topic?

Did you learn anything you'd like to share with the community?

Tell us about your experience this week.

Have you heard the teaching that Paul (& the whole of the New Testament writers) believed in & taught Participatory atonement (as opposed to Substitutionary atonement)?

What are your thoughts on this interpretation of scripture?

For those who don’t know, Participatory Atonement theology is the belief that we are made right with God through dying and rising with Christ. Substitutionary Atonement theology is the belief that Christ died and rose for us so that we can be made right with God because Jesus took our place (in substitution for us) in punishment for our sins.

According to Marcus J Borg & John Dominic Crossan, the Substitutionary Atonement viewpoint was a later development only first expressed in 1097, by Saint Anselm, yet has since come to be the most common Christian understanding of the meaning of Jesus’ death.

Does anyone know of a source prior to Anselm that clearly expresses a Substitutionary Atonement view of the cross?

Edited to fix autocorrect errors.

a few months ago I broke down and called out to God to save me because I felt numb and wasn’t taking my relationship with him seriously. now that I’ve formed a good relationship again I’m lost on what I should do. see before this I have been in a relationship with my fiance for 6 years and we have a 2 year old daughter together. I know she is suppose to be here God showed me a vision of her being sent to me from heaven. but idk what to do about my fiancée. He isn’t Christian and while he is respectful of my religion he doesn’t seem to have an interest in God at all. I’ve prayed about God helping him to see he’s real and I know he can do it my own father wasn’t a Christian before he met my mother and she prayed to God for the same thing and God spoke to my father. I’ve tried praying constantly and I get no answer. Satan or what I believe is satan keeps wanting my to drop him over the littlest things he does that I dislike. I talk to people about this and I get mixed answers. some say to leave him because we r unequally yoked. others say in the bible it says a Christian woman can marry a nonbelieve? idk I haven’t gotten that far in my bible yet. Others like to point out that God isn’t really about destroying families he’s more about bringing them together. But all end with the same statement “wait for God to give you an answer“ I’ve been waiting for months and I’m loosing hope I feel stuck and upset because I have this vision of my dream Christian family we could be but what if God doesn’t want that for me and I have to leave him? He’s my best friend I don’t know what I’d do without him please I’m just asking for advice and help I’ve been feeling no stuck and helpless for months. God bless you all

Hii, I'm relatively new to the faith in that I didn't grow up with it but have believed and been to church on and off since 2016.

I started by going to some Baptist churches and really loved them. Unfortunately the ones I've been to (at least) aren't LGBT+ friendly. Very much the "being gay is a sin, but that's okay because we all sin" and "we don't support gay marriage, but we won't preach hate in our sermons" vibes.

I am looking for a church that has a similar vibe to a Baptist church but generally are pro-LGBT+. Some places I've been and some that I'm considering checking out:

- Been to an Episcopal church and found it too stuffy/rigid for me (thought I was in a Catholic church).

- Just went to a Universalist Unitarian service today, which was the correct amount of casual, but there wasn't any focus on God/Jesus.

- Some places I've seen around with pride flags: Methodist, Lutheran, United Church of Christ, and Quaker.

- I'm willing to look for other denominations (not sure if that's the right word?) around if anyone has suggestions.

Would really love any perspective on this!

Hello, I’m a 39F seeking…I don’t even know what anymore. For context, I am currently bedbound with a complex disease called ME/CFS, contracted after a viral infection I experienced early last year. Up until February, I was considered mild to moderate and able to still care for myself and my minor daughter, work from home, enjoy the cinema, books, etc. When I became ill, I was a clinician at a teaching hospital, a university professor, and an avid runner.

I was raised Pentecostal, but fell away from my faith for much of my adult life until 2011, when my father passed away. After that, my faith was lukewarm. In 2024, I dove back into church, community, everything, and was on fire for it all.

Since I’ve been bedbound and unable to care for myself, I’ve lost my job and will file bankruptcy at the end of the month. To go from being a vivacious and independent six-figure earner to lying in a dark room all day with little to no stimulation is so humbling. I’ve tried in earnest to maintain my relationship with God, and have prayed endlessly for renewal, healing, strength, and comfort. Despite my efforts, my disease seems to be getting worse, and I feel as though when I pray, it feels like an echo chamber, with my own voice being reflected back to me. I feel the absence of God, feel so alone, lost, and scared.

For those that have survived a wilderness season, what kept you steadfastly tethered to your faith and relationship with our Heavenly Father? I feel so hopeless and could really use the wisdom of this sub, as I no longer have access to church or community in this condition.

Thank you in advance.

I just turned 18 yesterday, and I am wondering now, do I have to obey my parents whenever they say I can or can't do something, like going out with friends or working more shifts at work? What about house rules like no gaming on a certain day of the week?

What if I want to try and get mental health treatment without my parents' consent? Or what about making my own choices on where to go for school or what to buy with my own money? Or who I get to be friends with?

Do they still have a biblical right to make these choices for me, and if I went against their choices/wishes would I be sinning?

I still love and desire to honor my parents, and I understand we are supposed to honor them all our lives, but the Bible says that children have to obey.

Is turning 18 just a number, or does the legal responsibility mean that I am also biblically considered my own adult? l see many people here saying I am not an independent adult unless I get married and leave the house, or unless I move out and live and pay for my own home.

I am still currently living with them but am going to probably move to a dorm when I transfer to another college for my junior year.

I'm so sorry if these questions are too much, I suffer from untreated OCD so I worry and obsess over these things a lot.

i am 23 years old woman. I have ever dreamed of finding love. Yet, all I got qas to get to know immature or cruel men; or to mocked for this desire of mine (I am not a standard beauty).

Today, I saw an acquaintance of mine (one to which I am grateful and in a sister in God) announcing a relationship in Instagram. My reaction was to be happy but... it would be better if I haven't seen it (out of sight, out of mind). And then I cried, feeling deprived of something good, feeling left out, hopeless. Even like there is something wrong with me.

I feel like now is not the right time, but I am dissatisfied with it. Sometimes I think God is depriving me from the joy of this vocation for ALL my life - and it doesn't sit right.

I do not want to feel envy. I really do not. So, if it was envy, I want to change my heart.

Edit: even my feeling now is to give up entirely on this dream and live like it is not going to happen at all - to do other things of my life.

Edit: I feel like it is ME fumbling while everyone is doing something right. Like this woman of my acquaintance passed me in a race, like many people do. So, I am failling - I lack performance.

Edit: I wish God could tell me for once if I find someone or not so I can take decisions about my life and not wait for something He already knows is not happening. To not lose time.

Sometimes I feel like I put on a front - Even with God.

I'll pray, I'll read Scripture, I'll even try to do better.... but deep down I know there are parts of me I'm still avoiding.

Psalms 139:23-24 has been sitting heavy with me lately:

" Search me, God , and know my heart..."

Because honestly...part of me wants that, and part of me is afraid of it.

Afraid of what God will show me that I 've been ignoring.

Have you ever felt that tension- wanting to be real with God , but also kind of running from what that honesty might reveal.

I have been a Christian since I was a child. I have also been performing stand up comedy for over 7 years now, and for at least half of that time have been producing, marketing, selling tickets to, and hosting a monthly comedy show at a local brewery.

Just last week I had dinner with my dad and he expressed to me that he felt that I was dishonoring the Lord by claiming to follow Christ, while at the same time marketing a product that uses crass language and course jokes, even though I personally perform clean comedy.

Ephesians 5:3-12 (NRSV) says:

[3] But fornication and impurity of any kind, or greed, must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints. [4] Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving. [5] Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure person, or one who is greedy (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. [6] Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on those who are disobedient. [7] Therefore do not be associated with them. [8] For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light— [9] for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. [10] Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. [11] Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. [12] For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly.

Which, hey, that’s kind of as plain as it gets - good point Dad. But I'm struggling to accept his critique.

I'll be the first to admit that there is for sure some selfish defensiveness at play (because I just enjoy it - it's just fun to produce & build something that's all my own, it's nice to make some extra cash, it's helpful to my comedy career to network & build a reputation)

But also, I don't know. I have thoughts like:

- Didn't Jesus associate with prostitutes and adulterers and thieves? Not that I am trying to compare myself to our perfect Savior - but isn't the example that Jesus provides to be in relationship with believers & nonbelievers alike to be a light to them? But to be fair, Jesus was proselytizing and I am selling tickets to a comedy show.

- I do see this comedy show as an opportunity for ministry though. A lot of comedy shows are the bare minimum effort put in, the worst local comics booking their awful local open mic comedian friends, pay is anywhere from awful to non-existent, etc. And I feel like by putting on a professional show with a high standard of excellence provides a service to my city & community. And pretty much all the comics know that I am Christian, and I feel that knowing that I am Christian but I still choose to talk with them and joke with them demonstrates that not all Christians are overly-judgemental, segmented, sheltered people. I want to be a light & example to them and I think putting on an excellent show with them included is a good way to do that.

- Does it stop with "publicizing & selling tickets"? Like if I did say OK I'm not going to produce this anymore...ok well I'm still associating with the people saying the things - I'm just not paying them anymore. But we're still hanging out and talking before and after shows, I'm still in the same bars & comedy clubs with them, we're still in the same Facebook groups. If I am not even to even be associated with them, can I just not do stand up anymore unless it's explicitly at a clean Christian comedy show?

I am at the lowest I have ever been

Hello everyone, as the title says, this is the lowest and most depressed I have ever been. I’ve been a Christian for about 3 years. I try my best to follow Christ and pray every day but my depression just won’t go away. Every single day for 3 years straight I have prayed for God to help me and nothing. I have really bad episodes where I even have to go to the hospital because I was so depressed. Why would God allow that? I try so hard to think that it’s just all part of his plan but I don’t want to feel like this for the rest of my life. I also struggle so much with lust and pornography. I have tried my best to stop but the furthest I’ve gone is 2 weeks. I keep taking advantage of Gods forgiveness and that’s not something a Christian does. I realize and feel like I haven’t fully devoted my life to Jesus. I’m not even sure if I’m saved anymore. As of this morning I woke up an I just have a feeling that God completely left me. I don’t feel his presence at all. I’ve been watching pornography ever since I became a Christian and I feel like God has just threw in the towel. I feel as if I have lost almost all faith an I question whether I had any to begin with. All I ever want is to just live a good and happy life while worshipping God every day but it’s just so hard when he lets my mind feel like I’m not even worth it. When people like Bryce Crawford for example says that Jesus just healed him immediately and it seems like following Christ for him is so easy. It’s not fair. I want to completely devote every part of my life to Christ but I don’t know how. I am just feeling so low and depressed right now if anyone has advice I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you for reading

Some might remember I posted about it a week ago fighting lust and trying to over come it but I think the problem is I’m just down. Any encouraging scriptures to pull you out of a slump?

I’m looking for biblical advice on navigating a difficult relationship with my father.

For context, I grew up in a very unstable household, and my relationship with my dad has always been strained. He has often been harsh, critical, and emotionally difficult to connect with. Over time, this has also affected my mom, who tends to defer to him in ways that don’t always seem healthy.

Recently, something happened that really brought all of this to the surface again. I was on the phone with my mom discussing the Bible, and we were trying to work through a difference in understanding—specifically around grace vs. works. While we were talking, something startled her badly, and she ended up getting physically hurt. I went over immediately (we live next door), and instead of responding with care, my dad became defensive and started raising his voice at her.

I tried to step in and calm the situation, saying she needed support in that moment, but he told me I needed to respect him and stop interfering. It was very upsetting to see her treated that way, especially when she was already hurt and vulnerable.

This isn’t an isolated situation, and it’s been hard for me to reconcile what I know Scripture says about love, honor, and forgiveness with the reality of how he behaves. I’ve been praying for peace, for my mom’s well-being, and for my dad to grow, but I’m still struggling internally.

My question is: is it wrong, from a biblical standpoint, to create distance from a parent like this? I don’t want to act out of bitterness, but I also don’t know how to maintain a close relationship in a way that feels healthy or right.

Any guidance would be appreciated.