r/Christian

Are you known most for what you are FOR or for what you are AGAINST?

What do you think? Why?

For various reasons I'm looking to move from the Southern Baptist church I'm in. I've been watching Episcopal services lately and they've been nice so far. I think I like the pace and style of them more than the evangelical flavor I'm used to. However, this is only a shallow impression.

For anyone who's moved into the Episcopal church from Southern Baptist or any similar denominations, do you have any advice? How do things vary between the two denominations? What sort of culture shocks should I expect?

Sorry for the repost, had to remove the link.

Basically Dan McClellan is gospel these days for a lot of Christians yet he does not believe the Bible is inspired or that hell is real.

It's been a year since I start to pray and read the Bible daily and recently I started to feel that God is not there any more I tried everything and it's not working anymore.

I'm tired from trying and not feeling him.

Is it possible to follow a spirit who you think is God or Jesus but be unable to tell the difference between it and God? I mean if everything seems to check out identically to God but it’s not really Him.

I have a question about Christian pride and how should I deal with it? I have been going to this church since 2022. I like the people, but I have this one person who has the most Christian pride that I have ever seen. I don't know if I should say something or not? Please help me

Proverbs 25:21-22 (NRSVue)

If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat, and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink, for you will heap coals of fire on their heads, and the Lord will reward you.

Does the ending of this thought display a spiritual immaturity on the part of the author?

i’ve always made it my goal in my family to make sure every thing was okay. if one of my siblings needs something, a car ride, or just a word of encouragement i’m there. i take care of everything around the house, picking up after everyone, washing the dishes, taking out the trash. any one has a birthday? i’m on it from
gifts to cake to everything. i don’t want or desire anything in return. this is how i show love to people around me so even though sometimes they frustrate me i do it bc i love everyone and i want our family to be good.

some context:
my parents are divorced. it affected us kids greatly and it was messy, there was a lot of drama involved and too many details to get into but this is when i stepped up to fill in for my mom. she struggled, a lot, becoming a single mother having to take care of the kids alone and we bumped heads a-lot bc i was young and very immature but i had younger siblings and just bc she checked out doesnt mean i had to. i cooked all the meals, did bath time and dressed my then toddler sibling, homework help. this situation hardened my heart and i fell away from
the faith i was raised with. i didn’t understand why someone who claimed they were a believer would act in the way my mom and dad did and i decided i didn’t want anything to do with God.

many years later, someway somehow i found myself in a group of young adults who loved Jesus and showcased it well, i was invited to go to a christian conference and that weekend i gave my life to the Lord and i’ve been walking with Him for three years now.

this is where the problem starts: this week was my birthday and i’ve always hated celebrating my birthday bc something always goes wrong but my friends in the faith have been encouraging me to do so because life is worth celebrating and i agree. my mom left the house and didn’t say where she was going or when she was coming back, in our house we always cut cake, sing songs and then watch a movie of the birthday persons choice. i was very upset and called her like 10 times and she declined them all. when she finally got back i was upset but with the way she is i’ve learned to shut up, smile and take it bc i don’t want problems. my sister is a little different, nothing wrong with her she just sees things differently so she pressed. asking why she left on my birthday without saying anything and left us waiting when we were all ready and my mom just erupted. she’s yelled pretty bad in the past but it was pretty bad. she started saying that she can do whatever she wants and shouldn’t have to answer to anyone and that i have no reason to be upset and that i should get used to things not going my way. they were going back and forth and i just wanted it to stop.

i feel like i don’t ask for much, just wanted some food and cake with my family, i don’t need gifts or anything like that. i ended the night early, not even watching my movie of choice and i feel terrible. i feel guilt, shame. sorrow, and anger all at once. angry that i couldn’t enjoy cake on my birthday, angry that this is my reality, one i’ve tried ignoring for a while. i don’t want to be a gossiper in sharing this and im actually deathly afraid of someone in my family some way some how finding this post but im truly at a loss. i’ve tried keeping things together for so long and finding comfort in God as my Father, i love the Lord, truly and with all my heart and i just want to be a good servant in His eyes but i don’t know how to navigate this situation. vulnerability is hard for me so this took a lot to even type this and decide to post. im going to try and talk to a spiritual mentor of mine but it’ll be some time before we can talk because she’s a wife and mom so that understandably comes first. please offer any advice or counsel or encouragement that u can think of. thank you

Seventh days argue we should at least keep Sabbath but seems like cherry picking. Others say Jesus didn't come to abolish the Law. Messianic Christians say we should keep it a lot of it.

I feel into lust again and I feel hopeless, I have no idea of how many times I've fallen into this absurd thing.

I don't believe God will forgive me for what I've done, and I don't know how to fix it so that people believe I'm truly sorry and repentant. I'm afraid of divine punishment; I don't want God to punish me for this.

I am afraid and terrified of how God will respond to this, There's no escape and I don't know how to avoid his punishment, I'm sorry, i just want to be better

Life literally just feels empty and pointless. I took yesterday off of work. I basically go through some intense waves of pure sadness. I’m talking with a doctor and going to therapy tomorrow. But why do I struggle like this? What is God actually trying to achieve in my life when I’m losing a ton of money from missing work. I can barely keep up with bills. I’m just exhausted.

Hey everybody,

I was so devoted to God last year and after a longgg waiting season came so many blessings all at once for example a good man and a job. But I got too cocky and busy and started praying less. Everything started falling apart just as soon as I got it (I lost my job and i lost the guy, unmotivated, depressed, anxious etc)

In january 2026 I started taking God seriously again. And now after so many months I finally feel like relieved again, in my restoring season and I’m so thankful to God and i’m never leaving again!

I finally have a job again. And it’s even better than the last one! So I know God restores and he makes our path straight. My mental health is also way better (this is a little testimony).

Due to trauma and mental health issues, I pushed the guy away and lost him. He is really disappointed because he gave me so many chances and lowkey moved on. Which really hurts. Like it hurts and cuts DEEP.

I am focusing on me, i am focusing on my relationship with God, trying again in school and building my physical health (Most important things ofc). But to be honest, at the end of the day, I still think about the guy. I miss him very much and I carry deep regret. I pray over him everyday and I bring this to God everyday. I know God is a God of restoration and reconciliation (part of His Will) but I do ask him if it’s in His specific will for me to let me reconcile with this guy because I mishandled this blessing and I regret it very much.

Don’t get me wrong even though this season was really hard I got a lot of blessings out of it. I also promised God that I wouldn’t leave Him and I really do want His Will to be done over my life (after this He showed me a careerpath I should take so I can help people). But I’m still just a 20 year old girl who mishandled a blessing, a blessing she dearly misses and holds a lot of regret over. The mishandling of this blessing and restoring it and healing my pcos are my only 2 desires I have on my heart.

I just wanted to know; what’s your opinion on mishandling blessings? Do you guys have any tips on how I should pray? Maybe something I should do?

Would you consider a registered SO Christian your brother in Christ?

I just finished reading 1 king 22 and realized that god allow the spirit of lie to deceived the bad king and know I’m questioning myself like I went through a spiritual journey to find myself and know I feel like everything was just a lie starting to question myself and my journey with god like this god just allowing lies to me?

Hi, so I'm just a baby christian, water wings in the kiddie pool level.

I was a follower of Christ when I was young, then went into the New Age, and now I'm back with Christ (THANK YOU!), officially on Easter this year.

I'm finding myself in a situation now where people a few people are wanting to talk about Christ. It's not a disagreement, it seems more like a "you know, I was here once, but now I'm not, I don't know what to believe" type of situation.

Last night at my local art meeting, where we meet at a church, a very good friend told me why she doesn't believe. And I found myself telling her that I've come back to Christ, and she was curious.

In a few weeks, I'm going to visit my sister and her husband. Her husband is a believer who is coming back to Christ, and my sister is open. I'm pretty sure the discussion will come up, and I might be asked what I think about different aspects. They come from different starting points, and somethings are just not on the table. Her husband has come to the conclusion that the New Age is bad news. She disagrees, she hasn't reached that point yet. I have recently reached that point, and now see that it's way off the path, and a complete hijack of Christ and Christianity. I AM weary of this discussion, because it will seem like I'm taking one person's side over the other, yet my sister trusts me and I don't want to squander that trust.

My husband as well. He's high level intelligence, and so he comes to Christianity through that lens, and he asks me questions, we talk about what I'm reading (I'm currently read Matthew, and I just started), and what I've learned. I find it difficult to express to him my experience, because some of my experiences with God, and the Holy spirit are experiential, not a logic problem. This is sometimes hard to deal with because I'm at a loss to explain things so he can understand. But he's very open to building a relationship with Christ.

I'm willing to talking to people and supporting them, but I really don't feel like I have any foundation to actually do this. I want to be a good steward of this, and I really don't want to put anyone off. But I don't know anything except my own experience. I cannot speak from a position of authority on the big topics like who goes to heaven and who doesn't. How to know God's voice, how to pray. None of that. I'm so new to this myself.

Do y'all have any advice, or can you point me to some resources where I can start learning this? I feel very ADD and scattered with my own path and education, there is a lot of energy available, but very little focus.

I ask because the book of revelations mentions these spirits and i have to admit during sleep paralysis i have experienced something similar a few times.

I personally believe demons and spirits exist but that they can’t harm us when we live righteously and follow the word of god.

Please, help....

My sister's husband got arrested for online solicitation of a minor, under 14.... Luckily(?) it was a sting by the local police and THIS TIME no child was harmed, but thanks to this "Christian" group called Rise Up King's has all these "Kings" (the husbands) who are serial cheaters convincing their "Queens" (wives) that they should just forgive them for everything and accept them back with open arms.

She talks like this is all God's plan and how she's doing x, y, z, to cleanse their home from demons and darkness while bringing this shitbag back home to their kids.

I need help figuring out how I'm supposed to get through to her and help her realize that:

1. He does not care for her.

2. SHE is a victim in all this and its NOT HER RESPONSIBILITY.

3. She is choosing a pedo over the rest of her family that loves her.

4. Her life will never be the same when he can't get a job, can't go to school events, can't pick up from daycare, can't go to birthday parties, and if parents at school find out they will never let their kids go over.

This Rise Up Kings group has their claws in her so deep via the other "queens" that are always there. So, how can I reach her without her turning it around and saying I'm somehow against God and that I'm trying to somehow ruin His plan for them?? Her mindset honestly feels more like a domestic abuse victim sucked in by a religious cult than anything...

What the heck do I do??

Hi, I’m a 28 year old man who has been struggling with finding new Christian friends. Growing up I was always the kid who has all the friends and it stayed that way up until last year. I had an eye-opening experience, in the house that I was living in with my “friends” and it made me drastically come back to the lord. My friends didn’t receive my rekindled faith and actually mocked me for following Jesus and my political views. They ended up all turning on me and kicking me out. At the same time my best friend since 7th grade got a girlfriend who pulled him away from the lord and from me. He wasn’t able to see me or hangout with me until they broke up. Now he has turned away from god and drinks and party’s and I just can’t hangout with him while he lives in sin. I still love him deeply but hanging out with him always pulls be back to old habits and sins. I guess I just feel stuck and lonely. I miss hanging out with my friends and going on trips. It feels like part of me died, and makes me want to go back to my old ways just so I can have my friends back. I guess my question is how can I meet a new friend group who loves god as much as me?