Maryanna, that was a great prayer. I'm just seeing these posts for the first time, and I'll join in prayer too. BEP, since you mentioned medication, I'd be happy to pray for you too, if that's okay.

I'm praying, too, for both of you. For his return, and for your comfort. I pray that God will give you peace about the situation. There's a book you might want to suggest to him; I don't know how old he is, but it's called A Grief Observed by CS Lewis. It deals with those very unanswerable questions. In Lewis's case, he lost his wife to cancer. Blessings to you, my friend.

Yes! That's very true; I hadn't thought about it that way before. I wonder if we all live in one gigantic palace or if we have separate dwellings in heaven. After we all meet the Lord, are there going to be huge line-ups to meet Luther and Spurgeon and Brooks? I doubt it; we'll all be thrilled just to meet the Lord.

No one knows the time or the date, but just out of pure speculation, do you think He'll return in our lifetime?

Tibby, you've actually been a lot of help, just knowing someone is praying for me and giving very good advice. Thank you.

Blackeyedpeas, thank you for your help, too. it's getting to that point. I already called the pastor but he's on vacation this week.  

Absolutely. Full zeal in witnessing is our duty. I think the part I'd slow down on is trying to force people to make an on-the-spot decision; Jesus said to count the cost of being His disciple, and I'm not sure we properly prepare new believers for this part of it. As you mention, too, the devil is at work overtime, and I don't think new believers have adequate information on how to fight this war, and I think they need more support and follow-up after the decision. It takes preparation to get ready to change friends, face the ridicule and jeering from old friends, the world, and even family. But I'm working on solutions to these problems, finding better ways of offering care to the new convert.

You raised another good point, too, and that's the idea that saying the sinner's prayer doesn't necessarily mean a conversion; so how many saints actually fall away, I have no way of knowing. And I think that's how the church issuing the report made their calculation, by how many said the prayer versus how many were actively seeking fellowship with God a year later. And ultimately some of it could just be backsliding; who knows what they decide ten years after "falling away." I do think there's a problem, though in the area of support for new believers. If they don't have anything to go to, then they go back to what they know, which is the world.

Good, I'm so glad. I hope you get to take that vacation; it sounds wonderful! I'll keep you in my prayers.

Yeah, I heard a statistic on the radio that approximately 90% of people who make decisions for Christ fall away, most within the first year. I think it's because we give them the gospel message they've heard many times before, and either they want to be polite or they make the prayer out of an emotional decision, without realizing they're agreeing to change the whole way they live. It isn't a decision to be made lightly, because they might think about that later in life when they're ripe to know the Lord, but think it didn't work; they tried it before. I'm wondering if it's best to live the example, give them as much information as they seem willing to receive, then encourage them to make the decision on their own.

Thank you. God's blessings to you, and you're in my prayers, too.

Wow. That is a difficult situation. It's heartbreaking, I know. It could be that he doesn't feel confident in some area. Maybe he's not sure he knows how to handle fatherhood, or maybe he wants you to stop working once you do have a child and that will mean more expenses and half the income. It could be that he has old dreams, maybe of traveling or some other thing that will be a lot harder once the kids come, and he's afraid that having kids will mean the end of all those things. You might want to bring up casually, not in the context of the other discussion, what his secret dreams are. Maybe he's always wanted to explore the Arctic, or just go boating every weekend. Even if he says he wants to go skydiving, do what you can to make his dreams possible and when he's had a chance at it, maybe he'll feel ready for kids. Maybe hang out with couples who have kids, and if his dream is relatively tame, take your friends and their kids along to show him it doesn't have to be the end. Then he'll feel like there are other people who've been through it, too, as long as your friends don't pressure him to have kids. That'll just make him dig his heals in deeper. Blessings to you, and you'll be in my prayers.

Happy birthday! God's richest blessings in the upcoming year, and many happy moments.

Thanks, guys. I'm praying for you, too. You know, it's just so surreal. I think that's exacly what's been happening, about the faith being unsettling. So this individual uses very subtle deceit to dismantle the work. When I first received the position, this person belittled it to a bunch of friends, mocked it, called the work "little," laughed at it, but God blessed it (of course, because it's His) and now the person is trying to take control of the project, even though she isn't even involved in it. She's even taken ownership of my box in the office, (by this I mean she's professed it to be hers) even though she has absolutely nothing to do with the ministry!! Wierd. Her claim is that she's been trying to solicit help from congregation members for me. Actually, she's trying to take it from me, or get people to turn against me if that doesn't work. When it didn't work, the person went into some group meetings and made some false, accusatory statements about me, because I wasn't there to give the truth. People in leadership know it isn't true, but they don't deal with her either because they're afraid of her. So they give the truth but allow her to remain and she continues with her evil work.  

Tibby, I'm concerend about a family member who has been working overtime to destroy the work God has called me to do. I trust God entirely, and I know He will be faithful to accomplish His plans, but this individual has done me a great deal of harm and tries to destroy any spiritual seed that I'm planting.  I'm concerned about the souls this person is harming, and the soul of the person who is doing the damage. I know God isn't going to tolerate it much longer, and He's been with me. But It's difficult to see the person behind the facade in ways I never did before God blessed this labor He created. It's sad.

Anyone have any tips for how to handle this situation? Thanks.