Herbal Medicines:

June 2006 Dear Sir or Madam, I accidentally stumbled on your sight, I have a question that has nothing to do with the topics I've seen on your sight, I was thinking maybe you can help me. I am a born again believer, who loves God. I thought that I was the only Christian female who feels this way but I am not. I have been married going on 7 years. My question is what does the bible say about Christian women taking herbal breast enhancers. Breast feeding has really, really taken a huge toll on me and I was really wondering if turning to natural enhancers is ok for a believer. I personally believe nothing is wrong with it, but the bible says in proverbs 21:2- "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord pondereth the heart." Please help me on this matter. Your quick response would be greatly appreciated. God Bless You! Thank you for your question. It’s sort of a prickly one that doesn’t have a yes or no answer. The answer I think, is in the verse that you quoted to me; Proverbs 21:2. “the Lord pondereth the heart.” The question you have to answer is why you want to take breast enhancers. If it’s an attempt to please your husband by maintaining your appearance, I can’t see anything wrong with that as long as it’s not harmful to your health. But if your motivation for wanting to take breast enhancers is vanity on your part, then it would seem to be the wrong way to go. Only you can answer that question. You need to spend some time in prayer and ask the Lord to examine your heart and motivations. Have you consulted with your husband (and possibly with your doctor)? Here are some verses that you might want to consider: Prov. 31:30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. 1 Peter 3:1, 3-4 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; … Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

  Evangelism:

June 2006 I have a question. :) first let me give you a little info leading up to my question. There are people tired of me inviting them to visit my church for our upcoming events. People tend to call me the church lady. Will you please lead me or give me scriptures that reference sharing what I have discovered about the goodness of God and our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. One scripture I think is appropriate is 2Timothy 4:9-18 especially verse 5, You, however, be self-controlled in all things, endure hardship, do an evangelist’s work, fulfill your ministry. I tend to get discourage by all the negativity please advise of other scriptures. Thank you, Angela Angela; Thank you for your email. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to respond. After reading your message, the first scripture that came to my mind was the one that is commonly known as the “the Great Commission;” where Jesus leaves his followers with very clear instructions: Mark 16:15 Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. We are told over and over in scripture to tell others about the good news of Jesus. We are also told that not everyone will be glad to hear it. After all, Jesus proclaimed the good news and they killed him for it. The apostles went into all the world and they were killed because they preached the gospel. But Jesus told us from the beginning that this would be the case. That people would resist the gospel. Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved Mat 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. John 15:18-20 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you…. John 16:1-2 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. 2 Tim 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution So, we know that if we are going out and preaching the gospel, there will be people that will get upset by that. They might call us names like “the church lady” and other things but that’s nothing compared to what the saints in the past have undergone. And you should know that there are people right now in the world that are giving up their lives for the sake of the gospel. You don’t hear about it much in the news because it’s not “politically correct.” People living in communist countries like China are being imprisoned and killed for their faith. People living in Muslim controlled countries are being tortured and killed. It happens everyday. Yet these brothers and sisters in Christ are not ashamed of the gospel and they still proclaim the good news. Their example encourages us to be even more bold for Christ. But I wouldn’t just go around inviting people to church. I would tell them the gospel: Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom 5:8-9 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Rom 10:9-11 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Be encouraged, and continue to spread the Good News of Jesus. Voice of the Martyrs

  Fornication:

June 2006 Hello, I just wanted to get your opinion on a situation that I am going through. You being a person of God, I know you will let me know the truth without holding back, cause that is what we do as Christians we tell the truth so we can come closer to the Lord. But, any ways, say you and an individual became friends through a spiritual connection because you both were involved with an on campus Bible Study. Being that it is college, the devil will try his best to tempt you into wrongful things towards the Lord, you just have to trust in Him and know that He is there right beside you. But, while the relationship progresses the devil moves in and the temptation that he throws out there you fall into the trap. Ungodly things, in which I mean, sexual acts start to happen. Deep down you know it is wrong but you still keep doing these wrongful acts towards the Lord, because there is none righteous, no not one (Romans 3:10). But, way before the situation happened you told this individual that we should just be hi and bye friends, because they stated that they had a crush on and did not want them to act on it, but they insist on you being friends because they cherish the friendship way to much. Also, this individual is the one who started with you far as the touching goes. I’m not saying that they pulled me into it, because it clearly was a mutual thing, but they would consistently do things until you gave in. So, out of the blue, they discuss this situation with their best friend who suggests that they need to end the friendship immediately, without even discussing the situation with you first or I feel went to Lord about first either. They also did not give you the respect of telling you that they do not want to talk to you ever again to your face, they do this by phone. It has been hard for me, for one, because I truly know that I disobeyed my Father and I am now back with my first love. I just feel that we could have handled the situation better than how it ended. This situation took a big tole on me, in which I stopped attending Bible Study, in which, I know was dumb because that is about the Lord, not them. I understand us not hanging out, but us not talking for the rest of our lives is crucial. This was the first friendship that I put my heart into and when I said we shouldn’t hang out was way before we got real close or anything happened. Deep done inside I want this individual to be my friend, but they are letting others influence their thoughts. I just want to know what to do. I know I need to trust in the Lord and that is all I’ve been doing but I just want to know why is this person shutting me out in a cold way. Christian work things out, they do not give up on each other. I whole purpose in life is to be like Jesus. He never gave up on people. But, there is one thing that I did not mention, this situation happened between two females. Hello and thank you for your email. Your letter saddened me greatly. As Christians it is so easy to fall into the traps that Satan sets for us. And I’m sure you would agree that while sin might be pleasurable for a brief time, the results are always very painful. God has set forth parameters for us to live by so that we can avoid the pain of sin. If you had not become involved in this sinful situation, you would not be going through the pain of separation right now. God wants us to have abundant life, abundant joy. When we choose sin over God, it brings pain rather than joy. 1 Cor 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. Eph 5:3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; We are told in scripture to FLEE fornication. This is a very strong warning because it’s such an easy snare to fall into. Not only are we to avoid any temptation in this area but we are to flee or run from it. We are not to play around with this sin because the Lord knows that it will trap us. And that’s exactly the trap you fell into. You said in your email that from the very beginning, this woman told you that she was attracted to you. That was your moment to FLEE! Instead, you cultivated the friendship and played around with sin. Now, this woman is doing the exact right thing. She is not putting herself in a situation where she would be tempted to sin again. I think it is exactly right that you should both brake all connection. You have already shown that you are not strong enough to resist the temptation, you should therefore be smart enough to avoid it. As one Christian to another I’d like to remind you that the only way to resist the temptations that Satan will through at you, is to become strong in the Word. Psa 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. By spending time each day reading God’s Word, you are equipping yourself to withstand temptation and sin. I will be praying for you.

  Patience :

May. 2006 Where in the bible does it say not to pray for patience? Thank you for your question. As Christians we need to always go back to the Bible to verify everything we are taught. This is a perfect example of why that is so important. You are wise to ask the question, “where in the Bible does it say ….” The fact is, that no where in the Bible does it say that we aren’t to pray for patience. In fact, we are to strive to be patient. Rom 15:5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: 1 Tim 6:11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Titus 2:1-2 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, There are other verses talking about patience, but I’ll stop there. The reason you hear people say “don’t pray for patience” is because in order to learn patience, you must be under some sort of stress or duress. Christians know that if God has to teach you to be patient, He is going to apply some sort of pressure to your life. People who aren’t striving to be like Christ, who aren’t seeking to be everything that God wants them to be, don’t want to under go the pressure. That’s why they say “don’t pray for patience.” Thank you for asking the question and keep demanding Biblical proof for everything you are taught…you won’t go wrong if you do.

  Adultery:

May. 2006 WHAT ABOUT ME WHAT DOES IT SAY IN THE BIBLE ABOUT A MARRIED MAN WHOS WIFE IS AFRAID OF SEX AND HASENT MADE LOVE IN MANY YEARS TO HUSBAND NO KISSING TOUCHING SEX AND THE MAN BECAUSE HES DESPERATE GOES WITH OTHER WOMAN PLEASE TELL ME Thank you for your question. The Bible has a good bit to say about this subject. You are not the only person that has had this problem. Paul tells married couples not to deprive their spouse of sex because this puts a temptation on that person. 1 Cor 7:1-5 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. This doesn’t give you the right to demand sex from your wife or to force her. But I want you to notice that it’s saying that to go without sex, brings a temptation to sin. That must mean then that to fulfill that desire, outside of marriage, is a sin. Do you follow me? Adultery, by definition, is sex outside of your marriage vows. When you read about adultery in the Bible, there is never a proviso that give you permission if your wife is refusing you. Here is what the Bible says about adultery: Exo 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. Deu 5:18 Neither shalt thou commit adultery Prov 6:32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. We are told over and over again in the Bible to restrain the desire of our flesh. God was very specific about telling us exactly what he meant by “desires of the flesh.” Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery , fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, So, over and over again we are told to put down the desires of the flesh and walk according to the Spirit of God. Rom 8:5-6,8, 13 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace… So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God… For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. Rom 13:13-14 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. Gal 5:16, 19, 24 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh ...And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. Gal 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 1 Pet 4:1-2 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 1 John 2:16-17 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. Your wife’s refusal to have sex with you does NOT give you the freedom to have sex with women outside of marriage. You are engaging in sin and I think you already knew that without having me tell you. You have two things that you really need to think about right now. FIRST; you are living in a state of sin, and you are living in rebellion to God. You need to repent and ask God for forgiveness. Your sin is separating you from God and the wrath of God is currently abiding on you. But God is merciful…. Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That is your FIRST order of business, to ask God for forgiveness through Jesus Christ. SECOND, you need to ask yourself WHY your wife doesn’t want to have sex with you? That is not normal. I don’t know what went wrong in your marriage but something is definitely very wrong. I don’t know what started it all, but I can tell you that no one…. and I mean no one…. wants to have sex with an unfaithful spouse. That unfaithful spouse is filthy in the eyes of the wife and in the eyes of the Lord.

  Death of a Son:

May. 2006 I happened to find your site today on the internet. I am in such deep grief over the passing of my only child on May 1, 2006. He was only 29 years of age and had been through so much suffering in his short life. He had been diagnosed in 1999 with third stage Hodgkin's Disease ( lymphoma cancer). He had undergone rigorous chemotherapy for a full year only for it to return 18 months later. February 12, 2003, he underwent a stem cell transplant and again very lethal doses of chemotherapy in an all out effort to conquer the dragon of cancer. His lungs very so badly damaged by this round of chemotherapy that he spent the remaining three years of his life in and out of hospitals for the treatment of recurring infections and pneumonia. Scoot asked for the hospital chaplain shortly before he died and prayed the sinner's prayer for salvation. He had already accepted Christ some years before and also had been baptized but for some reason, God only knows, he felt he needed to be saved again. We agonized to see our son struggle valiantly for every breath. He was on 100% oxygen and the doctors and hospital staff were constantly pushing us to let them go ahead and euthanize him with a lethal dose of morphine. We protested adamantly but his doctor came by on his morning rounds on May the first and with out any warning shoved a lethal dose of morphine in Scoot's pick line. As I begged my son not to leave me (even though he had already fully flat-lined and the doctor said he was gone) I felt his precious hand rubbing the top of my head. I looked up to see his beautiful blue eyes tenderly looking at me and his stats were returning on the machine beside his bed. The nurse also noticed and went out into the hospital hall to retrieve the doctor. He in turn came back in the room carrying another hypodermic needle and syringe filled with morphine e. Within seconds of administering this final dose our son's lovely blue eyes wildly dilated and then rolled back in his head. The doctor stayed there this time, listened to his chest and sides and then hastened to pull our boy's oxygen mask off. The only comfort I can manage to hold on to is the hope my son is active in Heaven. I mean, I hope he is not just sleeping but actually up and about gloriously serving Jesus and maybe even visiting with my brother (also a saved Christian) and my grandparents. How do you believe about this matter and also what can you tell me that will help me with the horror of that last moment of seeing my child put to death right in front of me? I keep seeing his eyes; and not having the chance to pray with him as he crossed over torments me. Thank you so much for your attention. God bless you for being there. Jean Jean; Your email made me so sad. I know the horrible effects of cancer having lost my mother to cancer. I understand the temptation that the doctors felt to end the suffering. But I agree with you that what the doctor did was horrible. I can’t even begin to understand the pain you must be going through. But God understands what you are going through. He suffered the same pain and grief at the murder of His only Son. God has given us many words of comfort concerning the death of our loved ones. Words of hope that tell us that death is not the end, but the beginning of a wonderful eternal life with God and with his Son Jesus. I’ve often thought about what a joy it must have been for my mother when she stepped out of that body, so full of pain and suffering, and stepped into the loving arms of Jesus. I can’t even imagine the wonder and joy she must have felt and it brings me much comfort to know for certain that she’s there right now. I think you are right to believe that your son is alive right now with Jesus. Paul said: 2 Cor 5:6-8 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. When we leave this body, we are told in the Word of God that we will be present with the Lord. Often in the Bible the word “sleep” means the death of the body. Our bodies will “sleep” in the grave until Jesus returns and we are resurrected. But the verse above tells us that our soul will be present with the Lord, not in an unconscious state, like being asleep. So, in the verse below, we are told to be comforted when our loved ones “sleep“ or when they pass from this world to the next: 1 Thes 4:13-18 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. That brings me a lot of comfort. These verses are probably very familiar to you. But I find comfort hearing them again. Maybe you will too.

  Head of the House:

May. 2006 To my understanding, the bible says that God wants men to be the head of the house and women are supposed to be submissive to their husbands. To what extent is that? If my boyfriend thinks that cheating is ok, because these other women are only for pleasure and it’s me that he loves, am I supposed to submit to that and allow it? Would it be a sin to disapprove? Is it right for a man to do that? When the bible says we’re not supposed to have sex before marriage, does that mean sex period, or sex with our future husband/wife? Hello and thank you for viewing the web site. Your email brings up several questions and I’ll try to answer them as best I can. First, it’s true that the husband is to be the head of the house and the wife is to submit to his authority. There are several verses we could look at to show this, but there is one passage that makes it crystal clear: Eph 5:22-24 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. OK now, notice that it says that the WIFE is to submit to the HUSBAND. There is nothing in here about boyfriends or girlfriends. We are talking here about a man and a woman living together as husband and wife. Two believers in Jesus who are striving to live according to God’s will for their life. If you are not married and are living together, then you are already outside of the Will of God and whether or not you are submissive to your boyfriend is irrelevant. That brings us to your second question about sex outside of marriage. The definition of fornication is sex outside of marriage. Here is what the Bible says about fornication: 1 Cor 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Eph 5:3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; If you are living with your boyfriend and having sex, you are sinning. It doesn’t matter if you plan to marry him in the future or not. You need to stop what you are doing and ask Jesus for forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness God has a wonderful plan for your life it you are willing to submit to His authority and follow the guidelines that he has set forth. Don’t settle for second best, don’t try to circumvent God’s will for your life.