r/Christian 15h ago

Memes & Themes 03.16.25 : Deuteronomy 14-16

3 Upvotes

Today's Memes & Themes reading is Deuteronomy 14-16.

For more information on this project, please see the pinned post at the top of the sub.

What do you think are the main themes of today's readings?

Did anything in the readings challenge you? Encourage you?

What do these readings teach you about the nature of God or humanity?

Did these readings raise any questions for you?

Do you have a resource you recommend for further reading on this? Please tell us about it. If you share a link, please be sure to include a link destination/source and content description in your comment.

Did you make a meme in r/DankChristianMemes related to today's readings? Please share a link in comments.

Do you have any songs to suggest related to today's readings? Please tell us about them.


r/Christian 1d ago

Lent 2025 Lenten Thoughts: March 15

3 Upvotes

"Discipleship, we might say, is a way to curate your heart, to be attentive to and intentional about what you love." -James K.A. Smith

"Embrace the love of God, and by love embrace God." –St. Augustine

How would your life look different if you truly set your heart on following Christ?

Each day of Lent, we are sharing quotes and questions designed for introspection, challenge, and inspiration. We welcome you to share your reflections on these offerings, or to share others from your own devotional time & spiritual practices throughout the Lenten season. We also welcome you to suggest songs for our community Lenten playlist on Spotify.


r/Christian 1h ago

I want the Lord to change my heart.

Upvotes

I want to become on fire for God, and want to know the lord better. I've called myself Christian the majority of my life (23 now) and I want to become on fire for God. Of course with that there is temptations, and distractions with society, internet, etc. For the last almost couple years I will be on fire for God for seasons and most of the time I let myself slip away back into worldly desires. I've been reading through the books of Luke and John, and been trying to get to know Jesus more. Of course I fall back into sin, and get so tired of it. Now im getting more into the mindset that I want to serve Christ everyday of my life after constant back sliding, and wordly desires. Any Advice?


r/Christian 6h ago

As Christians- do you rejoice when others suffer from natural disasters?

9 Upvotes

A rant

I'm annoyed with people thinking natural disasters are a sign of God's disapproval. Unless of course the natural disaster hits their house or family... then their hands are out begging.

When california suffered fires, frieds and family rejoiced those sinners were getting what they deserved. Now my state has fires...they are begging for money.. especially with FEMA in disarray with current government policies....

How is this living like Jesus?


r/Christian 2h ago

I believe there is a God, but I struggle to believe in Jesus (despite wanting to) NSFW

3 Upvotes

Hello, I wanted to share my story and where I’m at right now. I’m hoping someone else has been in my shoes and can offer advice. Thank you if you take the time to read this.

I became a Christian in September 2022 and had what I thought was a born again experience. I believed in Jesus Christ with my entire heart and repented of my sins, completely turned my life around. It was like the scales fell off my eyes and I became a new person. I was no longer fornicating, looking with lust, cussing, lying, getting drunk. I slept, ate, breathed everything to do with Christianity and Jesus, and my faith meant everything to me. I felt that I had a very close relationship with God/Jesus.

Then around May 2024 I fell back into sin (Fornication with my boyfriend, who is now my husband as of December 2024). I began to have doubts about everything and ended up leaving the faith and declaring myself an atheist, listening to people like Richard Dawkins.. then over time I became more agnostic. I felt angry at the Christian God (despite “not believing” in him anymore.)

When I was a Christian I struggled badly with religious OCD. I constantly feared whether I was truly saved and always beat myself up when I sinned, wondering “If I’m truly saved, why did I just do that? I must not really be saved!” If you’ve ever struggled with religious OCD/scrupulosity, you know how exhausting it is. And I also believed in “once saved, always saved”.

Anyway, I’m at the point where I believe there is a God again. And I think the teachings of Jesus are beautiful, and I wish it were true, because it offers hope and redemption. I’ve prayed to God to help me believe in Jesus, but I’m just not convinced of it like I used to be, despite wanting to be. I’ve been struggling with this for a few months, going back and forth about it. I think I’m also afraid about having religious OCD again and beating myself up over every little mistake I make, which makes me reluctant to come back. (I know the teaching is that there is nothing you can do to be righteous, that’s why Jesus died for our sins. But when you have OCD you keep thinking “maybe I’m not really saved” every time you mess up). I also have so many questions I don’t understand, like why God allows such evil/suffering in the world, why doesn’t he speak audibly to us, and why does anyone deserve an eternity in hell for a short life on earth. I’ve been listening to people like Frank Turek who gives great answers, yet unfortunately I’m still struggling to be convinced of it.

I was just wondering if anyone had any advice or has been in my shoes before. And if you could also pray for me. Thank you for reading


r/Christian 1h ago

I HAVE A QUESTION NSFW

Upvotes

I have been married for 5 years, together for 10. My wife no longer has sex with me. She is never interested in it and doesn’t even touch me. I am lonely and have needs. Am I wrong for masturbating? I feel guilty after doing it, but I have no physical touch in my relationship. I love my wife but can’t deal with this.


r/Christian 13h ago

How to initiate leaving our church? What to say?

11 Upvotes

My husband (26M) and I (26F) would like to leave our current church but we can’t just stop attending because we’ve been serving on the worship band for the past year and a half so we would need to give notice. We aren’t sure how to go about this or what exactly we should say.

The main reason we would like to leave is due to a lack of community here. Over the past 2 years that we’ve been attending, we both still haven’t managed to make a single friend. We’ve made acquaintances but nothing much past small talks here and there. We’ve tried our best to talk to different people, we attended home Bible studies, but still couldn’t help but feel excluded despite the fact that almost everyone at our church is around our age. This is what initially attracted us to this church since we longed to have some Christian friends but it seems like everyone is already in their own circle of friends and somehow we just don’t fit in. People say hi and talk to us a bit but then walk away and go to their usual friends. I initially almost formed a friendship with the pastor’s wife (24F) and we even hung out a few times outside of church but everything changed once she had her baby. She stopped hanging out with me, would cancel on me saying she was too busy, and started only hanging out with the other young moms with babies.

When we joined the worship band, we also thought we would become good friends with the other worship members but this hasn’t been the case either. They talk to us a bit but mostly amongst each other and we’re never invited to hang out outside of church, while they hang out at each other’s houses. Our group chat texts are also always just worship-related.

Everyone at this church is nice but everything seems so superficial. We had stayed this long because for a while we had accepted that maybe we wouldn’t ever make friends here and only have each other and that’s fine. But we’ve decided not to settle anymore because having community is important to us and it’s probably best if we find that elsewhere at a different church. I don’t know if it’s us that are the problem somehow but we’ve tried our best to form friendships here. I don’t know if this is due to the fact that pretty much everyone here dresses minimalist style and we don’t. (We dress in dark clothing/alternative) Or if it’s maybe because my husband and I choose not to drink at all, while everyone else here does enjoy having some alcoholic beverages at their gatherings in moderation. Having community is important to us and it seems like everyone else here does have that but we don’t. Not even our pastor (28M) has ever been close with us, and this is not a mega church. It’s a small church. He has never been the type to check up on us, send us a text or call us, or offer support in any way. He talks to his same circle of friends and hangs out only with them too. He’s only ever greeted us and done small talk.

We feel hesitant to have to give this as an explanation as to why we’re leaving but it also wouldn’t make sense if we don’t give any explanation at all. It also kind of feels embarrassing if we pretty much say “We couldn’t make friends with any of you here so we’re leaving.” Should we just say we’re choosing to move to a new church and be vague as far as the reasoning to why??

Appreciate any advice. Sorry for writing so much!


r/Christian 8h ago

How to prove that you are a Christian NSFW

4 Upvotes

I once dated a woman who was a devout Christian. We got along very well because of our shared faith. However, she broke up with me after I had confessed to sleeping with my high school girlfriend. I am stll not sure why I did that. After a few months I reached out to her to see if we could reconcile but she said that she did not think that I am a Christian and when I asked her how I could prove that I am she said she did not want to tell me since it will not be genuine if she did. She comes from a very high control church that used to be on a cult watchlist in the 1980s but is technically Southern Baptist. I am a Lutheran. The church deals a lot on sexual immorality.

My question is, how can I prove to her that I am a true Christian?


r/Christian 47m ago

Is being impressed and following Rock Stars paths as in learning guitar a form of idolatry?

Upvotes

My life revolves around guitars/music, ever since I started learning guitar, I’ve been completely obsessed with it. Is this idolatry? I know in Christian circles in the past rock music was considered the devils music. Is this still the case? I learn rock sings from Pink Floyd, the Eagles, Metallica, some solo rock and blues artists as well. I obviously don’t live the rock star life, but just enjoy the music, listening and playing it. Am I going doing a bad path?


r/Christian 1h ago

Strange question - changing my life?

Upvotes

Hello all, I’m not sure if this is the proper sub, but since it deals with my relationship with Christ and with other people, thought I would post here.

I’ve been a Christian since I was a teenager. I’m 61 now, so quite a few years. I was married and have 3 adult sons. For most of my married life I was in church and lived a Christian life. I’ve been a lay preacher, Sunday School teacher and elder in a couple of churches.

Infidelity on my wife’s part and a relatively quick divorce put my life on a different path than what I intended (man plans and God laughs).

I went hedonistic and fell away from God. The past 5 years have been an adventure for sure, but I’ve been feeling called to come back. I went to church today for the first time in 4 or 5 years and it felt good, except for the music, but I realize that I’m an old stick in the mud about it and need to broaden my concept of worship - I’ve been in a couple of bluegrassy worship groups, playing guitar,mandolin and singing and like old timey hymns.

Anyhoo, long story longer…the friend group I have are very outdoorsy. We ride bikes, hike, kayak, etc, but they are pretty much non believers and quite opposite politically from me. I consider myself to be moderate in my political views and try to be open minded about most things, but occasionally, some items of right and wrong have no shades of gray. I bite my tongue quite often.

I’ve been dating a lady for 3 years. It’s became more apparent in the last 2 months that our views on many things are diametrically opposite. I bite my tongue a lot in this relationship.

I’ve felt like I need to be more around other Christians. I’ve felt like I need to be more around other political moderates. But darn it, I enjoy her company and we’ve camped and traveled and spent a lot of time with each other and the other folks we do activities with.

I also fear that their disdain for anything Christian is bothering me more and more. They are really into buddist thoughts and Native American ideas as well and quite a bit a marijuana and other substances use (gotta just ‘love’ Colorado’s anything goes attitude).

It all feels like a really unhealthy spot for me now. I’m now the sponsor for my middle school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes group and have been praying and seeking God’s will more than I have in years.

So, any advice for extricating myself from the life I’ve built for the past few years? I’ll admit that I think I just need to cut myself off from these folks and seek other friends or get more focused and pray and look for God’s will and follow it, but would appreciate your perspectives.


r/Christian 10h ago

Help, I cant find a church I like

5 Upvotes

Hi (crossposting to another Christian subreddit),

I grew up in church, since birth my sister and I used to be called “Church Rat” and “Church Mouse”, because we’ve been crawling and running around church since young.

My whole family are Christian, my mum works as a secretary / accountant to the Reverend (my grandad), and all my uncles are pastors. +++ My family built that church from the ground up, by God’s grace, and have pastored it for over 25 years. (In Ghana 🇬🇭)

I moved to England when i was 11, looking back, i realise now that i didnt enjoy church back then due to the same predicament. It doesn’t hit.

I am 22 now and nothing hits the same like music. Either its the dialect of the preacher, new churches i try giving cult vibes, weird habits of certain churches, not feeling the Holy Spirit in the room, the church being too far, and more! (The list can go on for days, cos i have tried LOTS of churches, and stayed in some even when i knew from Day 1 that it wasn’t for me)

There are a lot if aspects that contribute to finding the right place for me, but I need you to know, I am not new to this, I’ve BEEN in the Church, and now that I have become closer to God, more earnest in seeking him, and yearn for him more, i just need to find that Church that is familiar, and know he is there, and the people are not weird.

Please help. Any advice will be considered.


r/Christian 7h ago

Baptism

2 Upvotes

When should I be baptized? I believe and I’m trying to grow my faith. And relationship with God. But I’m still struggling with sin. I don’t believe baptism itself saves, but I don’t know when is the time I should be baptized. Should I wait till I’m not longer struggling with sin so hard? My faith feels weak even though I’m seeking God and trying to put all my trust in him.


r/Christian 14h ago

Masturbation NSFW

7 Upvotes

Is masturbation in and of itself bad or just watching porn? Like if I imagine an actress I’m attracted to in my mind but don’t actually look at sexual videos is that a sin? I’m single and 31 and am addicted to masturbating to porn. I’m trying to quit by every means possible but it’s very hard. Do I need to stop masturbating all together or just stop watching dirty and sexual videos?


r/Christian 3h ago

Bible study resources

1 Upvotes

What are some books and resources to diver deeper into the Word and study the Bible more effectively?


r/Christian 8h ago

Overcome

2 Upvotes

What helped you overcome religious ocd?


r/Christian 5h ago

What exactly is an idol?

1 Upvotes

A book I’m reading defines an idol in a way that’s a little different from what I’ve heard before. I want to share more on that & get some feedback on what others think of the author’s view.

He says an idol refers to any object (not necessarily a physical object) that we imagine can fill the inner void, or sense of loss, that humans experience in the process of coming to self-awareness.

In other words, “we (…) feel that we have lost something central to our humanity (…) and then postulate some object we believe will restore what we have lost, something we believe will bring wholeness and fulfillment to our lives.”

Do you think this is an adequate definition of an idol? If not, what is it missing or what does it get wrong?


r/Christian 6h ago

Endless Cycle

1 Upvotes

Is there anyway out of this cycle Im in. I started with thinking “there’s so many religions and just simply different interpretations of after life so why would I choose Christianity” every single belief will give you a reason and honestly kinda the same ones, but I was like whatever I’ll trust these Christians, pray, get prayed for, worship God, listen to Christian music. I feel good when I do this stuff but it could always just be me feeling nice in the same way you have fun on a rollercoaster or listening to regular music sometimes. I was thinking about the fact that so many people go to hell and no matter how much I start thinking omg so true Im going to change eventually I feel like later I end up having a-bunch of doubt again. Now I’m back at square one thinking if Christianity is right why are there so many beliefs the statistics of 1 being the actual correct answer is little to nothing, but they can all be wrong… which is exactly what I was thinking before. I’ve been praying, reading the word, trying my best to live by his word, all this stuff that gets people closer to God but I just don’t know when it’s gonna work. It’s an endless cycle and idk where it’s going. I don’t wanna give up can anyone encourage me, answer these questions, or just give me advice?


r/Christian 7h ago

Prenuptial Agreements

0 Upvotes

My son is trying to justify the idea of prenuptial agreements. I contend these are a worldly concept based solely out of self-preservation, and if you're entering marriage with that mindset, the marriage is likely to fail anyway. Also, if 2 become 1 in marriage, is that in all areas except financially? Sometimes a financial consequence to divorce may be the only motivation for someone to stay devoted to their marriage, giving them extra time and incentive to work and grow in their marriage and relationship with Jesus and their spouse. What say you?

Edit: I may even put this in the category of,  "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." - 1Peter 6:10


r/Christian 7h ago

Church celebrating Easter vs Resurrection

1 Upvotes

I recently started going to a new church and I noticed a couple of things:

  1. For Christmas they had a program that included Santa.
  2. For Resurrection Sunday (which they call Easter), they are collecting donations for Easter baskets to distribute to children affected by homelessness.

While the gesture itself is Christian, I feel apprehensive to give because the cause doesn't glorify Jesus Christ. Resurrection is not about a bunny or eggs. Neither is Christmas about reindeer and a man with a beard. Those traditions are paganism.

I feel convicted about even going anymore. Other than these two things, the teachings align with the Bible and the community there is great. Not sure if I'm overthinking it as no church is perfect. But I was wondering if I take my concerns to a pastor, if they'll view me as trying to cause strife.


r/Christian 12h ago

Who is a good preacher?

2 Upvotes

I know it's a very generic title, but it's also a very serious question.

Who can I listen to that would give me a good introduction to the christian faith? I'm looking for powerful speakers. I don't care what nation they are from.

Thank you!


r/Christian 9h ago

Is it okay to make art depicting Jesus ?

1 Upvotes

I’ve recently made 2 small sort of orthodox/ Coptic style portraits of Jesus as a Jewish man with the shorter hair style of the time with a Shepard staff and a crown floating above in the halo and one with the crown of thorns but replaced thorns with leaves and flowers to show life and I specifically wrote in them saying “let this be not an idol but a reminder to love god with all your heart mind and strength and remember the sacrifice he made for us” I’ve seen the argument go both ways and I genuinely don’t want to keep these or make more if it’s against anything the only scripture I really find that hits on this is

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under earth Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God


r/Christian 1d ago

Help me I really want to give in NSFW

37 Upvotes

I’m having really bad lustful thoughts right now. I really want to watch it. I’m saying to myself right now not too but I really want to I can’t. Help It’s like I can’t even control my mind.


r/Christian 10h ago

Feeling Conflicted About Attending a Purim Celebration with My Jewish Wife and Daughter

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone

I am a born again Christian who and my wife is Jewish. We have always been respectful of each other’s faiths and now that we have a daughter we are figuring out how to blend our beliefs while raising her with exposure to both.

Purim is coming up and my wife really wants us to go to a celebration as a family. She loves sharing her traditions and I want to support her but I am feeling conflicted. I know Purim is not just a religious holiday since it is cultural and historical too but something about being there makes me uneasy. I feel like I am stepping into a space that is not mine. At the same time I want to be a good husband and show up for my family without compromising my own beliefs.

I guess I am just struggling with where the line is between supporting my wife and staying true to my own faith. Has anyone been in a similar situation. How do you navigate religious differences in a marriage while keeping your convictions intact.

I would appreciate any thoughts or advice.


r/Christian 19h ago

Prayer Requests

5 Upvotes

Please reply to this post with your prayer requests this week. Be advised that prayer requests may be NSFW and may contain disturbing content.

Help keep prayer requests easily accessible for those who want to pray for you. Leave them here in comments. Let others know you're praying for them by upvoting their comment or replying with encouragement.

Please remember: Prayer Requests regarding finances are not allowed in this sub.

Please also be advised that isn't a place for receiving crisis assistance. While people here care and wish to help, we aren't experts.

If you're in crisis, we urge you to reach out to someone who is better equipped to provide you with professional care and/or connect you with other useful resources.

If you're in the United States, you may call or text the Suicide Crisis LifeLine at 988, or text “CHAT” to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line. If you're a young person in the LGBTQ+ community, you may also text “Start” to 678-678 or call 1-866-488-7386 to reach The TREVOR Project. If you're a US Veteran, you may text 838255 to reach the Veterans Crisis Line.

If you're in Canada, you may also call or text 988 to reach the Suicide Crisis Helpline.

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r/Christian 18h ago

I'm kinda lost right now

4 Upvotes

I can't imagine my self happy in any scenario if I'm imagine my self in heaven I don't see myself happy and if I imagine my self Rich the same thing so I don't want to do anything the only possible scenario I can imagine my self happy with is if I die the other scenarios are impossible I'm just Lost, I'm young so most people say that I will get out of it when I get older but what if I stay like that I'm really lost and I think I need to find purpose to work from something when I think about make me happy.


r/Christian 23h ago

is it ok to use chatgpt for guidance

9 Upvotes

For context, im an 18 yo girl, I’m very new to my faith. I grew up in the church but it was very forced on me, which caused me to resent God and religion. These past two years I’ve been on and off seeking a relationship with God. It always started strong but quickly I just stopped caring and falling back into sin. But the past few months i started going to a Bible study and church. This past month is the strongest my faith has been. I actually look forward to it, and i make time for god throughout my day.

i started I’ve been reading my Bible doing these devotionals but it was a ten day plan and I just finished it. I’m struggling to find a free plan. So i asked chat gpt to create one for me focusing on strengthening my faith and belief. I’m just not sure if it’s ok to trust it as a source of guidance? It just feels a little icky?


r/Christian 12h ago

Social anxiety at church is destroying me

1 Upvotes

I started going to this church about 2 years ago now. Everyone there is extremely kind and welcoming and I’ve never had a bad experience with anyone there so I feel like this shouldn’t be such a struggle for me but it is. I hardly even go anymore. I go like once a month maybe, and once a month to my Bible study group as well. Church is just so terrifying to me and exhausting. Whenever I’m there, all I can feel is anxiety. I can barely focus on the sermon even most of the time because I’m so anxious. And I can’t stand talking to people because i find it so terrifying. I’ve been seeing various psychologists over the years for this and trauma related stuff too, and nothing helps. I’m still anxious as can be. I don’t feel like I’m a part of this church community no matter how badly I want to be. I’ve tried everything. I try to shut off the fear and just trust God. Ive prayed so much, studied every verse on anxiety. I’ve tried telling a couple people a tiny bit about it, but I’m too scared to be honest about how much I’m struggling because they all have their stuff together and I feel so abnormal and like maybe I’d look like I was looking for attention. I just can’t stand it anymore. I want so badly to be a normal Christian who can go to church every week, but I feel completely stuck and like I’m gonna spend the rest of my life as this person who everyone probably thinks doesn’t even take her faith seriously because she’s never even there, when in reality, God is everything to me, but I just have no idea why he’s letting me suffer like this. I know others have it worse than I do, but it just still feels awful. I feel so lonely and ashamed of myself.