I get very discouraged when I think about the future, and one reason is because young people today don't seem at all interested in God or religion. What can we do to change that? Or is it hopeless?
My grandparents are very religious, and every time we visit them they get me in a corner and talk to me about Jesus. Why can't they lay off and let me live my own life? They can't force me to believe in God.
Please pray that I'll know what to do with my niece. She's in her 30s and on drugs, and after her family kicked her out she moved in with me. But last week, she stole money out of my purse to buy drugs, and now I'm not sure she'll ever change. I guess I didn't realize how terrible drugs are.
My uncle always makes a big deal about making a list of New Year's resolutions, although a month or two later he forgets all about them. Now he's bugging me to make a list. Why should I bother? It'll just make me feel guilty when I fail to keep them.
Do you think Christ will come again and the world will end this year? I get very discouraged when I see the way the world is going - the economic situation, terrorism, crime, warfare, etc. - and I wonder how much longer God is going to let this continue.
My husband and I just lost our home. We got talked into buying it with nothing down and low payments the first two years, and we just didn't think about what would happen later. Now we're back in a rented trailer. We're so discouraged we don't know what to do. Maybe you'll have some encouraging words.
I think you said once in your column that the Apostle Paul wrote his letters from prison. What was his crime? I'm in prison, and I know I deserve to be here, but why did a great Christian like Paul get put away?
How can I convince my friends that Jesus can really make a difference in their lives? The problem is, I used to be fairly wild, and they don't believe me when I tell them I've changed because Jesus has come into my life. They think I'm just pretending.
Do you believe that we'll be reunited with our loved ones when we get to heaven? I deeply hope we will be, but with all the millions and millions of people up there, how will we ever find them? Maybe I shouldn't worry about this but I do.
Why is Christmas still an important holiday? I know it was originally a religious holiday, but most people today don't look on it that way. Why do we keep observing it, since it seems to have lost its original meaning?
Every year, our church puts on a Christmas play with the children, and it's always fun to see them dress up as shepherds and angels and wise men. But do we actually know what the Christmas angels looked like? Did they have wings and white robes?
I've been in a drug rehab clinic for six months and I'm due to get out in time for the holidays. I guess I'm looking forward to it, but frankly I'm also scared because I'm not sure I'll be able to stay off drugs once I get around my old friends. Please pray for me.
