“My friend says God uses tragedy to bring us closer to Himself, but how can that be? I've always thought God loved us, so why would He use something terrible to make us love Him?”
“I've tried to read the Bible, but as far as I can tell it just talks about people who lived a long time ago, and I don't see much point in trying to find out what they did. What am I missing?”
“My uncle (who's just retired from a job that brought him into contact with lots of people) says he's tired of dealing with people and he's going to spend the rest of his life breeding dogs because they don't cheat you or criticize you. I understand what he's saying, but doesn't he have things a bit out of balance?”
“Do you think God actually knows all about each of us? I guess my view is that He's too big and we're too small and insignificant for Him to bother with, but maybe I'm wrong.”
“My husband says he doesn’t feel any need for the church or Jesus because he thinks he can make it into heaven on his own. I admit he’s a good person, but how can I make him see this isn’t enough, and that he needs Jesus in his life?”
“How do you know if you're actually helping someone or if they're just taking advantage of you? My cousin is an alcoholic, and last year she moved in with us after her family threw her out. But nothing has changed and I'm not sure we're doing her any good.”
“I know I'm supposed to believe that God forgave all my sins when I gave my life to Jesus, but if that's true, why don't I feel any different? I still feel very guilty over what I did in the past.”
“All my life I've felt like I'm not worth anything. Some counseling has helped me understand why I feel this way (because my parents constantly told me I'd never amount to anything). But just knowing this doesn't make me feel any better. Do you have any suggestions?”
“How do you keep bad thoughts from taking over your mind? I'll be fine for a while, but then something will trigger my imagination and I'll start dwelling on things I know I shouldn't be thinking about. God must be very disappointed in me. How can I break this cycle?”
“My nephew refuses to look for a job because he says he knows what God wants him to do, and until God leads him to the right job, it would be wrong for him to take another. But he's mainly depending on his mother-in-law to support his family. Is this right?”
“If Jesus rose from the dead (which I gather Christians believe happened), then where is He now? Could He be living in some far corner of the world, and some day He'll reveal Himself again? I don't have a church background but I've always been curious about this.”
“Our son (who’s 11) is moderately autistic and has a hard time relating to people. How can he understand things like heaven or Jesus? I really struggle with this, because my relationship with God is very important to me and I want it to be important to him also.”