“I know there are all kinds of mother-in-law jokes, but our situation isn't a laughing matter. My mother-in-law has never forgiven me for stealing her daughter (as she puts it), and she never tires of telling people I'm not good enough for her family. It upsets my wife as well as me, but we don't know what to do.”
“I know I need help, because alcohol is about to ruin me. My wife threw me out last week and said not to come back until I've stopped drinking, but I don't have the strength. I have friends who've gone through lots of rehab but it never did them any good. Has God given up on me?”
“How do you know if God healed you of something or if it was the medicine? I've had some serious health problems during the last year, and now that they are behind me I don't know if my prayers were responsible or if it was because of the medical care I got.”
“I've messed up my life so badly that I don't think even God could straighten it out (even if He wanted to). Now I'm in prison for several years. I can't blame God for putting me here because it's what I deserve. Maybe you can say a prayer for me.”
“I have a friend who leads kind of a wild life, and whenever I ask him why he lives that way he just shakes his head and says he can't help it because the devil makes him do it. Is he right? It seems to me like he ought to accept more responsibility for his actions.”
“I know I ought to read my Bible, but every time I try to read it I just end up getting confused. I never was a very good student, and all those strange names and places in the Old Testament get me lost. Is the Bible really that important? What am I doing wrong?”
“I've always been attracted to the idea of reincarnation, although my Christian friends say it isn't in the Bible. But doesn't the Bible say somewhere that Elijah came back to earth before the Messiah came? I heard this somewhere, and it sounds like reincarnation to me.”
“When we get to heaven, do you think we'll remember all the things that happened to us here on earth? Some of my memories aren't very good, and I think I'd be happier in heaven if they were just forgotten.”
“Recently, you told someone in your column to pray for a friend of theirs who claimed to be an atheist. Well, I don't believe in God either and I don't want anyone praying for me. I'm happy just the way I am, and I don't need some holier-than-thou Christian acting like he's better than me.”
“How can a person be a Christian and yet still be a sinner at the same time? That seems like a contradiction to me. After all, when we come to Christ doesn't He forgive us and cleanse us of all our sins?”
“Our family has been torn apart because of a disagreement over some land my father left me in his will. Others feel they should have gotten it, and that I talked him into giving it to me (which isn't true). I've offered to sell it and split the proceeds with them, but now they don't want anything to do with me. I've prayed and prayed about this, but nothing changes. What can I do?”
“I've missed several funerals in my family the last few years (which has upset some of my relatives), and the reason is because I just can't stand going to funerals. Does the Bible say anything about going to funerals?”