“How can you tell whether it's God speaking to you or the devil? Last year, I had a very strong feeling that I ought to do something, and I thought God must be telling me to do it. But it turned out to be very wrong, and now I think it must have been the devil. But how could I have known?”
“When I was a child, I used to hear our pastor talk about the "Holy Ghost," but now our church never uses that term. Does "Holy Ghost" mean the same thing as the Holy Spirit?”
“My husband and I have a severely handicapped child (three years old now), and while we love him very much, we can't help but wonder why this happened to us. A friend of ours even hinted that God must be punishing us for something we've done wrong. Is he right?”
“I took an adult course in religion at our local community college recently. To my surprise, the professor claimed that most things in the Old Testament didn't really happen but are just stories people made up. Is he right? I hope not, because the Bible has always been important to me.”
“I have prayed and prayed that this man I’ve gotten to know at work will take an interest in me, and that some day we’ll even get married, but I guess God just isn’t listening. How can I get Him to pay attention to my prayers?”
“Recently, a celebrity I've always admired announced that he had become a member of a particular religious group, which most people say is a cult. Why would an otherwise intelligent person like him get involved in a cult? I find it all very confusing.”
“I wish I could live my life over again. Almost 30 years ago, I got involved with a man at work, and ended up wrecking my marriage and marrying him. We're still together, but it hasn't been a happy life and we mainly go our separate ways. Maybe my experience will keep someone from going down that path. Believe me, it wasn't worth it.”
“I've always believed in Jesus and wanted to live for Him since I was a child. But a friend of mine says I should be able to point to a definite time when I gave my heart to Jesus, and if I can't do that (which he can), then I'm not a real Christian. Is this true? It really worries me.”
“Our church is planning a major building project, and they’re going to bring in a fundraising firm to get the money for it. But to be honest, I’m put off by what I’ve heard about their high-pressure techniques. Should I tell the pastor about my concerns?”
“I don’t like to admit this, but our son is leaving for college in a few weeks and I can’t wait for him to go. He’s gotten very rebellious, and almost every conversation turns into a shouting match. I hate that it’s like this, and I’m afraid he’s headed for trouble, but what can we do?”
“How do you know when to hang on to a bad marriage and when to move on? My husband has been unfaithful to me almost since the beginning of our marriage, and now he’s moved in with another woman and says it’s time for us to call it quits. I don’t know what to tell him. I feel so hopeless.”
“Our family is very upset because my brother died recently and his wife didn’t even notify any of us until after the funeral. They lived in another part of the country so we didn’t know what was going on, but this has made us very angry. Is it wrong for us to feel this way?”