Ask God to help you decide which charities to support
“I always get letters from charities and religious organizations this time of year begging for money, and I just throw them out. I don’t think they ought to keep asking for money all the time.”
Answers
Christ humbled himself so that we might 'become rich'
“Why wasn’t Jesus born into a wealthy, influential family, instead of an insignificant, poor one? Wouldn’t people have paid more attention to Him, instead of rejecting Him and condemning Him to death?”
Through Christ, we can find lasting peace
“Do you think the world will ever be at peace? For some reason, everyone talks about peace on earth at Christmastime, but if anything, the world just seems to be getting worse. What’s the problem? ”
Meet hostility toward God with prayer and the example of a Christ-filled life
“Why are some people so hostile toward religion? One of my co-workers claims to be an atheist, and if anyone says anything about God, their church, or anything like that, he gets very belligerent. Why is this? ”
Caregiving requires rest, prayer and help from others
“My husband has a long-term medical condition, and I’m his only caregiver. I wish he’d understand how hard this is, especially when all he does is complain. He reads your column, so maybe you could say something about this.”
With careful reading, you can understand the Bible
“I started reading the Bible during my summer vacation, but I got bogged down after a few days and finally just gave up. I know it would probably help me, but how can I understand it?”
Use your time recovering from surgery to grow spiritually
“I had major surgery recently that my doctors say will take months to heal. I’ve always been very active, but I’m already depressed and bored because I can’t do anything but watch TV all day long. Why is God doing this to me? ”
Desire to pray points to a need for God
“I memorized some prayers in our church when I was a child, but I haven’t been religious since then. For some reason, however, I’ve had a desire to pray recently, but those childhood prayers seem kind of empty. Can you suggest some other prayers?”
Refusing to vote won’t make the world any better
“This year’s elections will be over by the time you get my letter, but my wife and I are so fed up with politics that we decided not to vote. Our pastor said everyone ought to vote, but the Bible doesn’t say anything about voting, does it? ”
God can use even our smallest gifts in amazing ways
“I know we’re supposed to give money to our church and to other worthy causes, but we’re so deeply in debt that we can’t even think about it right now. Will God forgive us for not doing this? ”
Helping grandson break free of drugs will take prayer and action
“Our daughter just told us their son is deeply into drugs. He’s intelligent and had a bright future ahead of him, but now he’s dropped out of college and they aren’t even sure where he is. Why would anyone like this get into drugs? It doesn’t make sense.”
Only Christ, not a cult, is worthy of our commitment
“My wife has joined a religious group that’s really changed her. Now she says she has to divorce me because I’m not a member. What’s gotten into her? I don’t know anything about cults, but do you think this might be one?”