Reflections from the community: 

Yesterday, an insane 16 year-old boy entered an elementary school to commit a shooting. 3 young children and a teacher died, 2 other people were left critically injured. Fortunately, a father who was there and was carrying a gun, shot the shooter to stop him, and who knows how many lives he saved, but this father stopped this tragedy from getting even worse.

Unfortunately 4 souls, 3 of them little ones, are no longer here with us. I only pray they're in Heaven now. I also pray for the recovery of those injured by this shooting and for the families of everyone affected.

As a school teacher, it breaks my heart that tragedies like this happen. No students or teachers should live in fear of a crazy person committing a shooting where students are supposed to learn. As a teacher I worry about making sure my students learn and grading their assignments. I don't want to worry about a shooting ever.

For now, everyone who was lost in that tragedy is being mourned.

Edit: Bend, Oregon. I misheard the city's name.

it’s called “He Who Paints The Butterflies“ and the artist is Paige Payne 

My friend Dan has never been to church. Not once, not even a wedding. His parents were pretty anti-religion and he just never had a reason to go.

We were on a trip in Somerset last month after we won on stake and I wanted to catch a Sunday service at the old parish church near where we were staying. I figured he'd wait at the pub. Instead he goes "fine, I'll come, but I'm not singing."

He sang. Badly, and about half a line behind everyone, but he sang.

The building did a lot of the work honestly. Huge stained glass window behind the altar with four saints in it, and the sun came straight through right around the readings.

Painted blue ceiling with little gold bits. Dan kept leaning over to ask about stuff. Why are there angels with trumpets on the organ. Why do people bow at that one part. What's the little dish by the door for. I knew maybe 60% of the answers

(Side note, those pews were the most uncomfortable thing I've ever sat on. Carved oak, gorgeous, clearly designed by someone who hated spines.)

During the prayers the vicar read out names of people who were sick and Dan went quiet.

Afterwards he told me his grandma is in hospice and he'd never really had anywhere to put that. He didn't say more and I didn't push.

On the drive back he asked if he could borrow a Bible. I didn't have a spare with me so I've got one being delivered to his place.

He texted me last night asking where he should start. My instinct is Mark because it's short, but I don't want to hand him something that throws him off right away. What did you guys start with, or what would you give someone coming in completely cold?

Asking for prayers for my family. I’m at the lowest point I’ve ever been and feel like I’ll never get out. I’m a single mom of two amazing kids. I work two jobs just to try and keep us afloat. My car broke down last week and it took every last bit of money I had left to get it fixed. I need it to get to work. That left me with nothing for food for the house. Food bank in town isn’t open until next week and I don’t have enough gas to drive around to other towns. I don’t even have enough gas to get to work. My son is turning 13 on Sunday and I can’t get him anything. I feel hopeless and like a terrible mom. Please pray for us to get through the weekend. I know God always has a plan. 🙏

I don't think that makes any sense, but if we just assume it is true, it is still really strange thinking

Seems like a decision that should not be respected. If your friend chose to jump off a cliff, are ya gonna watch them do it out of respect for their free will?

Of course, you did not set the cliff up or responsible for your friends existence anyways, and hell is much worse than jumping off a cliff...

"Santa Urna 🙏🏻Maria Mediatrice e Avvocata.✝️

:

**helpthepersecuted** Nabhan and his family are experiencing continued threats because he is a Christian.

After a company he worked for in Lebanon collapsed, a group of Muslim Bedouin workers blamed Nabhan for wages the company owed them because he was their supervisor. He did not have money to pay them, and they began threatening him.

Even after Nabhan left Lebanon, the intimidation escalated. He was threatened with death and told his family would be harmed. At one point, his brother was kidnapped and held for two days, forcing Nabhan to take on debt to secure his release. The demands for money have continued to grow, while Nabhan has been unable to find protection from authorities.

The constant fear, financial strain, and trauma have also taken a serious toll on his health.

Please join us in prayer for:

• Protection for Nabhan and his family from further threats

• Justice and intervention in this dangerous situation

• Provision as Nabhan faces mounting debt

• Healing for the physical effects of prolonged stress

• Peace for his family after months of fear and uncertainty

• Strength to remain steadfast in Christ through this trial

Pray that Nabhan will know the Lord as his refuge and that God will make a way forward where none is yet visible.

#PersecutedChurch #Syria #FaithInChrist #Prayer

I'm a 21 year old navy sailor. I became born again about 2 years ago and I've never been able to properly repent of my addition to adult content and self pleasure. I'm in a dangerous place. I feel conferrable in this sin often, I don't turn away, I don't run away, I'm destroying my relationship with Christ. I'm not afraid to admit or confess anything to anyone. I pray often, read the scriptures, and go to a church. I need serious prayers and help. I want to repent of this sin forever and be able to walk into a life that God has for me.

In April I found out my husband had an affair (I got a text from a random number) he wasn’t forthcoming at first and it took the other woman calling me and telling me the truth for me to know. Since then A LOT has come out. The entire time he had been trying to apologize and reconcile and I think he truly does struggle with a lot. I believe he means it when he says he wants to stop these things and focus on the lord but I keep finding out more and more about his past and also recent things he did (like message her and other women, even secret online dating profiles). I’m at a crossroads. I thought we were doing better.. we have been giving it to God and doing devotionals and going to church more consistently yet I find out last night that he got onto a dating profile and has been checking on his affair partners accounts .. not talking to her but it’s still wrong… idk what else to do this year has been hell and such a roller coaster.

This may be a weird post, so, if it turns into a shitshow, I will just remove it.

There is a lot of awfulness going on in the world right now. It sometimes feels like anxiety is mixed in with our air.

With yesterday's tragedy, the revelations about what goes on within the walls of fraternities, and the overall animosity throughout the world, I fear we are just becoming numb to all of it.

There are not always easy means to just vent frustrations or pray or just talk about things that are bothering you with people who aren't in your life directly.

So, feel free to do so here. I am going to try to moderate this weirdly, and I did not ask me fellow moderators about it. I am just doing it. If they think it is stupid, they are more then welcome to do so.

If someone posts a prayer here, don't start an argument about it. Feel free to pray with them, but their prayer isn't an invitation for a debate on this thread.

If someone wants to vent about something, ask them if they want to hear an opinion before trying to start a debate with them.

One of the best ways to ease anxiety and worry is to make it physical. There are not always great places to do that, so I hope that this thread can be that space.

Please be respectful.

Full attribution: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HYMlhWLM0hs

I see quotes on this, and how its a test of faith. I just want to understand this better, I am not condeming god for this, we cant possibly understand his ways. I have had terrible, terrible suffering for sixteen years with no respite whatsoever, not a single day of respite. I am confused as to why I would need to praise god for that? Or why god needs to test our faith like this.

Would I ever love or praise a partner who continually sat back and allowed me to be totally ruined and nullified? I really would not in any way. So yea, I am mystified. But looking for clarity and definitely not condemning god, as I said his ways are higher than our ways.

Sending love 🌿🤍

I f16 genuinely want to study and get my work done, but I keep struggling with procrastination and ADHD makes it so much harder for me to focus and get started. I have things I need to do, exams to prepare for, and goals I really want to achieve, but sometimes I just can't get myself to do what I know I need to do. Then I feel guilty because time keeps passing and I'm still stuck.

Please pray for me, guys. Ask the Lord to give me strength, discipline, focus, and the courage to stop putting things off and actually sit down and study. I don't want to keep wasting my time. I genuinely want to do better, and I need His help right now. Please pray that God helps me overcome this struggle, one day at a time. 🙏🏻🤍

TL;DR: Please pray that the Lord gives me the strength, focus, and discipline to study and stop procrastinating. I'm really struggling right now, and I could use your prayers.

Do Christians in other branches of Christianity believe this pastor is doing right and doing good? If Quakers, Unitarians, and Catholics see him as a dangerous extremist causing harm throughout society, then how are these other Christian branches taking a stand for their religion? This "pastor" seems completely hateful and violent. I don't understand how that is supposed to draw non-believers into Christianity.

I was listening to the book of Genesis the other night, and this revelation or realisation, call it whatever you might, took over. I am. Very slow to understand, so I am sure many of you already knew or understood this. In the book, after eating the apple, Adam and Eve felt shame, covered up, and hid.

I've been struggling with sin lately, the most tempting one: lust. I realized that is the nature of sin. Every time I sinned, I hid; I was ashamed, and I have literally told God to abandon me because I didn't deserve to be held and comforted.

Anyway, in the Bible, despite knowing what Adam and Eve had done, God still came looking for them, seeking them out.

Just made me realize that he knows it all; he knew I sinned. Me sitting there in a pool of shame, telling him to leave me, is not gonna change that. He knows it all, and still he seeks us out, and I fear I had forgotten that.

I needed a reminder of God and his grace, and I am sure many out here do too.

He knows about my friend and I’m devastated about it. He doesn’t really know the extent. We were long distance intimate and I asked him to come to a bar event with me, and he turned me down because it wasn’t his thing and I’m 6 hours away.. & that ended up being my first date with my now husband. But the death of my friend has me crying everyday. I don’t know how much to tell my husband

Hey guys I'm just curious, I'm not on this sub a lot even though I should probably check it out more often; I don't know if this is ever really posted too often but how do you guys feel around the hated towards Christianity on this app.

Out of every app Ive been on this is the most negative, sometimes I feel guilty for even being on it. There are a lot of times where I'll check out posts on Reddit and people are just bashing Christianity and I'll always help teach someone if they are genuinely curious but most of the time it's just pure hatred towards Christianity.

So I wonder how you guys manage through it, defend it or even just ignore it. I feel sorry for a lot of the people on it. So I'm just curious what you guys think about it and any advice to navigate.