Question:



Last year, I met met this guy and we became very close friends almost right away. We just "clicked". We got along great, and we had been through a lot of the same things, and we understood each other very well. He also was the one who led me to the Lord. A few months after we met, me and this guy began dating, and we have had a wonderful relationship. We have grown closer to God together, and we try to keep the Lord a central part of our relationship. This guy is a year older than me. When we met, I was a junior in high school and he was a senior at the same high school. Now I am a senior and he is attending Grace Bible College in Michigan to become a youth pastor. The problem is not the distance (he is 9 hours away)...we handled that fairly well. The problem is my parents. They have a problem with him because of his passion for God and spreading His Word. A few weeks ago, somehow my dad and my boyfriend got into a discussion about religion, and it turned into a bit of a debate. My boyfriend simply stood up for his Christian beliefs, but my dad called him a "fanatic", "part of a cult", and "the most arrogant person he's ever met" all because my boyfriend believes that the only way to be saved is to believe that Christ died for us, and because he is for evangelism. My dad thinks that evangelism is wrong because, according to him, it is "shoving your beliefs down other people's throats". Anyway, even since this discussion that the two of them had several weeks ago, my dad practically hates my boyfriend and thinks he's a freak. My father also is convinced that my boyfriend's family and the church are brainwashing me. He has forbidden me to see my boyfriend, my boyfriend's family, or to continue to go to the church that I had begun to attend about 9 months ago. My father is wrong...I was not, and am not, being brainwashed. I was saved and became a Christian because of things that happened to me that convinced me of God's working in my life. This happened on a youth retreat that I went on last February with my boyfriend's, and now my, church. I am not a Christian because anyone told me to be. It is not blind faith. However, my dad thinks that my (and my boyfriend's) beliefs are absurd. I don't know what to do now. I love my boyfriend very much, and I'm not going to end our relationship forever just because my father is a little misguided. Also, it's not only about our relationship, but about my faith. I don't know where to draw the line between standing up for what I believe and respecting and obeying my parents. I want to go on mission trips and do work in the church someday, and I don't want to give up on those goals just because my father doesn't agree with my religious views. I'm not sure how to show my father that my boyfriend is not a bad person and that he is not forcing anything on me, and I'm not sure how to get my father to allow me to see him again. My boyfriend and I have both talked to pastors, youth pastors, and theology professors about how to handle this, and they all basically give the same answer...wait and pray. That's what we have been doing. I plan on talking to my dad sometime within the next few weeks and trying to explain myself to him more...why I believe what I believe, why I love my boyfriend and want to continue seeing him, etc., and I hope that maybe he'll be a little more understanding after he's had a few weeks to cool off. I was just wondering if you have any other advice, or have any tips on how to go about talking to my father and talking him into accepting my faith, my views, and the way I want to live my life as a Christian, even though they are different from his.



Answer:



The best thing to do in this situation is to wait and to pray. What I would pray for is that the love of God would flow out of your life and that your dad would see this and that God would soften his heart. John 13:35 says that the way the world will see Christ in us is by our love for one another. Allow God to flow His love in and through you and see what God will do.


Don't forget, if you have a question you can send it to me at asktheyouthpastor@xtrlive.com plus you can talk to us tonight at www.studenthopeline.com.

Is Masturbation Wrong?

Question:




I've been struggling with what is right and wrong on this subject, because so many people have different views on it. This is kind of an embarrassing question to ask, but I've been studying for a long time now, and still can't seem to find the answer. Is masturbation a sin without lust? I thought maybe you'd have some good advice for me. I've been praying a lot, and know that it's important to have self control. If you have any advice for me, I'd really appreciate it!




Answer:



That’s a good question with a bunch of answers (a lot of them aren’t correct). It would be easy to justify this by saying that it’s replacing someone from doing something that we say is worse. Some have said that if you focus on your spouse it’s ok. These are all faulty views because they are not based on the Truth. To know God’s response to this, you have to have a good grasp of the Truth. You have to ask the question “What is lust?” The definition from the Greek Word Epiqumia which means “strong desire for what is forbidden.” This is the Greek word used to describe the lust of the flesh. So you have to ask yourself again, as not to put someone’s own meaning into the Word, what is forbidden? The Webster Dictionary defines forbidden simply as “prohibited; not allowed”. If we look according to God’s Word, who alone has the authority to say what is allowed and what is not allowed? So we can see according to God’s Word that lust is taking anything out of God’s original design and using it for one’s own purpose.

If you look in Matthew 4 at the first temptation Jesus experienced, Satan attempted to test Jesus to use His supernatural power from God to fill his stomach with food. Jesus had been fasting for 40 days, and if He went much further He would have starved to death. Did this tempting sound good? Absolutely. Try going 2 days without eating anything and anyone would compromise something do eat a Subway sandwich. But Christ knew that the power God gave Him was not given to fill His own desire but the desire of Him Who sent Him, which is why He combated that temptation with standing on God’s Word that He would not use what God gave Him to fill His desires.

So let’s bring this back to our topic. God has designed men and women with desires, and we can’t deny that. But what we have to remember alongside this is that God also designed a way for those desires to be fulfilled. They are meant to be an expression of a husband and wife’s pledged faithfulness to one another in marriage. The body of the man does not belong to him, nor does the wife (1 Cor. 7:4). So what is masturbation? It is the taking of something that is meant to be expressed in marriage and using it to please one’s own desires. This is almost a pure definition of the lust of the flesh.

If you are struggling with this, there are two necessities that must be placed in your life. The first one is accountability. This is not just accountability with one friend that you contact when you mess up. It starts with accountability with God and seeing this as He sees it. If you don’t see it the way He does than you can’t combat it in His power and you won’t see the need to change. Out of that you need to establish accountability in your life. Through confession and prayer you can walk anew in His mercy and grace (James 5:16). The next step is combating the lie that tarnishes the mind and leads many captive buy bringing that captive with the Truth of God’s Word. This is the only way to stay in His plan and have power over this. (Psalm 119:9, 2 Corinthians 10:5)

Don't forget, if you have a question you can send it to me at asktheyouthpastor@xtrlive.com plus you can talk to us tonight at www.studenthopeline.com.

Feeling Guilt

Question:



I recently did something that I knew was wrong in my heart but I couldn't live up to it. My parents found out and they took a lot of privelages away from me. I usually don't do things that get me into trouble and the guilt is eating away at me. I even feel like God won't forgive me, even though everywhere they tell me he always does. How do I earn my parents trust back as soon as possible?




Answer:



What you’re feeling right now is the sense of guilt. As believers, there’s a battle inside ourselves with our flesh and the Spirit of God. Whenever we mess up the flesh wants us to feel guilty and tells us that we don’t’ deserve to be better. It’s almost like our flesh wants to feel bad for a while to pay for what we did. That condemning is not coming from God. God promises us no condemnation in Romans 8:1. Now there are consequences for the choices we make, but when we confess them to God He forgives us immediately and restores fellowship with Him. You can find that promise in 1 John 1:9. You don’t have to wait to feel better before going to God. It sounds like you are feeling the consequences of messing up and you realize the seriousness of what you did. Confess your mistake to the Lord, trust that His promise is true and move forward. There are different consequences to different decisions you make. In order to keep from going that road again you need to set up barriers and safety nets to keep that from happening again.


The thing about trust is that it is not simply bought like you’d buy a candy bar. It’s something that is earned, and built over time. Trust is of great value and takes much investing in to build. Let the discipline take its course. It is part of the consequence of the decision you made and it would be best to accept it. Your parents aren’t going to hold this against you forever. They were your age at one time and they know what it is to mess up. You won’t be disciplined forever and you’ll get those privileges again. Trust is built when you handle well the tasks that are given to you and you prove yourself to be trustworthy. When your parents see you handling your tasks well, they will give you more responsibility which means more freedom to act in that. So be responsible with what you have today and you will build that trust.


Don't forget, if you have a question you can send it to me at asktheyouthpastor@xtrlive.com plus you can talk to us tonight at www.studenthopeline.com.

Facebook

Question:



I recently had the opportunity through Facebook to encourage someone who seemed to really need it. I know that teens use Facebook a lot and at times it can be also a problem area for them as well. Anything on how they can use face book in a positive way without falling into the other traps that are included?



Answer:



The thing about Facebook is that it is a tool. It’s neither a good thing nor an evil thing in itself. It’s all in how you use it. Some pointers that I would suggest is being aware of the things that detract from following Christ and avoid adds, fan clubs, or games that compromise one’s convictions concerning Christ. Another suggestion I would bring would be in the care of how surf friendly the person may be. There are many times (and it happens a lot of facebook) where people connect with friends of friends that lead on a tangent of being facebook friends with people they have never met. I would recommend the person stay within the confines of who you know because you don’t know what you’re getting into or what could arise from this. The other thing I would suggest is to not fill so much of your day with facebook. It can be very addictive to see the statuses of other people or what others think about you that you get consumed with this form of social media. Facebook can be a good thing but abused can be damaging like anything else and replace what belongs to the heart of Christ.


Don't forget, if you have a question you can send it to me at asktheyouthpastor@xtrlive.com plus you can talk to us tonight at www.studenthopeline.com.

So what happens to those...

Question:



A friend of mine brought up a question that I couldn't answer. He wanted to know if you die and are not saved, do you live in hell for eternity like we do in heaven? or do you just die completely? I would think yes but I wasn't sure and didn't know where to look it up. I will look myself but any help would be nice. Thanks!




Answer:



That is a great question. The Bible is very clear that if we do not accept the gift that Jesus has given us we will spend eternity in hell. God does not want anyone to pay for their sins in that way. This is why He sent Jesus to make payment for our sins. As you know, you must give your life to Christ and accept the gift that Jesus is willing to give anyone who will receive it.

Revelation 20:10- And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Revelation 21:8- But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars-- their place will be in the feiry lake of burning sulfer. This is the second death.


Don't forget, if you have a question you can send it to me at asktheyouthpastor@xtrlive.com plus you can talk to us tonight at www.studenthopeline.com.

Daily Reading

Question:



I wasn't quite sure where this fit in so I thought this board would be a good one. I'm a 20 year old senior in college and I have a daily quiet time every day (well I try to) and my question is how do you prevent reading the Bible from becoming mundane? For example I will read through a passage in my devotional book and then read the corresponding chapter in the Bible and I get a lot out of that but then I want to take it further and read more so I flip to proverbs or psalms and read but after a while it gets boring, almost as though I'm reading just to read and I'm not really growing. How do I prevent that? How do I keep the Bible interesting? Are there any devotionals or topical Bibles I could read to keep it interesting or anything? I already have My Utmost for His Highest which is a great book I'm just looking for something else to go along with it I guess. Thanks!




Answer:



One thing that you need to understand is that you're not going to have this incredible revelation every time you open the Scriptures. I don't want to try and disappoint you, I am just trying to help you understand that God didn't wire it that way. I would say that praying beforehand would help. Ask God to help you be quiet and open to receiving something from Him. Expect Him to come through. Remember, Hebrews 4:12 says that God's Word is alive! Don't try to pull things out of God's Word, let God reveal Himself to you through His Word. AS John 1:1 says, the Word is God. If you let God reveal Himself to you through His Word, He will reveal Himself to you through His Word. His Word will then begin to work inside of you.


Don't forget, if you have a question you can send it to me at asktheyouthpastor@xtrlive.com plus you can talk to us tonight at www.studenthopeline.com.

Being Saved

Question:



Okay, so I was wondering about being saved. My dad, who isn't a Christian, says that if you ask God into your heart once that you will go to heaven no matter what. He thinks that you can do anything, but because you were saved once, you will go to heaven. I heard before that it is a personal opinion, but I don't really know. I have trouble believing that it's a personal opinion.




Answer:





It sounds to me like your dad believes in saying magic words and everything is taken care of. Becoming a Christian is very simple, but the critical point is not in saying the right words. What God looks at is faith. Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith no one can please God. In order to become a Christian one must (1) admit that he's wrong and completely helpless, (2) that Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection is enough to save you, and (3) to receive this by faith for yourself.

Romans 10:9-10 says That if you confess with your mouth "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. It is as simple as that, and there is no other way. John 14:6 says that Jesus proclaims to be the way, the truth, and the light. No one comes to God except through Him. It is as simple as that.



Don't forget, if you have a question you can send it to me at asktheyouthpastor@xtrlive.com plus you can talk to us tonight at www.studenthopeline.com.

Spiritual Life

Question:



So I seem to be doing really well spiritually, but these last few weeks have been very challenging. I keep getting down on myself, and just last night I was having a really hard time with being around myself. I know that seems kind of strange, but it was just hard; because I kept thinking about the past times. I had a lot of negative thoughts going on in my head and flashbacks. I kept trying to think positve, but everything that I thought about was just so negative. I then began to try to think of confessions that I know from the Bible to encourage me and lift me up from this unpositive day. I still feel the same just down on myself, and I realize that I need to just to focuse on God, and know that I am His child. He loves me even when I mess up. I have a lot of repenting to do, and just some of the choices I have made over the last month have not been the best. Are there any confessions that you can share with me that will lift my spirit and just encourage? I messed up really badly this weekend. I don't want to to say what happened, but I just feel as God won't forgive me. I know He will, but it's just hard to deal with things. I don't know what I need, but maybe some confessions on forgiveness and God's grace might help.




Answer:




You know that living the Christian life is not an easy thing to do. There are going to be times where we mess up. All we can do is lift them up to God in prayer. You have already been forgiven for your sins. Romans 8:1 says that you stand uncondemned in His sight. What you need to focus on is the fellowship with Him. You stand forgiven before Him, but it is possible to sever the close fellowship with Him. Just confess what you know to have done wrong to Him and ask Him to reveal what you have forgotten. After that, there is nothing for you to do. Just move on in faith knowing that your fellowship has been restored.
John 6:37- All that the Father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.

Don't forget, if you have a question you can send it to me at asktheyouthpastor@xtrlive.com plus you can talk to us tonight at www.studenthopeline.com.

Doing Things for God's Glory

Question:



I just had a question about today's Bible study. Today the Bible study talked about being careful only to do things if God wants you to do them. But how far are you supposed to take this? Like, do I have to like pray and think for several weeks about whether to try a new sport or take a certain course in school? Or whether to buy something, etc.? This seems kind of stressful to me! It seems like this is obsessing over every little decision we make. I mean, we make so many decisions every day - how are we supposed to only do what God wants every single time?



Answer:



I understand your frustration because I had the same feeling with this thought when I was younger. If you try and judge every single thing that you do like this it will drive you crazy because it’s too much for you. What you have to remember is that this is a process that will take your whole life to learn. All of us believers are on the same journey to learning how to apply this. If you learn to follow Him because following Him is how you are designed to live and His truth is meant to be the guiding force of your life He will guide you in your decision making. It starts with you saying yes to Him in leading your life. Once you allow Him to control your life direction He will lead you in the small decisions. It takes spiritual discipline to be sensitive to Him in the decisions you make, but it’s something you will develop as you follow Him. So think of this Rosalind, look to God first in your life. Ask God to lead you in your decision making. Keep in mind that He is very involved in your life and will lead you. Enjoy your life and what you have in front of you. If He wants you to go in a certain direction He will prompt your heart. If you’re confused take a step aside and look to Him and refocus. Also, keep in His Word. It is absolutely a must and He will help you.

Don't forget, if you have a question you can send it to me at asktheyouthpastor@xtrlive.com plus you can talk to us tonight at www.studenthopeline.com.

Following Christ

Question:



"If you choose to bring your life in line and obedience to Christ and live to lift Him up, He will use you in great ways no matter how young you are."

HOW DO YOU DO THAT?




Answer:




I’m glad to see that you’re chewing on the application of the study. What you have to remember in following Christ is that in order to follow His way we have to surrender our own way. We can’t just look at how we are living based on right and wrong because following Christ is not just about that. Don’t get me wrong, He is always good and true. This just means that we can’t judge our decisions on just morality because we might say no to following Him on something because it goes against what we think of as moral or safe when we don’t know the whole picture. When we say yes to following Him we need to be in His Word. He always leads us according to the Truth of His Word and makes us sensitive to His leading. You’ll be amazed at how much He leads you and how much you see Him in your life when you let go and trust Him.



Don't forget, if you have a question you can send it to me at asktheyouthpastor@xtrlive.com plus you can talk to us tonight at www.studenthopeline.com.

The Trinity

Question:



First want to ask that you pray for my friend. She is confused about the Trinity and many other things in her life. I know her only online but once she said she would believe the Trinity if I would love her. That shows me that she puts me over God. So I pray that she will see what is most important and her eyes be opened to fully understanding God's word. On that note could you help me out with some verses on the Trinity? One of the major problems though is she believes some parts of the Bible and a lot explaining Jesus being one with God are not translated right. Any thing you can give me would be great.



Answer:



You have brought about a topic that no one on this earth is able to fully understand. But I will do my best to explain them individually. In a summary, God the Father can be seen as the Creator of all matter and life as Genesis 1 explains. What Genesis 3 shows in the end of the chapter is that when man sinned, man was separated from God, and God in return made a way for man to get back to God.

John 1 explains God the Son. He is the complete fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament of the One who would make the way clear for man to come to God. The way that He did this is through His death as a substitute for our sins. I Peter 2:24 says by His stripes we are healed.

God the Holy Ghost is explained in John 14 and 15 as the Comforter. He came and indwelled believers after Jesus rose from the grave and ascended into heaven in Acts 1. His job is to convict believers of sin, lead them in God's Truth, and help them fulfill the will of God in their lives.

I John 5:7 says that these three are one. What that means is that they are of the same essence, yet they have distinct functions. Outside of this, it is impossible for our minds to understand this concept. This is something that we believers will have to wait till heaven to fully understand.


Don't forget, if you have a question you can send it to me at asktheyouthpastor@xtrlive.com plus you can talk to us tonight at www.studenthopeline.com.

Christian?

Question:



So, growing up I was told God was God, and that He is my saviour and everything. I asked him into my heart as a child and accepted him as my savior. Only my sister and I go to church. I stopped as a child and 5 years ago my uncle committed suicide, so my family started going again, but stopped shortly afterwards. I continued to go, and still do when I am not working, but I put on a show. I am not really a bad kid, I mean of course I sin and I know that, and some I am not completely sorry for. My most resent one, I won't be, I can't be. And I haven't prayed in a LONG time. I have never read the Bible. I feel fake when I am at church, and when I am told to pray(because I am struggling with cutting) I feel so distant, like it doesn't matter anyway. I mean I know He is there, I just I am not sure how to explain how I see Him. Sometimes a REALLY want to believe I want that peace I see people at church have(and when I am there I can fake it pretty well) But in all honesty I don't have it. But others I don't know, I get upset and think that if I am not truely sorry for my sin and I am told I am going to Hell for it anyway then why feel bad about committing them if I am going to Hell anyway. I never had this mindset really. I always thought I was one until recently when I was talking to a friend. I'm just not sure what to do, or what I am, I believe in God, I just question it A LOT, and now I am begining to think I put on a good enough show for everyone else that I started to believe it too even if it wasn't true.


Answer:




It sounds to me like you have heard about being saved plenty of times. Salvation is simply knowing that your sin keeps you from God, that Christ paid for them on the cross, and accepting what He did by faith for yourself. That's it! Christ did all of the work.

What He wants for us is to choose to believe it and receive it for ourselves. Our daily life must have that same kind of faith. Collossians 2:6 says that the same way that we have received Christ, we are to walk in Him.

He wants us to read His Word for our benefit because as II Timothy 3:16-17 says, His Word helps us in all venues of life. His Word completes us because as John 1:1 says God is the Word. When you read His Word in faith that He will help you, John 8:32 says that you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.

He wants you to pray because I Peter 5:7 shows that He wants you to pray because He cares for you. He wants you to bring your requests to Him and to pray for others. When you pray believing He will answer, He will answer. Matthew 7:8 promises that whoever asks in faith receives.

What I'm trying to say is that believers are to live their lives in faith. II Corithians 5:7 says that we are to walk by faith and not by sight. Emotions and feelings change, and God commands that we filter our lives through our faith in who Christ is and what He has done in saving us.

If you want help in cutting, I would suggest looking at our resources under help sites. A portion of those deals with how to deal with cutting. I hope this helps man.


Don't forget, if you have a question you can send it to me at asktheyouthpastor@xtrlive.com plus you can talk to us tonight at www.studenthopeline.com.

Is it real?

Question:



So I've been going through a really rough time lately with God. Kind of like a valley. I've never felt farther from God andI keep praying but I'm not getting any answeres and it's been almost 3 months. I guess everything has been going down hill since I broke up with my boyrfriend, and I'm still not over him and I REALLY want to be! And the more I read the bible the more I feel like a hyprocrite, becuase I'm not even sure if some of the stuff isn't true. I just don't know what to do! I'm a mess.



Answer:



I understand what you are going through. Concerning your breaking up with your boyfriend. I would say just give it some time and you'll be okay. Don't try to rush feeling better. Time is one of the best medicines.

The reason it may feel like your not hearing anything from God is because your probably expecting God to come through in a specific way, maybe like reading a passage and the windows of heaven shine down. I know that sounds dramatic but I hope you understand what I mean. The reason you're not hearing anything from God is because you're winded up so tight that your anxious before you even open God's Word. The first part of Psalm 46:10 says that we are to be still and know that God is in control. Ask God to calm you down and to be completely quiet. If you do this you will find that God whispers like He did to Elijah in I Kings 19:12 in a still small voice. God has never left you. He has been there with you the whole time. Just allow Him to quiet you and allow Him to speak to you.


Don't forget, if you have a question you can send it to me at asktheyouthpastor@xtrlive.com plus you can talk to us tonight at www.studenthopeline.com

Question:



Hi. My name is Matt Hoyle and I have fallen into Satan's hands so many times and I am sick of it. What my pastor said this morning really touched me. It was like God slapped me in the face and I went and talked with my pastor. We prayed and I'm free from my sin but I would like you to pray for me. Thanks.




Answer:



Matt, I'm glad that you went to God with this and that you have experienced victory. Porn is an addiction that cannot be overcome by any help but through the power of God and through accountability with other believers. I would be glad to pray for you.

Lord as we come to you in prayer and I want to lift up Matt to you. You know about his struggles and that he desperately wants to live in Your freedom in a life of integrity. Thank you for giving him a taste of the victory that is in You. Please be with Matt on this journey of life and help him to walk faithful and true to you. If he falls into this again, please remind him that You still love him and will help him through this. I ask that you would surround him with people who would keep him accountable and willing to follow You. I thank You for what You are going to do and thank You for Your faithfulness. Amen.



Don't forget, if you have a question you can send it to me at asktheyouthpastor@xtrlive.com plus you can talk to us tonight at www.studenthopeline.com