To follow up on your response about calling men ‘father’ (the post entitled “Parental Paradox”), are you saying it is all right to refer to men as ‘father’ as long as you are not putting them above God?  Including, not only a biological parent but even a person of spiritual fatherhood?  Some folks in my Lutheran congregation refer to our pastor as ‘father’ or ‘reverend’ or even ‘brother’ but never revere him above God as you pointed out in your post.

Sincerely,
Taking Titles

Dear Taking Titles,

In order to understand why it is wrong for religious leaders to take the name of ‘father’, we need to put that statement in context.  Jesus said to not call anyone ‘father’ (Matt 23:9) at the same time as He condemned the scribes and Pharisees for loving the praise and honor of men (Matt 23:4-6).  When ‘father, ‘rabbi’, and ‘master’ are given as titles of prestige and honor, this is exactly what Jesus was condemning.  The titles you mentioned are often used in exactly the same manner – ‘reverend’ especially.  The word ‘reverend’ is never even found in the Bible.  The only one who deserves our reverence is God (Heb 12:28).  Anytime that religious leaders take on titles like these, it is a sign that they are seeking to distinguish themselves from other christians.  This is the exact opposite of what the apostles did (Acts 10:25-26).

I am the friend in the post "A Chosen Lifestyle".  Will you give me some Bible verses to help beat homosexuality; please, I haven't done anything else, but for some reason, this is hard.

Sincerely,
Befriended

Dear Befriended,

There is only one Bible answer for your struggle with homosexual pornography.  God tells us to flee from fornication (1 Cor 6:18).  A good example of fleeing fornication is Joseph when he was seduced by Potiphar’s wife.  Joseph knew that it was wrong for him to lay with another man’s wife (Gen 39:7-9), and so when she caught him alone in the house – Joseph fled so fast that he left his garment behind (Gen 39:11-12).  Don’t put yourself in situations that make it easy to look at pornography.  Move your computer to a public room; install accountability software like Covenant Eyes that discloses your browsing history to a trusted friend.  Make a plan to beat this sin... which brings us to another great verse.  When Daniel was tempted to eat the unclean food (food that was sinful for a Jew to eat) of the Babylonians, Daniel “purposed within his heart” that he would not defile himself (Dan 1:8).  That is exactly what you need to do.  Purpose in your heart, plan ahead, and decide that this behavior will no longer defile you.

I recently found out that my friend has looked at homosexual pornography.  He says that he is not this way, and he does not know why he does this.  He also says he has never done any other homosexual act.  Is this person homosexual, and what does he need to do?  Please help.

Sincerely,
Concerned Friend

Dear Concerned Friend,

From a Bible standpoint, being ‘homosexual’ means to ‘engage in sexually immoral behavior involving the same gender’.  Homosexuality is an activity and a choice.  The Bible clearly condemns an active homosexual lifestyle (Rom 1:26-27, Jude 1:7).  Homosexuality is like any other sin – you have a choice.  If someone wishes to not be homosexual, they need to stop engaging in homosexual behavior.  That is what your friend needs to do.  Paul praised the Corinthian church because some of the christians there had once been homosexual and had since repented of that sin (1 Cor 6:9-11).  We choose to sin, and we can choose to stop sinning.  God tells us to flee fornication (1 Cor 6:18).  That is what your friend needs to do – FLEE.  Turn off the computer, run from activities associated with homosexuality, seek counseling if necessary (Pr 15:22), and pursue things that are wholesome and good (Php 4:8).  When we replace bad behavior with good behavior, we set ourselves up to successfully conquer our sins.

If I have lost my joy, how do I get it back?

Sincerely,
Joyless

Dear Joyless,

Suffering and sorrow are some of the most poignant experiences of human existence, and all the great men and women of the Bible faced them.  David said that his bed swam with tears many nights (Ps 6:6-7).  He also said that his sorrow was continually before him (Ps 38:17).  Isa 53:3 calls Jesus the “Man of Sorrows”.  Suffering is a constant reminder that this world is not our home and that our spirits will someday rise upward to meet our God (Eccl 3:19-21).  All of God’s faithful are strangers and pilgrims on this planet (Heb 11:13).

We cannot imagine what you are going through; you alone know your heart’s grief (Pr 14:10).  There is hope.  Trials can make us stronger if we reach out to the Lord (Rom 5:3-5).  If there is anything we can do, or if we can put you in contact with a faithful congregation that could buoy you up and prepare you for heaven, please e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org.

When I am playing the piano in our worship, I hardly ever feel the presence of God.  But when I have the Sunday off, and I am worshipping, I feel God's presence.  Why is this?

Sincerely,
Not Feeling It

Dear Not Feeling It,

There are two parts to your question that must be dealt with.  Before we answer your concerns about how and when you feel close to God, we recommend you read the post “Music to HIS Ears”.  After reading that, it may make the second part of this question obsolete because it explains how using instruments as a part of worship isn’t a biblical practice.

The second half of your question deals with emotion.  The Bible never talks about us feeling the presence of God.  In fact, mankind hasn’t been allowed in the presence of God since Adam and Eve got kicked out of the Garden (Gen 3:8).  The angels are in God’s presence (Lk 1:19), but mankind won’t be until the Day of Judgment.  God is certainly close to us and affects our lives (Acts 17:27-28), but we don’t have direct contact with Him.  So when we talk about “feeling the presence of God”, what we are really discussing is when we feel emotionally close to God.  Emotions are fickle.  There will be times when you will feel like God is far from you… but you are wrong because He is still watching over you (Ps 9:10), and there are folks that believe that they are close to God, but they are separated from Him because they are living wickedly (Matt 7:21-23).  Simply put, we can’t trust our emotions to be accurate.  The only way to confidently know that God is near you is to live faithfully by hearing and acting upon His instructions (Rom 1:16).