I have done something in my past that I truly regret… something I can’t seem to get off my mind.  I pray every day to be forgiven of my sin; it’s torn me continuously apart.  I know it was wrong, and it hasn't happened again.  And it won’t ever happen again.  Even though God has forgiven me of my sin and I know it was wrong, how can I forgive myself?

Sincerely,
Guilt-Ridden

Dear Guilt-Ridden,

The problem isn’t with whether or not you can be forgiven – the problem is that you don’t feel forgiven.  The two issues are very different.  There are times when our head and our heart aren’t on the same page.  Guilt can drive someone crazy if they don’t learn to keep things in proper perspective.  God says that your heart can be wrong.  You feel that you can’t be forgiven, but the Bible says you can.  It is very similar to the problem that the apostle Paul faced.  Paul had murdered christians and felt that he was the worst of the worst, but he learned that Jesus would forgive him (1 Tim 1:15-16).

The apostle John said it best, “By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before Him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything.” (1 Jhn 3:19-20).  Your act of faith is going to be letting go of your fears and trusting that living by God’s Word is what matters (Rom 10:17).  Sometimes, our feelings can be fickle and wrong, and we’ve got to ignore them until time and life change them.

Could you elaborate on 1 Timothy 2:8. What is meant by holy hands?

Sincerely,
Hand-ling The Verse

Dear Hand-ling The Verse,

It was not uncommon for those praying to raise their hands toward heaven as they prayed.  In 1 Tim 2:8, Paul is exhorting that we should have clean hands when we pray to God.  Our hands represent our lives and our actions.  If our lives are full of wrathful and doubting behavior, our prayers will be hindered.  The greatest example of this is in 1 Pet 3:7 where God warns husbands that their prayers will be hindered if they mistreat their wives.  Our hands need to be holy when we approach God; our lives need to be holy if we approach the Lord in prayer.

What are feelings, where do they come from, and what is their purpose?

Sincerely,
Full Of Emotion

Dear Full Of Emotion,

Feelings are a gift from God, and they are part of what makes us made in His image (Gen 1:27).  God has emotions, just like humans do… or rather, humans have emotions, just like God does.  God gets angry (2 Sam 6:7).  God can be jealous (Ex 34:14).  God has times of sadness and grief (Gen 6:6).  God can also have great joy (Lk 15:10).  Our emotions are just like God’s – except we have sin in our lives and immaturity in our hearts.  When God angers, He never acts inappropriately… but we do.  Humans don’t always show proper control of our feelings, and instead, we let them control us.  Feelings can be a wonderful blessing (life would be bland without them), but they are only a blessing if we guard our hearts with the truth (Pr 4:23).

Is it normal for a christian to sometimes have doubts about his faith? Like, maybe whether Christ is really the Messiah or not or all the things in the Bible are true or not?

Sincerely,
Doubting Myself

Dear Doubting Myself,

Everyone faces times of doubt in their life; the key is to strengthen the weaknesses in our resolve.  Like the man who cried out, “I believe, help my unbelief!” (Mk 9:24), all christians must recognize that faith must grow and increase over time.

Faith is the evidence of things not seen (Heb 11:1).  We can’t see God, but there is plenty of evidence that He exists.  The whole creation cries out as evidence of God’s existence (Rom 1:20).  As science and our knowledge of the natural world have increased, the proof of God’s existence has increased as well.  Books like Has God Spoken? by A.O. Schnabel, Case For A Creator by Lee Strobel, I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, and Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell are excellent resources that make clear the existence of the God of the Bible.  Take the time to fill your mind with information from sources like those mentioned above, and you will find yourself more confident in no time (Php 4:8).

Is a Christian allowed to smoke cigarettes and drink beer?

Sincerely,
Does A Body Good?

Dear Does A Body Good,

God never specifically condemns drinking wine, but He does condemn ‘strong drink’ (Pr 20:1), drinking parties (1 Pet 4:3), and drunkenness (Rom 13:13).  Almost all alcohol that is consumed today would fall into the category of ‘strong drink’ because our alcoholic beverages are artificially fermented to increase their alcoholic content (unlike the wine of Jesus’ day – read “That’s Just Grape” for further details on the wine Jesus drank).  We would all do well to heed the words of Pr 23:31-32 and avoid alcohol as much as is possible.

As for cigarettes, anything that purposefully poisons our bodies is wrong to use.  There was a time where the facts were not clearly known about the effects of cigarettes, pipes, and cigars on human health.  Those days are long since gone.  The data is exceptionally clear that smoking is always harmful to the human body and that smoking has no positive health benefits.  God tells us to treat our bodies as a temple (1 Cor 6:19).  Our bodies are a gift from God, and life is something to be cherished.  When we purposefully abuse our bodies with unhealthy lifestyles, we rebel against God and show ungratefulness for the life He has given us.  Present your body as a living and holy sacrifice to God (Rom 12:1).  Who knows what work He has prepared for you in the days and years that would be lost if you died from the effects of smoking?