If God knows our sinful nature, why did He destroy the earth and promise never to do it again?

Sincerely,
Strong Swimmer

Dear Strong Swimmer,

God made the promise never to flood the earth again because He had a different plan in mind.  Instead of leaving every man to do what was right in his own eyes until things got completely and totally depraved (as was the case before the flood – Gen 6:5-6)… He used one man to bring hope to all men.

After the Great Flood, God called Abraham to be His servant and the father of a great nation (Gen 12:1-2).  God made a promise to Abraham that through Abraham’s seed, all mankind would be blessed (Gen 22:18).  Jesus is the seed of Abraham (Gal 3:16).  After the Great Flood, God put into motion His plan to offer salvation to all mankind through Jesus Christ.  That road began with Abraham, and when the proper time came… Jesus was born (Gal 4:4).

When I was young, I publicly received Jesus in my life, but I fell into a sinful life until now.  I’m forty-two; can I return to God?  I’m worried about what Hebrews 6:4-6 says; do I have any hope?

Sincerely,
Wanting Out

Dear Wanting Out,

Yes, there is hope.  Heb 6:4-6 says that it is impossible for anyone else to renew a person who has fallen away to repentance.  The point is that when someone falls away, there isn’t anything new that can be said… the person’s problem isn’t ignorance – it’s attitude.  Only you can change your attitude, and it sounds like you have.

Think of your journey to God as starting anew – don’t make any assumptions.  We must study the Scriptures to find what makes God happy (Rom 10:17).  We recommend you read “What Must I Do To Be Saved?” and carefully examine the Scriptures in that post to see if you have obeyed them.  After that, we recommend you read “Finding The Church” and carefully examine whether or not the church you are currently attending (if you are attending one) is doing what the Bible teaches.  If you would like help finding a congregation, e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org.  God finds great joy when lost sheep are found… rejoice in a new beginning to your journey (Lk 15:4-7).

I'm extremely lonely.  I read somewhere that loneliness is God telling you that you have a problem with relationships.  Is that true?  I pray a lot, and I'm consistently seeking His advice and direction, but I never know if I'm making the right choices.  How does God let me know if my choices are pleasing to Him?

I'm lonely and border-line depressed.  I keep asking God to show me His will for me and what I need to do to please Him, but nothing has changed.  I feel like I'm not going to be happy until He's happy with me, but I don't know what I'm doing wrong.  I'm not saying that I'm perfect by any means, but I just don't know what I'm doing.

Sincerely,
Lonely

Dear Lonely,

Loneliness does not necessarily mean you have a problem with relationships… but it can mean that – we simply can’t tell you one way or the other in your circumstance.  However, we can tell you about whether or not your choices are pleasing to God.

We are pleasing to God when we follow His commandments (Jhn 15:14).  God wants us to live faithfully, and faith is found in God’s Word (Rom 10:17).

One of the commandments that is found in God’s Word is that we need to assemble with other christians (Heb 10:24-25).  If you are not doing this, this is an important part of serving God… and will probably help immensely with your loneliness.  Not all churches are the same – many churches don’t teach the truth.  It is very important that you find a faithful church to meet with.  We would be happy to help you find one; simply e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org.

For about two weeks, I have been drifting like somehow I have gotten separated from God; the reason I say this is because usually, when I pray, God gives me open manifestations and reveals things to me, but now it's like I've been shut out.  The things that I once was on fire for concerning God… it's like I have to push harder to get into the presence of God when it used to be so easy to get in His presence.  Please help me; I've never been in this place before, and I'm ashamed because I am supposed to be more mature than this when it comes to the Word and things of the Spirit of God.  Am I being rocked to sleep by the enemy?

Sincerely,
Asking For Directions

Dear Asking For Directions,

Our closeness to God isn’t defined by how close we feel to Him or by any personal revelation we think we receive… the Scriptures are our compass, not our emotions.  When the Bible was perfectly completed, all prophecy and individual revelations were done away with (1 Cor 13:9-10).  We believe your sincerity in feeling that God answers your prayers through directly speaking to you, but you are mistaken on that point.  However, the up side of that is that you can know – without worry of personal judgment muddying the waters – whether or not you are pleasing to God.  Paul told Timothy that he was approved by God when he rightly handled the Word of Truth (2 Tim 2:15).  Col 1:5 says that we have hope through the Word of God, and Eph 1:13 says we are sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit through the Gospel of salvation.

Many people wholeheartedly believe that they are pleasing to God but will be condemned on the Day of Judgment (Matt 7:22-23).  Feelings can be deceptive, but God’s Word is unchanging, unbiased, and able to rightly divide our lives and character (Heb 4:12).  If you want to know whether or not you are pleasing God, compare your life to the Scriptures.  “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Rom 10:17).”

I have a question that I am having problems understanding.  I am pretty sure that I have read somewhere that, "We are to do the Father’s will".  I believe that I have read this on church websites, but I don’t understand how this works.  Does this mean to do good things in the Lord’s name?  For example: helping homeless people?  I really want to do God’s will, but I don’t know what He would want me to do.  Please help me understand this.  Thanks again for all your help!

Sincerely,
Willing To Serve

Dear Willing To Serve,

Yes, we must do the will of God (Mk 3:35, 1 Jhn 2:17).  The question is: how can we know what the will of God is?  God tells us that He has revealed His will to us through the Scriptures.  Jesus says that we err when we don’t know the Scriptures (Mk 12:24).  With ready minds, we must diligently examine the Scriptures to see what manner of life we should live (Acts 17:11).  When we study and then live by what we have studied, we are doing God’s will (Jas 1:21-22).