Peter denied Jesus (Jn. 18.15-18, 25-27). Jesus forgave him and brought him back into good graces (Jn. 21.15-17). Peter found himself not only forgiven, but trusted. He was not only forgiven, but given great responsibility. I happen to think that Peter’s struggles became part of his strength.

Mark 9.24. The man’s honesty still speaks to us all. Has God used this man (we don’t even know his name) to speak to each one of us through the centuries. Plus, I can’t imagine this man not telling everyone he knew what Jesus had done for him, even while he was struggling with his faith.

Elijah. In 1 Kings 18 he had his great victory on Mt. Carmel. In 1 Kings 19 he is scared (3), doubting (4), fatigued, frustrated, and feeling like a failure. At the end of the chapter God says, “I’m not done with you yet. I have work for you to do" (15-18).

Moses. After God appears to him to tell him His plan, Moses says, “Get somebody else” (Ex. 4.13). But God uses Moses’ vulnerabilities and self-doubts as part of his strength (Ex. 4.10-12; Num. 12.3).

Gideon. God comes to call him to ministry, and Gideon replies with doubts and questions (Judges 6.13). God tells him what to do, and Gideon has more doubts (6.15). God still gives him more, and Gideon still doesn’t buy into it (6.36-40). God uses him anyway.

So I am still struggling in my faith. That's what these questions have been helping with. Does God, or would he, use someone while they are struggling in their faith?

“What are angels then?” Angels are God’s messengers. In the Bible God rarely does things just on His own or by Himself. He uses divine messengers, and He uses us, actually, a lot. God is a partnership strategist—He often uses others to do His work. He’s a Trinity (so sometimes he uses the Spirit to do His work), He uses angels (and even Satan), and He uses people (both good and bad) to accomplish His purposes.

“[The angels in the Bible] sound a little scary.” Yep. A normal person’s reaction to an angelic visitation is fear (terrified, actually). It seems that when we see spiritual powers as they really are, we become dreadfully aware of our own inadequacy, weakness, and vulnerability. It teaches me, for one, to respect spiritual power and to make sure my life is right with God. I have no desire to (1) be vulnerable to evil spiritual powers, or (2) to have to stand before God one day and be afraid of that encounter. I want to run up to God in love, not call for the mountains to fall on me to hide me from His presence.

“What are demons?” Good question. They seem to be amoral (not good or bad) operatives—wild cards, so to speak. They are spiritual beings seemingly motivated by instincts rather than evil. (You’d probably not call a demon evil any more than you’d call a tornado evil.) They do have a negative effect, just like illness, so they still need to be dealt with. They disrupt order, so Jesus casts them out. (God is always working to bring order out of non-order.)

“How did you decide not to tell your parents?” A lot of times some positive things can come out of confession to parents, even at great embarrassment to oneself. But in these particular cases, I determined that absolutely nothing positive or beneficial would come from my confession, so I never did.

“Do you think the world is going to last that long (millions of years)?” No. Scientifically it is able (which is what I was saying). But I think that humanity’s corruption will bring about the end times LONG before we get anywhere close to that. I wouldn’t even be surprised if Jesus came back soon.

“You can’t trust every speaker you hear.” … Shouldn’t that speaker be speaking truth?” Yeah, they should, but sin is a formidable enemy and destroyer of people. Without constant engagement with God, especially as a leader, it is SO easy to start thinking my will and my thoughts are God’s will and God’s thoughts, and we easily fall away from truth. We have to be always vigilant, like guards on a watchtower. Even leaders and teachers forget this and get caught up in themselves.

“How can there by so many different viewpoints and interpretations of the Bible?” For one, people don’t always pay attention to the rules of interpretation to keep them on the right path. Secondly, we have such a strong tendency to see what we want to see and believe what we want to believe. Third, Jesus Himself said that there will be a lot of false prophets, misguided leaders, and “weeds” among the “wheat.” That’s why we always have to be always seeking the truth in the Bible, working hard at studying it right and understanding it properly. And we have to check what others say (Acts 17.11).

What are angels then? The way the Bible describes them they sound a little scary. What are demons? What power do they have?

How did you decide not to tell your parents? I I have been praying about this for a year still and I still don't know what to do.

You think the world is going to last that long still—Millions of years?

So today I was listening to Family Life Radio. (I love family life; they can be a corny sometimes, but you gotta love them.) Anyways, I caught the end of a sermon or something and the dude speaking said "you can't trust every speaker you hear." Now that got me thinking ... shouldn't that speaker be speaking truth? Also would they know they are not speaking truth? I just don't get how there could be so many different viewpoints and interpretations of the Bible .. that's what gets me ... there shouldn't be, right? I know we have talked about this. Sorry.

Hopefully that made sense!!

Oh, it’s not you that confused me. It’s just hard for me to really know what those near-death experiences really are and what I think about them.

“So what is a spirit if it is not a ghost?” I think the most clearly I can say it is that spirits are spiritual beings, like angels or demons. They’re not ghosts like you see in the movies or read about in books. Those things, I was saying, probably don’t really exist. But angels and demons really do exist. The Bible talks several times about angels appearing to people. Sometimes people seem to know right away they are angels (like the angel appearing to Mary, or the angels at the tomb, the warrior who appeared to Joshua, or the angels ascending and descending Jacob’s stairway). Other times they seem to appear as normal people (like the angels who appear to Abraham in Genesis 18). Regardless, they not like ghosts. Nobody in the Bible talks about them as if they are wispy apparitions with a spooky kind of presence, floating around or gliding through hallways.

“Do you regret not telling your parents those one or two things?” No, I don’t. It was things I did that were just stupid, and would be hurtful to them to know.

“How do I go about telling my parents what I have been keeping a secret?” A straight and honest approach is almost always best. Some time when you are with them and you have about 15 minutes, just come right out with it. They will react, of course, but you’ll clear the air and not have to carry that weight any more.

“How does something last forever like heaven or hell? Doesn’t everything have to end at some point?” Eternity is hard for us to get a handle on. Our lives are so defined by beginnings and endings. As you said, everything has a beginning and an ending; nothing is eternal—even the universe, scientists tell us, will eventually end (bazillions and jagillions of years down the road). So how can something never end? Because we will take on the characteristics of God, to some extent. We acknowledge that God will never end, and if He endows us with His life, then we will never end either. What will we do for bazillions and jagillions of years? God will take care of that. He is a boundless creator whose ideas will never run out. His life is such that it is abundant and desirable.

“How could a God who loves us so much send someone to hell?” It will grieve God severely to send people to hell. It will just break his heart. Hell was created for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25.41), not for people. God never intended for people to go there. Hell is not really where God sends people who rebel against Him; it’s more accurate to think of it as where people choose to go who refuse to be with God. God invites everyone into His family, and He is constantly working to draw all people to Himself. He doesn’t want anyone to not be with Him (2 Peter 3.9). But there are people who are rebellious against Him, and so entrenched in their defiance that they would rather spend eternity separated from Him than benefitting from his presence. And God can’t force them to love Him (because that’s not love if it’s forced). God has no choice but to let them have what they desire—a life separated from Him. So if they refuse to be with God, the only other choice is to be separated from Him, and that’s what hell is. I’m sure God cries deep and painful tears with every person who chooses the path of separation.

“God does love everyone, right?” Absolutely. God loves every one and each one.

Sorry I didn't mean to confuse you more!

So what's a spirit then if it is not a ghost?

Do you regret not telling your parents those one or two things? Also, how do I go about telling my parents what I have been keeping a secret?

How does something last forever like heaven or hell? Doesn't everything have a end at some point?

How could a God who loves us so much and everyone send someone to hell?

God does love everyone, right?

“The people who go to heaven and then come back back—wouldn’t that be considered a miracle?” This is an extremely interesting subject that I hardly know what to make of. I have a couple of thoughts about it, but mostly confusion.

1. These experiences sure seem to be real. People know things they couldn’t otherwise know if they weren’t really out of body and seeing and hearing things. And the people who claim to go to heaven and talk to people there (like in the movie “Miracles from Heaven”)—how can that kid know that stuff if he wasn’t really there?? Isn’t it intriguing?

2. But then there are also psychologists who say these are chemical reactions in the brain at the point of death—perfectly natural and not miraculous at all. I guess that could be, but how could the people see things they see and know what they know if it’s just chemical reactions?

3. But then it bothers me that all of them have visions and experiences of heaven, but none of them have visions and experiences of hell. How can that be if it’s real? I guess some do (http://www.thedailybeast.com/is-hell-re ... re-say-yes)

So it’s hard for me to know what to think. In ways it makes sense, and in ways it doesn’t. I’m still withholding my judgment on it.

“It’s just that simple—it’s in God’s nature to love us?” Yep. It’s just that simple. We see the same thing in parents when their baby is born. How hard do they have to work to love him or her? Not at all. It just seems in people’s nature to love their baby. It’s just that simple. God loves us like His children.

“How can God have a relationship with so many people? How does he love them all the same?” My grandmother was one of 24 children in her family. How did her mom love them all? But she did. How can God have so many relationships? Let’s make a analogy, even though it’s only a partial analogy. We all have GPSs on our phones. Sometimes thousands of us at the same time are tapping into the same computer. This one computer knows where all of us are going, give us each personalized directions, keeps track of our trips, and even if we make a wrong turn it tells us so and plots a new route for us to go. How can one computer have a “relationship" with so many people? But God is more knowledgeable and capable than a computer. It at least shows us how God can have a relationship with so many people.

“What if someone messes with the spirit world?” You mean like witchcraft, Ouija boards, and spells? You are messing with powerful spiritual forces that can make a mess of your life. We should be scared of it. Satan tries to create fear, and he has the power to do dreadful things. We should be afraid, but we should also realize that God protects us, and by a strong relationship grounded in him, Satan has no power over us. Satan only has power over people who allow him to.

“Are spirits and ghosts the same thing?” In general I would say there is no such thing as ghosts. They are the fictional ideas of books and movies. Spirits are the real deal.

“Is it sinful to keep something from parents? What if it was going to hurt them?” It’s not automatically sinful to keep something from parents. We have to be wise about such things, just like every other part of life. But that doesn’t mean we should keep from them everything we’re afraid to tell them, or that we think might hurt them, or embarrass us to tell them. Our parents are our caretakers, given to us by God, and it’s a pretty rare situation that should be kept from them. We should be able to go to our parents will all kinds of situations, fears, mistakes, and plans. They love us, and have our best interests in mind. But it’s not automatically sinful to keep something from them. I’ll admit there’s a thing or two I never told my parents. But in general it’s a good thing to tell your parents all kinds of things.

Sorry to confuse you! I think we have kinda talked about this before, but you know those stories you hear about people going to heaven and then coming back and now they have movies and books about it!? If those stories are true, wouldn't that be considered a miracle ?

It's just that simple? It's in Gods nature to love us?

How can one God have a relationship with so many different people? How does he love them all the same?

The spirit world: I know the Bible says not to mess with it .. what happens if someone does? (this kind of thing scares me) it's real, right? Also are spirits and ghosts the same thing? <---- seems like a silly question to ask

Is it sinful to keep something from parents? What if it was going to hurt them?

You sure have asked a lot of questions! But that’s a good thing—it shows you’re a thinking person and that you care about what you believe.

“People going to heaven and back—is that considered a miracle?” I’m not sure what you mean by this. Who went to heaven and came back? Once I know more specifically what you’re talking about I can answer meaningfully. I don’t just want to beat out and answer that’s off-target of what you’re asking.

“Do people ever go to hell and come back?” The Bible has no record of such a thing—no examples, no teaching, no suggestion even that anyone in hell ever came back. I’d give a pretty confident “no” on this question, but if there’s something specific that you’re referring to, let me know and I can answer again.

“Why does God love us? Why would he want to since we are so sinful?” Love is God’s nature. He loves us all. There’s no particular why. In a way it’s like asking why you love your parents. Um, I would guess because they’re your parents, and there really isn’t another reason. Sure, behind that is that they have raised you, loved you, have taken care of you, and want your best, but you just love them because you love them. Why does God love us? We’re human, and He created humans to be in relationship with Him, and love is His nature, and he doesn’t really need another reason. He certainly doesn’t just love us because we’ve earned it or deserve it; He surely doesn’t just love us only if we love him. The Bible says (as I’m sure you know) that God loves us all (John 3.16), and that He loved us even when we were sinners in rebellion against Him (Rom. 5.8).

When a parent gives birth to a child, they love that child just because it’s their own. My daughter adopted a 9-year-old child from China. We loved him the minute he walked off the plane. It’s because we chose to, and it’s because he was now a member of our family. There was no particular “why.” We chose to. God is love; He wants us in His family, and He chooses to love us without a particular “why.”

“Do we go to God or does God reveal Himself to us (to be saved and hear the gospel)?” It’s “B”: He reveals Himself to us. The initiative is all with God. We wouldn’t know diddly, and we could never know much of anything about Him, and we would never be motivated to “go to God” if He didn’t draw us to Himself. According to the Bible, God is continually revealing Himself to us, continually drawing us in His direction, and continually tugging on our hearts.

“It would be a little unfair if he picked out only certain people He wanted with Him.” That’s right, and it’s not true. As you said, He wants everyone in heaven with Him (2 Pet. 3.9). When the Bible talks about election (God choosing people), He is choosing people not only to be with Him but also to invite as many other people to come as possible. Invite everybody! Bring as many as you can! Christians aren’t elected because they’re special and others aren’t, or because God wants them and not the others, or because God loves some but not others. Christians are elected to be messengers and inviters: “You, I have chosen YOU to be the one to bring Ally, Emmy, Ethan, Sophia and as many others as you can.” That’s what the choosing is about.

“The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—what’s that gonna look like in heaven?” Our best view of that is Revelation 4. It’s all imagery, but it’s all we have to go by. I’m quite convinced John couldn’t find words to describe what he was seeing, and he did the best he could by using poetic images and word pictures.

“The Bible talks about Jesus sitting next to the Father—is that supposed to be taken literally?” No. It’s a word picture of Jesus’ equality with God and Him being king just like God is king. But I do think we’ll see Jesus like He looked after the resurrection. But he’ll obviously one with the presence on the throne with the emerald rainbow around it. There are just no words for it.

And thanks for your last paragraph. I’m glad I’ve been helpful. I like all your questions. As I said, it shows you’re thinking and you care. That’s such a good thing. You know, if I remember right back to some of your first emails, you said a friend of yours directed you to me. Feel free, if you have friends who have questions too, to tell them to email me, too. I just want to help people find and know the truth. I’m glad you don’t want to run away from it as much as you did a few months ago—really glad. As I’ve mentioned, knowing God and having a relationship with Him is the most valuable part of life.

Sometimes I wonder with the questions I ask ... I don't know where they come from!

So people going to heaven and back—is that considered a miracle? Do people ever go to hell and come back? That's someone being dead and then coming back to life? Miracle?

Why does God love us—just because he created us? Why would he want to since we are so sinful?

Does God love everyone—even if they don't follow him?

Do we go to God or does God reveal himself to us (to be saved and hear the gospel)? It would be a little unfair if he picked out only certain people he wanted with him. He wants everyone in heaven with him,right?

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? What's that gonna look like in heaven? The Bible talks about Jesus sitting next the father. Is that supposed to be taken literally?

Hey, just so you know, ever since I started asking you questions about the faith I was raised in—I don't want to run away from it as much as I did a few months ago when I started asking all these questions. You are helping a lot. Thank you for your patience with me and my questions.