I have got a question about different rituals. My mom is very passionate about horoscopes and she has many books of spells at home. She does all sorts of strange things in the house. Every Friday night she lights seven candles, or lights only green candles (I think to return the fortune) and she reads all kinds of prayers from the Bible only on Friday night. I find it very bad that she associates sorcery with God. She hides all the time and I do not know what other things she does, but I noticed that for some time each Friday, before bedtime, she comes to me and blows on my forehead and does all sorts of strange signs. I’m afraid of her. I do not want to take part in such things. What could these things mean and how can I protect myself?

God categorically condemns the horoscope, sorcery and wizards practiced by your mother and, as you say, it is an abomination that she uses for these purposes even the Bible.

Explain to your mother the seriousness of her deeds

To understand better, I invite you to read the article What does the Bible say about fortune-telling and witchcraft? Then go to your mother and tell her all these truths, but insist in the explanation as to make sure she understands what it is all about.

Enter a covenant with the Lord Jesus Christ

I do not know if you are born again and if you received the Holy Spirit. If you have not yet had this experience in your life, it is possible that your mother’s sorcery has already affected you or can affect you now. Therefore, seek to understand better what means to be born again and how it can happen in your life. Then, repent wholeheartedly to receive the Holy Spirit and to be fully released from the power of evil spirits by which all magicians are done.

Urge your mother to repent

Following your example, urge your mother to repent, because only so she can be released from the clutches of idolatry in which she has been caught. If she does not want to repent, at least …

Ask your mom to stop these practices

It is unlikely that she will stop practicing them if she does not repent, but it is important that you asked this, and that you insist on it.

If your mother does not want to move away from sorcery …

Then you have to leave the house where you live now and to seek a separate place to live, in the hope that your mother will understand and will soon repent of her evil deeds.

Translated by Felicia Rotaru

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A boy at school likes me but he is not a believer. How to get rid of this because it seems it will be for his profit?

As long as the boy did not tell you anything, you should not pay any attention but look for the responsibilities you have at school and tell the Gospel to all and learn well.

If the boy came to you to propose you friendship or dating, you must answer nicely and tell him the following:

1. You are a Christian and Christians are not dating. Therefore, you will never accept dating because you want to live well before the Lord Jesus whom you love and you entered a covenant with Him. If he asks you why Christians are not dating, it is good to tell him the truths of the article “Dating and successful marriage” Part 1 and Part 2.
2. If that boy will understand why Christians are not dating and he would like to propose you marriage, you will have to say that God forbids the marriage of believers with non-Christians and that Christians shall marry only in the Lord, that means only with born again Christians, which entered into a covenant with the Lord Jesus Christ and only with the person you love.
3. Both in the first and in the second case, when that guy will come to talk to you, take advantage of this opportunity and present him the Gospel message and urge him to believe in the Lord Jesus, to repent and to enter the New Covenant without which he will not see eternal life and salvation, that is a more important thing for him than friendship or even marriage with you.

Translated by Felicia Rotaru

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What does the Bible say about the Lottery? Is it a good or a bad practice for Christians?

Lotteries are different from a game at a party to national, international lotteries or Green Card Lottery in which the participants wish to gain American citizenship.

We can not find in the Bible the word “lottery”, but there are truths that apply to this practice. The Bible tells us about “casting lots” and here is a case about the soldiers who have crucified the Lord Jesus:

And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots. (Matthew 27:35)(NASB)

However, the above case is different from the lotteries of today, because the soldiers divided by casting lots things they already assumed as a trophy, while lotteries today are totally different and people resort to them hoping to gain amounts of money without working for it. Here’s what the Bible says in this regard.

Flee from the love of money

In most cases, the love of money is the motivation of people who systematically play in the lottery hoping that one day that will get rich in this way. God says in the Bible:

^A)’>But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. (1 Timothy 6:6-11)(NASB)

I draw attention to the last verse where God says that man is called to flee from the love of money and things that express it and to give priority to divine things, pursuing righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience and kindness.

Wealth gained without work does not bring prosperity

Wise Solomon wrote this:

Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles, but the one who gathers by labor increases it.  – (Proverbs 13:11)(NASB)

I have recently read about Callie Rogers who won $ 3 million at the lottery when she was 16. Six years later she said that she spent it all on drugs, parties, exotic cars and breast plastic operations. Only to her clothing designer she has paid $ 730,000. In an interview published by AOL Callie Rogers says, “To be honest, I wish I never won in the lottery and if I knew then what I know now, I returned the money back” After 6 years from the fantastic win of $ 3,000,000, Callie has only $ 32,000 now. If she worked she would not wasted the money so quickly.

In the end I want to draw the attention of the reader that it is not the case to have many discussions and show “excess of righteousness” and come with accusations of all kinds when there are organized lottery games on a holiday as we have seen at Christian youth meetings. These are quite different things and no one organizes or participates in these lotteries with the purposes mentioned above.

Translated by Felicia Rotaru

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I can not get rid of egocentrism. It hinders me in my relationships with God. How to get rid of this?

What is egocentrism?

The dictionary gives us the following definition of the word:

Egocentrism – attempting to get personal recognition for yourself (especially by unacceptable means); preoccupation with self and insensitivity to others. 

Humility – the opposite of egocentrism

In the Epistle to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul has devoted the whole chapter 2 to this topic and it begins so:

Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. (Philippians 2:1-4)(NASB)

According to these verses, not to be egocentric one must:

• do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. It depends on one’s motivation and God teaches us not to do anything to assert ourselves before others
• regard one another as more important than yourselves, and to be able to do this …
• do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others, who surround you.

But, what is it required to be able to do this?

To have the mind of Christ

This is what the Apostle Paul says further on in chapter 2 of the Epistle to the Philippians:

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)(NASB)

It is necessary to have the mind of Christ in the heart, that means His attitude, because he was not egocentric, even if He was placed by His Father in the center of the universe and one day every knee will bow down before Him of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue will confess that He is Lord.

Learn from people who have the mind of Christ and live for others. In the same chapter 2 the Apostle Paul presents the example of two people who were not egocentric.

The example of Timothy

He was a young man who believed wholeheartedly in the Lord Jesus and has dedicated his life to serving others in the Gospel. Paul writes thus about him:

But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. But you know of his proven worth, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father. Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me; and I trust in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly. (Philippians 2:19-24)(NASB)

Although most people of his time were egocentric, because they were seeking after their own interests and not those of Christ, he, Timothy, as a child with his father, worked as a slave along with Paul for the furtherance of the Gospel. Learn from this young man as he has learned from his teacher Paul.

The Apostle tells us further  …

The example of Epaphroditus

When the apostle was in prison in Rome and the church of Philippi decided to send him an aid, Epaphroditus offered himself to this job that was not easy at all to take the aid from Philippi to Rome to Paul. The task was not easy and on the way he got sick to death. But, let us better read what Paul himself wrote to Philippians about Epaphroditus:

But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need; because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard; because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me. (Philippians 2:25-30)(NASB)

Epaphroditus was not egocentric. Otherwise, he would have stayed home to do his job. But he always thought at the benefits of others and felt with them. Because he thought of Paul, he chose to risk his life to get with the aid to Rome.

Lord Jesus help us to learn from such people who understood that the essence of faith in God is serving others and giving themselves for others.

Translated by Felicia Rotaru

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• How to propose marriage to a girl? (8)
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I have a question that will sound silly or strange, but I really need to know the answer. I do not have a boyfriend and I think that it is nothing wrong with it. I prefer to wait rather than to rush after the first boy. But, you know, I’ve got tired to be continuously asked by those who surround me if I have a lover, as if they have only my concern. I do not know how to make my mother understand that every grass has its shadow because I think that she worries that I may remain a spinster, for all girls of her friends already have boyfriends. Others are surprised when they learn that I do not have a lover, as if I were 100 years, when I am only 18 years old. Sometimes I feel I want to tell them something … How more should I suffer it? Now my priority is my studies. I do not say that I wouldn’t like to have a fiance, but if there is not one, I do not make a tragedy. Sometimes I even begin to think that I have problems with love. Help me, please, and advise me how to answer to those that so much care about my fate. Thank you in advance.

As I take it, the most important thing is that you think well and analyze correctly things regarding marriage and love. Now it is wise to learn things that can help you build a beautiful family later and God will send you the groom at the determined time, as He promised in His Word and as He has shown in the lives of thousands of people. God said:

The hope of the righteous is gladness, but the expectation of the wicked perishes - (Proverbs 10:28)(NASB)

You can not stop people asking you because you can not change people. But, when you can not change a thing, you must change your attitude toward him. So, you should never get offended by their questions. You can tell them that they will be invited or that they will be announced when you marry, and when they ask you about love, tell them about Jesus’ love for you and for all people and tell them that anyone who has not experienced that love, will not know what real love is in marriage.

Thus, use this question of people in order to proclaim the Gospel.

Translated by Felicia Rotaru

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What to do when you really love someone who does not know you and you are sure that you will never date? In a word, an impossible person. It is a permanent state of sadness that does not allow you to love someone else and it always leads you to despair because, quite simply, you can not get him out of your mind, even after a long time. What to do?

I have previously written two articles covering the answer to this question:

• What to do when love and passion are not mutual?
• What to do when time passes and true love doesn’t come?

What does the reader think?

Translated by Felicia Rotaru

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Thus says the LORD, ”Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit. (Jeremiah 17:5-8)(NASB)

God’s Word does not say that we must not trust each other in everyday life, but that it is a sin to trust in man rather than in God. People are limited and they are not masters of any situation. Therefore, in difficult situations of life, in fact in any circumstances, we shall appeal to God and not trust in any man more than in God.

Translated by Felicia Rotaru

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I use email a lot and I want to share some useful tips with the readers of this portal:

1. Install a desktop application

There are two ways to address the mail. The first one is on-line, when you open the site (Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc.) and there you read the messages, answer and store them. The advantage of this method is great when you do not have a personal computer and always access your email on a foreign computer. But if you have a personal computer, I advise you to download a desktop program or to use the already existing one. If you have Windows on your computer, you must also have the program Outlook Express, for Mac OS is excellent the program Apple Mail, and for Linux another very good program Evolution. Use one of these programs, or download other free programs, such as Mozilla Thunderbird. Programmers from Moldova have created an exceptional program for Windows called TheBat. For many years I have used this program and I found it very good and practical. Desktop programs allow you to work more quickly and always have on your computer all the received, sent messages, drafts, etc.

2. Create folders on activities

By default every email program has four boxes: Inbox, Outbox, Sent, Drafts. It is good to create at least two folders for the Answered messages and Archive and what you think it is important. But, do not to create too many, so that you may not complicate things more than you organize them. I saw some people so much “organized” that “their excessive organization” becomes a burden that enslaves them.

3. Answer according to the priorities

I do not know how you are doing, but I receive daily more than 100 email messages without taking into account spam. To be able to handle such a large number of messages it is important to answer them in the order of the priority and not necessarily in the order as you have received the messages. Important things must be firstly done and this principle should be also respected in other aspects of life. This is what Scripture teaches us in this regard:

Prepare your work outside and make it ready for yourself in the field; afterwards, then, build your house. (Proverbs 24:27)(NASB)

And when we are shown the importance of divine things, we are told:

Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:31-34)(NASB)

4. Read and answer

Some messages require to return to them, but most are so that we can answer them after we read them. If possible, answer the messages once, so that they may not take your precious time another time when you return to them again and leave other important tasks undone. If you can answer the message after you read it, do it then, just as Scripture teaches us to help people when we can and not to delay a good:

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it,” when you have it with you. (Proverbs 3:27-28)(NASB)

5. Clear out the Outbox

After you answer a message, move it to another folder, the one you created for this purpose. I have titled it Answered and there I put any message that I have received and answered it. That way I get rid of the agglomeration in my Inbox and I clearly see what else I have to do. But, I do not leave any message from Outbox until I solved everything about that message.

6. Keep important messages

Not all messages are important and if there will be no reason to come back to them, you can delete them by using the “Delete” button. But do not do it when you think that in the future you will need the least information in that message. Save those messages so that you can make reference to them whenever you need it.

7. Do not be obsessed by Email

As I said, email is an excellent tool for communication, but if you are obsessed by it, you can realize that you can not do other things and you no longer manage doing all things. Therefore, do not to be obsessed, set a specific time every day when you deal with the Email messages and do not check email constantly throughout the day so that any message will pause and stop you from other important tasks.

Another way how some people are obsessed by email is when they prefer it rather than verbal communication and normal discussions.

Be careful to not let anything rule over you, nor the email, because the Word of God says that everyone is the slave of the thing he is possessed by. Live free like a man freed by faith in Christ.

Translated by Felicia Rotaru

Other posts:

• What is sexual immorality? (62)
• Moderator (13)
• Christians and Multi Level- Marketing (10)
• How to propose marriage to a girl? (8)
• Jesus Christ condemns the sin of sodomy and calls all homosexuals to repentance (8)

Translated by Felicia Rotaru

Other posts:

• What is sexual immorality? (62)
• Moderator (13)
• Christians and Multi Level- Marketing (10)
• How to propose marriage to a girl? (8)
• Jesus Christ condemns the sin of sodomy and calls all homosexuals to repentance (8)

Other posts:

• What is sexual immorality? (62)
• Moderator (13)
• Christians and Multi Level- Marketing (10)
• How to propose marriage to a girl? (8)
• Jesus Christ condemns the sin of sodomy and calls all homosexuals to repentance (8)