#turtledove queries

[fear-god-shun-evil]

Why did Jesus Christ Suffer Crucifixion to Redeem us?

By Sun Gang

One day, I went to Brother Li’s home, who is in our church, wanting to visit the weak brothers and sisters together with him. When I arrived, he was reading the Bible. Seeing me, he stood up and said gladly: “Brother Sun, you came just at the right moment. I just have a problem and I can’t figure it out. You’re a preacher. Please tell me about it quickly.” I asked: “What’s the problem? Just say it.” Brother Li said seriously: “Brother Sun, when I was assisting brothers and sisters, some of them raised a query: ‘Since God is almighty and so authoritative and powerful, if He wants to redeem mankind, wouldn’t He just have to say the word? But why did the Lord Jesus redeem mankind by being nailed to cross?’ At that time I also didn’t know how to explain it. Thank the Lord. Today you just came at the right time. Let’s fellowship about it.”

I said with a smile: “OK! In fact, this problem is right the one most brothers and sisters in the Lord are confused about. Recently I just have some new light about it.” Brother Li said joyfully: “Thank the Lord! It’s wonderful! Do tell me.” I said: “At the mention of the topic concerning why the Lord Jesus used the crucifixion to redeem mankind, we need to talk from the Old Testament. Thinking back to the Old Testament Age of Law, people had to come before the altar and give offerings to God to make atonement if they committed sins. Only by doing this could they receive Jehovah God’s pardon. Otherwise, people all had to be executed by the law. At first the people of Israel, no matter who sinned, must offer the firstborn and the best sheep, cattle, pigeons and turtledoves, and so on to God as Jehovah God required in order to ask God to pardon them. Thus, by the end of the Age of Law, they sinned more and more, and gradually they were unable to observe the laws and decrees set forth by Jehovah God. In this way, making offerings became more and more so that they couldn’t find the firstborn and good offerings to atone for their sins. Finally, they actually dared offer the blind and lame offerings before the altar, which seriously violated God’s laws. In accordance with the laws established by Jehovah God, if people offended the laws, they must be put to death. So, God became flesh to perform the work of redemption according to man’s needs. If God hadn’t saved man, the whole people in the Age of Law would have been executed because they failed to observe the laws, and the meaning of God’s creation of man would have lost.”

Brother Li hurried to ask me: “Then why did the Lord Jesus have to be crucified to redeem mankind? Isn’t God almighty? He can redeem mankind with just one word.” I answered him: “Brother Li, there are principles and truths in this to be sought. Some time ago, a brother just brought me a book about belief in God. And a passage of words in it is well and right spoken directed toward this aspect. Let me read it to you.” Brother Li said hurriedly: “That’s wonderful! Please read it at once.”

Taking the book from my bag, I opened it and read: “God expresses some words or does some deeds and people always misunderstand and think, ‘How can God act that way? God is almighty!’ There is a constant fight within man. … The crucifixion was endured so that man could be redeemed, yet man does not understand God and always harbors some conceptions about God, saying: ‘To redeem all mankind God had only to say to Satan, “I am almighty. You dare to withhold mankind from Me? You must give them to Me.” With these few words everything could have been resolved—did God not have authority? All that was needed was for God to say that mankind is redeemed and that man’s sins are pardoned, then man would have been without sin. Were these things not decided by God’s words? If the heaven and earth and all things came into being with words from God, how then could God not resolve this issue? Why did He Himself need to be crucified?’ Both God’s almighty side and His practical side are at work here. With regard to His practical side, God incarnate endured much suffering in His thirty-three and a half years on earth, in the end being crucified until His blood ran dry. He endured the most terrible suffering but then was resurrected from death. His resurrection was God’s aspect of almightiness at work. He did not make any indication, or shed any blood or make it rain and say this was a sin offering. He didn’t do anything like that, but instead He personally became flesh to make contact with the whole of mankind and was nailed to the cross, so that mankind would know of this deed. By means of this deed, mankind came to know that God had redeemed them and this was proof that God had indeed saved man. Whichever incarnation performs the work or whether the Spirit Himself does the work directly, it is a necessity. This means that, by doing things in this way, the work is made most valuable and most significant, and only by doing things in this way can mankind reap the benefits thereof. This is because the whole of mankind is the object of God’s management. It was said before that mankind was managed in order to wage war with Satan and to humiliate it. And actually, is this not good for man in the end? To man, this is something to commemorate and is something that is most valuable and significant. Because those who are made complete are a group of people who have emerged from tribulation with an understanding of God, who have been made perfect by God and who have come through the corruption of Satan; so this work must surely be done in this way. The decision about which method to employ in His every stage of work is based on the needs of mankind. God’s work is certainly not done in any old way. But people have a choice and have their own conceptions. For example, in regard to the crucifixion, people think: ‘What has God being crucified got to do with us?’ They think there is no connection, but God had to be crucified in order to save mankind. Being crucified was the worst suffering of that time, wasn’t it? Could the Spirit have been crucified? Had the Spirit been crucified He would have felt no pain, could not have typified God and could not have become a symbol for God, not to mention that He would have been unable to bleed. The Spirit cannot bleed; only the flesh can bleed and His precious blood was the proof of a sin offering. His flesh became in the likeness of sinful flesh and He suffered pain on behalf of mankind. The Spirit could not have been nailed to the cross, so the Spirit cannot suffer pain on behalf of mankind and cannot redeem man’s sins. This was done for mankind and this is God’s practical side. But that God could do this, that He could love man, was something unachievable by man himself, so this was God’s almightiness at work. Why is it said that He is God and that He has the aspect of almightiness? Every deed God does contains within it His aspect of almightiness, and it also contains His aspect of practicality. God’s almightiness is His essence, but His practicality also embodies one side of His essence; these two aspects are inseparable. … For example, in the Age of Law, God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, and this proved that God has a practical side. But Jonah did not listen and, in the end, his survival inside the whale’s stomach for three days was the work of God’s almightiness. What God did to Jonah reveals that God is almighty. God’s work from beginning to end is a revelation of His own essence and an expression of what He is. His essence has two aspects: One is the aspect of His almightiness, the other is the aspect of His practicality. These two aspects you can see in any stage of God’s work, and you can see that both these two aspects are in everything God does. This is one way to understand God” (“How to Understand God’s Almightiness and Practicality”).

I fellowshiped: “From the above words, we can see the reason why God became flesh and was nailed to the cross for the sake of mankind was totally according to the needs of the corrupted mankind. Because people couldn’t observe the laws and died under the laws, the Lord Jesus became the likeness of sinful flesh to atone for us humans. Only by the Lord Jesus being crucified and shedding His precious blood could we be redeemed. But some people hold the opinion that God has authority and power; if God had redeemed mankind with just one word, how great it would have been! With regard to this question, let’s read another passage of words. ‘Every stage of work that God does is done at war with Satan and every stage of work is related in some way to this war with Satan. … it wouldn’t have been acceptable for one word to have been spoken that would have removed all mankind’s sins and redeemed them, for it is without any facts and without producing any proof. With one word spoken by God mankind would have been without sin—this was achievable. But Satan would not have been convinced. It would have said: “You have suffered nothing nor have You paid any price. With one word mankind’s sins are no more. This is unacceptable, as mankind was created by You”’ (The Second Aspect of Significance of the Incarnation). If God had done like that, Satan would not have been convinced and it would have accused God. This is just like two armies fighting each other. The strong party says to the weak party: ‘You cannot defeat me and you might as well surrender to me!’ Will the weak party be convinced? No! So, they have to practically fight until the victory is determined. In this way, it is persuasive and Satan will be convinced. Therefore, only by God practically coming on earth to be nailed to the cross for the sake of us, redeeming and delivering us from out of Satan’s grasp could we survive by the sin offering of the Lord Jesus. This is the proof of God redeeming mankind. Besides, although the spirit of God is great and has authority, He can neither be crucified for the sake of mankind nor bleed to gain the proof of the sin offering, and moreover Satan would not have been convinced. Only through the Lord Jesus becoming the sin offering for us and using His life and precious blood to bring us back from out of Satan’s grasp would Satan be convinced and could all mankind know God is the God who loves man. In another regard, only the holy God is qualified to be the sin offering for all of mankind. Apart from Him, no created being could pay in His stead to perform the work of redeeming mankind. Because men are all corrupted by Satan and are sinful beings. It can be seen that each stage of work done by God has a significance. They are not unnecessary. God does not do insignificant work. In addition, God was practically nailed to the cross for the sake of mankind and let us have understandings of God’s almightiness and reality through God’s practical work. If God hadn’t practically been crucified for mankind but only had used one word or a miracle to accomplish the work of redeeming mankind, we would have never truly known God and our knowledge of God’s love would have been very empty. Furthermore, we would have thought that God leads man only from heaven and He would not come to earth to save man. Thus it would be very easy for us to define God. It is plain to see that it is one aspect of God’s normal and practical work that God does work by becoming flesh. From the thing that God was crucified and resurrected, we have seen God’s almightiness. Satan had thought that as long as the Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross, God’s management plan would fail. But God’s wisdom is often exercised based on Satan’s schemes. Through the crucifixion, the Lord Jesus accomplished redemption, completed the work of saving mankind, and also was resurrected after three days, which let us see that His life is eternal and His power is extraordinary. So we’re more certain of God. At the same time, we also see that no enemy force can disrupt God’s work. God used this method to defeat Satan and make Satan utterly convinced. Through God practically doing work like this, we know that God’s essence has both His aspect of almightiness and practicality. Having had knowledge of the reality and almightiness of God, we not only won’t have conceptions against God but also are uneasy to lose faith in God, define and deny God. In particular we the group of people in the last days will encounter more of trials, tribulations, persecutions and sufferings, so we even more need to have great faith to follow God. Hence we need to have knowledge of God’s practical and almighty essence. In this way, we won’t lose faith in any environment. By means of our practical cooperating with God, God’s almightiness will reveal to us.”

Brother Li said excitedly: “Thanks be to the Lord! Through your talk I understand that actually God working in this manner all has practical meaning. The reason why God did work in such a way was to love man, save man and defeat Satan; and simultaneously, it was also in order to let us know more of God’s essence and lay a solid foundation on the path of believing in God so that we would be unlikely to be stumbled. Hey, Brother Sun, what you’ve said enlightens me a lot. To think that many times when we encountered difficulties and sincerely prayed to the Lord, He would come to our rescue, open up a path for us and solve some practical problems of us. It turns out that we have seen God’s omnipotence by our practical cooperation.”

I said happily: “That’s right! It is all thanks to God’s enlightenment and illumination that you have this kind of understanding.”

Brother Li said gladly: “Amen! Thank God for His guidance which lets me understand this aspect of truth. And this is also the deficiency of many brothers and sisters. They have this thought just because they don’t understand the aspect of the truth relating to God’s almightiness and reality. So, let’s go quickly to assist them.”

I nodded with a smile and said: “Okay! Let’s go right now!” …

[love-god-forever]

Why Did Jesus Have to Die on the Cross to Redeem Mankind?

Some people don’t understand this aspect of truth about the almightiness and reality of God. They think that God is almighty and He can redeem mankind with one word, but why did the Lord Jesus have to be nailed to the cross and endure hardship to redeem mankind? If you want to understand this problem, please read the following article.

One day, I went to Brother Li’s home, who is in our church, wanting to visit the weak brothers and sisters together with him. When I arrived, he was reading the Bible. Seeing me, he stood up and said gladly: “Brother Sun, you came just at the right moment. I just have a problem and I can’t figure it out. You’re a preacher. Please tell me about it quickly.” I asked: “What’s the problem? Just say it.” Brother Li said seriously: “Brother Sun, when I was assisting brothers and sisters, some of them raised a query: ‘Since God is almighty and so authoritative and powerful, if He wants to redeem mankind, wouldn’t He just have to say the word? But why did the Lord Jesus redeem mankind by being nailed to cross?’ At that time I also didn’t know how to explain it. Thank the Lord. Today you just came at the right time. Let’s fellowship about it.”

I said with a smile: “OK! In fact, this problem is right the one most brothers and sisters in the Lord are confused about. Recently I just have some new light about it.” Brother Li said joyfully: “Thank the Lord! It’s wonderful! Do tell me.” I said: “At the mention of the topic concerning why the Lord Jesus used the crucifixion to redeem mankind, we need to talk from the Old Testament. Thinking back to the Old Testament Age of Law, people had to come before the altar and give offerings to God to make atonement if they committed sins. Only by doing this could they receive Jehovah God’s pardon. Otherwise, people all had to be executed by the law. At first the people of Israel, no matter who sinned, must offer the firstborn and the best sheep, cattle, pigeons and turtledoves, and so on to God as Jehovah God required in order to ask God to pardon them. Thus, by the end of the Age of Law, they sinned more and more, and gradually they were unable to observe the laws and decrees set forth by Jehovah God. In this way, making offerings became more and more so that they couldn’t find the firstborn and good offerings to atone for their sins. Finally, they actually dared offer the blind and lame offerings before the altar, which seriously violated God’s laws. In accordance with the laws established by Jehovah God, if people offended the laws, they must be put to death. So, God became flesh to perform the work of redemption according to man’s needs. If God hadn’t saved man, the whole people in the Age of Law would have been executed because they failed to observe the laws, and the meaning of God’s creation of man would have lost.”

Brother Li hurried to ask me: “Then why did the Lord Jesus have to be crucified to redeem mankind? Isn’t God almighty? He can redeem mankind with just one word.” I answered him: “Brother Li, there are principles and truths in this to be sought. Some time ago, a brother just brought me a book about belief in God. And a passage of words in it is well and right spoken directed toward this aspect. Let me read it to you.” Brother Li said hurriedly: “That’s wonderful! Please read it at once.”

Taking the book from my bag, I opened it and read: “God expresses some words or does some deeds and people always misunderstand and think, ‘How can God act that way? God is almighty!’ There is a constant fight within man. … The crucifixion was endured so that man could be redeemed, yet man does not understand God and always harbors some conceptions about God, saying: ‘To redeem all mankind God had only to say to Satan, “I am almighty. You dare to withhold mankind from Me? You must give them to Me.” With these few words everything could have been resolved—did God not have authority? All that was needed was for God to say that mankind is redeemed and that man’s sins are pardoned, then man would have been without sin. Were these things not decided by God’s words? If the heaven and earth and all things came into being with words from God, how then could God not resolve this issue? Why did He Himself need to be crucified?’ Both God’s almighty side and His practical side are at work here. With regard to His practical side, God incarnate endured much suffering in His thirty-three and a half years on earth, in the end being crucified until His blood ran dry. He endured the most terrible suffering but then was resurrected from death. His resurrection was God’s aspect of almightiness at work. He did not make any indication, or shed any blood or make it rain and say this was a sin offering. He didn’t do anything like that, but instead He personally became flesh to make contact with the whole of mankind and was nailed to the cross, so that mankind would know of this deed. By means of this deed, mankind came to know that God had redeemed them and this was proof that God had indeed saved man. Whichever incarnation performs the work or whether the Spirit Himself does the work directly, it is a necessity. This means that, by doing things in this way, the work is made most valuable and most significant, and only by doing things in this way can mankind reap the benefits thereof. This is because the whole of mankind is the object of God’s management. It was said before that mankind was managed in order to wage war with Satan and to humiliate it. And actually, is this not good for man in the end? To man, this is something to commemorate and is something that is most valuable and significant. Because those who are made complete are a group of people who have emerged from tribulation with an understanding of God, who have been made perfect by God and who have come through the corruption of Satan; so this work must surely be done in this way. The decision about which method to employ in His every stage of work is based on the needs of mankind. God’s work is certainly not done in any old way. But people have a choice and have their own conceptions. For example, in regard to the crucifixion, people think: ‘What has God being crucified got to do with us?’ They think there is no connection, but God had to be crucified in order to save mankind. Being crucified was the worst suffering of that time, wasn’t it? Could the Spirit have been crucified? Had the Spirit been crucified He would have felt no pain, could not have typified God and could not have become a symbol for God, not to mention that He would have been unable to bleed. The Spirit cannot bleed; only the flesh can bleed and His precious blood was the proof of a sin offering. His flesh became in the likeness of sinful flesh and He suffered pain on behalf of mankind. The Spirit could not have been nailed to the cross, so the Spirit cannot suffer pain on behalf of mankind and cannot redeem man’s sins. This was done for mankind and this is God’s practical side. But that God could do this, that He could love man, was something unachievable by man himself, so this was God’s almightiness at work. Why is it said that He is God and that He has the aspect of almightiness? Every deed God does contains within it His aspect of almightiness, and it also contains His aspect of practicality. God’s almightiness is His essence, but His practicality also embodies one side of His essence; these two aspects are inseparable. … For example, in the Age of Law, God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, and this proved that God has a practical side. But Jonah did not listen and, in the end, his survival inside the whale’s stomach for three days was the work of God’s almightiness. What God did to Jonah reveals that God is almighty. God’s work from beginning to end is a revelation of His own essence and an expression of what He is. His essence has two aspects: One is the aspect of His almightiness, the other is the aspect of His practicality. These two aspects you can see in any stage of God’s work, and you can see that both these two aspects are in everything God does. This is one way to understand God” (“How to Understand God’s Almightiness and Practicality”).

I fellowshiped: “From the above words, we can see the reason why God became flesh and was nailed to the cross for the sake of mankind was totally according to the needs of the corrupted mankind. Because people couldn’t observe the laws and died under the laws, the Lord Jesus became the likeness of sinful flesh to atone for us humans. Only by the Lord Jesus being crucified and shedding His precious blood could we be redeemed. But some people hold the opinion that God has authority and power; if God had redeemed mankind with just one word, how great it would have been! With regard to this question, let’s read another passage of words. ‘Every stage of work that God does is done at war with Satan and every stage of work is related in some way to this war with Satan. … it wouldn’t have been acceptable for one word to have been spoken that would have removed all mankind’s sins and redeemed them, for it is without any facts and without producing any proof. With one word spoken by God mankind would have been without sin—this was achievable. But Satan would not have been convinced. It would have said: “You have suffered nothing nor have You paid any price. With one word mankind’s sins are no more. This is unacceptable, as mankind was created by You”’ (The Second Aspect of Significance of the Incarnation). If God had done like that, Satan would not have been convinced and it would have accused God. This is just like two armies fighting each other. The strong party says to the weak party: ‘You cannot defeat me and you might as well surrender to me!’ Will the weak party be convinced? No! So, they have to practically fight until the victory is determined. In this way, it is persuasive and Satan will be convinced. Therefore, only by God practically coming on earth to be nailed to the cross for the sake of us, redeeming and delivering us from out of Satan’s grasp could we survive by the sin offering of the Lord Jesus. This is the proof of God redeeming mankind. Besides, although the spirit of God is great and has authority, He can neither be crucified for the sake of mankind nor bleed to gain the proof of the sin offering, and moreover Satan would not have been convinced. Only through the Lord Jesus becoming the sin offering for us and using His life and precious blood to bring us back from out of Satan’s grasp would Satan be convinced and could all mankind know God is the God who loves man. In another regard, only the holy God is qualified to be the sin offering for all of mankind. Apart from Him, no created being could pay in His stead to perform the work of redeeming mankind. Because men are all corrupted by Satan and are sinful beings. It can be seen that each stage of work done by God has a significance. They are not unnecessary. God does not do insignificant work. In addition, God was practically nailed to the cross for the sake of mankind and let us have understandings of God’s almightiness and reality through God’s practical work. If God hadn’t practically been crucified for mankind but only had used one word or a miracle to accomplish the work of redeeming mankind, we would have never truly known God and our knowledge of God’s love would have been very empty. Furthermore, we would have thought that God leads man only from heaven and He would not come to earth to save man. Thus it would be very easy for us to define God. It is plain to see that it is one aspect of God’s normal and practical work that God does work by becoming flesh. From the thing that God was crucified and resurrected, we have seen God’s almightiness. Satan had thought that as long as the Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross, God’s management plan would fail. But God’s wisdom is often exercised based on Satan’s schemes. Through the crucifixion, the Lord Jesus accomplished redemption, completed the work of saving mankind, and also was resurrected after three days, which let us see that His life is eternal and His power is extraordinary. So we’re more certain of God. At the same time, we also see that no enemy force can disrupt God’s work. God used this method to defeat Satan and make Satan utterly convinced. Through God practically doing work like this, we know that God’s essence has both His aspect of almightiness and practicality. Having had knowledge of the reality and almightiness of God, we not only won’t have conceptions against God but also are uneasy to lose faith in God, define and deny God. In particular we the group of people in the last days will encounter more of trials, tribulations, persecutions and sufferings, so we even more need to have great faith to follow God. Hence we need to have knowledge of God’s practical and almighty essence. In this way, we won’t lose faith in any environment. By means of our practical cooperating with God, God’s almightiness will reveal to us.”

Brother Li said excitedly: “Thanks be to the Lord! Through your talk I understand that actually God working in this manner all has practical meaning. The reason why God did work in such a way was to love man, save man and defeat Satan; and simultaneously, it was also in order to let us know more of God’s essence and lay a solid foundation on the path of believing in God so that we would be unlikely to be stumbled. Hey, Brother Sun, what you’ve said enlightens me a lot. To think that many times when we encountered difficulties and sincerely prayed to the Lord, He would come to our rescue, open up a path for us and solve some practical problems of us. It turns out that we have seen God’s omnipotence by our practical cooperation.”

I said happily: “That’s right! It is all thanks to God’s enlightenment and illumination that you have this kind of understanding.”

Brother Li said gladly: “Amen! Thank God for His guidance which lets me understand this aspect of truth. And this is also the deficiency of many brothers and sisters. They have this thought just because they don’t understand the aspect of the truth relating to God’s almightiness and reality. So, let’s go quickly to assist them.”

I nodded with a smile and said: “Okay! Let’s go right now!” …

[comebeforegod]

Why Did Jesus Redeem Mankind by the Crucifixion?

Some people don’t understand this aspect of truth about the almightiness and reality of God. They think that God is almighty and He can redeem mankind with one word, but why did the Lord Jesus have to be nailed to the cross and endure hardship to redeem mankind? If you want to understand this problem, please read the following article.

By Sun Gang

One day, I went to Brother Li’s home, who is in our church, wanting to visit the weak brothers and sisters together with him. When I arrived, he was reading the Bible. Seeing me, he stood up and said gladly: “Brother Sun, you came just at the right moment. I just have a problem and I can’t figure it out. You’re a preacher. Please tell me about it quickly.” I asked: “What’s the problem? Just say it.” Brother Li said seriously: “Brother Sun, when I was assisting brothers and sisters, some of them raised a query: ‘Since God is almighty and so authoritative and powerful, if He wants to redeem mankind, wouldn’t He just have to say the word? But why did the Lord Jesus redeem mankind by being nailed to cross?’ At that time I also didn’t know how to explain it. Thank the Lord. Today you just came at the right time. Let’s fellowship about it.”

I said with a smile: “OK! In fact, this problem is right the one most brothers and sisters in the Lord are confused about. Recently I just have some new light about it.” Brother Li said joyfully: “Thank the Lord! It’s wonderful! Do tell me.” I said: “At the mention of the topic concerning why the Lord Jesus used the crucifixion to redeem mankind, we need to talk from the Old Testament. Thinking back to the Old Testament Age of Law, people had to come before the altar and give offerings to God to make atonement if they committed sins. Only by doing this could they receive Jehovah God’s pardon. Otherwise, people all had to be executed by the law. At first the people of Israel, no matter who sinned, must offer the firstborn and the best sheep, cattle, pigeons and turtledoves, and so on to God as Jehovah God required in order to ask God to pardon them. Thus, by the end of the Age of Law, they sinned more and more, and gradually they were unable to observe the laws and decrees set forth by Jehovah God. In this way, making offerings became more and more so that they couldn’t find the firstborn and good offerings to atone for their sins. Finally, they actually dared offer the blind and lame offerings before the altar, which seriously violated God’s laws. In accordance with the laws established by Jehovah God, if people offended the laws, they must be put to death. So, God became flesh to perform the work of redemption according to man’s needs. If God hadn’t saved man, the whole people in the Age of Law would have been executed because they failed to observe the laws, and the meaning of God’s creation of man would have lost.”

Brother Li hurried to ask me: “Then why did the Lord Jesus have to be crucified to redeem mankind? Isn’t God almighty? He can redeem mankind with just one word.” I answered him: “Brother Li, there are principles and truths in this to be sought. Some time ago, a brother just brought me a book about belief in God. And a passage of words in it is well and right spoken directed toward this aspect. Let me read it to you.” Brother Li said hurriedly: “That’s wonderful! Please read it at once.”

Taking the book from my bag, I opened it and read: “God expresses some words or does some deeds and people always misunderstand and think, ‘How can God act that way? God is almighty!’ There is a constant fight within man. … The crucifixion was endured so that man could be redeemed, yet man does not understand God and always harbors some conceptions about God, saying: ‘To redeem all mankind God had only to say to Satan, “I am almighty. You dare to withhold mankind from Me? You must give them to Me.” With these few words everything could have been resolved—did God not have authority? All that was needed was for God to say that mankind is redeemed and that man’s sins are pardoned, then man would have been without sin. Were these things not decided by God’s words? If the heaven and earth and all things came into being with words from God, how then could God not resolve this issue? Why did He Himself need to be crucified?’ Both God’s almighty side and His practical side are at work here. With regard to His practical side, God incarnate endured much suffering in His thirty-three and a half years on earth, in the end being crucified until His blood ran dry. He endured the most terrible suffering but then was resurrected from death. His resurrection was God’s aspect of almightiness at work. He did not make any indication, or shed any blood or make it rain and say this was a sin offering. He didn’t do anything like that, but instead He personally became flesh to make contact with the whole of mankind and was nailed to the cross, so that mankind would know of this deed. By means of this deed, mankind came to know that God had redeemed them and this was proof that God had indeed saved man. Whichever incarnation performs the work or whether the Spirit Himself does the work directly, it is a necessity. This means that, by doing things in this way, the work is made most valuable and most significant, and only by doing things in this way can mankind reap the benefits thereof. This is because the whole of mankind is the object of God’s management. It was said before that mankind was managed in order to wage war with Satan and to humiliate it. And actually, is this not good for man in the end? To man, this is something to commemorate and is something that is most valuable and significant. Because those who are made complete are a group of people who have emerged from tribulation with an understanding of God, who have been made perfect by God and who have come through the corruption of Satan; so this work must surely be done in this way. The decision about which method to employ in His every stage of work is based on the needs of mankind. God’s work is certainly not done in any old way. But people have a choice and have their own conceptions. For example, in regard to the crucifixion, people think: ‘What has God being crucified got to do with us?’ They think there is no connection, but God had to be crucified in order to save mankind. Being crucified was the worst suffering of that time, wasn’t it? Could the Spirit have been crucified? Had the Spirit been crucified He would have felt no pain, could not have typified God and could not have become a symbol for God, not to mention that He would have been unable to bleed. The Spirit cannot bleed; only the flesh can bleed and His precious blood was the proof of a sin offering. His flesh became in the likeness of sinful flesh and He suffered pain on behalf of mankind. The Spirit could not have been nailed to the cross, so the Spirit cannot suffer pain on behalf of mankind and cannot redeem man’s sins. This was done for mankind and this is God’s practical side. But that God could do this, that He could love man, was something unachievable by man himself, so this was God’s almightiness at work. Why is it said that He is God and that He has the aspect of almightiness? Every deed God does contains within it His aspect of almightiness, and it also contains His aspect of practicality. God’s almightiness is His essence, but His practicality also embodies one side of His essence; these two aspects are inseparable. … For example, in the Age of Law, God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, and this proved that God has a practical side. But Jonah did not listen and, in the end, his survival inside the whale’s stomach for three days was the work of God’s almightiness. What God did to Jonah reveals that God is almighty. God’s work from beginning to end is a revelation of His own essence and an expression of what He is. His essence has two aspects: One is the aspect of His almightiness, the other is the aspect of His practicality. These two aspects you can see in any stage of God’s work, and you can see that both these two aspects are in everything God does. This is one way to understand God” (“How to Understand God’s Almightiness and Practicality”).

I fellowshiped: “From the above words, we can see the reason why God became flesh and was nailed to the cross for the sake of mankind was totally according to the needs of the corrupted mankind. Because people couldn’t observe the laws and died under the laws, the Lord Jesus became the likeness of sinful flesh to atone for us humans. Only by the Lord Jesus being crucified and shedding His precious blood could we be redeemed. But some people hold the opinion that God has authority and power; if God had redeemed mankind with just one word, how great it would have been! With regard to this question, let’s read another passage of words. ‘Every stage of work that God does is done at war with Satan and every stage of work is related in some way to this war with Satan. … it wouldn’t have been acceptable for one word to have been spoken that would have removed all mankind’s sins and redeemed them, for it is without any facts and without producing any proof. With one word spoken by God mankind would have been without sin—this was achievable. But Satan would not have been convinced. It would have said: “You have suffered nothing nor have You paid any price. With one word mankind’s sins are no more. This is unacceptable, as mankind was created by You”’ (The Second Aspect of Significance of the Incarnation). If God had done like that, Satan would not have been convinced and it would have accused God. This is just like two armies fighting each other. The strong party says to the weak party: ‘You cannot defeat me and you might as well surrender to me!’ Will the weak party be convinced? No! So, they have to practically fight until the victory is determined. In this way, it is persuasive and Satan will be convinced. Therefore, only by God practically coming on earth to be nailed to the cross for the sake of us, redeeming and delivering us from out of Satan’s grasp could we survive by the sin offering of the Lord Jesus. This is the proof of God redeeming mankind. Besides, although the spirit of God is great and has authority, He can neither be crucified for the sake of mankind nor bleed to gain the proof of the sin offering, and moreover Satan would not have been convinced. Only through the Lord Jesus becoming the sin offering for us and using His life and precious blood to bring us back from out of Satan’s grasp would Satan be convinced and could all mankind know God is the God who loves man. In another regard, only the holy God is qualified to be the sin offering for all of mankind. Apart from Him, no created being could pay in His stead to perform the work of redeeming mankind. Because men are all corrupted by Satan and are sinful beings. It can be seen that each stage of work done by God has a significance. They are not unnecessary. God does not do insignificant work. In addition, God was practically nailed to the cross for the sake of mankind and let us have understandings of God’s almightiness and reality through God’s practical work. If God hadn’t practically been crucified for mankind but only had used one word or a miracle to accomplish the work of redeeming mankind, we would have never truly known God and our knowledge of God’s love would have been very empty. Further more, we would have thought that God leads man only from heaven and He would not come to earth to save man. Thus it would be very easy for us to define God. It is plain to see that it is one aspect of God’s normal and practical work that God does work by becoming flesh. From the thing that God was crucified and resurrected, we have seen God’s almightiness. Satan had thought that as long as the Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross, God’s management plan would fail. But God’s wisdom is often exercised based on Satan’s schemes. Through the crucifixion, the Lord Jesus accomplished redemption, completed the work of saving mankind, and also was resurrected after three days, which let us see that His life is eternal and His power is extraordinary. So we’re more certain of God. At the same time, we also see that no enemy force can disrupt God’s work. God used this method to defeat Satan and make Satan utterly convinced. Through God practically doing work like this, we know that God’s essence has both His aspect of almightiness and practicality. Having had knowledge of the reality and almightiness of God, we not only won’t have conceptions against God but also are uneasy to lose faith in God, define and deny God. In particular we the group of people in the last days will encounter more of trials, tribulations, persecutions and sufferings, so we even more need to have great faith to follow God. Hence we need to have knowledge of God’s practical and almighty essence. In this way, we won’t lose faith in any environment. By means of our practical cooperating with God, God’s almightiness will reveal to us.”

Brother Li said excitedly: “Thanks be to the Lord! Through your talk I understand that actually God working in this manner all has practical meaning. The reason why God did work in such a way was to love man, save man and defeat Satan; and simultaneously, it was also in order to let us know more of God’s essence and lay a solid foundation on the path of believing in God so that we would be unlikely to be stumbled. Hey, Brother Sun, what you’ve said enlightens me a lot. To think that many times when we encountered difficulties and sincerely prayed to the Lord, He would come to our rescue, open up a path for us and solve some practical problems of us. It turns out that we have seen God’s omnipotence by our practical cooperation.”

I said happily: “That’s right! It is all thanks to God’s enlightenment and illumination that you have this kind of understanding.”

Brother Li said gladly: “Amen! Thank God for His guidance which lets me understand this aspect of truth. And this is also the deficiency of many brothers and sisters. They have this thought just because they don’t understand the aspect of the truth relating to God’s almightiness and reality. So, let’s go quickly to assist them.”

I nodded with a smile and said: “Okay! Let’s go right now!” …

[almighty-god-saved-me-blog]

Why did Jesus Christ Suffer Crucifixion to Redeem us? | Eastern Lightning

Some people don’t understand this aspect of truth about the almightiness and reality of God. They think that God is almighty and He can redeem mankind with one word, but why did the Lord Jesus have to be nailed to the cross and endure hardship to redeem mankind? If you want to understand this problem, please read the following article. By Sun Gang One day, I went to Brother Li’s home, who is in our church, wanting to visit the weak brothers and sisters together with him. When I arrived, he was reading the Bible. Seeing me, he stood up and said gladly: “Brother Sun, you came just at the right moment. I just have a problem and I can’t figure it out. You’re a preacher. Please tell me about it quickly.” I asked: “What’s the problem? Just say it.” Brother Li said seriously: “Brother Sun, when I was assisting brothers and sisters, some of them raised a query: ‘Since God is almighty and so authoritative and powerful, if He wants to redeem mankind, wouldn’t He just have to say the word? But why did the Lord Jesus redeem mankind by being nailed to cross?’ At that time I also didn’t know how to explain it. Thank the Lord. Today you just came at the right time. Let’s fellowship about it.” The Picture of The Church of Almighty God I said with a smile: “OK! In fact, this problem is right the one most brothers and sisters in the Lord are confused about. Recently I just have some new light about it.” Brother Li said joyfully: “Thank the Lord! It’s wonderful! Do tell me.” I said: “At the mention of the topic concerning why the Lord Jesus used the crucifixion to redeem mankind, we need to talk from the Old Testament. Thinking back to the Old Testament Age of Law, people had to come before the altar and give offerings to God to make atonement if they committed sins. Only by doing this could they receive Jehovah God’s pardon. Otherwise, people all had to be executed by the law. At first the people of Israel, no matter who sinned, must offer the firstborn and the best sheep, cattle, pigeons and turtledoves, and so on to God as Jehovah God required in order to ask God to pardon them. Thus, by the end of the Age of Law, they sinned more and more, and gradually they were unable to observe the laws and decrees set forth by Jehovah God. In this way, making offerings became more and more so that they couldn’t find the firstborn and good offerings to atone for their sins. Finally, they actually dared offer the blind and lame offerings before the altar, which seriously violated God’s laws. In accordance with the laws established by Jehovah God, if people offended the laws, they must be put to death. So, God became flesh to perform the work of redemption according to man’s needs. If God hadn’t saved man, the whole people in the Age of Law would have been executed because they failed to observe the laws, and the meaning of God’s creation of man would have lost.” Brother Li hurried to ask me: “Then why did the Lord Jesus have to be crucified to redeem mankind? Isn’t God almighty? He can redeem mankind with just one word.” I answered him: “Brother Li, there are principles and truths in this to be sought. Some time ago, a brother just brought me a book about belief in God. And a passage of words in it is well and right spoken directed toward this aspect. Let me read it to you.” Brother Li said hurriedly: “That’s wonderful! Please read it at once.” Taking the book from my bag, I opened it and read: “God expresses some words or does some deeds and people always misunderstand and think, ‘How can God act that way? God is almighty!’ There is a constant fight within man. … The crucifixion was endured so that man could be redeemed, yet man does not understand God and always harbors some conceptions about God, saying: ‘To redeem all mankind God had only to say to Satan, “I am almighty. You dare to withhold mankind from Me? You must give them to Me.” With these few words everything could have been resolved—did God not have authority? All that was needed was for God to say that mankind is redeemed and that man’s sins are pardoned, then man would have been without sin. Were these things not decided by God’s words? If the heaven and earth and all things came into being with words from God, how then could God not resolve this issue? Why did He Himself need to be crucified?’ Both God’s almighty side and His practical side are at work here. With regard to His practical side, God incarnate endured much suffering in His thirty-three and a half years on earth, in the end being crucified until His blood ran dry. He endured the most terrible suffering but then was resurrected from death. His resurrection was God’s aspect of almightiness at work. He did not make any indication, or shed any blood or make it rain and say this was a sin offering. He didn’t do anything like that, but instead He personally became flesh to make contact with the whole of mankind and was nailed to the cross, so that mankind would know of this deed. By means of this deed, mankind came to know that God had redeemed them and this was proof that God had indeed saved man. Whichever incarnation performs the work or whether the Spirit Himself does the work directly, it is a necessity. This means that, by doing things in this way, the work is made most valuable and most significant, and only by doing things in this way can mankind reap the benefits thereof. This is because the whole of mankind is the object of God’s management. It was said before that mankind was managed in order to wage war with Satan and to humiliate it. And actually, is this not good for man in the end? To man, this is something to commemorate and is something that is most valuable and significant. Because those who are made complete are a group of people who have emerged from tribulation with an understanding of God, who have been made perfect by God and who have come through the corruption of Satan; so this work must surely be done in this way. The decision about which method to employ in His every stage of work is based on the needs of mankind. God’s work is certainly not done in any old way. But people have a choice and have their own conceptions. For example, in regard to the crucifixion, people think: ��What has God being crucified got to do with us?’ They think there is no connection, but God had to be crucified in order to save mankind. Being crucified was the worst suffering of that time, wasn’t it? Could the Spirit have been crucified? Had the Spirit been crucified He would have felt no pain, could not have typified God and could not have become a symbol for God, not to mention that He would have been unable to bleed. The Spirit cannot bleed; only the flesh can bleed and His precious blood was the proof of a sin offering. His flesh became in the likeness of sinful flesh and He suffered pain on behalf of mankind. The Spirit could not have been nailed to the cross, so the Spirit cannot suffer pain on behalf of mankind and cannot redeem man’s sins. This was done for mankind and this is God’s practical side. But that God could do this, that He could love man, was something unachievable by man himself, so this was God’s almightiness at work. Why is it said that He is God and that He has the aspect of almightiness? Every deed God does contains within it His aspect of almightiness, and it also contains His aspect of practicality. God’s almightiness is His essence, but His practicality also embodies one side of His essence; these two aspects are inseparable. … For example, in the Age of Law, God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, and this proved that God has a practical side. But Jonah did not listen and, in the end, his survival inside the whale’s stomach for three days was the work of God’s almightiness. What God did to Jonah reveals that God is almighty. God’s work from beginning to end is a revelation of His own essence and an expression of what He is. His essence has two aspects: One is the aspect of His almightiness, the other is the aspect of His practicality. These two aspects you can see in any stage of God’s work, and you can see that both these two aspects are in everything God does. This is one way to understand God” (“How to Understand God’s Almightiness and Practicality”). I fellowshiped: “From the above words, we can see the reason why God became flesh and was nailed to the cross for the sake of mankind was totally according to the needs of the corrupted mankind. Because people couldn’t observe the laws and died under the laws, the Lord Jesus became the likeness of sinful flesh to atone for us humans. Only by the Lord Jesus being crucified and shedding His precious blood could we be redeemed. But some people hold the opinion that God has authority and power; if God had redeemed mankind with just one word, how great it would have been! With regard to this question, let’s read another passage of words. ‘Every stage of work that God does is done at war with Satan and every stage of work is related in some way to this war with Satan. … it wouldn’t have been acceptable for one word to have been spoken that would have removed all mankind’s sins and redeemed them, for it is without any facts and without producing any proof. With one word spoken by God mankind would have been without sin—this was achievable. But Satan would not have been convinced. It would have said: “You have suffered nothing nor have You paid any price. With one word mankind’s sins are no more. This is unacceptable, as mankind was created by You”’ (The Second Aspect of Significance of the Incarnation). If God had done like that, Satan would not have been convinced and it would have accused God. This is just like two armies fighting each other. The strong party says to the weak party: ‘You cannot defeat me and you might as well surrender to me!’ Will the weak party be convinced? No! So, they have to practically fight until the victory is determined. In this way, it is persuasive and Satan will be convinced. Therefore, only by God practically coming on earth to be nailed to the cross for the sake of us, redeeming and delivering us from out of Satan’s grasp could we survive by the sin offering of the Lord Jesus. This is the proof of God redeeming mankind. Besides, although the spirit of God is great and has authority, He can neither be crucified for the sake of mankind nor bleed to gain the proof of the sin offering, and moreover Satan would not have been convinced. Only through the Lord Jesus becoming the sin offering for us and using His life and precious blood to bring us back from out of Satan’s grasp would Satan be convinced and could all mankind know God is the God who loves man. In another regard, only the holy God is qualified to be the sin offering for all of mankind. Apart from Him, no created being could pay in His stead to perform the work of redeeming mankind. Because men are all corrupted by Satan and are sinful beings. It can be seen that each stage of work done by God has a significance. They are not unnecessary. God does not do insignificant work. In addition, God was practically nailed to the cross for the sake of mankind and let us have understandings of God’s almightiness and reality through God’s practical work. If God hadn’t practically been crucified for mankind but only had used one word or a miracle to accomplish the work of redeeming mankind, we would have never truly known God and our knowledge of God’s love would have been very empty. Furthermore, we would have thought that God leads man only from heaven and He would not come to earth to save man. Thus it would be very easy for us to define God. It is plain to see that it is one aspect of God’s normal and practical work that God does work by becoming flesh. From the thing that God was crucified and resurrected, we have seen God’s almightiness. Satan had thought that as long as the Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross, God’s management plan would fail. But God’s wisdom is often exercised based on Satan’s schemes. Through the crucifixion, the Lord Jesus accomplished redemption, completed the work of saving mankind, and also was resurrected after three days, which let us see that His life is eternal and His power is extraordinary. So we’re more certain of God. At the same time, we also see that no enemy force can disrupt God’s work. God used this method to defeat Satan and make Satan utterly convinced. Through God practically doing work like this, we know that God’s essence has both His aspect of almightiness and practicality. Having had knowledge of the reality and almightiness of God, we not only won’t have conceptions against God but also are uneasy to lose faith in God, define and deny God. In particular we the group of people in the last days will encounter more of trials, tribulations, persecutions and sufferings, so we even more need to have great faith to follow God. Hence we need to have knowledge of God’s practical and almighty essence. In this way, we won’t lose faith in any environment. By means of our practical cooperating with God, God’s almightiness will reveal to us.” Brother Li said excitedly: “Thanks be to the Lord! Through your talk I understand that actually God working in this manner all has practical meaning. The reason why God did work in such a way was to love man, save man and defeat Satan; and simultaneously, it was also in order to let us know more of God’s essence and lay a solid foundation on the path of believing in God so that we would be unlikely to be stumbled. Hey, Brother Sun, what you’ve said enlightens me a lot. To think that many times when we encountered difficulties and sincerely prayed to the Lord, He would come to our rescue, open up a path for us and solve some practical problems of us. It turns out that we have seen God’s omnipotence by our practical cooperation.” I said happily: “That’s right! It is all thanks to God’s enlightenment and illumination that you have this kind of understanding.” Brother Li said gladly: “Amen! Thank God for His guidance which lets me understand this aspect of truth. And this is also the deficiency of many brothers and sisters. They have this thought just because they don’t understand the aspect of the truth relating to God’s almightiness and reality. So, let’s go quickly to assist them.” I nodded with a smile and said: “Okay! Let’s go right now!” … Recommendation:Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus

[queerzaza]

Dear Zaza: My teen admitted he’s using a nicotine Vape after he was caught in the act. How can I convince him to quit? His Dad wants him to quit cold turkey but I’m in the reduce nicotine level to quit. We both do not Vape but there’s tremendous peer pressure for him.

Vaping is very popular rt now, especially among the younger gen crowds. Unless he’s been smoking for years, cold turkey should be fine. You can explain how addiction is basically handing over your time, money, and independence to this drug, nicotine.  Also, most people who vape, end up smoking cigarettes anyway. 

Be calm and matter-of-fact with him, explain that the risk of losing his health is too great for you to allow. That you’ve done your research, and while he probably thinks it’s safe, we don’t even know exactly what’s in them.  Plus, these have only been on the market since 2003, so no one knows what the long-term effects on the body will be. 

Here’s some more helpful facts about nicotine:

It increases heart rate, blood pressure.

It releases neurotransmitters in the brain, which make vaping addictive.

It interferes with the body’s ability to make dopamine -that regulates the brain's reward and pleasure centres. 

Hence, it’s incredibly addictive.

 The vape pens, pods or whatever can contain:

diacetyl, which can cause irreversible lung-tissue scarring.

chemicals that when heated, become cytotoxic, which can cause cancer.

solvents that turn into formaldehyde, which that can cause cancer.

Remember, no judgements, just honest and offer facts and concerns. Wishing all the good luck to you both!

[queerzaza]

(1) so a few months ago I was dating this dude, we shall call him A, we were together for four months and then he told me he didn’t want to be exclusive but still wanted to date. So we settled on an open relationship type of arrangement after he asked me to promise that I wouldn’t wait for him and that I would actually date other people as well. Flash forward a few weeks and he started to get really jealous. He was constantly reading my messages when we were together and texting me when I was..

on dates with other guys. He even gave me a giant hickey on my neck the day before I had a first date (even after I told him I hated hickeys because it made me feel like I was being marked as property). Long story short I ended the relationship because I fell hard for another guy, guy B. A said that was fine and we continued to be friends. Then one night A got super drunk and texted me saying that I hurt him and that he never wanted to find someone else he just wanted to flirt and date...and that he wanted to settle down and marry me and that he really wished I had waited for him to be ready for that type of commitment. It made me feel like the shittiest person ever. I am happier than I have ever been with guy B and guy A never made me truly happy and yet part of me still feels like I should apologize for hurting him. But the other part of me is saying “why? You only did exactly what he told you to do, you have nothing to be sorry for.” I’m just super conflicted. Any advice?

Oh turtledove, you gotta listen to that “other part” of you. The one who knows you have ZERO, ZIP, NADA to be sorry for. A wanted attention from other girls, and all of your attention, but didn’t want you to have the same. He was a selfish jerk and you don’t deserve to feel one iota of guilt. 

Please don’t let his drunken ramblings make you feel bad for the selfish asshat. I’m so glad you have B and are happy! Please, block A from your life, as he only cares about himself and that’s not changing any time soon. Be glad you’re free of him and enjoy life with B!

[queerzaza]

Just found out my 16 year old has been smoking pot for the last year. His Dad found him blazing it up in the basement. I’m at a loss at what to do now. Random drug testing is something he has agreed to. What should we do next?

Was he alone or with friends? Does he have mental or health issues? Is he using this as a coping mechanism or to be like his friends? These answers make a big difference, so get back to me with some more details and I can give you better guidance for this very common issue. 

In the meantime, give him some research about how his brain is still developing and how MJ can inhibit that very important development. This is a critical time in his development and it’s incredibly unwise for those under 21 to risk their brains.

[queerzaza]

I had to surrender my pets, or face eviction. And i feel so sad but at the same time i feel like it is my fault. I should've never fallen in love with my cats and dog. I turned them in to a no kill shelter here in LA but i still feel so worried. One of the cats looked sad and my doggie looked so confused. And i just need someone to talk to. I slept with my pets and I used to get annoyed about not having space. But i miss them. I feel like no one understand that they were family not pets

Oh turtledove, my heart breaks for you. I know how hard it is to lose family members. Furry or not, those living beings were your family and I’m glad you did the right thing by finding a no-kill shelter. Please take the time the grieve your loss and do what you need to take care of you.

Sending you all the warm wishes and support in this awful moment in your life. Time won’t make it all better, but it will make it easier on your heart. 

[queerzaza]

I've been dating this guy for three months now, and everything was going great but yesterday he suggested I go have dinner with his family and when I said 'I don't want to be a bother' he slapped me. He didn't hurt me but the fact he went dead serious and didn't hesitate when doing it scared me. I feel terribly and I know if any of my friends told me this had happened to them I'd be like 'dump him asap'. We've talked since and he seems remorseful but I don't know.

I’ve been caught up with work and missed this message. I’m so sorry, turtledove, but I hope that you have taken your own advice to DTMF. Violence and abuse have no place in a relationship. You don’t deserve this, no one does. If you’ve not left yet, please do, dove. 

[queerzaza]

Zaza I've realised that I'm autistic and I've talked to my therapist and he agrees with me. I want to reach out to a support group for autistic people that my college has but I'm scared people will judge me because my diagnosis isn't official. I'm afraid people will think I'm just self diagnosing myself and trying to get attention. Should I wait for something official before I do anything?

Short answer: No, you should go. 

Explanation: First, what’s wrong with getting attention? You deserve attention, everyone does. Plus, that’s what support groups are for- getting and giving attention. By design, support groups are all about a give and take within a community that shares some commonality. They’re about bringing attention to the individuals involved, not about judging one another’s “worthiness”

Secondly, it sounds like you’ve done your research and your therapist agrees with your self-diagnosis. IMHO that’s sufficient to join a support group. Remember that if things change or don’t feel right, you can leave at any time. 

Thirdly, people judge others, it’s just part of life. Does that mean you don’t belong or won’t be accepted? Certainly not. Chances are, you won’t even be the only self-diagnosed person in the room! People generally don’t attend support groups to be judgemental and exclusionary, they go for the support (give/take). 

The bottom line, you’re not joining this group to make fun of them, your joining to get help and help others. That means you belong and I hope you’ll go to the next meeting. I know it’s scary to join a new support group, but they’re one of the best tools out there- so go! Wishing you all the good luck, dove!

[queerzaza]

I'm new to relationships. When is the right time to say I love you? And know you truly mean it. Is there a point when it's too early? Should I wait for them to say it first? I'm scared I'll say it and then they won't say it back or be at that point?

Well we can’t all wait, then no one would ever say it. Someone has to say it first!lol! There is obliviously no magical “right time” but I would say that there’s a more than likely time. If you feel that you love this person, not because they’re perfect, but because of who they truly are- then go ahead and say it. 

It doesn’t matter if they don’t say it back, as love is a gift. You don’t only give gifts when you know you’ll get one in return. You do it because you want to make the other person happy and show them you care. There will always be a chance they aren’t ready to say ILU back, but there’s also a chance they will . Be bold! Wishing you all the strength and bravery, turtledove!

[queerzaza]

Hi Zaza! So I doubt you'll remember this, but like 3 years ago (forever ago I know lol) I sent you an ask about whether I should tell my tumblr crush about my feelings and you inspired me to go for it. I meant to send you an update all that time ago and always managed to forget. But! I wanted to let you know that we are in a happy 3 year relationship now and I've moved across the country to live with them. I just wanted to thank you for helping us get together. ❤🧡💛💚💙💜💖

awww Jesse, that’s tops!!! i’m so happy i got to play a role in your happiness. cheers to many more years of joy for you both!

[queerzaza]

I have a hard time learning things and an even harder time remembering what I learn. Im homeschooled but I went to a local highschool for choir but this year I didnt. I feel really dumb and like I cant learn Anything and like im behind on school (im Way behind on math) and im so scared that ill never learn, never get anywhere because I just can't focus enough to learn and I cant remember anything.

As someone with learning disabilities, who teaches HS to ppl with learning disabilities...it sounds like you probs have a learning disability. Some people learn new info easily, others need things taught to them in specific ways to really grasp the material. There’s nothing wrong with that. You just learn differently. 

Look into things like ADHD and auditory or visual processing disorder(s), as those are the most common. ADHD is a medical diagnosis and can only be given by a doctor, and AP/VP or any other LD can be diagnosed by a psychologist. There are tests online, but they aren’t reliable. Your best bet is to get yourself tested at that school, which they can do for free. 

Find out what’s going on and learn...how you learn. It can make a huge difference and doesn’t get in the way of you achieving any of your educational goals, in fact it’ll help you reach them. Wishing you all the good luck, turtledove!

[queerzaza]

I saw on your Twitter you said something about having a reason to finally leave Tumblr? Like I respect your decision no matter what, I just can’t imagine tumblr without this blog. You’ve helped so many people here including me a several times. You’ve been such an amazing source of wisdom and serenity. I was just curious on how long you’ll keep this blog running for?

Thank you so much! Even if I stop using Tumblr, I plan to keep answering people’s questions. Maybe posting on another site? I dunno yet as I want people to always have a safe and judgement-free zone available. 

All I know, is that Tumblr is anti-LGBT and I can’t be supporting an organisation that treats it’s users with such disdain.

[queerzaza]

Will the changes to tumblr affect your blog? I really hope not as you've helped me so much over the years. Love what you do Zaza x

Thanks turtledove! I’m glad to hear I’ve been helpful!

As for the blog, I really don’t know. I’ve not posted inappropriate pictures/work for a while, but their algorithms seem terrible. 

Plus, I really don’t want to stick around as they clearly don’t want my kind here. I’m trying to find a way to keep answering people’s anon questions, w/o this platform, so if you have any ideas I’m open! 

[queerzaza]

My partner got a surprise day off today and kept talking about how excited he was to spend the day with me. I go to his house and he spends the entire day playing Minecraft with his headphones in. The only time he paid attention to me was when I made popcorn. He came over, ate half the bag, and went back to his game. I tried everything I could think of to get him to actually spend time with me but nothing worked. I’m starting to worry that he isn’t attracted to me anymore. Any words of wisdom?

It may have nothing to do with attraction, rather addiction. You need to have a sit down and talk to him about your expectations. Let him know that when you two hang out, you’re not going to be okay, just watching him play. He may think you’re enjoying this kind of hanging out, as some people are. 

I hope that he’s understanding and willing to listen. Also that he’s open to make hang-out times be about getting to know one another and having fun together. Relationships are all about communication, so I hope you have a great convo with him. Good luck to you turtledove!