Lord, reveal the work of God the Father to me, my people(Ha-young, Ye-young, Ui-seop, Jung-won, Hye-ok, Yul-bin, Suzy, Eun-tae, In-sook, Im-hak, Tan-ae), and to all who read it and pray, and let us know that the Father is in the Son Jesus and that Jesus is in the Father. The will of the true God, who knows all our needs, transcends our personal will. And that all of us will clearly see the Glory that God the Father gave to the Son because He loved His Son before the foundation of the world. Let Jesus Christ directly reveal the name of God the Father to us and see His glory. I Pray that all our glory be truly dedicated to your Son, Jesus Christ. And that we all shomer mitzvot regarding his commandments(keep hiscommandments) without failure. May God make possible what is impossible for man.

I realize that I'm posting this in the political forum but I'm doing so as a reminder to my Christian brothers and sisters that we are commanded to produce GOOD fruit for our Lord and Savior. Political discussion frequently gets heated and sometimes doesn't bring out the best in us. Let us strive to be like Christ even when others are being hateful and unkind to us.

Galatians 5:22-23 ESV​

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Colossians 1:10 ESV​

So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

"When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in a field, you do not return to take it; it is for the sojourner, for the fatherless, and for the widow, so that your God YHWH blesses you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive, you do not examine the branch behind you; it is for the sojourner, for the fatherless, and for the widow. When you cut your vineyard, you do not glean behind you; it is for the sojourner, for the fatherless, and for the widow; and you have remembered that you have been a servant in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.”
– Deuteronomy 24:19-22 Literal Standard Version

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God often inculcates generosity among His people time and time again, inviting us to imitate Him by showing liberality to those who need help. In this passage, because the sojourner, fatherless, and widow are those who do not possess a field of their own to sow or reap, it should be in the heart of those who do to share with them in their abundance. In a modern application, while there are many ways the poor are helped by our governments, we should strive what they fail to do, and that is to be the hand of God that reaches out to those fallen between the cracks of society. If no one notices the forgotten and neglected, we should be the ones that sees, so that they may come to God with thankfulness, praying the ancient words of Hagar, "You are a God of seeing; truly here I have seen Him who looks after me.” (Genesis 16:13)

I wonder, though, what other ways we can practically apply this passage in specific circumstances in our day and age. It doesn't have to be limited to handing food to the homeless, or donating a few dollars to charity, but could be providing change to the person in front of you at a convenient store to pay for coffee who may be short. In a sense, this is sharing what little you have that can be liberally given to those in immediate need that aren't necessarily in desperate situations.

Whenever I am at the self-checkout at Walmart, I always see every now and then a chance to round-up my total to give a little to a charity organization. I think that, even in those circumstances, we should not withdraw our hand if the opportunity presents itself. Why not? God has made giving so much easier in our day and age that you can do it when you shop! Why not make a little impact for those who ask for help? Yeah, sometimes those organizations may not be honest about their use of our money, but God cares about the heart in it I believe.

What about you? Do you have an example? Or, do you have something to share about this text?

DIFFICULT MORAL QUESTIONS: The distance between Baptists and Catholics is much closer than the distance between believers and nonbelievers.

Q. My son, who was raised Catholic, is marrying a Baptist woman and I am not sure how I feel or what the specific protocols are for interacting with my new daughter-in-law. I don't know enough about the Baptist communion, and I am not sure if there are specific actions my wife and I need to be aware of and sensitive to. I’m hoping to connect with a religious authority in this area to help educate us and guide us as we navigate this foreign territory in our limited religious landscape. Is this something you can help us with? — Gilman, Augusta, Maine

A. It’s not clear to me whether you are asking whether you should respect the faith of your son’s fiancée or asking for more knowledge about the Baptist faith. Thus, I will briefly respond to both.

Continued below.

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Several orthodox nuns and monks on their own will left the civilization and move away to remote siberian mountains.
They have no phones no connection to the entire world. If they get sick they can die... Near their house there are several graves of those who passed away during these years...
Life here is hard! Freezing cold in winter and summer is short and full of mosquitoes and ticks.
Their goal is to restrict themselves to make their prayers closer to God

Isn't a free-will choice like a shot in the dark?

Only God knows the end from the beginning of a thing.
How could we ever hope to make a right decision based on our human abilities to do so?

I know, I know... that's why we follow the teachings of the Bible. It's already figured out for us.
And we also have a God-given conscience to guide us. Not to mention the indwelling Spirit.

The most catastrophic example I can think of is Adam. (the first Adam)

In the Genesis account, God tells Adam not to eat of the tree, or he will certainly die.
What did that mean to Adam? Did he have any idea what death was?

After that discussion with God, Eve was taken out of Adam via his rib.
Since Eve hadn't been there for the "do not eat" discussion, Adam needed to misinform her.
Yes, misinform. Where did, "not even touch it" come from? Not from God.
According to the text, anyway.

So, how informed was Adam's free-will choice?

Is free-will ever really an informed choice?

Would you honor the misinformed free-will choice of your own child if you knew it would cause them harm?
What about the Father of all fathers? Better informed than any human father. What would he do?

I see a wide spectrum of beliefs amongst liberal Christians, from those who affirm miracles and those who deny miracles. Given that liberal Christians seem more tolerant of people who depart from historic Christian understanding, are there any mandatory theological beliefs?

Look out! Republicans are coming for your healthcare!

A longtime businessman in Barrow County who was elected unopposed in November to the state House Representative in District 116 was arrested Thursday after authorities said he burglarized a residence at a Winder retirement complex where he works.

The stolen drugs involved prescription narcotics, Smith said.

Rampey, a Republican, was scheduled to take office on Jan. 9, 2023. In the Republican Primary, he defeated Marcus Ray by receiving nearly 83% of the vote.

Currently, Rampey is charged with the distribution or possession of a controlled substance, burglary, and exploitation of a disabled adult.

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The Law of Moses being given to Israel manifested the love of God to them, and eventually to the world! He chose a “people,” which could have been any nation, to establish knowledge and faith in Himself. First, He must inform man of his guilt before Him, in order that that may choose to believe in Him, love Him and follow Him. Thus it was by the Law that He showed them their wrongs (Jhn 9:41; 15:22, 24); and it was by the sacrificial ordinances that He forgave those who believed in Him.

Thus, it was obedience to the Law that men chose to perform, in order to manifest their love to God; but it was through the sacrificial ordinances that forgiveness was established. Though there was still was some disobedience from the believers, God continued to forgive, for He knew man was a sinner and in need of redemption (which came latter).

The reason why the Law could only condemn was because it required the obedience of One who is without sin to obey it, so that the sacrifice would be flawless. No other sacrifice could God receive than that of a spotless and perfect nature. The Father could have sacrificed Himself, but that would not have been the greatest sacrifice!

“Until the redemption of the purchased possession” (Eph 1:14) could take place, the Father first chose to deal with the Jews (Rom 1:16; 2:9, 10), and after the rejection of the Lord Jesus by most of them (of course He knew would be the case) He proceeded to the Gentiles, which He also knew would be rejected by most (Mat 7:13, 14). Thus, the Law directed man to the Gospel of Christ (Gal 3:24, 25), and it being fulfilled by the Lord Jesus (Jhn 19:30), the Father made redemption possible.
NC

New fossil is closely related to other animals that made the transition to land​

A new study from the laboratory of University of Chicago paleontologist Neil Shubin, who co-discovered Tiktaalik in 2004, describes a fossil species that closely resembles Tiktaalik but has features that made it more suited to life in the water than its adventurous cousin.

Qikiqtania wakei was small—just 30 inches long—compared to Tiktaalik, which could grow up to nine feet. The new fossil includes partial upper and lower jaws, portions of the neck, and scales. Mostly importantly, it also features a complete pectoral fin with a distinct humerus bone that lacks the ridges that would indicate where muscles and joints would be on a limb geared toward walking on land. Instead, Qikiqtania’s upper arm was smooth and curved, more suited for a life paddling underwater. The uniqueness of the arm bones of Qikiqtania suggest that it returned to paddling the water after its ancestors began to use their appendages for walking.

The name Qikiqtania (pronounced kick-kick-TAN-ee-ya) comes from the Inuktitut word Qikiqtaaluk or Qikiqtani, the traditional name for the region where the fossil site is located. The species designation wakei is in memory of the late David Wake, an eminent evolutionary biologist from the University of California, Berkeley.

Qikiqtania is slightly older than Tiktaalik, but not by much. The team’s analysis of where it sits on the tree of life places it, like Tiktaalik, adjacent to the earliest creatures known to have finger-like digits. But even though Qikiqtania’s distinct pectoral fin was more suited for swimming, it wasn’t entirely fish-like either. Its curved paddle shape was a distinct adaptation, different from the jointed, muscled legs or fan-shaped fins we see in tetrapods and fish today.

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refresher on Tiktaalik

Antifa, you know, the group the left says isn't real, attempted to protest a police training facility outside of Atlanta, GA. In fact, the planned on blowing the place up and was caught with explosive. They have been charged with domestic terrorism charges.

Five members of Antifa are in custody on domestic terrorism charges after they were protesting outside of a planned $90 million police training center.

The site of the planned center has been the focal point of protests for months by Antifa who have referred to the site - which protesters have made an autonomous zone - as Cop City. Many of those who were arrested were holed up in treehouses where police later recovered explosives.

Prior to Tuesday's arrests, police detained several people at the site for crimes including destruction of property and arson along with car-jacking and attacks on locals and government officials.

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Earlier this week, the GBI said that protesters had begun attacking police and other emergency services workers at the scene with rocks and bottles. After officers cleared the area, they recovered bombs, flares and gasoline, authorities said.

Multiple crimes occurred on Saturday when the local fire department was called to the scene to extinguish a dumpster fire. Richard Porter told WXIA that he was set upon by the group when he attempted to pick up some scrap metal from the area.

Porter said that members of the group threw things at him including a 'gas bomb.' He fled, leaving his truck behind which was burned out. Porter told the channel: 'It seemed to me like they were going to burn the truck with me in it.'

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During an FBI investigation, Smith told a government informant that he is “pro mass shooting.” He also expressed sympathy for the Parkland school shooter and called the person charged in the recent shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub “a hero,” according to the complaint.

“Smith stated that he was preparing to fight the police and was dedicated to dying in that fight,” the Justice Department said.

Over the course of the investigation, Smith told a confidential government source that he has an “intense dislike” of minorities, Jewish people and gay people and expressed racism toward Black people, according to the complaint.

Hello everyone,

I was just wondering- does anyone know of any denominations that teach that salvation is exclusive to their church? That is, teaching that they're denomination is the only one that will be saved. I've heard things about branches of Pentecostalism, but I was curious as to how many are out there that teach this.

Thanks for your time!

So much for his commitment to free speech.

Pray that management at my job at transportation will stop mandating me and asking me to work overtime as I am feeling weary Amen

Hey, something interesting- the bible says that the gospel must be preached in all nations and to all people groups in the world before the second coming of Christ, only then can Christ return to the earth. I got to thinking, what are the last un-reached nations and people groups on earth? I believe one is Iran, another is north Korea, also Japan is a bad one, and there are also unreached nations in the 10/40 window, plus there are un-contacted native tribes in the Amazon rainforest that have not been reached. European missionaries did a good job evangelizing many nations in the world in the last 100 years, they were able to reach probably hundreds of nations with the gospel, there are now only a few left that are un-reached! If we can reach these last few nations with the gospel Christ will be cleared to return quickly! The end is in sight!

Many people, including many Catholics, view purgatory as a sort of punishment, something negative. But consider Martin Luther’s 29th thesis:

“Who knows whether all the souls in purgatory wish to be bought out of it, as in the legend of Sts. Severinus and Paschal.”

According to the legend, Saint Severinus and Paschal preferred to stay longer in Purgatory, so that they might have greater glory in heaven.

I think Luther has a good point here. After all, upon completeing the purification process, a soul has true righteousnees (infused). Because Protestants deny purification after death, their theology only promises imputed righteousness.

Why would anybody want to settle for imputed righteousness. If Protestants correct and I end up with imputed righteousness, I will be very disappointed.

1 Peter 3:10-12 ESV


There are many people in America professing faith in Jesus Christ who have not turned away from evil to do good. And they have not kept their tongues from evil and their lips from speaking deceit. They are still spewing out lies, many of them in the name of truth. For they have adopted the teachings and philosophies of human beings in place of the truth of God’s Word, and so they are finding ways to excuse away their sinful practices instead of making a full confession of wrongdoing and then truly repenting of the sin.

These modern-day market-driven institutional churches are big feeders of these lies and deceptions, as the gospel that they are mostly presenting is not the gospel that Jesus taught, and it is not the gospel that the New Testament apostles taught, not in whole. For what most of them are spreading is a half-truth (lie) gospel which bases its doctrines primarily on Scriptures taught outside their context and then twisted to say what the Scriptures do not teach (in context).

They are the self-indulgent, the workers of iniquity, the intoxicated to sin who use lies and deception as a cover-up for evil and to excuse away sinful practices. They know right from wrong and yet they continue to do wrong and then they look for ways to excuse away their wrongdoing by calling it something else like, “I messed up.” It is as though they accidentally knocked over a glass of milk and it spilled on the floor rather than the truth of the matter which is that they are still living in deliberate and habitual sin.

First of all, everyone living in sin is responsible for his (or her) own behavior. The Scriptures teach that all of us are without excuse if we deny who God is and if we choose to go the way of the flesh instead of the way of God and of his righteousness and holiness (Romans 1:18-32). Yes, there may be certain situations and factors which lead people into sin, but all humans are responsible to God for what we do with those temptations to sin and for what we do with the knowledge of God which we have been given.

And we are all going to be held accountable to God for what we did with him and with Jesus Christ and with the truth of his gospel. So if you choose to hold on to your sin and to not die with Christ to sin, in daily practice, but sin is what you practice, the Scriptures make it clear that you will not have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. For we are all going to reap what we sow. If we sow to the flesh we will reap corruption and destruction. But if we sow to the Spirit, we will reap eternal life.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

1 Peter 3:13-17 ESV


Now when we point out to people what is talked about in verses 10-12 we are not going to be widely loved and accepted. And that is because we are telling people what the Scriptures say which is that the face of the Lord is against all those who are doing (practicing) evil. And yes, God is gracious. But his grace, which is bringing us salvation, instructs us to say “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return (Titus 2:11-14).

God’s grace to us is not free license to continue living in sin without guilt and without remorse. It is not permission to keep on in deliberate and habitual and addictive sin all in the name of God’s grace. God’s grace to us frees us from our slavery (addiction) to sin so we will no longer be enslaved to sin but that we would now be slaves of God and of his righteousness. And God’s grace to us empowers us to live godly and holy lives to the praise and glory of Christ who died on that cross to free us from our bondage to sin.

And when this says that the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, this is speaking of those who are living righteously (1 John 3:4-10), not just those who believe they were made righteous by faith in Jesus Christ. For faith in Jesus Christ is not of ourselves. We don’t get to make it up in order to suit our flesh. True faith in Jesus Christ involves us being crucified with Christ in death to sin and us being raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him in holiness and in righteousness and in walks of obedience to our Lord Jesus.

So, when we share the truth of what the Scriptures teach with regard to the faith in Christ Jesus which saves us from our sins and which promises us eternal life with God, we are going to be opposed, and we are going to be rejected and falsely accused and persecuted for speaking the truth in love at a time when so many are speaking the lies that itching ears want to hear. For we will be sharing in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings, becoming like him in his death. For they didn’t like Jesus’ teachings, either.

But we are not to fear what humans might do to us. We are not to fear the possibility of the retaliation of the double-minded who make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ all the while they are continuing in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord. We just have to do what God says to do, and we have to speak the truth he gives us to speak, and then we must leave the results in his hands. For if our consciences are clear that we have acted justly and righteously and in love, then we just have to rest in the Lord.

Now, the Lord Jesus put the song “Mary Did You Know” in my mind. And Mary had a calling of God to be the mother of Jesus, to bear him in her womb, although she had not been with a man. For she was impregnated of the Holy Spirit of God, and she accepted that assignment of God knowing full well that people would think she sinned and that it might even cost her her life. But she willingly chose to suffer for the sake of God rather than to reject God’s assignment for her life in order to preserve her own reputation.

And that is the approach that all of us who are true followers of Jesus Christ should take to following Jesus with our lives. We should be willing to be hated, mistreated, misunderstood, judged falsely, and persecuted for the sake of Christ and his gospel. And what was the result? Jesus was born and then he died on that cross to save us all from our sins. And when we choose to obey the Lord and to speak the truth of his gospel, we also are contributing to the saving of human lives, too, by our obedience to our Lord.

[Matt 5:10-16; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Matt 28:18-20; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; John 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Acts 1:8; Acts 14:22; Acts 26:18; Rom 5:3-5; Rom 12:1-8; 1 Co 12:1-31; 2 Co 1:3-11; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Phil 3:7-11; Col 3:16; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; Heb 3:13; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 2:9; 1 Pet 4:12-17]

Mary, Did You Know?

Songwriters: Greene Lee Rufus / Lowry Mark Alan

Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy
Has come to make you new?
This child that you delivered, will soon deliver you

Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy
Is heaven's perfect Lamb?
That sleeping child you're
Holding is the great, I Am

Mary, did you know?

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Merry Christmas by the way...

Congress passed the bill defending same-sex and inter-racial marriage.

The Senate has approved the massive Defense bill which has a large amount of support for Ukraine. This will last a year. I should note that there is the flexibility to move monies around, as long as the top numbers aren't exceeded.

The true massive one-year Omnibus budget will be passed by December 23, after a bit more negotiation. The one-week extension has passed Congress. This bill includes more than anyone can analyze in the next month or two. This kind of legislation is just what Congress does. There is negotiation, and the voters have difficulty understanding what was passed. But then, we don't live in a democracy. We elect representatives to negotiate on our behalf.

This bill includes the much-needed changes to the Election Count Act, which Republicans tried to misuse in 2020 and early 2021. Many non-judges think that this law was not misused. Of courses, courts denied all cases, and (along with the DOJ) are considering criminal actions against many of the lawyers. The changes were "needed" to clarify the law. As I said, many, many judges decided that the law didn't "need" these changes. However, I think that this was a good idea.
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WHAT ELSE
Congress is considering a Tik-Tok bill to take the app of all the electronics of all federal employees. States are already doing this for their employees. And, yes, many Republicans are leading this effort (the bill was passed unanimously). Rubio would simply ban the app, given the security concerns.

An extension of the child-care credit is being discussed. Republicans don't want a roll call vote on this. [but not likely to pass]

A very limited immigration bill is being pushed. This bill would greatly increase security at the border as well as providing legal status for DACA folk. [not likely to pass].

I'm sure that there is another bill or two that the Senate might approve.

The House has finished initiating anything, other than their January 6th report next Wednesday. It seems likely that the House will need to be in session to approve the budget bill and anything else that Biden requests them to approve, bills that the Senate has approved.

18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

So, what does this comply to?

I feel like an idiot. I will confess my stupidity here. I feel guilty of this from time to time. Not because I purposefully change words in the text or meaning, but one time someone posted a bunch of bad things about a political figure and referred them to the Anti-Christ with biblical evidence. I was like, that stuff isn't even in the Bible! Well, it was. I just had never heard that stuff. I was also a teenager, two or three years as a Christian.

One time I was talking to my sister about dating. A guy once told me you had to be equally yoked. I agreed, but I wasn't thinking of what it actually meant. I was under the impression of something like being the same or meant to be. I learned shortly after about being equally yoked and Christians should only date Christians. When I told my sister what my friend told me, "you have to be equally yoked," she asked me what that meant. I was pretty shocked she didn't know. I wasn't thinking right when I described it to her and I think I thought of the word "yolk" rather than "yoke." LOL, yeah, that's my brain. I told her you just have to be the same. I think I said physically, mentally and spiritually. Well, yeah, on the spiritually part with salvation, but I failed to explain correctly. I think I just wasn't thinking and I don't know why I said it that way to her. That was in a text. I feel like such a dummy. It's like I had it on the tip of my brain associating it with something where you are alike (which I know is being in the faith as believers) and I described it differently.

Lastly, I have this cutesy lovey verse on my bedroom wall. "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine," (part of Song of Solomon 6:3). I always get this sense of "what's mine is yours" whenever I read that verse. I don't believe that is what is being said here. I believe it's just a verse about belonging. My husband was wrestling (playing) and we were keeping something away from each other. I said, "It's mine too! Like that verse over there! "I said, "my beloved's," in the second part instead of "beloved." When I said that, I was just joking to my husband about ownership of whatever object we were playing around with. I had also been misreading that verse all along. No wonder I kept getting a "what's mine is yours" thought about it. Anyways, I felt bad because I was just kidding about the verse and just playing around, just innocent and aggravating him. I hate that I did that. I don't hate that I misread it as much as I talked about it out of context.

All of this I have prayed over and repented. NEVER would I EVER purposefully change the words in the Bible or misinterpret scripture. I love it and I cherish it! I don't know why I was joking around about it. I guess I was just playing around so much that I pointed out the verse just playing around too. I hate when people make shirts that say something similar to scripture and they tag the "fake verse" with something like "Me 24:7." I feel disrespectful and like an idiot.

I find myself at a desperate crossroads at 13 years of marriage. I am a 63 years old disabled veteran and have a lot of issues after 20 years of service. My husband hides his porn addiction but it has led to a sexless marriage, believing that I should not divorce except adultery I have stayed in this marriage which has no little to no affection. His hoarding is out of control, I have no access to cook and I have fallen often. He has a victim mentality and everything is someone else's fault. All his children from previous marriage will not have anything to do with him. I am isolated from others because no one likes him. I am the one with income because I worked hard all my life.
Is pornography infidelity because it certainly feels so...every day for hours but not even a hug for me even though he tells me he loves me. I am a normal woman., I struggle wanting affection and someone to love. I don't want to divorce but my safety is totally compromised in this situation, and I have lived with someone who totally has ruined any sex life from the very beginning there is basically been none. He has cheated me I feel and I try not very hard not to be angry. I medicated myself with antidepressants this whole marriage and I have come off of them because I am fighting back. But I don't know what to do

What does true repentance look like? How do you know if you're ready for a radical transformation in your life?
I want a better life. But I feel I always end up right back where I started, whenever I try to change.
I want to repent, and have a real relationship with God. Is it possible to miss God?