little help please guys...

hi there, ive been grappling with the issue of God for a while and i cant find any answers personally. most of my family are contented with God and although they do not apply pressure for me to be the same, they seem happy and are generally less easily troubled. it seems clear to me that a force of some sort exists, that everything before us cannot simply have happened by chance. there is too much beauty and greatness for a mere scientific lottery to have devised what we see today

but equally there is so much hate in the world and ill feeling that thoughts of a God as such often slip out my mind. also, we live in a consumerised culture, there is so much on offer for every need. as is there for religious faith. what makes God as you see Him more palpable and feasible than a Muslim or Hindu belief?

My biggest concern is that i do not want to force myself to believe, and i do not want to begin to believe for selfish reasons. i know it is wrong to simply wait for God to connect with me as I have learnt that testing God is not done. but equally, i do not want to start believing for selfish reasons such as wanting to be saved. i realise this is part of the deal, but not the only thing, we need to give something back

i wonder if you can give me any pointers on this. im old enough to get to grips with this issue, but also young enough to give time to it in the future once i sort it out personally. thanks for your time, unsure

Uunsure,

Why not try starting from the assumption that God does exist and Jesus is who He said He was? What implications does this have for your life?

It is not possible to defintively prove God exists. There is a ton of apologetics material out there, and I could recommend some if you want it. But the essence of religion is that it is a relationship.

Start by acknowledging that this being you want to have a relationship with exists. Then work on that relationship. Pray, read Scripture, and practice what Brother Lawrence called "the presence of God." He was a Carmelite monk who tried to find God in everything he did. His goal was to turn the most menial of tasks into a hymn of glory to God.

He prayed:
"Lord of all pots and pans and things...
Make me a saint by getting meals and washing up the plates!"

I'll say a prayer for you,
Carly

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Please, be selfish....



First of all, it would not be faith if you had "to force myself to believe", and second, it is not selfish to want to be saved, it is loving yourself enough to submit to God's will for you. When you submit yourself, then you will see the love for yourself being transferred into a love of God and a love of others that transcends the love of self. That is called "spiritual growth".


~malaka~

much appreciated to both of you, thanks

Like malaka said..be selfish. You already recognize that other christians seem to have this force on their side. They do. They have God fighting their battles. Getting saved it just realizing that you sin and are not perfect and that you need the grace of God to get by. YOu can't do it by yourself.

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RoyalBlue Comic Sans MS 4

Live in such a way that those who know you, but don't know God, come to know God, because they know you.

It is kindness in a person, not beauty, which wins our love.

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." James 1:2-3

I generally felt the way that you did also for a while, however i eventually realised that you have to be selfish in some sense. Once you understand the sacrafice that God gave for us, you feel love. But it is always in some sense an act of selfishness to have the relationship with God. This relationship is something that you and only you can create, you must want to be saved in order to have this relationship and you must want God to help you in your life. In fact, the relationship with God is sometimes selfish, in the things that we pray for. You can ask the Lord to help others if you so choose to be some what less selfish. But because the relationship you develop with God is yours, You might always in some way consider it to be selfish

Unsure, I know this answer may seem like I am dodging the topic here, however there is a book by Josh Mcdowell, that I highly reccomend.
I cannot think of the name.
He discusses why othere religions are false, and how he came to know Christ. He originally was an archeologist ( if my story is straight here ), who was also an aethist and set out to prove God doesnt exist or what not, and found the opposite.

The Bible is 100% accurate as far as the history is ocncerned. No one can dispute that. What people discpute is the existence of OUr God. This takes faith. Even the hebrews in the old testement, had God before them yet how often did they deny him. Blatantly. So please continue to look for your answers, but be cautious. Satan shall try and tempt you in anyway possible, so be leary of false teachings.

Try keeping a prayer jounral. and record of events.
"faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains"

Edouard
May your house serve the Lord, and may the countenance of Christ be with you!

two excelent questions that go hand in hand

If you come to God because of what He will do for you, you likely will fall away when trouble comes. The Bible says trouble comes to everybody. There really is only one reason to come to God... Because He is more real than the universe we live in. If a person comes to the God of the Bible simply because the Bible is true, and that God is the only true God then they are on a solid foundation and are not likely to fall. This is also the reazon to reject other religions. My recomendation to you is to find somone you respect for the solid, balanced life they live and ask them if they would start a little Bible study with you. Then, attend dilligently and ask every question that comes to your mind.

Seeking happiness is not wrong.... as long as it is God who is being sought, at any rate, we all seek after what makes us happy. Blaise Pascal wrote,

"All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves."

CS Lewis wrote "If you asked twenty good men today what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you asked almost any of the great Christians of old he would have replied, Love. You see what has happened? A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is of more than philological importance. The negative ideal of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point. I do not think this is the Christian virtue of Love. The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in itself. We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ; and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire.

If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

So I agree,,,, be selfish!!! Long for happiness by longing for God, and find your happiness only in Him!

Blessings

One of the Josh Mc Dowell books is "Evidence Demands a Verdict" Excellent Book!

Another excellent book is by Lee Strobel "Case for Christ". Lee Strobel was an atheist and the editor for the Chicago Tribune. His wife became a Christian and in response he set out to prove her wrong. A three year search left him a believer, soon a pastor and now a full time writer for Jesus Christ. Another excellent book!

Accepting Jesus Christ as Lord of your life is not selfish. It is acknowledging that HE IS RIGHT in His Word that we are sinful...oooh so unperfect! Our need for Him glorifies His holiness. He provides the way to His Father. It is all about Him! His goodness! His love that covers! His grace that forgives! His blood that paid the cost of sin!

"Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from old.
Remeber not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD.
Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way."
Psalm 25