Where do I go from here?

[Grolsch]

I feel that I need to know God and more than anything I want to know God. In a lot of ways the only thing that makes sense is to keep trying until I know for sure one way or the other, since there is so much to gain and basically nothing to lose.

The problem is that my search has gone on for more than 10 years and seems to follow a pattern whereby I commit myself to God through Jesus, but then my faith doesn't go anywhere and often ends up going backwards and I forget about Christianity until I again reach the realisation that I need to find God.

Lately I have again reached the point in my life where I have humbly reached out to God, admitted that I am a sinner and that I need him to come into my life and take control and lead me down the path that he has intended for me.

My reason for writying this is that I want to know how I can develop a strong faith so that my experience will snowball in a positive way rather than dwindling out.

I feel that I do all the right things...pray to Jesus and God, read the Bible, try and practice the principles (difficult!), attend church etc, but my faith just never grows and subsequently I start reading things and opinions that lead to me questioning my faith and often its eventual downfall.

I just wish the Lord would reveal himself to me in some personal way so that I really could grow in faith, but even after more than 10 years fo praying fvor faith this hasn't happens and this just adds further to my doubt. I don't understand why God would not help someone in my position, who is wanting to know him so desperately, with their faith

How can I get rid of these doubts and really come to know and trust God in my life and have a real relationship with him that doesn't have doubts etc?

 

[razeontherock]

Time for you to sit down and chew through this slowly. I tend to speak Truth rather than what people want to hear, but you do seem sincerely interested in the Truth so here goes:

I feel that I need to know God

You realize the need for a Savior?

and more than anything I want to know God.

"Love the Lord thy God with all the heart, and with all they soul, and with all they strength." You've got the first one, right now.

In a lot of ways the only thing that makes sense is to keep trying until I know for sure one way or the other, since there is so much to gain and basically nothing to lose.

Let's not make this easier than it really is; there's a lot to lose. "Take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow [Him]" does not describe a walk in the park. Build on the love you have and your will overcome! Keep trying? Yes, but "in the day you seek me with your whole heart, you will find me." Guess what? If it's been more than a day, you're not seeking Him with a whole heart. In my case, I found I did not have a whole heart to seek Him with. Once I discovered that and prayed accordingly, things started happening.

The problem is that my search has gone on for more than 10 years and seems to follow a pattern whereby I commit myself to God through Jesus, but then my faith doesn't go anywhere and often ends up going backwards and I forget about Christianity until I again reach the realisation that I need to find God.

I don't mean to be callous but - yeah, so? Ever read the Old Testament? That's a good summary. From here to there involves crossing a desert. he provides daily bread, but ya gotta get it while ya can!

Lately I have again reached the point in my life where I have humbly reached out to God, admitted that I am a sinner and that I need him to come into my life and take control and lead me down the path that he has intended for me.

Sounds good and I heard that in Church too. Problem is, the Gospel doesn't work that way. The Holy Ghost is a gentleman. He will not "take control." The lone exception to this is the sin issue. He took control of that! I truly believe the best way anyone could minister to your needs right now is for you to spell out your concept of how this works, and how it pertains to you.

Jesus is in your life, to lead you. We each still must take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow Him. The reason for not sinning (from our perspective) is so we can follow His lead.

My reason for writing this is that I want to know how I can develop a strong faith so that my experience will snowball in a positive way rather than dwindling out.

This is called a pure heart. What's the related promise and have you prayed for that? His kingdom is something we are supposed to see in this life; "thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." And btw, your Faith never dwindled out; that's His dep't., and His doing. We just gotta stop messing that up!

I feel that I do all the right things

I really wish I had a more positive word for you right now, but that will come. This little snip is what you want to get rid of! "Cleanse thou me from secret sins" would be a most excellent replacement. That thought is expressed in other ways in Scripture, too.

I just wish the Lord would reveal himself to me in some personal way

Ya know what? HE IS! It's called suffering. This is how we get to know Him best, by "being made conformable to His death, and the fellowship of His suffering." He also talks about a time of refreshing, and many other ways to allude to a mountain top experience. Those aren't what make us grow, nor do they last.

How can I get rid of these doubts and really come to know and trust God in my life and have a real relationship with him that doesn't have doubts etc?

Every one of us has doubts. You DO have a real relationship with Him!

We want a prayer circle here, interceding for you to be encouraged. I'm going to share some specific things that've given me the type of breakthrough you seek. (I should probably write this up in word and save it)

1. Approach the Bible with the attitude that it is God speaking to you, telling you about how to relate to Him. Pray with a quiet, meditative spirit, for exactly that. Ask Him to show Himself strong to you, in ways you haven't known yet. It's ok to stir up your hunger, but try not to let that stir up your emotions.

2. Do this every morning, and every evening. We can talk about Scriptural reasons in depth later, but it is God's way.

3. As you read, anything that looks good PRAY FOR IT. Specific examples I've found powerful:

a. "He opens my ear to hear as one who had learned." (Jesus got this, prophetically. Talk about humility!)

b. "the Lord grant you the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge in the revelation of Him"

c. Realize EVERY instance of "the wicked man" in Proverbs is you (me / us).
Yeah, ouch.

4. If there's time for more involved praying after this, fine; but more likely there will be other things you need to go do. Don't think they take you away from God because they DON'T! Just don't leave home w/o Him. It's in the doing that prayer seems to be most helpful. "Pray w/o ceasing," keep a prayerful attitude; there is room in His kingdom for our own unique style. The calling is to abundant LIFE.

This is NOT time to give up. That's the only way satan ever wins.

 

[razeontherock]

double post, server issues

 

[aiki]

I feel that I need to know God and more than anything I want to know God.

Well, then, you'd better be feeding often on His Word, the Bible! It is in the pages of Scripture that we find God revealed to us.

In a lot of ways the only thing that makes sense is to keep trying until I know for sure one way or the other, since there is so much to gain and basically nothing to lose.

What does "keep trying 'til I know for sure" mean? What are you trying to do? Know God?

The problem is that my search has gone on for more than 10 years and seems to follow a pattern whereby I commit myself to God through Jesus, but then my faith doesn't go anywhere and often ends up going backwards and I forget about Christianity until I again reach the realisation that I need to find God.

That's always what happens when you try to do what only God can do.

Philippians 2:13
13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Philippians 1:6
6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Faithful is he that calls you, who also will do it.

Jude 1:24-25
24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

Hebrews 12:1-2
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith...

My reason for writying this is that I want to know how I can develop a strong faith so that my experience will snowball in a positive way rather than dwindling out.

Romans 10:17
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Hebrews 2:1
1 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.

If you want to trust God, you must first know Him. This means that you must be in the Word of God taking in what it reveals to you of the nature and purposes of God.

Paul the apostle wrote:

2 Timothy 1:12 (NKJV)
12 ...I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

Paul's faith rested upon His knowledge of God. Our faith must do the same.

Faith is very much like a muscle. When faith is exercised, it grows stronger. The first area in which a Christian's faith is exercised is in believing what God has promised and what He has declared true of every child of God. But in God's economy we must first believe what He has said and then we experience the truth of it.

God has also made us to be conformed to our focus. Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "The Great Stony Face" is an excellent illustration of this principle. What we allow to occupy our thoughts shapes who we are. Wise King Solomon wrote of this many millenia ago:

Proverbs 23:7
7 For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.

If you want to be conformed to the image of Christ, if you want to be godly, then you must steep your mind in the Word of God.

The Bible also warns us that the way we invest our time, energy, and money will determine where our heart is. If most of your time, energy and money is spent on sports, or cars, or food, or entertainment, or clothes, or whatever, then that is where your heart will be. If you don't want your heart to drift from God, invest heavily in your relationship with Him.

Jesus said,

Matthew 6:21
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

I feel that I do all the right things...pray to Jesus and God, read the Bible, try and practice the principles (difficult!), attend church etc, but my faith just never grows and subsequently I start reading things and opinions that lead to me questioning my faith and often its eventual downfall.

A Christian doesn't "do all the right things" in order to get something but as a result of having something: Loving fellowship with God. Prayer, Bible reading, spiritual discipline - these all arise out of a love-relationship with God; they do not obtain it.

I just wish the Lord would reveal himself to me in some personal way so that I really could grow in faith, but even after more than 10 years fo praying fvor faith this hasn't happens and this just adds further to my doubt.

The Bible says that when we become genuine children of God, He sends His Holy Spirit into our hearts to bear witness to our adoption into His family. Seems to me you can't get a more personal revelation of God than that...

Romans 8:14-16
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

Do you not have this spirit awareness of God's Spirit within you?

I don't understand why God would not help someone in my position, who is wanting to know him so desperately, with their faith

Maybe He has helped you but you just don't want the kind of help He's giving.

How can I get rid of these doubts and really come to know and trust God in my life and have a real relationship with him that doesn't have doubts etc?

See above.

Selah.

 

[Grolsch]

Thank you both for your thoughts and opinions. I am at work at the mo, but hopefully will get a chance to post later.

 

[Tahoenite]

I have two questions for you.

1) Do you believe that no matter what happens God is in control completely right in His actions and you are willing to follow Him?

2) Have you ever seen God at work in your life ie. situations that work out perfectly or ones that should holding off and you end up with something better than you expected?

3) What areas seem to cause you the most struggle with your walk with the Lord. What questions attack your faith?


The third question is especially personal for me. In my walk I have had people ask good/hard questions that I could not answer and have struggled with. At one point I read Mere Christianity by CS Lewis and learned from his writing if you have a question, seek out an answer you believe and somewhat on your own, it makes struggle much easier and helps give reasoning when someone else asks you questions.

 

[Grolsch]

Time for you to sit down and chew through this slowly. I tend to speak Truth rather than what people want to hear, but you do seem sincerely interested in the Truth so here goes:



You realize the need for a Savior?

Yes, I guess you could say that. I used to think that Christianity focused too much on sin and that I wasn't too bad a person, but over the last few years my eyes have really been opened (by God?) to jsut how sinful I really am on so many different levels. I recall CS Lewis writing something similar.

"Love the Lord thy God with all the heart, and with all they soul, and with all they strength." You've got the first one, right now.

I try to.

Let's not make this easier than it really is; there's a lot to lose. "Take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow [Him]" does not describe a walk in the park. Build on the love you have and your will overcome! Keep trying? Yes, but "in the day you seek me with your whole heart, you will find me." Guess what? If it's been more than a day, you're not seeking Him with a whole heart. In my case, I found I did not have a whole heart to seek Him with. Once I discovered that and prayed accordingly, things started happening.

I should clarify - I meant nothing to lose if I am exert all this effort seeking God and he doesn't actually exist.

Seeking with my whole heart is difficult when part of me just isn't sure whether its all really true or not, but I try.

I don't mean to be callous but - yeah, so? Ever read the Old Testament? That's a good summary. From here to there involves crossing a desert. he provides daily bread, but ya gotta get it while ya can!



Sounds good and I heard that in Church too. Problem is, the Gospel doesn't work that way. The Holy Ghost is a gentleman. He will not "take control." The lone exception to this is the sin issue. He took control of that! I truly believe the best way anyone could minister to your needs right now is for you to spell out your concept of how this works, and how it pertains to you.

Can you clarify what exactly you think I should spell out please?

Jesus is in your life, to lead you. We each still must take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow Him. The reason for not sinning (from our perspective) is so we can follow His lead.



This is called a pure heart. What's the related promise and have you prayed for that? His kingdom is something we are supposed to see in this life; "thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." And btw, your Faith never dwindled out; that's His dep't., and His doing. We just gotta stop messing that up!



I really wish I had a more positive word for you right now, but that will come. This little snip is what you want to get rid of! "Cleanse thou me from secret sins" would be a most excellent replacement. That thought is expressed in other ways in Scripture, too.



Ya know what? HE IS! It's called suffering. This is how we get to know Him best, by "being made conformable to His death, and the fellowship of His suffering." He also talks about a time of refreshing, and many other ways to allude to a mountain top experience. Those aren't what make us grow, nor do they last.



Every one of us has doubts. You DO have a real relationship with Him!

We want a prayer circle here, interceding for you to be encouraged. I'm going to share some specific things that've given me the type of breakthrough you seek. (I should probably write this up in word and save it)

1. Approach the Bible with the attitude that it is God speaking to you, telling you about how to relate to Him. Pray with a quiet, meditative spirit, for exactly that. Ask Him to show Himself strong to you, in ways you haven't known yet. It's ok to stir up your hunger, but try not to let that stir up your emotions.

2. Do this every morning, and every evening. We can talk about Scriptural reasons in depth later, but it is God's way.

3. As you read, anything that looks good PRAY FOR IT. Specific examples I've found powerful:

a. "He opens my ear to hear as one who had learned." (Jesus got this, prophetically. Talk about humility!)

b. "the Lord grant you the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge in the revelation of Him"

c. Realize EVERY instance of "the wicked man" in Proverbs is you (me / us).
Yeah, ouch.

4. If there's time for more involved praying after this, fine; but more likely there will be other things you need to go do. Don't think they take you away from God because they DON'T! Just don't leave home w/o Him. It's in the doing that prayer seems to be most helpful. "Pray w/o ceasing," keep a prayerful attitude; there is room in His kingdom for our own unique style. The calling is to abundant LIFE.

Great advice. Thank you.

This is NOT time to give up. That's the only way satan ever wins.

 

[zaksmummy]

Have you taken the next step and been baptised? I am coming to realise that this can be an very important thing in the life of a christian, God does something very deeply spiritual during that moment that cannot be quantified.

Something to think about

 

[Grolsch]

Well, then, you'd better be feeding often on His Word, the Bible! It is in the pages of Scripture that we find God revealed to us.



What does "keep trying 'til I know for sure" mean? What are you trying to do? Know God?

I do regularly read the Bible. the problem is that I just don't seem to get that much from it if im being honest. i often just feel like im going through the motions reading but not really understanding. And yes I do pray before reading for God's enlightment.

I want to get to the point where I have a strong faith rather than a very lukewarm faith where part of me believes and a big part still isn't really sure.

That's always what happens when you try to do what only God can do.

Philippians 2:13
13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Philippians 1:6
6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Faithful is he that calls you, who also will do it.

Jude 1:24-25
24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

Hebrews 12:1-2
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith...



Romans 10:17
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Hebrews 2:1
1 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.

If you want to trust God, you must first know Him. This means that you must be in the Word of God taking in what it reveals to you of the nature and purposes of God.

Paul the apostle wrote:

2 Timothy 1:12 (NKJV)
12 ...I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

Paul's faith rested upon His knowledge of God. Our faith must do the same.

Faith is very much like a muscle. When faith is exercised, it grows stronger. The first area in which a Christian's faith is exercised is in believing what God has promised and what He has declared true of every child of God. But in God's economy we must first believe what He has said and then we experience the truth of it.

God has also made us to be conformed to our focus. Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "The Great Stony Face" is an excellent illustration of this principle. What we allow to occupy our thoughts shapes who we are. Wise King Solomon wrote of this many millenia ago:

Proverbs 23:7
7 For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.

If you want to be conformed to the image of Christ, if you want to be godly, then you must steep your mind in the Word of God.

The Bible also warns us that the way we invest our time, energy, and money will determine where our heart is. If most of your time, energy and money is spent on sports, or cars, or food, or entertainment, or clothes, or whatever, then that is where your heart will be. If you don't want your heart to drift from God, invest heavily in your relationship with Him.

Jesus said,

Matthew 6:21
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.



A Christian doesn't "do all the right things" in order to get something but as a result of having something: Loving fellowship with God. Prayer, Bible reading, spiritual discipline - these all arise out of a love-relationship with God; they do not obtain it.



The Bible says that when we become genuine children of God, He sends His Holy Spirit into our hearts to bear witness to our adoption into His family. Seems to me you can't get a more personal revelation of God than that...

Romans 8:14-16
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

Do you not have this spirit awareness of God's Spirit within you?

I'm not sure. I've asked for God's spirit many times, but if I'm being honest I'm not sure if anything has ever changed.

Maybe He has helped you but you just don't want the kind of help He's giving.



See above.

Selah.

Thanks for all your advice. I will try to follow it and hopefully my faith will grow.

 

[Grolsch]

Have you taken the next step and been baptised? I am coming to realise that this can be an very important thing in the life of a christian, God does something very deeply spiritual during that moment that cannot be quantified.

Something to think about

Hi, I was baptised as a baby. Does that count?

 

[aiki]

I do regularly read the Bible. the problem is that I just don't seem to get that much from it if im being honest.

Two questions:

1. Why do you read the Bible?
2. What do you expect reading the Bible will accomplish?

Here are a couple of verses that I think may be worth your consideration:

Hebrews 4:2
2... but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

Hebrews 11:6
6 ...for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

i often just feel like im going through the motions reading but not really understanding. And yes I do pray before reading for God's enlightment.

And why is it that reading the Bible is so void of meaning for you?

I want to get to the point where I have a strong faith rather than a very lukewarm faith where part of me believes and a big part still isn't really sure.

Well, you sound like you need a course in Christian apologetics. Here are some websites that may be of assistance to you:

Welcome to Ravi Zacharias International Ministries
Reasonable Faith:
Stand to Reason: Stand to Reason: Equipping Christian Ambassadors with Knowledge, Wisdom, and Character.
The Institute for Creation Research

Selah.

 

[Grolsch]

Two questions:

1. Why do you read the Bible?
2. What do you expect reading the Bible will accomplish?

1. To try and develop my faith and find enlightenment I guess
2. As above

Here are a couple of verses that I think may be worth your consideration:

Hebrews 4:2
2... but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

Hebrews 11:6
6 ...for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.



And why is it that reading the Bible is so void of meaning for you?



Well, you sound like you need a course in Christian apologetics. Here are some websites that may be of assistance to yo:



Selah.

Thanks for the links. I have read a lot of Christian apologetics and find that there is a lot of info to base my faith on, but the problem is that I then read stuff from some very intelligent atheists and I find it difficult to discount their point of view etc.

I feel like someone on a jury that has listened to both sides and can't decide whether the evidence dictates if a person is guilty or not as the evidence is so strong on both sides! I feel that the only way to move beyond this is to have or experience a real connection with God/Jesus, but the fact that this never seems to happen then leaves me with further 'evidence' for the 'Christianity not really true' side

 

[razeontherock]

Ok Grolsch, you're sincere, and exactly the reason CF is here. Welcome! Let's see if we can help you put this thing in gear:

over the last few years my eyes have really been opened (by God?) to just how sinful I really am

That question mark shouldn't be there. Who else? If it was me, you'd be fighting me tooth and nail. Jesus said some pretty off the wall things, and He did it to build our Faith; which is Holy, most precious, once delivered to the Saints, and worth earnestly contending for! (Did I spell your name right? Enoch is a name that somehow you just can't forget. Seventh generation from G-d, great grandfather of Noah, and he said G-d's Holy Spirit was sent to convict all the ungodly men, of all the ungodly things, we ungodly do. Jesus quote him enough to let us know that was the same G-d way back when even though it's not part of the Bible, and Enoch was quoted again late in the New Testament. Saying the same thing. We can both rest assured you know G-d!

Seeking with my whole heart is difficult when part of me just isn't sure whether its all really true or not, but I try.

This is what the Bible calls "the unleavened bread of sincerity and Truth." The only other requirement for being able to partake of Christ our Passover is the acknowledgment that you are a sinner. Now let's get on to how you do that:

Can you clarify what exactly you think I should spell out please?

That was in response to me writing He only 'takes control' of the sin issue, and then asking you to spell out your concept of how this works, and how it pertains to you. So to break that down a little, what is your best understanding of
G-d's ability to handle sin? Details please, and be specific ass to the mechanism(s). This is an exercise for you more than for us, but it will help us pinpoint any flawed thinking much quicker.

Your own sin is a good place to start. Just contemplating His ability to do that w/ the whole world is mind-boggling, but He's like that. Then, how does G-d's ability to 'take control' of sin pertain to you? These are both hard questions, but in my experience until you're rock solid on these, the Gospel has no life and won't be real to you.

Now, back to the seeking G-d w/ a whole heart business. G-d is patient w/ us, we also need to learn to be patient w/ Him. Per your own words above, hopefully yo realize you're incapable of seeking Him w/ a whole heart right now? And how could you possibly, if you're not certain re: His response to the sin issue? This is how the Gospel works: G-d came looking for Adam and Eve, not the other way around. They were hiding behind the bushes because they knew they were naked, wearing fig leaves they had sewn together. That's the way G-d sees you right now, and if you're honest w/ yourself your conscience fears Him just like Adam and Eve's did. Just like a dog is afraid of a thunderstorm. Literally. Seeing ourselves ad G-d sees us is a humbling experience, but it's also the only true Glory any of us will ever know. That part comes later; earth is the place for humility.

The difference here is G-d is not coming to you w/ the same message he had for Adam, Eve or the serpent. He told us (through an angel) "Fear not:for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." (Luke 2:10) So I'm saying before you can seek Him with a whole heart, you have to not only hear but recognize that He comes w/ Good News, even in the face of our sin. Apparently, this is a big deal to G-d!

One more point other than to focus on the bolded part. You mention feeling like you don't get much from reading the Bible. Jesus told a "parable of the sower." What you're describing is the seed that was sown along the path, that the birds come and devour. Ya know what? That happens to ALL of us! Just making a habit of putting those words before your eyes will still make a difference, it'll just take longer, and be less powerful. That parable gives 4 different places good seed gets sown, and only one works. We're all striving to be that good soil; join the club. We're here to help one another. If you apply yourself to the part I bolded, we can go over key Scriptures in that area and you'll probably start seeing whole new meaning in them; so let's put this thing in gear!

And did I mention to pray for things you do read that look desirable? Try something like this:

1. Approach the Bible with the attitude that it is God speaking to you, telling you about how to relate to Him. Pray with a quiet, meditative spirit, for exactly that. Ask Him to show Himself strong to you, in ways you haven't known yet.

2. Do this every morning, and every evening. We can talk about Scriptural reasons in depth later, but it is God's way.

3. As you read, anything that looks good PRAY FOR IT. Specific examples I've found powerful:

a. "He opens my ear to hear as one who had learned." (Jesus got this, prophetically. Talk about humility!)

b. "the Lord grant you the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge in the revelation of Him"

c. Realize EVERY instance of "the wicked man" in Proverbs is you (me / us).
Yeah, ouch.

4. If there's time for more involved praying after this, fine; but more likely there will be other things you need to go do. Don't think they take you away from God because they DON'T! Just don't leave home w/o Him. It's in the doing that prayer seems to be most helpful. "Pray w/o ceasing," keep a prayerful attitude; there is room in His kingdom for our own unique style. The calling is to abundant LIFE.

 

[aiki]

Two questions:

1. Why do you read the Bible?
2. What do you expect reading the Bible will accomplish?

1. To try and develop my faith and find enlightenment I guess
2. As above

Hmmm...I guess my questions were rather tautological, weren't they?

The Bible declares itself the spiritual food of every believer in Christ.

Jesus said,

Matthew 4:4
4 ...'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'

The apostle Peter wrote,

1 Peter 2:2
2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,

So, its vital to be feeding on God's Word regularly. However, the benefit of reading the Bible is lost if you come to it with doubt about what it is: The Word of God.

Hebrews 4:2
2... but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

You will find no aid to your faith in Bible reading and no enlightenment as to the Bible's truth if you don't believe it is God's Word.

Thanks for the links. I have read a lot of Christian apologetics and find that there is a lot of info to base my faith on, but the problem is that I then read stuff from some very intelligent atheists and I find it difficult to discount their point of view etc.

At some point you have to make a decision. Typically, a Christian is one who, like the apostle Paul, has decided that "God is and that He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him." (Heb. 11:6) That means that the believer in Christ is persuaded that, in spite of how clever and well-reasoned the atheist may seem, he has got it wrong. But this cannot be merely an intellectual conviction; God intends that we know Him as our Heavenly Father, not just as a concept to be defended. It is from our fellowship with Him, our daily personal experience of Him, that we are certain of the things our intellect and reason commend to us through the realm of apologetics.

As I wrote before, God's Spirit comes to dwell within each of us at the moment we are "born again" spiritually into God's family. His indwelling Spirit gives us a certainty of His being that no amount of reasoned argument can provide.

Romans 8:14-16
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

You have remarked that you have had no such inner witness of God's Spirit. What do you suppose that indicates?

I feel like someone on a jury that has listened to both sides and can't decide whether the evidence dictates if a person is guilty or not as the evidence is so strong on both sides! I feel that the only way to move beyond this is to have or experience a real connection with God/Jesus, but the fact that this never seems to happen then leaves me with further 'evidence' for the 'Christianity not really true' side

Well, you can "experience a real connection with God/Jesus" in only one way:

John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Do you know what Jesus meant here?

Selah.

 

[salida]

Take one day at a time. Get some inspirational friends that love God by their actions, read the bible and pray daily. Get involved in a serious church. Its a life long lifestyle and you will know God more and more. Get in a habit. Feel free to email me.

Baptism symbolizes Christs death, burial and resurrection. Its not a salvation issue but this shows a good conscience towards God, 1 Peter 3:21.

 

[Sir Wilshire]

Thanks for the links. I have read a lot of Christian apologetics and find that there is a lot of info to base my faith on, but the problem is that I then read stuff from some very intelligent atheists and I find it difficult to discount their point of view etc.

Well to be honest it all comes down to the resurrection of Jesus. If he rose, Christianity is true. Are there any particular counterarguments against it that you find troubling? If so, what are they?

I feel like someone on a jury that has listened to both sides and can't decide whether the evidence dictates if a person is guilty or not as the evidence is so strong on both sides! I feel that the only way to move beyond this is to have or experience a real connection with God/Jesus, but the fact that this never seems to happen then leaves me with further 'evidence' for the 'Christianity not really true' side

Sadly, I don't think that's going to happen. See why below with what I said to someone else.

Sadly, a corrective is need because of how modern American culture has influenced how people relate to God. A Christian has a relationship with Jesus, but it isn't a personal one. What I mean is that if by personal, you mean something intimate on the level of a human to human relationship. The relationship is firstly a human to divine relationship. Secondly, it is more akin to a patron-client relationship of the 1st century. God the Father is the patron, Jesus is the broker, and we are the clients. As my source linked below says, "The casualness with which we approach a relationship to the Almighty is decidedly far from what the ancients would have perceived; indeed, the client seldom if ever spoke to or saw the patron (here, the Father) and had even limited contact with the broker (here, Jesus);" Now, this isn't the distance of a deistic God, but Yahweh is more distant than he commonly is thought to be. This would explain well what you said here.

Hello! First off I want to say that I am seekingThat honestly confuses me because I have tried for the longest time to feel some sort of connection but cannot. Perhaps it's because I'm Agnostic?

I would also note that with you not being a Christian, you should feel a separation. Everyone is separated from God until they come to him. When we do come to him, we are entering into a covenant with them. We do this by putting our trust/loyalty in Jesus to save us from our sins and to live by his grace (unmerited favor). This is only done because Jesus has shown himself to be reliable. The Father proved that Jesus was reliable by raising him from the dead after Jesus said the Father would. This is the ultimate basis for being a Christian. If Jesus had not risen, there would be no Christianity. So if that's true, then that should be the decider. Feelings should only play a confirmatory role.

-tektonics.org/whatis/whatfaith.html

 

[Digit]

I feel that I need to know God and more than anything I want to know God. In a lot of ways the only thing that makes sense is to keep trying until I know for sure one way or the other, since there is so much to gain and basically nothing to lose.

The problem is that my search has gone on for more than 10 years and seems to follow a pattern whereby I commit myself to God through Jesus, but then my faith doesn't go anywhere and often ends up going backwards and I forget about Christianity until I again reach the realisation that I need to find God.

Lately I have again reached the point in my life where I have humbly reached out to God, admitted that I am a sinner and that I need him to come into my life and take control and lead me down the path that he has intended for me.

My reason for writying this is that I want to know how I can develop a strong faith so that my experience will snowball in a positive way rather than dwindling out.

I feel that I do all the right things...pray to Jesus and God, read the Bible, try and practice the principles (difficult!), attend church etc, but my faith just never grows and subsequently I start reading things and opinions that lead to me questioning my faith and often its eventual downfall.

I just wish the Lord would reveal himself to me in some personal way so that I really could grow in faith, but even after more than 10 years fo praying fvor faith this hasn't happens and this just adds further to my doubt. I don't understand why God would not help someone in my position, who is wanting to know him so desperately, with their faith

How can I get rid of these doubts and really come to know and trust God in my life and have a real relationship with him that doesn't have doubts etc?

Hi Grolsch, this is always a tough one, as it's pretty personal and who are we to say what you have and have not done in order to draw near to God.

Just from your post, it sort of sounds like a lot of these things have become rituals to you. A little like me a while ago when I attended church, it was more of a ritual rather than something I keenly wanted to do because I felt drawn to do it. This has changed lately, as I've been through an incredibly difficult time and this has revealed a lot of God's nature and His strength to me, which I could draw on to make it through. Can you tell me a bit more about yourself, what sort of things do you read that make you doubt and why do you attend church, for starters?

 

[Grolsch]

Thanks for all the replies and sorry for not responding sooner. The reason has been due to a major depression I have been going through due to a decision I made a number of years ago. I won't go into detail, but it is something which I will have to live with and be reminded of every day for the rest of my life. Each reminder fills the pit of my stomach with fear, anxiety and deep depression. The last few weeks it has hit back at me with a blow like a sledgehammer. Tonight again I found myself in tears praying to God to please help me out of this, telling him that I cannot do this on my own, I need his help. I don't have the energy to say anything more, but I just hope that God does something to alleviate this pain as I feel he is the only one capable of doing so. I feel that if God through Jesus would only just enter into my life in a meaningful way and give me the faith in him that I so desperately want and need then my life could be turned around.

The Bible teaches "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Why then do I find myself in the above situation with praying for help, but not feeling any rest forthcoming? Please God I need something more to hang my faith on.

My thoughts just keep telling me that if God and Jesus are indeed alive and with us then he would surely come into my life, allow me to overcome this depression and situation so that I could then be the disciple serving him that was meant to be. When no help is forthcoming the conclusion I keep reaching is the one I am too scared to fathom. Without hope the people perish.

 

[Digit]

Thanks for all the replies and sorry for not responding sooner. The reason has been due to a major depression I have been going through due to a decision I made a number of years ago. I won't go into detail, but it is something which I will have to live with and be reminded of every day for the rest of my life. Each reminder fills the pit of my stomach with fear, anxiety and deep depression. The last few weeks it has hit back at me with a blow like a sledgehammer. Tonight again I found myself in tears praying to God to please help me out of this, telling him that I cannot do this on my own, I need his help. I don't have the energy to say anything more, but I just hope that God does something to alleviate this pain as I feel he is the only one capable of doing so. I feel that if God through Jesus would only just enter into my life in a meaningful way and give me the faith in him that I so desperately want and need then my life could be turned around.

The Bible teaches "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Why then do I find myself in the above situation with praying for help, but not feeling any rest forthcoming? Please God I need something more to hang my faith on.

My thoughts just keep telling me that if God and Jesus are indeed alive and with us then he would surely come into my life, allow me to overcome this depression and situation so that I could then be the disciple serving him that was meant to be. When no help is forthcoming the conclusion I keep reaching is the one I am too scared to fathom. Without hope the people perish.

I think you could make a career of accepting false premises. There is nothing to say that you need to live with such a deep depressive weight of burden forever - that's precisely what unrepentant sin does to a person when is aware of it. It just becomes an ever-crushing weight. Without knowing details there isn't much to say on specifics, but God's grace is what alleviates that burden, it's what Jesus died for and it's so that you can shed those chains and whilst not forget what has happened, you can be forgiven and move on with your life. Also do not forget your part in taking an active role in healing and moving forward. You can't leave everything up to God.

 

[Grolsch]

I think you could make a career of accepting false premises. There is nothing to say that you need to live with such a deep depressive weight of burden forever - that's precisely what unrepentant sin does to a person when is aware of it. It just becomes an ever-crushing weight. Without knowing details there isn't much to say on specifics, but God's grace is what alleviates that burden, it's what Jesus died for and it's so that you can shed those chains and whilst not forget what has happened, you can be forgiven and move on with your life. Also do not forget your part in taking an active role in healing and moving forward. You can't leave everything up to God.

The decision causing my misery was not due to a sinful act of mine, but a foolish decision that allowed someone to sin against me causing pain and misery.

I am taking on board your last statement as I think there is possibly a lot of truth to that. I will maybe pm you the details if you don't mind as I don't feel comfortable with putting the specifics here.