Giving myself to god tonight!! :)

[DLovingBrother]

Hi RyanB92,
I am glad that you have seen the truth, and the truth will set you free.
Do not depend on feelings, depend on what you know is the truth, and the reliable source of what you do from now on which is God’s Word. There will be many days when you don’t feel it, when you don’t feel like going to church, when you don’t feel like doing your devotion. Do not give in to these and do not let your feelings drive your walk with the Lord.

BTW, have you had a chance to look at the websites I gave you the last time? Just curious.

Thanks and May God Bless You, brother.

 

[J.P. Zaleta]

Hello RyanB92, hi everyone

Seeing your post, I thought to myself, “what could I do to help you get on a fast track in your Christian walk”. Three ideas came to mind.

First point: daily do the will of God in your life. That seems like a very daunting task because there are so many things we could do. Usually, having to many options gets us seriously bogged down with information overload. So that we become paralyzed and do nothing.

Thankfully God has made it simple for us by giving us this verse:

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (KJV)
“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Notice it doesn't say give thanks for everything it says give thanks in everything. This is an important distinction because in, our trials and tribulations, it's very difficult to give thanks. Saying the words because, we know that's what we should be doing, but having our heart not in it, is not giving thanks.

God is looking for us to be doing everything sincerely from the heart not because He told us but because we want to. Eventually we start experiencing gratitude during the trail, for the trail. Now, we may not feel comfortable giving thanks for the trial, but we can surely give thanks to God in the trial.

This is what I've done. I decided to give thanks every day for 6 things, 3 in the morning and 3 in the evening. The difficulty was, making it be 6 different things each day. Not an easy task. Persisting…an amazing thing happened.

Spontaneously throughout the day I began seeing things to be grateful for. I began to understand that God was responsible for all these things and it made me feel His presence all the time. Well most of the time.

Just last week I was sitting on my porch when bumble bees started coming around. First, I was just shooing them away, not paying much attention to what they were doing.

But then I realized they were responding to the movement of my hands. I started playing with them. It was like I was conducting an orchestra. Moving my , arms, and body they would respond accordingly.

I'd move my hands a little bit like brushing them away. They would back up a little bit. Moving my arm in a big wide arc and they move themselves in a big wide arc. I turn away from them they would come around and face me. I just kept thinking what an awesome God we have; that He would make bees for me to play with.

Take away from this, that the more you see to be grateful for the more you will experience the reality of God’s existence.

Point two: God wants us to experience communicating with Him. The easiest way I have found to do this is with paper and pen. Hab 2:2

Go to a quiet place free of distraction and still your mind. Then ask a question, write it down on the paper and wait for His response. At first you may only get a single word. Keep doing it and see what God is saying to you. Recognizing that a though wasn’t from Him is just as valuable as what you know was Him.

Point three: Take every thought captive by stopping and identifying where you think each thought you have originated. Practice doing it a little each day. Ask yourself, did the thought come from me, God, or other? 2 Cor 10:5

We are to be doers of the word not just hears. Doing these three things daily always allowed me to be doing His word, even when no one else was around.

Remember God is always blessing,
keeping you. and making His face shine on you.
JP

 

[Messerve]

Hello RyanB92, hi everyone

Seeing your post, I thought to myself, “what could I do to help you get on a fast track in your Christian walk”. Three ideas came to mind.

First point: daily do the will of God in your life. That seems like a very daunting task because there are so many things we could do. Usually, having to many options gets us seriously bogged down with information overload. So that we become paralyzed and do nothing.

Thankfully God has made it simple for us by giving us this verse:

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (KJV)
“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Notice it doesn't say give thanks for everything it says give thanks in everything. This is an important distinction because in, our trials and tribulations, it's very difficult to give thanks. Saying the words because, we know that's what we should be doing, but having our heart not in it, is not giving thanks.

God is looking for us to be doing everything sincerely from the heart not because He told us but because we want to. Eventually we start experiencing gratitude during the trail, for the trail. Now, we may not feel comfortable giving thanks for the trial, but we can surely give thanks to God in the trial.

This is what I've done. I decided to give thanks every day for 6 things, 3 in the morning and 3 in the evening. The difficulty was, making it be 6 different things each day. Not an easy task. Persisting…an amazing thing happened.

Spontaneously throughout the day I began seeing things to be grateful for. I began to understand that God was responsible for all these things and it made me feel His presence all the time. Well most of the time.

Just last week I was sitting on my porch when bumble bees started coming around. First, I was just shooing them away, not paying much attention to what they were doing.

But then I realized they were responding to the movement of my hands. I started playing with them. It was like I was conducting an orchestra. Moving my , arms, and body they would respond accordingly.

I'd move my hands a little bit like brushing them away. They would back up a little bit. Moving my arm in a big wide arc and they move themselves in a big wide arc. I turn away from them they would come around and face me. I just kept thinking what an awesome God we have; that He would make bees for me to play with.

Take away from this, that the more you see to be grateful for the more you will experience the reality of God’s existence.

Point two: God wants us to experience communicating with Him. The easiest way I have found to do this is with paper and pen. Hab 2:2

Go to a quiet place free of distraction and still your mind. Then ask a question, write it down on the paper and wait for His response. At first you may only get a single word. Keep doing it and see what God is saying to you. Recognizing that a though wasn’t from Him is just as valuable as what you know was Him.

Point three: Take every thought captive by stopping and identifying where you think each thought you have originated. Practice doing it a little each day. Ask yourself, did the thought come from me, God, or other? 2 Cor 10:5

We are to be doers of the word not just hears. Doing these three things daily always allowed me to be doing His word, even when no one else was around.

Remember God is always blessing,
keeping you. and making His face shine on you.
JP
View attachment 256598

Wow, I'm too scared of bees to ever do that! And carpenter bees are destroying my exterior trim. I think it's time to reconcile...

 

[Lily76_]

Welcome dear brother

 

[J.P. Zaleta]

Wow, I'm too scared of bees to ever do that! And carpenter bees are destroying my exterior trim. I think it's time to reconcile...

Hey Messerve, hello all

Are you sure they are carpenter bees not just plane old worker bees?

 

[RyanB92]

We are to be doers of the word not just hears. Doing these three things daily always allowed me to be doing His word, even when no one else was around.

Remember God is always blessing,
keeping you. and making His face shine on you.
JP

Yes! One thing I am definitely starting to learn is that, yes, I can pray for God to grant me faith and strength. But instead of just praying and waiting for it to happen, I can take actions everyday to help bring me closer to Him. I've been taking short breaks during the day to read my bible, or listen to worship music, just to be little reminders through the day that help keep my thoughts turned towards Him. I am trying to behave now in a way that would be more pleasing to Him, and this helps to keep me thinking of Him during the day, and I find myself beginning to pray quite frequently.

 

[Messerve]

Hey Messerve, hello all
Are you sure they are carpenter bees not just plane old worker bees?

View attachment 256655​

Well, I always used the names interchangeably. Yeah, they're worker bees. I'm working on sanding and painting the trim. But when I cover their holes with wood putty, they just drill a new one through the putty.

 

[RyanB92]

Just wanted to give you guys an update on how things have been going since I gave my life to Jesus.

I have been reading the bible and devotional a daily on my commute to and from work, and during the day I am listening to worship music and audio recordings of bible verses.

I have a tendency to get bored and move on from things quickly, but I wanted to make sure I didn’t just give my heart to Jesus and then go about my life like nothing changed.

So I made sure to make a real effort now while my enthusiasm is still fresh and really try to learn as much as I can and pray through the day.

But I have been struggling with some things. The main thing is, the experience I had praying in the forest was so overwhelming, when I felt in my whole being the warmth and love of God, that when I am praying and don’t feel those things, it doesn’t feel real.

And the nagging voices come back, telling me that this is all in my head. And now that i don’t have that initial feeling, I have trouble to argue with them.

I feel a bit directionless ,but I am trying to focus on putting my trust in him and pray and read the gospel, but I do feel myself starting to drift away from Him.

I still somehow feel that everything will work out, and a part of me knows that even if there are times I fee far away from or don’t believe in Him, he will still be with Him, guiding me to wear he wants me.

At least I hope that’s true.

 

[LynnSmith]

Just wanted to give you guys an update on how things have been going since I gave my life to Jesus.

I have been reading the bible and devotional a daily on my commute to and from work, and during the day I am listening to worship music and audio recordings of bible verses.

I have a tendency to get bored and move on from things quickly, but I wanted to make sure I didn’t just give my heart to Jesus and then go about my life like nothing changed.

So I made sure to make a real effort now while my enthusiasm is still fresh and really try to learn as much as I can and pray through the day.

But I have been struggling with some things. The main thing is, the experience I had praying in the forest was so overwhelming, when I felt in my whole being the warmth and love of God, that when I am praying and don’t feel those things, it doesn’t feel real.

And the nagging voices come back, telling me that this is all in my head. And now that i don’t have that initial feeling, I have trouble to argue with them.

I feel a bit directionless ,but I am trying to focus on putting my trust in him and pray and read the gospel, but I do feel myself starting to drift away from Him.

I still somehow feel that everything will work out, and a part of me knows that even if there are times I fee far away from or don’t believe in Him, he will still be with Him, guiding me to wear he wants me.

At least I hope that’s true.

Thank you for the update! Sounds like you are doing great by staying in the Word. What about a church? Having someone who is a mentor?
Don’t listen to the lies of the enemy! Keep reading, keep praying, keep your focus on Him!

 

[Chris V++]

I still somehow feel that everything will work out, and a part of me knows that even if there are times I fee far away from or don’t believe in Him, he will still be with Him, guiding me to wear he wants me.

At least I hope that’s true.

I pray that God will confirm for you, Ryan, in ways that only you will understand that you are now His so that you will know beyond any reasonable doubt that He is sovereign and loves you. Keep your eyes wide open.

 

[RyanB92]

I really should try to find a church, I know. I live a very busy life and am nervous in new situations so I haven’t been to Church. No one I know is Christian, which may be why I feel so afloat

 

[LynnSmith]

I really should try to find a church, I know. I live a very busy life and am nervous in new situations so I haven’t been to Church. No one I know is Christian, which may be why I feel so afloat

It’s hard to walk alone. I’ve been doing it and it does make it easier I feel for the lies to set hold easier. Something about coming together with others who have that love for the Lord is amazing. Started seeking a new church, trying a new one tomorrow. It is scary. It’s overwhelming. But just remember God is your refuge. God is your strength. Always with you. His Spirit dwelling in you.

 

[mnorian]

Hi guys!

Really excited to be posting this.

After so long of actively trying to find ways to deny the existence of God, I felt an urge to get to know Jesus. I have been reading about Christianity, being Born Again, and reading the gospel.

I prayed to God to give me faith, and help me to find Him. To please show himself to me that I may believe in Him. I told him that if he was real, please do whatever it takes to get me to believe in Him.

Tonight after a couple nights of chatting with followers of christ and meditating, reading the bible and praying, tonight I had an overwhelming experience. I was in the forest meditating and listening to a recording of the book of John, and I just became flooded with an overwhelming feeling of warmth and love. I heard my heart saying "its real! its real!" and I felt like i could cry.

I quickly heard a voice in me saying "dont be silly. of course its not real" I then went home, and I few hours later I was doing some reading about the evidence towards Jesus being the son of God, and I again had an overwhelming sense that No! it is real! and I feel so happy and at peace and full of Love.

I decided that after a while of putting it off, tonight i will finally turn to God, open my heart to him, and give him control of my life. I feel so blessed and excited to start my new path.

Hi Ryan;
welcome to CF; May the Lord Jesus guide you here as well as in the world; and may you find friends and what ever you need from the Lord here. I do have a question for you; do you like music--Praise & Worship music? Well we have a new forum here at CF just for P&W music and at the top is a directory of other Christian music threads around CF; come and take a look!

Praise and Worship Music

To The

 

[samwise gamgee]

But I have been struggling with some things. The main thing is, the experience I had praying in the forest was so overwhelming, when I felt in my whole being the warmth and love of God, that when I am praying and don’t feel those things, it doesn’t feel real.

You need to trust God's promises and not your feelings. Martin Luther apparently had the same problem you are experiencing and he had this to say:

"Feelings come and feelings go, And feelings are deceiving; My warrant is the Word of God-- Naught else is worth believing. Though all my heart should feel condemned For want of some sweet token, There is One greater than my heart Whose Word cannot be broken. I'll trust in God's unchanging Word Till soul and body sever, For, though all things shall pass away, HIS WORD SHALL STAND FOREVER!"