Should I dump everything and leave?

31gH9N.9.

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I think we're in the same boat. I've been going through something similar for almost two years. When I first started seeking God's favor through Jesus, I very quickly began to think that he wanted me to abandon everything (family, possessions, dog) and go and be homeless and tell people about Him. Everytime I tell people my whole story they tell me I shouldn't go but I still struggle with it. It went away for a while but it's come back. One time I quit my jobs , and when I had finished working my last week or so, I parked my car at a park and ride and tried to hitchhike out of town for a couple hours praying that God would give me a ride because the longer I sat there the more I didn't want to go through with it. Eventually I gave up and decided maybe He didn't want me to go because otherwise He would have given me a ride.

I quite honestly still struggle with it but I also know there were somethings I took way out of context and kinda just was letting my conscious be what was guiding me. I thought when Jesus said call no man your father that I couldn't actually call my dad my dad. I was reading Revelation and thought that the Jehova's witness' were the true religion. I thought that I could never talk to my parents ever again or my brother.
This might sound weird and I don't want to say I'm glad you're going through this but it's interesting to hear that someone else seems to be going through something so similar to what I've been going through. I've been reading the Bible a lot and honestly ready to do it but I'm not %100 positive it's God's will to do so. What has been helping me is reading the gospels and learning more about who Jesus is and what He wants from us. He held the Law of God in high regard and even mentions honoring your parents in at least two of the gospels.
 
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Brian Mcnamee

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You see, I want to change my life for God, to repent of all my sins, but I feel I may need to dump everything and everyone to do that. I live with my family and they aren't believers. And till now I was finishing college so I could get a full-time career ( healthcare because I want to help people) so I could save up enough to move out and live as God wants me to. But even then would I be living within God's terms if I kept in contact with friends and family, who are not believers? By leaving would I be following God or just running away from it all?

But then I'd put my family and friends through grief if I did that. And I'd be living on the streets cause I don't have enough to live on.

I feel so lost and Idk what to do to follow Jesus properly. Christians tell me to pray and ask and repent receive the Holy Spirit but nothing happens. And I don't get any answers from God.
Hi and 1st off way to go committing yourself to God and really thinking about the deeper stuff in your life. Jesus loves you and all your unsaved family and friends and the best way to win them to the LORD is not run from them but walk your walk in front of them. Of course if were hanging in bars and stuff you will have to meet your friends on your terms. You can share what God is doing in your life. Some will mock and ridicule you and some will leave you too. Your family is still your family and if you put your goals in order there is no reason you cannot live at home and pursue those things. If the Lord is showing you to leave that is another thing but seems like you are wanting to move real fast and wisdom would be to patiently seek the LORD pray and be a good witness to them. Your conversion might be the best chance they have of getting saved. Learn your bible and share what you are learning with them. Ask them what they think of the big questions of life, who am I, Where did I come from. Where am I going? Learn to listen to where they are at and ask questions that lead to presenting the gospel.
 
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Rescued One

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So do you think I should?

I don't think you need to leave your family right now. We're always going to be with non-believers. The siblings I grew up with are non-believers. But a believer has a cushion as it were ....we have God's word in our hearts and the Holy Spirit to remind us of that word.
 
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Rescued One

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I am already conformed to their ways because I was raised by them. I am trying to break away.

I wasn't raised by Christians, and, no, I wasn't raised by Mormons. God is more powerful than parents and those who are led by false teachers. I started reading the Bible to see how a child of light should live.

EPHESIANS 5:8-10
For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
 
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Galilee63

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Pray for Jesus and The Holy Spirit to guide you through Prayer after making The Sign of The Cross, focussing on Jesus, His Life, His Sorrows, His Agonies and Bitter Passion in front of The Cross and/or with Jesus Sorrowful Mysteries in illustration in front of you and hand over your life situation to Jesus and The Holy Spirit and to Mother Mary as Loving Holy Intercessory at the same time by Consecrating your Heart and Soul to Jesus Sacred Heart, Consecrate your Heart to our Blessed Virgin Mother Mary's Holy Immaculate Heart and immerse your heart and soul in Jesus Ocean of Mercy and Blessed Holy Sacred Wounds followed by Jesus Holy Wound Chaplet I will post below for you to pray:

www.marypages.com/RosaryoftheHolyWounds.htm

It wont copy on this website therefore I will attach it and type it out shortly for you.

Trust in Jesus completely handing over every situation during your life and offer up the sufferings of all non believer relatives to Jesus Holy Spirit and Mother Mary for Jesus to use those sufferings if they are sufferings to you for His Loving Holy Intentions and for The Holy Souls in Purgatory and all souls salvation.
 
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Galilee63

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Pray for Jesus and The Holy Spirit to guide you through Prayer after making The Sign of The Cross, focussing on Jesus, His Life, His Sorrows, His Agonies and Bitter Passion in front of The Cross and/or with Jesus Sorrowful Mysteries in illustration in front of you and hand over your life situation to Jesus and The Holy Spirit and to Mother Mary as Loving Holy Intercessory at the same time by Consecrating your Heart and Soul to Jesus Sacred Heart, Consecrate your Heart to our Blessed Virgin Mother Mary's Holy Immaculate Heart and immerse your heart and soul in Jesus Ocean of Mercy and Blessed Holy Sacred Wounds followed by Jesus Holy Wound Chaplet I will post below for you to pray:

www.marypages.com/RosaryoftheHolyWounds.htm

It wont copy on this website therefore I will attach it and type it out shortly for you.

Trust in Jesus completely handing over every situation during your life and offer up the sufferings of all non believer relatives to Jesus Holy Spirit and Mother Mary for Jesus to use those sufferings if they are sufferings to you for His Loving Holy Intentions and for The Holy Souls in Purgatory and all souls salvation.
 
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raffadalbo

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I cannot say, sis, but in the meantime, as you await direction from the Lord:
Bloom, girl, where you are planted.

Yes, I think this is the best advice:
1) "search direction from the Lord" - pray, pray a lot
2) but "in the meantime" also "bloom where are you are planted".

If you pray enough, the Lord will show you not only "what" but also "when"; but He will also show more clearly what He expects from you "in the meantime".
 
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Sketcher

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You see, I want to change my life for God, to repent of all my sins, but I feel I may need to dump everything and everyone to do that. I live with my family and they aren't believers. And till now I was finishing college so I could get a full-time career ( healthcare because I want to help people) so I could save up enough to move out and live as God wants me to. But even then would I be living within God's terms if I kept in contact with friends and family, who are not believers? By leaving would I be following God or just running away from it all?
You would be running away from it all. As a Christian, you are responsible to do what you can to lead them to God. This doesn't mean you can't move out and go to college or get a job somewhere else, but it does mean loving them steadfastly and keeping the lines of communications open. My personal rule when it comes to relationships with unsaved people is that I'm not going to be the bad guy in that relationship. If following God and righteousness necessitates a break in that relationship, then they're going to have to be the ones to make their hatred for what is good and right known and end it themselves. As much as I can help it, it's not going to be because I was some "holy" jerkface to them.

But then I'd put my family and friends through grief if I did that. And I'd be living on the streets cause I don't have enough to live on.
So leaving would be unwise.

I feel so lost and Idk what to do to follow Jesus properly. Christians tell me to pray and ask and repent receive the Holy Spirit but nothing happens. And I don't get any answers from God.
If you cried out to God, he heard you. Immediate, emotional confirmation doesn't always happen, nor does it need to always happen. God is faithful regardless of how you feel.

As to what it means to follow Jesus, it means giving up your beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that run contrary to his teaching, and replacing them with what he taught. This can be done at some level no matter what your living situation is. If you have questions about what that means in a specific circumstance, by all means ask me.
 
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dqhall

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You see, I want to change my life for God, to repent of all my sins, but I feel I may need to dump everything and everyone to do that. I live with my family and they aren't believers. And till now I was finishing college so I could get a full-time career ( healthcare because I want to help people) so I could save up enough to move out and live as God wants me to. But even then would I be living within God's terms if I kept in contact with friends and family, who are not believers? By leaving would I be following God or just running away from it all?

But then I'd put my family and friends through grief if I did that. And I'd be living on the streets cause I don't have enough to live on.

I feel so lost and Idk what to do to follow Jesus properly. Christians tell me to pray and ask and repent receive the Holy Spirit but nothing happens. And I don't get any answers from God.
If your parents are supporting you with free room and board, that is a sign of benevolence, even if you suspect they are evil people.

I do not recommend dropping out of college or skipping classes. People might like you more if you get a degree and find employment after graduation. I recommend you should do your best to try to prepare yourself for a professional career.

There are not many services available for college dropouts who run away and do not want to work. Homeless shelters are full with waiting lists. They offer temporary shelter a certain number of days, weeks or month per year, then they lock a poor person out to bring in a new person. The poor went from town to town begging for assistance or looking for work. They had to sleep in the woods. Some had to look in the trash for food. Food pantries distributed food certain days of the month. Drunks, addicts, learning disabled and people with unhealed injuries or chronic illnesses wound up on the streets. People bankrupted by medical bills ended up poor. A man in Arizona had to give up his ranch to pay for open heart surgery. Hospitals and doctors legally seized homes for unpaid medical bills. A carpenter built a house for he and his wife. He had to give his house to her in a divorce settlement. He wound up in a homeless shelter in Florida a couple of years before being eligible for social security. He was no longer strong enough to do his trade. A friend was being divorced by a foreign wife after she got her green card. The divorce cost him $80,000 in legal fees. His ex was accusing him falsely in court. He was professionally employed and did not end up on the streets.

People may study Christianity in their spare time. Over the course of years, such a path may lead to salvation. The apostle Paul was homeless sometimes. He also had to work with his hands and develop his teaching skills to gain the glories and recognition he has received.
 
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Albion

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I'm hoping once I leave God will take me to believers
Let's see if I understand your point correctly.

It seems that you are saying that at present you are surrounded by those who don't appreciate your views, and these people, being family, are impossible to simply ignore, BUT that when you are on your own, you will be able to pick and choose your associates, meaning that you'll be "in the world" all right but controlled by it.

Am I close to getting the point?
 
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Jesus4Ever

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Let's see if I understand your point correctly.

It seems that you are saying that at present you are surrounded by those who don't appreciate your views, and these people, being family, are impossible to simply ignore, BUT that when you are on your own, you will be able to pick and choose your associates, meaning that you'll be "in the world" all right but controlled by it.

Am I close to getting the point?


No you are not.

I am saying that I once I am free and independent then I can fully follow God's Will. Because they don't believe in God really, my parents who I admit I am dependent on probably won't allow me to completely follow His ways. Particularly my mom who always wants everything her way.

Also if God brings me into fellowship with other Born Again Christians, then I will be less alone and tempted by the unsaved, and we all can follow Jesus together.
 
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Jesus4Ever

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Hi and 1st off way to go committing yourself to God and really thinking about the deeper stuff in your life. Jesus loves you and all your unsaved family and friends and the best way to win them to the LORD is not run from them but walk your walk in front of them. Of course if were hanging in bars and stuff you will have to meet your friends on your terms. You can share what God is doing in your life. Some will mock and ridicule you and some will leave you too. Your family is still your family and if you put your goals in order there is no reason you cannot live at home and pursue those things. If the Lord is showing you to leave that is another thing but seems like you are wanting to move real fast and wisdom would be to patiently seek the LORD pray and be a good witness to them. Your conversion might be the best chance they have of getting saved. Learn your bible and share what you are learning with them. Ask them what they think of the big questions of life, who am I, Where did I come from. Where am I going? Learn to listen to where they are at and ask questions that lead to presenting the gospel.

The thing is...I don't think they would take me seriously. But I think I'll try to convince them to at least go to church as a start as I'm planning on going next Sunday.
 
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GirdYourLoins

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Doesnt sound to me like you are keeping the commandment to honour your father and your mother.

You havent given any reasons for why you dont feel you need to keep that commandment. Maybe like me when I was younger you have a violent father who would beat you up regularly even without any reason, spend your whole life being told you are worthless and should never have been born, or maybe like other people I know who were sexually abused or others brought up in dangerous criminal families, or something like this?

If the answer to the above is no, you should be more thankful for what you have and thank God for having a mother and a father who look after you.I nearly ran away a few times but there was always something that stopped me going because the reality of life on the streets would have a worse overall effect on my life. Looking back on it now I think God made it possible for me to bear it even though I wasnt a Christian then.

It would be unwise to make yourself homeless. Instead I would suggest that you try to be the best example of a good Christian to your parents. Maybe they will even become believers because of your witness to them and the difference they see in your life.
 
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Jesus4Ever

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Doesnt sound to me like you are keeping the commandment to honour your father and your mother.

You havent given any reasons for why you dont feel you need to keep that commandment. Maybe like me when I was younger you have a violent father who would beat you up regularly even without any reason, spend your whole life being told you are worthless and should never have been born, or maybe like other people I know who were sexually abused or others brought up in dangerous criminal families, or something like this?

If the answer to the above is no, you should be more thankful for what you have and thank God for having a mother and a father who look after you.I nearly ran away a few times but there was always something that stopped me going because the reality of life on the streets would have a worse overall effect on my life. Looking back on it now I think God made it possible for me to bear it even though I wasnt a Christian then.

It would be unwise to make yourself homeless. Instead I would suggest that you try to be the best example of a good Christian to your parents. Maybe they will even become believers because of your witness to them and the difference they see in your life.

At the time, I was feeling really lost and despairing because I'm a sinner and I want to break free from my sin. Plus in Scripture Jesus said that those who don't hate their parents, siblings and friends can't be His disciple so I was beginning to think I had to drop absolutely everything for Jesus. One of the Commands is to respect your mother and father but one of the Commands is also to love God above all else. Plus there is a theme in the bible that those closest to you shouldn't be unbelievers.

I love my parents...but I love God the most. And I won't be able to fully change under their roof unless they choose to change along with me. I will try to reach out to them but Idk how successful I will be.
 
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GandalfTheWise

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We need to be *willing* to drop everything for Jesus. But it doesn't mean that He will ask us to do so. God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac (Genesis 22), but at the last second stopped him. It was about seeing if he was willing to do so.

Many of Jesus' sayings in the Gospels were meant to shock His listeners into seeing the big picture they were missing. "If your right arm causes you to sin, cut it off" was NOT a command. It was a shocking statement to hear that forced the hearer to realize the serious nature of what it would take to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It wasn't a matter of coasting along doing what everyone else is doing but abruptly being willing to make radical changes. I think that sayings such as "if you do not hate your parents you are not worthy of me" need to be understood in a similar light. A question like "If necessary, would you be willing to forsake and leave your family and friends to follow Jesus?" is a question of attitude and willingness, not necessarily a needed course of action for everyone.

Superimposed onto the spiritual aspect of things here is the often challenging issue of children growing up and becoming independent of their parents. That can be a complicated and difficult process that can take years to sort out. Families that are all Christians don't always deal with this gracefully. There is a time when it is best for children to move out. Sometimes earlier, sometimes later. (And sometimes it's appropriate to move back in.)

For sure, start working on the things that are in your power to change now. There are some things you can do to grow more spiritually in spite of your parents. Those are the types of things we should all be doing in spite of circumstances. Prayer, bible reading, going to church, bible studies, prayer groups, etc. I'll also give you fair warning, not all churches and born-again Christians are perfect. :) Indeed, none are, and at times you will see things that will disappoint and hurt. I do not say that to discourage you away, but rather to set the expectation that joining any group of believers is both a blessed and at times messy business. A group of imperfect sincere people seeking God together is a necessary and blessed part of our spiritual lives, but it does take some work, and forgiveness, patience, and reconciliation need to become part of who we are at times. Most of it is great, and I wouldn't exchange it for anything else, but there is the reality that we aren't perfect. Not all problems will go away just by finding a group of Christians to be around.

My gut reaction about moving out is that most often God calls us toward something positive which is the next stage of our lives. He might use trying circumstances to push us out of a rut and toward a transition, but there will often be some type of clear next step forward in His timing. That might be a new job, an opportunity to move in with someone else, a move to a new town, going off to school or grad school, etc. Speaking for myself, I've usually observed weeks to months of time between when I first had a sense of discontent and need for change and when God's clear steps to actually transition to something else became obvious. I've only had one time that was a sudden let's change something now situation and even that transition was spread over a couple of weeks.

FWIW, lots of verbiage from an older guy with gray hair and with too much time to write on his hands. :) God's got an exciting life ahead of you for you. You are a special creation who is meant to reflect His glory in a unique way no one else can. He'll lead you and guide you.
 
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brinny

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At the time, I was feeling really lost and despairing because I'm a sinner and I want to break free from my sin. Plus in Scripture Jesus said that those who don't hate their parents, siblings and friends can't be His disciple so I was beginning to think I had to drop absolutely everything for Jesus. One of the Commands is to respect your mother and father but one of the Commands is also to love God above all else. Plus there is a theme in the bible that those closest to you shouldn't be unbelievers.

I love my parents...but I love God the most. And I won't be able to fully change under their roof unless they choose to change along with me. I will try to reach out to them but Idk how successful I will be.

Have you considered speaking to one of our CF Chaplains?

What you just stated above is not written in God's Word. It sounds like you may be referring to the "unequally yoked" verse that says that we should not "marry" an unbeliever if we are a believer.

It sounds like you may have some confusion regarding what the Bible says and may need some clarification that a Chaplain can assist you with.

Here's a link to the Chaplain's Forum ---> Chaplains Office

In the meantime, stay put, pray, get some solid, wise, Biblical counsel, and while you are waiting on clarification and direction from God, do the following, sis:

daily-image-040513.png
 
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