Newbie - anxious and in need of help!

SusyQ said:

Hello all I have come back to my Christian faith in the last few months after at least 25 years of neglecting it (I am now 41 years old) and one of the reasons I came back to it was because I was experiencing severe anxiety attacks and depression (a bad bout, have had it most of my life), so I decided to put my faith back in God and ask Him to help me. Now I am exploring Christianity again as well as the bible and thinking and stressing about every aspect of God and Jesus and Christianity and what I should do, what I shouldn’t do, say, feel and worrying about everybody else in the world and myself not being saved!!!!!!! I have SO many questions so I found this forum (thank you!) and I hope it is ok to start asking some questions (I will just list them as I think of them, and then post a few each day or so if that’s ok). I want to thank you all sincerely for your time and consideration, all of my questions are honest and heartfelt, absolutely not ingenuine or mocking in any way whatsoever. I want to know how to live and why etc. I have joined a church and I have a bible, but a lot of what I read makes me more anxious and scared. For now, I honestly ask for your prayers for God to show me the way and any offers of guidance from more experienced Christians for someone desperately trying to get back on the right path would be lovingly accepted. God bless you and your families and have a wonderful Christmas. I look forward to talking with some of you. Thanks! SusyQ xoxox

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Dear Heavenly Father, how many words can express our joy! .. the angels in heaven rejoice that you are bringing SuzyQ back to pursue faith! .. We know she is very precious and dearly loved, and we just ask for your spirit to envelope her with peace and calmness as she begins to walk in the new direction again, as you lead her beside the still waters .. as she draws nearer and nearer to you through the renewing of her mind. We ask that you will lead her to meet people who can speak the words of your own heart and not only theirs, to build and nurture her growth to your glory, and that over the next few days she will completely discover the fullness of salvation - that is to know that she is secure while she is following your leadership in her life. We thank you that it has happened at such a special joyous time of the year, and we acknowledge that this too is your hand at work, that she may really receive an amazing blessing of love and celebration as we proclaim the coming to life of Messiah. We pray in Jesus name, and we thank you for your goodness, Lord, that although our sister has been lost, as soon as she has returned to you, you have gone right away to embrace her! Amen.

Welcome SusyQ

I wonder if you would be better to ask your questions in the Christian Advice area - it will allow for a bit more useful conversation rather than here in the Introductions area

Christian Advice

SusyQ said:

I want to know how to live and why etc.

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.
For a start, here's my summary of the Bible or Word of God which is a guide to life, for both temporal life on earth and eternal life in heaven.

0. God is Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient. God has His throne in heaven.(EZE.1, REV.4) Satan and his demons rebelled against God.(ISA.14:12, EZE.28:17, REV.12:4-9)
....... God-in-heaven desired to replace the spiritual rebels with S'piritual humans. Earth is like a test-bed for this purpose.

1. On earth, all humans are born sinful/evil/satanic because of Adam's Original Sin = unclean/dirty/unholy = bound for hell when they die.(ROM.5:12)

2. No humans on earth can see the true face of God and live.(EXO.33:20, JOHN.1:18 & 5:37)

3. To save fallen humans, God-in-heaven endeavoured to come down to earth in lesser forms as the invisible Spirit or as the visible human(= Angel of God or Jesus Christ). (JOHN.8:58/EXO.3:14, JOHN.1:1 & 14, 1TIM.3:16, 2COR.3:17, ISA.9:6)
....... As the Spirit, God-in-heaven gave His Law to Moses and the Jews, in order to curb humans' inborn tendency to commit sins/evil-deeds/satanic-deeds.(DEUT.28)
....... As Jesus Christ, God-in-heaven gave the apostles and Christians the sacrificial Lamb of God on the Cross(JOHN.1:29), in order to save them from hell when they die = the free gift of salvation or the kingdom of heaven through faith.(JOHN.3:16, MATT.4:17, GAL.2:16)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _

A good analogy of our One and Only God is our one and only sun.
... God-the-Father-in-heaven sends His invisible Spirit and His visible Son-Jesus to earth to sustain immortal life = the sun-in-outer-space sends her invisible warmth/heat and her visible light to earth to sustain mortal life.
.
.
.
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The Bible or Word of God can be broken down into 2 parts, the Old and New Testaments/Covenants, ie,

(i) if you wanna have a good n long life on earth, you need to keep the Law/Word of God.(DEUT.28, MATT.19:21, ACTS.15:24-29, cf; 1COR.5:1-5 & 11:30, 1JOHN.5:16-19),

(ii) if you wanna go to heaven when you die, you need to be saved from hell by Jesus the Christ/Messiah/Savior.(MATT.5:27-30, ROM.5:12, LEV.17:11, HEB.9:22, JOHN.3:16, 1COR.6:9-11, REV.22:12-15)

Christians should aim to achieve both, ie to gain both blessings from God, eg MATT.19:23.
.
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Bc of our inherited Adam's Original Sin, we have the dual problems of INVOLUNTARY satanic/evil/sinful thoughts, eg immoral lust, hate, anger, greed, selfishness, jealousy, fear/worries, doubts, etc, ...and VOLUNTARY satanic/evil/sinful deeds, eg blasphemy, idolatry, murder, adultery/fornication/rape, stealing, lying/cheating/defrauding, etc.
....... The former resulted in being cursed/sent to hell when we die(GEN.3:14-16) and the latter resulted in being cursed by God with a sad and short life on earth. God's Law solved the latter and God's Son solved the former.
....... Usually, before someone committed murder, he/she had originally harbored hate or greed or lust or jealousy or etc in his/her heart and mind.(source is spiritually from Satan - JOHN.8:44, MATT.16:23 & 23:27, MARK.7:21, 1JOHN.3:8)) IOW, all humans are born satanic/evil/sinful/unclean, from their hearts to their feet.
.
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At ACTS.15:24-29, God/Jesus requires Gentile Christians to begin their born-again lives of the Spirit by keeping 4 easy or non-burdensome laws of Moses, ie avoid eating blood, strangled animals, foods sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality = minimum legal requirement. They r then given time to learn to gradually keep the other laws of Moses which are not a burden, esp morality laws, eg the Ten Commandments at EXODUS.20, LEVITICUS.10:9, DEUTERONOMY.18:9-14, etc.
....... In comparison, Jewish Christians are required by God/Jesus to continue to keep Moses Law, as many as possible, because it is not a burden to them.
....... Eg, Gentile Christians should still avoid homosexuality and continue to eat non-kosher foods because the former is not a burden but the latter is a burden(ie it's a burden for them to keep the food laws).
... Faith in God's Son, Jesus = faith in God's Word/Law/commandments because JOHN.1:1 says the Son is the Word and is also God.

We need to properly differentiate between involuntary satanic/evil/sinful thoughts and voluntary sins/evil deeds, and between involuntary or inborn Gentile and Jewish Christians.

Analogy about involuntary evil/satanic thoughts and voluntary evil-deeds/sins - black crows often squawks noisily over our heads but we should not let them build their dirty nests on our heads.

SusyQ said:

Hello all I have come back to my Christian faith in the last few months after at least 25 years of neglecting it (I am now 41 years old) and one of the reasons I came back to it was because I was experiencing severe anxiety attacks and depression (a bad bout, have had it most of my life), so I decided to put my faith back in God and ask Him to help me. Now I am exploring Christianity again as well as the bible and thinking and stressing about every aspect of God and Jesus and Christianity and what I should do, what I shouldn’t do, say, feel and worrying about everybody else in the world and myself not being saved!!!!!!! I have SO many questions so I found this forum (thank you!) and I hope it is ok to start asking some questions (I will just list them as I think of them, and then post a few each day or so if that’s ok). I want to thank you all sincerely for your time and consideration, all of my questions are honest and heartfelt, absolutely not ingenuine or mocking in any way whatsoever. I want to know how to live and why etc. I have joined a church and I have a bible, but a lot of what I read makes me more anxious and scared. For now, I honestly ask for your prayers for God to show me the way and any offers of guidance from more experienced Christians for someone desperately trying to get back on the right path would be lovingly accepted. God bless you and your families and have a wonderful Christmas. I look forward to talking with some of you. Thanks! SusyQ xoxox

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Hey SusyQ, Welcome to Christian Forums. It may be better to think of learning about Christianity as a long-distance run. If you try to everything at once you'll just burn out. Just take one step at a time and eventually, you'll look back and be surprised how far you have come. As a fellow-depression sufferer, I wish you all the best and I hope things turn out well for you.

SusyQ said:

Now I am exploring Christianity again as well as the bible and thinking and stressing about every aspect of God and Jesus and Christianity and what I should do, what I shouldn’t do, say, feel and worrying about everybody else in the world and myself not being saved!

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God will handle everyone else. You are freed up to just work on your own relationship.
Here are the rules:



So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Matthew 7:12

For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Galatians 5:14

The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.
Mark 12:31

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.
1 Peter 3:8

No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.
1 Corinthians 10:24

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.
Philippians 2:3

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:1-2

Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.
Romans 15:2

Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.
Romans 14:13

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Galatians 6:10

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Colossians 3:13

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8

Learn to do right; seek justice.Defend the oppressed.Take up the cause of the fatherless;plead the case of the widow.
Isaiah 1:17

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
Romans 2:1

Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Romans 13:10

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
John 13:34

Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend
forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
Job 6:14

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Romans 12:10

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.
1 Thessalonians 3:12

The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Romans 13:9

One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.
Romans 14:5

For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
1 John 3:11

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 1:27

Welcome Susy, to CF. We're the same age. I was an atheist during my high school, college and early post college years. God will never stop pursuing his children. I surrendered my life to Jesus in 2002, and it's been quite a journey. May you find meaningful discussions and friendship in these forums. Merry Christmas!

SusyQ said:

Happy Christmas Red Ecomomist, I thank you for your time and words. I guess my anxious/depressive state at the moment is focusing me on fear and I am praying for help with this!! I hope I believe correctly that God has grace and love for us and this testing time is to serve a purpose? xx

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I think you will find the love and purpose your are looking for if you keep at it and have faith and love for yourself. I'm not a Christian but I remember this poem from when I was in primary school. The message is that God is always there, whatever we conceive or know him to be. I hope it helps and Merry Christmas.

One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You'd walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you."

Footprints in the Sand Poem | Beautiful Poem from Only the Bible.com

SkyWriting said:

God will handle everyone else. You are freed up to just work on your own relationship.
Here are the rules:



So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Matthew 7:12

For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Galatians 5:14

The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.
Mark 12:31

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.
1 Peter 3:8

No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.
1 Corinthians 10:24

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.
Philippians 2:3

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:1-2

Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.
Romans 15:2

Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.
Romans 14:13

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Galatians 6:10

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Colossians 3:13

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8

Learn to do right; seek justice.Defend the oppressed.Take up the cause of the fatherless;plead the case of the widow.
Isaiah 1:17

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
Romans 2:1

Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Romans 13:10

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
John 13:34

Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend
forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
Job 6:14

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Romans 12:10

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.
1 Thessalonians 3:12

The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Romans 13:9

One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.
Romans 14:5

For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
1 John 3:11

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 1:27

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Beautiful, thank you.

SusyQ said:

Thanks so much and Merry Christmas to you too. I would love to know what made you change your mind if you are willing to share this? I have pretty much all non-Christian friends and work colleagues and I am a bit lost as to what to tell them! Even most of my family are encouraging, but not really willing to accept Jesus in a real way and I worry about their salvation as well as my own. I pray that God has a plan for us all but I don't know what part (if any) I am supposed to play? xo

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Read through this thread, it's great. You can also post your own testimony.

Testimonies for the Lord

And welcome, sister, those in heaven have been waiting for you. I strongly suspect Jesus never left you.

SusyQ said:

As I am struggling with severe anxiety it drives me to put others first and neglect myself, so I guess I am wanting to know what the balance is!

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I did reach a point were I was stealing pain medication and showing
signs of organ failure, getting too little sleep and medicating my
pain from being a caregiver. You create new balance points as you go.
Asking people around you for help with specific problems keeps you going.

Greetings, and welcome to CF, SuzyQ. May you find godly encouragement and warm fellowship here, and may God enable you hear His voice and follow His leading. God bless you.