One last ditch effort...

Hello and welcome to CF I am sorry that you are facing this and will pray for you. I can tell you that pagan religions only "feel" good because they are a lie and of the devil.

Question: "How can I know if I am hearing God, hearing Satan, or hearing my own thoughts?"

Answer: Life is full of decisions that do not have absolute, specific-by-name, how-to directions in the Bible. How many hours a day should my kids watch TV? Is it okay to play shoot-ʼem-up video games? Am I allowed to go on a date with a co-worker? Does God get mad if I miss work because I stayed up too late the night before? We all have notions about the truth, but how do we know for sure that these ideas are coming from God? Am I hearing God? Or am I only hearing myself? Worse yet, am I hearing the temptations of Satan disguised as the leading of the Holy Spirit? Sometimes distinguishing our own ideas from God’s leading is difficult. And what if our urges are actually coming from the enemy of our souls and not from God? How do we “take every thought captive” (2 Corinthians 10:5) when we aren’t sure where the thoughts are coming from?

Most commonly, God communicates through the Bible, His inspired Word, preserved through the centuries for us today. It is through the Word that we are sanctified (John 17:17), and the Word is the light for our path (Psalm 119:105). God can also guide us through circumstances (2 Corinthians 2:12), the promptings of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), and godly mentors providing wise counsel (Proverbs 12:15). If God wants to speak to us, nothing can stop Him. Here are some ways to discern the source of our thoughts:

Pray
If we are confused about whether or not we are hearing God, it is good to pray for wisdom (James 1:5). (It’s good to pray for wisdom even when we don’t think we’re confused!) We should ask God to make His willknown to us clearly. When we pray, we “must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6). If we have no faith, we “should not expect to receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:7).

Talk to God in prayer and earnestly wait for His answer. However, keep in mind that God doesn’t give us everything we desire, and sometimes His answer is “no.” He knows what we need at any given time, and He will show us what is best. If God says, “No,” then we can thank Him for the clarity of His direction and move on from there.

Study the Word
The Bible is called “God’s Word” for a reason—it is the primary way God speaks to us. It is also the way we learn about God’s character and His dealings with people throughout history. All Scripture is “breathed out by God” and is the guide for a righteous life (2 Timothy 3:16). While we speak to God in prayer, He speaks to us through His Word. As we read, we must consider the words of the Bible to be the very words of God.

Any thought, desire, inclination, or urge we may have must be brought to the Word of God for comparison and approval. Let the Bible be the judge of every thought. “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). No matter how urgent the urge, if it goes against what Scripture says, then it is not of God and must be rejected.

Follow the Holy Spirit’s Leading
The Holy Spirit is God—a divine Being with a mind, emotions, and will. He is always with us (Psalm 139:7–8). His purposes include interceding for us (Romans 8:26–27) and giving gifts to benefit the church (1 Corinthians 12:7–11).

The Holy Spirit wills to fill us (Ephesians 5:18) and produce in us His fruit (Galatians 5:22–25). No matter what decisions we’re making day to day, we can’t go wrong when we exhibit love, joy, peace, etc., to the glory of God. When we have a random thought pop into our heads, we must learn to “test the spirits” (1 John 4:1). Will following this inclination lead to more Christlikeness? Will dwelling on this thought produce more of the fruit of the Spirit in me? The Holy Spirit will never lead us to gratify the sinful desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16); He will always lead us toward sanctification (1 Peter 1:2). Life on earth is a spiritual battle. The enemy is eager to supply diversions to distract us from God’s will (1 Peter 5:8). We must be vigilant to ensure that what we heed is more than a feeling but is truly from God Himself.

Remember, God wants to show us the right path to take. He’s not in the business of hiding His will from those who seek Him.

Here are some good questions to ask as we examine whether or not we are hearing God: Are the promptings confusing or vague? God is not the author of confusion; He is the bringer of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33). Do the thoughts go against God’s Word? God will not contradict Himself. Will following these promptings lead to sin? Those who “keep in step with the Spirit” have “crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24–25).

In addition, it is good to seek counsel from a Christian friend, family member, or pastor (Proverbs 15:22). Our pastors are there to help shepherd us: “Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account” (Hebrews 13:17).

God does not want us to fail. The more we listen to God, the better we will be at distinguishing His voice from the other noises in our heads. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, gives His promise: “He goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice” (John 10:4). Others may speak, “but the sheep [do] not listen to them” (verse 8). The better we know our Shepherd, the less we have to worry about heeding the wrong voice.

Anonymousme185 said:

Hi all,

So I was raised in a Christian home, confessed to be Christian and asked Jesus to save me and I feel absolutely nothing zero nada. I want to feel gods presence to know for sure God is there and that I'm saved and going to heaven but feel nothing, been to churches where (father of four here) they pretty much run us out due to my infant crying.
All in all I feel nothing and have asked God to help me and guess what I didn' receive an answer.
Everyone around me says just ask and you shall receive. Well I've been asking for over 12 years and I still feel no connection and have never felt guidance from the holy ghost.
I have studied the bible prayed hard and begged and pleaded with no response.

Now with that said I do know that there is a god in one instance I was in a really bad utv crash and never wore a seatbelt and something that day told me to put it on if I hadn't I would have been crushed. I still crushed my leg and foot(multiple surguries) but I'm still breathing. And also I've had alot of deja vu moments. Also alot of other moments in life that really shook me to my core.

Religion is a really big part of me but I feel a stark disconnect from the Christian religion and have honestly had nicer encounters with witches from Wiccan and pagan religions

I feel a resentment toward Christianity and God for leaving me out to dry with no spiritual water to quench my thirst. And feel like looking into other religions to look for answers.

Like I said I know God is real but I question anymore whether Christianity is fact or fiction.

And I've Ask for help before and got answers of wait and see, pray harder, keep asking God to save you etc and nothing has worked it shouldn't be that hard the bible is pretty clear on how to be saved.

Is there any advice you all could give me to help me in my last ditch effort to find God with christianity. This battle with christianity has been going on for 12 years and i still couldnt tell you 100% that im saved. So here lately Ive been looking into some of the pegan religions.

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Well faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17) It's not faith comes by hearing, and hearing by feeling supernatural stuff.Probably depending on the theology that was taught growing up, it could have been that it conditioned in you an expectation of God, that's different from the biblical reality of God. That an indication of God being in your life is by emotions or feeling, as opposed to Him being present through knowledge of the Word.

That type of expectation, having to obtain a feeling, makes God probably seem like someone far away, an "invisible man in the sky", in which you have to go through great lengths to reach Him. But the reality is that He is very accessible, very intimate, and reading the Word is how you get to understand the heart of God. It's like having a heart to heart with a best friend. The more you know them, the deeper the friendship.

Like any other type of relationship you have with others, how do you get to know a person, how do you become friends with someone? You ask questions, you get to know them, you build trust and reliance, you tell them about you, you confide in them, you do things that would deepen the friendship, you make plans involving them. You get to know their heart, and you share your heart with them. This starts first by seeking Him in the Word, once you hear Him out, then you will have faith. That's it.

Once you accept Christ, He's there with you. It's just a matter now of building up the friendship and establishing trust and confidence.

DM me if you do desire that, and I can try to help out with any questions you may have approaching it.

I have been where you are at. Not for as long, only a few years, but I know the horrible feeling.
In addition to what Scotty said, that is some good advice, when you see God don't put it down to coincidence.
Start seeing God in the small things.
If you walk by a lake and you see it is calm, think Psalm 23:2, He leads me by still waters.
When you read the Bible and you see something you did not notice before, thank Him.
Meditate on the Scriptures that show you God's love.
Example: Last week I was meditating on Isaiah 53:4, I have that Scripture down pat, but as I started thinking about each word, I did not make it past the first word before God showed me His love. Surely. I had
meditated on this verse many times, but SURELY had never hit me like it did that day.

Anonymousme185 said:

I have studied the bible prayed hard and begged and pleaded with no response.

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I've been a Christian for a few decades, and I could have written parts of your post, including the above. Maybe this is just me, but I'll offer this in hopes it will be constructive.

I have been the "pray hard" route, and found it had one purpose only - to bring me to the end of myself. I have prayed out my emotions, until I was empty. And then I came to a realization - I was rehearsing my own mind, will and emotions rather than actually talking and listening to God. IOW, the focus was me.

All those things are fine when they come naturally. Our mind, will and emotions are fundamental parts of us, and God is interested in them. But they are not substitutes for faith. Simple faith is what it takes to relate to God. Again and again that point is emphasized in the New Testament.

Oftentimes I have prayed out an issue in that manner, until I reached the point where I was indeed "prayed out". What was there to do at that point? Simply to get up off my knees, knowing that I had brought the issue to the Father, and to trust that in His time and in His way He would answer my prayer.

It comes down to a question of trust. Do you trust that God hears your prayer? Heb 11.6 says He is pleased when we believe He is the rewarder of those who seek Him. Sometimes trust looks more like quietly believing He has heard and out of His goodness He will answer, than like continuing to beg and plead to be heard. In an odd way, the latter sometimes can be our demand that God answers us our preferred way, and that's not going to work.

He is the Ancient of Days, and the Great King, after all, and He deserves all the respect and trust we can offer to Him. Simply state your case, and then honor Him by trusting in His goodness and by expecting Him to respond from His sovereign almighty power. This kind of trust is genuine, and is the basis of true relationship. You will find that He indeed will honor you for honoring Him (1Sam 2.30), and you will find the faith you have been looking for.

Anonymousme185 said:

Hi all,

So I was raised in a Christian home, confessed to be Christian and asked Jesus to save me and I feel absolutely nothing zero nada. I want to feel gods presence to know for sure God is there and that I'm saved and going to heaven but feel nothing, been to churches where (father of four here) they pretty much run us out due to my infant crying.
All in all I feel nothing and have asked God to help me and guess what I didn' receive an answer.
Everyone around me says just ask and you shall receive. Well I've been asking for over 12 years and I still feel no connection and have never felt guidance from the holy ghost.
I have studied the bible prayed hard and begged and pleaded with no response.

Now with that said I do know that there is a god in one instance I was in a really bad utv crash and never wore a seatbelt and something that day told me to put it on if I hadn't I would have been crushed. I still crushed my leg and foot(multiple surguries) but I'm still breathing. And also I've had alot of deja vu moments. Also alot of other moments in life that really shook me to my core.

Religion is a really big part of me but I feel a stark disconnect from the Christian religion and have honestly had nicer encounters with witches from Wiccan and pagan religions

I feel a resentment toward Christianity and God for leaving me out to dry with no spiritual water to quench my thirst. And feel like looking into other religions to look for answers.

Like I said I know God is real but I question anymore whether Christianity is fact or fiction.

And I've Ask for help before and got answers of wait and see, pray harder, keep asking God to save you etc and nothing has worked it shouldn't be that hard the bible is pretty clear on how to be saved.

Is there any advice you all could give me to help me in my last ditch effort to find God with christianity. This battle with christianity has been going on for 12 years and i still couldnt tell you 100% that im saved. So here lately Ive been looking into some of the pegan religions.

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Hello brother, man I really feel for you through all of this. Be aware of this, that Christianity in it's proper form, is the opposite of a pact with the devil, whereas there are many false religions (yes, even so-called Christian religions) that leads a person to believe in such a way that they are stuck in opposition to The Holy Spirit. They make a pact with the devil to believe a deceitful religion (very rarely does the person know that their pact is with the devil - often they have genuinely been deceived to believe that they worship a good entity).

Now of those who genuinely pursue Christianity, they must walk a narrow path of truth leading to life, because any divergence from the truth does in fact yield them to deception and when they have committed themselves to believing a lie, they place their will power toward it, in order to fight against the truth that opposes them. This makes them of the sort described by Jesus in Matthew 6:22-23.

When a person has yielded to believe contrary to the truth, they are of the devil, the father of lies. There are many, many so-called Christians that have fallen into this state of error, and this was foreseen by Jesus, (for example Luke 19:14, John 12:35, Matthew 13:27-28), and it was anticipated by the apostles of the early church (2 Peter 2:2, 2 Thessalonians 2:3).

So you see that truth will sometimes not be as appealing as a deception (for instance, are you able to find a church that operates to serve in Holy Spirit, as in Mark 10:42-44?).

I'll just wait to see what your thoughts are in response to that, hopefully it inspires you to think that there's really something of value in the knowledge of Jesus (knowledge belongs to the one who gives it - Proverbs 23:23, Matthew 13:45, Luke 8:17, Matthew 10:8, Matthew 5:33-37), that is worth digging for.

Mskriskris said:

Well faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17) It's not faith comes by hearing, and hearing by feeling supernatural stuff.Probably depending on the theology that was taught growing up, it could have been that it conditioned in you an expectation of God, that's different from the biblical reality of God.

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Yes, this is a mature reflection; there is a lot of unrealistic discourse in professing evangelicalism which is sometimes more rooted in the imagination and emotion than in a Spirit-led sustained scrutiny of the Biblical doctrines of the Christian faith.

Hi anonymous,

In response to your complaint:

Anonymousme185 said:

been to churches where (father of four here) they pretty much run us out due to my infant crying.

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Most fellowships offer child care for infants and small children. As a parent I love my son. He is the dearest person to me that I know, I would even go so far as to say that he is dearer to me than my wife in some aspects. But when he was infant, he was put in the nursery. I did this out of respect for others in the worship service. It is very troubling to sit in a service trying to glean from the teaching of a pastor and sitting next to a fidgety or crying child. As a responsible adult who thinks more of the concerns for those who are trying to gain from their pastor's teaching, a child who has absolutely no comprehension of what's going on should be left in the care of those who can allow him to play and make noise.

A lot of people go to worship services to worship God and not to ooh and aaah over someone's baby.

BTW, I'm confused why you pretend yourself to be a christian and yet put your post in the 'non-christian struggles' group. That says something. If you'd like to be born again I'd be happy to help you in that. Let me know.

God bless you,
In Christ, ted

There's two thoughts here, one: thankyou for inspiring me to reboot my faith - I need a faith that is about memories, not thoughts.

Two, what you have to remember whether you are reengineering your faith or not, is that it is a shared effort: first you are saved from the perspective of the end, then you match your being saved at the end,, with what being saved means to you now - and you promise yourself if you can, that you will do that to the end (at the point where both meet).

I too would like to hear from God, but the closest I got was dreaming up words for Him to use,, which as yet He has not (used).

The key you will find in this, is that if - like me - you are shifting away from merely thinking about religion, God's memories will start to complete your walk with Him: it is His work of memory, not yours ("without Me you can do nothing" - gospels, John?).

Anonymousme185 said:

Honestly I thank you all for your advice and replies. And I posted in the non Christian section because honestly I didn' know where else to post lol.

Anyway let me elaborate a little more on the feeling part. At church you always hear about these people whose life completely changed and even the day I got saved(tried to anyway) you could see others with pure emotion crying laughing etc. And then when it came to me I felt nothing absolutely nothing. I wanted so bad to feel a rollercoaster of emotions but in the end I went home and slept as if it was any other day. My life didn' change in the least and I prayed and prayed that God change me. Then I prayed and prayed for God to save me every night for the longest time and still nothing because I thought if I was saved I would change. Also I've been drawn to the darker things in religions I've wanted magick for example and try out Ouija bored Because paranormal things seem to interest me. I prayed that God would get rid of those interests and thoughts and still nothing. In the later years I've fallen away from Christianity due to the fact it seems like God isn't interested in changing me. I studied Islam and other religions but they never registered with me. Then I came to witchcraft/Wicca yesterday and that made me feel something other than empty for the first time in my life and I had just started to read into it but I instantly felt at home even tho it seems odd to me. But I remembered I wanted God to come into my life to change me and I made this post here for advice. But the fact remains I still feel an oddball. I don' see in my life what God has done for others. And it makes me question whether the darker part of me is too much and God dosnt want to deal with me

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God will only receive you in the way that is going to ensure your salvation (consider Luke 8:4-15). I can discern by the way you are speaking, that you are of a quality of intellect that loves the truth and you cannot bear to follow a lie. This is why you did not concede to partake of the emotional euphoria of the hypnosis in that church you mentioned. You are too strong-willed to allow that in all honesty, and God knowing this, does not want to diminish your potential just so that you would join a church in His name (with the associated risks that come to those who have only a shallow root). So He has not yet conceded to settle for less than your whole heart, because there is yet a chance that you might drink of the water that Jesus gives (John 4:14).

Now you are also especially proactive and open minded, and at this stage of special enthusiasm, you are turning to religions that openly oppose Jesus Christ - that is to say that they are of a demonic root. Those ones don't mind using flattery and hypnosis to impress you, because all they want is captives - whatever it takes to win your heart through vainglory and then lead you on a path opposing the sovereignty of Jesus Christ. Those spirits aren't truly interested in your eternal well-being as we are (1 Timothy 6:16, John 14:3, John 14:6). They are the thief that regards the human only as a tangible item for possession, a vehicle, potentially disposable property but also a potentially valuable instrument for effect in the world (John 10:10, Ecclesiastes 9:6, John 8:44). This is the exact tree you are barking up by name when you write about finding a warm welcome in witchcraft, whereas Christianity is all about freedom through knowing the truth with no strings attached (John 8:32, James 5:12, Revelation 2:7).

Hi anonymous,

What one 'feels' when they decide to turn their life over to the Lord isn't really what's important. However, if we trust the words of Jesus, there will apparently be a lot of people who 'turned their life over to the Lord' by their own admission, but somehow didn't make the grade in the end.

I believe that there are two things that a person should be able to identify as happening in their life once they are born again. Jesus says that we must be born again to enter the kingdom of God. What does that mean? I can tell you that for me, and I believe it to be true of every truly born again believer, we cross over from believing what the world tells us to believing what God tells us. This process, if you will, of being born again is explained to us as having the indwelling Holy Spirit living within us. That Spirit, according to Jesus, will convict us of both sin and righteousness.

So, we should begin to feel convicted in our heart when we are doing what is right in God's sight and we should also feel a conviction in our heart when we are doing what is wrong in God's sight. We should also begin to understand that the only truth that we can know to be the truth of spiritual things and the things of God, is the word of God. Now, I'm not speaking of just Jesus as the Word of God, although we should fully understand that everything he told us was the truth also, but the Scriptures. Paul wrote to us that the very most important chief reason for anyone even wanting to claim to be a Jew was that they were entrusted with the very oracles of God. What we read in the Scriptures, which today we call the bible, are not words and ideas that came from some human person as we find in all other books. Paul tells us that the Scriptures came to us as holy men of God were led to write by the wisdom and knowledge and authority of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not in the business of lying or prodding men to write down things that are just 'filler' to wile away the hours of our days. His job, in the writing and completion of the Scriptures that Jesus spoke of, was to give us an accurate and true account of God; who He is and what He is asking of us and all that He has done since the creation for us.

There are some fairly unbelievable accounts found written within the Scriptures that the world will tell you just couldn't possibly be true. For the one who is born of the Spirit of God, what he knows is that the world is lying to him and the Scriptures are telling him the truth.

When one is born again, then I believe that this truth begins to be realized by the person so born. Do you have that conviction?

Secondly, and this is likely what you are seeing in others who display some demeanor of joy and tears, once one is born again, that person begins to love God. I don't mean know about God and able to spout off all the Scriptures by memory verse by verse. I mean have a real relationship of love and understanding of who God is. Some of those you see with tears flowing at the moment they confess Jesus is that they are beginning to have a real appreciation for what God is giving them. That they are sinners who deserve to die the second death and be placed among the wicked outside the gates of Zion, but God, through His offer of eternal life through His Son, Jesus, have delivered them from that eventuality. They fully understand the depth and the meaning to their existence that God has given them eternal life with Him. It's like a prisoner on death row who has sat for years and years awaiting the day that they will be put to death and then they receive a pardon for their crime. That person is very likely to just break down with tears and babbling of thankfulness that his life has been spared. We are that prisoner! When we begin to realize and appreciate just exactly what God has done for us, in most people, it brings a pretty strong emotional response.

So, I believe that once one is born again, they begin to understand that the Scriptures are true and have a real appreciation for just what exactly God has done for them. Do you have such an understanding of these things?

If not, it's not to late to turn your religiosity into true faith.

Listen please very carefully to Jesus' words to his disciples. If you'd like to look them up to see if what I'm writing to you is the truth of the Scriptures, you will find what I'm about to post in the book of Matthew, as we divide the Scriptures, chapter 7 verses 21-23:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Let me set this scene for you just a bit so that maybe you'll appreciate fully what Jesus is saying to his audience here. This passage of the Scripture comes out of what is referred to as Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Jesus had been traveling throughout the cities of Israel and everywhere he went there were crowds of people following him and he would take time to teach them at various times. He would stop and offer some instruction and knowledge to whatever group was following him. According to the gospel accounts, this would happen all the time with him.

However, this particular account of such an event is the most complete account of the things he would say and do when he'd stop and have these group teachings. In this account we find him giving people instruction about many of the things that comprised what a follower of his should be doing. He opens by telling people 'who' will be receiving this blessing of God's eternal life that he had been promoting along his journey. He tells them that such people as those who will believe in him will be the salt of the earth, but if they loose their salt savor, then they will be worthless.

He tells them that he isn't teaching anything that would deny the law of God that they already knew through Moses, but had come to fulfill the whole of that law. The law was all about what one had to do to be right with God and it was full of the blood and sacrifice of animals to gain temporary cleansing of their sin, but his sacrifice would be the once and for all permanent and only effective sacrifice for sin. Then he covers several specific sins. Murder, adultery, divorce, the making of oaths, seeking retribution from others and loving others. He teaches them about prayer and fasting and the things they should be striving for in this life. He tells them about judging others. He then describes how gracious God, his Father, will be if we just seek after Him. He then tells them that it won't all be a bed of roses and that the way to follow him is a narrow way. That there will only be a few that find it. He warns us of false prophets. Those who are going to tell you all the wrong things about who God is and what God expects of you. Be wary! Be very careful!

But, and this is very important to understand. He also warns us concerning each one of us individually against being a false disciple. The people that he uses to represent false disciples seem to have a very, very strong faith. They make claims to Jesus on the day of his Father's judgment that they did great miracles and prophesied 'in Jesus' name'. So, these aren't muslims or hindus or buddhists or atheists. These are people who represent to us in this life on the earth now, as being 'christians'. Jesus even opens this part of his teaching by saying, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." We have a responsibility in all of this and so be careful when you listen to all those naysayers that anything we do makes our salvation some kind of works based salvation. Jesus is pretty clear that we must strive to do the will of the Father. This desire to do the will of the Father will be directly driven by our love of God.

So, I hope that in all this that you will understand that the promise of God's salvation is not for those who see going to worship services and reading the Scriptures and praying and loving God as some sort of religious act. This is about loving God. Caring about what God thinks because you love Him. Just as you likely care about what your wife thinks and want to do things that please her because you love her. Your love for God should be greater and stronger than any love you have for some other human person.

The law and Jesus say that we are to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. Everything that we are should be about loving God. That's the life of the born again disciple of Jesus. Do you have that life?

God bless,
In Christ, ted

Anonymousme185 said:

Thanks again for the responses,
I have to say the hardest thing for me is to truly want a relationship with God and feel rejected. Let me put it to you the easiest way I know how.

My relationship with Christianity feels like I've put in everything my whole being my soul my life, all of it. Then being rejected disowned and left in a deep dark corner covered with dust just left to rot. And it seems like no matter how hard I try the I get no closer to the relationship I want. Quite like getting married only to learn she wants nothing to do with me only wanted my money,house, etc. And to find she has a lover.

That' the best way I know how to describe it. I hate this feeling and the only way the feeling ceases is when I start looking at God from a different perspective than the Christian perspective. Though it feels weird as well. It' kind of like I'm watching the family of God from a window outside in the snow all I want is to come in and get warm and commune with the father but no matter how hard I bang he won't unlock the door

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Hi anonymous,

Then I'd have to say that your relationship isn't the one that God is seeking. God has promised that for those who love Him, He will never leave us or forsake us. So, where's the disconnect? Is God a liar or is your relationship not what He's looking for in one of His children?

It's a tough question, but I believe one that you really need to answer if eternal life is what you seek. You need to be honest with yourself in your assessment. You certainly, I don't think, want to be one those poor souls that Jesus turns away on the day of his Father's judgment. Someone who desired all their life to follow God and did great things in the name of His Son, but doesn't make the cut. I would think that for such a person it would be better for them to just turn away and accept that they're going to be cast out on that day. At least then you can live your life how you want to live your life and have a season of satisfaction similar to what Timothy McVeigh seems to have exampled in his final words to us.

Jesus spoke to people about the gospel. He related it to them in a way in which they could understand and I think it important to consider his words. He spoke of the spreading of the gospel as being similar to a farmer sowing seed for his crop. The farmer pulls out of his bag a handful of seed and scatters it over the ground. Some of the seed lands on the hard trodden path and it is just useless wasted seed. It has no chance to root and grow because the dirt is just too hard packed for the roots of a germinating seed to penetrate into it.

Some of the seed lands among a stand of thorn bushes near the field and the earth under those thorn bushes is soft enough for the seed to root, but the thorn bushes themselves take up all the sunlight and nutrients that the seed needs to continue growing. He likens this part of the spread seed as being people who hear the gospel and at first accept it as the truth that it is, but as they continue living what they had hoped to be a new life, the successes of others who are just living in the world and believing all that the world tells them, snuffs out their faith. They turn back to what they were before they heard the gospel.

Some of the seed lands in places in the field where the arable soil is thin. The seed begins to root, but then as the plant grows bigger and bigger, there isn't enough loose soil to allow the roots to continue growing and so the plant exists but is always stunted in it's growth and can't produce a crop because it's so busy struggling to just stay alive with it's shallow root system. This is the one who hears the gospel and at first believes it, but then the trials and tribulations of life cause them to turn away. It can be exampled in the words found in Job's life. We are told early on in the story that all these bad things happened to Job, but never once did he consider cursing God or abandoning his faith in God because of all the trials and tribulations that Satan was bringing into his life. But, keep in mind, Job didn't know that his suffering was due to Satan's attempt to turn him away from God.

Finally, we read of the seed that was cast over good arable land. The soil was loose and deep enough to allow the roots of the seed to gain purchase and to keep going deeper into the soil to hold and nourish the plant as it grew into a good plant with lots of fruit. That's what we want. We want to hear the gospel and believe the gospel. But, we also want to be able to maintain our faith despite the storms of life and the heavy rains and thunderclaps that are going to come upon us as we grow in our faith and trust and love of our God. Just as the strong plant will have the resources within its root system to bring the plant back to a full life even after the torrential rains and hail may have decimated the plant that is on top of the soil.

That's how Jesus described those who hear the gospel. Now, you're at the point where you've heard the gospel. You at first believed and, according to your own testimony, gave your life to the Lord. But now the storms of life are coming upon you. What are you going to do? Turn away...or work to strengthen your faith in what you believe?

God bless,
In Christ, ted

Anonymousme185 said:

But I remembered I wanted God to come into my life to change me

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Where do you think this memory came from?
Not the Devil.
Not your flesh.

No, this memory came from God.
Start noticing God in everything. And thank Him for revealing Himself to you.
When something just works out, don't put it down to coincidence, thank God He blessed you.
Romans 1 says, "When they knew God, they clorified Him not as God, neither were thankful" then they went on a downward spiral.
When you notice something good happen, glorify God, not somebody other than God.

Anonymousme185 said:

Hi all,

So I was raised in a Christian home, confessed to be Christian and asked Jesus to save me and I feel absolutely nothing zero nada. I want to feel gods presence to know for sure God is there and that I'm saved and going to heaven but feel nothing, been to churches where (father of four here) they pretty much run us out due to my infant crying.
All in all I feel nothing and have asked God to help me and guess what I didn' receive an answer.
Everyone around me says just ask and you shall receive. Well I've been asking for over 12 years and I still feel no connection and have never felt guidance from the holy ghost.
I have studied the bible prayed hard and begged and pleaded with no response.

Now with that said I do know that there is a god in one instance I was in a really bad utv crash and never wore a seatbelt and something that day told me to put it on if I hadn't I would have been crushed. I still crushed my leg and foot(multiple surguries) but I'm still breathing. And also I've had alot of deja vu moments. Also alot of other moments in life that really shook me to my core.

Religion is a really big part of me but I feel a stark disconnect from the Christian religion and have honestly had nicer encounters with witches from Wiccan and pagan religions

I feel a resentment toward Christianity and God for leaving me out to dry with no spiritual water to quench my thirst. And feel like looking into other religions to look for answers.

Like I said I know God is real but I question anymore whether Christianity is fact or fiction.

And I've Ask for help before and got answers of wait and see, pray harder, keep asking God to save you etc and nothing has worked it shouldn't be that hard the bible is pretty clear on how to be saved.

Is there any advice you all could give me to help me in my last ditch effort to find God with christianity. This battle with christianity has been going on for 12 years and i still couldnt tell you 100% that im saved. So here lately Ive been looking into some of the pegan religions.

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I would be Christian but I value God's law, logic and reality over mere belief and therefore cannot. All belief is fiction. Anything that can be doubted is belief. God is not just real but reality itself. We as humans build little delusional worlds on top of it but God was always the foundation. The more you stop trying to hold onto opinions and instead surrender them, the more the delusion you have created fades and the closer to God you get. Value forgiveness and surrender what you have created, realize that by God's standards you've been completely insane your entire life, you have no idea what reality is.. but you can because it doesn't change and we're not separate from it, only ignoring it, replacing it in every moment with our own fabricated ones.

Air is to us as water is to fish. The kingdom of heaven is not a place that humans go, when you arrive there you will no longer have any semblance of a human. There is a transformation that must occur by the individual's own choice, before or after death there is virtually no difference.

Anonymousme185 said:

the only way the feeling ceases is when I start looking at God from a different perspective than the Christian perspective

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If you look at this from my perspective as an investigator, this is a very specific root of the problem. I'd like to know what your thoughts are about that, ie: why do you suppose this is happening to you (remember that some people do not have this problem). Do you have any ideas how, when and why it has got a hold of you to make you feel this way? .. those sorts of questions that I would be asking in order to understand.

Anonymousme185 said:

Ok, well I ended yesterday with the real thought that I was done here in the Christian faith idk what it is but I can' let go that easily and the spirit realm kinda scares the crap out of me (Yeah I studied witchcraft and it' seems to risky)

So with that being said how do I pick up the pieces how do I forge a strong relationship and to know I'm 100% saved and not just hoping to be I want God. How do I enter in a relationship with God that' beneficial for me to the point where I feel the love.

Also as far as churches go I don't and never did really like going. To me they feel fake like everything is forced the people feel fake. And I never did well in crowds I was told long story short that I was an empath and that was why i hated crowds by a friend but I'll let you Google that if you don't know what it is or means.

Again thanks for the push to help me give this one last go one last time before hanging it up. I just want a relationship with God where I feel the love back like I mean something. ANF I definitey did not want to be the one who tricks himself into thinking he is saved and then boom get denied at the gates.

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Probably the place to start would be to work on not allowing some spiritually pretentious Christians try to imply to you that they've just "found the Spirit in all it's glory." No, the reality of the Church, even as it attempts to try to live up to the stature of Jesus, is often one that is messy and at times psychologically 'gory.' And by that I mean, we all need help, even those you'll hear in the church who shout, "Praise God, Hallelujah!," the loudest. You'll find out that they're just people like you and me ... who also need God's grace every day.

Anonymousme185 said:

Ok, well I ended yesterday with the real thought that I was done here in the Christian faith idk what it is but I can' let go that easily and the spirit realm kinda scares the crap out of me (Yeah I studied witchcraft and it' seems to risky)

So with that being said how do I pick up the pieces how do I forge a strong relationship and to know I'm 100% saved and not just hoping to be I want God. How do I enter in a relationship with God that' beneficial for me to the point where I feel the love.

Also as far as churches go I don't and never did really like going. To me they feel fake like everything is forced the people feel fake. And I never did well in crowds I was told long story short that I was an empath and that was why i hated crowds by a friend but I'll let you Google that if you don't know what it is or means.

Again thanks for the push to help me give this one last go one last time before hanging it up. I just want a relationship with God where I feel the love back like I mean something. ANF I definitey did not want to be the one who tricks himself into thinking he is saved and then boom get denied at the gates.

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Yup, seconding 2philovoid (from what I can see), that Jesus needs you to take the talents that you already have, and get in amongst the church to help Him with the battle in that place.

I know what you are saying by describing that the church feels fake and forced. Keep in mind that no person comes into Christianity with all their knowledge ironed out. So there's a lot of niggles and kinks in the churches and there's some quite gnarly stuff out there too.. every church is different. But if you go everywhere knowing that at any time you were to meet Jesus He would put His arm round your shoulder and walk with you, that's all you need. Try to avoid getting bogged down in egotistical spats about the proper way to be Christian (2 Timothy 2:23-26). Just go there, sing to The Lord, shake their hands and give them a smile that warms their heart. If you can give someone the honour of teaching you something while also expanding their mind, then you'll be doing God's work better than most.

As for being assured of your salvation, that is made solid as you keep seeking it out in all honesty as you are already doing. You will come to know discernment, the difference between someone's heart of hate that says judgemental things (1 John 3:14), and the real conviction of The Holy Spirit that comes by grace. (here's an example of the grace with which He speaks when He convicts: Revelation 2:13-16).

.. and question your doctrines too! Like everyone else, you have probably picked up a few strange ideas (from the likes of those mentioned in 2 Peter 2:1). I'm not to go into that with you today, but I would like to share with you some of what I have already discovered that way. I produce a pocket-sized booklet that I share with people, that covers the core topics in Christianity by showing what the scriptures have to say. It is produced in such way that it fits with every denomination, and it equips a person with a beneficial understanding that they can carry into any church.

It's good to have received this news today of what you have already found out and the direction you have decided to go, so make sure that you stay near to us and put in two cents here and there, wherever it might be an idea that is helpful to someone

Good one!