Christian truther in despair

Roidecoeur78 said:

Actually, it's been my experience that trials and temptations only amplified after Christ made himself known to me,

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Miss Babbit said:

Each denomination says something different. Do they not realise what a minefield this is for a beginner.

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When God blesses us with something very special, He does let Satan attack it with the exact opposite. So, for example, if God gives you a very special companion, there will be things to test your relationship. Along with such a kind and caring and sensitive and sharing person, there can be someone who is nasty and does things to mess with you and your friend.

But this can help to bring you to depend only on God and how He is able to keep all which He is committed to sharing with us. Trust Him for all He is committed to doing. No evil can stop or change God from however He is really committed to sharing with us.

And He has us loving the most awful people who are so anti-love against our special sharing with one another as Jesus family. He has us praying with hope and love and caring for the ones who threaten and attack our most special love sharing.

Love "hopes all things" (in 1 Corinthians 13:7).

Because God is about doing the impossible. And so we are wise not to try to handle problem people, ourselves They are here for God's reason; so you can save yourself a lot of prayer work, by not trying to get God to just make trouble people go away

And now I am feeding on how it is wise not to try to plan in advance how I might handle a trouble person. Because God is able in that time to have me doing better than what I could think up. And discover and enjoy how God takes care of things. Get more real in love, get real correction by God, before I get into something where a problem person might be. I can be my own and main real problem; trust me to how God wants to get me ready.

And don't be in a hurry only to solve a problem, but trust God and how He will use the problem for His good.

Even Paul our Apostle to the Gentiles had a problem with being tested. He tried to get the Lord to just make the problem go away. But Jesus was not about to grant Paul some quick-fix miracle of convenience >

2 Corinthians 12:7-15

Because all of us are human; no one is so spiritual on our own, that we can just make problems go away. But we can get with God and submit to how His grace takes care of us and has us even enjoying Him and all our loving, right while Satan is allowed to do the exact opposite. God's grace almighty succeeds in doing this with us; God is the One spiritual enough to do this in us.

So, you are not alone; every one of us needs God the same as you do

Miss Babbit said:

Hello I'm new here and would describe myself as a Christian "truther". A truther is a person who doesn't accept the mainstream narrative about news, politics, society etc and goes digging for the "truth" elsewhere.

I have found out a lot of truth in this world and I realise that the world stage is just all lies. I am well aware now that the devil is currently in charge and I also believe that we are soon to be entering the tribulation (my estimate is less than a decade from now)

I am the only person around that feels this way. My partner is not a truther and is a agnostic. My family are lukewarm/ worldly Roman Catholics and most of my friends are atheistic.

It was through digging for the truth that I became a born again Christian back in April this year.
I don't struggle with faith, my faith is solid and it often is the only thing in my life that keeps me going. It is the only truth.

The problem is that I don't want to be in the world anymore. I see through all the lies and the deceit and it makes me ill.
I have had a lot of abuse and bullying in my life and I thought that if I found the truth and faith then I would find peace. Yes I do find peace and comfort in God, Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit but I just don't want to be here on earth anymore. I want to go to the Father now! There is nothing here for me anymore. Life has no interest for me and being with God is all I want so being on a fallen earth is like torture.

I decided not to celebrate Christmas this year because of its pagan roots but because I was feeling flat anyway I just was depressed the whole time and everyone doing the usual stuff without me made things worse for me.

Recently God has spoken to me. He wants me to walk towards Christ in my life. He wants me to leave the burning and collapsing building that was my old life and walk towards Christ who is on the mountain in front of me. I know that he wants me to walk on air towards Christ. To not look at the burning building behind me and not look down. To trust Jesus with all my might and walk on air. Just as Peter tried to walk on water. (I don't mean literally. I'm not suicidal)

What this is the walk of Faith. I need to put all my trust in Jesus. Trust in Him for everything and not look back like Lot's wife did and not look down like Peter did. Walk in Faith alone towards my Saviour with his arms open to meet me.

I know what I have to do I just need to do it. At the moment I am clinging to the burning an collapsing building as it is all I know. It is what I know for the whole of my life.

Please pray for me as I make the leap of faith.
I am leaving the burning building and walking through the air towards Jesus.

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Philippians 3:14
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

May you faithfully continue as you press forward in your walk with Him. Amen.

The whole denomination thing sometimes seems like a weird trap. Different interpretations about some things, it's bound to happen, it always has, apostles were aware of it. Different cultural heritage, fine, can't help that either.

The point about football league is valid, in my opinion. It does seem like that. If I was in a "team", would I just be happy about making it, and taking the team colors as the sole purpose of my life? Would I start hating the other teams and treating their "players" as my enemy? What about someone on the sideline, just wanting to play football without getting in the middle of all that confusing crap, watching all of this? Would they just see a bunch of people, all gathered in their own corners, cursing every other corner to hell?

I know my profile says "Lutheran", since I can't find a way to just change it to Christian. I was baptized in a Lutheran church as an infant, but I don't think of myself as one first. I just think I'm first and foremost a Christian. I don't hate the church I was baptized in(to), but the "team" is not the point for me. And whenever I meet someone, their team shouldn't mean that much to me either. I'm reminded of this:

"Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand." - Romans 14

And I shouldn't always think that I'm the strong one who has to endure someone else's habits or differing faith. How do I know if I'm not the weak one myself? I know I won't give up Christ as the savior in my heart, and I will not compromise Him, God help me with that. But I don't want to give in to my feelings of contempt (which I still too often feel in some circumstances, to my shame) towards other believers under a different label. I wish there weren't any labels. But there are. But to an extent we can ignore them and treat each other like brothers and sisters. If someone asks me my opinion and understanding of some scripture or matter, I will answer, but I can't force anything on anyone. We can also all pray for each other, even when we're in disagreement. There are ways how we can become together, instead of running in opposite directions all the time.

And God knows that many people, from many different denominations, have shared their wisdom and comfort with me. They didn't look at me like some outcast, they saw me as a brother, and I thank them all.

I believe this, though: If Christ came back right now, this moment, no-one would try to appeal to Him like this: "Take me Christ Jesus, for I am [insert denomination]"! I don't think we can impress Him with the colors we wear (or with the colors we don't wear).

Miss Babbit said:

Sorry, I've not come here to do battle or be difficult.

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You don't seem to be trying to be difficult. But the problems you are sharing are . . . impossible . . . not only difficult. And this is why we need God

Every one of us is stuck with this. Not a one of us has been smart enough to know how to handle this. But God has blessed us so we can love the way Jesus wants.

In God's love we grow in His ability for how to relate with and care for and have hope for all the impossible people on this earth . . . including our own impossible selves!

Jesus says we need to deny our own selves . . . first, I understand . . . then take up our cross and follow Him > Luke 9:23-24.

So, my main problem is my own self! And the solution is to take up the cross of Jesus, I understand. And this includes to love any and all people, like Jesus on the cross had hope for any and all people > love "hopes all things" (in 1 Corinthians 13:7).

And how is your boyfriend doing, by the way? Is he getting anywhere with Jesus? We are praying for him, too, you know, with hope for him also.

So, I get how we need to first get into loving all these different people the way God has us loving them all. And do not let their differences and confusion have power over us. But we be their best friend by being their example of how to be with God and how to love.

"nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock." (1 Peter 5:3)

All those different ways and ideas can be a trick to get your attention away from how with Jesus you can help any person with your good example. This is about how Jesus is able > Matthew 11:28-30.

Miss Babbit said:

I am currently stuck at home with my KJV.
I have an Anglican, Salvation Army, two Catholics and one Methodist near me.
I literally have no clue why there is so many?
Why is there so many?
What should a baby Christian do?

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Oh, above, I guess I answered this to some extent. We always have more to grow and learn. So, it is so good to see you, again, and God bless you

Miss Babbit said:

I was very naive to think that Christianity would be sealed off from the world

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Yes, there can be people in any group who will be in your face telling you how their group is right and the others are wrong. But others in the same group can be even mature Christians who can help you.

So, let each person speak for oneself, please about what he or she believes plus how he or she understands the denominational group his or her church might be in. Often, ones will make a distinction and say, we have things which are the real important things, which other groups also have, but our differences are about what is not important.

So, please make sure you know about what is most important. And God's word can give you more and better than any group is saying, possibly And you can help people's attention

Miss Babbit said:

continuing the metaphor about denominations and football teams

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It can be the fans who are the worst, in how they treat other teams. But I see competing players who hug each other, they know one another, and they might even be best friends . . . among other things, maybe because they once were on the same team but got traded, or they were picked by different teams after being in the same school.

There are times when one will help a player of the other team to his feet after he is tackled. I heard how ones would tackle a star who had been out for a while, and they would hold him down while they told him they loved him and had missed him.

Because they respect each other; they know how hard they all work. They appreciate how certain ones can play with such talent.

Like this, maybe pastors of different groups respect each other, because they know what each other is going through, to handle the ones who are favoring only their own group and who can be fighting for power and position in their own churches, too.

So, have compassion ready, as you discover people.

"He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness." (Hebrews 5:2)

Miss Babbit said:

I shouldn't have been shocked by my Catholic mother's shock at my "Protestant" bible but I was! She looked at it as though it were a detestable thing!

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But Jesus left Heaven itself, in order to come to bless us . . . even though we have been so the way we have been.

So, Jesus is not the one with the conceit problem, is He? And His do not look down on you. So, Satan can speak for himself, if he is bullying you into supposing you are worthless and without hope.

Miss Babbit said:

I'm afraid that right now I am the WORST advert for Christianity so you'll need to hide me out the back, I'm no window dressing!

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But you are an opportunity for us to love you And then you be this way with others who are having problems.

Miss Babbit said:

I've probably completely turned my boyfriend off the faith.

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Let him speak for himself.

And trust God to turn you into more and more of an example.

Each day, start fresh; and each day give every other person a fresh start, with prayer for people.

"fr"

Miss Babbit said:

At the moment, I am the best advert for atheism going. Just stick my worried face next to a pile of Richard Dawkins books and watch those sales skyrocket!

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I would say don't boast whatever your failure can do, but trust all which God is able to do. He is easily able to win over however any of us have failed. So, just keep trusting Him. You have said some good things which we all need to be reminded of, so we can keep feeding on them; so . . . thank you

Miss Babbit said:

If it was just the world that was fallen that would be one thing but fallen-ness within the church itself..I was not prepared for.

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We expect a lot from other Christians. But look at the apostles. Judas betrayed the Lord for money. Peter denied Him. All but John ran away from the crucifixion, but it was supposedly John that ran away from the arrest at the garden. We're fallen, even the ones considered the most important. Maybe especially them.

I didn't pursue God because Catholic hypocrisy and ritual put me off. I was foolish to think that you couldn't have Jesus without Catholicism.

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So now you have found hypocrisy everywhere, and by now you have found everybody else invents their own little rituals to boot.

Now I am born again I am shocked to find again so much division within the walls of Christianity. I expected persecution and derision from people outside the faith but never from within it.

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Sadly, this is what we do. We are no better than average, yet we expect every other Christian to be so wonderful. Not many are. Yes, they do exist, but for every Mother Teresa you get a hundred like me, mediocre at best, petty, self-serving attackers of the good because they think they know better. We come in lukewarm Catholic varieties, rabid Bible-thumpers, compromised or ignorant or mean spirited or just plain evil sorts. And the worst seem to rise to the top.

It really has rocked my faith, it really has. Maybe all men really are liars and only God is true.

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All men (and women) are liars, and only God is true. It's a hard lesson. God provides some exemplars from time to time, just so we can set our compasses again and to know that it is possible. Look for the exemplars, the Mother Teresa sorts. They are out there. Not always in the news either, but they are there in every city and town.

Worst advert for Christianity? Not even close. There have been, still are, and will be, people who murder, beat down, abuse and deceit others in the name of their savior. Horrific stuff, and they're often very successful in it. There is a reason why people talk about christian hypocrisy, because they see people who talk about the love of God, but treat people with ways that have nothing to do with love - or God. They don't want people to be freed from their chains, they're putting on more.

Whenever I'm confused about doctrine, of I feel I don't understand everything (I will NEVER in this life understand everything), I comfort myself with this:

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful, it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

I do not treat Bible as some eloquent mystery that I have to solve by myself. I don't think I have to be the wisest man. I think it's the living word, and with guidance I can perhaps tomorrow understand something that I don't understand now, but to think of it as some overbearing task isn't good for me. What about the people who have less understanding than me? What about those who have mental handicaps? I am lowly, and my understanding is limited, and God doesn't love us for our intellect. I don't even know how many time's I've been wrong about scripture, or how many times I will be wrong about it. And even if I was right, what if I became a pharisee and started exalting myself, stepping on others? All that matters to me, an idiot on this planet, is Christ on the cross praying for those who crucified Him. Because they didn't know what they were doing. I don't often know what I'm doing either.

I can't solve everything, and I don't "understand all mysteries and all knowledge" but I can love. Do you know what brought me to Christ? The thought that perhaps, there is a God, and perhaps He can love even me with real love, not just words. Because I'm desperate and I need it. Do you know what keeps me believing in Christ, especially when I'm in the middle of a turmoil or suffering from weak faith? Love again, and I'm often comforted by loving people, encouraging me, and I crawl back to a loving God whose grace is amazing. The more I understand I need God's love, the more I allow God's love in, and the more I can love as a result. It's like a fountain that not only replenishes itself, it's growing. And it's God's work.

So don't worry. You'll be granted, in time, all the understanding, patience and wisdom you really need. He who seeks finds. You can ask anything good in prayer. Jesus said he'll give us whatever we ask. So pray. Pray for your peace of mind, pray for your boyfriend, pray for everything - and in time you will learn to trust Him. Because you'll have no other option. Whatever troubles and confusion and fears we have, we'll take to Him. If we want to take it all on ourselves, we will fail. Of course, because we are what are, we stray away and we try to do everything ourselves, because sometimes it's hard to trust something we can't see.

I'll use myself as an example. Whenever I have a battle with sin, or my (or loved ones') salvation, my first instinct is that I have to do it myself. I have to be holy. You know what happens? It gets worse. I start to live in fear. I start to worry. I get horrible anxiety. And I fall, again and again. When I finally come to my senses and understand that I just can't do this, I humble myself and go to Christ. It's like I have to learn everything the hard way, but again, in the end there's Christ, and a man crawling to Him. There's forgiveness, relief, joy in Him. I'm not beaten down anymore because I actually took my burdens and left them for Christ to take care of, and something grows in me. And what do I do, with such heavy weight taken from my heart? I'm grateful. I'm glad. I want to love more because I was loved first. If someone wants something, I want to give it to them. If someone needs comfort, I want to give it to them. I want to be like Christ to them, and treat them like they were Christ to me. People, who were like Christ to me, and treated me like I was Christ to them, have only encouraged me and my faith. I may respond to fear and condemnation, but in the end my faith is not based on it, at all.

Christ does this to me, no matter how many times I fall. I can only pray that I would always remember this. I'm not supposed to run around in fear, I'm supposed to actually trust God, that He is the Father who doesn't give us scorpions when we ask for bread. He gets to be God, I only get to be a lowly man. He gets to carry even our sins in Jesus Christ. And I get to believe it. And if I don't, I'll eventually find myself in a place where I have no other choice. It may sound "wrong" for some people, but to me it's an absolute comfort.

What you're going through is not a bad advert to anything. It's about an honest struggle, about a hungry heart searching for God in a confusing world. Everyone can relate to a struggle. And through struggles, we get more patience, perseverance, hope and faith. We're molded that way.

Said a prayer for you and your loved ones, for peace, guidance and comfort to come your way.

Miss Babbit said:

I just call myself a bible believing Christian now. My mum made such a fuss that I was reading the KJV bible! She said in horror "That's a Protestant bible!"

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The KJV is difficult for many people because it is rather archaic. I recommend the RSV, which even comes in a Catholic edition (RSVCE). It has become my main Bible. That said, I was reading just yesterday about those Anglicans in the Ordinariate (who had become Catholic and had kept their Anglican liturgy) wanting the KJV to be approved for Catholic use.

I find it odd that your family, which you described as lukewarm and worldly, would care which Bible you would read. Maybe they mostly fear you aren't being very lukewarm and worldly any more. Which could mean they wouldn't be all that happy if you even became an on fire Catholic.

Which one to choose?

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That needs a lot of discernment. A lot of being led by God. I really dislike the approach that one goes shopping for a church like one goes shopping for clothes or something. You should pray hard and listen until you hear God's calling. In that way you might end up in an uncomfortable place that forces you to grow much more than the comfortable place you would have picked. Being in a church is about discipleship, not about comfort. Nor is it about them agreeing with you on everything. It is about them teaching you truths you need to learn, teaching you how to pray, how to live. And not every teacher is faithful, even minimally.

Miss Babbit said:

I'm sorry to unburden all this onto you.

It feels good to talk with fellow Christians though.

If it was just the world that was fallen that would be one thing but fallen-ness within the church itself..I was not prepared for.

I didn't pursue God because Catholic hypocrisy and ritual put me off. I was foolish to think that you couldn't have Jesus without Catholicism.

Now I am born again I am shocked to find again so much division within the walls of Christianity. I expected persecution and derision from people outside the faith but never from within it.

It really has rocked my faith, it really has. Maybe all men really are liars and only God is true.

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He says do not trust in man, but in Him alone you got this with Jesus!!

if you are a truth seeker this will bless you, if not, it is wasted...