Wanting to know Jesus

RyanB92

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Hi, my name is Ryan and I am 26. I was raised Catholic but stopped participating in the church as a teenager, and overall Catholicism was a very bad experience for me. Which caused me to shun any idea of God or Jesus for years.

Lately I have been feeling an urge to learn more about Jesus and begin a relationship with him. I have found myself reading lots, which is strange for me as I have tried to distance myself from religion for so long.

I want to bring Jesus into my life but I do not know if I truly believe in him or how to even begin to believe in something I cant be sure exists.And I don't know how or if I can open myself and let him into my life.

So I have still been reading and learning and thats why I am making an account here! Hopefully I can see some peoples stories of how they began their relationship with jesus and learn how I can start to let him in. Thanks :)
 

devin553344

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Hi, my name is Ryan and I am 26. I was raised Catholic but stopped participating in the church as a teenager, and overall Catholicism was a very bad experience for me. Which caused me to shun any idea of God or Jesus for years.

Lately I have been feeling an urge to learn more about Jesus and begin a relationship with him. I have found myself reading lots, which is strange for me as I have tried to distance myself from religion for so long.

I want to bring Jesus into my life but I do not know if I truly believe in him or how to even begin to believe in something I cant be sure exists.And I don't know how or if I can open myself and let him into my life.

So I have still been reading and learning and thats why I am making an account here! Hopefully I can see some peoples stories of how they began their relationship with jesus and learn how I can start to let him in. Thanks :)

Jesus is sort of a non-threatening person. There shouldn't be any reason not to let Him in. He is love and loves us and wants what's best for us. He showed us this in the New Testament. He healed, fed, and raised from the dead and forgave sins. What's not to like about Him really?

Welcome to CF :wave:
 
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RyanB92

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Jesus is sort of a non-threatening person. There shouldn't be any reason not to let Him in. He is love and loves us and wants what's best for us. He showed us this in the New Testament. He healed, fed, and raised from the dead and forgave sins. What's not to like about Him really?

Welcome to CF :wave:
I do want to know and let him in, I think the problem is the belief? I dont know if I trily have faith in him, and without that can I truly let him in? Thanks for the welcome :)
 
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Jonaitis

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Here's some quick videos for you to explore:

Christianity Different From Other Religions (while I don't agree with everything in this video, there are some things you can take from it).

Are You A Good Person?

This Youtube Channel, called Living Waters, has a street preacher (Ray Comfort) who interviews individuals from all kinds of backgrounds while sharing the good news with them about how they should get right with God.
 
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devin553344

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I do want to know and let him in, I think the problem is the belief? I dont know if I trily have faith in him, and without that can I truly let him in? Thanks for the welcome :)

My belief in Jesus comes from the Holy Spirit. If you want to know if God is real, then I would suggest getting baptized and have the Holy Ghost conveyed to you thru the laying on of the hands if you haven't already: Acts 8:17. The Holy Ghost testifies of God and gives us belief in Jesus the Christ. I believe you must first act in hope by being baptized and receiving the Holy Spirit, then a testimony will come to you if you seek it in faith.
 
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d taylor

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Hi, my name is Ryan and I am 26. I was raised Catholic but stopped participating in the church as a teenager, and overall Catholicism was a very bad experience for me. Which caused me to shun any idea of God or Jesus for years.

Lately I have been feeling an urge to learn more about Jesus and begin a relationship with him. I have found myself reading lots, which is strange for me as I have tried to distance myself from religion for so long.

I want to bring Jesus into my life but I do not know if I truly believe in him or how to even begin to believe in something I cant be sure exists.And I don't know how or if I can open myself and let him into my life.

So I have still been reading and learning and thats why I am making an account here! Hopefully I can see some peoples stories of how they began their relationship with jesus and learn how I can start to let him in. Thanks :)

The point in the Bible, is not directed to a person to let Jesus in (their life).
The Bible states if a person wants eternal life, they are directed to believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah from Old Testament prophecies. If they do believe that, then they should trust in Jesus the Messiah for the gift of His eternal life. That is what the Bible is directing people who are looking for eternal life to do.

Eternal life is found in Jesus nowhere else.
 
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HTacianas

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Hi, my name is Ryan and I am 26. I was raised Catholic but stopped participating in the church as a teenager, and overall Catholicism was a very bad experience for me. Which caused me to shun any idea of God or Jesus for years.

Lately I have been feeling an urge to learn more about Jesus and begin a relationship with him. I have found myself reading lots, which is strange for me as I have tried to distance myself from religion for so long.

I want to bring Jesus into my life but I do not know if I truly believe in him or how to even begin to believe in something I cant be sure exists.And I don't know how or if I can open myself and let him into my life.

So I have still been reading and learning and thats why I am making an account here! Hopefully I can see some peoples stories of how they began their relationship with jesus and learn how I can start to let him in. Thanks :)

Welcome to the forums. First, you should return to your Catholic Church. Participate in the sacraments. If you have questions post them here.
 
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Carl Emerson

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My belief in Jesus comes from the Holy Spirit. If you want to know if God is real, then I would suggest getting baptized and have the Holy Ghost conveyed to you thru the laying on of the hands if you haven't already: Acts 8:17. The Holy Ghost testifies of God and gives us belief in Jesus the Christ. I believe you must first act in hope by being baptized and receiving the Holy Spirit, then a testimony will come to you if you seek it in faith.
These folks you refer to were already believers. Ryan is seeking Jesus and needs to be born again first.
Ryan, for starters, I suggest you ask Jesus to reveal Himself to you so you have no doubt about who He is.
He wants us to be sure about Him.

Blessings,

Carl Emerson.
 
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NBB

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Ask Jesus in prayer that you want to know him but you are not sure how things really are. That he helps you with this. He is real and very good!
You can tell him you want a relationship with him and ask him to save you. Just be sincere.
Seek God. he can do a lot with peoples lifes.
 
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RyanB92

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Thanks guys :)
As for the Catholic church, I havent been in over ten years and dont plan to. Definitely not for me.

Tonight I prayed to God to make himself known to me and to find faith in Him and Jesus. I truly want to know Jesus so hopefully things will become clear.
 
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Mark Quayle

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Welcome to the forums. First, you should return to your Catholic Church. Participate in the sacraments. If you have questions post them here.
Maybe that is the very thing NOT to do. You assign validity to a system that drove him away from God by its inanity. There are believers more reasonable than Catholics, that rely on no system as such.
Hi, my name is Ryan and I am 26. I was raised Catholic but stopped participating in the church as a teenager, and overall Catholicism was a very bad experience for me. Which caused me to shun any idea of God or Jesus for years.

Lately I have been feeling an urge to learn more about Jesus and begin a relationship with him. I have found myself reading lots, which is strange for me as I have tried to distance myself from religion for so long.

I want to bring Jesus into my life but I do not know if I truly believe in him or how to even begin to believe in something I cant be sure exists.And I don't know how or if I can open myself and let him into my life.

So I have still been reading and learning and thats why I am making an account here! Hopefully I can see some peoples stories of how they began their relationship with jesus and learn how I can start to let him in. Thanks :)
Hello Ryan. I don't wish to be contentious or clannish, but I began my life in a system that I have pretty well abandoned, when I found myself unable to believe in it. I believe in Christ, God himself, but not much of the things I hear about the relationship with him. Your belief in him is not part your work and part his. It is all his work and it will involve all your will and desire. GOD does the changing, not your decision. But yes your decision is all-important.

Many who agree with me, say the distinction is unimportant, but I say that is the very reason I abandon much of what I was told when I was younger. Salvation that depends on the integrity of my decisions, or the strength of my will, or the intensity of my emotions, is no salvation.

It is not you who begins this relationship. It may well be that he has already begun the change. Talk to him.
 
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Mathetes66

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I agree with Carl. I decided to become a committed follower of the Lord Jesus Christ by reading & studying the Bible. If you have a Bible, start by reading the Gospel of John, the 4th book in the last half of the Bible, the New Testament.

Here are some samples from the Gospel of John.

Gospel of John Chapter 7, verse 17 "Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own."

Psalm 25:9 God guides the humble in what is right & teaches them His way.

Gospel of John Chapter 1, verses 10-13 He was in the world & though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. 11He came to His own (people) & His own did not receive Him. 12But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.

Gospel of John Chapter 1 verses 29 & 32-34

The next day John (the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him & said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! Then John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and resting on Him. 33I myself did not know Him, but the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.

verses 35-51

The next day John was there again with two of His disciples. 36When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37And when the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.

38Jesus turned and saw them following. “What do you want?” He asked. They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are You staying?”

39“Come and see,” He replied. So they went & saw where He was staying & spent that day with Him. It was about the tenth hour.

40Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s testimony & followed Jesus. 41He first found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated as Christ).

42Andrew brought him to Jesus, who looked at him & said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated as Peter).

43The next day Jesus decided to set out for Galilee. Finding Philip, He told him, “Follow Me.” 44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew & Peter.

45Philip found Nathanael & told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

46“Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked. “Come & see,” said Philip. 47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.”

48“How do You know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” 49“Rabbi,” Nathanael answered, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

50Jesus said to him, “Do you believe just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 51Then He declared, “Truly, truly, I tell you, you will see heaven open & the angels of God ascending & descending on the Son of Man.”

John 4:4-15 Now He had to pass through Samaria.So He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

7When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8(His disciples had gone to town to buy food.)
9“You are a Jew,” said the woman. “How can You ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

10Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him & He would have given you living water.”

11“Sir,” the woman replied, “You have nothing to draw with & the well is deep. Where then will You get this living water? 12Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well & drank from it himself, as did his sons & his livestock?”

13Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. 14But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become IN HIM a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.”

15The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water so that I will not get thirsty & have to keep coming here to draw water.”
 
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St_Worm2

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Lately I have been feeling an urge to learn more about Jesus and begin a relationship with him.
Hi Ryan, and WELCOME TO CF :wave:

I think it's WONDERFUL that you are trying to find out more about Jesus and to begin to have a personal relationship with Him :) Before I comment further (and if it's not too personal and you wouldn't mind), please tell me/us why you want to come to know Jesus, and what you think or hope you'll get out of doing so.

BTW, this is not a test. There are no wrong answers, I'm just interested (and it will be helpful for me to know where you you are coming from, and why, when we talk more about all of this).

I'd be happy to tell you what led me to the Lord too if you'd like, and how I finally became a Christian (almost 33 years ago now). Just let me know.

Thanks!

--David

Romans 10
9 If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
.
 
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ViaCrucis

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Hi, my name is Ryan and I am 26. I was raised Catholic but stopped participating in the church as a teenager, and overall Catholicism was a very bad experience for me. Which caused me to shun any idea of God or Jesus for years.

Lately I have been feeling an urge to learn more about Jesus and begin a relationship with him. I have found myself reading lots, which is strange for me as I have tried to distance myself from religion for so long.

I want to bring Jesus into my life but I do not know if I truly believe in him or how to even begin to believe in something I cant be sure exists.And I don't know how or if I can open myself and let him into my life.

So I have still been reading and learning and thats why I am making an account here! Hopefully I can see some peoples stories of how they began their relationship with jesus and learn how I can start to let him in. Thanks :)

In the Gospel story there is an account where some followers of John the Baptist approach Jesus asking, "Are you the one, or should we be looking for another?" To which Jesus' response was very simple, "Come and see." Jesus did not make any attempt to try and convince them, He simply invited them to see for themselves. He never had to go into long or lengthy debates or arguments about who or what He was, He simply was Himself, and that rocked the world.

I'd say that you have a lot more faith than you think you do. If you didn't have faith, you wouldn't be here having this conversation. Your baptism in the Catholic Church wasn't for nothing--you're still here, Christ the Good Shepherd is still loving you. Remember your baptism, Christ is there.

-CryptoLutheran
 
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HTacianas

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Maybe that is the very thing NOT to do. You assign validity to a system that drove him away from God by its inanity. There are believers more reasonable than Catholics, that rely on no system as such.

Hello Ryan. I don't wish to be contentious or clannish, but I began my life in a system that I have pretty well abandoned, when I found myself unable to believe in it. I believe in Christ, God himself, but not much of the things I hear about the relationship with him. Your belief in him is not part your work and part his. It is all his work and it will involve all your will and desire. GOD does the changing, not your decision. But yes your decision is all-important.

Many who agree with me, say the distinction is unimportant, but I say that is the very reason I abandon much of what I was told when I was younger. Salvation that depends on the integrity of my decisions, or the strength of my will, or the intensity of my emotions, is no salvation.

It is not you who begins this relationship. It may well be that he has already begun the change. Talk to him.

Thank you for your reply. And thank you for placing yourself in the position of judge, jury, and executioner of the Roman Church. I would not want that responsibility.
 
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Carl Emerson

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I'd say that you have a lot more faith than you think you do. If you didn't have faith, you wouldn't be here having this conversation. Your baptism in the Catholic Church wasn't for nothing--you're still here, Christ the Good Shepherd is still loving you. Remember your baptism, Christ is there.
Given that faith comes from hearing the word of Christ, Ryan seems to be saying that hasn't yet heard, therefore does not yet have faith.

Ryan is having this conversation because he didnt find faith.

Blessings,

Carl Emerson.
 
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RyanB92

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Hi Ryan, and WELCOME TO CF :wave:

I think it's WONDERFUL that you are trying to find out more about Jesus and to begin to have a personal relationship with Him :) Before I comment further (and if it's not too personal and you wouldn't mind), please tell me/us why you want to come to know Jesus, and what you think or hope you'll get out of doing so.

BTW, this is not a test. There are no wrong answers, I'm just interested (and it will be helpful for me to know where you you are coming from, and why, when we talk more about all of this).

I'd be happy to tell you what led me to the Lord too if you'd like, and how I finally became a Christian (almost 33 years ago now). Just let me know.

Thanks!

--David

Romans 10
9 If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
.

Thank you :)
Honestly it came kind of out of nowhere! A bit ago I had a dream that I was speaking with an old acquaintance who is Christian. I confessed my faith in Jesus to her and thanked her for showing me how different my life could be. When I woke up I brushed it off because Christianity is always something I have distanced myself from. But my thoughts lingered on it all day, and I found myself online reading up on Christianity and Jesus, and bible verses.

I believe maybe this has come from a general feeling of emptiness, loneliness, lack of direction in my life. I have regularly struggled with things like stress, depression, and alcohol and have always been looking for new coping mechanisms. Once I started looking for information I kept finding people’s testimonies of how Jesus freed them and really changed their life. And I think that’s what has made the idea of starting a relation with him so appealing. I haven’t found faith, but I also told myself that if it has worked for so many people there must be something to it.

It just seems like one of those things where there’s not really anything to lose, but potentially could be a lot to gain :)
 
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HI Ryan, welcome to CF

Hopefully I can see some peoples stories of how they began their relationship with jesus and learn how I can start to let him in. Thanks :)

I was baptized when I was a baby.
 
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