@ Caleb23:
I wrote:
Well, Amen. Here's a thought, though: like begets like. A cat begets a cat, a dog begets a dog, and we beget...more of ourselves. Only God can beget godliness in us. He does this, not as we strive to be better, but as we get out of His way so He can transform us.
You replied:
That's what I want.
Jesus said that if anyone wanted to be his disciple they would have to "take up their cross, deny themselves, and follow him." The cross is a place of death. Its only purpose is to kill those placed upon it. To take it up, then, as Jesus said all of his followers must do, is to die to yourself, to what you want to do, to your own desires and goals, and submit yourself entirely to God's will and way. This crucified life is costly. Are you willing to pay the price?
You wrote:
Yes when I said those words " Im ready to sell my soul to the .... " I had a instant fear and regret on how I got to the point to say such words. I knew then I had to get into Church cause I just thought I done lost my God and was set for hell fire.
Okay. Well, your motive for moving toward God again was fear, not love. God tells us in His word, though, that He accepts no obedience from us that doesn't come from a love for Him. Paul the apostle wrote that no matter what I say, or know, or do, if I don't have love - love for God, first of all, and then love for others - all of it is spiritually useless. (
1 Corinthians 13:1-3)
Love is incredibly important to walking with God. It is what ought to motivate us to live the crucified life. Fear isn't powerful enough to move us into the continual self-sacrifice that is the Christian life, not with the joy and peace we ought to have in such living. And fear is self-centered, not God centered. Fear reflects a desire to protect one's self, not a desire for God. And fear is tormenting, moving a person into darkness, not God's light (
1 John 4:18). So, God rejects fear as a motivator of our obedience. He intends that His love for us casts out fear from our lives. (
1 John 4:18) What does it say about your walk with God that fear so much dominates your thinking?
You wrote:
That's what happend to me out of the blue i had a wicked thought say " I love sa.... "
I instantly thought OH NO here we go again. Cause I done been through this and it was the roughest thing I ever had happen to me.
Those out-of-the-blue thoughts that are dark and ugly come, I believe, from the devil. He wants to keep you fearful and tormented - just as you now are. Here's the thing, though: Satan has no power over the born-again child of God except what they choose to give him. We can successfully resist him - and we are commanded to do so - by living in submission to God and using our spiritual sword, the word of truth, to cut down the devil's lies. (
James 4:6; Hebrews 4:12) The next time dark thoughts rise in your mind, submit yourself to God's will and way, and counter them with the truth of Scripture.
You wrote:
My eyes was opened to how far I have fell from what Jesus delivered me from.
I burnt all my drug stuff, gave away 200$ worth of weed, burnt a weed plant I was growing that was done for like 6 months. I got rid of all my rap music I was listening too.
But why in all the time it took to drift from God did you not realize you were drifting? Why did you not turn back to Christ sooner? What was it about your walk with God that allowed you to drift so much?
You wrote:
I can say honestly I came because I was scared of going to hell.
But in a way doesn't everone come to Christ to escape hell and His wrath?
And yes I want Him to be in charge, I can't do it on my own.
Many people come to Christ because they fear hell, not because they love him. And when they do, they have not properly understood the Gospel. The Gospel is above all things a message of love, and grace, and mercy. God's holy wrath and punishment of sin are integral and important parts of the Gospel, but they should serve ultimately to reveal to us the massive, incredible, astounding love that God has for us and has shown to us in the sacrifice of His Son on our behalf. This is why, in speaking of the Gospel, the apostle John wrote,
1 John 4:16
And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
Amen to your acknowledgement of your inability to "do it on your own." This is where walking with God must always begin.
You wrote:
I really don't know I can't really give you a answer.
I just know He wants us to love Him with all our mind heart and soul
And love thy neighbor as thyself.
And trust His Son
I was a martial arts instructor for almost thirty years. I loved martial arts training. I went day-in and day-out to training, week after week, year after year, breaking my teeth, dislocating my bones, tearing my tendons, sweating, straining, spending money on equipment and seminars. All of these things showed that I loved the martial arts but they weren't the love I had for the martial arts. No, my love for the martial arts was something else: It was a deep desire, a powerful longing, an overriding passion for martial arts training. It was because I had this desire, this longing, this passion for training that I did it. So, too, with God. Love for Him is a deep desire, a powerful longing and passion for Him. It is this desire that He wants to motivate us into our walk with Him. And we have such desire, such longing and passion for Him, in part because we understand that He has first loved us with such desire, longing and passion. (
1 John 4:19; Ephesians 3:17-19)
You wrote:
I understand that's why I am freaking out. Cause I have all these wicked cussing Jesus thoughts going on in my mind, and I hate having them. I want them gone but they just linger in my brain.
God can free you of these thoughts but He does so by taking you over, not by just removing the thoughts from your mind. He dissolves the evil thoughts by filling you with Himself. And He does this as you truly surrender yourself to Him, throughout each day.
God also wants to teach you how to resist the devil. This involves learning to use God's word as the sword of truth that it is, walking by faith, not by sight, keeping short accounts with God, and labouring in prayer. It is only in struggle, in battle, that these spiritual practices are honed and established in you.
You wrote:
Then your in a tormenting loop praying these thought to leave you.
So yeah I agree it should be joy peace and happiness.
Other verses come to mind though
1 Peter 4:12
I used to struggle when I was a young man with OCD and anxiety. The way I got free was to stop debating within myself about the crazy, dark thoughts that would enter my mind, and just fix my mind upon God's truth. I memorized a bunch of verses that spoke to my anxieties and when I would start to become fearful and obsessive, I would simply turn my mind to the verses I'd memorized and focus on them rather than my fearful thinking. It took some time and effort doing this before the OCD habits of thinking I'd formed began to dissolve, but dissolve they finally did.
You wrote:
Maybe I am and I am not ashamed to ask for help.
I think Jesus can use other humans to help other humans.
I really want to be saved, I really want to live a new life.
These thoughts have to go I hate these thought and do not agree with them.
Check out the link I sent you. Here it is again:
Discipleship Lessons
