All I do is fail

[neverenough]

I have been following Jesus for over 16 years now. I have given up all worldly forms of entertainment. I have even given up hobbies. I try to stay away from negativity and evil people which is easy to do since I do not work outside the home. I take care of myself, since my body is a temple. I am constantly aware of what I am putting into my body and my mind. I will not pollute it. I read my Bible daily and I pray often, but yet I still fail God. I do not attend church with others, because I have never found a decent church. I could care less about denominations because I want a Bible believing and preaching church, and I have not found one yet. Honestly, I do not believe you need to be in church to worship God since God is everywhere.

Most churches and denominations in my opinion are preaching false doctrine. I do not want to be led astray. I am actually OK with not being in a church. I do not need to be around other people to worship God. I find I do not want to be around many people anymore and again, I am OK with that. I used to be very outgoing and social and I am not anymore. I prefer spending my time in solitude.

The issues are simple. If I have a bad thought, I repent of it to God as soon as possible. If I have a bad reaction, I repent of that also. If I say something or do something that is wrong, I have to immediately admit that I was wrong and ask God for his forgiveness. But it just seems that no matter what I do I’m always feeling absolutely guilty and horrible no matter what. I am a failure. I am not doing what I am suposed to be doing. I am breaking God’s rules for the life I am to live. I feel that I am a horrible Christian and God must be so displeased with me. I deserve nothing.

I try so hard to do exactly what the Bible tells me to do and what God asks of me, but I keep failing. This causes me to clamp down on myself to be worthy of God’s forgiveness. I am constantly asking God what else I need to get rid of out of my life that is not good for me. All I want to do is please Him. I do not want to sin against my God. But it just seems that no matter what I do I am always failing no matter what. Then I think to myself well that’s it..you keep on doing (minor) stupid things even though you’re repenting of it and are truly sorry for them but you are not going to be with Jesus because you can not control yourself. (With the examples I provided) I just do not feel I will ever make it into Heaven. The punishment will be Hell.

I feel like I’m going to be stuck here on earth during the tribulation, and I’m going to have only myself to blame because I am weak. I have been feeling this way for over 16 years. These feelings do not get any better. They get worse. With everything that’s going on in the world and how we are getting closer to the end times (in my opinion) this causes more stress on me. I do not want to be here when that happens. I have been praying to God over and over to be relieved of this. The anxiety alone is a real problem, so are the anxiety attacks that wake me up every morning. They also come on out of the blue. I will not go to see a counselor or a therapist since I don’t trust them at all. Many years ago before I was a Christian I had a few bad experiences with them. Never again. I also don’t believe in taking medication that will do more harm than good.

Does anyone else feel this way or is anyone else experiencing this?

 

[Friedrich Rubinstein]

Welcome to the forums!

How much effort is it for a tree to produce fruit? As long as he gets enough and good nutrition, none really. The fruits come more or less automatically. A Christian who is constantly connected to the source of good nutrition, namely God's word, likewise produces the fruits of the Spirit that are mentioned in Galatians 5:22. We may struggle from time to time, but they are visible. From your presentation it seems that you are diligently in connection with God, so I am confident that you produce the fruits of the Holy Spirit, too. Therefore I will boldly assume that "some things I do are fail" is a more accurate title Perhaps you aren't as much of a failure as you think?

This causes me to clamp down on myself to be worthy of God’s forgiveness.

For many of us it is difficult to accept it but... there is nothing we can do to be worthy of God's forgiveness. We cannot earn salvation, and we cannot earn forgiveness. Our human pride often gets in the way because we don't want to accept such big gifts for free, but in this case we have no choice. We receive God's forgiveness out of His grace, and grace is never earned.

You are probably familiar with Galatians 2:20 where Paul writes: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."
This doesn't just mean that we value God's desires higher than our own. It also means that the more we focus on ourselves, the less Christ can live through us. We need to focus on Him! Perhaps you say to God "Lord, please take my life, take it all!", but Jesus wants you to take His life! The more you focus on Jesus the more "automatically" the fruit grows.

I just do not feel I will ever make it into Heaven. The punishment will be Hell.

Fortunately, our fate does not depend on our feelings. When Jesus hang on the cross He shouted: "Tetelestai!" That is what it says in the original Greek for "It is finished" and it means: Absolutely accomplished! It is fullfilled, and there is nothing you can add to it. Either Jesus' death on the cross is enough to bring you to heaven, or all of us will go to hell. There is no other option.

In the first letter of John it says: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Do you believe that? If you believe that and still feel like God cannot forgive you, then perhaps the problem is that you cannot forgive yourself.

I do wonder what you think God's expectations of you are. Maybe, if you want, you could elaborate on what you think you must do, and whether you believe that a real Christian will never commit a sin again.

God bless

 

[Unqualified]

We are all not perfect. It’s ok you don’t have to be. Have you not learned that God is merciful? But that is a cause of joy. Where is your joy? The joy of the lord is our strength’. Are you trying so hard that you can’t let God be God? Enjoy him learn from Him.

You sound a lot like me, I don’t want to sin but always do sometimes badly. But his forgiveness frees me from guilt and condemnation. You sound fully human. Have joy in Gods creation and what He is doing for you. Restoring you to his righteousness. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Life is a miracle in Jesus.

 

[timewerx]

I have been following Jesus for over 16 years now. I have given up all worldly forms of entertainment. I have even given up hobbies. I try to stay away from negativity and evil people which is easy to do since I do not work outside the home. I take care of myself, since my body is a temple. I am constantly aware of what I am putting into my body and my mind. I will not pollute it. I read my Bible daily and I pray often, but yet I still fail God. I do not attend church with others, because I have never found a decent church. I could care less about denominations because I want a Bible believing and preaching church, and I have not found one yet. Honestly, I do not believe you need to be in church to worship God since God is everywhere.

Most churches and denominations in my opinion are preaching false doctrine. I do not want to be led astray. I am actually OK with not being in a church. I do not need to be around other people to worship God. I find I do not want to be around many people anymore and again, I am OK with that. I used to be very outgoing and social and I am not anymore. I prefer spending my time in solitude.

The issues are simple. If I have a bad thought, I repent of it to God as soon as possible. If I have a bad reaction, I repent of that also. If I say something or do something that is wrong, I have to immediately admit that I was wrong and ask God for his forgiveness. But it just seems that no matter what I do I’m always feeling absolutely guilty and horrible no matter what. I am a failure. I am not doing what I am suposed to be doing. I am breaking God’s rules for the life I am to live. I feel that I am a horrible Christian and God must be so displeased with me. I deserve nothing.

I try so hard to do exactly what the Bible tells me to do and what God asks of me, but I keep failing. This causes me to clamp down on myself to be worthy of God’s forgiveness. I am constantly asking God what else I need to get rid of out of my life that is not good for me. All I want to do is please Him. I do not want to sin against my God. But it just seems that no matter what I do I am always failing no matter what. Then I think to myself well that’s it..you keep on doing (minor) stupid things even though you’re repenting of it and are truly sorry for them but you are not going to be with Jesus because you can not control yourself. (With the examples I provided) I just do not feel I will ever make it into Heaven. The punishment will be Hell.

I feel like I’m going to be stuck here on earth during the tribulation, and I’m going to have only myself to blame because I am weak. I have been feeling this way for over 16 years. These feelings do not get any better. They get worse. With everything that’s going on in the world and how we are getting closer to the end times (in my opinion) this causes more stress on me. I do not want to be here when that happens. I have been praying to God over and over to be relieved of this. The anxiety alone is a real problem, so are the anxiety attacks that wake me up every morning. They also come on out of the blue. I will not go to see a counselor or a therapist since I don’t trust them at all. Many years ago before I was a Christian I had a few bad experiences with them. Never again. I also don’t believe in taking medication that will do more harm than good.

Does anyone else feel this way or is anyone else experiencing this?

I believe these verses apply perfectly to your dilemma. And you have absolutely nothing to worry about look:

John 12:47-48
As for anyone who hears My words and does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not receive My words: The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

From the things you wrote in your post, you love Jesus and acknowledge His teachings so you're in good hands!

You don't have to worry a single bit about the rapture either.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

I have been following Jesus for over 16 years now. I have given up all worldly forms of entertainment. I have even given up hobbies. I try to stay away from negativity and evil people which is easy to do since I do not work outside the home. I take care of myself, since my body is a temple. I am constantly aware of what I am putting into my body and my mind. I will not pollute it. I read my Bible daily and I pray often, but yet I still fail God. I do not attend church with others, because I have never found a decent church. I could care less about denominations because I want a Bible believing and preaching church, and I have not found one yet. Honestly, I do not believe you need to be in church to worship God since God is everywhere.

Most churches and denominations in my opinion are preaching false doctrine. I do not want to be led astray. I am actually OK with not being in a church. I do not need to be around other people to worship God. I find I do not want to be around many people anymore and again, I am OK with that. I used to be very outgoing and social and I am not anymore. I prefer spending my time in solitude.

The issues are simple. If I have a bad thought, I repent of it to God as soon as possible. If I have a bad reaction, I repent of that also. If I say something or do something that is wrong, I have to immediately admit that I was wrong and ask God for his forgiveness. But it just seems that no matter what I do I’m always feeling absolutely guilty and horrible no matter what. I am a failure. I am not doing what I am suposed to be doing. I am breaking God’s rules for the life I am to live. I feel that I am a horrible Christian and God must be so displeased with me. I deserve nothing.

I try so hard to do exactly what the Bible tells me to do and what God asks of me, but I keep failing. This causes me to clamp down on myself to be worthy of God’s forgiveness. I am constantly asking God what else I need to get rid of out of my life that is not good for me. All I want to do is please Him. I do not want to sin against my God. But it just seems that no matter what I do I am always failing no matter what. Then I think to myself well that’s it..you keep on doing (minor) stupid things even though you’re repenting of it and are truly sorry for them but you are not going to be with Jesus because you can not control yourself. (With the examples I provided) I just do not feel I will ever make it into Heaven. The punishment will be Hell.

I feel like I’m going to be stuck here on earth during the tribulation, and I’m going to have only myself to blame because I am weak. I have been feeling this way for over 16 years. These feelings do not get any better. They get worse. With everything that’s going on in the world and how we are getting closer to the end times (in my opinion) this causes more stress on me. I do not want to be here when that happens. I have been praying to God over and over to be relieved of this. The anxiety alone is a real problem, so are the anxiety attacks that wake me up every morning. They also come on out of the blue. I will not go to see a counselor or a therapist since I don’t trust them at all. Many years ago before I was a Christian I had a few bad experiences with them. Never again. I also don’t believe in taking medication that will do more harm than good.

Does anyone else feel this way or is anyone else experiencing this?

You are trying to hard to be the good performance-based Christian. Nothing that you have described carries any weight before God at all, because you are trying to be a good Christian, when there is no such person as a good Christian, but we are vile people saved by the grace of God. The truth is that there is nothing that you can contribute to improve your standing with God. What I see that is missing in your description is the acknowledgement that you are saved by the grace of God, not of yourself, but your salvation is a gift from God. There is nothing you can do to try and earn a place in heaven. If you are trusting in your religious performance as indicated in your post, then grace is no longer grace. Paul says that we have the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead. We have been crucified with Christ, in that we have died and our lives are hid with Christ in God. What you need to do is to stop trying to be a good Christian, and put your full trust in what Jesus did for you on the Cross - that when He suffered and died, He took all your sin upon Himself and suffered the wrath of God on your behalf. When you stop trying to be the Christian person you want to be and put your full trust in the crucified and resurrected Christ, then the Holy Spirit can work in you to produce the person God wants you to be.

If you read the account of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke, you will see that the Pharisee is talking all about what he does in order to be a good religious person, fasting regularly, giving tithes, keeping the Law, and not being like that lowly sinful tax collector. All the tax collector does is to look down and pray, "Lord, forgive me, a sinner." Jesus said that it was the tax collector who was justified before God rather than the self-righteous Pharisee. When I read your OP I immediately thought of this story in Luke. I looked for anywhere where you might have said that you are putting your full trust in Christ and Him crucified for your sins, and I couldn't find anything.

 

[Brad D.]

I have been following Jesus for over 16 years now. I have given up all worldly forms of entertainment. I have even given up hobbies. I try to stay away from negativity and evil people which is easy to do since I do not work outside the home. I take care of myself, since my body is a temple. I am constantly aware of what I am putting into my body and my mind. I will not pollute it. I read my Bible daily and I pray often, but yet I still fail God. I do not attend church with others, because I have never found a decent church. I could care less about denominations because I want a Bible believing and preaching church, and I have not found one yet. Honestly, I do not believe you need to be in church to worship God since God is everywhere.

Most churches and denominations in my opinion are preaching false doctrine. I do not want to be led astray. I am actually OK with not being in a church. I do not need to be around other people to worship God. I find I do not want to be around many people anymore and again, I am OK with that. I used to be very outgoing and social and I am not anymore. I prefer spending my time in solitude.

The issues are simple. If I have a bad thought, I repent of it to God as soon as possible. If I have a bad reaction, I repent of that also. If I say something or do something that is wrong, I have to immediately admit that I was wrong and ask God for his forgiveness. But it just seems that no matter what I do I’m always feeling absolutely guilty and horrible no matter what. I am a failure. I am not doing what I am suposed to be doing. I am breaking God’s rules for the life I am to live. I feel that I am a horrible Christian and God must be so displeased with me. I deserve nothing.

I try so hard to do exactly what the Bible tells me to do and what God asks of me, but I keep failing. This causes me to clamp down on myself to be worthy of God’s forgiveness. I am constantly asking God what else I need to get rid of out of my life that is not good for me. All I want to do is please Him. I do not want to sin against my God. But it just seems that no matter what I do I am always failing no matter what. Then I think to myself well that’s it..you keep on doing (minor) stupid things even though you’re repenting of it and are truly sorry for them but you are not going to be with Jesus because you can not control yourself. (With the examples I provided) I just do not feel I will ever make it into Heaven. The punishment will be Hell.

I feel like I’m going to be stuck here on earth during the tribulation, and I’m going to have only myself to blame because I am weak. I have been feeling this way for over 16 years. These feelings do not get any better. They get worse. With everything that’s going on in the world and how we are getting closer to the end times (in my opinion) this causes more stress on me. I do not want to be here when that happens. I have been praying to God over and over to be relieved of this. The anxiety alone is a real problem, so are the anxiety attacks that wake me up every morning. They also come on out of the blue. I will not go to see a counselor or a therapist since I don’t trust them at all. Many years ago before I was a Christian I had a few bad experiences with them. Never again. I also don’t believe in taking medication that will do more harm than good.

Does anyone else feel this way or is anyone else experiencing this?

Dear Sister you have picked up you cross and traveled far with the Lord and for this He is well pleased. From your post you have traveled further than most, but you still find yourself in need of the blood. It will always be so. The blood is for where you are not the cross is for where He is taking you. You will always be standing between the two.

He will never allow you to find perfection in yourself. The more you look there the more desperate you will become. He will break you of that. The desert He leads us into finds everything out. There is nothing that furnace doesn't reveal about ourselves. It leaves no stone unturned. You will never get to the end of yourself. There will always be more.

What is the secret then? Bear the humility of where you are not, sit in the blood, and trust the process He is using for where He is taking you. It seems slow. But He is thorough. There is nothing like that furnace to conform us into the image of Christ. He is wise. He is patient. Trust the process. Our self love hates being exposed for the fraud that it is. But let Him shine the light where He may. When we are no longer surprised at what He reveals we will have made progress. Just bear it in love for Him, pick up your cross and carry on. Do the next thing He gives you to do in the Spirit and it will be enough. All you have is today.

 

[neverenough]

I need to follow the Bible and what God says, plain and simple. Thank you for your welcome and response.

Welcome to the forums!

How much effort is it for a tree to produce fruit? As long as he gets enough and good nutrition, none really. The fruits come more or less automatically. A Christian who is constantly connected to the source of good nutrition, namely God's word, likewise produces the fruits of the Spirit that are mentioned in Galatians 5:22. We may struggle from time to time, but they are visible. From your presentation it seems that you are diligently in connection with God, so I am confident that you produce the fruits of the Holy Spirit, too. Therefore I will boldly assume that "some things I do are fail" is a more accurate title Perhaps you aren't as much of a failure as you think?


For many of us it is difficult to accept it but... there is nothing we can do to be worthy of God's forgiveness. We cannot earn salvation, and we cannot earn forgiveness. Our human pride often gets in the way because we don't want to accept such big gifts for free, but in this case we have no choice. We receive God's forgiveness out of His grace, and grace is never earned.

You are probably familiar with Galatians 2:20 where Paul writes: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."
This doesn't just mean that we value God's desires higher than our own. It also means that the more we focus on ourselves, the less Christ can live through us. We need to focus on Him! Perhaps you say to God "Lord, please take my life, take it all!", but Jesus wants you to take His life! The more you focus on Jesus the more "automatically" the fruit grows.



Fortunately, our fate does not depend on our feelings. When Jesus hang on the cross He shouted: "Tetelestai!" That is what it says in the original Greek for "It is finished" and it means: Absolutely accomplished! It is fullfilled, and there is nothing you can add to it. Either Jesus' death on the cross is enough to bring you to heaven, or all of us will go to hell. There is no other option.

In the first letter of John it says: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Do you believe that? If you believe that and still feel like God cannot forgive you, then perhaps the problem is that you cannot forgive yourself.

I do wonder what you think God's expectations of you are. Maybe, if you want, you could elaborate on what you think you must do, and whether you believe that a real Christian will never commit a sin again.

God bless

 

[neverenough]

Yes, all I have is today but I have an eternity to either spend it with the Lord or be in hell. I would rather be with God than to be in eternal punishment and torment. Thank you for the response.

Dear Sister you have picked up you cross and traveled far with the Lord and for this He is well pleased. From your post you have traveled further than most, but you still find yourself in need of the blood. It will always be so. The blood is for where you are not the cross is for where He is taking you. You will always be standing between the two.

He will never allow you to find perfection in yourself. The more you look there the more desperate you will become. He will break you of that. The desert He leads us into finds everything out. There is nothing that furnace doesn't reveal about ourselves. It leaves no stone unturned. You will never get to the end of yourself. There will always be more.

What is the secret then? Bear the humility of where you are not, sit in the blood, and trust the process He is using for where He is taking you. It seems slow. But He is thorough. There is nothing like that furnace to conform us into the image of Christ. He is wise. He is patient. Trust the process. Our self love hates being exposed for the fraud that it is. But let Him shine the light where He may. When we are no longer surprised at what He reveals we will have made progress. Just bear it in love for Him, pick up your cross and carry on. Do the next thing He gives you to do in the Spirit and it will be enough. All you have is today.

 

[neverenough]

I understand what everyone is saying. But that does not change the fact that that is how I feel. It has always been this way since I became a Christian coming out of false religions.

I have heard different doctrines from different church people, and was led astray by false teachers in churches and a spouse who pretended to be a Christian but was not. They used the Bible for abuse, control and manipulation. Now that person has been gone for a couple years and God will deal with them. Once that happened I left all church denoms, their doctrines and their religions.

We jumped around from different denominations because the spouse could never be satisfied with the church we would be attending. I didn’t have a say in the matter. I just had to do whatever they said.

While in the churches and by the spouse I was told that I was doing this wrong or that I was and never will be good enough to be with God. I was told that I was too stupid to understand scripture, and that they knew better than me and that I did not have to think about anything. Just listen to the churches and the spouse.

If I had a question the spouse would tell me that my thoughts on that question were invalid. I would ask them to give me a scripture to back that up and they would be searching in the Bible for that scripture, but could never produce it and then would get angry and say I just don’t understand and that they do not have time to explain to somebody that is narrow minded. The church people would refer me to my spouse. Sometimes they would come up with an explanation, but it still did not sit right with me.

I’ve been told I was disobedient because I did not do the things that they did or felt the same way-that there is something seriously wrong with me because I could not fall in line with them. When I would follow what the Bible says and bring that up to them it was met with criticism. They all told me that following the Bible was my problem. Just listen to us. But then, when I tried that and I did what they wanted, it never made sense and felt wrong plus it still was not good enough for any of them.

So now I follow the Bible and follow what God says.

 

[BNR32FAN]

I have been following Jesus for over 16 years now. I have given up all worldly forms of entertainment. I have even given up hobbies. I try to stay away from negativity and evil people which is easy to do since I do not work outside the home. I take care of myself, since my body is a temple. I am constantly aware of what I am putting into my body and my mind. I will not pollute it. I read my Bible daily and I pray often, but yet I still fail God. I do not attend church with others, because I have never found a decent church. I could care less about denominations because I want a Bible believing and preaching church, and I have not found one yet. Honestly, I do not believe you need to be in church to worship God since God is everywhere.

Most churches and denominations in my opinion are preaching false doctrine. I do not want to be led astray. I am actually OK with not being in a church. I do not need to be around other people to worship God. I find I do not want to be around many people anymore and again, I am OK with that. I used to be very outgoing and social and I am not anymore. I prefer spending my time in solitude.

The issues are simple. If I have a bad thought, I repent of it to God as soon as possible. If I have a bad reaction, I repent of that also. If I say something or do something that is wrong, I have to immediately admit that I was wrong and ask God for his forgiveness. But it just seems that no matter what I do I’m always feeling absolutely guilty and horrible no matter what. I am a failure. I am not doing what I am suposed to be doing. I am breaking God’s rules for the life I am to live. I feel that I am a horrible Christian and God must be so displeased with me. I deserve nothing.

I try so hard to do exactly what the Bible tells me to do and what God asks of me, but I keep failing. This causes me to clamp down on myself to be worthy of God’s forgiveness. I am constantly asking God what else I need to get rid of out of my life that is not good for me. All I want to do is please Him. I do not want to sin against my God. But it just seems that no matter what I do I am always failing no matter what. Then I think to myself well that’s it..you keep on doing (minor) stupid things even though you’re repenting of it and are truly sorry for them but you are not going to be with Jesus because you can not control yourself. (With the examples I provided) I just do not feel I will ever make it into Heaven. The punishment will be Hell.

I feel like I’m going to be stuck here on earth during the tribulation, and I’m going to have only myself to blame because I am weak. I have been feeling this way for over 16 years. These feelings do not get any better. They get worse. With everything that’s going on in the world and how we are getting closer to the end times (in my opinion) this causes more stress on me. I do not want to be here when that happens. I have been praying to God over and over to be relieved of this. The anxiety alone is a real problem, so are the anxiety attacks that wake me up every morning. They also come on out of the blue. I will not go to see a counselor or a therapist since I don’t trust them at all. Many years ago before I was a Christian I had a few bad experiences with them. Never again. I also don’t believe in taking medication that will do more harm than good.

Does anyone else feel this way or is anyone else experiencing this?

Sinful thoughts are not controllable. It’s not a sin if a sinful thought pops into your head, it’s a sin if you indulge in it and allow yourself to dwell on that thought. That’s just temptation but if you reject it immediately it’s not a sin.

 

[neverenough]

Also, I am very careful about what I post and the details because I do not trust any situations. I do not have anybody that I can confide in. That is why I am here. And while the information in the responses are appreciated, helpful and interesting, it still is causing me a lot of anxiety even more so now than when I first posted my original post. I am very overwhelmed and have been for a very long time.

I do not know who to believe or what to believe anymore, except for what the Bible and God says, and this is why I need to follow it to a T.

 

[neverenough]

I am not as articulate as others when explaining what I feel when it comes to Bible subjects, and my feelings regarding those subjects. I know that I believe that Jesus died for me. I know that I am sinful. I know that I need Jesus. It makes me very uncomfortable to write my feelings out, as does everything else that is a deep, subject matter. In fact, even writing this gives me great anxiety. Things don’t translate as well as they should online.

You are trying to hard to be the good performance-based Christian. Nothing that you have described carries any weight before God at all, because you are trying to be a good Christian, when there is no such person as a good Christian, but we are vile people saved by the grace of God. The truth is that there is nothing that you can contribute to improve your standing with God. What I see that is missing in your description is the acknowledgement that you are saved by the grace of God, not of yourself, but your salvation is a gift from God. There is nothing you can do to try and earn a place in heaven. If you are trusting in your religious performance as indicated in your post, then grace is no longer grace. Paul says that we have the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead. We have been crucified with Christ, in that we have died and our lives are hid with Christ in God. What you need to do is to stop trying to be a good Christian, and put your full trust in what Jesus did for you on the Cross - that when He suffered and died, He took all your sin upon Himself and suffered the wrath of God on your behalf. When you stop trying to be the Christian person you want to be and put your full trust in the crucified and resurrected Christ, then the Holy Spirit can work in you to produce the person God wants you to be.

If you read the account of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke, you will see that the Pharisee is talking all about what he does in order to be a good religious person, fasting regularly, giving tithes, keeping the Law, and not being like that lowly sinful tax collector. All the tax collector does is to look down and pray, "Lord, forgive me, a sinner." Jesus said that it was the tax collector who was justified before God rather than the self-righteous Pharisee. When I read your OP I immediately thought of this story in Luke. I looked for anywhere where you might have said that you are putting your full trust in Christ and Him crucified for your sins, and I couldn't find anything.

 

[Friedrich Rubinstein]

I need to follow the Bible and what God says, plain and simple.

Right I was wondering because you said that you've given up your hobbies, for example, and I am not aware of a passage in the Bible that says hobbies are bad. Was it just because your hobbies were particularly controversial, or am I perhaps missing something?

 

[Maria Billingsley]

I have been following Jesus for over 16 years now. I have given up all worldly forms of entertainment. I have even given up hobbies. I try to stay away from negativity and evil people which is easy to do since I do not work outside the home. I take care of myself, since my body is a temple. I am constantly aware of what I am putting into my body and my mind. I will not pollute it. I read my Bible daily and I pray often, but yet I still fail God. I do not attend church with others, because I have never found a decent church. I could care less about denominations because I want a Bible believing and preaching church, and I have not found one yet. Honestly, I do not believe you need to be in church to worship God since God is everywhere.

Most churches and denominations in my opinion are preaching false doctrine. I do not want to be led astray. I am actually OK with not being in a church. I do not need to be around other people to worship God. I find I do not want to be around many people anymore and again, I am OK with that. I used to be very outgoing and social and I am not anymore. I prefer spending my time in solitude.

The issues are simple. If I have a bad thought, I repent of it to God as soon as possible. If I have a bad reaction, I repent of that also. If I say something or do something that is wrong, I have to immediately admit that I was wrong and ask God for his forgiveness. But it just seems that no matter what I do I’m always feeling absolutely guilty and horrible no matter what. I am a failure. I am not doing what I am suposed to be doing. I am breaking God’s rules for the life I am to live. I feel that I am a horrible Christian and God must be so displeased with me. I deserve nothing.

I try so hard to do exactly what the Bible tells me to do and what God asks of me, but I keep failing. This causes me to clamp down on myself to be worthy of God’s forgiveness. I am constantly asking God what else I need to get rid of out of my life that is not good for me. All I want to do is please Him. I do not want to sin against my God. But it just seems that no matter what I do I am always failing no matter what. Then I think to myself well that’s it..you keep on doing (minor) stupid things even though you’re repenting of it and are truly sorry for them but you are not going to be with Jesus because you can not control yourself. (With the examples I provided) I just do not feel I will ever make it into Heaven. The punishment will be Hell.

I feel like I’m going to be stuck here on earth during the tribulation, and I’m going to have only myself to blame because I am weak. I have been feeling this way for over 16 years. These feelings do not get any better. They get worse. With everything that’s going on in the world and how we are getting closer to the end times (in my opinion) this causes more stress on me. I do not want to be here when that happens. I have been praying to God over and over to be relieved of this. The anxiety alone is a real problem, so are the anxiety attacks that wake me up every morning. They also come on out of the blue. I will not go to see a counselor or a therapist since I don’t trust them at all. Many years ago before I was a Christian I had a few bad experiences with them. Never again. I also don’t believe in taking medication that will do more harm than good.

Does anyone else feel this way or is anyone else experiencing this?

Welcome to CF. When reading your post "I" is your main concern. If by chance you can focus on "others" who are in need, you may find your failure turn into success. Blessings.

 

[Brad D.]

Also, I am very careful about what I post and the details because I do not trust any situations. I do not have anybody that I can confide in. That is why I am here. And while the information in the responses are appreciated, helpful and interesting, it still is causing me a lot of anxiety even more so now than when I first posted my original post. I am very overwhelmed and have been for a very long time.

I do not know who to believe or what to believe anymore, except for what the Bible and God says, and this is why I need to follow it to a T.

I know what it's like to feel overwhelmed, even have been down to the pit of despair several times. I know how it feels when that loop start playing and there is no one it seems who can turn it off, and we don't believe anything anyone says anymore. Spiritual warfare is real. It's no joke.

But you have to distinguish between the Lord's conviction and Satan's condemnation. They are two completely different things. If the Lord has given you something to correct. Then fine, He always does it in mercy, and gives you the grace and the strength to accomplish what He has given you to do. That is why I said you only have today. You cannot relive yesterday and tomorrow hasn't come. You live in the moment, no more. Just do what Christ has given you to to do today, there is nothing more we can do.

But you have got to get your eyes of yourself and back on the Lord. I do not have peace today because I am perfect. And I won't have peace tomorrow because I am perfect. It will only be because of His blood, and the willingness with all my heart to go on with Him and trust the processes He uses. But if I believe that is going to be done in a day I am kidding myself and so are you.

 

[neverenough]

Yes, I have given up my hobbies and no they weren’t sinful.
I just try to stick to Godly books etc. Most of the hobbies that I had do not apply to my situation anymore.

Right I was wondering because you said that you've given up your hobbies, for example, and I am not aware of a passage in the Bible that says hobbies are bad. Was it just because your hobbies were particularly controversial, or am I perhaps missing something?

 

[neverenough]

I do, but not outside of my extremely small inner circle of 4. I want no part of the world, and what they have to offer. Too much chaos, negativity and evil.

Welcome to CF. When reading your post "I" is your main concern. If by chance you can focus on "others" who are in need, you may find your failure turn into success. Blessings.

 

[neverenough]

Thank you.

Welcome to CF. When reading your post "I" is your main concern. If by chance you can focus on "others" who are in need, you may find your failure turn into success. Blessings.

 

[neverenough]

I try very hard not to think those things-the normal stuff when somebody irritates me or something goes wrong I find myself thinking what everybody else probably thinks. Yes, I understand that, I feel deeply guilty for that and I need to repent every single time. Satan is behind it all. I often feel at war with myself. Conflicted and confused a lot for many many years.

 

[neverenough]

I can’t remember who mentioned this in the thread, but Christian counseling Is not an option for me.