Backslided..help

[mrs_pooh2u]

I'm new here...But I'm in need of some help. How do you climb back up that hill to Christ..once you have slid down so far? I recieved Christ in July of '94...was once very active in Him..but I have slid so far away..I don't know if I can come back to Him..Any help would be very greatful..Thank you..

 

[rural_preacher]

The place to start is on your knees in prayer and reading the Word of God (the book of Romans would be a good beginning).

Then find a good church where the Bible is preached and taught and the people are practicing the Love of Christ. Start attending regularly and seek to be discipled by godly folks.

I John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

I Corinthians 5:16-21

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

--

 

[Gold Dragon]

Jesus told this story once.

The Message : Luke 15:1-32

There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, "
Father, I want right now what's coming to me."

So the father divided the property between them. It wasn't long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to hurt. He signed on with a citizen there who assigned him to his fields to slop the pigs. He was so hungry he would have eaten the corncobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any. That brought him to his senses.

He said, "All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I'm going back to my father. I'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand."

He got right up and went home to his father. When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him.

The son started his speech: "Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son ever again."

But the father wasn't listening. He was calling to the servants, "Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We're going to feast! We're going to have a wonderful time! My son is here--given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!"

And they began to have a wonderful time. All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day's work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on.

He told him, "Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast--barbecued beef!-because he has him home safe and sound."

The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen.

The son said, "Look how many years I've stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on harlots shows up and you go all out with a feast!"

His father said, "Son, you don't understand. You're with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours--but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he's alive! He was lost, and he's found!"

 

[RED that's ME]

Hello mrs_pooh2u Welcome to Christian Forums I see you are a newbie.

That's great that you want to renew your relationship with God again.
The Bible says when we sin we have an advocate Jesus Christ we can go to.
[bible]1 John 2:1-2[/bible]

You need to pray and confess your sins to God.
[bible]1 John 1:9[/bible]
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

You need to make some changes in your life and get back on tract. Make a regular prayer time/Bible reading everyday in your life................. .......

If you're not in church get back in a good Bible teaching church that will help you grown in your walk with Christ. Find a mentor/accountiblity partner to help you.




Feel free to PM me if you need more help.

 

[Ave Maria]

The advice that has already been given is pretty good but I know of an excellent online study that you can check out. You can also have it mailed to your house totally for free if you'd prefer to read it in pamphlet form:

The Way Back
I hope you enjoy it. I have found all of their studies to be very doctrinally sound and very eye opening. They are from the same publishers as the publisher of the Our Daily Bread devotionals.

 

[JWBZ SVT]

I've been there before and I know how you feel. Conviction to confession to repentance. God's Word is life for our souls. Believe the words. Satan will come back but stand firm in God's Word. It is your life! Pray, get involved in a Bible study, and be around Christians who have a lifestyle in accordance with the New Testament.

I think it is AWESOME that you are returning back to the fold!! I wonder how much joy would fill all of our hearts knowing the praise and party going on in heaven when one person in sin repents!! Remember, he will leave the 99 to get the 1 that is lost. That's how precious you are to Him!

I said a prayer for you lifting you up and praying for your perseverance.

 

[_sunshinegirl]

HUGS
+
YES to answer your question, you can ALWAYS return back to Christ, no matter *WHAT* you have done. Peter himself denied Christ, yet he was still revered through out time, because he confessed His sins and God forgave him.
If you ever need to talk, I am here as well as alot of other people.
May God give you the strength!

 

[SonOfThunder]

The posts that follow you desire to be worthy to be called a Christian is very good advice.

Welcome, you know it takes being real with God. I don't think any of us shock God by our actions, He is ready and waiting for His child to talk to Him.

James

 

[Heatherondo]

for me i started pRAYING AND LOOKING AT MY LIFE. WHAT LEADS ME TO SIN, WHAT IS IN FACT SIN ITSELF, (oops caps) what are my ungodliy influences.... then i started cutting them out.... started praying more, reading my bibkle more..

for me alot of what was influencing me poorly was online.. so instead of chatting in a place where no one believed in God, i started coming here more.(this has been the hardest to stay away from and i have failed many times, the lure to that particular place is strong for me, but i come back to staying among christians online)

and most of all dont give up of you have set backs, kjuist fo before the Lord, humble yourself and start again.

 

[12volt_man]

I'm new here...But I'm in need of some help. How do you climb back up that hill to Christ..once you have slid down so far? I recieved Christ in July of '94...was once very active in Him..but I have slid so far away..I don't know if I can come back to Him..Any help would be very greatful..Thank you..

When I was a new Christian, I got caught up in an abberational movement within the church (I'm not allowed to call WoF a cult here). When God brought me out of it, I went back to my old friends but I burned so many bridges that they were reluctant to take me back.

I was so discouraged, that I backslid for about two and a half years. I actually lived worse than I did before I was a Christian.

Believe it or not, this is an opportunity for you, not an obstacle.

The first thing you've got to remember is that God is your Father and will never turn you away. He loves you and only wants to see you restored to a right relationship with him, so that you can experience that abundant life that Jesus promised us.

The second is that the Christian walk is a marathon, not a sprint. It lasts our whole lives and there are going to be plenty of ups and downs. The good news is that the same Jesus who is there with us through the ups, has overcome the downs for us. As Steve Brown says, "Never forget in the darkness what you learned in the light".

Don't feel like this is something you just have to snap out of. It's not. It's a long, slow process. Just take it slowly.

Find a good church, find some people you can talk to and confide in. You can feel free to PM me anytime.

Get into God's word, even if it's hard. Spend some time in prayer, even if it's hard. You don't have to pray these big, three day, Thomas Merton-type prayers, just find a time when you can be alone with God.

The most important thing I can tell you is to get back around Christians who can encourage you and correct you. I just can't stress that enough. You can't shut yourself out.

Think of it this way...have you ever sat in front of a fireplace and watched the fire? It gives off light. It gives off heat. You can even cook your food with it.

Now, one by one, take those logs out of the fire and let them burn individually. What happens? They go out almost immediately.

Same with us. We were meant to fellowship with other Christians.

Now, why do you think you backslid? What was going on in your life at that time?