Devout Atheist for many years, then Agnostic, then Christ found me.

[Saint Black]

Hello fellow believers of God.

I asked my father if he had faith in me, but I guess I really meant faith in God. He told me no, I willingly walked out of a multi-million dollar mansion and made myself homeless for the night. I walked to a Steak 'n' Shake about a mile or so from my house at 1 AM. Outside the Steak 'n' Shake I found a red rose lacking thorns. I didn't know it at the time but it had large significance. A man I barely knew took me into his home for the night. He talked with me until 6 AM about his faith. He was a criminal and stole a car. He should have died in 2013, but God spared his life. The entire car was crushed except for the driver side. He devoted his life to Christ from then on. I believe when I set aside my material desires God showed himself to me. The rose is so small, yet so significant. After researching it more I found in Christianity it is symbolic of Christ's love and passion, and his martyrdom. In Catholicism it is symbolic of the Virgin Mary. I believe God put me here to do something, and I believe that something may be martyrdom. I accept death and welcome it, if it is in the name of the Lord. I was agnostic two days ago, and now the Holy Spirit flows through me. I don't claim to be a saint, the only reason my name has that in it is because I wrote a rap about 6 months ago called Saint Black. I am a black sheep, and the Lord has shown me his reckless love. My mother passed two years ago and she always told me she would show me God. She was right. Today has been filled with many blessings. I am happy the faith has found me. I hope my life will be used for the cause. I think science explains a lot of the natural world, but it cannot explain one key element of this universe, the origin of life. God is the origin of life. There is a simulation theory running around, Elon Musk mentions it. But he is missing the key element, God. My views are unorthodox, but I genuinely believe the Bible is merely man's interpretation of the word of God. There are bound to be flaws. The only perfect man is Jesus Christ. His word could be distorted by individuals not so perfect. I think as long as you have faith in God and believe in his undying love and that He gave his son for our sins, you shall be saved. We are arrogant to assume that we, the watch, are greater than the watchmaker. Our ego is endless and our harvests bountiful. But if those harvests are not used for the Lord's cause, we are lost. The end times are coming. We are in the peak of humanity, war is coming. I just hope I can save as many lives as possible. We must love all people, hate is such an easy emotion to feel. Love is hard. Hope you had a blessed Sunday.

Thanks for reading,
Saint Black.

 

[Saint Black]

I also should mention, my brother prayed I would find the faith. I was already researching Jesus' love for the black sheep when he asked me to come to his service. Wouldn't you know it, when I got there they were discussing the 99 white sheep and the 1 black sheep. My brother's prayer was answered because it was a selfless prayer. Selfish prayers rarely are answered.

P.S. The Bible does say be wary of false prophets, believe me for what I am. If you lack trust in me that is understandable, God made us wary for a good reason.

 

[Darkhorse]

Welcome! May you continue to grow in faith!

 

[Jeshu]

Great hearing about your new found faith in God. Let His words guide you through your life down here and His love fill you to overflowing.

Be of good courage brother Jesus is an awesome Lord and nothing surpasses His love.

 

[Basil the Great]

Welcome to the forums and may God bless the time that you spend here.

 

[thesunisout]

I also should mention, my brother prayed I would find the faith. I was already researching Jesus' love for the black sheep when he asked me to come to his service. Wouldn't you know it, when I got there they were discussing the 99 white sheep and the 1 black sheep. My brother's prayer was answered because it was a selfless prayer. Selfish prayers rarely are answered.

P.S. The Bible does say be wary of false prophets, believe me for what I am. If you lack trust in me that is understandable, God made us wary for a good reason.

Hey brother, I am very excited for you. You are finding new life in Christ and He will do mighty things in your life. I just wanted to encourage you with something. When I first was saved I didn't know if I could trust the bible either. I had questions and the questions led to more questions. I couldn't get any peace about it. Then God showed me this scripture:

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding

He was telling me through this scripture that I couldn't figure it out and to submit all of my doubts to Him. He would, if He chose to, answer my questions in His time. When I did that I found a peace reading Gods word that I never had experienced. He started to teach me how to follow Him through His word and I have never looked back. In time He began to answer my questions too. Not all of them but enough to know I am standing on a firm foundation. I hope that helps. God bless you and your walk with the Lord

 

[Saint Black]

Hey brother, I am very excited for you. You are finding new life in Christ and He will do mighty things in your life. I just wanted to encourage you with something. When I first was saved I didn't know if I could trust the bible either. I had questions and the questions led to more questions. I couldn't get any peace about it. Then God showed me this scripture:

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding

He was telling me through this scripture that I couldn't figure it out and to submit all of my doubts to Him. He would, if He chose to, answer my questions in His time. When I did that I found a peace reading Gods word that I never had experienced. He started to teach me how to follow Him through His word and I have never looked back. In time He began to answer my questions too. Not all of them but enough to know I am standing on a firm foundation. I hope that helps. God bless you and your walk with the Lord

Thank you. Like I said, I genuinely believe the Bible has flaws, but only because it was written by man. God inspiration through man, but still by man. That verse, do not lean on your own understanding applies to the men who wrote it as well. But then again, I could be wrong. Perhaps my walk will lead me further to the light. All I know is I will do good in my life, and I hope that good is enough for the Lord.

I do trust Him with all my heart. But my understanding was shaped through years of sin, to truly see the light for what it is, one must first envelop themselves in darkness. I am a black sheep, I am well aware.

 

[thesunisout]

Thank you. Like I said, I genuinely believe the Bible has flaws, but only because it was written by man. God inspiration through man, but still by man. That verse, do not lean on your own understanding applies to the men who wrote it as well. But then again, I could be wrong. Perhaps my walk will lead me further to the light. All I know is I will do good in my life, and I hope that good is enough for the Lord.

Pray about it and ask God to show you what is true, and if you can trust His word.

As far as our good goes, it ends at the cross because Jesus had to die for our sins. It's His righteousness that we receive through faith that brings us into a right relationship with God. That's what you can count on when you meet the Lord, that your faith in Christ saves you. If it were our good works, none of them would be good enough to save us.

 

[Saint Black]

Pray about it and ask God to show you what is true, and if you can trust His word.

As far as our good goes, it ends at the cross because Jesus had to die for our sins. It's His righteousness that we receive through faith that brings us into a right relationship with God. That's what you can count on when you meet the Lord, that your faith in Christ saves you. If it were our good works, none of them would be good enough to save us.

Very true. We are mortal men and our sin is endless. I will bring as many people to the light as I can. More people will lose faith though, as science grows and understanding of the universe grows, more people will doubt Him. His love is the only thing we need.

Stephen was stoned for having faith in Him, others became envious and wanted the limelight. I will trust my heart.

 

[ItIsFinished!]

Thank you. Like I said, I genuinely believe the Bible has flaws, but only because it was written by man. God inspiration through man, but still by man. That verse, do not lean on your own understanding applies to the men who wrote it as well. But then again, I could be wrong. Perhaps my walk will lead me further to the light. All I know is I will do good in my life, and I hope that good is enough for the Lord.

I do trust Him with all my heart. But my understanding was shaped through years of sin, to truly see the light for what it is, one must first envelop themselves in darkness. I am a black sheep, I am well aware.

Good evening brother.
You are not a black sheep, you are a child of God .
A God who laid down His life for you , I and the world.
Godly men wrote down the Holy Scriptures , but it was inspired by God Himself. His Word is the Living Word.
The Godly men that wrote down the words were like human fountain pens if you will.
Once you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and are born again you receive the indwelling of The Holy Spirit which will guide you through the Scriptures.
God is able to rise above any human fallacies regarding His Holy Word as you read and study it.
Friend , you have an amazing testimony of the grace of God.
I am absolutely excited for you and what you will do for God.
You are a vessel of God's grace.
Share your testimony with your family, friends, and the world.
May The Lord bless you and always keep you're eyes upon Jesus!
⚘

 

[Saint Black]

Good evening brother.
You are not a black sheep, you are a child of God .
A God who laid down His life for you , I and the world.
Godly men wrote down the Holy Scriptures , but it was inspired by God Himself. His Word is the Living Word.
The Godly men that wrote down the words were like human fountain pens if you will.
Once you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and are born again you receive the indwelling of The Holy Spirit which will guide you through the Scriptures.
God is able to rise above any human fallacies regarding His Holy Word as you read and study it.
Friend , you have an amazing testimony of the grace of God.
I am absolutely excited for you and what you will do for God.
You are a vessel of God's grace.
Share your testimony with your family, friends, and the world.
May The Lord bless you and always keep you're eyes upon Jesus!
⚘

I just need to ask, if we are created in His image, why do we have naturally gay or naturally transsexual individuals? And why do many of the faith deny their love to these people? The Bible says to love all and hate none, yet hate is so abundant in the faith, especially denominational hatred.

I am not claiming to say the Bible is entirely wrong, there are many things in it that are right. I am merely claiming to say that the Bible is a manual, not a strict set of guidelines.

I believe the most important verse in the entirety of the Bible is 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Have faith in God and spread the love of Jesus, we are nothing if we do not love. The lines preceding that excerpt essentially say the same thing. Even the greatest of men are nothing if they do not love.

 

[Paidiske]

MOD HAT ON
This thread has been moved to the For New Christians forum.
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MOD HAT OFF​

 

[pam4him]

Hello fellow believers of God.

I asked my father if he had faith in me, but I guess I really meant faith in God. He told me no, I willingly walked out of a multi-million dollar mansion and made myself homeless for the night. I walked to a Steak 'n' Shake about a mile or so from my house at 1 AM. Outside the Steak 'n' Shake I found a red rose lacking thorns. I didn't know it at the time but it had large significance. A man I barely knew took me into his home for the night. He talked with me until 6 AM about his faith. He was a criminal and stole a car. He should have died in 2013, but God spared his life. The entire car was crushed except for the driver side. He devoted his life to Christ from then on. I believe when I set aside my material desires God showed himself to me. The rose is so small, yet so significant. After researching it more I found in Christianity it is symbolic of Christ's love and passion, and his martyrdom. In Catholicism it is symbolic of the Virgin Mary. I believe God put me here to do something, and I believe that something may be martyrdom. I accept death and welcome it, if it is in the name of the Lord. I was agnostic two days ago, and now the Holy Spirit flows through me. I don't claim to be a saint, the only reason my name has that in it is because I wrote a rap about 6 months ago called Saint Black. I am a black sheep, and the Lord has shown me his reckless love. My mother passed two years ago and she always told me she would show me God. She was right. Today has been filled with many blessings. I am happy the faith has found me. I hope my life will be used for the cause. I think science explains a lot of the natural world, but it cannot explain one key element of this universe, the origin of life. God is the origin of life. There is a simulation theory running around, Elon Musk mentions it. But he is missing the key element, God. My views are unorthodox, but I genuinely believe the Bible is merely man's interpretation of the word of God. There are bound to be flaws. The only perfect man is Jesus Christ. His word could be distorted by individuals not so perfect. I think as long as you have faith in God and believe in his undying love and that He gave his son for our sins, you shall be saved. We are arrogant to assume that we, the watch, are greater than the watchmaker. Our ego is endless and our harvests bountiful. But if those harvests are not used for the Lord's cause, we are lost. The end times are coming. We are in the peak of humanity, war is coming. I just hope I can save as many lives as possible. We must love all people, hate is such an easy emotion to feel. Love is hard. Hope you had a blessed Sunday.

Thanks for reading,
Saint Black.

Welcome to the family! God does work in mysterious ways and your testimony is inspirational. Please don't disregard the Bible altogether. If you determine to study it, to be more like Jesus, God will guide you to the truth in it despite man's flaws. Prayers for wisdom and strength for the journey. God speed to you.

 

[Newtheran]

I just need to ask, if we are created in His image, why do we have naturally gay or naturally transsexual individuals?

We don't.

And why do many of the faith deny their love to these people?

Nobody is denying love to anyone. It is not loving to help someone persist in a sinful and self-destructive lifestyle.

I am not claiming to say the Bible is entirely wrong, there are many things in it that are right. I am merely claiming to say that the Bible is a manual, not a strict set of guidelines.

...and we are the ones who determine which of those guidelines to accept and which to reject? In that case, who then is really "god"?

I've read your testimony a couple of times Saint Black, and I think you're in a very dangerous place spiritually. You've had some sort of a spiritual experience to be sure, but the focus of that is you. You've followed that up with questions about scripture and a the typical secular talking point about homosexuality.

The shortest description of the conversion to Christianity is the:

1> acceptance of God's moral law.
2> acceptance of it's conviction of you as a sinner deserving of damnation.
3> acceptance of God's forgiveness through the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus as described by the Nicene Creed.
4> acceptance of one's own personal responsibility to take up his or her cross and follow Christ, bearing fruit in his name as a result of 3 growing in grace as Paul stated, becoming sanctified in Protestant terms, or seeking theosis in Orthodox terms.

I pray that God grants you the wisdom to see you personal experiences through this lens.

 

[MoneyGuy]

We don't.

You think that all gays choose their sexuality?

Science disagrees.

 

[Newtheran]

You think that all gays choose their sexuality?

Science disagrees.

As the recent homosexual pederast scandal in Roman Catholicism shows, a good number of them are abuse survivors. Others are simply reprobate. So "choosing" is a fairly broad and inaccurate term to apply to the process.