Eh

Searching_for_Christ said:

So I am thinking about accepting Christ..again (or renewing my faith..confessing my sin, removing myself from my backsliding state..not sure which it is) heck..I'm not even sure if I believed at first..

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MY DEAR STRUGGLING BROTHER,

i think it is important that you realize that being a Christian is based ENTIRELY upon a personal relationship with God the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in your heart.

Beliefs--i.e., doctrines, dogmas, rituals, etc.--are only a means to this end. One can belief for a minute and then turn around and disbelieve the next--which is perhaps what happened to you. FOCUS ENTIRELY AND EXCLUSIVELY ON BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, not in forcing yourself to accept or believe ideas about God. God will reveal Himself in your heart as soon as that heart is cleansed and opened. Do that an you will find for yourself all the "proof" you have been seeking for in the wrong places in the wrong way.

GOOD LUCK AND GOD BLESS YOUR EFFORTS TO FIND THE LIGHT!

ABBA'S FOOL,
ephraim

I found it best to always goto God as humbly as possible. It would not be a sin nor would it be considered biblically a lack of faith to goto Him as someone new to the faith.

If you want reassurances then ask for Change. It is evident by what you have said that reassurances are difficult in the type of relationship you had with God in the past. So ask Him to help you Change so that you may receive the Spirit. It is through the Holy Spirit that God speaks to us, and it is through The Holy Spirit that we are made aware of Him and His plan for our lives. This constant interaction is what gives the confidences and reassurances that we need to be true to the faith.

Luke 11:
5Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.'

7"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' 8I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 11"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

We ask in prayer, we seek in scripture and in places like this or church, we knock by repeating this process until we get what our heart desires. If you earnestly and actively Ask, Seek and Knock you will get what your Heart truly desires.

Good to hear man.

Just don't get too hung up on labels (salvation/returning to Christ/etc.). It is what it is. I think Christians can sometimes get too hung up on emphasizing the moment we're saved, "making that decision for Christ". However Jesus calls us to be disciples of his. That's a lifelong discipleship. So in the scheme of things the moment we become disciples isn't really that important to be honest. What you label the process you're going through right now doesn't matter. We should live our whole lives continually praying, confessing, repenting. It's not a once-off, wipe the slate clean and move on, never to sin again. That's not realistic and it's not practical.

Oh, and I know what you mean about forgetting in the morning. I've been a Christian for 2 years. But I woke up a couple of months ago and I forgot I was a Christian for a few minutes. Then I remembered! It was awesome.

ephraimanesti said:

MY DEAR STRUGGLING BROTHER,

i think it is important that you realize that being a Christian is based ENTIRELY upon a personal relationship with God the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in your heart.

Beliefs--i.e., doctrines, dogmas, rituals, etc.--are only a means to this end. One can belief for a minute and then turn around and disbelieve the next--which is perhaps what happened to you. FOCUS ENTIRELY AND EXCLUSIVELY ON BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, not in forcing yourself to accept or believe ideas about God. God will reveal Himself in your heart as soon as that heart is cleansed and opened. Do that an you will find for yourself all the "proof" you have been seeking for in the wrong places in the wrong way.

GOOD LUCK AND GOD BLESS YOUR EFFORTS TO FIND THE LIGHT!

ABBA'S FOOL,
ephraim

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This is a post of platitudes.

What in the world is a "backsliding state"?!? Every person is on their own spiritual journey. We are all always learning new things. We are always making mistakes. Most of us who recognize we are on a spiritual journey are improving ourselves. Someone at 18 is going to be unsettled. OH WELL. That is what being 18 is like. It will pass with time.

Kit:

A couple of things:

1. You aren't supposed to be responding to the posts of other respondents. This is a basic rule of this forum.
2. You are excluded, as a buddhist, from answering the OP's on this forum. This forum is "for non-Christians to explore Christianity with Christians."

If you have things you wish to explore with Christians concerning their faith then please start your own thread.

Peace.

So I am thinking about accepting Christ..again (or renewing my faith..confessing my sin, removing myself from my backsliding state..not sure which it is)

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Why?

heck..I'm not even sure if I believed at first..I'm pretty sure I did (still makes step one a bother for me) do I confess Christ as savior? or simply ask for forgiveness for falling away?

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"Step one" is entirely dependent upon whether or not you're actually saved. Do you know how to determine if, in fact, you're saved?

BLEH!! and another thing! its late out! what bothers me the most is if I do this..I will go to sleep feeling pretty happy..wake up..and I will probably forget this even happened..it would take like 5 minutes for me to remember..then I'm like "OH YEAH!" honestly? what kind of faith could I really have if that happens?

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A forgetful one? Look, if the Holy Spirit of the Almighty God of the Universe comes to live within you as the Bible says He does when one is saved, you are not going to forget that He is there and that something has changed. You may not be intensely aware of His presence all the time, but there will be a fundamental knowing that God's Spirit dwells within you.

I'm a scrupulous guy..I suffer from doubts of the mind..I suffer from not thinking I have real faith, or telling if I actually believe in Christ or if I am just fooling myself into it...advice fellas?

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Romans 10:17 (NKJV)
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Ephesians 6:18 (KJV)
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit...

Being a Christian is not a title you adopt, it is a relationship you're in - with Jesus Christ. How do you maintain any relationship? By communication. How do you communicate with Christ? Prayer. How does he communicate with you? Through the Word of God, the Bible, and the illuminating influence of God's Holy Spirit as you read it. Any time you neglect to communicate with your Saviour you will find a corresponding decrease in the fellowship you have with him. If you go too long without communicating with your Lord, he will begin to feel like a stranger to you and you will have the doubts and sense of unreality about faith in him that you describe above.

Peace.

Searching_for_Christ said:

So I am thinking about accepting Christ..again (or renewing my faith..confessing my sin, removing myself from my backsliding state..not sure which it is) heck..I'm not even sure if I believed at first..I'm pretty sure I did (still makes step one a bother for me) do I confess Christ as savior? or simply ask for forgiveness for falling away? BLEH!! and another thing! its late out! what bothers me the most is if I do this..I will go to sleep feeling pretty happy..wake up..and I will probably forget this even happened..it would take like 5 minutes for me to remember..then I'm like "OH YEAH!" honestly? what kind of faith could I really have if that happens? I'm a scrupulous guy..I suffer from doubts of the mind..I suffer from not thinking I have real faith, or telling if I actually believe in Christ or if I am just fooling myself into it...advice fellas?

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Try not to over-analyze yourself. Put your focus outward on Christ and keep on talking honestly with Him. Try to rest your mind in his presence and don't obsess on things.

I am excluded from the Christians only sections of this forum. Those areas where I am not allowed to post doesn't give me the option to post.

Not responding to posts would mean there would no such thing as a forum.

Kit:

Here is the rule I mentioned:

"We recognize that real seekers are looking for real answers, and the first reply given may be insufficient to achieve this. It is acceptable for the Original Poster (OP) to probe the answers given, and to continue the discussion on lines which help to clarify their understanding of the Christian faith. If another non-Christian seeker wishes to ask questions about the Christian faith, they may start their own thread. No more than one non-Christian (the OP) may post in a thread."

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In other words, the only non-Christian who should be posting in any particular thread in the Exploring Christianity forum is the one who started it.

Peace.