Finding my faith

[Slimzeee]

Hi All.

I found this forum and reading through the posts, it looks like I'm at the right place. This past year has been somewhat terrible for me, experiences and situations from my childhood left me on a downward spiral. And just recently I've found myself wanting to find god, only I don't know how and if I'm doing it right :-/ or where to start. I hope I can find something here and and look forward to speaking to some if not all of you.

Thanks in advance.

X

 

[talitha]

Tell us a little about yourself, please? Were you raised in a Christian home? What has been your relationship to God? How did you find yourself estranged from Him?

 

[Slimzeee]

I'm 26 from Birmingham United Kingdom. I wasn't raised in a Christian home at all. Growing up as a child I didn't have the best upbringing, as I suffered years of violence from my stepfather. The past year it seems to have all caught up with me, I was diagnosed with depression four months ago. And the past month or so I found myself thinking about god and wanting to find my faith, only as weird as it sounds I'm confused and don't know how to. I would say it never bothered me before, but the feelings I'm having recently god is all I can think about. I feel I can't speak to family about it, purely because they wouldn't understand. For a as long as I can remember I've felt as though I didn't belong, until now. And now I've came across this forum, I wouldn't be doing all this if there wasn't something there. I hope to find god and make some good friends along the way. I just need help and guidance as I have nobody.

Thank you for reading and helping

X

 

[talitha]

If you seek God with all of your heart, you will find him. There are things you can try. Ask God to reveal himself to you when you look at nature, when you listen to Christian messages, when you read the Bible, when you are alone in your foom.

As for depression.... I can identify.... I have struggled with that too. Right now I am trying to decide whether or not to attend a Christmas party at a friend's house, and I know I should - but I have done Very Little for days, and it's hard to get up the momentum.

The good news is that God is with us, and wants to be part of our lives, and to bring us into His life. Whenever I spend time with Him, even in the midst of depression I can find joy. Amazing.

 

[Rattus58]

Hi All.

I found this forum and reading through the posts, it looks like I'm at the right place. This past year has been somewhat terrible for me, experiences and situations from my childhood left me on a downward spiral. And just recently I've found myself wanting to find god, only I don't know how and if I'm doing it right :-/ or where to start. I hope I can find something here and and look forward to speaking to some if not all of you.

Thanks in advance.

X

Aloha...

My dad is from Yorkshire.... However.... in my opinion, you are on the right path if you're serious about finding God. In my opinion, if you're sincere about finding God you will. Start yourself on a road of Christ and like in my case you find peace, serenity, and confidence.

God is all around you. It is easy to identify God when you look for him.. it really is as easy as looking out a window...

I wish you speedy successes in your application...

Much Aloha...

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

Good to hear from you Slimzeee, so glad you found your way to our forum. We are a group of people with many diverse backgrounds that all have Christ as the common thread in our lives. Without Him we are nothing and with Him, well we have the promise of eternal life. He not only wants to save us from the power of sin but He wants to renew our soul. Peter talks about this in the bible as we add things to our faith.
But your question is about the starting point with God and it seems He has already started with you. My advise is to speak to Him. About everything. Speak to Him thru out the day as things come up. Review your day with Him at night and awake with a clean slate in the morning. All things taken to His throne of grace are sprinkled with His blood to cleanse our conscience. And pay attention to your dreams as well as the still small voice inside. He will teach you many things as you learn to discern His voice.
Welcome to the forum and be blessed this new year with His peace.

 

[andy b]

good to meet you.There are many on here me included who have had a cross to bear and it was that cross which bought you here looking for God eveything has a reason we just cant see it i hope you get what you are looking for

 

[Andrea411]

Hi All.

I found this forum and reading through the posts, it looks like I'm at the right place. This past year has been somewhat terrible for me, experiences and situations from my childhood left me on a downward spiral. And just recently I've found myself wanting to find god, only I don't know how and if I'm doing it right :-/ or where to start. I hope I can find something here and and look forward to speaking to some if not all of you.

Thanks in advance.

X

Merry Christmas, welcome to the forum. May the Lord reveal Himself to you this Christmas as we celebrate the birth of our Savior. He is my joy and my strength, went through many years of depression and problems after being raised in a violent and dysfunctional home. Today I am free….
God bless, andrea

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Hi All.

I found this forum and reading through the posts, it looks like I'm at the right place. This past year has been somewhat terrible for me, experiences and situations from my childhood left me on a downward spiral. And just recently I've found myself wanting to find god, only I don't know how and if I'm doing it right :-/ or where to start. I hope I can find something here and and look forward to speaking to some if not all of you.

Thanks in advance.

X

Welcome to the forum, Slim.

I'm sorry to hear that you've been experiencing some bad things; I understand that the lingering effects of bad experiences are themselves painful.

What I would encourage you to do is to first of all find a quiet place where you can have privacy and pray to God. Then, read the New Testament, beginning with the Gospel of John. From there...it is mostly a matter of being humble and willing to learn, along with finding some friends with whom you can worship and fellowship.

Peace

 

[bling]

I'm 26 from Birmingham United Kingdom. I wasn't raised in a Christian home at all. Growing up as a child I didn't have the best upbringing, as I suffered years of violence from my stepfather. The past year it seems to have all caught up with me, I was diagnosed with depression four months ago. And the past month or so I found myself thinking about god and wanting to find my faith, only as weird as it sounds I'm confused and don't know how to. I would say it never bothered me before, but the feelings I'm having recently god is all I can think about. I feel I can't speak to family about it, purely because they wouldn't understand. For a as long as I can remember I've felt as though I didn't belong, until now. And now I've came across this forum, I wouldn't be doing all this if there wasn't something there. I hope to find god and make some good friends along the way. I just need help and guidance as I have nobody.

Thank you for reading and helping

X

There is just so much we can do for your on line.

I would strongly suggest joining a Alpha group meeting, they are interest, fun and you get a free meal out of it.

Here is a list of locations in Birmingham UK http://www.alpha.org/try/results .

God bless you.

 

[paul1149]

Slimzeee, there have been many times in my life when I was really down for the count. Couldn't see my way back up. Not just circumstantially, there have even been times when I had spiritual signs showing me how far I was from God.

What I found was that Jesus never gave up on me, even when my situation was hopeless in man's eyes. He is what the book of Proverbs calls the "friend who sticks closer than a brother". He describes himself as the good shepherd who leaves the flock of 99 that are safe in order to find one lost sheep (Luke 15). Because He stuck with me when I knew I least deserved it, He taught me what His love really is. It is so far beyond anything we can imagine.

Seek Him with all your heart, but like that lost sheep and the Good Shepherd, let Him find you. Confess your sins and infirmities to Him, and still your heart before Him, and listen for Him, and He will make Himself known in due time.

 

[juvenissun]

Hi All.

I found this forum and reading through the posts, it looks like I'm at the right place. This past year has been somewhat terrible for me, experiences and situations from my childhood left me on a downward spiral. And just recently I've found myself wanting to find god, only I don't know how and if I'm doing it right :-/ or where to start. I hope I can find something here and and look forward to speaking to some if not all of you.

Thanks in advance.

X

It is simple to get start, attending a church service and its Sunday School.

However, it is critical not to walk into a wrong church such as one by Jehovah Witnesses, etc. A Baptism church is always safe to go.

Also, in this forum, we can talk about any question you might have.

May God bless you.

 

[Rattus58]

It is simple to get start, attending a church service and its Sunday School.

However, it is critical not to walk into a wrong church such as one by Jehovah Witnesses, etc. A Baptism church is always safe to go.

Also, in this forum, we can talk about any question you might have.

May God bless you.

Really!!! And just how do you come to that conclusion? However you find God is the right way to find him! Now a church that spreads the words of hate, such as Westborough or whatever their name is, should be avoided but that is because they are not Christian, I don't care how much they profess to deliver the word of God... Judgement is the role of God, not some hate filled charlatan.

Merry Christmas...

 

[Emmy]

Dear Slinzee. In Matthew 22: 35-40: Jesus tells a Lawyer: " The first and great Commandment is: Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second is like it: Love thy neighbour as thyself."
Then Jesus points out this great fact: " On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." God wants our love, freely given and NO conditions tagged on. Treat all you know and all you meet, friends and not friends, treat them as you would love to be treated: kindly and always with friendly words. God will see your sincere efforts, and God will Bless you.
( Matthew 7: 7-10 " ask and ye shall receive," then thank God and share all Love and Joy with your neighbour. Keep asking and receiving, then thank
God and share all with your neighbour, all around you. Love is very catching, and people around you will treat you the same as you will treat people.
In Luke 10: 25-28: Jesus is again talking to a Lawyer: " you know the two Commandments to Love God and love your neighbour, DO THIS and you will
LIVE." We might stumble and forget sometime, but then we ask God to forgive us, and carry on Loving and Caring. God is Love, and God wants loving children/sons and daughters. Jesus our Saviour will help and guide us:
JESUS IS THE WAY.
The Bible tells us to " Repent," and also " to BE Born Again, " gradually we will turn into the loving men and women which God wants us to become.
Love is a Christian`s great weapon, with Love we will overcome all enmity
and wrong behaviour. We will lose our selfishness and become loving and caring; everything we say or do, everything we will advice and stand for,
must be from Love and Charity.
Paul tells us in 1) Corinthians: 13: 13: " And now abideth Faith, Hope, and Love, these three; but the greatest of these is Love."
I say this with love, Slinzee. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[Soul2Soul]

Hi Slimzeee,

It's not always easy to share about traumatic events in one's life and I admire you for being so brave and yet so vulnerable. I am really thrilled to hear about your strong desire to seek God and undoubtedly God knows this. If you have a Bible here is a scripture that really amazed me when it was first shown to me: From the book of Acts, chapter 17, verses 26 - 27:
"26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us."
My encouragement to you would be to read the Bible and talk to God about your desires, struggles, weaknesses etc and to ask Him for help in finding Him. It would be really helpful to go to church services or maybe initially to a small Bible study group and mix with Christians. Ultimately, studying the Bible with someone will enable you to get to know more about God.
Although I'm in London our church has members in Birmingham as well and throughout most of the UK. If you have any interest please let me know and a meeting with one of the women there could be arranged. If you're not comfortable going to a church service or even to a small Bible study group, that's no problem .. you could meet in a cafe and yes even in McDonalds or any place you feel comfortable with - I've had many a Bible study in a McDonalds eating countless numbers of Big Macs!! Wherever you decide to go - do get to know Christians and seek their help in studying the Bible with you.
" For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
Do let me know how you get on. Best wishes and take care.

 

[Slimzeee]

Thank you bling

 

[Slimzeee]

Thank you soul2soul

 

[Slimzeee]

Thank you emmy

 

[Slimzeee]

Thank you rattus58

 

[Slimzeee]

Thank you juveninssun