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How can I get closer to Christ?

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Cartpusher

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I'm 19 and I was raised as a Lutheran since I was born. As I grew older I started to doubt in God and pretty much everything else Christian. Many of my friends were/are atheists and it just sort of caught on with me sadly.

The past year though, I've been trying really hard to become Christian again. I think if any religion on earth is real, it's definitely Christianity. There have been enough people with near death experiences to convince me that something is out there, and that something is God (and Jesus.) I'd also like to see someone come up with an explanation for 'weeping icons' of the virgin Mary, other than it is obviously God's work. I think these things alone should be more than enough to convince anyone that indeed Christianity is real and authentic.

I pray all of the time for myself and everyone around me, I believe that God, Jesus, and heaven do exist. I guess my biggest problem though is becoming closer and more loving to Jesus and God. For example, I know as a Christian you're supposed to love Jesus first and before anyone else, no matter what. For some reason it's just hard for me to love Jesus Christ himself more than members of my own family... maybe because I've never met Jesus before? Does anyone know what I'm talking about at all? I want to make sure Jesus is my #1 in life, and then my family, and then my friends; but for some reason it's just hard to do... I don't know why. Can anyone help me help myself here?
 
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ephraimanesti

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MY DEAR BROTHER,

i think perhaps your problem is that you are looking at "love" for God strictly as an emotion that you "feel." Unfortunately, in English, the word "love" has been used and misused so much that it has very little meaning at all anymore. Greek, for example, has many different words which pertain to the many different kinds of "love" which exist simultaneously in our lives. In English, however, we are stuck with using the same word for "I love pizza," "I love my job," "I love my wife, " and "I love God".

The Scriptural Commandment to "love God first in all things" is not referring to an emotion--a feeling--but is referring to a decision we must make to PUT GOD FIRST IN EVERYTHING in our lives.

AGAIN, THIS IS LOVE FOR GOD IS NOT A FEELING--IT IS A DECISION--and therefore it cannot be compared with the feelings we have for family and friends which often seem to us to be stronger and more "real" because they involve our physical emotions which usually appear stronger to us than things in the spiritual realm, but this decision to "Love God with all our hearts, minds, souls, and spirits" must take precedence over our physical feelings of love for our family and friends if there should ever a conflict between what our family wants us to do and what God wants of us. In other words, our allegiance and submission to God must always come first even though our physical feelings of "love" for our family may appear to us to be stronger and perhaps more "real".

(i hope this has helped answer your question rather than making things more confusing!)

IN CHRIST,
ephraim
 
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sunflower2007

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To get closer to Jesus, you need to spend time with Him. Just like any person, if you don't spend time with them, you won't get to know them. Spend time praying and reading the Bible. Spend time worshipping Jesus. We should love Jesus more than even our families. No one in our families died to save us from going to hell. No one took all our sin on themselves. No one in our physical family gave us the riches of heaven and loves us more than humanly possible.

I heard someone say, "If you want to have a passion for God, study His passion for you." I heartily agree. Study the Bible. Find all the Scriptures you can about what God has done for you and how much He loves you. That should really help.

And what ephraim said is so true. Love is not a feeling, it is a decision. You might have a feeling sometimes, but if you truly love someone, you decide to love them even when the feeling is gone.

Read I Corinthians 13. It tells what love truly is.
 
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alatir

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As a fairly new reborn Christian I can tell you that pray, pray, pray and ask Holy Spirit to help you pray and give you more faith, supernatural faith. Talk to God and ask Him to make you long Him more. And praise, worship Him, that's what God is for. Tell Him that you need Him more than anything in this world.

Wish I could explain it better, but you can't explain God.
 
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marke

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Read the NT and conform yourself to the teachings of Jesus and ask Him into your life. He will come.

Beware of wrong teaching. A little has levened Pop Christianity to the point where wrong teaching abounds. Don't be misled or deceived.

READ THE NEW TESTAMENT YOURSELF TIME AND TIME AGAIN and your understanding and love of and for Jesus will grow.

God bless.
 
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marke

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Good advise, but don't forget to thank Him also. Always be thankful.

God bless
 
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alatir

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marke said:
Good advise, but don't forget to thank Him also. Always be thankful.

God bless
Click to expand...
It can be hard to be thankful to God if you don't know Him, but once you do you'll be forever thankful.

This isn't my idea, read it somewhere, but imagine Jesus on the cross arms spread wide and telling "This much I love you."
 
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CShephard53

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Sounds like you lack motivation to follow God's word. Here's a little something I wrote to one of my campers (excuse the personal stuff):
The first part of this will be the ‘motivation’ piece. Before I start, though, you’ll have to find a Bible and look up Revelation 21:3-8 and Acts 2:41-47, and read them before you continue reading.
The first passage talks about what each of the two choices we have in life get us- basically, that following God gets us nothing but blessings in the end, and that not following God gets us nothing but trouble. This is not new information to you. However, something you’ll note is that throughout the passage God says quite a few times that He will be with us and we will be His people, and that promise is for eternity. It is not simply for eternal life, or heave, but a promise for right here, right now.
Jesus said in John 10, “I came that they may have life and have it to the full.” A relationship with God gets sweeter when we get to heaven, to be sure. However, our relationship with God can be sweet now. It takes a lot of hard work and devotion, but that is the first package of benefits the Christian has. A list of things that come with such a sweet relationship is (read carefully) guidance in difficult matters, strength to carry out what we cannot by ourselves, healing for any and all hurts we have sustained, assurance of what our future holds, a loving body of believers that is our family, having Someone who knows exactly what we need when we need it, having Someone who will never fail us, Someone who will always be there to talk with about anything and everything, and ultimately- a perfectly loving Father who has our every interest in mind.
While it is true that we will never understand everything until we get to heaven (1 Corinthians 13:12), we have proof that God knows what He’s doing. The proof lies in the Bible and how flawlessly Israel’s history was put together. However, that goes into something that you will not understand until later.
The second passage talks about what help we are to others. Through a relationship with God (which means learning more about Him by reading the Bible), we are more capable of meeting other people’s needs and serving them. Believe me when I say there is much enjoyment in helping other people. I had a blast serving you and the rest of the cabin the week you were at camp- and I had a blast every other week as well. Was it tiring? You bet. Was it frustrating at times? Yes. Would I have given up being a counselor if I knew all the hardships that were included before the summer started? No, I still would have done it. Why? Because the knowledge that you (and many more than just you) had a great week due to my being there fills me with joy. Additionally, it was fun worshipping with you (I still say you have a good voice!), learning with you, hanging out with you, eating with you, and getting to know you. It would have been impossible for me to have as much fun as I did the week you were there if you hadn’t been there. By now, you’re probably wondering why I started with telling you how good it is to help people and ended with how much fun I had being your counselor- but that’s the point. Helping people, loving them, and serving them is tons of fun.
Neither of those two things- helping people and having a sweet relationship with God- is possible unless we continue to grow in our knowledge of the Bible. Knowledge is useless unless you use it, however- especially if we’re to have fun following the Bible’s ways. Can following the Bible get us into a position that doesn’t make us happy? Yes, but it is worth it. Can it lose us some friends? Certainly. Can it even distance us from family members? Yes- although I do not expect that to be much of a problem for you (though it certainly has been an issue for me). The point is, no matter how you slice it or dice it- all of those disappointments are temporary. They only last so long. And even if they last the rest of our lives, that pales in comparison with how long eternity in heaven will be. Any hard work, anything we lose, and any frustrations we have by following God are well worth it.
 
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MoNiCa4316

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Hi
I went through the same thing when I first became Christian! I really wanted to love Jesus but didn't know how. What I did, is I just kept on praying and praying for that. And one day, I found that it was surprisingly easy to make that choice, and I felt closer to Him right away. If you want to draw near to Him, He will draw near to you. Love involves a decision, and then the feelings. And then it's easier to obey God out of love, not out of fear. And worship turns into a great experience.
All this might take some time, but keep on praying, and reading the Bible! Praise God for who He is, and ask Him to help you love Him...and really believe that He'll answer. Pray in faith, and do not doubt. Jesus told us to pray like that. Remember that faith is a choice.

It's definitely possible to have a real relationship with Jesus, and it's amazing. If you want it, you will have it! Keep on genuinely seeking Him. The devil might tempt you in different ways to make you give up, so be careful about that..God is love, and is forever faithful, and if you feel worry or doubt keep in mind it's not from Him.

God bless.

monica
 
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alatir

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Ok, read this idea from somewhere...

Establishing your faith on feelings is like a situation where a sailor would throw the anchor in the cargo hold and then expect the ship stay still. Instead you have to throw the anchor in the water and let it set down on the ocean floor, that is, the word of God.
I hope this helps!
 
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visionary

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Let the Word of God dwell in you...

Mr 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Realise that your mind is where God wants to dwell.

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

Take God at His Word and invite Him in.

Re 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
 
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Missyjojo88

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Everyone have pretty said the keys things to being closer to God. Like you have heard already, studying the word and praying. The icing on the cake is praise and worship. Don't be afraid to sing to God and praise him through creative means. Also a little quiet time before God wont hurt either.
 
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