How to turn to God?

[jjadams]

I'm excited, yet extremely ashamed to be at this point in my life. Here's my background: I was raised in a Christian home, grew up in church, and went to a private Christian school. Through all the exposure and book knowledge I obtained, I failed to apply it to form my personal relationship with Christ. Not to place blame, but I feel that my parents failed to nurture me in that aspect. I feel that the Lord is tugging at me the past year, as I am a healthy 27 year old, happily married, and have a healthy baby girl, house, 2 cars, dogs, aquarium, and yet I am not happy. I feel as if I am missing something.

I know I need to pray and turn to the scriptures. But I fear that I went through the motions for so long in my life that I have become desensitized to it all, and that scares me. I'm ashamed to ask God for help when needed, because I piddled away the upbringing he provided me. My wife has stated several times during our marriage that she longs to be part of a church family, and I know it's my job as a husband to provide that for her and my daughter.

But what can I read that I don't already know? Something thats going to rekindle the excitement that a new believer feels? What scripture should I turn to? What book or devotional should I read? How should I pray? How should I incorporate my wife during this process?

Thanks,

Josh

 

[Shulamite7]

But what can I read that I don't already know? Something thats going to rekindle the excitement that a new believer feels? What scripture should I turn to? What book or devotional should I read? How should I pray? How should I incorporate my wife during this process?

Thanks,

Josh

Try searching the net for a book or a devotional that you will be excited about. But you have to ask the Lord for discernment before and after you find it as there is much deception out there and some channels while going around in the name of Jesus are in reality controlled by satan. Ask the Lord and He will surely answer you in whatever way or form that He chooses.

 

[Bible2]

jjadams said in post 1:

But what can I read that I don't already know? Something thats going to rekindle the excitement that a new believer feels?

Don't go looking for excitement, for it doesn't last, and it doesn't always bear any good fruit. Instead, just be looking for a daily, calm walking with
the Lord.

jjadams said in post 1:

How to turn to God?

To turn to God, you must affirm to him that you're a Christian, that you truly believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ and the human/divine Son of God (Jn. 20:31, 3:36, 1 Jn. 2:23), and that he died on the Cross for our sins and rose from the dead on the third day (1 Cor. 15:1-4, Lk. 24:46-47, Mt. 20:19, 26:28).

Once we've affirmed this, to help develop and keep up our relationship with God, we should pray to him every day, such as with the Lord's Prayer (Mt. 6:9-13), praising and worshipping him, confessing our sins to him, asking him for what we need today, and thanking him for all that he has given us (Philip. 4:6). And throughout the day we should immediately bring to him in prayer anything that we become worried about at anytime (Philip. 4:6-7).

We should also fellowship with other Christians every day (Heb. 3:13, 10:25), at least in some fashion (Mt. 18:20), such as on this forum, being exhorted by them and exhorting them in turn (Heb. 3:13).

We also need to examine ourselves to make sure that we're truly in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5, Prov. 28:26, 14:12). The way to do this is to read every word of the Bible (Heb. 4:12, Mt. 4:4) and see if we accept everything it teaches as having come from God (Jn. 8:47, 2 Tim. 3:15-16). For just as a true faith will initially come from reading (or hearing) what the Bible teaches (Rom. 10:17, 2 Tim. 3:15), so we can know that we're remaining in the true faith if we continue to believe that everything the Bible teaches came from God (Jn. 8:31b, 2 Tim. 4:2-4, 1 Tim. 4:1, Mk. 8:35-38).

In order to have any real relationship with Jesus and God the Father and the Holy Spirit (Mt. 28:19), most importantly we must believe the right things about Jesus (Jn. 14:6-7): that he's God the Word made flesh (Jn. 1:1,14), that he's the Christ (1 Jn. 5:1, 2:22), and that he's the only begotten (only born) Son of God (Jn. 3:16,36, 1 Jn. 2:23), meaning that he's the only person ever born without any human father (Lk. 1:34-35). And we must believe that Jesus lived a perfectly sinless life (Heb. 4:15, 2 Cor. 5:21) and so he could die on the Cross for our sins and rise from the dead on the third day (1 Cor. 15:1-4). He rose and will remain forever in an immortal flesh and bones human body (Lk. 24:39, 2 Jn. 1:7) as our eternally-human high priest/mediator (1 Tim. 2:5, Heb. 2:16-17, 7:24-26).

Once we come into faith in Jesus, we must obey him and God the Father and the Holy Spirit by repenting from all of our sins and getting water-immersion (burial) baptized into Jesus (Acts 2:38, Rom. 6:3-5, Gal. 3:27). And we must partake of the divine flesh and blood of the bread and wine of communion (Jn. 6:53, Mt. 26:26-28, 1 Cor. 10:16, 11:27-30). And we can get hands laid on us to receive Holy Spirit baptism (Acts 8:17) and one or more of the Holy Spirit's wonderful gifts (Acts 19:6, 1 Cor. 12:8-10). Then, washed from our sins by water baptism (Acts 22:16) and empowered by the Holy Spirit within us (Acts 1:8, Eph. 3:16), we must each and every day for the rest of our lives deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Jesus (Lk. 9:23, 2 Cor. 5:15), by continuing in the faith to the end (Heb. 3:6,12,14, 6:4-8, Jn. 15:6, 2 Tim. 2:12), by repenting from every sin we might commit to the end (Heb. 10:26-29, 1 Cor. 9:27, Lk. 12:45-46), and by doing the particular spiritual works which he has given us as individuals to do to the end (Mk. 13:34, Rom. 12:6-8, Titus 3:8).

But if we as believers wrongly employ our free will to refuse to do these things, we can't expect to have any continued real relationship with Jesus & God the Father & the Holy Spirit. For a continued real relationship with them requires that we not only continue to believe in them but also continue to obey them (Jn. 15:10, 14:21,23). Faith without works is dead (Jas. 2:20) & cannot ultimately save us (Jas. 2:14-26, Rom. 2:6-8, Mt. 7:21, Heb. 5:9).

 

[manitouscott]

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you pray.

Be honest, God can take it. Tell him you feel desensitized/burned out/numb whatever. You can even get mad or sad or whatever. Just be honest with him and honestly ask him to work in your life.

PS I think that is so wonderful that your wife is on board and wants to participate in God's family. You have something that I am praying to someday have with my wife. You are blessed!

 

[Emmy]

Dear jjadams. 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 tells us this: " On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." Love is very important to God, selfless Love and no tags attached. Start by treating all you know and all you meet as you would love to be treated. God will see your sincere efforts, and God will Bless you.
Keep praying/talking to God, and ask God into your life, then follow God.
You might stumble and forget, then ask God to forgive you and carry on
loving and caring for your neighbour: and let God see that you mean what you say. Always be kind and friendly: in everything you say or do, everything you advise or stand for. God is Love, and God wants Loving and Caring
children/sons and daughters. I say this with love, jjadams. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[paul1149]

I know I need to pray and turn to the scriptures. But I fear that I went through the motions for so long in my life that I have become desensitized to it all, and that scares me. I'm ashamed to ask God for help when needed, because I piddled away the upbringing he provided me.

There are two parts to solving this. The first is repentance. That means a change of mind. You already have that, but now you need to take it to God and get it off your chest. He will forgive, the guilt and shame will be removed and then you'll be open for the next step (1Jn 1.9).

The next step is to begin to look for Him right where you are. Make Him the focus of everything you do. Don't approach prayer and reading as a human work. It's not necessarily volume of scripture that helps us, it's receiving and putting into practice the scripture that speaks directly to our hearts. It could be one verse, or even one word of a verse, in context. If you seek God diligently, with willingness to obey and faith that He will reward, He will reward (Heb 11.6). His first and greatest reward is more intimacy with Himself. Be patient and persist and endure, and those desensitized areas will be renewed. He wants you to have the fulness of abundant life. It's already been paid for, so we shouldn't let it go to waste.

 

[Peripatetic]

I know I need to pray and turn to the scriptures. But I fear that I went through the motions for so long in my life that I have become desensitized to it all, and that scares me.

It's very good news that you are breaking through the powerful worldly influences of our culture. Your story is not uncommon at all, and you are still younger than I was when I came to a similar conclusion in my mid 30s. But we don't have to "re-sensitize" on our own. The Holy Spirit can work that process in even the most damaged hearts.

But what can I read that I don't already know? Something thats going to rekindle the excitement that a new believer feels? What scripture should I turn to? What book or devotional should I read? How should I pray? How should I incorporate my wife during this process?

There is ALWAYS more to learn. In fact, the more I learn, the more I realize how much I still don't know. One thing that rekindled some of the excitement for me was the challenge of connecting the Bible's different books and literary forms through recurring themes. It makes the whole thing that much more rich.

To do it, I usually start with a theme-based article or devotional. A great example is the Daily Light devotional (free online in many forms), which provides a bunch of short verses from all over the Bible that connect in some way. Then I pick a few and read the whole section along with study Bible or commentary notes for more context and insight.

 

[Harry3142]

jjadams-

Look down at your feet. Where your feet are right now is where God is prepared to accept you. You don't have to 'jump through hoops' in order to get his acceptance and the salvation he offers. Instead, all you have to do is accept that he's there in front of you, willing to accept you just as you are:

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished - he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:19-26,NIV)

If our attaining eternal life depended on our being 'good enough', heaven would be one empty place. None of us are good enough to merit heaven, nor will we ever be good enough, if left to our own devices. That's why we depend on God's promise for our salvation, rather than our relying on our own efforts.

The righteousness which God requires of us is a righteousness that is equal to his own. And there is only one means of attaining such a high level of righteousness. We must accept it as God's gift to us in exchange for our putting our trust in the efficacy of Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice for our sins. We cannot earn it as a salary or purchase it as an asset. We must receive it as a gift, totally undeserved, but there for us to accept nonetheless.

As for finding a church home, I would recommand any of the mainstream church denominations, such as the Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Anglican, United Church of Christ, and even the Southern Baptist Church. However, I would caution you to reject those denominations which insist that you must perform some act in order to ensure that you have salvation. Without exception these acts have proven to be 'bait', used in order to create in others the mindset that the leadership of that particular church must be obeyed in order to achieve eternal life. And invariably its real purpose has been to cement the power of those leaders over every facet of their members' lives.

 

[Bible2]

Harry3142 said in post 8:

That's why we depend on God's promise for our salvation, rather than our relying on our own efforts.

It's not an either/or thing, but needs to be both/and. For 2 Cor. 5:9, 1 Cor. 3:9, Col. 1:29, and Philip. 2:12b show that Christians themselves must actually labor, along with God. Ultimate salvation is synergistic because Christians can end up losing their salvation if they wrongly employ their free will to stop their laboring, without repentance (Mt. 25:26,30, Jn. 15:2a, Rom. 2:6-8).

Harry3142 said in post 8:

None of us are good enough to merit heaven, nor will we ever be good enough, if left to our own devices.

That's right.

But while on our own we aren't good enough to earn our salvation (Rom. 3:10), if we continue to abide in Jesus (Jn. 15:4-6) we can become good enough to earn our ultimate salvation (Mt. 25:21, Rom. 2:6-7, Jas. 2:24, Philip. 2:12b, 2 Cor. 5:9). For while we can't do good apart from continuing to abide in Jesus (Rom. 3:12, Jn. 15:5b), if we do continue to abide in him we can do good (Jn. 15:5, 5:29, Philip. 2:12-13, 1 Tim. 6:18, 1 Pet. 3:11, 3 Jn. 1:11, Gal. 6:10, Eph. 6:8, Heb. 13:16, Lk. 6:35). Also, Jesus has made it possible for us believers not to sin (Jn. 8:34-36, Rom. 8:2-14, 6:1-23, 2 Cor. 7:1), even when we're tempted to do so (1 Cor. 10:13, 9:27, Rom. 8:13, Gal. 5:16). So we can (& must) become perfectly holy before God (2 Cor. 7:1, Rom. 6:22, Heb. 12:14, 1 Thes. 4:7, Eph. 4:24). And Jesus has made it possible for us to repent & confess our sins to God & be completely forgiven if we nonetheless wrongly employ our free will to commit a sin (1 Jn. 1:9). We'll lose our salvation in the end only if we continue in a sin without repentance (Heb. 10:26-29, 1 Cor. 9:27, Lk. 12:45-46).

Harry3142 said in post 8:

Romans 3:19-26

Romans 3:19-30 means by the works of the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law no one will be justified (Acts 13:39). Rom. 3:19-30 isn't contradicting the fact that initially saved people must have both faith & continued works of faith (1 Thes. 1:3, Gal. 5:6b, Titus 3:8) (not works of the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law) if they're to obtain ultimate salvation (Rom. 2:6-8, Jas. 2:24, Mt. 7:21, 25:26,30, Philip. 2:12b, 3:11-14, 2 Cor. 5:9, Heb. 5:9, 6:10-12, 2 Pet. 1:10-11, Jn. 15:2a). For believers must actually continue to do righteous deeds if they're to continue to be righteous (1 Jn. 3:7, Jas. 2:24,26). And there's no assurance believers will choose to do that, instead of wrongly employing their free will to become utterly lazy without repentance, to the ultimate loss of their salvation (Mt. 25:26,30, Jn. 15:2a).

 

[1watchman]

There is a great danger (and deception) of intellectualizing God! One must come to Him by faith and obedience to His Word. Here is a helpful paper, I believe.

A CLOSET EXPERIENCE​

“There is a danger of intellectualizing God, rather than coming personally in faith (see Heb.11:6). Here is something one should know:

“As long as one is still alive there is hope to be saved, but no hope after one leaves this world, for salvation is about faith. If a person really WANTS to be saved and go to Heaven, the message of the Gospel is simple and plain. It is a choice, and one should not delay this invitation of God.
“1) Go into your ‘closet’ -secret place (read Mt. 6:6-7) and speak to the Creator-God, confessing you are a sinner as He says, and that you want Him to save you.
2) Then receive His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into your heart. Salvation is in a relationship with Him who was sent to suffer and die for our sins, not in religious works and trying to follow His teachings.
3) If you honestly receive the Lord Jesus, He will come and God will send His Spirit into your heart and seal you as a "child of God" (read God’s messages at John 1, John 3, John 14). That is the truth of the matter. One can then be at peace knowing they have done all that God has shown them in His Word ---just be grateful and thank the Lord Jesus for giving His life for you. The honest believer should then be baptized to take a stand for Him against the unbelieving world. That settles salvation!
4) One can begin reading also some history later of God’s creation, mercies and plan for mankind in the Old Testament.

“Salvation is really simple, but many miss it by taking short-cuts and follow religious ways and their own ideas and feelings, and are not honest and faithful in talking to the Savior. It is not about feelings or ideas, but receiving the Savior. Be sure to also read your Bible daily ---beginning with the New Testament.”
Now, here is a statement that I think one needs to also see:
“GOD CONSCIOUSNESS - I see in the Bible that when God takes a dealing with one He starts with the conscience, and that is where I believe ALL mankind possesses a God-consciousness. Though one may deny it and claim to be an Atheist, God created man this way to be aware of the Creator. So-called Atheists expend great energy and time denying God because of their God-consciousness which troubles them. When God begins His work in one there is what the Bible states as "quickening" (awakening and arousal, making alive unto God). One has a window of opportunity I see to listen to God, seriously consider what God has done and is doing for man, then can receive it or reject it. At some point in time a conclusion may be made or allowed by one in their heart (known only to God) that they "will not have Him to rule over them" (see these verses Lk. 19:14; Rom. 1:28; 2 Cor. 4:3-4). Satan then enters and controls that one (read Heb. 6: 4-6). Those others that believe God's beloved Son, the Lord Jesus, and receive Him are then indwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit ("new birth"); and they can go forth rejoicing in fellowship with Him. That is salvation and eternal life.” One can see God’s mind on this at John 3 and 1 Jn. 5:10-12. It is never too late to receive the Lord Jesus while we are alive. – RLD: from biblecounsel.homestead.com.”

 

[Michele B]

jjadams,

God was always there. He was always teaching you. You didn't hear it, or it bounced off you, but God said His word will not return void, and here it is, working on you!

Take your family to church this Sunday. Doesn't matter where. I am a firm believer that if you take the first step, God will move you to the right place!

He is bekoning (sp?) you, wants you for real....not just "going through the motions," which is apparently what you did all through school. As someone else said, God has ordained this, and even gave you a christian wife when you weren't looking for one! You're way ahead of the game, and God wants to have a relationship with you now!

As someone else has already said, "Just go to Him. Be honest. Tell Him what you're tellling us, He can take it!" He loves you and wants you to know it. He has amazing things waiting for you, but He's waiting for you to approach Him.

We're all here for you, brother.

God Bless.

 

[asiyreh]

A man that says he has nothing to learn about Christianity and Christ has allot to learn IMHO. Christianity should be like an onion ever unfolding and revealing itself. Christ through the Holy spirit and the scriptures ever revealing himself to you.

If it's not then in my opinion there's something wrong. I suggest unlearning whatever it is you think you've learned.

 

[Bible2]

asiyreh said in post 12:

A man that says he has nothing to learn about Christianity and Christ has allot to learn IMHO.

Amen.

That brings to mind the scripture:

"And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know" (1 Corinthians 8:2).