I want to change my life...

[discipler7]

Firstly, I am supposed to be Christian but I don't feel like one.

Christianity in short, ...

if you want to have a good, joyful, peaceful, loving and long life on earth, keep God's Law/commandments/Word(HEBREWS.4:12, DEUTERONOMY.28, ROMANS.2).
....... For Gentile Christians, be guided by the Law exemptions at ACTS.15:24-29, .... 1CORINTHIANS.3:1-3 & 5:5 & 6:9-11.

And if you want to be saved from hell(= have eteral life in the kingdom of heaven) when you leave this rotten earth or die, believe in Jesus Christ and what He has done for believers on the Cross(JOHN.3:14-18, ROMANS.5:12, LEVITICUS.17:11, HEBREWS.9:22, MATTHEW.19:23).

 

[aiki]

Do we find a God that fits us? Does God take the shape we want Him to have? Or is God a Reality independent of what we'd like Him to be? If we adopt a conception of God that suits us, we are simply making a god in our own image. Such a god is merely a reflection of who we are and so no god at all, really. This kind of a god will obscure the true One, though, and bring you ultimately to eternal hell. Be very, very wary of anyone who tells you that you can just find a God who is more palatable to you, more attractive to your particular tastes and sensibilities.

I don't mean to suggest that God is a cold, hard, distant figure just waiting to punish the wicked. He hates sin, to be sure, but He loves the sinner. The cross of Calvary showed us just how much. He will do all He can to woo us into His tender, gracious, loving arms, but if we refuse Him, we leave Him no other option but to deal with us as a wrathful Judge. I hope you will submit yourself to Him and walk in His love and righteousness.

 

[discipler7]

Secondly, as if my confusion isn't stressful enough, I also feel attracted to the same sex.

https://christiannews.net/2018/08/2...-in-uganda-says-she-has-renounced-lesbianism/
(My Rebellion Separated Me From God’: Former Homosexual Activist in Uganda Says She Has Renounced Lesbianism)[ROMANS.1:18-26]

 

[discipler7]

Firstly, I am supposed to be Christian but I don't feel like one.

.
For a start, after some years of study, here's my summary of the Bible or Word of God.

0. God is Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient. God has His throne in heaven.(EZE.1, REV.4) Satan and his demons rebelled against God.(ISA.14:12, EZE.28:17, REV.12:4-9)
....... God-in-heaven desired to replace the spiritual rebels with S'piritual humans. Earth is like a test-bed for this purpose.

1. On earth, all humans are born sinful/evil/satanic because of Adam's Original Sin = unclean/dirty/unholy = bound for hell when they die.(ROM.5:12)

2. Because of 1. , no humans on earth can see the true face of God and live or qualify to be in heaven.(EXO.33:20, JOHN.1:18 & 5:37)

3. To save fallen humans, God-in-heaven endeavoured to come down to earth in lesser forms as the invisible Spirit or as the visible human(= Angel of God or Jesus Christ). (JOHN.8:58/EXO.3:14, JOHN.1:1 & 14, 1TIM.3:16, 2COR.3:17, ISA.9:6)
....... As the Spirit in the yet-to-be-revealed Jesus Christ, God-in-heaven gave His Law to Moses and the Jews, in order to curb humans' inborn tendency to commit sins/evil-deeds/satanic-deeds.(DEUT.28)
....... As Jesus Christ, God-in-heaven gave the apostles and Christians the sacrificial Lamb of God on the Cross(JOHN.1:29), in order to save them from hell when they die = the free gift of salvation or the kingdom of heaven through faith in Jesus Christ/God.(JOHN.3:14-18, LEV.17:11, HEB.9:22, MATT.4:17, GAL.2:16)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _

A good analogy of our One and Only God is our one and only sun.
... God-the-Father-in-heaven sends His invisible Spirit and His visible Son-Jesus to earth to sustain immortal life = the sun-in-outer-space sends her invisible warmth/heat and her visible light to earth to sustain mortal life.
.
.
.
.
The Bible or Word of God can be broken down into 2 parts, the Old and New Testaments/Covenants, ie,

(i) if you wanna have a good n long life on earth, you need to keep the Law/Word of God.(DEUT.28, MATT.19:21, ACTS.15:24-29, cf; 1COR.5:1-5 & 11:30, 1JOHN.5:16-19),

(ii) if you wanna go to heaven when you die, you need to be saved from hell by Jesus the Christ/Messiah/Savior.(MATT.5:27-30, ROM.5:12, LEV.17:11, HEB.9:22, JOHN.3:16, 1COR.6:9-11, REV.22:12-15)

Christians should aim to achieve both, ie to gain both blessings from God, eg MATT.19:23. Both blessings require faith in God/Jesus, ie believe that He will bless them accordingly.(HEB.11:1-6) Cf; obey or follow like a robot, like a pack of dogs.
.
.
Bc of our inherited Adam's Original Sin, we have the dual problems of INVOLUNTARY satanic/evil/sinful thoughts, eg immoral lust, hate, anger, greed, selfishness, jealousy, fear/worries, doubts, etc, ...and VOLUNTARY satanic/evil/sinful deeds, eg blasphemy, idolatry, murder, adultery/fornication/rape, stealing, lying/cheating/defrauding, etc.
....... The former resulted in being cursed/sent to hell when we die(GEN.3:14-16) and the latter resulted in being cursed by God with a sad and short life on earth. God's Law solved the latter and God's Son solved the former.
....... Usually, before someone committed murder, he/she had originally harbored hate or greed or lust or jealousy or etc in his/her heart and mind.(source is spiritually from Satan - JOHN.8:44, MATT.16:23 & 23:27, MARK.7:21, 1JOHN.3:8)) IOW, all humans are born satanic/evil/sinful/unclean, from their hearts to their feet.
.
.
At ACTS.15:24-29, God/Jesus requires Gentile Christians to begin their born-again lives of the Spirit by keeping 4 easy or non-burdensome laws of Moses, ie avoid eating blood, strangled animals, foods sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality = minimum legal requirement. They r then given time to learn to gradually keep the other laws of Moses which are not a burden, esp morality laws, eg the Ten Commandments at EXODUS.20, LEVITICUS.10:9, DEUTERONOMY.18:9-14, etc.
....... In comparison, Jewish Christians are required by God/Jesus to continue to keep Moses Law, as many as possible, because it is not a burden to them.
....... Eg, Gentile Christians should still avoid homosexuality and can continue to eat non-kosher foods because the former is not a burden but the latter is a burden(ie it's a burden for them to keep the food laws).

Faith in God's Son, Jesus = faith in God's Word/Law/commandments because JOHN.1:1 says the Son is the Word and is also God = justified for salvation by faith in Jesus Christ/God alone, and not by the works of the Law/commandments or not by faith+works.

We need to properly differentiate between involuntary satanic/evil/sinful thoughts and voluntary sins/evil deeds, and between involuntary or inborn Gentile and Jewish Christians.

Analogy about involuntary evil/satanic thoughts and voluntary evil-deeds/sins - black crows often squawks noisily over our heads but we should not let them settle and build their dirty nests on our heads.

 

[discipler7]

What I'm trying to say is that I'd like to stop fearing the hell and start loving God...

As you gradually learn to keep the moral laws of God, you will be blessed by God with goodness, peace, joy and love on earth. Thereafter, you will gradually start loving God and your neighbors/friends(do not love your enemies unless God has ordained religious persecution or martyrdom by powerful government/entity - ROMANS.12:19-21).

Being saved from hell when we die or to inherit eternal life in the kingdom of heaven is solely through faith in Jesus Christ, ie not by keeping the Law - JOHN.3:14-18, GALATIANS.2:16.

P S - Beware that the world is ruled by Satan, eg in politics and business(1JOHN.2:15).

 

[AnnaDeborah]

Seek God through His word. That is how you come to know Him and love Him more.

Sometimes, we can look at all the things in our lives that don't match with how we should be and feel overwhelmed. But the whole point is, we are not doing this on our own. When we become a Christian, Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit and it is HE who transforms us. We can hold on to things, saying 'I can't let this go because...' but if we just trust Him, He will bring us through.

 

[timewerx]

I'm a 18 year old female questioning her entire life right now.
Firstly, I am supposed to be Christian but I don't feel like one. I consider myself agnostic. That's because no matter how hard I try I just can't believe in the existence of God. However, I don't really believe in His non-existence. Sometimes I am a believer, sometimes I'm not. When I pray I feel like no one listens to me, like I try too hard to believe in something that doesn't even exist. I've tried talking to God, saying that I want to know and believe in Him, but nothing has ever happened. Whenever I feel like God does exist, I change my mind quickly afterwards. I would give everything I can to find out the truth! I hate being so confused...
I hate being so paranoid, like why do I even believe that priests are clowns obsessed with money (If I'm offending the priests out there, forgive me, please). I hate to dislike them! I dislike most of the Christian rules and traditions.
Secondly, as if my confusion isn't stressful enough, I also feel attracted to the same sex. Same sex only. And I don't see anything wrong with it although it goes against the God I am supposed to believe in. Yep. My life turns out to be a complete lie. I wish I were a man! Not because I feel like one, but because I could have a relationship with someone I feel attracted to. I hate having these not-so-healthy thoughts...
I would really appreciate if someone would be willing to give me some advice...
Thank you.

That sounds normal.

It's okay to question things. Always be very very careful what you're getting yourself into. Don't just become a Christian without even carefully looking / researching deep into it if it actually holds the truth or not.

Don't just believe because you fear hell. That is not the right approach to the truth. To know the truth, you must consider, research all the possibilities even if sometimes, it may sound utterly implausible.

 

[discipler7]

What I'm trying to say is that I'd like to stop fearing the hell and start loving God....

.
Christians are saved from hell through faith in Jesus Christ. So, salvation can only be lost by Christians losing faith, renouncing the faith(eg commit apostasy when facing persecution or martyrdom - MATTHEW.13 = the Parable of the Sower), departing from the faith(eg by following after demonic doctrines or false gospels - 1TIMOTHY.4:1), by cursing God/Jesus/Spirit(= blasphemy), etc.

In the Story of Job, Job and his wife suffered terribly because of Job's ignorant sin/evil-deed at JOB.1:5 & 3:25 = God permitted Satan to torment Job and his family.(A good, blameless and upright person can also be ignorant or impulsive, eg Peter cutting off the ear of Malchus)
....... Job ignorantly thought that his sons' sins/evil-deeds would cause him to lose all his hard-earned blessings from God. So, he made a vile offering to God to "insure" against such a calamity. But, about 400 years later, EXODUS.20:5 revealed that only the fathers' sins/evil-deeds would befall on the sons, ie not the other way round. IOW, Job feared/worried for nothing.

Even though ignorant Job did not understand why he was suffering, he kept the faith - in the end, he was "saved". In contrast, in her suffering, Job's wife likely lost faith, cursed God and died(JOB.2:9).
....... The Story of Job is not about God testing Job's faith by purposely permitting Satan to torment him and his family with misfortune and calamities.(1JOHN.5:18 = 18 We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.) Would a king do that to his son or daughter.?

Today, there may be ignorant or misguided Christians who foolishly go and sin, then suffer calamities(eg cancer) and eventually lose faith in Jesus Christ = eg curse God/Jesus and die.

So, best for Christians to keep God's Law, especially morality laws, so that they do not risk losing their faith and salvation. Lost faith = end up in hell after death.

 

[AnnaDeborah]

In the Story of Job, Job and his wife suffered terribly because of Job's ignorant sin/evil-deed at JOB.1:5 & 3:25

Job's suffering was not a result of an evil deed - if you check out Job 1 v 8, it says "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no-one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." God allowed the testing to take place because Satan claimed the only reason Job followed God was because God had blessed him, and that if bad things happened to Job, he would lose his faith (see verses 9-12)

 

[FatalHeart]

I'm a 18 year old female questioning her entire life right now.
Firstly, I am supposed to be Christian but I don't feel like one. I consider myself agnostic. That's because no matter how hard I try I just can't believe in the existence of God. However, I don't really believe in His non-existence. Sometimes I am a believer, sometimes I'm not. When I pray I feel like no one listens to me, like I try too hard to believe in something that doesn't even exist. I've tried talking to God, saying that I want to know and believe in Him, but nothing has ever happened. Whenever I feel like God does exist, I change my mind quickly afterwards. I would give everything I can to find out the truth! I hate being so confused...
I hate being so paranoid, like why do I even believe that priests are clowns obsessed with money (If I'm offending the priests out there, forgive me, please). I hate to dislike them! I dislike most of the Christian rules and traditions.
Secondly, as if my confusion isn't stressful enough, I also feel attracted to the same sex. Same sex only. And I don't see anything wrong with it although it goes against the God I am supposed to believe in. Yep. My life turns out to be a complete lie. I wish I were a man! Not because I feel like one, but because I could have a relationship with someone I feel attracted to. I hate having these not-so-healthy thoughts...
I would really appreciate if someone would be willing to give me some advice...
Thank you.

"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power."

The problem here is not doubt or uncertainty but a matter of desire of the heart. Indeed, I am absolutely certain you have gotten the wrong example of who God is from your family and upbringing; most do, in every church, not just your denomination. However, the problem is that we adhere to these teachings initially very strongly even if we dislike them because of personal and family and cultural pride. Bring up any case of misinformation about any topic someone finds passionate about, and they'll take it as an insult and quickly bring up accusation and abuse against you. But factions and dissensions are a result of the sinful nature and those that live in that type of life will be brought to their rightful end.

Now, considering the testimony of the Bible, and the defense of the Spirit that comes behind the words of Christ, "Their voice has gone out to all the world," "He will convict the world," 'His divine nature and eternal power have been clearly seen," "That which our hands have touched ... this we proclaim to you." No; doubting God is more a manner of desire and self deception than it is in an unavailability of evidence or proof. Here are some common reasons that doubts come:

1. God does not answer how we want Him to.
2. God does not answer when we want Him to.
3. God is not who we want Him to be.
4. What God says is not what we want it to be.
5. What God does is not what we want Him to do.

And all of this, of course, has nothing to do with evidence; they are matters of the heart. But there is hope. The Hebrew word for "Peace" means completeness. It says to obey God and fear Him is the whole of man and elsewhere God says that, "Anyone whose hope is in me will not be disappointed." So the promises are already there along with the conviction, all, without a greater example of evidence. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who believe in me and have not seen." So there is reason God might stay in the background in hard times to reward you for what you know and can stand against without His help in miraculous ways. However, Jesus also said this after appearing physically to someone who doubted, which shows that God is very able and willing to make Himself known.

So the question is not, "Is God real?" But, "Have I been honest with the ways that God has already shown me and what He wants from my life?" I have found my answers to prayer were given to me far before the sign taught me the words all over again. Indeed, in seeking God, I find the answers He gives me in those lightning bolt moments are nothing more than things He has already shown me in pieces everywhere along the way; there was nothing new God had to show me miraculously. But miracles will come.

I've recently had an Arab friend who was delivered from demonic possession and her mother was healed of cancer, all just because she mentioned the problems and I prayed about them without telling her. They were problems solved the next day miraculously because that's what God decided to do. I knew He existed before He did those things and would exist without doing those things. Miracles are merely mercies and not necessary. But they are a type of way God is very willing to show Himself, just not always profound. There was a time when He raised a friend of mine from the dead in another state after being twenty minutes flat-lined, without brain damage, and by the use of medical professionals, me, having no connection to the man himself, but simply aware of his situation, brought about by an answer to my prayer for a testimony to a second hand friend who had brought it to my attention and witnessed the events. It wasn't done profoundly. It wasn't a person waving their hand over a wound, though the broken skull did restore itself fast by the testimony of the one I was witnessing to (I never saw the guy). The point is that God had already been working in her life before this miracle and even after she still has not believed in Him. It's not about God appearing before you; it's about you accepting reality and God for who they are and whether or not you are willing to pursue Him regardless of the cost. God has laid on you a heavy burden with your desires, but with such a burden will come a reward that should not be compared.

I have been alone my entire life. I recently have been shown it has been God fighting against me and that His intention is eternal while mine is finite. There are such things we never wish to be true, but we must endure them to be righteous. I will never know your pain, but I have my own, and there have been many times I have died as a person, losing my dreams and the future I was living for. But God is right and there is no other way worth pursuing. There will be the same type of pains for you if you want to be with God. And if you're having problems feeling Him during prayer, try just being with Him. It wasn't until my friend stopped asking God for things and started to share her thoughts and her day with God like He was another human being with feelings, that He started letting her feel Him everywhere. But analyze your heart. It is a sin issue and Adam was not deceived but still disobeyed God. Understand then that the sin in you is not interested in God at all, but that it leads to death, and does so willingly. I will pray to God for you and I am sure He will answer me as He always does, but I cannot say how or when or in what way it will be for you. I hope you understand the encouragement set before you; when my friend was delivered the demon came back, and, because it no longer had power over her, it rested on her back to try and scare her; the powers of Satan have already been defeated in your life and the darkness he has laid out for you is a lie. God will reward those who follow Him and they will not be disappointed. So, also, if you find yourself with a great sacrifice and pain to do what is right, you are blessed more than others. Stand strong and achieve all that God has laid out before and do not shrink back from the victory that is already been appointed to you, if you want it. But remember, "We will all stand before the judgment seat of God." He will show no partiality.