Legitimate help, honest answers.

[GwG]

Im not new to religion, I was raised under catholisism so I know the bible. I know what it expects from us and I agree with the moral code it outlines. However, when I pray I feel nothing. People always tell me god reaches out in different ways for different people but I have never felt his presence. I can admit I am not as open minded as I once was but I know I never truely believed, I cooporated through fear of an everlasting death in hell. I know that I will not find god by fearing him but I would appreciate any help. I would like to point out again I was always an active church member in my youth and I was very good at interpreting the bible but my main issue is never truley finding anything spiritual in it. only guidelines to be a good person. I have a theory that maybe jesus was merely ahead of his time intelligence wise, with the rise of an autocracy I can see why someone would want to draw the minds of the civilians to an untouchable throne. where there would be rule by love and not force. basically im looking for someone whos had this problem and found a way through it because doubt will always be there for me unless I find answers.

 

[paul1149]

Fear can keep you out of trouble, but it's no way to live a life or have a relationship. The Lord wants to replace the fear with love: perfect love casts out fear.

Jesus assures us that if we ask for bread, we will not get a stone, and if we ask for the Holy Spirit, God is eager to comply. Make sure you're willing to receive the Lord on His terms. Make ongoing requests, and stand your ground in faith, waiting for the Light. It will come.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Hi,

I have only ever felt God once. I do not have feelings but it has not stopped me from having experiences with God. He has made himself very real to me with out feelings. I love sharing those experiences with people and if you are not to busy you could read some of them at Know God Personally.

Ultimately you can't rely upon feelings, you have to just rely upon the truth that is contained with in the bible, and live your life based upon that truth regardless of how you think you should be feeling. The truth is God loves you doubts, fears and all, and wants the very best for you. Always take God at his word, know that what Jesus says is coming from the mouth of God, it is more than just an advanced idea it is Gods purpose expressed in words.

 

[GwG]

Is faith required in order for him to reveal himself as god and not as a coincidence or thought. I feel any signs I could have had were more likely self generated.. I have always been somewhat open to him, I won't say I have truley been searching but I have been waiting. Could it be im not ready for gods path? maybe I need to make a few more decisions on my own before I can live by him? If there was a theoretical divinity I would assume he would make himself known in order to insure we do as designed. Then again I could be completely misinterpreting and he could chose to be absent in my life so I make the decision to follow him on my own? Such a complicated subject faith is.. Seems like free will is more of a test then a gift

 

[paul1149]

Two things are essential. You have to really want God, and you have to open the door. Recall the man who was desperate for his demonized son. He exclaimed, "I believe; help Thou my unbelief!" That says it all about the human condition. We always are a mix of faith and unbelief, even after years of being surrendered to the Lord. It always will take a bit of effort on our part to reach out to Him. Hebrews calls this laboring to enter His rest.

Whatever your situation, if you turn to Him in good faith, He will meet you where you are. That was the whole message of the Incarnation: we couldn’t reach God, He had to come down to our level. All He asks is a bit of good faith on our part, and that gives Him the right to move on our behalf.

 

[Faulty]

If you'd allow me, I'd like to dig a bit at the root.

If today you were standing before the Throne of God being judged and He asked you why He should let you in His Heaven. What would you say?

 

[mnolen82]

Im not new to religion, I was raised under catholisism so I know the bible. I know what it expects from us and I agree with the moral code it outlines. However, when I pray I feel nothing. People always tell me god reaches out in different ways for different people but I have never felt his presence. I can admit I am not as open minded as I once was but I know I never truely believed, I cooporated through fear of an everlasting death in hell. I know that I will not find god by fearing him but I would appreciate any help. I would like to point out again I was always an active church member in my youth and I was very good at interpreting the bible but my main issue is never truley finding anything spiritual in it. only guidelines to be a good person. I have a theory that maybe jesus was merely ahead of his time intelligence wise, with the rise of an autocracy I can see why someone would want to draw the minds of the civilians to an untouchable throne. where there would be rule by love and not force. basically im looking for someone whos had this problem and found a way through it because doubt will always be there for me unless I find answers.

I will be praying for you. I agree with some others when you cannot rely solely on "feeling" to let you know that Jesus is real. I believe God has given us the Holy Spirit "the Spirit of truth" and the Bible, God's Word, "the Word of truth." The Word and the Spirit go hand in hand. Read your Bible with an open heart and mind and be willing to let the Spirit move in your life. Pray for God to give you wisdom and revelation. When I was young, I read the Bible, I attended church regularly, I was "involved" but I never really UNDERSTOOD. Now that I have committed myself to reading the Bible and understanding what God is telling me as a believer, I feel the Holy Spirit moving in my life and the doubts have vanished. Here are some verses that you may want to look at:
Ephesians 1:17-18
1 Corinthians 2:9-10
2 Corinthians 4:6

May God bless you and open your heart to the truth of His Spirit and his Word.

 

[GwG]

I will be praying for you. I agree with some others when you cannot rely solely on "feeling" to let you know that Jesus is real. I believe God has given us the Holy Spirit "the Spirit of truth" and the Bible, God's Word, "the Word of truth." The Word and the Spirit go hand in hand. Read your Bible with an open heart and mind and be willing to let the Spirit move in your life. Pray for God to give you wisdom and revelation. When I was young, I read the Bible, I attended church regularly, I was "involved" but I never really UNDERSTOOD. Now that I have committed myself to reading the Bible and understanding what God is telling me as a believer, I feel the Holy Spirit moving in my life and the doubts have vanished. Here are some verses that you may want to look at:
Ephesians 1:17-18
1 Corinthians 2:9-10
2 Corinthians 4:6

May God bless you and open your heart to the truth of His Spirit and his Word.

I love the corinthians, motivating. I know all I feel I should need to know. I know the various ways people have found god but I have found nothing. Tell me, have any of you heard anything of this? I was young, just transfered into public schooling, I wanted to further my bible studies so my mom hired a tutor. Some point in the studies she showed me a prayer to take the "luck" as she said, and give it to someone in need. I was desperate to find gods presence so I said the prayer hoping that for such a sacrifice he would show me his existence. To be honest, I did feel a serious decrease. Not in luck per-say, but faith. I felt absolutely nothing. I used to feel guilt for doing things, like someone was judging me. Now I feel nothing. I feel no presence in prayer. I feel like I am alone and I think its the only way to explain it. In anger I swore my alliance to satan, about the age of 10, it was stupid and I cried apologizing a few nights later. But I honestly believe it was whatever prayer I said. And through my studies my understanding is those who do not truley believe in god are damned to hell. I do not believe technically because I feel no connection, could this prayer have damned me to hell? and is it sick that I do not feel frightened by this, merely curious as to whom my faith was given?

 

[GwG]

If you'd allow me, I'd like to dig a bit at the root.

If today you were standing before the Throne of God being judged and He asked you why He should let you in His Heaven. What would you say?

If I died now, and were at the throne of god asked that question I would apologize for not believing truley, assuming he would understand my misconceptions. In all honesty I would ask for a good amount of time in pergatory to reflect on my mistakes and re-interpret the bible. I would find it completely different knowing of his existence. I look forward to death as much as I do him showing his presence in my life, whatever may bring me to him I will greet as simply a small step towards our relationship. I know I have felt guilt before, and guilt is contrived through fear, what is there to fear beyond man? If there were nothing it would seem guilt would be obsolete, however, I have felt guilt for doing bad things. That shows me logical evidence of his existence but not enough.

I realize that sounds pretty insane, however, I have always been waiting and once I find god's presence in my soul I will devote every second to him. I know of "god's" greatness through literature but not by experience yet so I would hope to have a chance to live a life for him without doubt, I know I have the potential to be metaphorically seraphim but with doubt I can't truley believe. From what I understand that may not be enough, most CCD teachers, after hearing my theories and beliefs, treated me like the new-commers explaining simple misc. things like suggesting prayer, and reading bible. I could tell the bible better then half of them, sorry to ramble, may I ask you the same question? we seem to be on two different ends of the faith spectrum so the answers could be intriguing

 

[joey_downunder]

It was at my university that I heard the full gospel for the first time. I had been brought up in a catholic home and went to catholic schools, always went to mass, actually enjoyed my RE lessons. I knew all the lingo and had even read the whole bible while growing up.

I had many of the jigsaw pieces but it had never been put together. Like me it sounds like you are like this blind man. mark 8:22-26

Here is the full gospel. The True Gospel by David Ravenhill - YouTube

Let's say you do get born again - there is no guarantee then that you'll feel anything. God seems to give experiences according to His will alone and IF we need them. If you become a christian you may be one of the ''thinking personality'' christians instead.

 

[oi_antz]

GwG, you lack the conviction of truth. What about the bible do you not believe?

 

[GwG]

GwG, you lack the conviction of truth. What about the bible do you not believe?

It is not that I do not believe it, but there are many ways the bible can be interpreted. I know how someone can believe in god and many ways it can be justified but logic shows just as many justifications for the rather. Been that way for a very long time, what comes into play to throw off my faith is my personality. The way I learn is by sight, I see to understand. I can't find anything out of the bible other then a very disieving moral code. I understand how much better people would be under guidlines in the bible and nobody would be able to sway the faith of the people, given they had proof. If god gave all of us obvious proof of his existence I guarentee everything would change for the better but he hasn't done that. I don't mean to start a flame war, just my painfully honest beliefs. However I did come here for direction towards better faith.

 

[GwG]

GwG, you lack the conviction of truth. What about the bible do you not believe?

It is not that I do not believe it, but there are many ways the bible can be interpreted. I know how someone can believe in god and many ways it can be justified but logic shows just as many justifications for the rather. Been that way for a very long time, what comes into play to throw off my faith is my personality. The way I learn is by sight, I see to understand. I can't find anything out of the bible other then a very disieving moral code. I understand how much better people would be under guidlines in the bible and nobody would be able to sway the faith of the people, given they had proof. If god gave all of us obvious proof of his existence I guarentee everything would change for the better but he hasn't done that. I don't mean to start a flame war, just my painfully honest beliefs. However I did come here for direction towards better faith.

 

[oi_antz]

It is not that I do not believe it, but there are many ways the bible can be interpreted. I know how someone can believe in god and many ways it can be justified but logic shows just as many justifications for the rather. Been that way for a very long time, what comes into play to throw off my faith is my personality. The way I learn is by sight, I see to understand. I can't find anything out of the bible other then a very disieving moral code. I understand how much better people would be under guidlines in the bible and nobody would be able to sway the faith of the people, given they had proof. If god gave all of us obvious proof of his existence I guarentee everything would change for the better but he hasn't done that. I don't mean to start a flame war, just my painfully honest beliefs. However I did come here for direction towards better faith.

Adam and Eves faith was swayed wasn't it? I think you are wrong, I think that making Himself undeniable would not achieve the results He wants. What reason do you think He might have to do it that way? I can guarantee that His way is best, but you have to accept it. In your present case you will need to understand it in order to accept it.

Take this verse that Jesus said:

John 14:23-25
New Living Translation (NLT)
23 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. 24 Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me.

Have a think about why He did it that way, then think about why you give weight to your doubt over belief. What do you think?

 

[GwG]

Adam and Eves faith was swayed wasn't it? I think you are wrong, I think that making Himself undeniable would not achieve the results He wants. What reason do you think He might have to do it that way? I can guarantee that His way is best, but you have to accept it. In your present case you will need to understand it in order to accept it.

Take this verse that Jesus said:

John 14:23-25
New Living Translation (NLT)
23 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. 24 Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me.

Have a think about why He did it that way, then think about why you give weight to your doubt over belief. What do you think?

Their faith was swayed by curiosity, as is mine. Comes naturally in our nature so it was part of the design, I feel god would want his people to know truth. I agree the results could be different, but given the choice of good and evil I believe the majority would side with god. Evil will always have its followers, but why hide the truth? That only makes the path towards evil sugar coated. I know his way is best, but the bible also speaks of unconditional truth and honesty which god has revieled none of to me. I have read the bible, prayed, confessed sin, baptised, confirmed catholic, I learned basic math from a nun. I have been involved and informed of religious practice my whole life, ignorance is not the issue with my faith. To describe my faith for god would be to describe the word vacuous and the problem lies with proof. Should I continue practicing and worshiping jesus, or give up until god decides to throw me a bone?

 

[oi_antz]

Their faith was swayed by curiosity, as is mine.

I agree Then there should be a lesson for us to learn, you know what they say, those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.

Comes naturally in our nature so it was part of the design, I feel god would want his people to know truth.

I believe that is true, and I believe that God's people would also want us to know the truth. Isn't it interesting that this is the sole purpose of Jesus' life, according to what He said to Pontius Pilate:

John 18:37
Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”

I agree the results could be different, but given the choice of good and evil I believe the majority would side with god.

Wrong. Most people love sin and struggle to repent:

John 3:18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.[g]”

If I was to exit this thread and leave you one morsel of wisdom, it would be those verses 20 and 21. Which person are you? You are being drawn to the light, what will you do when push comes to shove?

Evil will always have its followers, but why hide the truth?

What is hidden?

That only makes the path towards evil sugar coated. I know his way is best, but the bible also speaks of unconditional truth and honesty which god has revieled none of to me. I have read the bible, prayed, confessed sin, baptised, confirmed catholic, I learned basic math from a nun. I have been involved and informed of religious practice my whole life, ignorance is not the issue with my faith. To describe my faith for god would be to describe the word vacuous and the problem lies with proof. Should I continue practicing and worshiping jesus, or give up until god decides to throw me a bone?

The issue is mostly that you are not perceiving God. We need to figure out why that is. I believe He works very hard to get through to us, and when the penny drops you'll look back on your experiences and see the footprints in the sand.

Did you give any thought to that verse I quoted you earlier? What do you think about the promise? Do you think that all your actions constitute full obedience? Sometimes we have to listen really hard to hear God above the roar of our self/ego.

 

[GwG]

I agree Then there should be a lesson for us to learn, you know what they say, those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.

I believe that is true, and I believe that God's people would also want us to know the truth. Isn't it interesting that this is the sole purpose of Jesus' life, according to what He said to Pontius Pilate:

John 18:37
Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”

Wrong. Most people love sin and struggle to repent:

John 3:18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.[g]”

If I was to exit this thread and leave you one morsel of wisdom, it would be those verses 20 and 21. Which person are you? You are being drawn to the light, what will you do when push comes to shove?


What is hidden?

The issue is mostly that you are not perceiving God. We need to figure out why that is. I believe He works very hard to get through to us, and when the penny drops you'll look back on your experiences and see the footprints in the sand.

Did you give any thought to that verse I quoted you earlier? What do you think about the promise? Do you think that all your actions constitute full obedience? Sometimes we have to listen really hard to hear God above the roar of our self/ego.

That is honestly the best way anyone as ever explained it to me. Thank you! It makes sense, I guess I misinterpreted the overall connection to god. I think what I will do is try my best to live a sinfull life, is it wrong to only worship the idea of god though? I don't think I will ever truley worship him until I see him in his kingdom and the "dots" are connected for me after I pass so to speak. I don't see any way my mind could even fathom "worhip" under someone I have only heard of in a book thats been re-translated over and over since the beginning of time. Have you ever played the telephone game? probably in your youth. The object of the game is to form a sentence with or without meaning. For example; "the dog runs south." Even with a mature class, every single time we played this game the sentence was warped beyond recognition. I have played this game with adults, even through a mature crowd just one simple sentence is torn appart and rebuilt into something else. The bible could be wrong, that thought will most likely never fade for me. I can't say I wont have some sort of enlightening moment, but it seems unlikely.

 

[paul1149]

GwG,

oi antz very skillfully brought you to the major dividing line. Implicit in John 3.20-21 is that everyone has a bit of light which they can choose to follow if they wish. Paul puts it this way:

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. -Rom 1:20
​

The whole passage is worth reading. The reference is to the witness of nature, and of the natural law built into each person. On top of that is the special revelation of the Bible. If you're having doubts about its reliability, there are books you can read that go into the technical side of it, and that also deal with the philosophical apologetics side. For instance, does it make sense that the apostles would willingly go to their deaths for a lie?

Jesus gave us a gateway scripture that really boils it down to our own choice and responsibility:

If anyone is willing to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. -John 7:17
​

The Bible is saying that God is calling, and that judgment is coming and there will be no excuses. None. But there is a way to escape, for those who want it and ask for it.

I would recommend CS Lewis' short book, The Great Divorce. It lays out starkly what is at stake, and how some will not respond to the Light, while others, against great odds, do.

 

[Harry3142]

GwG-

Here are some Scripture passages which may help you answer your questions:

1. Luke 17:7-10. In this passage Jesus made it quite clear that we will not win points with God through our works. Whatever we do, and to whatever extent that we do it, we have done nothing except what we were supposed to do.

2. Romans 3:19-5:10. If we had to depend on obeying the laws and commandments, all of us would be doomed. But God doesn't want us to rely on ourselves; he wants us to rely on him. It was his plan, carried out with the help of his own Son, Jesus Christ, which has enabled us to be saved. The patriarchs of old had faith in God rather than in any set of laws. And their faith in God himself was seen by him as righteousness.

3. Romans 7:14-25. St. Paul described in himself two opposing forces. 2,000 years later psychologists recognized what he described as an integral part of our psyche, and called it 'paradoxical intention'. It's the reason for the old saying, "The harder you try, the faster you fail." It is also the reason why we can never obey any set of laws and commandments in the manner that God wants. Our base nature blocks the attempts.

4. Galatians 5:16-26. These are 'the laws written on the heart'. I call this passage 'The Christians Code of Conduct', not because it has laws and commandments, but because it describes the new nature that God has seen fit to give us as an indispensable aid. Since the only way our words and actions are capable of being 'in synch' with God's wishes is if those words and actions originate in a nature that is itself approved by God, we must put our trust in God in this area just as we put our trust in him for our salvation.

It is through the Spirit's succeeding in conquering our sinful nature, and in the Spirit's literally implanting in us a new nature that conforms to God's will, that we become capable of doing what God wants of us, through his using our talents. It is when the 9 fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are the impetus for our words and actions that those words and actions can be said to be originating from a divine source.

5. Matthew 25:31-46. I call this 'the litmus test'. If a person claims to be a Christian, but has no compassion for those around him who are in need, that person is a fraud. He may fool other people, but he cannot fool God.

Genuine Christians will reflect the compassion for others that Jesus himself had. And as he showed his compassion through alleviating the suffering that he saw around him, we are to alleviate the suffering we see around us.

I hope this helps you. God bless-

 

[oi_antz]

That is honestly the best way anyone as ever explained it to me. Thank you! It makes sense, I guess I misinterpreted the overall connection to god. I think what I will do is try my best to live a sinfull life, is it wrong to only worship the idea of god though?

Did you mean sinful or sinless? You shouldn't try to live sinfully, it is not fair. To answer your question, no I don't think you should fake worship because that would be living a lie. I don't think there is anything wrong identifying yourself as Christian when you have doubts, faith is a gift from God anyway.

I don't think I will ever truley worship him until I see him in his kingdom and the "dots" are connected for me after I pass so to speak.

Don't forget that Jesus preached that the kingdom of God is within us. You don't have to die to see it, its right here among us today, and you don't need to die to have the dots connected, you just need to receive The Holy Spirit.

I don't see any way my mind could even fathom "worhip" under someone I have only heard of in a book thats been re-translated over and over since the beginning of time.

How do you think Cain knew God?

Have you ever played the telephone game? probably in your youth. The object of the game is to form a sentence with or without meaning. For example; "the dog runs south." Even with a mature class, every single time we played this game the sentence was warped beyond recognition. I have played this game with adults, even through a mature crowd just one simple sentence is torn appart and rebuilt into something else.

If you are serious about knowing the truth, you will find that this presentation is definitely worth watching:

The Reliability of the New Testament Text (Dr. James White) - YouTube

The first ten minutes are slow, but when he kicks into fact it is very gripping. 12:20 is where you get your answer.

The bible could be wrong, that thought will most likely never fade for me. I can't say I wont have some sort of enlightening moment, but it seems unlikely.

I think you are giving up too soon. I lived 30 years before I gave my life to Jesus, and when I did I did not come at it with any such intention. I concentrated my thoughts hard for three weeks day and night, wake and sleep to solve the religion puzzle. I got so frustrated I literally surrendered to Him "show me the truth, I'll do anything", and He showed me that one thing I was suppressing so hard. I agreed to obey Him and quit that sin. My colleague helped me through the sinners prayer and I found a minister at a church who assisted me as Jesus exorcised the demons. That night He fluttered down from heaven and told me "I will never leave you", then He trained my thoughts to think in the ways of the prophets. This is how the bible came real for me and I came to hear God as I read it.

So what I say is this: even though some believe the bible contains fiction, it surely contains fact. Those who don't know God may believe that the writers were mistaken. What matters to me is that I believe I am not mistaken in my relationship with God, and that when I read the bible, He speaks. I would love for you to know Him in the same way, it's just difficult for me to help you with that because I can't get inside your mind and examine your heart. That is something you have to work with God for.

You mentioned that you once swore your allegiance to Satan, did he ever take you up on that offer?