Making Christianity Real

[Gamal]

Hi, I would like to add my two cents on making Christianity real. I can feel your pain because I was lost, but now I'm found. For me it started when i was 13, I was on drugs when i started to ask what if there is no God. When i was 15 i was reading a book on philosophy. But even then i knew the answer to my quetions would be simple. Now at the age of 22 i found it. Jesus!!

The case for christ is a great book. It helped me out a lot. But what got me is if you look and consentrate on the detail's of all the good things that hapens to you while praying for the wisdom and light to see in the dark. God is light and darkness is the absence of light. Jesus is the door, I pray you will let the light in.

God bless!

 

[Faith In God]

So here's a question I have, and yet I have little hope of it being answered to my fulfilliment, but I really hope someone can.

How do you make Christianity real to yourself if you are not a Christian and have been a non-Christian for a very long time?

Look into some of the claims of the bible. Look humbly into your own self and see if what it says about your condition in sin is true.

I haven't ever really been a Christian though I called myself that once upon a time. Then I fell completely from the Church, and basically decided God didn't exist.

We appreciate your honesty.

For almost 3 years now, I've been convinced He exists, but not sure what form He takes. Under a year ago, I decided I wanted to read the Bible, but never got started on it.

I met the lady who would quickly become my wife about 11 months ago. We got married after 8 months of dating/engagement. She is a very strong Christian and I see what it means to her. So now I'm convinced God exists, I'm convinced I want to be a Christian. I read the Bible frequently, I have read most of The Case for Christ, and parts of (More) Evidence that Demands a Verdict, and I attend a church with my wife.

The final step would be to ask Christ to come into my life, and for me to acknowledge that he is my saviour, but to do that means (to me, an analytical person) that I'm saying "Ok, I KNOW you are who you say you are now, and I'm willing to stake my soul on it" which is just not something I can do yet.

You make a larger gamble if you don't. If you don't you gamble that it's false and the stake is your soul. I'm not saying that you should accept Christ as Savior and Lord 'just in case', but don't look at it in the form of 'Well, if this is right, then...'

It doesn't feel real enough yet. I believe the Bible is divinely inspired and I believe that Jesus CERTAINLY existed and did what is said of him... Just for some reason, it's not real inside to me still. Try as hard as I may, pray as much as I do, read as much as I can, I still don't FEEL something inside... How do you accept him as your personal saviour if you don't FEEL inside that he is. It's not that I'm saying he is not, I'm just not certain that he is....

help?

Realize that YOU ARE A SINNER IN NEED OF A SAVIOR! Look into your conscience and realize that the bible is true when it says that in man there is no clean thing. You need to be right before God today. Now is the day of salvation. You aren't guaranteed another breath. You are so close, it would be a tragedy if you did not take the real step of repentance and trust in Christ. I'll pray for you

 

[TheMainException]

Okay my friend...you have conquered many of the steps in getting to where you are...even asking for help....but,now where to go to make it REAL??? I think that it might be in God's park now. If you are praying....keep praying, if not, START! But keep going for what you have begun to see as light and truth.

 

[shayd]

Wow... you guys truly are incredible...

I haven't probably been logged into CF here since my last post so long ago... and I imagine this thread has been dead and buried for quite some time... My wife and I started reading the book of John together every night until we finished it... we then watched a video version (direct text from the Bible) of Matthew which was nice. We were in the Word daily, and going to Church frequently...

then we moved... to Saint Louis...

There was a lot going on at first, and we used that as an excuse for not being active in a church, but now, for probably 10 months or so, we have been looking for a church and cannot find ANYTHING we like.

I am once again reading the Case for Christ, and we are reading the Bible somewhat frequently together. This last Sunday we found a church we like, except for the fact that it's very small and has been around for quite a while... makes you wonder why more people aren't going there... I know the whole "people aren't perfect" and "no church will be pefect" thing... I agree, we are just looking for somewhere we can be comfortable... and we want the church and in particular the youth to be sorta big, because we found out we're pregnant several months ago. Despite my faith or lack thereof, I still want my child raised in church with friends and activites from the Church being a large part of their entertainment while young.

Anyway, just wanted to check back in, and this thread seemed the appropriate place to do so. Thank you guys so much for all the posts, prayers and thoughts.

Rick

 

[BarbB]

Hi Rick-

I just thought of several other things I left out of my pm to you.

You say you and your wife are reading the Bible together now. Keep that up. Also, pray with your wife every day. Face eachother and hold each other's hands and just lift up your daily concerns to God. Also, lift up your concerns about a church and about him! Begin listening to Christian radio. Watch Christian TV pastors like Charles Stanley - I love him and have learned so much from him over the years. Also, if you have DISH satellite, watch Word Pictures on Angel One channel.

 

[Inperfected]

Hmm... I admit i miten't be replying to the topic of the OP (original post,... or so i believe) but congratulations on the baby coming!

The way i see it, you have SO much more going for you, and your child, than many christians... Why? because you are willing to lookinto what you are thinking about believeing in, and questioning it! With this, it is so much more likely to succeed... For me, and only for me, i've found that when they are worshipping at church, or sometimes even in my room with candles around (sets a quieter atmostphere) i listen to the music, and ask questions... Tho God doesn't always even often speak back, i see my questions become answered, as i'll often know the answers, but just can't find them in the rush of each day...

Tho you may not be a christian, prayer is something that may be important... before i was born, my dad prayed, tho he wasn't a christian that "if God was real, heal his back... if not he'll break up with his gf tomoro (his now wife)"... The long and the short of it is he hasn't a broken back anymore, and isn't paralysed. He was healed that next nite, and i have a lovely mum! I think the real thing behind that is he made himself question and try to belive... And tho god may not aswer that big each time... It's awesome when he answers..

Keep going, and keep communicating with the wife about it!
You're going awesome!

 

[Faith In God]

Don't join a church solely on the comfort level. Join a church on how it upholds biblical truths. Better to hear the truth and be uncomfortable about it than to hear untruths (for example, now that I know that metal in outlets can really, really hurt you, I am uncomfortable, but it is better than if I didn't know and wasn't careful about not touching open metal when live currents are involved)