need some guidance

[Charles Shaheen]

hello im charles and i'm a christian but i feel that when i ask for forgiveness for my sins i go right back to sinning again i don't know what to do i know god forgives me but i'm tired of sinning i pray for guidance and nothing has changed i listen to the bible via audio books
is there something that i can do to get me closer to god? and to stop the sinning
thank you for ur help

 

[Aussie Pete]

hello im charles and i'm a christian but i feel that when i ask for forgiveness for my sins i go right back to sinning again i don't know what to do i know god forgives me but i'm tired of sinning i pray for guidance and nothing has changed i listen to the bible via audio books
is there something that i can do to get me closer to god? and to stop the sinning
thank you for ur help

You need to know that you are no longer under the power of sin. Being tempted is not sin, so don't fall for that lie. I suggest that you read Romans 6, 7 and 8 until the truth gets from your head to your heart. All Christians are a work in progress. We surely should find sin's hold weakens as we go on. Then we find that things we used to accept are sin to us. So it's a journey, a marathon, not a sprint. The victory comes when you realise that it's not you who overcomes sin, but Christ in you who is your victory. Let Him do the living and you do the trusting and obeying.

 

[Stephen P]

hello im charles and i'm a christian but i feel that when i ask for forgiveness for my sins i go right back to sinning again i don't know what to do i know god forgives me but i'm tired of sinning i pray for guidance and nothing has changed i listen to the bible via audio books
is there something that i can do to get me closer to god? and to stop the sinning
thank you for ur help

Hi Charles
Same feelings here: a few thoughts.

It starts with Repentance doesn't it?
If you sin and you are not repentant, that sin stays until Judjement day.
If in your prayers or at Church formally, you ask for forgiveness from ALL of your sins "Father, forgive us all that is past" you will be forgiven EVERY time you ask for forgiveness. Even if you repeat it 12334466322 times..

Which is why the Lords Prayer does its job so well.
The double quotes are paraphrased from part of the Anglican service.
Please someone correct me here but
Repentance is:
1. Realising that you have sinned, 'Bugger, I shouldn't have done that' instead of 'Yeah! I enjoyed that! Who cares what anyone else thinks?'
2. "Intending to Lead a new life" (part of the Communion service)
"The Vilest offender who truly believes, That moment from Jesus a pardon recieves" (Hymn to God be the Glory)
The wish to "do not bring us to the time of trial" and "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" Helps us to recognise with God that WE sin and we cause sin on others.

I do not know if this link will come out correctly, but I screen dumped a google find that is a scanned document.. It felt the right words.

The Living Church

Cheers
Stephen

 

[Job3315]

hello im charles and i'm a christian but i feel that when i ask for forgiveness for my sins i go right back to sinning again i don't know what to do i know god forgives me but i'm tired of sinning i pray for guidance and nothing has changed i listen to the bible via audio books
is there something that i can do to get me closer to god? and to stop the sinning
thank you for ur help

Sins are a counterfeit of what you need from God. If you meditate on why you are sinning, you will find out what is it that the devil is offering you that you need from God. A great advice I heard once was that when you feel like sinning, to grab a piece of paper and write down your thoughts about it. In many cases the desire will pass. Also, be honest with God about it. People try to control their sin but leave God out of the process. Sit down with Him and talk to Him about your sin and ask Him for a solution and to fill that void that the devil is trying to fill with his nature.

 

[Stephen P]

Very Very helpful advice.
I find I happily admit all but 2/10ths of the sin.
If I did what Job did first and wrote All 10 points down, I'd be better able to address the points in prayer remembering them properly, even if my prayer time was much later and by asking for Christian mentoring and finding patterns in the missing points etc etc.
Thanks

 

[St_Worm2]

hello im charles and i'm a christian but i feel that when i ask for forgiveness for my sins i go right back to sinning again i don't know what to do i know god forgives me but i'm tired of sinning i pray for guidance and nothing has changed i listen to the bible via audio books
is there something that i can do to get me closer to god? and to stop the sinning
thank you for ur help

Hello Charles, first things first, WELCOME TO CF brother

I don't have a lot of time to talk tonight, but I wanted to tell you that it's a very good thing that you are in God's word! Do you ever talk to Him about what you are reading/listening to, not only to understand it better and more deeply, but thanking and praising Him too?

One thing that helps me get closer to God is finding things to thank and/or praise Him for throughout the day and night, not only in His word, and not only the big things, but even the smallest of things in this world too (like a cool breeze, or a warm beam of sunshine). The reason this works is that it reminds me that He is here always right here with me in any and every situation, wherever I am and whatever I am doing, such that it becomes a way of practicing the presence of God in my life (by helping me remember that He is there and wants to be part of every aspect of my life) .. e.g. Philippians 4:6-8; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

All of the Christian spiritual disciplines are there to help us live the Christian life effectively and for God's glory, of course, the four principle ones being studying the Bible, prayer, fellowship and witnessing.

There's a 5th discipline, one that ended up making all the difference for me (as far as stopping sinning goes), and that discipline is Scripture memorization or "treasuring" God's word in your heart. As the Bible tells us,

Psalms 119:9, 11
How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy word. Thy word I have 'treasured' in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee!
​

I'm talking about memorizing a number of verses and passages, not chapters or books, or the entire NT itself So, if you think you'd like to give it a try (I won't kid you, it is hard work), just let me know and I'd be happy to help you get started.

Praying for you.

God bless you! (Philippians 1:6, 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

--David
p.s. - one of the main ways that we obey the command in James 4:7 to, "resist the devil", and to then receive the promise that goes with it because we did, "and he will flee from you", is by taking our sinful thoughts "captive" and giving them over to Jesus to deal with instead .. 2 Corinthians 10:5, over and over and over again, as necessary. When we do so, the enemy eventually tires of our persistence and leaves us for an easier target

 

[Stephen P]

Hi Charles

It starts with Repentance doesn't it?
If you sin and you are not repentant, that sin stays until Judjement day.
If in your prayers or at Church formally, you ask for forgiveness from ALL of your sins "Father, forgive us all that is past" you will be forgiven EVERY time you ask for forgiveness. Even if you repeat it 12334466322 times..

The Living Church

Cheers
Stephen

Apologies!
I said something dangerous here:
"If you sin and you are not repentant, that sin stays until Judjement day."
Because that makes it look like you have to be immediately repentant to cancel the sin;
I Meant to say:
"If you sin and you are not repentant AT ANY TIME DURING YOUR ENTIRE LIFETIME, Even 1 second before your death, that sin stays until Judjment day."

I believe you can generally ask for "anything I have done wrong, please forgive me Father" at any time and for any sin, and if you truly believe, they are gone ALL of them - that easy.

But you have to want to stop, you can't deliberately sin saying it's alright, I'll cancel it at church on Sunday.
You need to have a wish to stop. Which it looks like you are doing.

s.

 

[Tolworth John]

hello im charles and i'm a christian but i feel that when i ask for forgiveness for my sins i go right back to sinning again i don't know what to do i know god forgives me but i'm tired of sinning i pray for guidance and nothing has changed i listen to the bible via audio books
is there something that i can do to get me closer to god? and to stop the sinning
thank you for ur help

Sorry it doesn't work like that. There is no waiving of a magic wand and everything is alright.

Please read 1Cor13:10
"No temptation has sized you except that which is common to man.
God is faithfull he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear but will always provide a way of escape."

The dreadful news is that you have to resist temptation and not give into it. Because you have not yet resisted beyond what you can do.
You give in far too easily.
To help you in the next verse it says flee, run away from those things that tempt you.

So be practical, get rid of those things that tempt you.
If it's drink, chuck out all your alcohol, sign up for AA if it is a problem.
Gambling again chuck it out, use antivirus to block all access to it..
Porn, ditto.

If it is your friends start by saying no and sticking to it.

For more local help contact your minister, look for and watch broadcast church services.