New member, new christian

[GrahamR]

Hello all.

I am a 19 year old male from the UK and just in the last few days i have welcomed Jesus into my life.. i have prayed a couple of times asking for him to lead me down the right path... forgive me for my sins etc.... i've had thoughts where for example at school i said something hurtful to someone and now i feel really bad when i think about it...

The only thing is there is still a small nagging doubt in my mind which is... 'what if none of this is true'... i'd say in my mind i am about 80%-20% in favour of god being true.... how do i make it 100% basically is my question, when you believe is it always a sudden thing? like something has clicked... i mean i have felt that really it feels like a light has been switched on in my mind.. and is nearly shining at full power but not quite if you understand what i mean!. Or can believing also be a gradual process?

Thanks and may god be with you all!

 

[Catherineanne]

Hello all.

I am a 19 year old male from the UK and just in the last few days i have welcomed Jesus into my life.. i have prayed a couple of times asking for him to lead me down the right path... forgive me for my sins etc.... i've had thoughts where for example at school i said something hurtful to someone and now i feel really bad when i think about it...

The only thing is there is still a small nagging doubt in my mind which is... 'what if none of this is true'... i'd say in my mind i am about 80%-20% in favour of god being true.... how do i make it 100% basically is my question, when you believe is it always a sudden thing? like something has clicked... i mean i have felt that really it feels like a light has been switched on in my mind.. and is nearly shining at full power but not quite if you understand what i mean!. Or can believing also be a gradual process?

Thanks and may god be with you all!

And also with you.

Yes, belief is a process. You can't believe fully until you know what it is that you believe, and that takes a lifetime.

Take all the time you need, and you will find what you are looking for. The prayer is; 'Lord, I believe. Help thou my unbelief.' And this is true of everyone.

 

[hounddf2]

yes I too am a fairly new Christian, I've been going to church for about 4 months... Every now and again I get a thought along the lines of "what if its all just rubbish, Am I just wasting my time?" But I am reassured when I read the bible and spend time within our fellowship - or even on here! I put it down to the enemy trying to chip away at the faith that separates me from him and unites me and God!

 

[SharonL]

That question is asked a lot of times - but that is what defines faith - the Bible tells us He will Bless those who believe and do not see.

The ole reasoning of 'what if it is not true - what have I lost?' - 'what if it is true and I don't believe - I've lost everything'

Faith grows as we walk hand in hand with Jesus being led by the Holy Spirit. Just walk with Jesus, talk to Him, pray to Him, He tells us in His Word that He will never leave us - the Holy Spirit is with you to guide you and give you a check in your spirit when you are doing something Jesus does not want you to do.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is your Friend - a friend that will never leave you.

Just read His Word - ask Him questions - He knows your heart and knows you love him and your relationship will grow stronger as you walk in the Joy of the Lord.

 

[Ric von Hemal]

First off, WELCOME TO THE FAMILY! You've made the most important choice in your entire life. Don't feel one bit bad about this little bit of question in your mind. Look at it this way... when you gave your life to Jesus, you put all of hell's armies on full alert. satan doesn't want you to be saved, because now you have access to what he wants and can't have(he already made his choice by rebelling against God).

Now, I've been walking with Jesus for almost 20 years... sometimes falling away, sometimes walking away then realizing I NEED Jesus. Looking back, I can see that when I wasn't making any steps toward a deeper relationship with God, satan backed off... why should he step in and do to us what we do to ourselves? If you ask me, that's a selling point to any new Christian that they've made the right choice.

Bro, you need not worry about whether God is real. He'll show you as much as you want to know about Him. While you've chosen life everlasting, you've also stepped onto a spiritual battlefield over good and evil. You'll have to be on guard, be prepared for any situation that might be presented before you(sexual offers, drugs, challenges to God's existence, family strife over your choice, etc.). Not trying to scare you by any means, but these things do happen to believers, and unfortunately lots of them aren't prepared for this and fall away from grace... it happened to me back in the day, and I tell you this in hopes that you won't do the same things so many of us did as new Christians.

There are so many tools that God has to issue us to help with this fight. He doesn't leave us to fend for ourselves. He gives us help in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as discernment of good and evil, words of knowledge, prophecies, intercessory prayer(someone praying for you who doesn't even know you)... these are but a few of God's awesome gifts, and He has one perfectly prepared for you and your role in the fight. As you grow deeper in Him, He'll equip you with tools to do what He asks you to do. When you do what He's equipped you to do, it literally blows your mind! I've been obedient to God in what seemed like a wierd manner, and through my hands He healed a severely injured knee... this guy was in bad pain and had to be carried in, and he walked out with no pain whatsoever from that point on.

My suggestion? Seek God's purpose for you. James wrote, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously without finding fault, and it will be given him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." If you're for real with God He'll be for real with you. You're gonna be just fine, brother. Again, congratulations... you started a BIG party in Heaven when you accepted Jesus!

 

[heymikey80]

I have had doubts like this, now mostly when it comes up I doubt my doubt.

I know what encounter I had that shifted my doubt to this, though. I was in my first class on Greek. Okay, so my doubts were seriously profound, I had to go that far. But the teacher pulled out his Bible and started reading the first half of 1 John 1 to help us realize where we'd be going this semester. It was in greek, and I didn't know greek then. But I was listening to the prof read the words and translate them "on the fly", explaining nuances, helping us all focus on the actual meaning of the words, and then it hit me ... the author wrote this in all honesty. The earnestness of the words just popped out at me. This wasn't fake. It shook me to the core, those words, and I realized he was playing no game.

God of all come in a visible, touchable, hearable being. And this guy touched Him, firsthand, and he's telling us, reaching across a language, across 2000 years.

 

[SpitfireOverThames]

Hi Graham,
Welcome and congratulations! What you've experienced is one of the greatest events of this life! I will pray for you that you grow in Him, that the roots of your faith will go deep and find nourishment from the Living Christ.... Bro, I'm also in UK (East London) so if you want to discuss things, I would love the chance to help you.

I really adhere to what Sharon wrote below: If you live for Christ, and you are wrong, you will have lost nothing...but you'd be able, after a full life, to look back and see that you touched people's lives with kindness, love, and charity...

But if you are right, you will gain everything in Him...and avoid the pitfalls of not knowing Him.

As I grow older, my faith is more and more certain. I simply decided years ago that I absolutely believe in the Creator, and I believe in the historicity and life-impact of Christ Jesus in history and people's lives.. I do not doubt anymore... I just find it of no advantage to be wavering and in doubt...

Sometimes, we are doubting because there is a part of us that feels like we are missing something fun and good in life... Maybe you fear being "cheated" if you follow Christ wholeheartedly... But perhaps you are hanging around boring Christians, or a half-dead church... If so, change your friends, and change your church. There are vibrant churches in London and other parts of UK that will make you never miss the old life.

Nice to know you,bro!
|Sean|

 

[visionary]

Welcome... He who has begun a good work in you will continue and finish His Good Work. Keep that same humble attitude and prayerfully keeping studying, seeking, searching the Word of God to see if it is so, and God will continue to open up your mind to His world, which is nothing like the World we live in. Take your finger and place it on Rev 3:20 and ask Him to come and visit with you. So that you can have a one on one with Him.

 

[GrahamR]

Thanks for all of your replies.... it is a bit of a strange feeling at the minute... the feeling you get when you are delving into the unkown if you get what i mean? a bit apprehensive.

I hope this is a normal feeling... i'm sort of thinking of every little thing that i do and wondering if it was the right thing to do or not... i'm probably thinking about it too much .... is it possible to do that?

Also the other thing i think about is that by nature i like to have a laugh and tell jokes etc you know just have a bit of fun...sometimes i wonder if this is the wrong way to act... but i'm sure God would want us to have fun too?

 

[visionary]

Thanks for all of your replies.... it is a bit of a strange feeling at the minute... the feeling you get when you are delving into the unkown if you get what i mean? a bit of apprehensive.

I hope this is a normal feeling... i'm sort of thinking of every little thing that i do and wondering if it was the right thing to do or not... i'm probably thinking about it too much .... is it possible to do that?

Also the other thing i think about is that by nature i like to have a laugh and tell jokes etc you know just have a bit of fun...sometimes i wonder if this is the wrong way to act... but i'm sure God would want us to have fun too?

The more you communicate with the Lord the more you will find out that the Lord has a sense of humor.

 

[latebloomer]

Of course God wants us to have fun. He gave us the ability to laugh, play, make music, and so forth, along with the ability to learn, invent, and work. There's nothing wrong with good, clean fun. Just take a little time to think about the things you do for fun. Don't do things that are hurtful to yourself or others. Don't tell jokes that are disrespectful to others. Keep reading your Bible and you will learn what's God pleasing and what's not.

 

[GrahamR]

like i work out and do weights, yea because it feels good to have a more toned body, but it also helps me when i play sports... is it wrong to want a toned body? These are the sort of questions i am asking myself at the minute.

 

[nhisname]

Hello all.

I am a 19 year old male from the UK and just in the last few days i have welcomed Jesus into my life.. i have prayed a couple of times asking for him to lead me down the right path... forgive me for my sins etc.... i've had thoughts where for example at school i said something hurtful to someone and now i feel really bad when i think about it...

The only thing is there is still a small nagging doubt in my mind which is... 'what if none of this is true'... i'd say in my mind i am about 80%-20% in favour of god being true.... how do i make it 100% basically is my question, when you believe is it always a sudden thing? like something has clicked... i mean i have felt that really it feels like a light has been switched on in my mind.. and is nearly shining at full power but not quite if you understand what i mean!. Or can believing also be a gradual process?

Thanks and may god be with you all!

Welcome brother into the body of Christ! You'll never regret it. Satan is the one putting doubts in your head and he will continually do so. God's word is our armor against his attacks. Read, study and pray...keep yourself ready and armed at all times. Satan prays on the spiritually weak.

 

[SpitfireOverThames]

like i work out and do weights, yea because it feels good to have a more toned body, but it also helps me when i play sports... is it wrong to want a toned body? These are the sort of questions i am asking myself at the minute.

This journey you have begun is something that you need to settle in your heart as being most of all a relationship with the Most High... Let's say you married a wonderful woman. You would do anything you could do to protect that relationship, to protect that special connection that you have with her heart-to-heart. If any foreign intruder came into the marriage threatening to divide you from her, you would fight, resist, and take any action possible to preserve that relationship (even if it meant death).

Likewise, your relationship with the Living God is similar... When you called to Him, when you surrendered to Him, He came into you... He breathed life to your spirit... You came alive to Him...

So now...its not about you analyzing every little thing you do... Firstly, if you want to be physically fit, you are honoring God's temple (your body) by being the most healthy, the most powerful you can be. There's nothing wrong with that... But equally true, you should be working out your SPIRIT...which comes when you meditate on Him, when you talk to Him, when you just position yourself to be in His presence... Exercising your body is a great way to keep yourself disciplined, perhaps being a master of self-control...

So what I'm saying is, you are in relationship with Him. As long as the things you do don't harm your connection heart-to-heart with Him, as long as you are putting His relationship above all other things (and people), you will not go wrong.

This thing isn't about dos and do nots... Its about what builds up your relationship with Him vs. what tears it down.

Also, your conscience is a gauge of when you are doing something that may be harmful or cause you problems spiritually... So watch the guage of your conscience, and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. He will help you too... His job as GOD the Spirit is to prepare you for the Bridegroom of the Lord Jesus when He returns... Protect your relationship with the Living GOD in all ways, as much as possible. And when you fail, confess to Him... Just admit your wrong, and begin building up that relationship again.

Hope this helps you, bro!

~Sean

 

[GrahamR]

This journey you have begun is something that you need to settle in your heart as being most of all a relationship with the Most High... Let's say you married a wonderful woman. You would do anything you could do to protect that relationship, to protect that special connection that you have with her heart-to-heart. If any foreign intruder came into the marriage threatening to divide you from her, you would fight, resist, and take any action possible to preserve that relationship (even if it meant death).

Likewise, your relationship with the Living God is similar... When you called to Him, when you surrendered to Him, He came into you... He breathed life to your spirit... You came alive to Him...

So now...its not about you analyzing every little thing you do... Firstly, if you want to be physically fit, you are honoring God's temple (your body) by being the most healthy, the most powerful you can be. There's nothing wrong with that... But equally true, you should be working out your SPIRIT...which comes when you meditate on Him, when you talk to Him, when you just position yourself to be in His presence... Exercising your body is a great way to keep yourself disciplined, perhaps being a master of self-control...

So what I'm saying is, you are in relationship with Him. As long as the things you do don't harm your connection heart-to-heart with Him, as long as you are putting His relationship above all other things (and people), you will not go wrong.

This thing isn't about dos and do nots... Its about what builds up your relationship with Him vs. what tears it down.

Also, your conscience is a gauge of when you are doing something that may be harmful or cause you problems spiritually... So watch the guage of your conscience, and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. He will help you too... His job as GOD the Spirit is to prepare you for the Bridegroom of the Lord Jesus when He returns... Protect your relationship with the Living GOD in all ways, as much as possible. And when you fail, confess to Him... Just admit your wrong, and begin building up that relationship again.

Hope this helps you, bro!

~Sean

cheers for that man, it helps alot.

 

[SharonL]

Legalism is a big speed bump in the road of your walk with JEsus - as stated above - throw down the do's and don's and don't worry about it - just live your life and the Holy Spirit will give you a check in your spirit when it is something you should not do.

God knows your heart and He knows if you are doing something you shouldn't just to be doing something wrong - or doing something because you do not know.

God has a great sense of humor - he made us - there is nothing wrong with telling jokes, having fun. If you are in a church that has all kinds of legalisms - be careful - God does not make up all these do's and don'ts - it is man that does that.

Just know Jesus is your friend, He is beside you all the time - He loves to have fun also.

 

[visionary]

like i work out and do weights, yea because it feels good to have a more toned body, but it also helps me when i play sports... is it wrong to want a toned body? These are the sort of questions i am asking myself at the minute.

While the healthy aspects are showing good stewardship of the temple He has given you to look after, do not stand infront of the mirror admiring what your hard work has achieved, nor be caught up in the accolades of your fellow men and women who would admire it also. Pride goes before the fall.

 

[heron]

Or can believing also be a gradual process?

Oh yes, of course. You are delving into the unknown, and that keeps it interesting. The experience is different for everyone, because we each have individual goals and lives.

Weights... look at what Paul said:

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Do you not know that those running in a stadium indeed all run, but one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain. But everyone striving controls himself in all things.

Then those truly that they may receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. So I run accordingly, as not uncertainly; so I fight, as not beating air; but I buffet my body and lead it captive, lest proclaiming to others I myself might be disapproved.
​

If you begin to feel guilty about time or energies spent, then turn it over to God, and decide to make it a time for prayer or audio recordings. Ask God to work through you and give you connections with people around you ... being useful in helping them with one thing or another. Interesting things may happen.

Daniel 1:8-16
And Daniel laid on his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine of his drinking. So he asked of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself....Please, test your servants ten days. And let vegetables be given to us that we may eat, and water that we may drink....And at the end of ten days their faces looked better and fatter of flesh than all the boys who were eating the king's food.

Some other verses to read:

Romans 12:1
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
1 Corinthians 9:27
Matthew 6:22
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
2 Corinthians 5:10
2 Corinthians 4:7, 10

Enjoy having God by your side! It is a wonderful way to live.

 

[mikev]

Hi GrahamR,

God bless you, brother! Welcome to the family!

Many times when I teach the Bible, I ask, “Why do you believe what you believe? Is it because that’s what your parents said? Is it because that’s what the Preacher says? Is it because that’s what your friend says.”

Believe it because you open the Book, and read it for yourself. You make it your own. And by all means, ask God to teach you and open His Word to you. And, if it takes time for things to gel, that’s okay.

The Bible says that Abraham, called the father of all them that believe, had to get fully persuaded that what God promised, He was able also to perform. The great Apostle Paul had to get fully persuaded. We all do.

Just continue to read the Bible; faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. The more we read and learn, the more we can believe.

And by all means, keep your sense of humor. There are lots of things we can laugh at without offending God or His people. There are already too many Christians who need to “lighten up” a bit. God gave us this life to enjoy. And besides, if I am living a miserably sad life, how can I possibly invite someone else to try out Christianity? “Hey, want to be like me?” No!

And one last thing, no one is perfect. We are all growing, and, we change from the inside. The Bible says that it is the goodness of God that leads a man to change. So don’t be so hard on yourself, and don’t let others try and make you do a bunch of things so that you will be right in God’s sight. The Bible says that He has already made you righteous.

Romans 3:22 and 23:
Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
​

The Bible says that there is nothing that can separate you from the love of God. So, enjoy your relationship with God by reading His Word, and, by talking to Him all through the day.

God bless you,

Mike

 

[hlaltimus]

No matter what the inevitable problems are in your Christian experience, there is nothing that will not be either solved or at least improved upon, by a life that is full of the Holy Spirit of God and all that entails upon your relationship to such an unspeakably infinite, holy, powerful and glorious Being. You have now entered upon a pathway that will surely lead you unto glory if you stay upon that pathway, but this charted course also lays dead straight through a battlefield where practically all of your enemies are greater than you are, and all heavenly pilgrims have sooner or later found it so. Yet ironically, you are conditionally speaking unbeatable in this warfare by virtue of an omnipotent Being indwelling you, which Being outranks your own fallen sin nature, your perishable physical body with it's host of nagging ailments, the taunts and criticisms of misunderstanding associates, the world system which is obviously anti-christian, the entire kingdom of the devil and even eternal judgment itself all put together. You simply can't beat God, and He is for you if you are with Him. It doesn't make the slightest difference in the least here: The Holy Spirit of God is so inconceivably, infinitely and eternally immense, that it is you who outrank all of your adversaries put together, only this superiority is only an associate advantage, and is gained only through your relationship to Christ and by faith. Your enemies sometimes will appear to be much like roaring, devouring lions, while you may neatly be classified as a trembling, tiny, but sanctified mouse by relative comparison. Never fear little mouse, it is you who are hiding away safely within the pocket of Christ's mediatorial robe, covered with His priceless blood of atonement, and as long as you remain so united to this invaluable and loving High Priest of your confession, you enjoy an indirect advantage over all comers what-so-ever.

Learn to build and capitalize upon the inconceivable advantage of union with Christ, reconciliation to His and now your Father, and inhabitation of the Holy Spirit of God. They are all three together flawlessly and infinitely holy, and have never been otherwise. The implications of this couldn't be more crucial conditionally speaking for you. Mercilessly destroy all that may offend He who indwells you...Spare no sins whatever, as though they were some ruthless and raging enemy who would kill you if you did not kill them first. You have an immense advantage laying right at the fingertips of faith, but it is a positional advantage that must be appropriated by faith, and faith is something which prospers in obedience, but dies under disobedience. Seek a life that exists purely to known, love and please such an unfathomable God who has gone through such incalculable trouble to save you, and you will soon find that this God will go out of His way to please those who please Him. If you already have a love or deep affinity for this God, it is then encouragement that such sentiments are evidence of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within you as He is the author of all lasting and righteous fruit that you ever will or can bear, and all fruitbearing starts with love for and union with this God. Learn to love what He loves, and loathe what He loathes, and you will by those very actions and non-actions be cooperating with the Holy Spirit, (and therefore also with the Son of God and the Father who sent Him,) and you will before long find all of the towering enemies who threaten to oppose your passage to glory, themselves defeated, and yet by a only tiny mouse who knows where his strength is, and where it isn't.