Hi everyone !! i'm relatively new here so forgive me if i'm doing something wrong inadvertently.
These recent years i've been researching and documenting myself on religon, especially christianity, because i want[ed]
to find purpose in life. After sometimes and a lot of prayers, i decided to follow Jesus, my lord and saviour !!
But having a self esteem problem, my mind seems to be greatly affected by others opinion of something that is dear to me.
I will not tell everything that affects me here, but it started first when one of my best friends, that wanted to be a christian too,
abandoned the idea completely and was a jerk about it. Then it was when my grandparents criticized organised religions especially christianity.
Without discouraging me to become a christian, it greatly saddens me that my loved ones are being relatively mean about that.
these thoughts affects me, and i know that it need to to be, but i can't seem to fight it.
How can i fight it ? how to not be affected by it ?
thanks for reading, God bless !!
Well friend... welcome to the Heavenly Kingdom, for starters! Isn't it great to be the recipient of God's free gift of salvation through faith in His Son, Jesus?
And... welcome to the fight, too. Here's just one aspect that you are already experiencing. Jesus does say to count the cost. Here is a major part of it:
Matthew 10:32-40 NIV
“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn...
“‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law — a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me."
How to cope with your earthly family's hostility? Come to this realization right off. While your profession of faith is alienating you from your earthly family and friends, you have simulataneously been welcomed into your new spiritual family - which is MUCH bigger! You now have brothers and sisters in Christ - all of us friends in the truest sense of the word.
If you haven't already done so, I would strongly advise that you begin praying earnestly for the Holy Spirit to guide you to the church He has prepared for you.
How to recognize His leading? Set two criteria above all - that He reveal whether the church is Bible-believing and Spirit-filled. Because unfortunately, there are "churches" out there for whom both of these criteria is a foreign concept - a sure sign that they espouse anything and everything other than a personal relationship with Jesus. Mere religion - dressed up in white.
Bible-believing... Does the Pastor do more than crack it open for a verse or two and then teach a "good moral lesson" - but rather dig into it to discover the depths of God's character and message to us. Does his preaching overall focus on Jesus? Does he preach the full Gospel of Jesus Christ? Does he cross-reference OT Scripture with NT - revealing Jesus in both?
And just as important - do the congregant's carry and study their own Bibles?
Spirit-filled... you would think I'm going to talk about the kind of worship they engage in. I would offer thats a clue, but not the major determining factor. That is to be discovered in fellowship - best to be found by joining a more intimate study group or ministry as well.
To the point, do they talk about the Holy Spirit's work in their lives? You know... the Spirit revealed this, or the Spirit led me to do such and such, or I asked the Spirit to speak through me, or the Spirit led me to pray this, ect ect.
In other words, in short order you will discover the thrill of walking with folks who can see and hear in the spiritual realm like you do. And especially in a Bible study, when everyone gets excited sharing this or that revelation from Scripture you'll say to yourself, "Yep, the Spirit is in this room!"
You may wonder if I've strayed from your question as to how to cope with the rejection from your family and friends, but I'm suggesting to you exactly how to. We all need that spiritual support system for coping with this - and just the enmity of the world at large. And to boot, for aiding each other in fighting our own spiritual warfare within ourselves, as we are all on a journey of being transformed into the image of Christ.
And who knows? Maybe if we keep praying and loving our earthly family with the love of Christ - while maintaining our boundaries - some may come to Christ as well. Maybe even some of our old running buddies, too.
Oh, and of course you have brothers and sisters here as well. Its just that the limitations are enormous in comparison to 3D relationships. Seek a healthy balance.
Hope this helps and God bless! Welcome!
