wheres the comfort?

[kat_m]

im VERY new to christianity and am having some thoughts that i need clearing up PLEASE
i have a horrible question and i dont think that i want to know the answer.
it is making me despair and i feel like its the horrible truth that has finally dawned on me. i cannot turn my back on it, but i wish i had never known becuase i dont want to carry on with this horrible knowledge.


i believe that you are saved through Christ, by believing that he died for us and accepting what he taught.
but that means that if you dont accept or believe then you are not going to be saved.

none of my family are Christians. or friends. they are the most cynical bunch you will ever meet. but they are loving, wonderful people. they live very morally. but they do not accept this.

i always used to think that everyone who is basically a good person would go to heaven.
but now i know it not to be true and theres nothing i can do about it. i cant deny the truth, but i wish in a way that i didnt know it.

it makes me cry and keeps me up at night because i have just realised that my own parents probably wont go to heaven. i pray that they will see the truth.

why would i want to go to a place that the people i love arent going to be there?

its just unfair. my parent did not encourage my siblings to go to church. so they didnt have the opportunities that people born into christian families have. and people born into Christian families dont have to live with the knowledge that their family are wrong about the most fundamental thing and they are going to die becuase of it.
and also my younger brother is mentally handicapped and cant understand basic concepts, so how is he going to ever grasp the huge concept of a God? its just unfair.

what can i do? these thoughts only occurred to me last night, it was like BANG it all clicked together and i finally made the connections personal to my life.

am i wrong? please tell me i am, and tell me what to do?

where can i find comfort with these thoughts? i need some direction.

 

[Gary B]

im VERY new to christianity and am having some thoughts that i need clearing up PLEASE

Let me say first off: Welcome to the family of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

i believe that you are saved through Christ, by believing that he died for us and accepting what he taught.
but that means that if you dont accept or believe then you are not going to be saved.

Your right about 'that he died for us' but 'accepting what he taught' to be saved is not the way to look at it. Jesus died for our sins, he took our sins and washed us clean when we accepted Jesus as our Saviour because we are sinners. We are now considered members of His body.

none of my family are Christians. or friends. they are the most cynical bunch you will ever meet. but they are loving, wonderful people. they live very morally. but they do not accept this.

i always used to think that everyone who is basically a good person would go to heaven.
but now i know it not to be true and theres nothing i can do about it. i cant deny the truth, but i wish in a way that i didn't know it.

Let me give you a few verses that may help you understand:

The Gospel of Matthew:

Matt 19:23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 19:24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Matt 19:25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
Matt 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Notice Jesus said when talking to his disciples about the rich man. He told them it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Notice also Jesus didn't say the rich man couldn't get to heaven.

The disciples were not just amazed at that saying but exceedingly amazed. Because that is impossible. Then the disciples asked, “Who can be saved?” Jesus answered and said 'With men this is impossable' but with God all things are possible.

Just to give you a better idea, since you say your new to Christianity. The Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John were directed at everybody or sinners. It's to show that people can't save themselves or measure up to God by themselves. They need a Saviour and that Savior is Jesus. It's about the life of Jesus and His purpose to tell people to repent, for the kingdom was at hand.

Now that your a Christian, You should really read Acts and the Epistles. The Apostles directed the teaching to the church or body of Christ. People you call themselves Christians.

We should still read what the Gospels have to say because it's still Jesus speaking but remember it's really directed towards sinners to bring them to repentance and seek Jesus.

it makes me cry and keeps me up at night because i have just realised that my own parents probably wont go to heaven. i pray that they will see the truth.

why would i want to go to a place that the people i love arent going to be there?

its just unfair. my parent did not encourage my siblings to go to church. so they didnt have the opportunities that people born into christian families have. and people born into Christian families dont have to live with the knowledge that their family are wrong about the most fundamental thing and they are going to die becuase of it.
and also my younger brother is mentally handicapped and cant understand basic concepts, so how is he going to ever grasp the huge concept of a God? its just unfair.

Crying is good. Your crying because you don't want to see your family miss out of Heaven and I think that's wonderful. But did you know that Jesus loves your family members more then you? God's Love for us is greater then any human love. Jesus laid down His life so we could have eternal life. And as far as your younger brother, I'm sure that Jesus has a way to instill in your brother the concept of God and Himself.

what can i do? these thoughts only occurred to me last night, it was like BANG it all clicked together and i finally made the connections personal to my life.

am i wrong? please tell me i am, and tell me what to do?

where can i find comfort with these thoughts? i need some direction.

No your not wrong. Find comfort in Jesus because He loves you and He loves your family and wants them to be saved too.

Pour out your heart to Him. Let Him know how you feel. Jesus told His disciples that when he was going to leave them to sit at the right hand of the Father, He would send another Comforter, the Holy Spirit. He came in Acts 2.

Jesus prayed all the time and everywhere. If we should take one lesson he gave us as an example: it would be prayer. The disciples prayed all the time. My suggestion to you, is to read Ephesians. It's a short Epistle of Paul.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

You are saved through faith but even that faith is not from you but it is a Gift of God. So you were saved by the Grace and Mercy of God and not anything you did.

And if God can do the impossible (above verse Matt 19:26) then He can save all your family members too. It just may take some time, but keep praying for them. And I'll be praying for you and your family members too.

Hope that helped you out some. I used to think that way also, but Jesus showed me something, that it wasn't anything I did to save myself, it was God doing all the saving. And if He saved me, then He can save anybody. Alright? Now wipe your tears.

 

[Kelly]

Welcome! I am relatively new (or re-newed) too.

As far as your family goes, remember that they have until their last breath to turn to God and accept Jesus. If they do so with all their hearts they should meet you in heaven.

Secondly, perhaps you will, in time, rub off on them. Perhaps you will witness by example. You are going to go through major changes. You are going to look at the world (and everyone you know) somewhat differently. You will feel a separation from the world. Some TV, music, and activities that you used to enjoy will just feel 'wrong'. You may feel some alienation. I think this is normal at first. If you haven't done so already, I recommend that you find a church, praise God and fellowship with other Christians in real life

Then you will most likely feel a new sense of family in the church (Not that you are abandoning your family!)

Lastly, if nothing else works and you find yourself in Heaven without your family, you will be so filled with love for God that you will not even notice. Everything you need will be in heaven.

 

[Blessed-one]

Welcome to Christ's family, sister. My dad is not a believer, and i have a couple of best friends who aren't either, but it is amazing to see the work God is doing, despite their reluctance and continual denial of Him. (or just simply not interested in the issue) One of my best friends became a christian, and another is going to church, all without my knowing (long distance call now).

so don't give in to despair, and instead, start praying and witnessing. Like Kelly said, they have all their lifetime to think on it and might even accept at some point in time.

 

[cyberwing]

Precious Lamb, you have had some wonderful responses here. Read them carefully. I would like to add that Jesus gave us the promise of our families. So as Jesse Duplantis says, "It's just their tough luck they are related to me 'cause I'm gonna pray 'em in!!!"
One word of caution, this is where many people new to Jesus fail, they are told to go out and evangelize before they understand how. Jesus told us to live as EXAMPLES. The apostles were not sent out UNTIL they received The Holy Spirit so that they could walk in love. Peter is a great example, he would cut someone's ear off to make them listen to him. He was passionate about Jesus but he did not have the maturity in The Word and he did not possess The Holy Spirit. After Peter received The Holy Spirit he suddenly walked in LOVE and peace.
The best advice Kat, is first work on your own walk with Jesus, study and learn of Him. Work on changing your own heart to view your family with love and compassion and to be a good ambassador of Jesus' love to them. (There are lots of BAD ambassadors of Jesus out there and many plain FALSE ones.) Do not look down on them or feel exclusive and 'better than them', this will distance them from Jesus' love. We were chosen by Him the Bible tells us, so we cannot think we are so smart to have made the choice, HE chose us first! Jesus has already chosen your family you just haven't seen it manifest yet!!! By your praying for them, Jesus will honor your prayers! You just love them, be kind to them, GENTLE and DO NOT ARGUE YOUR FAITH (2Tim2:23-24) Draw your family by LOVING them into the Kingdom! They will see the Peace and Love you walk in and suddenly they will be 'provoked to jealousy' the Bible says. This is how we are to evangelize most of the time. There will be times you might be called upon to do another sort of evangelism but HE will not ask it of you unless you are READY.
Jesus, send Your Peace which passes understanding to Kat. Help her see Your love for not only her but her family. Give her strength to walk in love when others are not being kind, nor understanding. Help my little sister to grow in her relationship with You and come to know You more intimately. For it is here in intimacy that I learned to see through Your precious eyes and know the deep love You have for those around me, even the 'unloveable'. Thank you for bringing Kat into the family. Help us to love and support her as You would have us do.
Amen
~Cyberwing

 

[Kelly]

I am going through a phase where I am so excited by my salvation that I want to share it with all of my non-christian friends, I want to 'bring them along'. In my newness and excitement, I risk scaring them away from God. I have now chilled out and plan on leading by example.

I heard someone say once that witnessing is a death sentence. You are either killing their worldly self (if they accept Jesus) or their spiritual self (if they deny him). Granted, one can always change their mind and accept him, but it's still a powerful thought.

 

[SAVEVERYONE]

Father in Jesus name give her hope begin saving everyone of her family members, only you no one else can save her family, begin moving and doing miracles among her family by saving them , thank you Jesus for saving all of them, I claim them for you Jesus and place them in your hands ..

 

[Kelly]

 

[wonder111]

Then the disciples asked, “Who can be saved?” Jesus answered and said 'With men this is impossable' but with God all things are possible.

This is the answer right there! We won't be able to understand his ways.

 

[Gary B]

This is the answer right there! We won't be able to understand his ways.

I used to ask, many years ago, questions like 'What about the people who never heard about Jesus before, How are they going to get to Heaven?' or 'The Bible is just a collection of separate books put together and besides, the New Testament is about 1/3 of the Old Testament and God expects me to know all about Him just by the Bible? And I had quite a few fears too.

How am I supposed to understand everything about Jesus or God?

That is until I really started to just focus on the New Testament, which I had read many times before but I was really reading it just like any regular book.

To cut a long story short, I asked Jesus to help me understand the Bible before I read it.

To start, I took just one book out of the Bible (The Gospel of John) and read it over and over until I was almost sick of reading it but I had a hunger in my heart to understand or comprehend God, understand His Word. I read it asking questions like: Who is the one talking, Who are they talking to and How doe's this pertain to me right now?

Back then I was way too impatient, I wanted to know everything and jumped from book to book in the Bible searching for answers. Or I would read Christian books. I wanted to know the answers to all of my questions. And I was very worried about too many things.

But Jesus showed me that I needed to slow down and read or study the Bible with understanding. I needed to Abide in His Love for me.

So I wrote all my questions and fears down and tried to forgot about them. I also put aside all the Christian books that I had read, trying to gain an greater insight into God and Jesus. I just read and studied the New Testament, one Gospel or Epistle at a time.

Since then, Jesus has answered some of my questions, either through others or studying His Word but not all my questions. However, I don't dwell on them like I used to anymore.

In John 9, Jesus saw the blind man first, the man wasn't even seeking Jesus:

John 9:1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from his birth.
John 9:2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
John 9:3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

Later on, after Jesus opened the blind man's eyes, the Pharisees asked the man some questions, and the once blind man answered:

John 9:11 He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.

The Pharisees later on questioned the once blind man again:

John 9:24 Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man [Jesus] is a sinner.
John 9:25 He [once blind man] answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.

The Pharisees answered and said 'Are you teaching us?' (NASB):

John 9:33 If this man [Jesus] were not of God, he could do nothing.
John 9:34 They [Pharisees] answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.

Jesus opened the blind mans eyes and left him, not teaching him anything.
The blind man wasn't seeking Jesus or following him, but Jesus found him again.

John 9:35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
John 9:36 He [once blind man] answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?
John 9:37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.

This is but another example in the Bible where it shows that Jesus is really the one who opens our eyes, saves us, heals us from fear, teaches us, etc. Even the faith we have in Jesus isn't from us but from the Father.

So we will never fully understand His ways or gain a full concept of God on this earth but we can gain a glimpse of His unfathomable Love towards us:

1John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
1John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.

and

Phil 4:6 Be anxious for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Phil 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. ​

That is why I said in the previous post, Jesus has a way to instill the concept or rather maybe I should have said, 'a concept' of Jesus to Kat's younger brother. The comfort or peace that passes all understanding comes from knowing that God Loves us and Cares for us because He Loved us first.​

Even if the mentally handicapped can't express it verbally or we may think they don't understand, Jesus will find a way to convey His Love towards someone. Heck, they may even have better concept of Jesus and His Love then some of us normal folk do. ​