Why do Christians struggle with personal problems?

[LittleLion]

I apologize if this will come across as a provocation; such is not my intention.

As an outsider, seeing the personal troubles Christians have (esp. regarding sexuality, relationships) and talk about, I cannot but be surprised and confused how come such things trouble them.

I don't understand how people, who have been raised in Christian homes, who regularly attend church, who know the Bible well, and most of all, who claim to have a personal relationship with God -- I don't understand how these people can have the troubles that are considered to be the domain of the faithless and godless.


Why?

 

[Macca]

I apologize if this will come across as a provocation; such is not my intention.

As an outsider, seeing the personal troubles Christians have (esp. regarding sexuality, relationships) and talk about, I cannot but be surprised and confused how come such things trouble them.

I don't understand how people, who have been raised in Christian homes, who regularly attend church, who know the Bible well, and most of all, who claim to have a personal relationship with God -- I don't understand how these people can have the troubles that are considered to be the domain of the faithless and godless.


Why?

They are not only the domain of the faithless and Godless; they are the domain of humanity, of which each of us is a member.
Get hold of a bible and read the 7th chapter of Romans and see the problems the Apostle Paul had even.
All humans, good and bad, struggle with sin, always.

 

[ChristianDude777]

Hi Lion,

The Bible makes it clear that Christians will have struggles. Jesus gave us the parable of the two men who built houses. One built his upon sand, the other upon a rock. The storm came. The house built upon sand fell, the one built on the rock stood.

He said in this world we will have tribulations, but fear not, He has overcome the world.

The Bible says it rains on the just and the unjust alike.

The difference is that Christians have the power, love, and riches of God's Kingdom to get us through the trials.

Just two weeks ago I came out of one of the darkest and longest and most difficult trials of my entire life. It lasted seven months and was sooooo hard.

But, I was amazed at how faithfully God stood with me throughout it. He comforted me and strengthened me when I thought I was gonna give it up.

Just about the time I thought I was gonna cave, He sent one of our Pastors to my house. After talking with him about 30 minutes or so, he spoke a word to me that God tols him to speak and with that one statement, one sentence, God's power filled up my heart and spirit and changed EVERYTHING. It was a miracle how it happened.

And the best part is that one morning I woke up and God spoke to me. He told me something very specific to do. Without going into a long story here, I did what God told me and it brought the entire trial to an end.

I knw it was God who was speaking to me because I've learned to recognize His voice over the years. I can't tell you enough how plain it was that God spoke this to me. I KNEW His voice.

I did exactly what He told me, completely believing in faith that He would bring this trial to a close, and it worked. He did it..!!

Why do Christians have problems too..? It's a part of the world. We all have problems. But man, God is a miracle working God and He will do amazing things in our lives and there's no problem that's too big for Him.

If I had room here I'd tell you the specifics about the trial I went through but it's a bit long. But I can say that it was God alone who brought me through it.

That's the difference between being a Christian during our problems and not being one..

God bless...


Tim L.

 

[LittleLion]

That's the difference between being a Christian during our problems and not being one..

Surely, the way believers approach solving a problem is quite different from the way non-believers do.

But it is beyond me to understand how someone who has had the luxury of having heard the Gospel, the luxury of having a church, a family and a pastor and like-minded friends -- someone who has had all these luxuries still ends up sinning like the faithless and the godless!


Is it not the aim of Christian upbringing and fellowship to reduce sin as much as possible?

If Christians still sin so, I say, excessively, then this upbringing has failed, or something else is the matter.

 

[AvgJoe]

Hi LittleLion,

Just because someone is a Christian does not mean that they are perfect or free from problems and troubles. If anyone ever suggests that to you, they are being dishonest.

Jesus Himself, said to his disciples, " Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows." (John 16:33/NLT) His statement hasn't changed, it applies to Christians today, too. And Paul, speaking to Christians in Romans, says, "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us--they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. And this expectation will not disappoint us. (Romans 5:3-5/NLT)

Christians are not set free from wordly desires. We have to struggle with them just like everybody else.

Also, you will find that many Christians never seem to surpass the stage of being a Christian infant, having become a Christian but never progressing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. It is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to tell the difference between them and non-Christians.

 

[Snow Angel]

I am a Christian
By Maya Angelou

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting, "I'm clean livin."
I'm whispering, "I was lost,"
Now I'm found and forgiven.

When I say, "I am a Christian"
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need CHRIST to be my guide.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
and need HIS strength to carry on.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
but, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain,
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
who received God's grace thru the blood of Jesus, and, I bow!

 

[LittleLion]

AvgJoe,

Just because someone is a Christian does not mean that they are perfect or free from problems and troubles.

I'm not assuming that.

Jesus Himself, said to his disciples, " Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows." (John 16:33/NLT) His statement hasn't changed, it applies to Christians today, too. And Paul, speaking to Christians in Romans, says, "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us--they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. And this expectation will not disappoint us. (Romans 5:3-5/NLT)

This will probably sound perverse, but -- it is almost as if those verses can be used as a justification and rationalization to sin!

They say "Trouble comes, we are sinful, we will give in to temptation -- it is inevitable because of our sinful nature that we give in to temptation --, so let's go through with it and endure it" -- it is like a perverse complacency and resignation in one's own sinfulness!

Christians are not set free from wordly desires. We have to struggle with them just like everybody else.

I am just confused. I mean, Christians have so many blessings, so much back-up from their communities, they have fellow believers to turn to. They have an intimate relationship with God whom they know they can turn to. And they have been raised to do so. Yet, they turn to sin.

Also, you will find that many Christians never seem to surpass the stage of being a Christian infant, having become a Christian but never progressing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. It is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to tell the difference between them and non-Christians.

Why is this so?

Will such Christians come to heaven?

 

[Windmill]

Yes If you love God, and keep his commandments, you will go to heaven =)

Whenever I'm struggling (like... with 14 year old stuff... as of now its a painful operation I just had) and turn to my parents, they generally will tell me its Satan's doing. He'll make us uncomfortable, just like he did to... was it jobe? Something like that. Lost his wealth, lost his friends, his family, his shelter, his health! Satan did this in an attempt to get him to re-anounce his love for God. But did he? No. Did he give up? No. But yet, did he have personal problems as well? Yep!

We sin because its in our blood. The thing is, we don't "fall back" on that idea to wipe ourselves a free-slate. Instead, we usually do things accidentally and accidental or not, we ask God for forgiveness

 

[LegomasterJC]

Supporting families, church, fellow believers, knowing the Bible etc... are not powerful enough to keep us from sinning. Each of us have to make the decision to turn completely against every sin and then let God take it from us. He is the only one that can do it but He won't do it until we WANT him to. I mean really want it badly enough to obey whatever He tells us to do.
For instance... (Really personal and not a subject many like to talk about coming)
I grew more and more enslaved to thoughts of sex and women even if it was just fantacising about my wedding night... Recently... (earlier this year) I had a revelation from God durring a regular teaching at a local campus ministry. I realized that I didn't need it anymore (This does not come without God) since then I have been free for the most part. I've fallen from that freedome 4 times in the roughly four months since then. What usually brings on these sins is when I take my focus off of God and watch movies, TV, play videogames etc. No matter where you go, there will always be something to take your focus off of God. That's when Sin is prevelant. I continue to grow in my maturity in Christ, I take time to worship whenever I can and pray in the spirit most of the time.
Why do Christians have problems with Sin? They take their focus off of God. Since we "can't help it" (that's a lie) should we continue to sin so that grace should abound? NO. (Paraphrase of one of Paul's letters in the New Testament) Does God forgive us? Yes. God forgives us as we forgive others. By faith we are welcomed into His glorious presence. Heaven is not some city in the clouds. It's the full measure of the presence of God. We can have that here on Earth to an extent and the more we press in and focus on God, the more we find that Truely worshiping Him is So much more fun and rewarding than anything the world can offer us. It's a life process but that doesn't mean you should procrastinate.

And yes it was Job who lost his children, servants, land, and property, was covered with disease, heard rebuke from his friends... His wife tells him to curse God and die. Job did not give up. He did not curse God. He kept his faith and God rewarded him with 2 times as much as what he had before while he was still on earth.

 

[ChristianDude777]

But it is beyond me to understand how someone who has had the luxury of having heard the Gospel, the luxury of having a church, a family and a pastor and like-minded friends -- someone who has had all these luxuries still ends up sinning like the faithless and the godless!

Hi Lion,

Apparently I didn't understand your post. I didn't know you were talking about sin.

If someone is genuinely born again, they will be unable to live in a lifestyle of continual sin. The Holy Spirit will convict them and keep leading them away from sin.

The Bible gives certain Scriptures that seem to indicate that it's possible to turn from one' salvation and lose it altogether. Some people believe that's possible, others don't.

Either way, it requires outright willful disobedience and and rebellion.

Is it not the aim of Christian upbringing and fellowship to reduce sin as much as possible?

If Christians still sin so, I say, excessively, then this upbringing has failed, or something else is the matter.

You're completely correct in that case. However, I'm not sure I've ever seen someone who was truly born again slip back into a lifestyle of sin.

It's important to understand that we still live in these fleshly bodies, even after being born again. The fleshly desires fight against the new Spirit within us. Sometimes, people give in to the fleshly lusts. This is usually in the form of some sort of sinful act....looking at pornography, drinking, doing drugs, having sex, etc.

BUT.....these are usually infrequent and short lived occurances. That's different from falling back into a sinful lifestyle, which is what the Holy Spirit gives us the power overcome. If we do happen to commit a sinful act, we have forgiveness in Christ.

But getting back to your question, having been deeply involved in a good sized church for 11 years now, I don't know if I've ever seen anyone who was really born again fall back into a sinful life. I've seen them commit sins, as I myself have done, but as I said, it's merely a stumble instead of an all out fall.

Now I've seen several people who went through the motions of getting saved and everything, only later to fall back into their sinful lifestyles, but those people didn't reflect the outward signs of a truly born again person.

The Holy Spirit does and will keep us from living sinful lives upon bein born again.

If this still hasn't answered your questions, please let me know.

God bless..

Tim L.

 

[Radagast]

God wants us to grow. Never an easy process.

Why do toddlers fall over so much?

-- Radagast

 

[ChristianDude777]

They say "Trouble comes, we are sinful, we will give in to temptation -- it is inevitable because of our sinful nature that we give in to temptation --, so let's go through with it and endure it" -- it is like a perverse complacency and resignation in one's own sinfulness!

Hey Lion,

The Scriptures that were listed are not speaking of sin. Troubles and sin are two completely different things. The above Scriptures are speaking of hard times, problems, difficult circumstances, etc.

I am just confused. I mean, Christians have so many blessings, so much back-up from their communities, they have fellow believers to turn to. They have an intimate relationship with God whom they know they can turn to. And they have been raised to do so. Yet, they turn to sin.

It's true that all of us will probably make the mistake along the way but this is still different from falling back into the sinful lifestyles. There can be real reason why some Christians commit the occasional sin.

Someone might have emotional baggage they still carry around which sitrs up feelings of lonliness, thereby leading them to desire sexual relations.

Someone might have been an alcoholic and still like the tatse of alcohol.

Someone might have serious financial trouble and decide to steal money from someone.

You're correct in the idea that we have enough blessings from God to keep us on the right path. But as I said earlier, we do still live in this flesh. We will still make mistakes. That's why we have forgiveness in Christ when we need it.

Why is this so?

I think there could be a number of reasons for this.

Someone might not have gotten into a good Spirit-filled church that has sound Bible teaching.

Someone might not get into a good habit of daily prayer and feeding on the Word.

It really depends on the specific person.

Will such Christians come to heaven?

That's between them and God. If they've been born again and they haven't rejected Christ, according to the Scriptures, they will. They might not receive a lot of rewards but they are covered by the atonement of Christ.

God knows what's in each person's heart Lion. He knows if someone is sincere about seeking Him. If they are, He'll take care of them.

Blessings...

Tim L.

 

[AvgJoe]

This will probably sound perverse, but -- it is almost as if those verses can be used as a justification and rationalization to sin!

They say "Trouble comes, we are sinful, we will give in to temptation -- it is inevitable because of our sinful nature that we give in to temptation --, so let's go through with it and endure it" -- it is like a perverse complacency and resignation in one's own sinfulness!

I apologize. I didn't realize from your OP that you were speaking explicitly of sinfulness. All of the Scriptures I posted are dealing with problems and trails of this life, not with temptation and sin. And then I created further confusion by adding that statement about worldly desires. My bad! Please forgive me.

There are Scriptures and doctrines in the Bible that seem to make it sound like it is ok to sin all you want. For instance, I firmly believe the Bible teaches that once we are saved, we are always saved. Well, that means that I can do anything that I want, it doesn't matter because I'm still going to Heaven, right? There are many who think and act this way(carnal Christians). It makes me question if they truly are a Christian but another person's salvation is not for me to judge. Only that person and God know if they are truly saved, and sometimes only God knows, because I believe one can decieve themslves into believing they are saved when they're really not.

Now, I do believe that a person can be a Christian and willfully continue to sin, but, not without paying the consequences. A common theme throughout the Bible is that we will reap what we sow. That applies for Christian and non-Christians alike.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14(NLT):
13) Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person. 14) God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.

Jeremiah 17:9-10(NLT):
9) "The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? 10) But I know! I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve."

Matthew 12:36-37(NLT):
36) And I tell you this, that you must give an account on judgment day of every idle word you speak. 37) The words you say now reflect your fate then; either you will be justified by them or you will be condemned."

A few of the many verses pertaining to reaping what we sow. Following are a couple verses pertaining only to Christians.

Colossians 3:24-25(NLT):
24) Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and the Master you are serving is Christ. 25) But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favorites who can get away with evil.

1 Corinthians 3:11-15(NLT):
11) For no one can lay any other foundation than the one we already have--Jesus Christ. 12) Now anyone who builds on that foundation may use gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13) But there is going to come a time of testing at the judgment day to see what kind of work each builder has done. Everyone's work will be put through the fire to see whether or not it keeps its value. 14) If the work survives the fire, that builder will receive a reward. 15) But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builders themselves will be saved, but like someone escaping through a wall of flames.

From these verses, we see that all deeds of the Christian will be judged and the carnal Christian, even though he is saved, will suffer great loss when his deeds fail to pass the test of fire. I also believe that if a Christian becomes totally useless to the service of God, He will take them out of this world before they cause even greater harm to the cause of Christ.

I am just confused. I mean, Christians have so many blessings, so much back-up from their communities, they have fellow believers to turn to. They have an intimate relationship with God whom they know they can turn to. And they have been raised to do so. Yet, they turn to sin.

LittleLion, with most Christians, its not so black and white. Every individual is different, with differnet experiences throughout life, both good and bad, from different backgrounds, all walks of life, and many have not been raised in Christian homes. Not all Christians have the many blessings and the close realtionship to God that you think they do. Those carnal Christians we talked about, they are at a distinct disadvantage to that conclusion. All sin separates us from God. The more a person sins, Christians included, the farther they are from God. The statement above, "For God has no favorites who can get away with evil" applies just as much in this life as it does in the afterlife. There are too many variables to paint all Christians with a broad brush.

Why is this so?

I think this is pretty well covered above and I certaintly don't have all of the answers.

Will such Christians come to heaven?

If they are truly Christians, yes they will go to Heaven. As the Scripture above says, they will be saved but they will suffer great loss. As stated above, it is not our place to decide if they are saved, or not.

1 Corinthians 4:3-5(NLT):
3) What about me? Have I been faithful? Well, it matters very little what you or anyone else thinks. I don't even trust my own judgment on this point. 4) My conscience is clear, but that isn't what matters. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. 5) So be careful not to jump to conclusions before the Lord returns as to whether or not someone is faithful. When the Lord comes, he will bring our deepest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. And then God will give to everyone whatever praise is due.

I hope this is helpful & less confusing than my last post.

God bless!

 

[jmcgowan2]

LittleLion,
If I understand you right, you're essentially wondering why Christians aren't doing any better than non-Christians at 'not sinning'? If I am understanding you wrong, let me know... if I am, then I kind of agree (and I am a Christian). Some of us are doing really well. We avoid sin, we live for God, we pray and witness to non-Christians, and essentially do everything we can to obey the commands in the Bible. Unfortunately, everything out there says that they are in the minority (whether or not that's true, I don't know). When it comes to divorce, Christians are just as bad as non-Christians. When it comes to abusive families, I don't know what the ratio is, but it happens in Christian families on a regular basis. When it comes to witnessing and telling people about Jesus Christ, we're terrible!
Martin Luther described his society (15th century Germany) as self-centered, egotistical, and needing instant gratification... all still problems in and outside of Christianity.
The fact is, some of these people aren't really Christians. They say they are, but the faith just isn't there. Some of these people are Christians who just refuse to give up old habits. Some of them are Christians who just have a hard time resisting temptation (a lot of times I fall into this catagory!), and some are just going through a really hard time.

What's important though isn't that we as Christians do or don't act the way we should, it's that God always will... if you never commit your life to Jesus Christ as your personal savior, then God will deal with you the way He has always dealt with unbelievers, but if you do commit your life to Jesus Christ, then God will deal with you as though you were his own son. If you become the very best Christian that you can be, then other people will notice and it will have a ripple effect.

Jeremiah McGowan

 

[LittleLion]

LegomasterJC,

Supporting families, church, fellow believers, knowing the Bible etc... are not powerful enough to keep us from sinning.

I agree, they may not be able to keep us from sinning, but I think they can be extremely helpful.
I so often find myself wanting to talk to someone -- but I have no one who would understand.
I don't have a church to go to, I have no pastor, no like-minded friends that I could reach when I need them.
I know that I many times do bad things out of despair.

I must say I do envy Christians for the luxury of the church, pastor and like-minded friends that they have.


* * *


ChristianDude777,

You're completely correct in that case. However, I'm not sure I've ever seen someone who was truly born again slip back into a lifestyle of sin.

How do you know that someone is truly born again?

If this still hasn't answered your questions, please let me know.

If I have more questions, I will let you know. Thank you.


* * *


Radagast,

God wants us to grow. Never an easy process.

Why do toddlers fall over so much?

Always short and sweet ...


* * *

ChristianDude777,

The Scriptures that were listed are not speaking of sin. Troubles and sin are two completely different things. The above Scriptures are speaking of hard times, problems, difficult circumstances, etc.

Hold on. When hard times come, when trouble comes -- it is in how you approach them that you either sin or not!

If you become ill or lose your job -- and give in to despair, you are certainly not doing as God ordained.
If you have been lied to an you lash out at the person who lied to you, then you are not doing as God ordained.
Etc.

I think trouble and sin have everything to do with eachother. It is after all in trial, that one's faith and obedience shows most.

 

[awildflowerlady]

Good Morning!

I am sure it has been said that a Christian's life is not a promised walk in the park.

Scripture speaks to this understanding as a way of personal improvement and relation building with GOD, not as a green light to sin. The stuggles you see within a Christian's life are those partianing to NOT sinning - a constant battle that will never go away without the reliance on GOD. Growth is so very important to the Christian life and the best, most useful growth happens during troubling times, however when GOD is involved in the effort. GOD is constantly offering up blessings even though it may not seem like.

What a better witness than to have a Christian say to a non-Christian, I have been there, done that, even have the t-shirt - but let me share with you how GOD saw me though.


Sure a non-Christian can look to any matter of trouble within a Christian's life and wonder how is that person is even Christian or how that person can be happy. I have to say it is very difficult for a non-Christian to understand a Christian's life when viewing it from the outside.

One time I had a gal tell me an injury I sustained related to karma - the injury was an end result of my strongly sharing the Christian faith even though I understood that made others uncomortable. I guess she did not like what I shared and felt the need to find revenge in some fashion so relying on karma was it. Did she have it right? My injury came by way of struggle with a knife and a two day old bagel.

I suppose I would need to believe in karma to understand where she is coming from, just as she would need to believe in Christianity to understand where I was coming from.

Belief, it does wonders for understanding something.

 

[ChristianDude777]

How do you know that someone is truly born again?

Hi Lion,

You're asking some really great questions. I hope you as well as others will learn a little bit more about why we are Christians and what it all means.

I'd like to begin this with a Scripture...

But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. When a person is born again, there will be things present in their life that weren't there before. I'll get to those in a moment. But to share another Scripture...

Therefore if any man be inChrist, he is a newcreature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are becomenew.

Being born again is much more than just a Scriptural or Christian phrase. We really are reborn spiritually when we believe in Christ and receive the Holy Spirit.

Things are different within us. We think about different things, we have new desires, our hearts are different. As we continue to grow in the new life, these things become more evident as well as more of a second nature.

One of the things we can notice about someone who has been born again is that they will talk about it.

For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.

Anyone who has truly been born again will know it and they'll be able to tell you how they have changed. This is something that all people who have been born again simply know. We know things we like, things we dislike. How do we know..? We just know. It's the same with being born again....we know.

Another way you can know is that they have a desire to know Christ more. There might be times when they are tired or maybe have even let themselves become lukewarm in their relationship but, especially during the beginning, they will have a new desire for Jesus. Someone who has been born again will always have the leading to pursue Christ.

Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit...

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering (having more patience), gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance (more self control): against such there is no law.

These traits are things that develop as we pursue our relationship with God. Jesus said that we will know a tree by its fruit. It's the same with people...if they are showing these "fruits" in their daily lives, regardless of where they are or what they might be doing, it's strong evidence that they're living by the power of the Holy Spirit.

It's possible that anyone can show degrees of any one of these traits at times but it's a different story for it to be a normal everyday part of their personality and character. These are produced by spending time in the Spirit either in prayer, praise and worship, or study of the Word. God develops these in us, we don't have to make ourselves produce them. It's a natural work of the Spirit.

Another way we know is that Christians have love for one another.

We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

This doesn't mean that we won't disagree or even argue at times. It's talking about real love. The kind of love that causes someone to sacrifice for someone else when they have a need.

To give you an example, our church is blessed with real love. The first time I went to my church, no one there knew me. I went in looking like a rock and roll reject. But these people came to me, a complete stranger, and welcomed me, hugged me, encouraged me, offered their help if I ever needed it and loved me unconditionally.

Having been a member there for 11 years now, I've come to know it's a real part of who our church is. There's never a single service where people aren't genuinely glad to see you and want you to know you're loved.

Now, while many people might exhibit any number of these things from time to time, they should all be a part of every person's life who has been born again. God's Spirit does things in us that change us in amazing ways.

God bless you Lion...

Tim L.

 

[Sevenwaters]

Because Christians are human beings just like everyone else. Life would be rather dull and pointless, if one never experienced hardship every now and then. There would be very little to learn and evolve from.

 

[NothingButTheBlood]

I agree, they may not be able to keep us from sinning, but I think they can be extremely helpful.
I so often find myself wanting to talk to someone -- but I have no one who would understand.
I don't have a church to go to, I have no pastor, no like-minded friends that I could reach when I need them.
I know that I many times do bad things out of despair.

I must say I do envy Christians for the luxury of the church, pastor and like-minded friends that they have.

That is why I always recommend that believers who don't have a church find one. It's a great support system and offers more than just sermons.

 

[dvd_holc]

,Tim!

Hello Lion,

I just want you know God meets you right where you are.

"I must say I do envy Christians for the luxury of the church, pastor and like-minded friends that they have."

All of these things are participates to God's message. The Holy Spirit is the one who is guiding these people and you to strength be strong in faith for the Lord. The Holy Spirit is the calling believers to live in such a way that all will see God's true glory being displayed by us. This calling is not so that we may have pride in our deeds, but testify to what is good, holy, and just to the world. The world understands that if you say something is true you better back it up, so it is always hard for people to accept when they see a fault. Right now, you are being engaged by people who are testifing to God's love. In love, we try to encourage you to know God so that whatever happens you will have peace and harmony with the most powerful and absolutely love, good, holy, and just enity in existence. We are not here to destroy you, or to be hateful toward you. (Although people do give into hatred and frustration at times) We are here so that you can understand the wisdom of God and his purpose for you. It is not matter of right or wrong (although it is enolved)...it transins the consciensous and subconsciencous...to the fabrics of our core...there is something so holy and pure that we have to have it. And it is good to have it. Once, we get it we know it is good for others to have it also so we must give it to others...

I hope this has encouraged you to (likewise all the other post of believers) believe more unto God.