Why do you believe in Jesus if you cannot see him?

[Lulav]

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[dc87]

Very powerful video. It seems as though every time God answers in this way... its during an emotional high (the guy is about to kill himself). When you were saved, were you not emotional? Does God give these 'assuring' experiences all the time to those who believe in Jesus or just during emotional moments?

The reason why I ask is because Ive had moments similar to this and I knew it was God and He was here... however nothing ever led me to believe it was Jesus and not someone else.

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

Most adult folks come to Jesus when they come to the end of themselves. I came to Jesus at a very young age, 9 years old.I think I have always believed in Him.

 

[Lulav]

Hi dc87, welcome to the forums!

Have you ever read through the Old Testement? It is full of the story of Jesus, it didn't begin in the first century.

It seems by your questions you don't believe that G-d sent his son (Himself in human form) to reconcile us back to him?

 

[dc87]

Most adult folks come to Jesus when they come to the end of themselves. I came to Jesus at a very young age, 9 years old.I think I have always believed in Him.

If you believe in Him then I guess you can also say you have a relationship with him? If so how do you know it is Jesus? Does he only respond when you think of an imaginative figure which resembles who you think the Son of God looks like? The Bible says you must believe in the Son of Man as opposed to just simply believing in the Creator. This means there must be something fundamentally different between having a relationship with Jesus and having a relationship with a Creator. Is that so?

 

[juvenissun]

I am who some may call a 'seeker' but have grown discouraged. Grew up in a religious household and now am in my late 20s.

Its easy to see the God exists. Creation makes that evident.

I feel like I know God. I've felt His presence. I don't know doctrinally who He is... the God of Abraham; Mohammed; or the Trinity.

I'm sure he is not 100% pleased with me and the way I live but I can only do so much in this skin. I have many ingrained desires and wants which, without supernatural help, I cannot overcome.

But I just cannot come to believe in Jesus (and I have tried for over 20 years). I cannot see him. And there is no evidence of him from what I can see except from history and what people call the New Testament which I have read over many times and yes it is very beautiful and thoughtfully written albeit by men. The message is very compelling but it stops there - at 'believe in me'.

So I raise this question, to help me understand, to those on this forum who say they know Jesus on a personal level - how do you believe in someone you cannot see?

How do you know that you know Jesus on a personal level and not the God of Abraham or some other?

Remember nature tells us there is a God, however I know of nothing that tells me there is a Jesus and He is alive today.... nothing. How do you know who you are talking to when you pray is not the God of Abraham or Mohammed? What am I missing/not doing?

You believe in God, because the existence of God makes sense to you.
I believe in Jesus for the same reason. His existence makes sense. If He never exist, then many thing, includes the existence of God, won't make sense.

By logic, a man called Jesus, as described in the Bible, MUST have existed.

Is that a good reason?

 

[dc87]

Hi dc87, welcome to the forums!

Have you ever read through the Old Testement? It is full of the story of Jesus, it didn't begin in the first century.

It seems by your questions you don't believe that G-d sent his son (Himself in human form) to reconcile us back to him?

Interesting. So by what you say... when I believe in Jesus.... I do not personally know him like I would a person, to where he is made apparent to me to be THE OFFICIAL Jesus of the New Testament. Instead I am just believing that the God I know has done whatever needed to be done in order to keep me His own?

 

[juvenissun]

If you believe in Him then I guess you can also say you have a relationship with him? If so how do you know it is Jesus? Does he only respond when you think of an imaginative figure which resembles who you think the Son of God looks like? The Bible says you must believe in the Son of Man as opposed to just simply believing in the Creator. This means there must be something fundamentally different between having a relationship with Jesus and having a relationship with a Creator. Is that so?

My experience says yes.
My reasons also say yes.

 

[angela4God]

If I may give you my 2 cents... in a super simplistic way...

It's like love. You love your wife. It's hard to explain love, but it's there, right? It's in you and you feel it. Right?

You didn't force it. You didn't make it happen, it just happened and you just felt it.

Faith is just like that. You feel it. You know it, somewhere deep inside. You just feel it.

If I may..

If you remember back when you were very young and wondered what 'falling in love' would feel like. And maybe someone said to you, "when it happens, you'll know". And you did?

Or...

Again, when you were young, did you wonder what it would feel like to be loved (not physically but emotionally) by a woman, your future wife? Then when you found her and connected you felt her love?

You didn't have to search for it. You didn't have to stress and seek it. You opened yourself up (your heart/feelings) and you felt it from her.

I say (imho), just love God, keep praying to God, and open yourself up to/or keep being open to feeling His love. And ask Him to help. I believe that through that He will help you, show you, in a unique way... a unique way that is just for you, all the rest.

We all have our own special, unique experiences with God and Jesus. You will too, I'm sure. Be patient, is what I say. You're very young. Maybe the struggle you're going through is what is exactly going to lead you where God wants you to be.

Trust His plan, keep going... don't let doubt and fear rule. Fill your heart with the love you have for God and I'm sure you'll be led, something will click and you'll feel it.

I hope I made sense for you.

Wishing you all the best!

A Very Blessed Christmas Season and Happy New Year!

 

[Neostarwcc]

I'm assuming you've read the Old Testament. Jesus is all over the Old Testament as well as the new. If you believe in the God of the Old Testament you believe in Jesus because they're one and the same. Jesus is the creator of all things.

Me personally, I believe in Jesus because I find the evidence overwhelming from the Old and New Testaments and because I've had a personal encounter with Jesus in a dream. Since coming to Christ I've seen the drastic transformation of my life (I used to not really be a very good person) and I will continue believing until the end of my days.

 

[juvenissun]

Interesting. So by what you say... when I believe in Jesus.... I do not personally know him like I would a person, to where he is made apparent to me to be THE OFFICIAL Jesus of the New Testament. Instead I am just believing that the God I know has done whatever needed to be done in order to keep me His own?

How do you get to know God? Through emotion or through reason?

If through reason, where do you get the reason? From the Bible? or simply from yourself? Do you acknowledge that the Name of your God is YHWH?

 

[dc87]

You believe in God, because the existence of God makes sense to you.
I believe in Jesus for the same reason. His existence makes sense. If He never exist, then many thing, includes the existence of God, won't make sense.

By logic, a man called Jesus, as described in the Bible, MUST have existed.

Is that a good reason?

Yes, a man called Jesus must have existed.... I reason that soley from History and documentation.

However, to me personally God embodying himself in a human for a brief period to undergo horror unimaginable, so that He can say that He has kept me from Hell because I choose to turn my back on him.... how that is supposed to work does not compute naturally in my brain at all.... its actually confusing (rightfully so of course since it is supernatural).

 

[NothingIsImpossible]

Well you believe in God despite not seeing Him right? And who is Jesus really? He is the son of God, but also one in the same so to speak. So you can't believe in one but not the other.

If you believe God is real because of all He did. Is it impossible to believe he sent Jesus to earth to die for our sins? If you were to ask a non-believer what sounds more unrealistic they would probably choose God creating everything over Jesus being sent to earth.

Jesus was shown to be a real person according to even non-christian scientists, historians...etc. So again you really cannot believe in Him since even the world knows He existed. Granted they don't believe He was really special.

 

[truefiction1]

How do you know that he is real (as in still alive and present)?

In our Tradition, we pray to Jesus Christ unceasingly using the Jesus prayer, while we struggle to keep His commandments, all the while being tempted in various ways to turn aside by enemy spirits and our own desires. When tempted beyond our strength we are forced to rely entirely upon His answering our pleas for help. He does help in ways that we discover are undeniably real. That is how we come to know with surety that He sees us and hears us always.

 

[dc87]

How do you get to know God? Through emotion or through reason?

If through reason, where do you get the reason? From the Bible? or simply from yourself? Do you acknowledge that the Name of your God is YHWH?

I know God mainly from reason, some emotion. That He must exist. However reason does not seem to help when it comes to knowing Jesus. Logic doesnt really seem to apply. For example, I can prove the existence of 'a' God. Now proving which Lord we are talking about is a different question. If it comes down to whoever feels most sensible to you... well I guess thats a simple way of looking at it... but its definitely not something I would personally bet eternity on... I want a little more assurance - which I have not received from above.

You ask if the name of your God is Yahweh. If by that you mean when I read the Old Testament it speaks to me as though it came from above I can definitely say yes. The New Testament, not so much. It doesn't bring me hope, because it tells me I have to believe in what seems to be a Person/Spirit that is knowingly different and very distinct. A Person to where... when you believe in Jesus you don't say "I met God", or "I met the Creator".... no the New Testament is very clear that when you believe in Jesus you can say you have come in contact with JESUS... not a vague Being. (such as when Paul actually met Jesus and saw his face) This has not happened to me. I know and have met a 'vague' Higher Being but not necessary one who is without a doubt Jesus.

 

[ValleyGal]

Your question was how can you know that Jesus is real and alive, without seeing him. I ask you now, have you ever seen your great-great-grandparents? No? How do you know they existed? Photos and family stories? Ah...now we get somewhere. You may have heard about them, and you know they must have existed because of those who knew them - they were witnesses to the existence of your great-great-grandparents.

In the same way, there were witnesses to the life of the Lord Jesus, and to his death, and to his resurrection, and to his ascension. Some of these witnesses knew that what they witnessed was very significant, so they wrote of their experiences with Jesus (the four Gospels), and then there was another witness, Paul, who had a dramatic encounter with the risen Jesus on his path. He also witnessed Jesus, and wrote about him, and the nature of his deity.

What is the nature of his deity? Jesus, being part of the Triune God - you say you believe in God - lived and existed, was tortured, executed, buried, and rose again to be glorified as the Saviour for all who believe, as was witnessed by many. Part of this is the divine knowledge given to Peter.... "'Peter, who do you say I am,' asked Jesus. And Peter answered 'you are the Christ (Messiah)! You are the Son of the Living God!" This could only be divinely revealed.

So the real question here is whether you believe the witnesses to Jesus' life, death, resurrection and ascension. Do you believe the witnesses? You have to take their word for it, unless you have a personal encounter with Jesus yourself. If you believe the witnesses, then you have to believe them by faith. But there is also another way you can believe.... look at how the Jesus of the Bible fulfilled prophecies about Messiah. He fulfilled them... so if he fulfilled the prophecies about his birth and life (as evidenced by the witnesses), he must have also fulfilled the prophecies about his death, resurrection and ascension, as also evidenced by the witnesses.

 

[Kenny'sID]

Its easy to see the God exists. Creation makes that evident.

That's a good and reasonable start. There are so many that can't even put that simple concept together.

I know this is going to sound a little simple minded, but to me, this concept is as simple/obvious as yours there. I believe all those other things you mention exist because the Bible says they do. And I believe the Bible is true, simply because a God that is advanced enough to do all this, would certainly have the good sense to let us know what's going on.

Whenever we buy just about anything, we get an owners manual explaining how something that might even be the slightest bit complicated works, and that makes perfect sense...an explanation of how it all works. And I'm sure you see where I'm going with that, the Bible is the owners manual to out new life.

So, that is one of my starting points on what to believe, and thank you for not making us attempt to explain why God, over the alternatives, it's nice to see good sense does still prevail with some.

 

[dc87]

Well you believe in God despite not seeing Him right? And who is Jesus really? He is the son of God, but also one in the same so to speak. So you can't believe in one but not the other.

If you believe God is real because of all He did. Is it impossible to believe he sent Jesus to earth to die for our sins? If you were to ask a non-believer what sounds more unrealistic they would probably choose God creating everything over Jesus being sent to earth.

Jesus was shown to be a real person according to even non-christian scientists, historians...etc. So again you really cannot believe in Him since even the world knows He existed. Granted they don't believe He was really special.

I actually do kind of SEE God in a way. I believe God is real because of life and creation. I can see it.
I don't see someone dying on a cross and ascending to Heaven.

I don't necessarily know all of what God did either. I don't deny Jesus existed either... as a man.

 

[dc87]

In our Tradition, we pray to Jesus Christ unceasingly using the Jesus prayer, while we struggle to keep His commandments, all the while being tempted in various ways to turn aside by enemy spirits and our own desires. When tempted beyond our strength we are forced to rely entirely upon His answering our pleas for help. He does help in ways that we discover are undeniably real. That is how we come to know with surety that He sees us and hears us always.

He has not answered my calls for help when facing temptation. This has lead me to conclude that I must not actually know Jesus, otherwise He would give me strength. This is partly what has prompted this search.

 

[LoricaLady]

Perhaps these pieces of information will help.
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Now in the Bible we are told of a Man Who believed in Adam and Eve and Noah as being actual, historical figures. The Bible says He did miracles and told others to do things like raise the dead and heal the sick. It also describes His death and burial. Is there any actual scientific data to support those stories?
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See secular news reports about Val Thomas, dead for 17 hours but now alive and normal after prayers from her family and her Church.
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See Medical Marvel Beyond Chance, from a secular source, with a pediatrician giving his report. this one attesting to a dying child's healing which cannot be explained by modern medicine, and came after a relative laid hands on her and prayed for her. The DNA in every cell in her body was healed.
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Here is some more documented, scientific, evidence, not nearly all of it at all. See CBN's short vid Dean Braxton. You'll hear his critical care doctor, rated the best patient care doctor in Washington state, saying "It is a miracle...a miracle..." that Braxton is alive, has no brain damage and is normal in every way. Why? He had no heart beat and no respiration for 1 3/4 hours! His family believed in divine healing and they and others were praying for him.
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Also see CBN Dr. Chauncey Crandall Raises A Man From The Dead. Part 1. This video is a bit faded but has the most complete information on this story.
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Get Dr. Richard Casdorph's book The Miracles. There he gives medical documentation for miracles, mostly, but not all, from Kathryn Kuhlman's healing services. Casdorph came to Kuhlman's meetings to debunk her but turned into a supporter, as did other doctors. You can see him and other doctors in some of her healing services on YT. (She is now deceased.) Delores Winder is one of the cases documented in his book. You can watch her amazing story on YT with Sid Roth.
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The book The Audacity of Prayer by Don Nordin lists medically documented miracles.
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On Andrew Wommack's vids you can see doctors talking about "miracles" too. Check out the YT vid with the opthamologist who says Yes, Ronald Coyne could see out of an empty eye socket after a faith healer prayed for him. You can see him doing demos. At the end of the book Don't Limit God you see a medical statement by a doctor saying that his patient used to have M.S. and diabetes but is now cured. Do you think that Someone Who can raise the dead and heal people of deadly "incurable" diseases, Someone Who created time, space, matter, energy and you - needed "evolution" to make life forms? No, He created them fully formed and fully functional in 6 days just as Genesis, a Book He always supported, tells you.
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Then there is the Shroud of Turin. If you don't know, the Shroud is a linen burial shroud with the faint image of a crucified man on it. If you have heard that the Shroud was proven to be a Medieval fake based on carbon 14 testing, in the documentary Jesus And The Shroud of Turin you can see the very inventor of carbon 14 testing saying that the sample was invalid due to contamination.
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The vid demonstrates many miraculous features such as pollen from Jerusalem and faint images of flowers that are found only in the Jerusalem area during the spring, as at Passover when Messiah was crucified. With modern technology we also see that the Shroud has an x ray quality which reveals bones and dentition of the Man on the Shroud.
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In the 70s a NASA scientist noticed the Shroud's photographs had inexplicable, unique in the world, qualities. He got up a team of scientists, called STURP, to examine it in person in Italy. (No, the Shroud is not "just a Catholic thing" as the Vatican only came into possession of it fairly recently in history.) They used NASA, and other, high tech equipment with 100s of thousands of hours of research. Their findings are seen all over the net and were published in respected science journals.
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The team was composed of 3 Jews, at least one agnostic and one atheist, and people of various faiths. They all agreed on these things: There is no paint on the Shroud and they have no clue how the image got there. It exactly matches, down to blood stains where a crown of thorns would be, the description of Messiah's death and burial as given in the Bible, what NT writers report. The image could not be duplicated with modern technology.
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About the Shroud I say "If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and waddles like a duck, maybe it's a duck." Maybe that Man on the Shroud is your very Best Friend and Savior. I pray you will find that out.
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You're going to need a miracle some day friend. They are out there in abundance for those who humbly seek them from their Creator, the One Who made all that DNA out there, and Who said, "Whoever comes to Me I will no way cast out."