Dak

The truth is that, though I don't like the changes, I am seeing this as an opportunity to make a stand for God here in Worthy. However, two things are stopping me to do just that. First is that this new situation is demanding a kind of commitment I am not yet ready to give. For at this point in my life I still have a lot of studying and writing to do, to better prepare myself to fight on the front lines, and a battleground-Worthy is something I cannot yet handle. Second is that my heart is filled with doubts about staying. The decision whether to stay or to leave is really God's to make, not mine, and my doubts are sure indications that He is saying NO. I am leaving then. Again. I hope that when God leads me back here, maybe a few years down the road, I am better prepared to join you, my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, in your fight for our faith. I will not forget Worthy. Rest assured that I love this place, and that I love you all.

I will pray and ask God what I should do, whether to leave or to stay. I'm not sure if I am already prepared to deal with these changes.... Also, I'm not sure if I can afford the time and energy staying here would require, as I have my own ministry to attend to.

I'm talking about a general feeling.

Is it just me, or has something changed here in Worthy while I've been gone for some months? I'm thinking that this place feels less like a home than it had been before. Less safe. As if I can no longer be truly myself here... as if this place has become more of a battleground than a sanctuary. Or do I just miss the old faces I used to know, faces that are no longer here?

My every day is subject to God's leading and interruption. Thus I have no established routines, though I do try to have them. But at this point in my life I simply have so many things to do... that routines are not yet for me. And no, I don't spend all of my time doing only "religious" stuffs. For God knows that even though I do concern myself with the things of this world, they will never take his place as the King of my life....

I got disgusted with Noah that I didn't even finish the movie, and that's saying a lot, since I watch a lot of movies and read a lot of novels. Science fiction and fantasy especially. My attitude in watching such movies as Noah and Exodus is to have no expectation at all whether they'll be true to Christianity or not. I simply lump them all under the category "Worldly." And guess what? I'm never disappointed.

You should check out those who already have made thousands and thousands of posts.... Now I don't hear them complaining...

I don't have the time to read all the posts that have already been made, so I'm going to reply directly to your original post. Also, my answer is a personal testimony. I myself is an intellectual, and like you, all the reasoning that was given me could not convince me of God, or of his love for me, or of my supposed salvation. For I had "accepted" Christ into my life several times, but I was never sure of it, nor did I really understand it. I needed something more to really believe; I needed evidence; I needed an actual experience. And that, my friend, is the "something else" that the Holy Spirit gives us other than faith to convince us of Christianity's truth. Evidence. An actual experience. A great example of this is the story of Saul, who later become the Apostle Paul -- the one who had written much of the New Testament, and who had been greatly instrumental in the spread of the Gospel. Here is an excerpt from the American Tract Society Bible Dictionary: My own encounters with God when I was still searching for him were not as dramatic as Paul's, but they had been as real, and also very intense. To make the long story short, God has revealed himself to me, and I fell in love with him. Deeply, and irrevocably. And like Paul, my life has been his ever since. My advice to you is this: Seek him, as I once sought him. His promise to you is that your searching will not be in vain.

:star: :star:

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Just a reminder to you. *God disapproves of this.* As Openly Curious said, unbelief can get the better of us. Remember the fatal consequence of the Israelites' continual murmurings? They spent the next 40 years in the desert, instead of spending it in their land of promise, and most of that old generation died there.

:star: :star: The difficulty is in reaching that place of surrender where what you simply ask in prayer is the fulfillment of God's plans for your life. God's own desires must come first before ours. Sacrifice and self-denial. The hard and narrow way of Jesus. These are what it's about. But the end result is glorious. For when you and God are finally one... you can be sure that God will answer your prayers abundantly! Talk about faith! [ESV 1Cor 2:9] But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"--

Here is a way. It needs practice, but something you can rely on once you mastered it. Very useful esp. in discerning God's will in the small things of life. Would take a lot of faith, however, to practice it in life-changing decisions. So how can you recognize the answer of God? My reply to your question is... *when peace and confidence fills your heart about the answer.* That is, you are sure of it, despite of the oppositions and difficulties you might face. Saying it in another way: When there is doubt in your heart... that is not the answer of God. Note: This is not about feelings. This is about being sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Also, remember that God's answers do not always agree with what we prayed for. You may have been confident with the answer, and have followed it, but things may still turn out differently. It would take a lot of faith to be at peace with that.

I entrust the whole matter of church to God. Never had one since I left the Catholic church. My faith is that he will lead me to the right church when I am ready and when the time is right. My life is too short, my resources too little, and my heart too weary; simply can't afford to go looking for the right church on my own. Better to let God do the choosing and the timing. Much easier this way, and my satisfaction is guaranteed, because God will be the giver...

Blessings to you, too. Good thing I'm still following this thread, or I would never have read your message Next time though, you may want to quote the post you're replying to, so that if the author of that post is no longer following the thread, he or she will still receive a notification about it. And yes, faith does please God. ~

I am, and I will. God bless you, Jesse. ~

One word.... WOW! ~

My real name is Arjay Araña, and according to my parents ARJAY stands for Araña Romeo Josephine And You They thought my name is unique, but there are other Arjays in the world. I even found another Arjay Araña in Facebook. My display name Dak is given to me by a brother here in Worthy, and came from my pseudonym Dakilang Pag-asa, a Filipino phrase that means "great hope." ~

Couldn't remember the very first... But I do remember when I first strongly heard God's call for my life, saying that he has great plans for me -- and it was accompanied by a vision (a vision that I don't clearly remember now, because it was many years ago). I was in college, and I was standing outside the gate of a church, staring up at the cross inside, and my heart heavy with problems, when it happened.... ~

~ And Yet.... Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. Proverbs 27:17 Yes, Brother Joe, I was just reassuring John 14:6. I'm glad that he is pitching in ~

What an amazing testimony, Jerry. God's help does come in many ways and in many forms; he is indeed the Almighty, he transcends cultural boundaries -- he transcends any boundary and barrier! --and we should never ever limit him as to what he can or cannot do! Jerry, there's one thing I want you to do for me, and that is to congratulate your friend, because I'm sure that if he had not conquered his doubts at the end and chose to trust God still -- in spite of all that happened to him -- then God would not have answered his prayers this way. I'm very glad indeed that he has chosen faith! ~

Hi John 14:6 Jesse and I have already dealt with the issue of his salvation. So there's nothing more to worry about ~

Why you obey is not important, just obey. Nonsense! You cannot Love that which you fear. I'm with Fez. Sorry, I should have said something earlier. ~

Hi Jesse. I'm very glad that you're still here And I'm very glad also that the light has shone upon you! NOW YOU ARE SURE OF YOUR SALVATION! Praise God! Hallelujah! And now I have another good news for you: Jesse, no one's obedience is perfect. My own obedience to God is not perfect, for I myself still struggle with some sins. And even the saintliest of us all still sin sometimes. As the passage above tells you, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Therefore, all we can do is to do our best -- to do our best pleasing God by our obedience, but we must never expect our obedience to be perfect. In fact, God doesn't expect it of us. He knows that we are only human and have our many weaknesses -- this is why he sent Jesus to save us and die for us, because he knows that we can never save ourselves. The important thing to God about obedience is that we have obeyed, even if imperfectly, and that we have done it because of our love for him... and of our desire to give him pleasure. ~

Jerry, I have so many things to say to you, and have been planning to write a long post as my reply, but then I realized that this thread is no longer the place for it. Your questions have already been answered, the misunderstandings dealt with, and though I would like to expound more on my answers to you, that would already be seen as teaching in a teacher-student format -- and that is forbidden on these boards. And so for now I would just like to say to you: God bless you, Brother! By the way, I have a personal message for you. Check your messenger. ~