Trayalc

I suppose I'd agree that the Bible is not literally God, but what do you make of the verses from John I shared above? It seems to me that if Jesus is "the Word" then reading "the Word" is a way to get to know Jesus personally.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." -John 1:1-5 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." -John 1:14 John seems to answer that question in his book. Jesus and the Word are one and the same. I don't believe the Word is only instances of Jesus/God being quoted - it is Christ himself and his message, whom the entirety Bible is centered around, to my understanding.

Not in general, but aren't we to believe the Bible is the living Word of God? And if it's living, it's not just some lifeless words on a page, right? Of course, I know the Holy Spirit plays a huge part in the Lord speaking to us too. But wouldn't it be a bit dangerous to rely on feelings or an "inner voice" more than the concrete Word of God?

I think that's true, but I suppose I'm a bit confused. Are you saying we are not able to know God personally through His Word?

I was thinking of Hebrews 1:1-2 - "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe." And since Jesus is the living manifestation of the Word, I figured this meant that the Word was our main source of receiving communication from God.

Oftentimes I find it difficult to know what God's will is for my life. I know that God can choose to reveal Himself to us in whatever way He wants, but I also know that nowadays He speaks to us mainly through His Word. I figured another big way in which He reveals His will is through life circumstances. For instance, as I've described in previous posts, I recently let go of someone who I've grown very attached to. We found ourselves in quite a big mess. It seemed like everywhere we turned, there was some sort of problem. My parents didn't entirely approve. We live an hour away from each other. I couldn't visit her 95% of the time. She couldn't visit me after wrecking her car. Most godly counsel I was receiving told me I should let her go. Even furthermore, God seemed to send me some amazing validation, which I describe in my most recent previous post. Still, however, I find myself wondering if what I did was right. I wonder if God was wanting to take me on a difficult path, but I chose comfort instead. I guess my question is, how can I tell between a path with difficult circumstances which is God's will from that which is not God's will? Because certainly God's will is not always the easier route.

Thank you for your replies. What's tough about this is she is ready to date me. Not only that, she has already communicated that she dreams of marrying me. I have already told her now is not a good time for us to date. She has responded by saying she'll wait for me, but she assures me that I should not feel pressured or rushed. She said she appreciates the wait. I'm very flattered by that, but I struggle to live my life in good conscience knowing that she is essentially putting her romantic life on pause for me. She says I don't owe her anything, but knowing she's waiting on me sure makes me feel like I owe her something. She says not to feel pressured, but that is easier said than done so far. Several times before I have told her we need to hold back. The more I have to tell her that, the more I feel like I'm stringing her along, and the more I wonder if things will even look any better for us anytime soon. I have been very hard on myself lately, wondering if I'm doing the right thing or if I'm just stringing her along deep down. I do care for her, regardless, and I hope that is evident here.

Hello again! It has been a couple of months since I've last updated the situation I've been in. I figured I'd just update you on what has gone on since I last posted, and I will leave links to my past two posts here: To begin, I must say with utmost joy and thankfulness that this girl is now a Christian. There were moments when I really saw God working. I will describe one really cool instance: at one point, she had ordered a Christian shirt with her friends which had Matthew 17:20 on there, the verse talking of faith the size of a mustard seed. She felt that that verse applied to her. One night, trying to implement Christianity into her lifestyle in an attempt to see if this Christian God would reveal Himself to her, she decided for the first time in years to pray. However, when she bowed her head to pray, no words could come out. Only tears. She told me she could not do it, that she could only sob when she tried. In her distress, she contacted another Christian friend, who encouraged her and provided her with the verse Luke 17:6; another verse talking of mustard seed faith. That night she felt shaken to her core. It was not long after that that she accepted Christ into her life, and one night during a worship service she felt God was calling her to join the leadership team for the Christian college ministry she had been involved with for 3 years. She has also been continuing to ask questions, pray, read the Word, and spend more time with other believers. She had been dealing beforehand with mental health problems, and while she still struggles with it to some extent, both she and I have noticed a significant difference in her mental health since she accepted Christ. This whole situation has been an emotional roller coaster for me. My close friends and family know how it has, at points, taken its toll on me. I now see why the Bible appeals for us not to be "unequally yoked" with unbelievers, as it has the potential to bring about sin, doubt, and discouragement. I will certainly advise others against it from now on. But I am so thankful that God has blessed this situation. We are both so blessed. The challenge I am now facing is also taking its toll on me. The people closest to me (my closest friends and family) all seem to think it would be best if I do not date her at this point in time. My father (not a religious person, for the record) thinks that I should not get into any serious relationship with anyone right now, as I am a recent college graduate and should focus on myself and my career at this point in time. My mother (identifies as a Christian but is barely religious, in my opinion) thinks she is bad news because of her past and the fact that she has tattoos. My best friend sees the stress it has been causing me, and he thinks she is not good for me. Lastly, my Christian mentor throughout college thinks that she does not seem ready for a serious relationship right now for the following reasons: (1) she sees me as her spiritual mentor; (2) she has already expressed wanting to spend the rest of her life with me (said this is a red flag); (3) he said she needs time to grow alone and not rely on me; (4) she is living with her ex-boyfriend still, who hates me. I value all of these peoples' opinions, so it has been so hard. I myself have been having so many doubts about the relationship lately, but I can't tell if it's because I'm not interested anymore or just because of the circumstances. I am a people pleaser, so knowing that whatever action I take right now is going to hurt or upset someone else has been really hard on me. This past Saturday I had a talk with her. My close friends and family encouraged me to break things off with her, but I failed to do that. All I did was have a conversation with her about most of my concerns and doubts. Nothing has been broken off yet. Strangely enough, the day after our talk (yesterday), my church had a service that so happened to be about relationships. I wondered what God wanted me to get out of it. It did not really make me feel convicted about my relationship with the girl; instead it calmed me to some extent because the pastor and his wife talked about struggles and challenges they've overcome together. I also figured that it might have just been a reminder that God is in this situation and does care. I am just in need of spiritual guidance, advice, and prayer. I am open to listening to whatever you all have to say. Please let me know if I can provide any other information for you. Thank you so much for sticking with me through this long post and series of posts. God bless.

Yes. The college ministry meets weekly with a Christian message, and naturally it also serves as a social outing. I think she sees it simply as a good, loving community and not much more than that. She believes Christianity is life-bettering, but has not yet given her life to Christ or accepted that Jesus was the Son of God. She told me the idea of there being a God "just doesn't make sense" to her. I've always been fascinated in apologetics and have become fairly familiar with it, so I've been encouraging her to ask questions and talk about that sort of thing. At points I think I've seen some wheels turning, which is encouraging. I do understand that I need to be cautious moving forward. I honestly have no idea how exactly this is going to resolve at this point, but I am praying that the Holy Spirit will work through this trial and trusting that He will lead me through it.

I should have mentioned that she is actively involved in a Christian college ministry and has been for the last three years. So she is aware of the story of Jesus as well as his claims, to my knowledge. I certainly can ask her about it and ask her what she thinks of the person of Jesus.

I have not really explained that to her about Christianity. I really have only explained things as they have come up, or when she has had questions. I'm so glad she's reading Mere Christianity by CS Lewis because I think it lays out a very good idea of what Christianity actually claims. I feel like she has a lot of misconceptions about what Christians actually believe. I may ask her if she'd like to have a discussion after each chapter about what she thought and any questions she might have. I also need to remind her that Christian books are no substitute for the Bible. To complicate things further, she and I are an hour apart. I just graduated college, and she has one more year of it. I just started going to a church in my hometown (my family never went to church while I was growing up before college), so I have not yet met the pastor there. She has said she would definitely go to church with me; it's just that she doesn't seem interested in going by herself.

Thanks so much for your responses so far. I just had a very long talk with her today. There are still some things I feel encouraged about and some things that concern me. Today she said that she's got her own betterment journey for herself, but she's making an effort to get into more Christian stuff for me. It makes me feel like she's missing the point, if that is the case. But I also believe God could work through that. I ended up telling her "I think if you continue with it, then you'll find it as a part of your own betterment journey." She did not back down from saying that she'd like to spend her life with me. She has convinced herself that every single one of her gut feelings in life have turned out to be correct, and that she has a gut feeling that we'll be so good together. I tried to tell her making decisions in life solely based on a feeling is not a good idea, and to that she started getting upset, thinking I was implying that it wouldn't work out between us. It was very difficult to get my point across, and I'm not sure it got across to her. She's also very stubborn. For whatever reason, she hates being told what to do. She's a very rebellious spirit, I guess. For instance, today she was very vulnerable with me, telling me her problems with depression and such. To that, I asked if she had considered going to counseling for it. She said no, and I encouraged her to. But she's convinced herself that it won't be of any help, and that she can handle it on her own. I asked her if she would go for me, and she said she wouldn't make any promises. It's very frustrating. I honestly think that is one of her problems with Christianity - the fact that it tells her she needs to act in a certain way. I don't know how to get her out of that mindset or even if I can, but I know she needs to. So that is where we're at now. Again, I appreciate you all's advice in the matter. And also, for the record, I am 21 years old, and so is she! Please pray for her and me, and I am always prepared to receive any additional advice you may have! Thank you so much, and God bless!

In a previous post, I described the situation I've been in lately with a non-believing girl (link below). I thought I'd update you all on what's been happening. We have stayed in communication but technically still remain only friends, although she seems to think we are a "future couple," the two of us meant to be together. There have been some very encouraging as well as discouraging developments so far. Let us start with the encouraging stuff: Firstly, she has expressed that ever since spending time with me, she has been seeing a lot more Bible verses and Christian quotes pop up in her life. Perhaps it's God trying to speak to her. Secondly, encouraged by the first point, she told me she has been making the effort to live the Christian lifestyle lately. She began reading the book Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis which I gave to her to break down any misconceptions that she may already have about Christianity, and she is enjoying it so far. I was super anxious about the situation yesterday, and then I received a phone call from her where she told me about all these things. It was really encouraging, and I thought that was God's way of calming me and saying "I'm working through this." Now for the concerning / discouraging parts of the situation: Firstly, I worry that if I were to be suddenly removed from the equation, that she'd immediately return to her previous ways of living life and throw away all this interest in Christianity. I don't know if that would be the case, but I wonder. Secondly, on a practical level, she comes off VERY strong sometimes, and it makes me want to recoil. We have not even entered into an official relationship yet, and she has sent me things suggesting marriage and being soulmates. Furthermore, today I was texting her throughout the day when suddenly she sent me giant walls of text about her not being afraid of loving me, and that even though I'm being reserved about it right now, that I would eventually see that we were meant to be together and how great we are together. Now, I'm sort of hoping that was a drunk text, but if she was indeed drunk, that does not give much legitimacy to her efforts to live a Christian lifestyle. It's times like this that I want to retreat from the situation, you know? So that's where we're at right now. I appreciate you all's advice and support in the previous post. I am asking for advice and continued prayer that God work through this situation and that He walk me through it. Thank you!

I’ve developed feelings for a nonbeliever (an agnostic who also has strong feelings for me), and I’ve been so hesitant (and stressed) because I know it is advised not to date nonbelievers (and certainly forbidden to marry them). I’ve been praying that God help me out of this situation (if that is His will) because at this point there’s some emotional investment and I don’t exactly know what to do. This girl identifies as agnostic. I’ve admitted the reasons for my hesitation to her, so she knows. She said she honestly does not see herself ever believing right now, but she is interested in learning about my beliefs and faith. After sharing some quotes with her, she’s even said she’s interested in the book I’m reading now (Mere Christianity by CS Lewis). I certainly want to share more with her about what I believe, but I know I shouldn’t missionary date. Right now we have both agreed we are just friends, not exactly exclusively dating yet. However, even though we’ve had a lot of physical distance between us lately, we have still been flirting as if we’re exclusively dating or at least as if we’re are planning on it, admittedly. So this is the mess I’ve gotten myself into. There are also things besides the spiritual aspect that sort of make things complicated. I don’t know what to do. Prayer and advice would be appreciated. Thanks for reading!