Confused...

[OneLight]

All the replies are right on, but I will add just one thing that have been pointed to. Being a true son of God requires a relationship, not a religion. Get to know God and allow him to change you through the guidance of His Spirit.

[other one]

Thanks guy really cleared some things up. I understand what you guys mean by "feelings". I know I shouldnt based my faith around them nor seek them. But I still am not sure what to now...

Before you go too deep spiritually in this, I must ask a question becuase you are describing my life about 20 years ago.

How much sleep do you get every night on a weekly average....... it may sound like a really dumb question, but I can assure you that it is not.

[south]

In addition to all the advice that have been given here, I think you also need to take practical steps to change some things. Don't think that just because you come out of a service feeling so good, that the world you live in has changed. It's the same world.

But there are some things that you can change. I don't know what sinful or hateful behaviour you say you keep coming back to. But whatever they are, then maybe try to get rid of things in that area that cause you to sin. If you are in bad company, maybe it's time to seek new friendships. If there are things around you that cause you to sin that you can get rid of, then get rid of them.

If you are stressed, find out what really stresses you out and deal with those.

And don't just read God's word. Meditate on them, ask God to open your eyes to the truth in His word. And don't be afraid to ask God to search your heart and to show you whatever is offensive in you (Psalm 139). Ask the Lord to cleanse and purify your heart. All of these He can do, and He will do. Ask Him.

Blessings...South

[Generation God]

Thanks guy really cleared some things up. I understand what you guys mean by "feelings". I know I shouldnt based my faith around them nor seek them. But I still am not sure what to now...

Before you go too deep spiritually in this, I must ask a question becuase you are describing my life about 20 years ago.

How much sleep do you get every night on a weekly average....... it may sound like a really dumb question, but I can assure you that it is not.

Depends...Usually 5-6 hours.

[other one]

Thanks guy really cleared some things up. I understand what you guys mean by "feelings". I know I shouldnt based my faith around them nor seek them. But I still am not sure what to now...

Before you go too deep spiritually in this, I must ask a question becuase you are describing my life about 20 years ago.

How much sleep do you get every night on a weekly average....... it may sound like a really dumb question, but I can assure you that it is not.

Depends...Usually 5-6 hours.

Less than that can mess with your brain chemistry and the results are constantly being stressed out and eventually the same symptoms of clinical depression. if I personally don't get 8 hours over a long period of time it creeps into me. I had a time that I was taking a drug for asthma that put me on a three ours a night stretch for a couple of years and that nearly got me committed.

It's just something to watch for. lack of sleep will definitely cause the things that seem to be going on in your life. Not knowing how much you do really need it's hard to know. I've read sleep research programs that think that most of the population of the US is suffering from sleep deprivation. Some a little and some a lot. Just keep it in the back of your mind while dealing with life.

[Generation God]

Hey, thanks for all the Replies. Really learned a lot. Right now i'm going to take this one step at a time. Once again thanks for your prayers and support. God Bless.

[Isaiah 6:8]

Hey, thanks for all the Replies. Really learned a lot. Right now i'm going to take this one step at a time. Once again thanks for your prayers and support. God Bless.

I agree with Other One, lack of sleep will get you in a bad frame of mind, as I have been dealing with sleep issues since I was 10...

Also to meditate on the word is not the eastern religion meditation we are speaking of. It is to take a portion of it, and think on what it means, like a cow chewing the cud to get the most nourishment out of it.

[imoss]

I too agree with all of the advice given. I'd like to add that you should immerse yourself in teachings on grace. There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus, when you fully comprehend grace you shake off condemnation and your faith GROWS! (this is how it went with me anyhow.) I was much like you for a decade of my faith. Bless your heart.

[Di66eR]

All the replies are right on, but I will add just one thing that have been pointed to. Being a true son of God requires a relationship, not a religion. Get to know God and allow him to change you through the guidance of His Spirit.

DING, DING, DING!

God speaks to us in and through His Spirit and His Word so reading and meditating on scripture is a integral part of our relationship with God. In our earthly relationships we are not only spoken to... we speak. Yet with God we often ASSUME that since He is omnipresent and omnipotent there is no need to speak to Him about how we are feeling or the intricate details of what we are struggling with because... well.. He knows, right? Oh we might confess our transgressions and beg forgiveness (wash, rinse, repeat), but true and lasting forgiveness (ours not His) and victory over sin often seems just outside our grasp. Meanwhile Satan, the accuser, like a roaring lion is lying there waiting to pounce on all our doubt and insecurity. (1 Peter 5:8)

The missing relational ingredient in this case is not confession of concrete sins, but rather confession of the root cause of our inability... disobedience. In Mark chapter 9 Jesus tells us if our hand or foot offends us... cut it off, if eye offends... pluck it out! We do this not through violence to the members of our body, but through confession and supplication to the Spirit of God. While it may be easy to say "forgive others" or "repent"... performance is another matter entirely. As the apostle Paul observed "In my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members." (Romans 7:22-23). Later Paul answers the question of HOW to perform by saying "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord..." (Romans 7:25a) There it is again... RELATIONSHIP!

You feel revived when you have been in the house of the Lord praising His Name because you have opened up a part of your heart and poured out your love and affection in song. Most believers feel free to do so because they see that part as beautiful. The ugliness however we generally try to bury, unwilling or unable to reveal it because of guilt and pride. Consequently we are often overwhelmed and overtaken as we return to a wicked and lawless world.

Our "relationship" (and subsequent victory) materializes when we truly open our hearts to God. All our dirty, hostile, violent, malicious, prideful, lustful disobedient thoughts can be openly expressed to God because the veil of access was torn in two by Christ. Are you angry with God? Tell Him! Unwilling to do what he is asking? Confess it! Doubt His promises? Tell Him! Many people recoil from doing so because they are either trying to hide it or because it seems irreverent to them to speak so freely... but God KNOWS our heart so it is foolish for us to try and keep ANY part of it from Him. Relationship not only involves studying God's Word and acknowledging our sin, but also the mechanizations of sin... the thoughts and imaginations that are at the root of it. (2 Corinthians 10:5). As each of these is confessed and confronted, we are corrected, restored and strengthened in and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

God Bless & Keep You!

Di66eR

Edited April 7, 2011 by Di66eR

[~Shalhevet~]

praying