do I belong???

[followerofjesus]

Don't know if this has been covered my friend ,last will be first & first will be last.

[tsth]

Hi Oak,

What do YOU want to talk about? What interests you? Go ahead. Say what's on your mind. Any questions? Anything about the Bible that interests you? Anything about Jesus you want to talk about? Just pretend you're with a bunch of friends and you want to talk about something. Then post!

In His Love,

Suzanne

[stillwaters]

I have been watching your posts oakleaf. You are growing and are much stronger. Just reading the scriptures that get posted here can strengthen you. Even if you don't understand everything. God's word has power in Itself to accomplish His purposes. He is the One who causes us to grow...other people water us...but God causes us to grow.

I pray that you will begin to hear what the Lord is saying to you personally and meditate on one piece of truth at a time. He knows you are sick and he knows all about your past. You are accepted...He came to SAVE sinners and we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We are all equal at the foot of the cross.

[our3blessings]

I hear what yall are saying, my life experiences are full of violence, drug addiction, alcoholism, prostitution, and now being a cripple, I am barely a christian no matter how hard I try it aint good enough, when I am silent and listening to everyone chat Id be lucky if I understand any of it, it is my greatest weakness I see myself as a no good failure,

Oak, I believe you do belong here if only to help share your experiences and I'm sure you have an excellent testimony, or that you will one day soon!

You said that you are barely a Christian, well, let me tell ya something, A Christian is a Christian no matter what. We all struggle, we all have many failures in life. That is what Jesus is for. He is holding your hands now. We want you here and so does God!

I have often felt that I am not intellectual enough just like you. I have done many terrible things in my past. But we are forgiven. I am learning so much by just reading these posts! It takes much time and much patience, but I know that you can achieve much by staying!

God bless you, Oak! Please do not leave! I need others like myself here as well!

[Guest Psalm27]

Oak... you are loved here. :hug:

Don't let the devil beat you down. Don't listen to his lies. Your past is just that...the past. You are a new creature in Christ!!

I never have anything interesting to say...but I post anyways. Sometimes you just gotta jump in and join in the conversation.

[Guest Psalm27]

after reading alot of posts here and I have answered a few but I realized that almost all of the topics are way over my head.. I aint no theologist or a genious, I am still learning about CHRIST and how to walk with HIM everyday..and after reading these posts I realize that I dont belong here.. I know nothing about anything that is being posted..I am ashamed of my self for not knowing enough to have a decent conversation woith anyone here.. I thought I could help people and learn more about GOD at the same time, but how can I help when I know nothing, or is it that I aint smart enough to understand anything other than the basics...I know that I have constant brain fog that keeps me from completing thoughts and understanding things but even wioth this problem there is no way I can any of this....oak

I felt exactly the same way when I was first saved..for a few years afterwords in fact. I remember watching church on tv and wondering how on earth I could ever get to the place that they are at. I mean...there is sooooo much to learn in the bible and I felt like you....like everything was over my head.

We are not meant to learn everything at once. God knows exactly where you are at. We learn word by word, line by line. You can't try to learn it all at once because we can't contain it like that. Some things are so deep that it takes a long time to really absorb. And also, many here are at different spiritual levels..

Example...some can read the same chapture in the bible and get something out of it that someone else does not. When God feels you are ready, He will reveal more to you....

That is the problem with message boards I think....there is still alot that I can't understand and many are really smart when it comes to bible prophecy and stuff.....and really there are so many different beliefs and debates that it really confuses me sometimes. It was so much easier when it was just me reading the bible for myself and going to one church.

As far as conversations here....there is stuff you can learn from asking questions, not just reading other threads. Example...say you are reading the book of John and want to ask a question...you can ask here.

:hug: Don't replace spending time in your bible for message boards. That is where you are going to learn the most and God can teach you.

[keslc]

I have to agree with many others here, you DO belong because you are a part of our family...the family of God! I haven't had a chance to get to know you, but I would like the chance! You are right that you can't change or grow on your own, nobody can, that's why we fellowship together and why even if we don't understand it, we read the scriptures because God will change us and help us grow, by His power! You are loved by him and us here. :hug:

[oakleaf]

I'll stay, and thank you for all the responses, I guess the LORD really wanted me here. there are times when my ailments get the better of me not only physically but mentaly as well. I wont appologize for this since its out of my control...I believe that my being unable to work is finaly taken its toll on me..I need to be useful to the community as well as at home. I get extremely frustrated when I cant do or understand something. I just aint sure where to go from here I try to read the bible but I dont understand what im reading. which for me is very upsetting because I can usualy understand what I have read.. I guess what it all boils down to is that I need to be useful again..................oak

[Orr v'emet]

Oak, don't get frustrated. Everyone here is at different levels of understanding and knowledge of the word. We all come to the boards to learn more, encourage one another along and share with each other what God is teaching us. Stick around, I know that you will be blessed!

[Guest aggiekat]

Well, Oak, I think you're being useful to a lot of us just by being here and posting.

I'm glad to hear that you've decided to stay. I sometimes have trouble too with fogs of the mind, although it's been long enough that I've gotten better in dealing with them. I'm ADD and have been since I was a kid. I used to space out while staring blankly at a wall.

I'll be happy to pray for you, Oak. That the Lord would help you to focus and to understand what you're reading. That the Lord will reveal His heart to you. Just take reading the Bible slowly. I get encouragment sometimes by reading little bits from Proverbs or from the shorter New Testament books. Pray for understanding before you read and then be patient. The Lord will teach you.

Kat