Ever feel like an outsider?

[kwikphilly]

Blessings Gray

      Perhaps it is similar to a "phase" as you asked in OP......I call it the "silent" periods when it seems a very strong demand of my faith is required & I have to rely on Knowing what I know and no "feelings" are involved......there are many times when I do not hear,see or feel anything from God and those times I know I must be disciplined & diligent in reading His Word,Praising,Worshipping & Prayer.........sometimes we have to think back on what brought us to the foot of the cross in the first place and simply "trust" God....remember where we were before we accepted Christ & indeed we will see that we are not the same people we were before Christ became our Lord & Savior

     Its not the same for everyone,some people receive the Holy Spirit & "BAMM" it feels like fireworks & there is an immediate transformation into that"new creature"....for others(like me)it is a process & a gradual renewing & transforming of the heart & mind ,I think it has much to do with how much we are willing to surrender of ourselves.....for me personally it took many years to surrender without reservation......Christ tells us He went away so that He could send the Other"His Holy Spirit" to be with us....I think the Holy Spirit is not always Someone you "feel"but the One Who brings remembrance to what we have read or heard of Gods Word as He is the Counselor,the Helper,the Comfortor.......

      Gray,I believe that burning desire inside you to be closer to Christ,to find a place of Praise & Worship,to help your wife is all the promptings of the Holy Spirit.....I too,l have sat in the midst of the congregation & "felt" nothing but I "know" that faith comes by hearing and so I stay obedient to Gods Word and just "trust" God to direct my footsteps

    All the things you desire are things only God can do for you,just trust Him & continue to earnestly seek Him in His Word and  give Him alot of Praise for the Blessed life He gave you....He inhabits our Praise,invite Him in that Way and Trust that He is with you

                                                                                                             With love,in Christ-Kwik

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[kwikphilly]

Come Near to God
Posted on 2014/1/25/ by June

sceneryby Gail Rodgers

Shelly envied her friend. Nell seemed to feel God’s nearness and find comfort in His presence daily. Shelly had invited God into her life too yet He often felt distant and she wondered why.

God’s Word holds the answer. It says:

“Come near to God and He will come near to you.” James 4:8

Just how do you come near to God? How do you enter into His presence and feel His nearness and draw on His comfort?

Start with offering your thanks to God for His blessings in your life. Even when life is difficult find the blessings, however small they seem, and thank Him for them. God says we enter His gates with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving opens the door.

Next, begin to praise God for the faithful characteristics of who He is. Praise Him for His compassion toward you. Praise Him for His mercy and His forgiving heart toward you. Praise Him for His faithfulness and the fact that He can always be trusted, even in the dark. Choose to praise Him for His graciousness toward you.

Cultivate a thankful heart. Keeping the faithfulness of God in clear view through deliberate praise will open the door to His presence in new ways.

Begin today. Loosen the doubt and the lack of trust from your heart by going through the gate of thanksgiving.

Loosen the fear and skepticism from your heart by praising God for who He is. Take time to let the truths of His character penetrate your heart. He is good and He is faithful.

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name, for the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100:4 & 5

Prayer & reflection: Father God, My heart is hungry to feel Your presence close to me. Help me to enter into Your presence through the gate of thanksgiving. Remind me to draw near to You with praise for the wonderful qualities of who You are. You are good, Father God. I trust You to come near to me as I declare Your blessings and Your character. Let these truths penetrate my heart, shape my thinking and change my attitudes today. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2014/01/25/gr_come-near-to-god/

 This is a Daily Devotional that I read this morning & it  says what I tried to say in a much better way,I thought you might  be encouraged by my sharing this with you....

                                                                                                 With love,in Christ-Kwik

________________________________________

[Guest P_W]

I like that, Kwik!  Thanks!  Praising God is one of the highest forms of prayer and God inhabits the praises of His people.  Definitely a great way to draw near to Him.

 

In the love of Christ Jesus,

Prair

[gray wolf]

I appreciate everyone's thoughts and kind words.

I've got to stop playing with fire. My wife is turning away from God on account of me. I've got to do the right thing.

Gray wolf out

[Guest]

I appreciate everyone's thoughts and kind words.

I've got to stop playing with fire. My wife is turning away from God on account of me. I've got to do the right thing.

Gray wolf out

 

Praying~!

[kwikphilly]

Dearest Gray....

       My Brother,I would never tell you a lie or anything to hurt you......you must break free from this sin condemnation & guilt,God is our deliverer......give it to Jesus & stand on your position of Victory .......we are truly accountable for our own salvation......you are not the cause of your wife turning away from God,.

      Gray.you are one of the most intelligent & reasonable people I have had the pleasure of getting to know .......does that make any sense?You surrender to Christ without reservation(think back not too long ago)and then almost simultaneously your wife is turning away from God?Was she truly in Christ to begin with or simply religious & following the traditions of man?My Brother,Christ FOUND YOU!!!!!!Praise & Glory to God!!!!

      This is clearly the fiery darts of the enemy,he is the author of confusion  & he knows what buttons to push,how to divide & conquer...................hold on to what is rightfully yours as legal heir to the Kingdom of God!

        I know with God you can pull it all together Gray,I trust God & believe in you......

                                                                                                                         With love,in Christ-Kwik

[Guest P_W]

Playing with fire?  I don't understand.  

 

You have received such good advice from everyone and I especially like what Kwik just wrote to you.  Have you put any of these suggestions into practice?  

The best one being to start praising God even if at first you are only going through the motions, it is a start.  I have never seen this fail.  God is in the midst of our praise.  Try by saying something like, "Dear Lord, I do not understand what is going on, I do not feel close to you right now, but I am going to praise You just the same.  I trust in You alone, Lord, and I will wait on You."  This is just a suggestion and similar to my own prayers at times.  I have praised Him through my tears and through my pain.  Jesus has never failed me!  Never!  He is faithful and true.  We are the ones who fail, or give up too soon.

 

This is an example of a situation where people lose hope and give up on God.  A young couple I know, and that I am quite close with, was recently having marriage problems that looked like it could end in divorce.  They asked me to pray for them, and I did.  Months went by with no change.  During this time my grandsons were returned to us after a year of praying and agonizing over the situation, and my faith was lifted because I knew God had heard our prayers and He answered them.

 

I contacted the young couple and told them I was still praying for them.  The man wrote back to me to say, "It is over!  Time to give up."  I responded, "Are you kidding me!?  God has just worked a mighty miracle in our lives and you want me to lose hope?  I'll never stop praying!  It is not over until God says it is over!"  I got no response, but in a matter of days I heard the good news from them that they had reconciled and decided to try again.

 

There is a discipline we must follow in this walk with God.  We cannot trust our own emotions and we must discipline ourselves to pray, think, and do what the Bible says we are to do.  We cannot trust ourselves and we often put ourselves above what God says.  Many think along the pattern of, "Well, God isn't responding to my prayers, so He has abandoned me."  But, the Bible says this can never happen.  Just because God seems silent means nothing.  We are basing the end result on how we feel.  We see no change, no answer, so we assume this is just how it is.

 

My experience proves to me that God acts in His own time, for His purpose, which are always perfect.  We cannot see all that is involved and often think only of ourselves, but there are many factors behind the scenes that only God can know about.  There is a reason for His timing.  It might be for our own growth, or often it is for the witness to others.

 

Please, do not put yourself at the center of this issue.  Put God first!  Wait on Him, trust in Him, and have faith.  It is all about Him, for His glory.  We are often only able to think about ourselves, our lives and how everything affects us, but it is only about God and it is all for Him.  He will never let you down.

 

I have learned in my life that God never fails.  It often does not make sense to us, but we are not able to understand the higher thoughts of God and we need to realize this and just wait upon the Lord and trust in Him.  Remember the word of God that tells us to, "Lean not unto your own understanding...."  Humans will always fail, but God never does.

 

I know .... easier said than done.  It takes practice to do and to act in a way that defies reasoning.  It is about complete surrender, dying to oneself and our own understanding.  Submitting this way is not natural for humans, that is why I say it takes practice, but you are no different than any of us whom have had to learn to submit totally to God and His perfect, divine will.  Amen

 

We continue to pray for you and yours.  Hang in there, my brother and friend!

 

Always in His care,

PrairWarur

[angels4u]

Gray wolf,how about going on your knees and tell God all about EVERYTHING in your life and ask Him to help you to live the life He wants you to live for Him. He loves you so very much and is waiting to hear from you!

Forget about doctrines-churches for now  they are all man made  and start reading the Bible the Word of God---it is really hard to live with all the burdens on your back,give them ALL to Jesus ,He will lift you up ,He is right beside you --just say His name----JESUS JESUS JESUS!

 

 

We love you all,praying  <Angels

[Guest P_W]

BTW .... I agree that no one can cause another to lose faith or turn away from God.  That is a lame excuse for losing faith because you either never had it to begin with, or it is an attempt at trying to guilt someone.  I've heard people say that they don't believe in God, or have given up because of what Christians have done, but this proves one thing only, instead of putting their faith and trust in God, and keeping our eyes on Him alone, they have allowed themselves to wander off.

 

It is just like when Jesus walked on water and Peter questioned Him, "Lord, if that is You, then bid me to come to You..."  Peter stayed on top of the water until he took his eyes off of Christ and began to look around.  That is when he started to sink.  Peter looked at the conditions surrounding him and trusted in them, that they could take him out!  This is our lesson in learning that no matter what the conditions look like, God is above them.  We must put our faith and trust in Him alone.

 

In the love of Jesus Christ,

PrairWarur

Matthew 14:28-30

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

 

28 Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

[Guest P_W]

Amen, angels4U!  There is no better place to receive from God than when we have humbled ourselves on our knees.  I agree, too, that what we need to do is not look to the church for answers, nor other people, but to just get alone with God and His word and we will find all that we need.  There is no other place where I would rather be than just my time alone with God where I find comfort, peace and healing.

 

Not that there is anything wrong with the church, or Christians, for they are a great source of help and understanding, but if this has not helped Gray so far, then he should do as you have suggested and go straight to the Father for help.

 

We do love you, GrayWolf, and will continue to pray for you and your family.

 

Trusting in God each day,

PrairWarur