Finding a non-apostate church

[RRep]

On ‎7‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 7:09 AM, inbox24 said:

I think one of the detrimental things about going to these churches is that all the people are so physically blessed that it starts to cause me anxiety in areas which I thought I had put away. For example if everyone's got white collar jobs with good long term prospects and a good income, that's going to drag me away from just living by faith and being content with whatever (hopefully God has called me) to do. If everyone has spouse idolatry and living for family, it's going to make me jealous and scared of a single childless future, rather than trusting in God as the ultimate 'husband'. If everyone is living in a large house with their children and extended family, I'm going to be tempted to gripe about being 50 years old and living at home, when in fact I should have my eyes on eternity. It's okay now because I'm still not yet 30, but over the coming decades, the attacks from Satan using the tares in the church will only get worse. It's definitely also my responsibility to confront the idols of my heart very strongly and ask God for help in smashing them in order to keep the eyes affixed on eternity, but particularly in the beginning period where I am easily tossed and swayed, I just need a strong foundation to defend against these lies. And going to a field full of tares each week makes life more difficult, because these are professing Christians and not non believers. Non believers, the mind automatically switches off and you think of Psalm 73, but with professing Christians doing this, it's almost like a backdoor virus attempting to hijack the brain. 

Just ask a professing Christian. What are you going to say to Jesus when He asks you. (Why should I let you into heaven?)there answer will give them away. If it has to do with what they have done all there good deeds they have done for Him they will go straight into the Lake of fire. If The answer is humble that nothing they have done is worthy of  heaven but what Jesus has done on the Cross and Resurrection. they are let in to heaven. look out for ministers who call it their ministry. note: If a professing Cristian can not tell you were the Good news is found in Scripture be suspicious.  1 Corinth? 15 1-4567

[RRep]

On ‎7‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 9:23 AM, Mike Mclees said:

You send a lot of time looking at the out faults of others to place a dark cloud over the church. This is to say these are not true and therefore I am antichurch. 

You want to know if you are saved. Go to your private prayer place and ask Christ to come into you heart and teach His ways. Do you hunger to now Him. Not looking at everybody else. will you stand be fore God and say I couldn't have salvation because no one else was perfect?  You must find Christ for your self first. Read your Bible and joint Bible studies but Follow Christ for your self. If you want to be a judge no one is going to measure.

Why do you suppose We need Christ to save us If it were not for grace we would have no Hope

Jesus said if you want to take the beam out our some ones eye first take the log out of your own eye. they you can see how to help your brother.

hi mike.  when Jesus asks you why should I let you into heaven? what will be your response? ? 

[HisFirst]

Hi inbox

I'm a fellow Aussie and I  understand somewhat.

I'm finding it hard to find a simple lowkey Church that is unpretentious and without the cliques that seem to form.

I am not a Hillsong fan nor a fan of churches that try to emulate their style. So at the moment I'm Churchless. But....

The advice I would give to you is to concentrate on your own walk, doing the things that please Him, have your quiet time and to treat others as you would like to be treated and helping those in "your orbit" in anyway you can, which could even be a simple  smile and hello to the agro checkout chick!! 

God's love through you will cause a ripple effect. 

Edited July 30, 2018 by HisFirst

[Dennis1209]

On 7/18/2018 at 2:56 AM, inbox24 said:

I don't, which is why I've written down these questions, but I can't seem to find any answers:

I want to rewrite the questions I have regarding the personal salvation as the three part edition I had previously seemed to repeat certain things and not emphasise other things which should have been emphasised. I can't deny that my motives for writing this may be impure, it may be to judge others and to lord it over them and condemn them that they themselves have not thought about this or do not have seem to have thought about them despite calling themselves Christians. In this regard, my pride and hatred of others stains the intentions of this document. In spite of this, I would like to press on in writing, because I feel that I need some answers, some godly answers to questions and doubts which have really bothered me for some time now, things which seem to be a stumbling block, a roadblock for me either to be saved, or to proceed further in the Christian walk or both.

 

The ultimate core of my question is, "how can a person themselves know that they are truly saved?" I think it's important also to define at this point, what I am NOT asking. I am not asking, what the grounds of a Christian's assurance are and I'm not asking about what it takes to be saved, although I admit there may be pieces of each question embedded in the original question. In Jeremiah 17:9 it states "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" To me, this means that the original mechanism of how a human being can know that they are saved is already broken. The 'inbuilt salvation detector' within a person is already broken. When people say to me that “only you will know if you are saved!” I challenge them to respond to this verse, how can we know if our own hearts are deceived? At the same time, we know that the Bible tells us that we can know if we are saved or not. 1 John 5:13 says "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." It seems that God tells us that we can KNOW we have eternal life. What is the means by which we can know? In fact many people point to 1 John, the entire book as a good test of salvation, except the problem is, when I read the book, all of the things written seem subjective. For example, some verses:

 

- 1 John 1:6-7 - "If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." 

 

- 1 John 2:3-6 - "We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did."

 

- 1 John 2:15-17 - "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever."

 

These words are a good test for us, but how do we measure ourselves according to these seemingly subjective tests? What is the measurement by which a person can look at their lives according to these texts and then know that they are saved, because they are not loving anything in the world, or keeping his commands/not keeping his commands? How do we measure this at an objective level? This is not to ask "How often can a person still be sinning as still be saved?" because such a question would come with an evil motive and be like a Pharisee testing Jesus, but the principle of the question is how can one know if they are 'passing' or 'failing' the 1 John test of salvation?

 

Next, I would like to come to Matthew 7:21-27 - "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" There seem to be a few things here. The verse seems to indicate that a lot of people will call themselves Christians (proclaiming "Lord, Lord"), a lot of people will be seemingly 'doing' for the kingdom of God (driving out demons and prophesying), and a lot of people will be having success seemingly doing for the kingdom of God (the demons actually being driven out) and yet will be unsaved (I never knew you). To me, this verse, in combination with Jeremiah 17:9 produces a lot of doubt and uneasiness. I trust that no one lives their life WILLINGLY wanting to deceive themselves. Self-deception by definition happens when we unwillingly think a certain path is right, when in fact is wrong, so by definition, self-deception happens unwillingly. If that is the case, so many people will be unwillingly self-deceived into thinking that they are a Christian and have professed saving faith in Christ when in fact they don't have a relationship with him. At this point a lot of people may point to Matthew 7:16 - "By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?" and claim, well you would know whether someone is a true Christian by their actions. But if you notice in Matthew 7:21, such people who claim Christian status DID have actions, they did prophesy and cast out demons in the name of Jesus. Doesn't this cause doubt as to whether we can truly tell someone by their actions or 'fruit' considering that a lot of false Christians will produce a lot of fruit seemingly 'in keeping with repentance'? I'm not saying that Scripture is contradicting itself because that would be impossible. Luke 13:24 - "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to." only strengthens the argument that many are deceived and not know it. How does one not fall into the trap of being self-deceived then? Surely these passages serve as a warning that not many people will be saved and that many (I assume millions of souls) will be self-deceived, and possibly even have a great degree of FALSE assurance that they are saved when they are not. If two people profess saving faith and one is not saved and the other is, they can potentially both look exactly the same on the outside, doing exactly the same things on the outside, be completely convinced in their own hearts that they are saved and then one will end in hell and the other in heaven. How can one personally then avoid this trap? I also refer to the Parable of the Wheat and Tares. This parable seems to reference the fact that the tares are satanic plants completely indistinguishable from wheat until the day of judgement. If that is the case, how do I know personally that I am not a tare, that I am not a child of Satan being planted in the church to disrupt the work of the elect, even though I feel like I'm making efforts to 'work out my salvation'? What if I have simply deceived myself in this regard? 2 Corinthians 11:14 - "And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.", I have heard it said that Satan's 'best work' is the tares he plants in the church which look indistinguishable from the wheat, how then can anyone know which one they are? I believe that there must be an answer to this question, because 2 Corinthians 13:5 tells us to "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?” I don't accept the 'answer' that people attempt to provide that 'you cannot truly know whether you are saved until judgement day', as I believe that this verse is in direct contradiction to that answer. What is this test Paul talks about? How do we pass/fail this test? My point in writing this particular paragraph, is to try to examine both the fruit and heart of a person. We know that the heart produces the fruit, but if both can be deceived, either through moral renovation via the strength of the flesh (as even unbelievers can make changes in their lives) and the fact that the heart is deceitful, how do we truly judge whether we are saved if on both fronts, deception is possible? At this point I'd like to ask the reader not to quote verses like Romans 10:9-10, John 3:16, Acts 16:31 etc., because the question being asked is not even "what does true saving faith look like? ", but "how does one personally know that they are truly saved by faith and not merely self-deceived?".

 

So then the following questions naturally proceed from the above questions. How does one know if they are born again, or just self-deceived? God says that he will give us new 'hearts of flesh' to replace our hearts of stone. Does this heart of flesh kill off all desire to sin? If it does then how to we look at sin in a true born again Christian's life? How do we differentiate an infant Christian from a false Christian? Particularly an infant Christian who has not grown for a very long time? Hebrews 5:12 "In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!" references how infant Christians can remain infants for a long time. Is it possible for Satan to 'relent' from tempting us in certain areas of previous sin so that there may be 'victory from sin' in certain areas of our life to make us think that we've changed or being given a 'heart of flesh' when in fact we haven't? How can we also differentiate moral renovation from true change by the Holy Spirit?

 

Finally, I see a lot of Christians saying "The Lord spoke to me about this..." or the "God told me to do that...” How does God speak to true Christians? What does it sound/feel like? I've asked people whom I consider to be true Christians and some say they don't hear the voice of God in an audible way that the communication is only through written word, other people "hear God speaking to them via the spirit". What is a true Christian meant to expect in terms of obedience to God in the area of what to do day to day in the small and big decisions of life? This is mainly in reference to Matthew 7:21 in talking about “…he who does the will of my Father…” If many are deceived into thinking that they are doing the will of the Father when they are not, how can we avoid falling into this trap? How do we know if we are doing the will of the Father when there are so many deceived churchgoers who may follow certain aspects of the Ten Commandments but are still lord over their own lives?

May I suggest starting at -  1 John 11 - 15. 

[inbox24]

11 hours ago, Yowm said:

The reason why I quoted this passage ...

...was to remind you that although other Christians may be seemingly blessed when we see their state, Jesus tells us to follow Him.

Now why did you respond to me with 1Cor 15:33? It just seemed rather disjointed.

Yes, that's the very thing I'm trying to do, I'm trying to be part of a community of believers (to be taught, edified and encouraged), hence the reason for going to church in the first place. If it was the old me, I wouldn't even have bothered (as I already left the place 5 years). One of the major reasons to be part of a church is to do things which you can't do alone at home, that is corporate worship, interacting with, loving, being loved, serving and evangelising. That is part of following Jesus, although I do understand that Old Testament prophets often lived a very lonely life without possibility of fellowship in many cases. Now if a person is trying to do that, and all they find is a bunch of people in church who are only ever interested in talking about carnal things all of the time non stop, that their every inclination is to exclude people based on the fact that they are not good looking, not financially well off, don't work a white collar job, then it makes true fellowship difficult. It makes it difficult when they will literally walk away from the conversation once it veers into the spiritual. It makes me question whether they are saved, it makes me frustrated that they can "have their cake and eat it too". 2 Timothy 3:12 comes to mind. They have no questions about their own assurance despite driving BMWs and Mercedes, the biannual holidays, eating out everyday, family idolatry and careerism whilst spending a couple of hours at church on Sunday, depositing ten dollars into the offertery box and maybe even serving on the music team. The analogy I would use would be like a computer trying to defend itself from a virus. During the week I mainly interact with non believers, going to work, going to the shops, you know not to be jealous of these people because they are perishing, you know you need to have your "firewall" up so to speak. But when you go to church you subconsciously "relax" this firewall, not expecting a virus. But in fact the virus is packaged within legitimate software, and so (maybe at the beginning before you learn), you let this "legitimate software" into your computer and the virus piggybacks in and ruins you.

My reply with 1 Corinthians 15:33 is not just directed at you, but more out of pure frustration at the replies I'm getting (in real life mainly, but also on the internet). I get very frustrated when people start quoting Matthew 7:1-3 as the basis for "not judging". Isn't it ironic that the person actually quoting this is at the very same time imparting a "judgement". I believe that verse is one of the most abused verses in the whole Bible. I think Satan has done this by firstly using it to shape our western secular culture by introducing the concept of 'tolerance' and 'not judging' and thereby permissiveness of various sins and taboos which only a generation ago would have been considered sins and taboos. This has filtered into the church with the backing of Matthew 7. There is so much misunderstanding of that verse it sickens me. Why doesn't anyone bring up 1 Corinthians 5:12? They all like to bring up their pet verses to shape their worldview which ironically more often than not is a combination of being unbiblical, and worldly. Matthew 7:1-3 is talking about not judging hypocritically, rather than not judging. If we were to put aside all judgement, then we should indeed just put aside living altogether, because no human being can even be alive without making judgement calls every single second of their life! You walk across the road, you make a judgement beforehand to look for cars. You go to the supermarket and you make judgement calls on what items you need to purchase. You go to the church and you make judgement calls about who to associate with. 1 Corinthians 5:11, tells us not to associate with anyone in the church who is an idolater, slanderer, greedy or sexually immoral, a drunkard or swindler. Paul tells us to not even eat with such people. So by your standards, you are saying that "Paul is judgemental and how dare he make such a statement, he is still a sinner and should take the log out of his own eye"? How would you know such people are those things unless you make a judgement?! Now is the qualification to make that judgement that a person must have never committed such sins in the past? Of course not. If that were the case, then no human being living would be able to make any type of judgement. If you even read further on in the sermon given in Matthew 7, Jesus says not to throw your pearls before swine. How would you know someone is a "swine" (metaphorically speaking), unless you make a judgement. There's that word again. The point of the church is to have a pure community of born again believers (at least in majority) who are committed to the functions of the church. What we have in the west largely is a bunch of 'moralised' social clubs, dedicated to the fellowship and pleasure of 2 Timothy 3 individuals. Jesus says "by their fruits, you SHALL know them". Obviously no one is going to get it right 100% of time, but the Bible itself says we can make certain judgements with a fair degree of confidence. Just reading this writing back now, I recognise that it's a bit strong in tone, but it's more just an expression of my frustration, rather than anger at your replies. After this last Sunday, I've resigned to focusing on my own walk and just continuing to pray about this and taking it to God. I think this is one of the tests of faith where I have fallen down in the past, about 5 years ago, and so maybe this is a chance to persevere this time and get through it and grow. I thought I had put aside all worldliness but sometimes when I'm around such people, I get anxious and worried about the future once again and ask myself "is what I'm doing unwise/completely stupid".

 

10 hours ago, HisFirst said:

Hi inbox

I'm a fellow Aussie and I  understand somewhat.

I'm finding it hard to find a simple lowkey Church that is unpretentious and without the cliques that seem to form.

I am not a Hillsong fan nor a fan of churches that try to emulate their style. So at the moment I'm Churchless. But....

The advice I would give to you is to concentrate on your own walk, doing the things that please Him, have your quiet time and to treat others as you would like to be treated and helping those in "your orbit" in anyway you can, which could even be a simple  smile and hello to the agro checkout chick!! 

God's love through you will cause a ripple effect. 

Yes, I've been doing some self reflection and I agree and am pursuing this path now. I think it's important just for the individual Christian to love their neighbour. That whoever is my path, whether it's the homeless guy on the sidewalk as I walk home or a work colleague or a family member, just to love them, to try to be a light to them. It's ironic, but I'm just going to various churches each week and "collecting" people who seem to be serious about what's written in the Bible, people who try to live by it. Then I just meet up with them every so often, otherwise it can be quite lonely. It's almost a paradox, you crave some people to talk to, to encourage and to be encouraged, to learn how to love, to learn to be rebuked and to rebuke, but at the same time, you know that it's unlikely to find that in the western church which is now probably one of the biggest mission fields in the world.

On 7/19/2018 at 1:36 PM, Alex2165 said:

To Inbox24.

You described very well all “ills” and “demons” of the church and their members. I am sure that everyone in whom some conscience is still working will be appalled and disgust as you do by the practices and a way the church operates, I completely share with you your frustration and your concerns about church.

 

 

But in my point of view, indeed, to be judgmental is not always the right thing to do, unless you judgment is fair and reasonable, because you have your own “demons” and you certainly have them like every one of us. In this case you should compare your own “imperfection, deficiencies, and shortcomings” to those people whose you judged, in order not to be a hypocrite yourself like them in this respect.

 

 

Personally, I prefer not to judge, because it should be reserved for GOD only.

 

 

Psalm of David 9.8

8.He judges the world with righteousness, He judges the people with equity.

 

 

Matthew 5. 22

22.But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment, and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council, and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. (Leviticus 19.17)

 

 

Matthew 7.1-2

1.”Do not judge, so that you mat not be judged.

2.With the judgment you make, you will be judged, and the measure you give, will be the measure you get.

 

 

Luke 6.37

37."Do not judge and you will not be judged, do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven,"

 

 

1Corinthinas 11.31

 

31.But if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged.

 

 

Hebrews 4.17-18

 

17.The time has come for judgment to begin with the household of GOD (the church), if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who do not obey the Gospel of GOD?

18.And: if it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinners? (Proverbs 11.31).

 

 

 

James 5.9

9.Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors!

 

 

Remember that everybody will be judged by GOD according to their deeds, and everybody will receive its own reward from GOD whatever it is good or bad.

 

 

Proverbs 11.31

31.If the righteous are repaid on Earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner! (1Peter 4.17-18).

 

 

 

I prefer instead of judging to analyze the church and expressing my point of view based on the Holy Scripture about their worship and their members and their conduct, and I also preferring and selecting those with whom I have common ground, mutual point of view, and common outlook on the church and its members.

 

 

2Timothy 4.2

 

2.preach the Word. Be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. (only according to the Bible - the Word of GOD, and not according to your personal opinion.)

 

 

 

We cannot change the church, because it was corrupted from the very beginning of its existence, but we can analyze and criticize the church in order to let them know that their hypocrisy is known and exposed, which is truly the obligation and duty of every true “born again Christian.”

But at the same time we ourselves shall be without blemish in order not to be hypocrites like them.

 

 

Complaining about corruption in the church does not do much good, but speak out and let the members of the church know your concerns is very important, productive, and efficient way to make some people to think about the conduct of the church and possibly to make some changes.

 

 

It is much easy to do it in a small church, the bigger the church the more it corrupted and usually they do not listen to any sound advice or criticism, because they only interested in profit, it is their business and their goal.

 

 

Above all, church no longer really so important anymore, church become a gathering of social club, and sound teaching and education according to the Bible no longer valued, because church prefer to spend its time mostly on entertainment and meaningless theologies, and of course give people the stuff they like to hear.

 

 

2Timothy 4.3-4

3.The prime time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,

 

4.and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.

 

 

And please do not envy those members of the church who do very well financially and profit greatly and at the same time pretended to be Christians. They belong to the world and with the world they will perish.

 

 

If you really BORN AGAIN IN YOUR SPIRIT you are no longer belong to this world, but you belong to the Kingdom of Christ, and so, the matters of this world shall not bother you or concern you, only look forward to the Place of your eternity.

 

 

1John 5.4

 

4.Whoever is born of GOD overcomes the world, and this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith.

 

 

John 17.14-16

14."I have given them Your world, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

15.I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.

16.They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."

 

 

To Philippians 3.20

20."Our citizenship is in Heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,"

 

 

TEACHING WORD OF GOD FOR SORDID GAIN

Teaching for monetary gain:

(Micah 3.11) (Acts 20.33-35) (John 10.1-12-13-16) (2Corinthians 2.17) (1Timothy 6.3-5) (Titus 1.10-11-16) (1Peter 5.2-4)

 

 

 

[enoob57]

11 hours ago, HisFirst said:

Hi inbox

I'm a fellow Aussie and I  understand somewhat.

I'm finding it hard to find a simple lowkey Church that is unpretentious and without the cliques that seem to form.

I am not a Hillsong fan nor a fan of churches that try to emulate their style. So at the moment I'm Churchless. But....

The advice I would give to you is to concentrate on your own walk, doing the things that please Him, have your quiet time and to treat others as you would like to be treated and helping those in "your orbit" in anyway you can, which could even be a simple  smile and hello to the agro checkout chick!! 

God's love through you will cause a ripple effect. 

I think the eval should be with the leadership... if one can align themselves with them- one can join the ministry with edification of self and others! Certainly there will be problems both in self and others in that body of believers but in leadership that must be solid...

[frienduff thaylorde]

God judges those outside the church ,  WE do judge those inside the church .

Lots of folks Do misquoate  Mathew seven . IF they would bother to read the whole THING ,  JESUS SAYS FIRST , FIRST pull the beam out of your eye, THEN , THEN you will be able

 I seem to notice also that sometimes the word judge was in place of condemn .    We don't act the letter of the law against the sinner .   WE do all to pull them OUT OF the error ,

by the pattern JESUS showed us . And folks if they aint repenting , YOU KEEP no company with them , so they are ashamed , in hopes they will repent and if they do repent

THEY are restored right back in with welcome arms .  

The first step in the process is simple . IF CHURCHES would preach from the WHOLE word of GOD ,  folks could hear and be convicted .   but they wont even do that .

the second step is then if one does err,  We who are spiritual must restore such a one .   Sometimes we see examples were some were deliverd over unto destruction of the flesh .

IF we allow leaven to enter in ,  IT ONLY RISES and will rise the whole lump .  And folks just don't seem to grasp that . SO they left off sound doctrine and started seekerfriendly

and guess what ,  THE LEAVEN FILLED THE PLACE FULL.    ITS GODS PATTERN, CHRISTS PATTERN the apostels pattern ,  OR IT WONT WORK . 

[RRep]

12 minutes ago, naominash said:

When it comes to the prosperity of Christians in the west, you make a great point. 

I often feel convicted that my whole life is being pushed toward education, money, and comfort by those around me. 

It's so strong that I sometimes lose sight of living for Christ.

It seems every time I get determined to live for the Kingdom, I get told to focus on my education, or my own well-being. It quenches the fire a bit. I'm looking for a church too. Maybe I can find one that's different.

any church that kisses the hand of the pope turn tail and run. 

[Michael37]

32 minutes ago, naominash said:

When it comes to the prosperity of Christians in the west, you make a great point. 

I often feel convicted that my whole life is being pushed toward education, money, and comfort by those around me. 

It's so strong that I sometimes lose sight of living for Christ.

It seems every time I get determined to live for the Kingdom, I get told to focus on my education, or my own well-being. It quenches the fire a bit. I'm looking for a church too. Maybe I can find one that's different.

Hi Naomi, I hope there is no law in North Carolina that says you must attend "a church". While Hebrews 10:25 does exhort us not to forsake the fellowshipping of ourselves together, there is no Scriptural requirement for us to do this at a set time on a set day in a set building where a set program is enforced by a set hierarchy...you get the picture. If you just gather some like-minded believers in someone's home and follow directions for meeting as per 1 Corinthians 14 and do everything for edification, you will be abiding in the vine.

Edited July 30, 2018 by Michael37
missing words

[walla299]

17 minutes ago, naominash said:

When it comes to the prosperity of Christians in the west, you make a great point. 

I often feel convicted that my whole life is being pushed toward education, money, and comfort by those around me. 

It's so strong that I sometimes lose sight of living for Christ.

It seems every time I get determined to live for the Kingdom, I get told to focus on my education, or my own well-being. It quenches the fire a bit. I'm looking for a church too. Maybe I can find one that's different.

Prayer is a good place to start with that, but I figure you already knew that. 

I've spent a good part of my life travelling either in civilian life or in the military and I've visited lots of churches over the years. Things are a little easier with the internet than they used to be. First: pray. Ask the Lord to show you where He wants you to go. Second: Don't even look twice at the huge churches with expensive cars in the parking lot. (That's not where you'll find what your looking for in most cases. There are exceptions!)

One place to look for a church is https://www.sermonaudio.com/main.asp 

Its free and there's search feature for churches in your area. It'll save time as you can check out the preaching at a church and its website before you go. I was stuck on mass transit at the time, and the wrong church meant a Sunday morning wasted. So I used the site to help weed out the problems and it saved a lot of time.

The site is part of how I found the church I belong to now. Its a small "hole in the wall" church where the Bible is still preached as the Word of God. They do things a bit differently than the so called "modern" churches, but that's okay. There's still the Word of God. That church was the last one on my list after a year and a half looking for a new one. My old church went seeker friendly and watered down the gospel, so I had no choice. I was so disgusted with "American Christianity" at that point that I was about to give up looking for good. Glad the Lord had other ideas.