I wish I had Christian Friends. Is God talking to me?

[JTC]

    I live in an area devoid of other Godly people, except 1 Jewish man, and it really gets me down at times. So yeah, that's my problem but I don't expect advice. I just needed to talk about it and I don't know where else to post this. I'm a senior citizen with MS and without a car. I can probably still drive but I can no longer walk without a roller-type of walker. Even if I could walk, there's no place to go. The closest non-Catholic church is probably 5 miles away, and it may not have real born again people in it. I have a home health care aide who was raised Baptist but I don't think God means much to her. God means a lot to my Jewish friend but he owns the local pharmacy and he has little to no time for anything else. The few people I know who consider God a little important, are all what the Bible calls lukewarm believers. Regardless of your denomination or exact beliefs, if you aren't living it, day by day, I consider that lukewarm. The only person I can talk with about God is the Jewish man, and only if there's only 1 or 2 of his employees in the store. That pretty much means only on certain weekends, and I never know which ones they will be. My aide lets me talk if I want to, but when I finish her response is something like an answer with the F word and other words I no longer use. Oh well, so she was raised in a Baptist church. It didn't seem to mean anything to her. I'd rather talk with a Catholic who is living his faith, even though I consider most of what they do as wrong. This is actually a big issue today. I wish I knew God's point of view on this, but I don't, I can only guess. I'm pretty much home bound, and I live much of my life online. So I've been taking the free DTS classes. But like in any collage or university, the quality of a course is highly dependent on the professor teaching it. At my age and stage of my relationship with the Lord, I know what I believe. Some DTS professors believe things I don't, but others agree with me. But I like hearing what's being taught to tomorrow's pastors and preachers.

    I just wish I had 2 or 3 people around here who I know are thinking of God everyday, even if they don't agree with me on all points. In case you're wondering, I agree with the Apostle James, faith without righteous behaviors is dead. It's useless. Of course, righteous behaviors alone won't get us into heaven neither, both are needed. It's not easy, no one ever said it was easy. If someone did say that, he didn't know what he was talking about.

   I don't care for Facebook, Twitter and I see to be part of Instagram costs money. I don't have money to spare. I go on You Tube, and I don't like what I see lately. Many Protestants are becoming Catholic, or so it seems. One of the leaders in this movement grew up in a denomination that's almost Mormon. No wonder she prefers the CC. The CC has a lot of questionable practices & beliefs, but for the most part, they all agree with each other. They don't have a lot of in-church fighting among themselves. The Protestant churches seem to be full of that, except for those of us who are truly Born Again. But we aren't in any 1 church, we are hard to find.

   Most of the people in my family that I grew up with have passed away, this is a big reason I'm so lonely. I have MS and spinal stenosis, but neither of those 2 illnesses will kill me. I keep asking the Lord why He's keeping me here, is there a reason? I'm not sure if this idea is from God or if it's something I thought of. The thing is, I don't really want to do it. I'm not even sure what I'd say. I must admit, it helps if you're a young, pretty, energetic blonde, to get followers. The idea is to make You Tube videos.

   Every time I hear of another Protestant person who converted to Catholicism, I have to believe this person doesn't know about the un-Biblical and down right anti-Biblical things the CC does and believes. I grew up as a lukewarm Catholic, but even so, giving up certain beliefs was very hard. Catholicism, more or less, brainwashes you. Are some of you saying,"I wish he'd explain that".

   One of the biggest Catholic issues is their interpretation of Communion and the Eucharist. Their whole argument is based on John 6. How can we ignore that if we believe in interpreting scripture literally. (I know the answer to that) Isn't a better question, why do the Catholics interpret it literally since they don't believe in interpreting the Bible literally in most other places. Is anyone saying, I wish he'd explain that?

   These are 2 topics I'm thinking of making videos about. But I feel like Moses did when God told him to go speak to Pharaoh. Moses was scared and so am I. Then there's the fact that I don't know enough about many issues. Such as the whole Mary thing. About 5 yrs ago I was reading up on the early Church priests, such as Augustine. I always wondered why the CC has so many practices that are almost the same as what the ancient Pagans used to do. Then I found out that Augustine, and I think most of the early priests, were all Pagans before they became Christian. Yeah, so what? Is anyone saying, "I wish he'd explain that". This one requires more knowledge of what makes us tick, than what any religion is about.

   Well folks, this MS makes typing difficult, I'm surprised I was able to type this much. Oh, I don't have Win 10. I need a new PC.

[Who me]

42 minutes ago, JTC said:

I live in an area devoid of other Godly people,

 

Two questions.

What church did you used to attend? Does it still exist, do you still know people there?

Sorry that question raised subscuent questions, basically why are old Christian friends in touch with you?

 

Second question check out the christianityexplored web site for churches in your area and if there are any, get in touch with them.

I just had a quick look and there are over 800 churches in the New York State registered with christianityexplored.

One of those churches should be able to have a member ring you to have a chat or help you get there services on line.

[JTC]

43 minutes ago, Who me said:

Two questions.

Ever hear of the Gospel Outreach church? They had the most awesome worship services I've ever seen. Unfortunately, they also had more problems than they could handle. The GO church, as it was called, fell apart in the 80's. I haven't seen any of the friends I had there since 2001. I'm pretty sure one man died. I've moved several times since the 80's and I'm sure they did too.

  I went to a few other churches since then but I never made any friends with anyone. I don't know what the "christianityexplored web site" is. If I put .com at the end of that will it go there? I'll try.

   One reason I'd like to have a few Christian friends is because I'm not good at evangelizing people. I never was. But nowadays I know 3 or 4 people that need Jesus. One is my Jewish friend. Another is my Baptist Aide. But these people are going to be hard folks to evangelize, I could sure use advice from someone who's good at it.

[Who me]

2 hours ago, JTC said:

don't know what the "christianityexplored web site" is. I

https://christianityexplored.us/

Is what appears on my computer, once in scroll to the bottom of the page. There is a section ' find a church in your area' I typed in New York state and it came up with 800 church addresses.

 

As for evangelising asking people what do you belief? Is a good starter as you learn what hey believe. Following it with what evidence do you have for that? Gets them thinking and gives you the chance to show how reasonable and historically accurate Christianity is.

Just be sure that you too can answer those questions without having to say ' well just have faith '.

 

Another site that is useful for finding answers is coldcasechristianity, run by an xcoldcase detective.

[BK1110]

I'm limited by disability as well. What I've been trying to do is find good stuff on Youtube and pass it along, here on the forum, as well as my social media pages. Cold Case Christianity is a good one as Who me said. Also Reasons To Believe, the McDowell's stuff, John Lennox, and a host of others. If you find something good, perhaps you could share it with your Jewish friend or the home healthcare worker. Sean McDowell in particular might help speak to her if she's a younger person.

[JohnD]

Praying for you, brother.

[JTC]

On 2/2/2021 at 5:20 PM, BK1110 said:

Cold Case Christianity is a good one as Who me said. Also Reasons To Believe, the McDowell's stuff, John Lennox, and a host of others. If you find something good, perhaps you could share it with your Jewish friend or the home healthcare worker. Sean McDowell in particular might help speak to her if she's a younger person.

Hi BK1110,   No, she's not a younger person, in fact she's 60. She's also angry at me today. I'm not sure why. If it wasn't for the fact that I tried having an aide from an aide agency, for 2 yrs, and it didn't work out so well, I'd get rid of this one. I had a major MS flare-up this past Aug. & Sept., and when I really needed her she helped me. But I'm a little better now, and this one lives downstairs so if I need her she's here. Those aides from the agencies either don't show up, too often, or if they do, many don't understand simple English. Being a Home Care Health Aide, has become known as a way to make money without doing anything, or a way to make money if you're illiterate or can't understand very much English. I don't need help cooking, getting dressed, or washed. I need help writing because the MS effected my right hand, I used to write with that hand. My current aide can read and write, a little bit, but not like me or anyone I've ever known. And she is American. But she quit school in the 3rd grade. Later on in her life, someone taught her to read and write a little. But when she looks at a word she can't just automatically read it. I actually don't get it. But the only thing that makes sense, based on some arguments I had with her, is she didn't read the box. I'm talking about going to the supermarket and buying salted butter, not unsalted. The brand I wanted puts salted in a blue box and unsalted in a red box. Always. But she insisted that sometimes the salted is in red boxes too. No, she was wrong. And that's another of her problems, she can't admit  to ever being wrong. I tried to tell her that everyone is wrong sometimes. Only God is never wrong. At that, she went downstairs and said to call her if I need her. Can you imagine how she'll react if I try to tell her that even though she once attended a Baptist church with her Aunt I don't see the signs of a saved person in her? She'll probably just go downstairs. But MS has also effected my memory quite badly. I have many things I need her to help me with. But I usually don't remember during the 10 to 15 minutes she's here.

   Oh well, this is my problem.

[BK1110]

Praying for you!