Descision?

[yomotalking]

Remember Job, Yomo?  He was a Godly man- and yet, everything he had was stripped from him.  It made no sense, because he did nothing to deserve it.  Yet, he praised God for being so merciful to him.

  As to whether or not all believers go to heaven-

  remember what Jesus said.  "Even the demons believe and tremble".  "belief" in the facts alone is not what saves you.  You must sincerely give up your life to God, and dedicate your life to Him.  Being a Christian isn't merely about not going to hell, or about knowing in your head that Jesus died for you.  It's about  wanting to please Him; about wanting to get to know Him... and it doesn't happen without time.  You must spend time with Him in order to know him better.

      However,  true Christians DO all go to Heaven.  Don't be decieved, however;  If you try to give up on being a Christian- it won't be fun.  The Holy Spirit will tug at your conscience, and you will KNOW that what you changed was wrong.  Also, imagine this-  you get to Heaven...  but how will Jesus look at you?  You certainly wouldn't get a "well done!"  Think about it.  Evaluate  your Christian walk.  Do you understand what Christianity is?

God loves you passionately.  He wants you to spend time with Him...  He DIED so that you can go to Heaven and live with him- and spend time with Him forever....  (by the way- it won't be like He's just the king- He'll be everywhere- and with you all the time... and He'll be on His throne at the same time...  and with everyone else, too...)    What makes you think that you have the right to give up on what He is still working on?  It sounds like a very selfish approach.  If you are a Christian, it means that you made a covenant. A covenant to do what He wants you to do.

              If you are being discouraged in part by those friends you already talked about, then I suggest that you don't meet with them for awhile.

Whatever the reason, talk with your pastor.  If you don't have a pastor that you can talk to, find another church.    On-line friends are NOT a substitute for real-life accountability.  Get into a bible-study group...  or study with your family...  whatever you do,  find someone where YOU are, to help you, and talk with you. 

      I suggest  you read "Jesus Freaks" and "Jesus Freaks 2" by DC Talk.  They are extraordinary books about people who love God passionately enough to sacrifice themselves for His purposes.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm so touched by all the replies, yet I have one more question.

If I had blasphmed the Holy Spirit, (I don't think I have) would I be still unhappy with my siuation,or would I not care?>

Would I still be reading the Bible, and struggling at times to pray, or would I just ...again...not care......?

I know that many things have hardened me.

I suppose with current situations, I have to be hard, to stand up to them.

But with that, came almost hardness to God.

I haven't a clue as to how it happened.......

But...here I am.

The two questions above have made me wonder if I have done that.

Oh, and if you blasphme the Holy Spirit, can you come back to God, and earnestly ask for forgiveness, if you didn't realise that you had done it?

Or if you did, then could you come back?

These questions have stumped me a bit,.....

[Pilgrim7]

Yomo,

If and when a person blasphemes the Holy Spirit, they will never know it. They have hardened their heart and seared their conscience and do not hear His voice calling them to repentance. Many who have blasphemed the Spirit are those who are so sure that they are going to go to heaven. They have presumption and not living faith. We are to examine our faith which precludes any presumption. If you feel guilty and hear God's voice calling to repentance, obey it and repent. The only person who can't be forgiven is the one who won't repent of sin, give it up and return to God in obedience.

The heart or conscience gets hardened by persisting in known sin. Each time we sin the Holy Spirit convicts and if we don't confess and forsake the sin, the heart is hardened, and the conscience seared with a hot iron. After a time of refusing to repent, we can reach the condition of Ephraim, unable to repent and God gives the command leave him alone, he is joined to his sins.

I understand your situation because I reached a state where I knew if I didn't repent I would be holden in my sins and beyond repentance. Immediately give yourself to God to live by every word that proceeds from Him and He will come in to you and make His abode with you. Then eat, sleep and breathe faith that works by love and lives by every word of God and He will never leave you or forsake you. Flee from the false Gospel of 'easy believism' to the real Gospel of 'He who gives up his life to God, will find it'. You must look beyond man, his churches and his church leaders if you would find Christ. Remember that sin separates from God, no matter what the churches say.

God is waiting just now, but the decision is up to you,

With the love of Christ, Dennis

[yomotalking]

So you are saying I could have done it without knowing????

Then I could have!!!!!!!!!

[Pilgrim7]

Yomo,

No, I'm saying that if you have done it, you wouldn't be concerned about it at all. You would either not care at all and live apart from the Lord or would just go on in presumption that all is well with your soul without the slightest concern.

It is a waste of time to wonder if you have done it. You must take action or you will do it. Your concern is the Holy Spirit speaking to your conscience to examine yourself whether you are in the faith and to make your calling and election sure.

We are not told to worry, but to abide with Christ and grow in grace that we may not come short of our inheritance.

Your brother in Christ,

Dennis

[Guest jer2911]

I can't answer any of those questions...sometimes I wonder them myself. But I can tell you this, (don't forget the fact that I am an incurable optimist) The happiest times in my life where those that I didn't give up on my faith because I knew Christ was Lord.

I don't care about going to hell...I car about going to heaven and seeing this wonderful Christ whom, may to some, seem non-existence at the moment. I know that God turned His face away from Christ on the cross but not his heart. I am reminded of Jeremiah 29:11 (my favorite verse) saying, "I ( being God) know the plans I (God again) for you..." When I am feeling left alone and wanting to give it all up I just think about how this might affect others. How adding this to my testimony might help others to completely fall in love with Him and go through the same stuff and more!

Some of you know that my relationship with God is absolutely haging by a thread at this time.

I have prayed to God, but it seems He is walking away, and has given up on me.

At night, I used to call to Him, but now I've given up.

I can compare to David, when he said that God seemed "hide from him"....

After much thought, I wondered how I was ever going to survive as a Christian, if God did not show up.

I lay in bed one night, and, (as I told Mum later,) I decided to do an experiment.

I decided that I would pretend to be a non-Christian.......how would I feel....?

Would I feel lost? Alone?

I shut my eyes, and pretended.

I could not believe myself......

A wash of relief flooded over me!!!!

I could not believe it!

If being a non-Christian........... .............

As some of you know, I'm very unhappy with life at the mo.

I frequently suffer from depression, though this is the first time I have admitted it.

In this unhappiness and misery, having that wash over me is frightenly attractive.

My realtionship with God is not making me happy at the mo.

I feel dreadful saying this...but it's the truth.

So........if I give up my Christianity, I'll go to hell...but if I  reamain like this.......I'm going to be VERY unhappy..

What should I do?

Mum said it was "religeon", not Chiristianity that was seemingly so difficult to cope with.

Mum said that "legalism"  (her word: religeon)  was pressering me.....and that Jesus came to set us free.

I thank God she said that, but back to my descision, I don't know what to do.

Shall I just enjoy life, and forget about all my troubles.....or struggle along as a Christian?

If I do, reject all.....will I have lost my Salavation?

I am reminded of Peter, when he denied Jesus 3 times, yet He still forgave him.

But it says in the Bible, that whoever denies Jesus will himself be denied.

And I have one more question: Does considering if you EVER did make a commitment to Christ, mean you have denied him doing so, for I know a friend who is dening that God saved him....in the first place......

With me.....I don't know what to do.....maybe I should do the same as my friend.......

To many of you, this may sound crazy, coming from Yomo...... .......but if there is anyone who could answer....I would appreciate it so much.........

Yomo

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[RGR]

Yomo,

First-a big hug! (((((((((((((((((Yomo)))))))))))))))))

Now on to the business of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. I don't wish to start a debate here as to what it is or is not, but Yomo hun, let me say this-you're facing something that I've faced before, so you're not alone.

Quite a few times in my life, Satan tried to convince me that I had done the no-no sin. I too had the desert experience that Nebula talked about-growing up Christian and but then trying things "my way" for a while. A little over 4 years ago I turned my life back to God. I determined to go to church one night in an effort to square things right again-a starting point if you will. I sat there in that church service having the devil tell me that I had blasphemed, was past forgiveness, etc., etc. This went on and on for a while. I would finally get over the thought that I had done it and then something else came along and hear was the enemy once again saying God was through with me. DON'T BELIEVE IT!!!! If you still have a heart to even remotely think of serving God, you HAVE NOT went too far! God bless you, sis!

[yomotalking]

Yes, I have a intention of serving God.

So, that's means, in that sense, I'm OK.

But, referring to Pilgrim's post, I feel nothing.

I am going through a stage where I feel no feelings about God, exept that I know I am so far from Him.......

But if it is true, that if I have lost it, then I will have no intetion of serving God, then I certainly have not lost it!

I hope to be a medical missionary/writer/preacher.

That's why I am so worried about losing it all.

[DaniJ87]

You've got it now, Yomo... People who have "blasphemed" as you put it, have made a final decision that they do not believe in, or give their life to, God. They don't care if He exists, and don't want to care about Him if He does. They do NOT want to serve Him.

Job felt far from God, too. Read the book. Read your Bible. Spend time with God- even if you do feel far away. MercyMe wrote a song called "Never alone" that seems to describe how you feel... or at least what I gathered about how you feel.

Once again I implore you to find a local mentor- find an older Christian who can encourage you. Living with the world criticizing you is tough- but living with the criticism of legalistic "christians" is even worse. Pray for the people who cause you to struggle- If someone believes sincerely in legalistic standards, they do not fully understand the grace of God.

A great book about God's grace and His simultaneous quality of justness, and Truth, is "The Grace and Truth Paradox" by Randy Alcorn. I just finished reading it.... It is written quite to the point, and is easy to understand. Certain parts just made me go "Wow..."

I will continue to pray for you, that you will be encouraged, and that you will understand whatever lesson God is teaching you from this distance.

Hard times like this seem to be a test of faith- a test of whether you continue to believe without sensing Him... Just because He isn't showing Himself to you, doesn't mean He isn't there.... Read Psalms 139... It tells you that He is everywhere. Nobody goes through life without a time when God seems distant. Sometimes it is your own fault- (i.e.- you are out of fellowship)- but other times it has nothing to do with what you have done, but with something that God wants to teach you.

In Christ,

your sister Danette

[Pipit]

Hey Yomo!!

It seems difficult to think of much to add to what other people have said, as much good advice and ecouragement has been given. My prayer is that much can be gained from that.

I understand how you feel, as like many, I've been in that place of depression (and I have cursed at God a fair bit while there). It is that place that David wrote about in Psalm 13, in which David expresses how he feels abandoned by God, and that his enemies and his thoughts and depression are going to overwhelm him. But there is an interesting thing in the last two verses, where David suddenly switches from writing about his feelings and his depression to declaring his trust and faith in God, and in the salvation God brings. It is a rather startling turn, yet there is a reason:

David knew that how he felt--his feelings that God had hidden from him and abandoned him--and what he knew was true--that God's love was unfailing, and that because of God's unfailing love, David placed his trust in God despite how he felt.

I remember once crying out to God, asking Him why He was letting what was happening happen, why everything I held dear to life was falling apart, demanding to know why He seemed so far away, and finally surrendering, knowing that He was the only thing I could throw myself to, the only One I could place my hope in.

Yomo, despite what you feel, don't be afraid to bring it to God, don't be afraid to cry out in prayer like David and ask God where He is, and don't be afraid to throw yourself at Him, despite the uncertainty. Pester Him, bother Him, chase Him, pursue Him, seek Him, wrestle Him, love Him, worship Him, extol Him until He responds...

..it sounds like weird advice, but our God replies to our cries, and He will bring us into His arms!

Praying for you Yomo! May the joy of the Lord reign in your heart!