Frustrations of a struggling Christian

[angels4u]

SC,

I'm glad you choose to believe in God instead of yourself, you did the right thing and the angels are rejoicing and so do I

Because right now, you don't think He's here. If you did, you'd be a believer, a worshiper. When He comes there will be no doubt left, we will be lifted up and "raptured", gone. He's here, but not all recognize Him, when He comes all will see.

This is holy ground ---- We're standing on holy ground,

For the Lord is present and where He is is holy,

This is holy ground ---- We're standing on holy ground,

For the Lord is present and where He is is holy,

We are standing ----- On holy ground,

And I know that there are angels all around,

Let us praise Jesus now,

We are standing in his presence, on holy ground.

[sc4s2cg]

sc4s2cg,

Jesus is here now? Well, if he's already here, why are you waiting on him to return?

Because right now, you don't think He's here. If you did, you'd be a believer, a worshiper. When He comes there will be no doubt left, we will be lifted up and "raptured", gone. He's here, but not all recognize Him, when He comes all will see.

God bless,

sc

If Jesus were here, he would have no need to return.

Sure He does. He's here in the believer's heart, not there by you, in the non-believer's heart.

God bless,

sc

Edited January 20, 2006 by sc4s2cg

[angels4u]

Sure He does. He's here in the believer's heart, not there by you, in the non-believer's heart.

Amen

[sc4s2cg]

SC,

I'm glad you choose to believe in God instead of yourself, you did the right thing and the angels are rejoicing and so do I

Because right now, you don't think He's here. If you did, you'd be a believer, a worshiper. When He comes there will be no doubt left, we will be lifted up and "raptured", gone. He's here, but not all recognize Him, when He comes all will see.

This is holy ground ---- We're standing on holy ground,

For the Lord is present and where He is is holy,

This is holy ground ---- We're standing on holy ground,

For the Lord is present and where He is is holy,

We are standing ----- On holy ground,

And I know that there are angels all around,

Let us praise Jesus now,

We are standing in his presence, on holy ground.

Thank you angel! :)

God bless!

sc

[bgoalie35]

sc,

Thank you for spending all the time to respond to each person here individually. It shows a lot of commitment and thought on your part. You asked how to love God. I can't give you a perfect answer to that question as I often fail at that myself. I can tell you two things though, if they are helpful at all:

1. I never truly loved God until I almost lost Him. When I was lost, when I felt like I didn't have hope, when I thought that maybe God wasn't there, then I really understood what it was to love God. There was a time when I KNEW God was there, and I had no doubt at all. But in reality, I was just a shallow believer who really didn't take the time to think about what it was I was believing in. Once I did this, doubt creeped in, and I wasn't sure of God at all anymore. In that period of doubt, I grew to truly appreciate what God is: One who gives us life, renews us, saves us, and offers us a chance to experience the best of life for eternity. My appreciation for all of that resulted in my wanting to return God's love.

2. Matthew 25:40 40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' You have already said you love everyone. In giving your love to other people, you are giving your love to God. Feed the hungry, clothe the poor, care for your brother. That is loving God here on earth.

One side note on authors, I misspoke when I said Strobel wasn't thoughtful, and I think you phrased it much better when you said he keeps it simple and writes in layman's terms. Thank you for the correction. The first book I read to help me out of my darkest period of doubt: Philip Yancey, "The Jesus I Never Knew". Now why didn't I remember that and recommend him to you a week ago? He's a good author, someone who lives on the fringes between doubt and belief. I think that makes him a good candidate to write to people who spend a lot of time in the same place.

God bless,

Brian

[IslandRose]

Paul J. Meyer said, "Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon... must inevitably come to pass!" Millions have used this formula to overcome adversity and achieve things beyond their wildest dreams.

The gospel writer quoted Jesus as saying, "What ever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have already received it, and it will be yours." Notice that there were no stipulations, no built in excuses, no if it be god's will. The simple fact that the gospel writer was trying to convey is that faith is the power behind all answered prayer. However, rather than admit they have no faith in the god they profess to believe in, some christians will claim that their unanswered prayers are a result of god's answer being no.

Your life reflects your beliefs. Whether you are experiencing abundance, or you are experiencing adversity, it is a reflection of your level of faith. And according to what I read in this forum, you all must be experiencing abundant health, wealth and happiness....because there are some strong believers in here, or at least they profess to be. Either way, their life reflects the truth.

TC,

I know Paul Meyer personally. We consider the Meyers family to be dear friends, my daughters have baby sat for their grandchildren.

Paul Meyer is a born again Christian who applies God's word to His life. He applies what he teaches to his life, but I believe that the true foundation of his success is what he told my husband one day. He said, "Every morning when I get up, I ask the Lord to direct my day and my decisions. Then I go forth trusting Him to do that."

[angels4u]

.

Paul Meyer is a born again Christian who applies God's word to His life. He applies what he teaches to his life, but I believe that the true foundation of his success is what he told my husband one day. He said, "Every morning when I get up, I ask the Lord to direct my day and my decisions. Then I go forth trusting Him to do that."

I'm reading the book "The third fourth and beyong millenium " from Paul Meier and Robert Wise,

is this the same Paul Meier you are talking about? I believe he's a psychiatrist?

[IslandRose]

.

Paul Meyer is a born again Christian who applies God's word to His life. He applies what he teaches to his life, but I believe that the true foundation of his success is what he told my husband one day. He said, "Every morning when I get up, I ask the Lord to direct my day and my decisions. Then I go forth trusting Him to do that."

I'm reading the book "The third fourth and beyong millenium " from Paul Meier and Robert Wise,

is this the same Paul Meier you are talking about? I believe he's a psychiatrist?

No, this one is Paul J. Meyer. He's a motivational speaker like Zig Zigler.

I don't agree with all his philosophies, but he is a man of God and gives freely to missions projects throughout the world.

Edited January 20, 2006 by IslandRose

[shepherdsgrace]

Hey SC,

thanks for the way you have responded to everyone. And I want you to know that I really appreciate the way that you are honoring your parents. You really are doing a lot that is right according to the word of God.

God's blessings........

[sc4s2cg]

BAatheist

Hey sc, glad to see you got your answers.

::looks around::

GL to ya.

matt

Hola Matt, thanks for sticking up for me while I was gone. I appreciate it very much. Now if only you cleaned or made your inbox available, I could reply to ya.

God bless,

sc

bgoalie35

sc,

Thank you for spending all the time to respond to each person here individually. It shows a lot of commitment and thought on your part. You asked how to love God.

Thank you Brian, I am very committed to finding God. After all the hints, and I thinkI can safely say that God's hints are more like knudges at the heart, I just couldn't ignore Him. So I'm on a quest to trust and love God with all my being, to have a deeper relationship.

I can't give you a perfect answer to that question as I often fail at that myself. I can tell you two things though, if they are helpful at all:

That would be fine, I'm just looking for answers and then seeing what God wants to tell me through them.

1. I never truly loved God until I almost lost Him. When I was lost, when I felt like I didn't have hope, when I thought that maybe God wasn't there, then I really understood what it was to love God. There was a time when I KNEW God was there, and I had no doubt at all. But in reality, I was just a shallow believer who really didn't take the time to think about what it was I was believing in. Once I did this, doubt creeped in, and I wasn't sure of God at all anymore. In that period of doubt, I grew to truly appreciate what God is: One who gives us life, renews us, saves us, and offers us a chance to experience the best of life for eternity. My appreciation for all of that resulted in my wanting to return God's love.

I think Im growing that way then, each and everyday I stand amazed at what God does for us, and everyday my appreciation for Him grows more and more.

2. Matthew 25:40 40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' You have already said you love everyone. In giving your love to other people, you are giving your love to God. Feed the hungry, clothe the poor, care for your brother. That is loving God here on earth.

Thank you very much for that verse, it plumb flew out of mind!

One side note on authors, I misspoke when I said Strobel wasn't thoughtful, and I think you phrased it much better when you said he keeps it simple and writes in layman's terms. Thank you for the correction. The first book I read to help me out of my darkest period of doubt: Philip Yancey, "The Jesus I Never Knew". Now why didn't I remember that and recommend him to you a week ago? He's a good author, someone who lives on the fringes between doubt and belief. I think that makes him a good candidate to write to people who spend a lot of time in the same place.

God bless,

Brian

You're welcome, I thought that's what you meant about Strobel. My first book to help me out: "The Case for a Creator" by Strobel, and my second one that REALLY got me out "Where is God when it Hurts?" by Yancey. The two make a wonderful pair to read up on, one for introducing to Apologetics, the other to see how he deals with the same struggles as I have. And that they are both living makes it more lively to read, you just never know when they have a new idea.

shepherdsgrace

Hey SC,

thanks for the way you have responded to everyone. And I want you to know that I really appreciate the way that you are honoring your parents. You really are doing a lot that is right according to the word of God.

God's blessings........

Thank you shepherdsgrace for the compliments and encouragement, it was my pleasure to comment on each post, it is a matter of life and death for me.

As a sidenote to everyone, you may have noticed some mood changes in my posts, that is the result of me responding to 1/2 yesterday, and to the other 1/2 today, I hope you don't mind.

God bless,

sc