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Why do you believe and What has He done for you?


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Hello, I'm new.

But, I was wondering why do you guys believe? And what has He done for you? What made you believe? You see, I'm a teenager and I've been going to church for a while. Ever since around 4 years old. My mom made me. But, even though I have been going to church I still have doubts. I went to retreats. And I seen miracles happen, but for some reason I still have some doubts. Like, why are their so many people in Africa with no food. Why did the Holocaust happen? And my dad, he doesn't go to church, but he believes. He says he's too busy. I know life is not supposed to be a paradise, but some things around the world is cruel. I always wonder, why does God let these things happen?

Thanks.

to the guest; hello and welcome! Only a relationship with Jesus can convince He is real I was raised a Catholic and did alot of the things you talked about 31 yrs later I accepted Jesus in my heart and He is very much alive to me! Get into His Word pray and worship andf The Lord will become real to you! it is a long road and you are just beginning but it is a road well worth the travel! :emot-fail:

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Hello, I'm new.

But, I was wondering why do you guys believe?1 And what has He done for you?2 What made you believe?3

I want to address these questions specifically.

I lived in denial for 30 years. I heard about Jesus dying for me when I was 11. It never meant anything to me until I was 19. But at that time the soil of my heart was choked out by the cares of the world. I put God on the shelf for over 20 years after that.

When the USA was attacked, I started thinking about death. I realized that if there was an afterlife, I deserved to be punished for the things I had done. I started paying attention more to what people would say about God (both Allah and Jesus). I held out no hope that Allah would forgive and that there is no basis on who or how he would forgive. 3I really didn't have hope that Jesus would forgive me either (because the Holy Spirit had been working on me behind the scenes - so to speak). You see my heart was crushed when I acknowledged my sin from God's perspective. And knowing that 2Jesus innocently paid the price for me only broke my spirit further.

And that broken spirit was the key for me. I could not let God reach me because I was hiding behind my pride. Once my spirit was broken though, it made me begin a quest to search out why Jesus would want to save me. What I found was a love that is so pure that 4 years later it still leaves me stunned. Whenever I think about this deeply, a wave of love comes over me that makes me want to love someone else the way He loves me. I was never like that before. I was the definition of selfishness.

If you want to know what changed my heart and why I believe Jesus really atoned for my sin, 1please read my 'about me' section.

May grace and truth be yours through the personal revelation of our Savior, Jesus.

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I've always known God existed somehow. But the God that was preached to me as I grew up was one that was horribly frightening, judgemental, and condemning. When I was ten, at a church camp, the counselor terrified me with tales of what hell was like. I was so disturbed I just HAD to get saved. I prayed, felt relief, but not peace. I didn't like having to worship a god like that. I wanted a god who would comfort me and make me feel safe and loved. I had enough of yelling, screaming, violence, and condemnation (both of myself, my family, and everyone else in the world) in my own home. Why would I worship a god who did the same thing? I wouldn't. So, for years I went my own way, hunting for peace in all kinds of people. I only got more of the same. What was 'love' anyways? And why did it always hurt? Surely love had to be good because when I thought about love, I felt happy. There were good things in the world. These things had to come from somewhere, right? I knew goodness was out there, but I seemed outside of it all, like I wasn't allowed to touch it.

God stuck with me though and kept revealing Himself to me in little ways that were undeniable. For example, I had a question running around in my mind about God. At the mall, a couple of days later, a track from a church was laid in my hand. Bam! The answer was right there in front of me! I knew God was listening to me then. Still, love? I didn't know what it meant because what I wanted was not what I was experiencing. I had never felt love.

Gazing in love at my brand new baby girl, really feeling love for the very first time in my life, the love I've always dreamed of, God whispered, "That's how I love you." I then knew I had found God, the real one and He was all I could've wanted! I ran to Him with a hunger and thirst I'd never experienced before. And I was laughing in joy the whole time.

Since then, God has amazed me more and more, and my hunger and thirst for Him has grown and continues to grow. So, I echo what a lot have said here-it's personal with Him. He really does want a one-on-one with you. Your seeking Him and He honors that. He's guiding you right now to the place where you two will meet. Let us know when it happens! :th_praying:

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Gazing in love at my brand new baby girl, really feeling love for the very first time in my life, the love I've always dreamed of, God whispered, "That's how I love you." I then knew I had found God, the real one and He was all I could've wanted! I ran to Him with a hunger and thirst I'd never experienced before. And I was laughing in joy the whole time.

:blink::th_praying: Your process of coming to know the Lord is much the same as mine. It is absolutely amazing how God will reveal Himself to those who sincerely seek HIM. You're short testimony blessed me. Thanks you.

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I'm glad it did; God fully intended for our testimonies to bless everyone. I feel so bad when I see non-believers believeing there is some formula to follow or some 'right' way to come to God. People keep trying to change themselves hoping God will come when they are 'just right', when they've said the 'right prayer' or they feel 'bad enough' about themselves. It wasn't like that with me. I was very independent in my thinking and very determined that no one would convince me about who God was. I just didn't want to believe what people said. I wanted God to say it Himself. If He said it, then I knew it would be true. So, I wasn't on my knees saying the sinners prayer-I was just loving my daughter. And God met me where He knew I could see Him for who He truly is. I did repent, but it was a real repentance for me (unlike when I was ten). And it came because of who God is-not from condemnation.

Everyone has their own special miracle. I like that. And I like hearing about them. I think if non-believers could see all the different ways people have come to know God and Jesus's salvation, they wouldn't feel so burdened by condemnaton and they could dispell the idea that there is only one way to meet God. I sometimes think Peter needed to feel more useful in his fishing-Jesus called him to fish for men. And Paul was so full of pride, He needed to be humbled. (This is just my opinion, of course) but it makes sense. Jesus could have called all of His disciples at once, but instead, He went out to meet them right where they were at-spiritually.

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From my own perspective, I believe because I've found truth in the Bible. Archaeologists and historians have proved the Bible is true. Even science has been proven true according to the Bible -- for instance, Isaiah 40:22 says that He reigns above the circle of the eart - so the Bible had the earth being round long before man did. Those are just intellectual facts. Then I did an end times study, but the portion which thrilled me the most did not have to do with the end times, it had to do with the prophecies which were already so literrally fulfilled that it added credeence to the truth of the Bible. They are too lenghty to go into here, because your deeper question is more emotional than mere facts, but I guess what I mean is all of that led me to listen to other things in the Bible.

The Bible says that all men sin. Some people do better than others in keeping the law, but it has been my observation that even if we manage to "do" good, I've never met a person who "feels" right all the time. I know that I didn't. I was rebellious about letting another take control. I was proud and independent, the captian of my own ship. I would do what was expected of me, yet not really care about it. God wants us to LOVE Him and others, and though I was going through all of the motions, there were very few times I really loved. Jeremiah 17:9 says that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. This is true. I knew there was something wrong with my heart -- how could I make it REAL!! Matthew 5:16 says, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, in heaven." That always bugged the heck out of me: If I was doing good workis, why would God get the glory? I didn't want HIM to get glory for works I was doing!! That's the stubborn pride and rebellion I was talking about that was in even me, whom everybody thought was a "good kid". And yet a part of me DID want to feel that way because that is what it means to be a Christian -- to want to glorify God and make HIM look good. To let His plans, goals, the things HE loves be more important to me than my own goals. Intellectualy I knew that, but never felt any of it. I studied the Bible and knew enough to know the way it was supposed to be, but knew it really was not that way for me, even though I spent my whole life in church, and even though it was important to me to do the right thing. I didn't know how to BE the right thing though. I've always had the terror of not being real, of being a hypocrite, of coming before God in death only to discover that my whole life was in vain, and I never got it.

The Bible says that to make this real, we have to confess our sin -- not sinS but SIN -- that rebellious nature, that pride, that independence. 1 John 1:8-9 says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive oourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." To confess it simply means to agree with God that this is what we are. He is only interested in the heart, not our actions. The problem with this sin is that God hates all sin. In fact, according to 23 says that the wages of sin is death. I believe that means death in the physical sense, but also in emotions; senses: death to relationships, death to discipline, death to job in the long term, etc. Jesus paid that penalty of death. So, after confessing our sin, the next step is to repent of it and believe in Jesus' death. When Peter was asked what must be done to be saved in Acts 2, he replied in verse 38: "Repent; and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2"38). Repentance means to turn away from sin, and head in a new direction. According to this passage, that new direction is baptism into the Name of Christ. This baptism has been taken literally (water baptism) and spiritually, and I will not debate it here, but baptism means "immersion" and what happens is that we are immersed into Christ. This means that we become a part of Him and He becomes a part of US. The passage concludes by saying that we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit. This means that we have gotten rid of that old rebellious, prideful heart, and that now Jesus and the Holy Spirit are inside us. We believe that by faith. We LIVE by faith -- not just for eternity, but for each moment now. When Jesus and the Holy Spirits come into our hearts, we are changed.

The Bible says, "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." (2 Corinthians 4:6-7). Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentle ness, self-control. Against such there is no law." See, this is the fruit of the Spirit in you. Once you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit works in your life People see the excellence of HIS power -- not yours -- and that is why they glorify God -- they know that humans are not capable of the works you now do from the heart.

In answer to your question, why do you believe? I believe because I've seen this transformation -- not only in my life, but in the lives of others. I'm no longer a hypocrite -- GOD LIVES IN ME!! I am His arms, legs, mouth, ears -- HE lives through me!! That is what benefit I've had as a Christian, in response to your second question -- His works are from the new heart He has given me -- they are REAL -- I am no longer a hypocrite!! Now, why does God let evil happen in the world? This is just my opinion, but I think evil happens because people are evil and Satan is evil. God did not just "let it pass" -- God sent His Son to die for us the most cruel way a person can ever die. Or live. I mean, Jesus was rejected by religious tleaders, worldly people, His disciples did not understand Him, and, according to John 7:5, even his step-brothers (God was His Father, Joseph theirs) didn't believe Him, though Jude and James later did, and we have letters in the Bible proving that. And, even during the crucifixion, everybody was doing whatever they could to humiliate Him. On the cross, Jesus took on the sins of the world, and even God, the Father, could not look at Him, as Jesus cried, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me!! But that was momentary, Jesus rose from the dead, and is back in heaven now. So, that was part one of God's love for sinful man, if not for sin. Secondly, those who believe have Jesus IN them, we have His love, His care, His concern. Those "earthly vessels" referenced earlier are our bodies -- still capable of sin. But we have GOD inside us and He is just ITCHING to love the world through us. We are supposed to let Him do so. He is not the one at fault if we are not doing what He called us to do. When Adam and Eve sinned, the world itself, and not just the people in it, were cursed. This means that floods, and droughts, earthquakes, etc. happen -- just as people are not perfect, neither is the world. God created it perfect, and will re-create it perfect -- but in the mean time His plan hinges on those who are saved being His arms, legs, hands, feet, mouth, and ears. We listen, we talk, we move, we comfort. If you have any faith at all, do what He has called you to do -- and you WILL see Him at work!! That, in turn, will deepen your faith in His love.

I'll be praying for you!!

Rhonda

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Like you I was sitting in church because my mom made me. I was 9 years old. I had been in church forever! This service was no different than any other I had sat through. I just wanted it to end so I could go home. This night was different though. We had an evangelist preaching a revival and at the end of the message, I felt Jesus beside me asking to come into my heart. I'm 50 years old now, but that moment is still as fresh and emotional to me as that night. When Jesus sits beside you and asks to come into your heart, its VERY hard to ignore Him.

It was my time and I accepted gladly. I've been serving Him, I confess on and off all my life. I had a very real experience with Jesus and have depended on Him my whole life. What has He done for me? I can't begin to tell you all of the miracles and small things He has done for me over the years. The jobs He has given me, protecting me from my own stupidity, sparing me from death. I'm sure I'll only know a fraction of it until I get to Heaven and He tells me everything.

I can understand your doubts as a teenager as I had them myself, but I can tell you that you won't find a better friend in this life or on the other side than Jesus. He always has your best interests in His mind. Why do bad things happen to innocent people? Simply this: It goes back to Adam and Eve. When they disobeyed God, they set in motion a spiritual law that God won't turn back. That is that the wages of sin is death. I'm afraid that too many African tribes haven't even heard of Jesus or God. They worship their ancestors or whatever. Not all, there is a great revival going on in Africa and many thousands are coming to know Jesus. If you don't know Jesus, then the blessings of God won't come to you, and if you know Him, you can call on Him to receive the blessings fo God. But you have to remember that there are evil leaders in the world who do control the fates of millions of people. Hitler for example, controlled the deaths of 6 millions Jews. Where is Hitler now? Burning in hell and the Nazi nation is reduced to a memory. The bottom line is that sin has entered the world and will continue until God has had enough. Believe me, He is fast approaching His saturation point. He hates what is going on in the world. You have to remember that there are millions of Christians throughout the world who are praying for God's mercy on the earth. He hears them and listens to their cries, but sooner or later the more evil that is piled on, He will pour out His wrath. My dad also did not go to church. I found out later that the reason he didn't go to church with us, was that he preferred a pentecostal church over a souther baptist church. At the time I didn't know the difference.

Hello, I'm new.

But, I was wondering why do you guys believe? And what has He done for you? What made you believe? You see, I'm a teenager and I've been going to church for a while. Ever since around 4 years old. My mom made me. But, even though I have been going to church I still have doubts. I went to retreats. And I seen miracles happen, but for some reason I still have some doubts. Like, why are their so many people in Africa with no food. Why did the Holocaust happen? And my dad, he doesn't go to church, but he believes. He says he's too busy. I know life is not supposed to be a paradise, but some things around the world is cruel. I always wonder, why does God let these things happen?

Thanks.

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God has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Doubts are normal I think simply because we are human and it's really easy for our faith to become small and fragile. When bad things happen, murder, rape, children being molested and killed. So much evil in the world makes you wonder about God and why he allows things to happen. It's because we have free will and even those who choose evil they have free will as well. I wonder too why or how God can allow innocent children to suffer and so on but the answer is simply ... I don't know... I do not in any way know God's mind, all that I know is that he loves me, he loves all of us, even the murderers and rapests and child molesters. I do know that Jesus died for all of us so that we can have the chance at salvation through him. Why do I believe? Simply because I do..... That is what faith is. Faith is, no proof nec... it's just believing. God has brought me peace when there seemed no end to my suffering. He has shown me that my, "suffering" is nothing compared to that of others. He has opened my eyes to how blessed I am to have what I have and he has lifted me up when I was at my lowest. How do I know it was him? Because my faith says it was him. AND because when he moves I can FEEL him. I feel a lightness in my heart and my soul seems to fly away. When I am around something that is not of God, I can feel my spirit trying to pull away from whatever it is that is offending to Christ. Faith is in your very soul. I promise you that if you pray and you talk to God he WILL MOVE because he loves you. Ima pray for you because there have been so many times I have sat outside for hours looking up at the sky begging God to exist. Crying out because my heart is breaking and I am afraid of my own thoughts and he has always moved and set me at peace. I say every night to the LORD ... " I will ALWAYS believe."

I hope this helps in some way and sorry for my awful spelling lol im a doofus

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Continue to trust in Him through your prayers. Continue to seek Him in your daily live. He is the only One that can give you peace in your heart. Trust Him, as I have done and you would never be disappointed.

George Calleja - Malta

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Because acts of Love are the only ones worth telling.

And that's why we have Jesus.

The Bible's message is one of Love. Even when feelings say " I don't quite get it". If you believe in The Word of God, You will be Saved.

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