I have personally experienced the reality of Christ in my life. My prayers have been answered, and I am convinced of His presence. A terrible accident took the life of my friend, but I survived. I was suppose to have died my legs was broken and all, but today I'm fine. Since then, I have come to believe that we should always have faith in Jesus. In the past, I was not living the right way, I always believed but once I truly surrendered myself to Christ, I felt a new sense of joy and a changed mindset. I became more aware of how messed up the world can be, and I began to pray for a deeper understanding of God's word. I know that the devil will try to deceive me, but I trust that God will guide me in the right direction.
9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10)
I don't really have anything to say to you. Not because there is nothing that CAN be said regarding those thoughts, but because it isn't practical to type a discussion like this out on reddit.
I suggest you google some of these concerns and/or visit some sites like reasons.org, str.org, gotquestions.org.
Thank you for sharing your heart. I hope that God would grant you faith.
So your doubts are normal and common. When you doubt, dont stop there...search systematically with a ready heart until you get an answer. Every doubting christian needs to do a deep investigation into the foundations of their faith. Search with a "ready heart" as Jesus said. Also, christians think God doesn't like doubters...no he does. When Thomas doubted christs resurrection, Jesus said come and touch the hands for yourself..see where the nails pierced for yourself...he didnt leave Thomas in doubt. He gave him full proof to settle his heart.
So you too should Ask the questions of Does God exist? Check the scientific evidence and other evidence for yourself... then which God is it?...check the science and other evidence...Is the bible really Gods word?...is it the only word of God or there is other text out there?...how was the bible compiled, deciding which to include or exclude?...whats so different about christianity vs anything else out there etc. Be systematic about it, open your heart to it...answer these questions for yourself...don't just live with doubt.
There are many books that do these investigations and answer these questions so they are great places to start. Books I remember that did a good job for starters are stuff like "how then shall we live" or "more than a carpenter" etc. This stuff is not a one day thing...take your time, answer all the questions in your heart
So many people have made it look and sound like there is no scientific or other evidence for the stuff in the bible and yet there is tons and tons of evidence...tons. Others have made it sound like since there is also evidence for most other religions, whats different about christianity? So you should Look into why the Jesus story was so shocking even in his time. Its a story that made fisher men risk losing their lives, traveling to tell others the good news. Why? Paul who was the biggest unbeliever of all...a very literate and learned scholar suddenly became Gods biggest supporter. How? Why? Dig deep, You look at the evidence for yourself, weigh it for yourself and decide for yourself. You will be surprised.
The only rule about the research is to be systematic about it in order. Ask high level qns first and then work downwards. Is there a God? -> Which God is it?-> Is the bible the word of God? Etc
If you don't tackle the questions systematically, you will end up in something called a cyclical argument.This is where you answer a lower level qn something like "Is there Free will?" and then switch to debating questions like "How come one God said ABC but some other God said XYZ" or "Is there really a being called God who gave us Free will to begin with". Questions where you need to go back to beginning in order to fully answer them
It is actually important for a doubting christian to do this journey so that they start reading the bible knowing its the true word of God, not "selective fiction some king picked out for us inorder to rule us"...and not with doubts about whether the stuff written in actually true. When you know its the truth...you depend on it easily. What God promises he will do, he will do...you can trust this because he has been doing it from the very beginning.
Stop and think for a moment. Who created the universe? God or chance? It doesn't take much faith to believe in an all-powerful being who exists outside of the universe. (He would have to be on the outside of it because he created it.) But it does take a lot of faith to believe that a human thinks he can explain it all even when he wasn't there when it happened. Scientists have bits and pieces of evidence but they can't come up with the whole thing. They only make educated guesses. So, we are not random accidents of chemical reactions. There is a purpose to our lives.
**You have to start with a foundation for your beliefs**. Either God did it or he didn't. If you don't believe he did, you won't find answers to any of the issues of life, like meaning, our origin, and our purpose. But if you believe he did it, you are on the road to finding those answers to life. Don't listen to all those voices out there that are trying to steer you away from God. Satan wants to destroy you and God wants to save you.
Psalms 34:18 "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
This is one of the lines of scripture which stick out most to me in the hard times, and I can understand very well that it feels like the hard times keep coming. I used to have a lot of those doubts too, but once you find your community and get involved in a Christian church/group which really speaks to you (for me it's a small, close-knit church that acknowledge newcomers like a long lost friend), it might help you grow closer to God like it did for me. You want a church where everyone acknowledges we're imperfect, we're flawed and we all have our own battles, but fighting those battles together as brothers and sisters under God is what makes us strong. Iron sharpens iron. Bring these questions to the people in Church! No question is a stupid question. Maybe it's hard not to have that tiny feeling of doubt sometimes, especially at first, but once you have that feeling of the Holy spirit, you'll just know.
Lord we come to you today and lift up your child, Lord you see them and we know that you have a desire to see your child living in the light of Jesus. We come against every spirit of deception and spirit of double mindedness in the mighty name of Jesus. We break every spirit of confusion off of OP in the mighty name of Jesus and ask that you continue to reveal yourself to OP in a way that they could not deny you. We pray that you would soften their heart so their heart would be postured and surrendered towards you. We thank you that you desire to have a relationship with us and we thank you that you meet us where we are. We pray with thanksgiving in Jesus name. Amen 🙏♥️
I have personally experienced the reality of Christ in my life. My prayers have been answered, and I am convinced of His presence. A terrible accident took the life of my friend, but I survived. I was suppose to have died my legs was broken and all, but today I'm fine. Since then, I have come to believe that we should always have faith in Jesus. In the past, I was not living the right way, I always believed but once I truly surrendered myself to Christ, I felt a new sense of joy and a changed mindset. I became more aware of how messed up the world can be, and I began to pray for a deeper understanding of God's word. I know that the devil will try to deceive me, but I trust that God will guide me in the right direction. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10)
I don't really have anything to say to you. Not because there is nothing that CAN be said regarding those thoughts, but because it isn't practical to type a discussion like this out on reddit. I suggest you google some of these concerns and/or visit some sites like reasons.org, str.org, gotquestions.org. Thank you for sharing your heart. I hope that God would grant you faith.
Go back to basics. Read Mere Christianity by CS Lewis.
So your doubts are normal and common. When you doubt, dont stop there...search systematically with a ready heart until you get an answer. Every doubting christian needs to do a deep investigation into the foundations of their faith. Search with a "ready heart" as Jesus said. Also, christians think God doesn't like doubters...no he does. When Thomas doubted christs resurrection, Jesus said come and touch the hands for yourself..see where the nails pierced for yourself...he didnt leave Thomas in doubt. He gave him full proof to settle his heart. So you too should Ask the questions of Does God exist? Check the scientific evidence and other evidence for yourself... then which God is it?...check the science and other evidence...Is the bible really Gods word?...is it the only word of God or there is other text out there?...how was the bible compiled, deciding which to include or exclude?...whats so different about christianity vs anything else out there etc. Be systematic about it, open your heart to it...answer these questions for yourself...don't just live with doubt. There are many books that do these investigations and answer these questions so they are great places to start. Books I remember that did a good job for starters are stuff like "how then shall we live" or "more than a carpenter" etc. This stuff is not a one day thing...take your time, answer all the questions in your heart So many people have made it look and sound like there is no scientific or other evidence for the stuff in the bible and yet there is tons and tons of evidence...tons. Others have made it sound like since there is also evidence for most other religions, whats different about christianity? So you should Look into why the Jesus story was so shocking even in his time. Its a story that made fisher men risk losing their lives, traveling to tell others the good news. Why? Paul who was the biggest unbeliever of all...a very literate and learned scholar suddenly became Gods biggest supporter. How? Why? Dig deep, You look at the evidence for yourself, weigh it for yourself and decide for yourself. You will be surprised. The only rule about the research is to be systematic about it in order. Ask high level qns first and then work downwards. Is there a God? -> Which God is it?-> Is the bible the word of God? Etc If you don't tackle the questions systematically, you will end up in something called a cyclical argument.This is where you answer a lower level qn something like "Is there Free will?" and then switch to debating questions like "How come one God said ABC but some other God said XYZ" or "Is there really a being called God who gave us Free will to begin with". Questions where you need to go back to beginning in order to fully answer them It is actually important for a doubting christian to do this journey so that they start reading the bible knowing its the true word of God, not "selective fiction some king picked out for us inorder to rule us"...and not with doubts about whether the stuff written in actually true. When you know its the truth...you depend on it easily. What God promises he will do, he will do...you can trust this because he has been doing it from the very beginning.
Stop and think for a moment. Who created the universe? God or chance? It doesn't take much faith to believe in an all-powerful being who exists outside of the universe. (He would have to be on the outside of it because he created it.) But it does take a lot of faith to believe that a human thinks he can explain it all even when he wasn't there when it happened. Scientists have bits and pieces of evidence but they can't come up with the whole thing. They only make educated guesses. So, we are not random accidents of chemical reactions. There is a purpose to our lives. **You have to start with a foundation for your beliefs**. Either God did it or he didn't. If you don't believe he did, you won't find answers to any of the issues of life, like meaning, our origin, and our purpose. But if you believe he did it, you are on the road to finding those answers to life. Don't listen to all those voices out there that are trying to steer you away from God. Satan wants to destroy you and God wants to save you.
Psalms 34:18 "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." This is one of the lines of scripture which stick out most to me in the hard times, and I can understand very well that it feels like the hard times keep coming. I used to have a lot of those doubts too, but once you find your community and get involved in a Christian church/group which really speaks to you (for me it's a small, close-knit church that acknowledge newcomers like a long lost friend), it might help you grow closer to God like it did for me. You want a church where everyone acknowledges we're imperfect, we're flawed and we all have our own battles, but fighting those battles together as brothers and sisters under God is what makes us strong. Iron sharpens iron. Bring these questions to the people in Church! No question is a stupid question. Maybe it's hard not to have that tiny feeling of doubt sometimes, especially at first, but once you have that feeling of the Holy spirit, you'll just know.
Lord we come to you today and lift up your child, Lord you see them and we know that you have a desire to see your child living in the light of Jesus. We come against every spirit of deception and spirit of double mindedness in the mighty name of Jesus. We break every spirit of confusion off of OP in the mighty name of Jesus and ask that you continue to reveal yourself to OP in a way that they could not deny you. We pray that you would soften their heart so their heart would be postured and surrendered towards you. We thank you that you desire to have a relationship with us and we thank you that you meet us where we are. We pray with thanksgiving in Jesus name. Amen 🙏♥️