christian life

CHRISSYBOY · 03-21-2008, 07:26 PM

Hi everyone

Just looking for a bit of advice really. Seem to be struggling with the christian life a bit, read the bible around 1-1/2 hours per day which i really enjoy but dont seem to take in to much of the knowledge learned i remember when i was first born again i was taking so much out of each reading - it seems like a different book to the one i now read. I still enjoy reading but dont seem to be learning too much of it, i currently read at quite a quick pace but have tried reading slower and still dont really learn and seem to struggle more with my life. I have tried everything to get back to how it was, asking God before each reading, being humble before God trying to study but all to no avail.

I would say that my life is good and I dont really have too many complaints but i know that it could be so much better and that seems to be the frustrating thing. At one point i was alive with the holy spirit and seem to have lost my way, may i add that i think this is down to the fact that i am not living the christian lifestyle. I currently drink every Saturday night heavily sometimes until the sunday morning probably like most my age i also smoke cigarettes everyday and i feel that this is holding me back with my walk with God. I would give this up in an instant if i could do so but i have been trying for a couple of years to kick these habits to no avail. I just dont seem to have the power to stop these habits but i have seen power in the bible as it has changed me bit by bit. I have tryed to turn it over to the Lord Jesus but again have not really seen any results. I feel that if i could conquer these then i would get the holy spirit again not too sure if i m wide of the mark here.

Just asking if there is any advice out there for me

Thanks for listening

Boanerges · 03-21-2008, 08:03 PM

There is hope for you yet brother. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. First things first- repent of what you are doing that you know or feel are displeasing- ask forgiveness and accept it. If you have done these things there is a only one thing that can keep you from closeness with God and that being a guilty conscience. God has prepared for this moment:
1Jn 3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
You see brother God knew every sin you would ever commit , every mistake you would ever make, every time you would stumble and yet He still chose to save you out of His great love. We do not approach Him based of off our worthiness but instead come because Jesus took our sin and gave us His righteousness. You are loved and accepted and your Father is waiting on the roadside for the return of His beloved prodigal. Do not let anything keep you from the one thing you really need and that is God Himself. Any other desire or thought is deception and nothing in life will ever be right without Him having first place in your life.
As far as reading your bible simply do this: Beautiful , precious Holy Spirit Jesus said you were my teacher and helper please help me to understand the Word of God and how to help me apply it in my life. Lead me and I will follow, draw me and I will come. Reveal the Father's heart to me, reveal the mercy and love of Jesus to me. Thank You that You are not only able but You are more than willing, amen.
As far as your habits- we all struggle with something- the scripture plainly declares that in our flesh dwells no good thing. No matter how noble and wonderful our intentions may seem we cannot produce anything better than filthy rags. But if you are born again God has placed a new man inside of you. It is your job to feed that man and he will grow, blossom and bear fruit for the Kingdom of God. We do this through intimate fellowship, prayer, worship and spending time in the Word. We also do this by attending a church where the Spirit of God is moving. If you are doing these things will you be immune from temptation? No. But all you when tempted need do is call on the Name of Jesus, cry out and say Jesus be my strength and deliver me from this. Then you walk by faith trusting and believing that He is there helping you. It sounds simple doesn't it? Indeed He makes a straight path for us and we tend to complicate things. Each time you do this in an area of temptation the stronger you will find yourself and the less appealing that temptation.
Another thing that helps is this: When Jesus ascended He prayed that the Father would send His precious Holy Spirit to come to us. The same marvelous Spirit of God is with you every moment of every day. He loves you more than anyone and He walks with you longing to spend each moment in intimate relationship with you and yet for all practical purposes you ignore Him. Would you want to sin in front of God almighty? The same almighty God is with you continually- do we want to grieve Him? No, for He is the One who loves us most. So if we become conscience of the presence of the Living God being continually with us we will not want to dive into sin.
God's Word commands us to :
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
This is a call to change the very way we think. We do this by taking the Word of God by faith and believing it more than anything we can see, hear, touch or feel. The Word of God is truth and anytime we are in disagreement with this Word as expressed by His heart we are in error and prone to stumble. The good news again is we have the Holy Spirit to help us with these things. It is Him we need to follow each step of our lives:
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
I am praying you surrender your life completely to Him. Many blessings and much love in Jesus Name, your brother Larry.

Fluffy · 03-21-2008, 08:17 PM

Chrissyboy! To the forum!
I will ditto everything Boanerges has said and would add to not give up! This can be overcome!
I remember a time before I made Jesus my Lord, every time I picked up the bible, I would read something condemning. Every time. So I quit reading it. Then after I made Jesus Lord, it all changed. I was a believer, an on again/off again practicioner, but until I got sold out completely all I got was harshness. I think it was the enemy trying to keep me from the word. It worked for a time. But the Holy Spirit has ways!
So, dont give up, Chrissyboy, He is there. You will find your answers!

ruperik · 03-22-2008, 03:18 AM

you really need to conquer these habits. it is difficult i know, but you are being mastered by these habits. also, it says specifically in the bible that we are not to get drunk as christians. we lose control of ourselves when we get drunk, and you will set a bad example for others.
as for the bible, let me say this: you can't expect things to always be awesome. part of being a christian is being committed to god even when you aren't receiving a spiritual high. try adding structure to your study. take notes and really get into studying the bible. if you change your perspective, god will bless you for it.

IHeartLarrytheCucumber · 03-22-2008, 03:38 PM

Hello!
I have never smoked, so I can't even imagine how hard it is to give that up. And my example might seem flat out ridiculous cause it's no comparison to a smoking addiction. But I used to curse like no other. Man, I was bad. I would curse if I stubbed my toe, if I lost my keys, or even if I merely dropped a piece of paper!! Keep in mind this cursing was building and building for about 5 years, I just didn't have a care in the world what flew out of my mouth. And my road rage? MAN was it bad.

I prayed to God to help me get through this, now I have complete and total control over what I say. A habit like that does not break that easily except for with the power of God. Now I even cringe when I hear cursing!!

Pray to God. He WILL help you if you are serious about quitting and if you put in effort as well. Remember-God will move mountains, IF you bring the shovel!!!

And now, for some friendly and encouraging scripture

:
Matthew 19:26
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

CHRISSYBOY · 03-23-2008, 05:25 PM

Thank you all for your kind words and great advice, sat in for the first time on saturday night for as long as i can remember and actually enjoyed not been out drinking. Feel ready to give up on the cigarrettes this coming week, think half the problem is is that i already feel a bit defeated on the monday when trying to give up after my drinking on the saturday night. Feel that if i conquer the one habit i will conquer the other and excel in my walk with God. Anyway will keep you posted on progress and would like to thank you all for your advice.

Boanerges · 03-23-2008, 05:31 PM

I will be praying for you brother! Call on Jesus and you will receive power to overcome!

Fluffy · 03-23-2008, 07:32 PM

Hey, Chrissyboy! Taking care of one problem at a time is an excellent idea! You will have better success because you concentrate on one thing, instead of dividing your time among several. Kind of like trying to go on a diet while trying to quit smoking. Rather self defeating. (I know, been there!)
Hey, when you are ready to quit smoking, you are welcome to come to the thread called "Earthen Vessels". Its in the Clubs and Ministry section. Just a place to be encouraged about quitting. Some place where you can talk to people that have been there, or are going thru it.
In the meantime, one thing at a time. Take it slow, and be thorough in what ever your working on. You will find you feel better (physically and spiritually).
Keep us posted!

Mark_18 · 03-24-2008, 12:31 AM

Keep trusting God. you try to play out in your mind how you're going to quit, and how hard it'll be, but you're usually way off with your expectations of how you need to go about it and how it'll go. God will do it in ways you never thought of. He just needs you to do what he says.

When you start obeying, and deep down you know how, then things will get so much clearer. You'll feel his love more and you'll be like "WOW. I shoulda smartened up sooner, I wasted so much time!" That was me not long ago, and I keep saying things like that. God and this glory just becomes more and more real the more I let Him do his thing in my life. Die of yourself man, you won't regret it!

And if you haven't done anything REALLY stupid yet, get out of that lifestyle before you do. The hardest thing in my life to deal with right now, by FAR, is something caused by the whole drinking and partying lifestyle. If I was without that I feel it'd be heaven compared to this. I will never tell you what it is, but man, let God take you under his wing and protect you from those things so you don't have to go through the pain. I say this out of love for you as a brother. God knows what bad could happen to you at any time, and he wants to get you out of the way of this harm. Let him.

Christ gives complete strangers to you, like us, the compassion to care about you even though we don't really know you. He can do all things and the power of prayer is being fielded (used) through your brothers and sisters here. But actually in a way, spiritually, we know you more than some people who have met you. Because you have confessed things to us. And you better believe the Spirit is much more important than the flesh.

God Bless

Mark_18 · 03-24-2008, 12:52 AM

Also some good advice I got here,

Faith is not a feeling...

Get out there and put your faith into practice.

"Spiritual indigestion"

You can take in a lot of the Word, but you won't understand it the way you need to until you start living it, and correcting yourself about what it really means as God tells you how to relate it to your life.

Surround youself with HOLY stuff. and obsorb it. Learn it. Live it. Love it.

03-21-2008, 07:26 PM	#1 (permalink)
CHRISSYBOY Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: SCOTLAND Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0	christian life Hi everyone Just looking for a bit of advice really. Seem to be struggling with the christian life a bit, read the bible around 1-1/2 hours per day which i really enjoy but dont seem to take in to much of the knowledge learned i remember when i was first born again i was taking so much out of each reading - it seems like a different book to the one i now read. I still enjoy reading but dont seem to be learning too much of it, i currently read at quite a quick pace but have tried reading slower and still dont really learn and seem to struggle more with my life. I have tried everything to get back to how it was, asking God before each reading, being humble before God trying to study but all to no avail. I would say that my life is good and I dont really have too many complaints but i know that it could be so much better and that seems to be the frustrating thing. At one point i was alive with the holy spirit and seem to have lost my way, may i add that i think this is down to the fact that i am not living the christian lifestyle. I currently drink every Saturday night heavily sometimes until the sunday morning probably like most my age i also smoke cigarettes everyday and i feel that this is holding me back with my walk with God. I would give this up in an instant if i could do so but i have been trying for a couple of years to kick these habits to no avail. I just dont seem to have the power to stop these habits but i have seen power in the bible as it has changed me bit by bit. I have tryed to turn it over to the Lord Jesus but again have not really seen any results. I feel that if i could conquer these then i would get the holy spirit again not too sure if i m wide of the mark here. Just asking if there is any advice out there for me Thanks for listening

03-21-2008, 08:03 PM	#2 (permalink)
Boanerges Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: St Rose LA Posts: 14,631 Blog Entries: 3 Rep Power: 16	There is hope for you yet brother. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. First things first- repent of what you are doing that you know or feel are displeasing- ask forgiveness and accept it. If you have done these things there is a only one thing that can keep you from closeness with God and that being a guilty conscience. God has prepared for this moment: 1Jn 3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. You see brother God knew every sin you would ever commit , every mistake you would ever make, every time you would stumble and yet He still chose to save you out of His great love. We do not approach Him based of off our worthiness but instead come because Jesus took our sin and gave us His righteousness. You are loved and accepted and your Father is waiting on the roadside for the return of His beloved prodigal. Do not let anything keep you from the one thing you really need and that is God Himself. Any other desire or thought is deception and nothing in life will ever be right without Him having first place in your life. As far as reading your bible simply do this: Beautiful , precious Holy Spirit Jesus said you were my teacher and helper please help me to understand the Word of God and how to help me apply it in my life. Lead me and I will follow, draw me and I will come. Reveal the Father's heart to me, reveal the mercy and love of Jesus to me. Thank You that You are not only able but You are more than willing, amen. As far as your habits- we all struggle with something- the scripture plainly declares that in our flesh dwells no good thing. No matter how noble and wonderful our intentions may seem we cannot produce anything better than filthy rags. But if you are born again God has placed a new man inside of you. It is your job to feed that man and he will grow, blossom and bear fruit for the Kingdom of God. We do this through intimate fellowship, prayer, worship and spending time in the Word. We also do this by attending a church where the Spirit of God is moving. If you are doing these things will you be immune from temptation? No. But all you when tempted need do is call on the Name of Jesus, cry out and say Jesus be my strength and deliver me from this. Then you walk by faith trusting and believing that He is there helping you. It sounds simple doesn't it? Indeed He makes a straight path for us and we tend to complicate things. Each time you do this in an area of temptation the stronger you will find yourself and the less appealing that temptation. Another thing that helps is this: When Jesus ascended He prayed that the Father would send His precious Holy Spirit to come to us. The same marvelous Spirit of God is with you every moment of every day. He loves you more than anyone and He walks with you longing to spend each moment in intimate relationship with you and yet for all practical purposes you ignore Him. Would you want to sin in front of God almighty? The same almighty God is with you continually- do we want to grieve Him? No, for He is the One who loves us most. So if we become conscience of the presence of the Living God being continually with us we will not want to dive into sin. God's Word commands us to : Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. This is a call to change the very way we think. We do this by taking the Word of God by faith and believing it more than anything we can see, hear, touch or feel. The Word of God is truth and anytime we are in disagreement with this Word as expressed by His heart we are in error and prone to stumble. The good news again is we have the Holy Spirit to help us with these things. It is Him we need to follow each step of our lives: Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. I am praying you surrender your life completely to Him. Many blessings and much love in Jesus Name, your brother Larry. __________________ Love, in the final analysis, is wisdom. --E.W. Kenyon

03-21-2008, 08:17 PM	#3 (permalink)
Fluffy Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 1,233 Blog Entries: 3 Rep Power: 2	Chrissyboy! To the forum! I will ditto everything Boanerges has said and would add to not give up! This can be overcome! I remember a time before I made Jesus my Lord, every time I picked up the bible, I would read something condemning. Every time. So I quit reading it. Then after I made Jesus Lord, it all changed. I was a believer, an on again/off again practicioner, but until I got sold out completely all I got was harshness. I think it was the enemy trying to keep me from the word. It worked for a time. But the Holy Spirit has ways! So, dont give up, Chrissyboy, He is there. You will find your answers! __________________ Be transparent before God, He sees right thru you, anyway! http://www.likepreciousfaith.org/testimony_val.htm Please pray for your local emergency responders, daily.

03-22-2008, 03:38 PM	#5 (permalink)
IHeartLarrytheCucumber Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: New Jersey Posts: 200 Rep Power: 1	Hello! I have never smoked, so I can't even imagine how hard it is to give that up. And my example might seem flat out ridiculous cause it's no comparison to a smoking addiction. But I used to curse like no other. Man, I was bad. I would curse if I stubbed my toe, if I lost my keys, or even if I merely dropped a piece of paper!! Keep in mind this cursing was building and building for about 5 years, I just didn't have a care in the world what flew out of my mouth. And my road rage? MAN was it bad. I prayed to God to help me get through this, now I have complete and total control over what I say. A habit like that does not break that easily except for with the power of God. Now I even cringe when I hear cursing!! Pray to God. He WILL help you if you are serious about quitting and if you put in effort as well. Remember-God will move mountains, IF you bring the shovel!!! And now, for some friendly and encouraging scripture: Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." __________________ Dear everyone, my name may be misleading but I am your sister, not your brother. "I chose you when I planned creation" -God

03-23-2008, 05:31 PM	#7 (permalink)
Boanerges Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: St Rose LA Posts: 14,631 Blog Entries: 3 Rep Power: 16	I will be praying for you brother! Call on Jesus and you will receive power to overcome! __________________ Love, in the final analysis, is wisdom. --E.W. Kenyon

03-22-2008, 03:18 AM	#4 (permalink)
ruperik Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Cookeville, TN Posts: 33 Rep Power: 0	you really need to conquer these habits. it is difficult i know, but you are being mastered by these habits. also, it says specifically in the bible that we are not to get drunk as christians. we lose control of ourselves when we get drunk, and you will set a bad example for others. as for the bible, let me say this: you can't expect things to always be awesome. part of being a christian is being committed to god even when you aren't receiving a spiritual high. try adding structure to your study. take notes and really get into studying the bible. if you change your perspective, god will bless you for it.

03-23-2008, 05:25 PM	#6 (permalink)
CHRISSYBOY Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: SCOTLAND Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0	Thank you all for your kind words and great advice, sat in for the first time on saturday night for as long as i can remember and actually enjoyed not been out drinking. Feel ready to give up on the cigarrettes this coming week, think half the problem is is that i already feel a bit defeated on the monday when trying to give up after my drinking on the saturday night. Feel that if i conquer the one habit i will conquer the other and excel in my walk with God. Anyway will keep you posted on progress and would like to thank you all for your advice.

03-23-2008, 07:32 PM	#8 (permalink)
Fluffy Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 1,233 Blog Entries: 3 Rep Power: 2	Hey, Chrissyboy! Taking care of one problem at a time is an excellent idea! You will have better success because you concentrate on one thing, instead of dividing your time among several. Kind of like trying to go on a diet while trying to quit smoking. Rather self defeating. (I know, been there!) Hey, when you are ready to quit smoking, you are welcome to come to the thread called "Earthen Vessels". Its in the Clubs and Ministry section. Just a place to be encouraged about quitting. Some place where you can talk to people that have been there, or are going thru it. In the meantime, one thing at a time. Take it slow, and be thorough in what ever your working on. You will find you feel better (physically and spiritually). Keep us posted! __________________ Be transparent before God, He sees right thru you, anyway! http://www.likepreciousfaith.org/testimony_val.htm Please pray for your local emergency responders, daily.

03-24-2008, 12:31 AM	#9 (permalink)
Mark_18 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Manitoba Posts: 640 Blog Entries: 1 Rep Power: 1	Keep trusting God. you try to play out in your mind how you're going to quit, and how hard it'll be, but you're usually way off with your expectations of how you need to go about it and how it'll go. God will do it in ways you never thought of. He just needs you to do what he says. When you start obeying, and deep down you know how, then things will get so much clearer. You'll feel his love more and you'll be like "WOW. I shoulda smartened up sooner, I wasted so much time!" That was me not long ago, and I keep saying things like that. God and this glory just becomes more and more real the more I let Him do his thing in my life. Die of yourself man, you won't regret it! And if you haven't done anything REALLY stupid yet, get out of that lifestyle before you do. The hardest thing in my life to deal with right now, by FAR, is something caused by the whole drinking and partying lifestyle. If I was without that I feel it'd be heaven compared to this. I will never tell you what it is, but man, let God take you under his wing and protect you from those things so you don't have to go through the pain. I say this out of love for you as a brother. God knows what bad could happen to you at any time, and he wants to get you out of the way of this harm. Let him. Christ gives complete strangers to you, like us, the compassion to care about you even though we don't really know you. He can do all things and the power of prayer is being fielded (used) through your brothers and sisters here. But actually in a way, spiritually, we know you more than some people who have met you. Because you have confessed things to us. And you better believe the Spirit is much more important than the flesh. God Bless __________________ Mark 1:8 - "I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!"

03-24-2008, 12:52 AM	#10 (permalink)
Mark_18 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Manitoba Posts: 640 Blog Entries: 1 Rep Power: 1	Also some good advice I got here, Faith is not a feeling... Get out there and put your faith into practice. "Spiritual indigestion" You can take in a lot of the Word, but you won't understand it the way you need to until you start living it, and correcting yourself about what it really means as God tells you how to relate it to your life. Surround youself with HOLY stuff. and obsorb it. Learn it. Live it. Love it. __________________ Mark 1:8 - "I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!"

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