andyw533

Hey everybody. Im a freshmen in college now and have been brought up in a christian family my whole life. i have my doubts every now and then about my faith but who doesnt?

I've been kind of depressed for a couple of weeks mostly from all this stuff i hear on tv about the end of days coming upon us. I feel like an idiot for believing some of it but its hard not to. When i look at whats going on in the world today, i dont feel too secure. my mom tells me not to worry cuz only God knows when the time is right to come back. Its just been on my mind alot an I cant seem to get over it. It just makes me feel like im not in control of anything in my life.

I dont really know if i have a question in this thread but maybe i just need to vent this out there to some one. sry for the long thread and i dont know any of you yet cuz this is my first post but God bless you all and thanks for listening.

smellycat

God only knows,don,t be affraid my friend ,good people look after each other even when we all stray,we bring us back.we learn and all are welcomed back.

Boanerges

Hi Andy and welcome. Jesus Himself told us when we see all of these things come to pass to rejoice. Each and every tribulation bring the Lord one step closer to us. There is no need to fear for God meets all our needs and has planned our every step. The day we do depart this world things will only get better- We cannot loose as long as we hold fast to Jesus.

andyw533

Thank you both for the help. That was a warm welcome you guys gave me.

The thing is that I'm having trouble with alcohol and the college life. i ot to WVU and it just so happens to be the #1 party school and im in a fraternity so temptations couldnt be any higher.

Im not an alcoholic by any means but I get drunk once a week. After every time I do it I feel guilty and I feel like a jerk for asking for forgiveness because in the back of my mind I know its gonna happen again. I dont want to slip into the mindset of "Well God will just forgive me" because I know thats wrong.

Anyways I'm trying to work on that little by little and I find myself saying no here and there or just drinking a little bit instead of alot.

Besides that I think I'm a "good person" overall and i treat everybody well. (how cliche right?) Sometimes I just worry that I'm not a good enough Christian to get to Heaven but i do have a good faith in Christ.

I look forward to hearing from you all on this forum throughout the week. Thanks again for listening

MLC

Well, I will be going to the U. of Florida this upcoming year, which is the number 2 party school in the US. With all due respect, you shouldn't have joined a fraternity, because we all know what would come of it. I plan to join a Christian frat, even though i know i may have friends in other frats, because they will only lead me down a sinful path. If the frat puts you under too much pressure to take part in these things, even though it may be hard, you have to leave it and make a stand.

carolinasteve

Hey man, welcome to a great family here.
Your whole concern is the doubts of your own salvation. . Remember, Salvation is through GOD'S GRACE ALONE There is nothing you can do in addition to Christ's sacrifice that is sufficient, no good deed or well meaning gesture that will get you into heaven.

Here's some straight talk. You need to ask yourself, as I did, how you feel about God. I mean serious honest evaluation of how you regard God, and the sacrifice He made for you. Repentance is a key attribute of evidence of salvation. if you do not have the desire to repent, maybe you should be questioning your salvation, and Im saying this, because I had to do this myself, so this isnt criticism, it is concern. Check out Revelation 3:15-16"3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."
These 2 verses should be the most significant in the book of Revelation to Christians, in my opinion. It tells us that many will believe they have assurance of entering Heaven, but those assurances are based upon false pretenses, or they believed they could pray the sinners prayer, go to church on Sunday, and Get there forgiveness, like a meal at a drive through window, and carry on about their lives. That's not how it works, and we need to be careful not to embrace the idea that it does. God's Grace,God's way-not ours.

God wants those who come under Christ to be ONFIRE for Christ, willing to take up our own cross in His name. Are you(am I?) wiling to do this? Are you willing to turn away from sin,even though you enjoy it or you feel pressured into it by your peers, and lead a life that may not be cool or seemingly as fun(wrong-there is no joy this world can offer, like knowing who your father is, and what's in store for you when your time here is up-when you have that knowledge, you wil begin to enjoy life in a way you may never have before)but is pleasing to God?

Sure, you're a good person, by the world's standards, or maybe even your own, but Jesus told us that our works are no better than filthy rags in the eyes of God,and can never be good enough to earn us a spot in eternity in the Kingdom. What salvation is, is recognition of who God is. He is the Almighty Creator who has always been and always will be. Who Jesus is; the Son of God-God in the form of man, and what God did; He sacrificed His Son, to atone for all of our sins, so that whosoever recognizes Christ as the King of King and Lord of Lords and turns away from their sinful, worldly desires, to those of Christ for us, will be cleansed of their past sin under this blood offering, and become a new person in Christ, seeking rightousness and desiring to please God above all other things.
When we confess our sin, and honestly( I mean complete-not just oops sorry this time, and I'll be sorry again next week)ask for forgiveness in the name of Christ's death on the cross, we do become new. We become part of the family of God's chosen people.
Are you sorry? Everybody has to go through this, I think. NO ONE is born into salvation. We have to accept it, and embrace it. We have to have the desire to become submissive and obediant to God, and seek out His will for our lives over our own desires. When you find yourself thinking along these lines, you can be assured of your salvation, and you will have no need to fear the comming tribulation. But, you need to address this now, because there is no garuntee to anyone when our lives will end here on Earth,either by Christ's comming, or by death. Ifi you're worried about the end times, you need to be focusing on real times.
Get on your knees, acknowledge that you do believe that God is only one worthy of your praise, that you believe that He IS the ONe TRUE GOD. That you believe Jesus is His Son, walked this Earth as a man, yet was God, and Gave Himself to death,willingly as the only sufficient sacrifice to satisfy the punishment for you sins, and ask for God's forgiveness for your sins under this grace. Use your own words, and mean every single one of them. God knows your heart,regardless of what you say. When you have done this, you will recieve a peace beyond explanation, and you will not fear judgement again. If you're not sure you're ready, ask God to make you ready. When He does, you will know it, and your life will change forever, because you have been changed.
God has called you to this point, take the next step, and tell Satan to take his temptations, and his guilt, and kiss off!
Best wishes for becomming secure in Christ
-CS

Whirlwind

This is so strange, because I just finished doing research about this all morning. I saw a documentary this morning on TV called 2012, or something like that.

This documentary had me scared! It compared various predictions from different cultures and sources...even the bible. They all pointed to December 12, 2012 as the end of the world.

So I cranked up my laptop and started reading. The more I read, the more horrified I became!

Wait a minute...the bible says that Jesus will return like a thief in the night, nobody will know when he's coming. That thought came back to me, and I realized that there's a reason why the bible tells me this.

If I knew the world was going to end on December 12, 2012, then I'd start repenting closer to that time. Heck, that's a little while aways, so I got time to be naughty and think about it later, huh?

But my bible says nobody will know...but God Himself. I think the bible tells me this to keep me in line. I don't know if He's coming today or tomorrow or next week or next month...all's I know is that He's coming. So I better be good every day, as if every day is my last one here.

Funny, but yesterday I was in a used book store and I saw a dusty old book from the 50's. It presented concrete evidence that the world would come to an end in the 1980s when the planets were in alignment. There were graphs, scientific testimony, quotes from the bible. I wonder if there was another book published in the 90s, repeating everything the author said and reminding everybody that none of it came true.

There have been doomsayers for as long as people have been able to speak. There'll be doomsayers until the very end, I suppose. One of these days, one of them is going to be able to turn around and tell everybody: "I told you so!"

But along the path getting there, many of them will be so wrong.

smellycat

only God knows,when you see Gods commands all being absent,then the day will come.when the world has twisted the word,for it to be more pleasurable to your listening,then you will know.

Boanerges

Anyone who sets a date is automatically wrong Jesus says no one knows the day or the hour.