i went to church because my gf wanted me to and it meant a lot that i went so i did and the preacher gave a good speech about skeptics and atheists and he said that no matter what he said, somebody in the audience who was a nonbeliever would cross their arms and shake their head and wouldnt give him a chance. everything he said described me perfectly; i was a really smart and arrogant skeptic who thought i knew it all. he said if we were one of those people to just listen for once and "let god in" or whatever. so i gave god a chance, and my luck instantly changed. everything seemed to go my way because i chose to believe, ive matured SO much, landed a job, maintained a 4.0 at a junior college and life couldnt be better. i pray to god for success before everything i do, whether it is creating art, lifting five more pounds at the gym, or a test at school. i tell god that if he continues blessing me, i will get rich selling my artwork when i get famous and that i will give generously to charity. (i havent picked which one(s) yet)
Originally posted by EcstremeVenomI thought he was omnipresent.
get off the internet n find him cuz you aint gona find him here. i havent posted in forever and i used to think god wasnt real but now that ive lived a little bit of life, i have discovered that he IS real
*crosses arms, shakes head* 😀
Originally posted by EcstremeVenomso basically you believe in god because god has given you so much? doesn't that sound a bit slutty of you?
i went to church because my gf wanted me to and it meant a lot that i went so i did and the preacher gave a good speech about skeptics and atheists and he said that no matter what he said, somebody in the audience who was a nonbeliever would cross their arms and shake their head and wouldnt give him a chance. everything he said described me perfectly; ...[text shortened]... en i get famous and that i will give generously to charity. (i havent picked which one(s) yet)
"i tell god that if he continues blessing me, i will get rich selling my artwork when i get famous and that i will give generously to charity. (i havent picked which one(s) yet)"
if? shouldn't you be giving to charity anyway? shouldn't faith be unconditional?
tell you what. i hope nothing bad happens to you but if it does, tell me then if you think god is grand.
because from what you are saying i gather you wouldn't have believed in god if your "post - letting jesus in" period would have been unfluffy
Originally posted by EcstremeVenomSo presumably at the first sign of any tragedy in your life you will lose your faith. Right?
i went to church because my gf wanted me to and it meant a lot that i went so i did and the preacher gave a good speech about skeptics and atheists and he said that no matter what he said, somebody in the audience who was a nonbeliever would cross their arms and shake their head and wouldnt give him a chance. everything he said described me perfectly; ...[text shortened]... en i get famous and that i will give generously to charity. (i havent picked which one(s) yet)
Originally posted by EcstremeVenomThe "prosperity gospel" rears its ugly head.
i went to church because my gf wanted me to and it meant a lot that i went so i did and the preacher gave a good speech about skeptics and atheists and he said that no matter what he said, somebody in the audience who was a nonbeliever would cross their arms and shake their head and wouldnt give him a chance. everything he said described me perfectly; ...[text shortened]... en i get famous and that i will give generously to charity. (i havent picked which one(s) yet)
Originally posted by EcstremeVenomdo not build your house on sand.. if you do well in life be happy but like job he built his life not on the earthly gifts
i went to church because my gf wanted me to and it meant a lot that i went so i did and the preacher gave a good speech about skeptics and atheists and he said that no matter what he said, somebody in the audience who was a nonbeliever would cross their arms and shake their head and wouldnt give him a chance. everything he said described me perfectly; ...[text shortened]... en i get famous and that i will give generously to charity. (i havent picked which one(s) yet)
Originally posted by TerrierJackthe path is painful Jack, no question, yet we are not without hope and thrown down that we may not stand up, resurrection hope transcends even death!
You're going to get old and broken and the people you love will die. Will you thank god then?
Originally posted by EcstremeVenomI want to thank you for sharing your personal experience with us.
i went to church because my gf wanted me to and it meant a lot that i went so i did and the preacher gave a good speech about skeptics and atheists and he said that no matter what he said, somebody in the audience who was a nonbeliever would cross their arms and shake their head and wouldnt give him a chance. everything he said described me perfectly; en i get famous and that i will give generously to charity. (i havent picked which one(s) yet)
I hope you will daily ground yourself in the word of God. Spiritual growth is like natural growth in that there will be trials. These trials come in order to help you depend more and more upon the God of resurrection.
There is a period in which you feel very blessed as God encourages you. But we tend to be very self centered. And eventually some of these outward blessings may seem to change. More and more God leads us to realize the real and greatest "blessing" is to be comformed and transformed into the image of Christ.
If you daily ground yourself in the spiritual nourishment of the Scriptures you will weather any trials to come.
What a total adventure you are embarking upon.
We should never want to say something to discourage a young believer in Christ. I might have to answer to Christ for such "stumbling" of His seekers.
"And whoever stumbles one of these little ones who believe into Me, it is more profitable for him that a geat millstone be hung around his neck and he be drowned in the open sea.
Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! For it is necessary for stumbling blocks to come, but woe to that man thrugh whom the stumbling block comes." (Matt. 18:6,7)
If you are an unbeliever or a disgruntled Christian, you would do well to watch that you do not become the cause of a new believer's weakening in faith.
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Originally posted by jaywillOr...what?
We should never want to say something to discourage a young believer in Christ. I might have to answer to Christ for such "stumbling" of His seekers.
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If you are an unbeliever or a disgruntled Christian, you would do well to watch that you do not become the cause of a new believer's weakening in faith.
I'm a Christian of a different coat, then. I think faith gets tested by fire. I think there are serious issues involved in being a believer of any kind, and a faith that cannot survive simple discouragement was a worthless facade to begin with.
And if the faith I end up with bears little resemblance to what others want to define as "Christian" or "faith" or "believing" then that's just tough cookies. I'm the one that has to live it, and no one else.